World crown: high excess mortality in Russia – health

In Russia, the number of deaths in November increased by 55.6 percent compared to the same month last year, before the start of the corona pandemic. According to figures released by the national statistics office on Monday, about 219,900 people died that month. In November 2019 there were more than 141,000. More than 35,000 people died from the corona virus.

According to the statistics office, a total of 229,700 more people have died in Russia since the beginning of the year than in the same period last year. This corresponds to an excess mortality rate of more than 13 percent.

The figures are well above previous information from the government, which has “only” counted about 55,000 deaths per crown in the country since the pandemic began. However, the government only shows those cases in which Covid-19 is named as the cause of death. The statistical office, on the other hand, also lists the cases in which it is assumed that Covid-19 was only an accompanying disease and that the person would have died without the disease.

Spain announces record of vaccination rejections

Spain wants to register all citizens who do not want to be vaccinated against Corona in a registry. This was announced by the Minister of Health, Salvador Illa, in an interview granted this Monday to the television channel La Sexta. All citizens will receive an invitation to a vaccination appointment according to the vaccination plan. Vaccination is voluntary, but anyone who does not accept the invitation will be registered. The registry is not public and data protection will be rigorous, but the data will be made available to “European partners”, the minister stressed.

In Spain, as in other EU countries, the vaccination campaign against Covid-19 began on Sunday. The first Spanish to be vaccinated was Araceli Hidalgo, 96, in Guadalajara. For the next twelve weeks, the Madrid government foresees a total of around 4.6 million additional doses of vaccine, with which almost 2.3 million of the 47 million citizens of Spain will be vaccinated. Most of the population should be immunized before summer.

Britain reports a record number of new infections

In the UK, more people have tested positive for the coronavirus in one day than ever since the pandemic began. The government said there were 41,385 confirmed cases as of Monday morning. The number is likely to be even higher, as no new figures were reported for the Northern Ireland province during the holidays.

The previous high was 39,237 and was reported on December 23. In total, there have been more than 2.3 million corona positive tests in the UK so far.

“This very high level of infection is of increasing concern at a time when our hospitals are more vulnerable and admissions are increasing in many regions,” said Yvonne Doyle of Public Health England.

Britain is one of the countries hardest hit by the pandemic in Europe. Currently, a new, more contagious variant of the virus is spreading across the island. The government has imposed a shutdown with far-reaching travel and departure restrictions across much of the country. The hope lies in a mass vaccination that began three weeks ago and the early approval of a second vaccine.

China condemns blogger for critical reports from Wuhan

China sentenced a citizen journalist to four years in prison for her critical reporting on the corona outbreak in Wuhan. A Shanghai court on Monday justified the punishment for blogger Zhang Zhan saying she had “started disputes and provoked anger.”

In spring, at the height of the pandemic in China, the 37-year-old reported in videos on YouTube, among others, about the situation in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where the virus first broke out. In addition to Zhang Zhan, several other citizen journalists were arrested for reporting on people’s experiences in Wuhan on social media.

Like the Hong Kong newspaper South China morning post Citing her lawyer, Zhang Zhan was in poor health on Monday and had to be taken to the courtroom in a wheelchair. She had been detained since May and had reportedly temporarily refused to eat in protest.

According to the Reporters Without Borders organization, China is one of the countries with the highest number of jailed journalists and bloggers. In the world press freedom ranking, the country is one of the lowest places. Time and again there were cases in which foreign journalists were expelled for critical reporting or had to fear that their visas would be extended.

More than 60,000 crown checks in Greece

Greek police again cracked down on crown violations across the country over the weekend. As announced by the authorities, on Saturday alone more than 62,000 controls were carried out and more than 1,200 violations were sanctioned. Around 1000 people were caught outside their home without good reason and fined 300 euros each. Several hundred people were found without a mask and now they must also pay 300 euros.

In addition, several cafes, restaurants and bars were discovered that had started operations illegally. For example, a 53-year-old man in the port city of Volos converted a storage room into a tavern, which included a grill and a bar.

The man now has to pay a fine of 3000 euros, like the newspaper Kathimerini reported Monday. Of the ten guests present, only three were captured, but now they pay 600 euros, 300 euros each because they did not wear a mask, 300 euros because they were out of their house without permission. Some illegally opened business owners were even fined up to € 5,000, among other things for quarantine violations.

In Greece, only those who have previously sent an SMS corresponding to civil protection are allowed to leave the house; Among other things, it is allowed to go to work, visit the doctor, do the shopping, exercise or walk the dog. The country has been on lockdown since the beginning of November, which should initially apply until January 7. Since then, the number of cases has decreased, but a large portion of the country’s intensive care beds remain occupied. The first vaccinations began on the weekend.

Mutant UK virus confirmed in South Korea

Cases of the coronavirus mutation discovered in Britain have now also been detected in South Korea. According to information from the epidemic protection agency on Monday, these are three South Korean citizens who flew back to South Korea from Britain last week. The new variant of the coronavirus may be significantly more contagious than the previously known form. Most EU states decided last week to heavily restrict travel to and from Britain temporarily.

The South Korean government also announced on December 23 that it would stop all air traffic to and from Britain until the end of the year. In addition, the authorities forced travelers from Great Britain to a 14-day quarantine and an additional virus test shortly before the end of the quarantine.

South Korea has weathered the pandemic relatively successfully so far, but is currently in the midst of a third wave of Covid. On Monday, authorities registered 808 new infections in the last 24 hours. For the second time in a row, the number fell below 1,000 infections per day. By January 3, the government tightened epidemiological measures. Among other things, gatherings of more than four people are prohibited in the Seoul metropolitan area.