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Norway’s capital will close all middle and high schools and limit visitors in private homes to two until early April to combat the spread of the coronavirus, the ruling mayor of Oslo said today.
In a separate press conference, Norwegian Health Minister Bent Hoeie announced that the government is introducing stricter measures for 52 municipalities surrounding the capital region.
This includes the closure of non-essential stores and restaurant meals, although elementary schools will remain open.
The Norwegian government said last week that stricter national restrictions could be imposed unless local authorities succeed in curbing the Covid-19 outbreak.
The Nordic country has maintained one of the lowest infection rates in Europe, but is now facing a third wave of the disease.
The nation of 5.4 million has inoculated nearly 448,000 people with a first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, and more than 256,000 had also received a second dose.
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Coronavirus restrictions were re-imposed across much of Italy today, while Ireland and the Netherlands became the latest countries to suspend AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 injections out of fear of blood clots despite the fact that the company and WHO insist there is no risk.
So far, more than 350 million doses of vaccines have been administered worldwide, and the AstraZeneca injection, one of the cheapest available, is crucial for deployment in the poorest parts of the world.
Despite the fact that immunization programs are accelerating, sudden increases in infections remain a threat and Italian authorities reimposed restrictions in three-quarters of the country until April 6 to suppress an outbreak fueled by the variant detected by first time in Britain.
Health Minister Roberto Speranza said the government hoped that these strict measures and the ongoing vaccines would allow a relaxation of the restrictions later on.
“Each dose of injected vaccine is a step towards the end of the crisis,” he added.
Schools, restaurants, shops and museums will close, including in Rome and Milan, and residents will be asked to stay home except for work, health or other essential reasons.
And while France hoped to avoid another national lockdown, it was facing a hospital crisis with intensive care beds in the Paris region running low.
The coronavirus has killed more than 2.6 million people worldwide, with much of humanity going through different levels of Covid-19 restrictions.
Yet people have been growing weary of financially painful hurdles.
The Netherlands, under strict restrictions including a nightly curfew, begins three days of voting on one of the first major tests of a European government’s coronavirus policies, with Prime Minister Mark Rutte expected to win another term in The charge.
Meanwhile, the United States has stepped up its vaccination program after a shaky start, with more than 107 million doses administered in the world’s worst-hit nation.
His chief pandemic advisor, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said authorities were considering lowering social distancing rules to one meter, from the widely accepted global guideline of two meters.
Experts from the US Centers for Disease Control were examining a study that found no “substantial differences” in the cases in schools that saw separations of two meters and one meter, Dr. Fauci told CNN.
Distancing requirements are a central theme in discussions around the world about reopening schools, with many claiming that the two-meter requirement makes it difficult to resume classes without adding portables or shortening the school day.
Many teachers unions have also insisted on a distance of two meters.
Remote learning through the Internet has been an option, but it has proven difficult to implement in less wealthy countries where many families do not have access to the Internet or devices such as computers, smartphones and tablets.
Vaccine line leads Austrian health official to resign
The official in charge of purchasing coronavirus vaccines in Austria has resigned, the health minister said, days after Chancellor Sebastian Kurz expressed concern about the distribution of vaccines within the European Union.
“Clemens Auer asked me yesterday to relieve him of his duties as vaccine coordinator,” Health Minister Rudolf Anschober said in a statement.
The announcement comes three days after Kurz said there had been a lack of transparency around agreements between some EU states and vaccine manufacturers.
However, today’s statement pointed to problems with the way Austria itself had handled the vaccine procurement process within the framework established by the EU.
Mr. Anschober said that Mr. Auer “in a specific case did not send me information.
“This was the fact that it was possible to order additional doses from a reserve bottle made up of doses not used by other member states,” Anschober said.
After Kurz’s intervention on Friday, Austria joined the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Bulgaria and Latvia in demanding talks between EU leaders to address what they called the “huge” disparities in vaccine distribution.
The European Commission responded by saying in a statement that it agreed “that the most equitable solution for the allocation of vaccine doses is based on an apportionment of the population of each member state.”
However, he went on to point out that the EU member states themselves had decided to maintain the possibility of “a different distribution of doses, taking into account the epidemiological situation and the vaccination needs of each country.”
“Under this system, if a member state decides not to take its prorated allocation, the doses are redistributed among the other interested member states,” he said.
The Popular Party of Mr. Kurz (OeVP) later demanded the resignation of Mr. Auer for not having used this mechanism.
The dispute has sparked tensions between OeVP and its minor coalition partners, the Green Party, to which Anschober belongs.
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