US President Joe Biden urged Americans to vaccinate on the US national holiday in order to achieve “independence” from the coronavirus together. Getting vaccinated is the “most patriotic” thing citizens can do now, Biden said in the garden of the White House. “So please: If you haven’t been vaccinated, do it. Do it now – for yourself, for your loved ones, for your community, for your country.”
Thanks to the vaccination campaign, the US is “closer than ever to declaring its independence from the deadly virus,” stressed Biden. The virus has not yet been defeated, and there are also new dangerous variants. “But the best defense against these variants is to get vaccinated,” said Biden. Thanks to the vaccinations, the virus no longer controls people’s lives, “it is no longer paralyzing our country and it is in our power to ensure that it never happens again”.
Independence Day was also of particular importance this year because Biden wanted to have achieved a new vaccination goal by then. However, despite numerous vaccination incentives and a large supply of vaccines, the target was not achieved. By Sunday, 70 percent of all adults should have received at least one vaccine dose. So far, however, only 67 percent, or 173 million people, got at least the first vaccination, data from the CDC showed. (05.07.2021)
Luxembourg Prime Minister Bettel in hospital after Covid infection
Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel came to the hospital a week after his positive corona test. Additional tests and examinations are to be carried out there, as the government announced on Sunday. As a precaution, the head of government will stay in the clinic for 24 hours for observation.
The 48-year-old tested positive for the corona virus last Sunday after the EU summit in Brussels. According to his spokesman, he initially only had mild symptoms such as fever and headache and wanted to continue his work from home. Ten days of quarantine were planned.
At the summit, Bettel had contact with many other European heads of state and government, including Chancellor Angela Merkel. According to his own information, he has so far been vaccinated against the corona virus.
Mask requirement in England should be lifted despite increasing infections
Despite the rapidly increasing corona numbers, the British government has announced that it will largely lift the mask requirement for England. Protective masks, which are currently still mandatory in shops as well as buses and trains, would soon become a “personal decision,” said Housing Minister Robert Jenrick on Sky News. “Different people will make different decisions about things like masks,” said the minister.
The end of the mask requirement is part of an extensive lifting of corona measures on July 19, which the government wants to confirm in the coming days. This includes the lifting of all contact restrictions and the reopening of clubs. The highly contagious delta variant is causing the number of cases in Great Britain to skyrocket again, the incidence is just under 200.
The new British Health Minister Sajid Javid defended the easing planned for England and appealed to the citizens to take responsibility. The country could not only “become freer but also healthier”, wrote Javid in a guest post for the Mail on Sunday. He was alluding to the stress on the mental health of many people.
50 fans for violating quarantine-Rules identified
In several hotels in Rome, the authorities have identified 50 English football fans who have not undergone the five-day quarantine after entering Italy. As a consequence, according to the authorities, their tickets for the quarter-finals against Ukraine were withdrawn. Their names were also placed on a blacklist of the security guards who carried out the controls for access to the Stadio Olimpico.
The Roman daily newspaper Il Messaggero estimates that at least 1,600 English people had traveled to Italy without adhering to quarantine regulations. Many of them came to Italy via France. Journalists for the British mass newspaper Sun documented how easy it was to bypass the Italian controls by taking a flight to Nice and then traveling by car to Rome.
Five check points were set up in front of the Olympic Stadium in Rome to check the green passports of the English fans. “Nobody was able to enter the stadium without a green passport,” the authorities assured. Italy, in which only a few corona restrictions have applied almost nationwide since June 28, fears that the delta variant will spread.
Investigations against President Bolsonaro of Brazil
The Brazilian Supreme Court has opened an investigation into Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro over allegations of corruption. The background to this is the order for 20 million doses of the Indian corona vaccine Covaxin. Judge Rosa Weber granted a request from the Attorney General’s office. The Brazilian news agency reports Agência Brasil. A group of senators had brought criminal charges against Bolsonaro on suspicion of abuse of office because he should have ignored a suspicion of corruption.
A former health department employee had previously reported “unusual pressure” in handling the vaccine deal, valued at more than $ 300 million. The Ministry of Health is said to have ordered the vaccine developed and manufactured in India before it was even approved in Brazil. The price of $ 15 for a dose is also said to be the highest the Department of Health has been willing to pay to date.
A MP, brother of the former official, testified to have informed President Bolsonaro of these inconsistencies. The Brazilian government, which suspended the contract to buy the Covaxin vaccine doses this week, has since issued several versions of the case. Bolsonaro said he was unaware of any irregularities. According to senators close to the government, Bolsonaro is said to have informed the then Minister of Health Eduardo Pazuello about the allegations. Indian company Bharat Biotech said the price of a can of Covaxin to foreign governments was between $ 15 and $ 20. The price for Brazil was therefore within this range.
The Covaxin deal was also recently the focus of a parliamentary committee of inquiry that is investigating the actions and omissions of President Jair Bolsonaro in the corona pandemic. The initiation of impeachment proceedings, however, depends on the President of the Chamber of Deputies – who is considered an ally of the Bolsonaro government.
Russia reports more Covid deaths in one day than ever before
Russia reports a record number of daily deaths related to coronavirus infection for the fifth day in a row. According to the government, 697 people died within 24 hours, more than ever in the country in one day since the pandemic began. 24 439 new infections have been confirmed. Such a level was last reported in early January. 7446 of the new infections were registered in Moscow. The authorities see the spread of the delta variant of the virus as the reason.
The infection situation also worsened recently in St. Petersburg, where the European Championship quarter-finals between Spain and Switzerland were held on Friday. At the same time, various major events took place, for example on the occasion of graduation celebrations. President Vladimir Putin defended hosting games in the city.
Italian police uncover network for fake Covid vaccination passports
Investigators in Italy have seized several channels and accounts of the chat app Telegram, through which criminals have offered digital certificates for the EU-wide valid corona vaccination certificate. In total, there are ten channels and accounts that lead users to anonymous accounts on marketplaces in the dark web, said the financial police in Rome.
On the online trading platforms, sellers would have offered forgeries for the digital certificate in exchange for payment in crypto currencies. The proof certifies the complete vaccination against Covid-19 and is important for trips within the EU (“Green Passport”). According to the Guardia di Finanza, the price for this was between 110 and 130 euros. Thousands of users have registered on the Telegram channels, it said. Ampoules with an alleged vaccine against corona were also offered for sale there.
The federal government re-classifies Cyprus and Catalonia as risk areas
As of Sunday, the federal government will classify Cyprus and the Spanish region of Catalonia as corona risk areas. In addition, three other regions in Spain (Cantabria) and Norway (Agder and Rogaland in the southwest) are declared risk areas, as the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) announced on Friday. However, this has hardly any factual effects on holidaymakers, since air travelers have to be tested on arrival anyway and the quarantine obligation is no longer applicable. However, the classification as a risk area means that the Federal Foreign Office advises against traveling there.
Countries and regions in which the infections per 100,000 inhabitants in seven days (seven-day incidence) are over 50 are classified as risk areas. It’s the lowest risk level. No additional countries or regions are classified in the two higher categories of high incidence and virus variant areas on Sunday. In Europe, only one region in Croatia (Međimurje) has been removed from the risk list, as well as Qatar and the Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe and Aruba.