A few days after the European Championship finals in London, Great Britain recorded 42,302 new infections within one day, the highest value since January 15. According to official data, there were still 36 660 new infections on Tuesday. According to the data, 49 other people died in connection with the coronavirus, up from 50 the previous day. The more contagious Delta variant of the virus is rampant in the UK. The number of new infections has been increasing since mid-May, while the number of deaths remains lower than in previous corona waves. Almost all corona restrictions should fall in England next Monday. (07/14/2021)
Night curfew in Barcelona
Because of the very high number of corona infections, the Catalan regional government wants to order a night-time ban on going to the tourist metropolis of Barcelona and 157 other municipalities in the region. The measure, which is to apply from 1 a.m. to 6 a.m., must be approved by the Supreme Court. People are then only allowed to leave the house with good reason. The measure does not affect the entire region in northeast Spain with the Costa Brava, but only cities with more than 5000 inhabitants with a seven-day incidence of 400 or more, or that are surrounded by such, said regional leader Pere Aragonès on Wednesday evening. “The situation is very delicate,” he warned.
The restriction is aimed at young people who are to be discouraged from having boozy parties called botellones on beaches, in parks and in public places. It is precisely the infections of young people under 30 that have caused the number of infections in Spain as a holiday destination and especially in Catalonia to skyrocket.
The Ministry of Health in Madrid reported 26,390 infections within 24 hours on Wednesday. Extrapolated to Germany, that would be more than 46,000. This means that the nationwide seven-day incidence climbed from 258 to almost 271 within one day. It is well above the 200 mark above which Germany can declare a region to be a high-incidence area – with the corresponding Quarantine for returnees. In Catalonia, the 14-day incidence among 20 to 29-year-olds was 3385. (07/14/2021)
More than 1000 people are infected at the music festival in the Netherlands
At a music festival in Utrecht, around 1000 visitors were infected with the corona virus. According to the health authorities, the numbers could even increase. The organizers reacted in shock and emphasized that they had complied with all requirements.
About 20,000 people attended the two-day open-air festival “Verknipt” (Crazy) on July 3rd and 4th. At least 448 visitors were infected on the first day, and another 516 on the second day, the ANP news agency reported. Festival goers had to prove that they had been vaccinated or tested negative. According to the organizers, strict controls were carried out at the entrance. Time slots have been set up for visitors to prevent crowds.
The Netherlands had initially lifted almost all corona measures on June 26 and also allowed major events. After an explosive increase in infections, some loosening was lifted again. Most recently, around 8,000 people became infected within 24 hours. The seven-day incidence is more than 300 infections per 100,000 inhabitants. Adolescents and young adults in particular are responsible for the large increase in infections. The main sources of infection were festivals, discos and restaurants. (07/14/21)
Israeli government cuts quarantine to one week
Israel is reducing the quarantine time from at least ten days to seven. The measure is intended to help motivate the population to comply with self-isolation during the corona pandemic. Those who are in quarantine can now take a corona test on the seventh day and end the isolation if the test result is negative, said Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s office on Tuesday evening. “We set conditions that the public can meet,” said Bennett, according to the announcement. “We meet the public.”
However, whoever breaks the quarantine has to pay the equivalent of around 1290 euros fine, according to Bennett. The head of government announced that compliance with the quarantine and the wearing of masks would be more closely monitored. After a decision by the Corona cabinet, a comprehensive range of quick tests is also to be created.
The number of new corona cases in Israel has increased massively in the past few weeks. The trigger for this was probably initially returnees from abroad who had broken their quarantine. There have been several school outbreaks. At the beginning of the week, the new infections had climbed to the highest level since the end of March. The Ministry of Health announced on Wednesday that 754 new cases were reported the day before.
London is sticking to the mask requirement in local public transport
The British capital London is sticking to the mask requirement in local public transport – even though, according to a government decision on Monday, the mask requirement will be lifted across England. London Mayor Sadiq Khan ordered masks to continue to be part of the transport conditions of the state-owned transport company Transport for London (TfL). “Wearing face covers helps reduce the spread of the coronavirus and gives Londoners the confidence to travel – this is central to our economic recovery,” Khan tweeted.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps welcomed the decision. From next Monday, masks will no longer be mandatory in the largest British part of England. Instead of state rules, the government relies on personal responsibility. At the same time, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has urged the population to continue to wear masks in places with many people, such as in local transport. Scientists had sharply criticized the lifting of the mask requirement. Unions warned of possible health consequences for workers such as bus drivers.
Transport Secretary Shapps told Sky News that the London decision was in line with government expectations. In other cities such as Manchester, Liverpool and Bristol, mayors are talking to private transport companies to keep masking mandatory.
In contrast, national train operators announced that they would no longer insist on masks from Monday. Airlines such as Ryanair and Easyjet had previously announced that mouth and nose covers would have to be worn on board.
Dutch health authority reports R-value of 2.17
In the Netherlands, the corona virus is spreading rapidly through the delta variant. The number of reproductions is currently 2.17, which is the highest value since the outbreak of the pandemic in March 2020, as the responsible authority informed the parliament in The Hague. The number means that arithmetically 100 infected people infect 217 other people. The health authority estimates that 60 to 65 percent of all infections can be traced back to the Delta variant.
The number of new infections in 24 hours in the Netherlands was most recently around 8,000. The seven-day incidence is around 270 infections per 100,000 inhabitants in seven days. For comparison: In Germany this value is currently 6.5.
Because of the dramatic increase, the government had already reversed some easing measures that had only been in effect since June 26 on Friday. Discos and nightclubs were closed again and festivals were banned. The government had been heavily criticized for the early easing. Prime Minister Mark Rutte has since apologized for this and has spoken of a “mistake in assessment”. (07/13/2021)
US government changes travel advice for Germany
Immediately prior to Chancellor Angela Merkel’s trip to Washington, the US government changed its travel advice for Germany, Austria and some other European countries. These countries have now been downgraded from the “Rethink Travel” category to “Take special care”. With a view to the pandemic, it is now said that trips are less dangerous for those who have been vaccinated. (07/13/2021)
US Department of Health considers booster vaccinations unnecessary
The US Department of Health still does not consider a third corona vaccination to be necessary. Department officials met with US pharmaceuticals company Pfizer on Monday to hear about new preliminary dates on booster vaccinations. A spokesman said they wanted to keep in touch with the company as to whether and when a booster vaccination would be necessary in the future. Pfizer and its German partner Biontech announced at the end of last week that, given the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant, they would apply to the regulatory authorities in the USA and Europe for approval of a third dose as a booster vaccination within the next few weeks.
The US Food and Drug Administration and the CDC had previously stated that fully vaccinated people do not currently need a booster. According to the assessment of the EU Medicines Agency EMA, it is still too early for a possible approval due to a lack of data from the ongoing vaccination campaigns. However, the EMA was confident that the current program with two vaccinations would be sufficient. The World Health Organization (WHO) had warned that rich countries should not order booster vaccinations for their already vaccinated population, while poorer countries were still waiting for the possibility of vaccination.
Pfizer plans to publish further definitive data in a scientific journal. “We agree that the scientific data will dictate the next steps,” said a spokeswoman. Pfizer and Biontech currently believe that a booster dose “can be helpful in maintaining the highest level of protection possible”. The two partners are also jointly developing an adapted variant of their Covid-19 vaccine against the Delta variant. (07/13/2021)
The world’s largest vaccine manufacturer wants to mass-produce Sputnik V
Russia has signed an agreement with the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer in India to produce more than 300 million doses of Sputnik V per year. The first cans should be produced there in September, said Russia’s state direct investment fund RDIF. The Serum Institute company already produces Astra-Zeneca vaccine.
When Sputnik V was delivered, the Kremlin had already admitted delivery bottlenecks and looked for further possibilities to keep delivery promises to many countries. The Serum Institute has also had problems keeping promises. It was actually supposed to produce corona vaccine on a large scale for poorer countries as part of the UN Covax vaccination program. However, there were obstacles – among other things, the Indian government imposed an export ban after a violent second wave, among other things in connection with the Delta variant, shook the country.
It is unclear when India will export corona vaccine again. So far, around five percent of the more than 1.3 billion inhabitants in the country have been completely vaccinated against Corona. There is widespread skepticism about vaccinations, especially in rural areas. The Serum Institute should initially produce the Sputnik-V cans primarily for the Indian market, said RDIF boss Kirill Dmitrijew at a press conference in Moscow. But he also hoped that some of the cans could be exported. Sputnik V is approved in India.
Russia is currently awaiting preliminary approval of the vaccine by the World Health Organization and the European Medicines Agency (EMA). On Tuesday Dmitriev said that he did not expect EMA approval until the fall. However, there has been “very good progress” and a “positive dialogue”. (07/13/2021)