International Effects of Covid-19

[Volkonski]

Reuters
@Reuters
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1h
U.S. CDC advises Americans to avoid travel to Canada http://reut.rs/3HSOZd4

[Lani]

Reuters
@Reuters
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1h
U.S. CDC advises Americans to avoid travel to Canada http://reut.rs/3HSOZd4

They just don't want us to go there because we'll be buying pot.

Quebec’s cannabis, liquor stores to require coronavirus vaccination proof

Quebec will require people to show proof of coronavirus vaccination when entering government-run stores selling cannabis or alcohol, the region’s health minister, Christian Dubé, said Thursday, as part of broader efforts to reduce covid-19 patients in the province.

The new requirement for patrons entering cannabis and liquor stores takes effect on Jan. 18. It will aim to persuade more Quebecois to get vaccinated, Dubé said, and thereby minimize the number of people being hospitalized for covid-19.

[Volkonski]

Covid: Half of Europe to be infected with Omicron within weeks - WHO

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-59948920

Dr Hans Kluge said a "west-to-east tidal wave" of Omicron was sweeping across the region, on top of the surge of the Delta variant already present.

The projection was based on the seven million new cases reported across Europe in the first week of 2022.

The number of infections has more than doubled in a two-week period.

"Today the Omicron variant represents a new west-to-east tidal wave, sweeping across the region on top of the Delta surge that all countries were managing until late 2021," Dr Kluge told a news conference.

[Volkonski]

WHO warns against treating Covid-19 like flu

https://www.reuters.com/business/health ... ce=twitter

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday warned against treating COVID-19 as an endemic illness like flu, rather than as a pandemic, saying the spread of the Omicron variant has not yet stabilized.

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Monday it may be time to change how it tracks COVID-19's evolution to instead use a method similar to how it follows the flu, because its lethality has fallen. That would imply treating the virus as an "endemic illness", rather than a pandemic.

"We still have a huge amount of uncertainty and a virus that is evolving quite quickly, imposing new challenges. We are certainly not at the point where we are able to call it endemic," WHO's senior emergency officer for Europe, Catherine Smallwood, told a press briefing.

[RVInit]

The messaging really needs to be coordinated and easy for people to understand. My sister is a Faux propaganda watcher. She believes everything is OK because Omicron is "less severe". OK, yes. On an individual level, you have less chance of hospitalization if you get the Omicron variant than if you get other variants. But the impact on our health care system is far different than my personal chances of hospitalization.

A smaller percentage of a hugely larger number still means that our hospitals are overwhelmed. And the impact on our health care system is what is important to society as a whole. But now that at least 1/3 of our society is fully conditioned to think in "me, me, me, me, me" terms, they miss the whole freaking point. And Faux propaganda is not going to tell them anything about what is happening to the health care system as a whole.

[Volkonski]

Reuters
@Reuters
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12m
Emergency ward doctor Abigael Debit is increasingly spending her time finding beds for COVID-19 patients, either in her own public-private clinic outside Paris or in nearby hospitals, as Omicron rips through France https://reut.rs/3rfxcGi

[Volkonski]

The Associated Press
@AP
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12m
Peru’s hospitals are near collapse as the South American nation is experiencing a third wave of coronavirus infections. While 66% of the population has been vaccinated, vaccine hesitation by some is a challenge for health and government officials. http://apne.ws/kbEp9LH

Reuters
@Reuters
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27m
As Omicron rips through France, there are staff shortages in hospitals, the result of resignations and an increase in doctors and nurses contracting the virus and going on sick leave, causing patient transfers and the delay of non-emergency procedures https://reut.rs/3rfxcGi

[Volkonski]

Reuters
@Reuters
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2m
Tianjin outbreak grows as Omicron spreads to Dalian, Volkswagen China shuts factories http://reut.rs/3FsRSQi

[Volkonski]

Quebec has seen high levels of #COVID19 #vaccine refusal, and decided to levy a special tax on unvaccinated citizens. Two outcomes:
- surge in vaccinations
- surge in opinion pieces and lawsuits
Stay tuned.

[Dave from down under]

Norfolk Island

Picturesque Norfolk Island is dealing with its first outbreak of COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began, which has presented challenges for the isolated community.

Key points:

Norflolk Island's COVID-19 outbreak began two days before the Queensland government officially took over providing key services from New South Wales
Visitation to Norfolk Island has been paused until January 27, when visitors will need to show a negative COVID-19 test on arrival
The island's only health system is small, with just a handful of beds



https://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2022-01- ... /100757396

[Volkonski]

TIME
@TIME
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42m
Beijing reported the city’s first case of the omicron variant of Covid-19, adding pressure on authorities to stem a potential outbreak less than three weeks before the Winter Olympics begin

[AndyinPA]

No one else has really been good at stopping this. This does not bode well for the Olympics.

[Volkonski]

Reuters
@Reuters
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3m
German health min sees possible tripling of COVID infections by mid-Feb -sources http://reut.rs/3ImwSg3

[Volkonski]

Guardian news
@guardiannews
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58m
Beijing authorities conduct mass Covid testing as cases rise before Olympics

[Volkonski]

NBC News
@NBCNews
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1h
Commercial airline flights take off from Xi’an in western China for the first time in a month as the government eases travel curbs imposed after a coronavirus outbreak ahead of next month’s Winter Olympics in Beijing.

[Suranis]

Ireland has started easing restrictions.

https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/c ... tml#l95896

On 21 January 2022, the Government announced a plan for easing COVID-19 restrictions.

From 6am on 22 January 2022:

Pubs and restaurants can return to normal opening times (no longer must close at 8pm)
Nightclubs can reopen
You no longer need a vaccination or recovery certificate to access hospitality or indoor activites
Social distancing is no longer required in hospitality or other settings
Restrictions on numbers attending indoor and outdoor events or activities no longer apply
Limits on household visits no longer apply

From 24 January 2022, a phased return to offices can begin.

The following restrictions remain in place until 28 February 2022:

Requirement of a vaccination or recovery certificate for international travel
Use of face coverings to continue where currently required (for example, in shops and on public transport)
Requirement to self-isolate if you have symptoms of COVID-19 and close contact guidance to remain in place
Protective measures in primary and secondary schools and early year settings to remain in place

Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP)

The Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) will close for new applications from 22 January 2022. If you are getting PUP, you will move to a weekly rate of €208 from 8 March 2022. After that, remaining PUP recipients, who are eligible, will move onto a jobseekers payment from 5 April 2022.
Enhanced Illness Benefit

Enhanced Illness Benefit is extended until the end of June 2022.
EU Digital COVID Certificate (DCC) for international travel

From 1 February 2022, the DCC based on primary vaccination will expire after 270 days (9 months). You can get an updated DCC if you get a booster dose.

[Volkonski]

BBC News (World)
@BBCWorld
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46m
NZ PM Jacinda Ardern calls off wedding amid Omicron outbreak

[RTH10260]

Tonga, once covid-free, goes into lockdown weeks after volcano eruption

By Frances Vinall
Yesterday at 12:12 a.m. EST|Updated yesterday at 1:26 a.m. EST

Five coronavirus cases have been reported in Tonga as the country recovers from last month’s volcanic eruption and tsunami, leading the government to place the once covid-free Pacific archipelago into a complete lockdown.

The lockdown started at 6 p.m. local time Wednesday. Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni said there would be no boat or plane travel among Tonga’s roughly 170 islands — three dozen of them inhabited — until further notice. Schools were closed, government workers given time off and masks encouraged in public spaces, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corp.

Sovaleni said the restrictions would be reviewed every 48 hours, local news website Matangi Tonga reported.

It’s not clear how the virus was transmitted into Tonga. Two people who contracted it worked at a port in the capital, Nuku’alofa. There was an outbreak of more than two dozen cases aboard an Australian navy ship, the HMAS Adelaide, that docked at the port last week to deliver disaster relief. Aid also arrived from New Zealand, France, Japan and China — all countries that have cases.

Sovaleni said Wednesday afternoon that the virus had spread beyond the two port workers to a woman and two children, Radio New Zealand reported.

Curtis Tuihalangingie, a senior Tongan diplomat in Australia, had said the nation’s aim after the volcanic eruption and tsunami was to avoid a “tsunami of covid” hitting the islands through aid deliveries. The natural disasters Jan. 15 left at least three people dead.

Tonga had previously logged only one coronavirus infection, which was detected in a hotel quarantine in October and triggered a week-long lockdown.

The Tongan government on Wednesday released a list of places where the virus could have spread from the two cases in recent days. They included a church, a kindergarten, a bank and several stores.



https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/20 ... australia/

[Volkonski]

Reuters
@Reuters
·
1h
Sweden declare pandemic over, despite warnings from scientists http://reut.rs/3LjknEe

[RTH10260]

NZ Covid outbreak ‘like nothing we’ve experienced’, Ardern says, as cases skyrocket
Virus-free for much of the pandemic, New Zealand is now reporting near-daily record case numbers

Tess McClure in Auckland
Mon 14 Feb 2022 05.00 GMT

New Zealand’s prime minister has warned that the country is entering a new phase of its pandemic response that is “like nothing we’ve experienced to date”, as case numbers begin to explode.

“We are embarking for the first time in the two years since the start of the outbreak into a period where New Zealanders will see more Covid in the community,” Jacinda Ardern said on Monday.

“It is a period of disruption and, I know, of risk and will be like nothing we’ve experienced to date.”

Ardern was speaking to reporters after a political reporter produced a positive rapid antigen test moments before the press conference. The empty seats in front of her – and the decision to forge on with the standup regardless – helped illustrate the new era for New Zealand, in which the government expects Omicron to reach every part of the country.

New Zealand has been reporting near-daily record highs in case numbers, as infections begin to hit an exponential growth curve. On Monday, officials announced 981 cases in the community, up from previous all-time highs of 810 on Sunday and 454 the day before. The latest additions mean there are 4,960 active cases recorded across Aotearoa – but experts say the true number is likely much higher, given the lag in test results, and the fact testing is only advised for those with symptoms or who have been a direct contact of a case.



https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/ ... -skyrocket

[AndyinPA]

https://www.aol.com/news/warning-u-covi ... 42110.html

At the beginning of February, Denmark became the first major country to lift the last of its COVID-19 restrictions and effectively declare its part in the pandemic over.

Around the world, and especially in the United States, Denmark’s “liberation” from indoor mask mandates, vaccine passports and nightclub closures was heralded as a watershed moment — the shape of things to come. Democratic governors across the U.S. started rescinding their own mask rules a few days later.

“This marks the transition to a new era for all of us, because Denmark will once again be an open society, completely open,” said Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. “We dare to believe that we are now through the critical phase."

Since then, however, Denmark has continued to record more COVID-19 cases per capita than nearly anywhere else in the world, and both COVID hospitalizations and deaths have shot up by about a third.

“Not looking good in Denmark,” Dr. Eric Topol, founder and director of the Scripps Translational Institute, tweeted Sunday, sharing several charts that terminated in near-vertical upward lines. “Deaths are now 67% of peak, with a steep ascent.”

I remember talking about this on some thread. I thought Denmark had a chance of being disciplined enough to try to make this work. Nope.

[RTH10260]

Switzerland

As of today the Federal Government has made the bold move to drop all --- like in ALL --- precautionary regulations related to covid with the exception on wearing masks while riding in a public transport.

IOW no masks in shops any longer, no covid test requirements to visit restaurants, no longer need to show the covid test certificate. The certificate will no longer be issued but can be requested for travel across the border.

Let's see what happens in two weeks. Current reported infection rates are still very high, around 20K per day, prior acceptable rate was below 3K Hospitalization rates are manageable.

ETA. masks still required for hospital access. Isolation of people with covid of course remains.

[bill_g]

Fatalism has finally crept in, and taken over. It will be what it will be.

[RTH10260]

Fatalism has finally crept in, and taken over. It will be what it will be.

It's a resignation by the government over a larger section of the population still rejecting sensible means to fight back a pandemie. I am astonished to see all those privately run test sites pop up to issue short term (24h) covid free certificates and them getting picked up for a significant amount of cash when the vaccination is free.

[Volkonski]