According to a newspaper, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants to allow fully vaccinated travelers from the EU and the US back into the country. The rule, which would affect millions of people who have family members in the UK, could apply from next week, reports the Financial Times citing insiders. Ministers had urged Johnson to take the step. The (07/27/2021)
Bhutan vaccinates 90 percent of adults within a week
The small kingdom of Bhutan in the Himalayas had around 90 percent of adults vaccinated against corona for the second time within a week. That corresponds to 62 percent of the approximately 770,000 inhabitants, said a spokeswoman for the UN children’s aid organization Unicef.
Bhutan was able to vaccinate its people so quickly after receiving hundreds of thousands of doses this month – including 500,000 doses of Moderna vaccine from the US and 250,000 doses of Astra Zeneca vaccine from Denmark, data from Unicef shows. “This is not only an important milestone for Bhutan or South Asia, but for developing countries in general,” said the Unicef spokeswoman. Many poorer countries have trouble getting vaccine doses.
The country received the first corona vaccine as a gift from India. From the end of March to the beginning of April, more than 85 percent of adults were vaccinated, as the Bhutanese Ministry of Health announced at the time. Vaccination is a challenge in the kingdom. Healthcare workers sometimes have to climb high mountains to reach people living as nomads. Bhutan was largely spared the corona pandemic. Only about 2500 infections and two deaths have been recorded since the pandemic began. (07/27/2021)
70 percent of adults in the EU vaccinated at least once
According to official information, 70 percent of adults in the EU are now vaccinated against Corona at least once. 57 percent were double vaccinated and thus fully protected, said EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday. At the same time, in view of the spreading delta variant, she appealed to everyone who has not yet been immunized but who have the opportunity to get vaccinated. The EU is confident that it will also achieve its goal of having 70 percent of the adult population fully vaccinated against the coronavirus by the end of summer. (07/27/2021)
USA extend entry bans
The USA does not want to lift the entry restrictions imposed on travelers from Europe and other countries due to the corona pandemic for the time being. “Because of the Delta variant, we will keep the existing travel restrictions at this point,” said White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki. Because of the delta variant, the number of corona cases would increase – especially among the unvaccinated. “And it seems likely that this will continue in the coming weeks,” said Psaki.
The EU had already urged member states last month to gradually lift restrictions on travelers from the US and several other countries. Germany then allowed entries from the USA, among others, “for all permissible purposes of residence, including tourism”.
The fact that the USA did not loosen its restrictions on travelers from Europe in return caused criticism from, among others, the German economy. Entry from the Schengen area to the USA is usually only possible for foreigners with a special permit. The Biden government has always insisted that it will be guided by scientific evidence in its decisions in the pandemic.
When Chancellor Angela Merkel visited Washington in mid-July, many had hoped for movement on the subject. US President Joe Biden had announced in a joint press conference with Merkel that he would like to comment on the subject in the coming days. Merkel had stated that she had raised the subject at the meeting with Biden. The Chancellor emphasized that a sustainable decision must now be made that will not be withdrawn after a short time.
The federal government’s coordinator for transatlantic relations, Peter Beyer (CDU), regrets the decision of the US government to continue to refuse Europeans entry into the United States. “It is a bit disappointing that the US will not relax its entry restrictions for the Schengen area,” Beyer said Süddeutsche Zeitung. Beyer called more mutual accommodation “desirable” after the European Union had recently relaxed entry rules for US citizens. Above all, Beyer sees problematic consequences for the economy on both sides: “Especially German companies with branches in the USA need their engineers and mechanics on site for urgently needed maintenance and repair work,” he said. Many jobs in the USA also depended on it.
New infections in Tokyo rise to a record high
In the Olympic city of Tokyo, new infections rose to more than 3,000 registered cases on Tuesday – more than ever before in a single day. This is reported by the Jiji news agency. 1429 new corona cases were recorded on Monday, twice as many as a week earlier. Experts had already warned of an extreme increase in corona infections before the start of the Olympic Games.
At the end of the day, although the games were officially played without an audience, crowds kept gathering to watch cycling races, for example. Numerous spectators could be seen along the route at the roadside, sometimes they stood in several rows along the route.
Against the background of the high number of new infections, the hospitals are now preparing to accept additional Covid-19 patients. The number of beds for these cases is to be increased from the current 5967 to 6406, reports the broadcaster TBS.
More than 2000 new infections in Israel
In Israel, the number of new corona infections continues to rise significantly. The Ministry of Health reported 2112 cases on Tuesday – more than since mid-March. According to television, around every tenth new case involves returnees from abroad. The number of corona patients with a severe course rose to 138 – on Monday a week ago it was 61. According to official information, most of the new cases are related to the delta variant of the virus.
Among the newly infected are many younger people and also twice vaccinated. More than 57 percent of Israel’s 9.3 million residents are already fully vaccinated. The vaccination campaign there was particularly successful at the beginning. However, according to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, there are still more than a million Israelis who could be vaccinated but do not.
Compulsory vaccination for veteran hospitals in the United States
The medical workers at hospitals for US veterans must be vaccinated against the coronavirus. Doctors, dentists, nurses and other medical workers now have eight weeks to get vaccinated, the Veterans Ministry announced on Monday. This is the best way to “guarantee the safety of veterans,” said Minister Denis McDonough. The order is the first mandatory vaccination of a larger federal authority. President Joe Biden’s government has ruled out compulsory vaccination.
The health facilities of the Veterans Ministry employ around 367,000 people and are responsible for the care of more than nine million people. It is the largest cohesive healthcare provider in the United States, the Department’s website said.
Several medical associations had recently spoken out in favor of compulsory vaccination for the health sector. There has long been a lot more vaccine in the US than people who want to vaccinate. So far, 57 percent of the population of around 330 million people have received at least the first vaccination. Most recently, the number of daily new corona infections in the USA rose again to almost 50,000 on average because of the particularly contagious Delta variant. (07/26/2021)
Corona cases in Tokyo doubled in a week
In Tokyo, the number of daily infections doubles within a week. 1429 new infections with the corona virus are recorded at the venue for the Olympic Games. Seven days ago there were half as many. In the direct vicinity of the Summer Games alone, the number of positive tests has risen to 148 since data was recorded on July 1st. The organizers did not disclose which athletes are affected. In the German team, there was the first corona infected cyclist Simon Geschke on the opening day.
According to an expert, the Olympic Games threaten to lead to a further increase in the number of corona infections. Not the Olympic participants are the main problem, said the political professor Koichi Nakano from the Sophia University in Tokyo of the German press agency on Sunday. Rather, it is the fact that the games are taking place at a time when the population is increasingly “frustrated” by the corona emergency, which has been prolonged again and again. “People are getting impatient and stop listening to the government,” said Nakano, citing Saturday’s cycling races as an example. Numerous spectators could be seen at the roadside, sometimes they stood in several rows along the route.
In the run-up to the Games, a majority of the population had spoken out against the Games. But now that the games have started, some would think “it doesn’t make sense to protest. Now you can support the games,” said Nakano. “That is a very typical Japanese way of thinking,” said the political scientist.
In addition, practically all television stations were taken over by the Olympic Games as a result of the massive influence of the Japanese advertising agency Dentsu, which, as the exclusive marketing partner for the games, also awards the advertising slots. It is in their interest to win the citizens over to the Olympics through constant sprinkling. The resulting interest in the Games meant that, regardless of all government appeals, many citizens did not stay at home, but wanted to experience the Olympics as closely as possible, as they did at the bike races.
Hundreds of people had gathered in front of the stadium for the opening ceremony and watched the fireworks, even though they were not allowed into the stadium. Nakano fears a drastic increase in infections in the coming days. (07/26/2021)
Brazilians protest against Bolsonaro’s corona policy
Thousands of Brazilians took to the streets against the corona policy of President Jair Bolsonaro’s government. At demonstrations across the country on Saturday, they called for impeachment proceedings against the right-wing president, more vaccinations against the corona virus and economic aid in the pandemic, like the news portal G1 reported. Protests broke out in at least 13 state capitals, including Rio de Janeiro, Recife and Salvador.
The government of President Bolsonaro played down the pandemic from the start and braced itself against tough exit restrictions, citing the economic consequences. Most recently, Bolsonaro also questioned the point of vaccination. Meanwhile, a parliamentary committee of inquiry is examining Bolsonaro’s crisis management in the pandemic.
In Brazil, more than 130 million doses of vaccine have been administered since the nationwide vaccination campaign began in January. About 40 percent of adult Brazilians have received a single dose, and around 17 percent are fully vaccinated. However, in view of the lack of vaccination doses, the Brazilian metropolis of Rio de Janeiro and other important cities recently again suspended their first vaccinations against the corona virus.