[ad_1]
Europe could have herd immunity against Covid-19 in July as incoming vaccines are expected to speed up vaccination rollout on the continent, an EU commissioner said.
Thierry Breton, the Internal Market commissioner, told French broadcaster TF1: “Let’s take a symbolic date: for July 14, we have the possibility of achieving immunity across the continent.”
“We are in the final stretch, because we know that to defeat this pandemic there is only one solution: vaccination. Vaccines are arriving.”
The note of optimism comes even as several European countries have begun re-imposing restrictions as they grapple with rising coronavirus infections and after mixed messages about the safety of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
More than a third of France’s population is now under a new lockdown, while frustrations over virus restrictions spread to weekend demonstrations in Germany, Amsterdam, Bulgaria and Switzerland.
Latest coronavirus stories
Europe’s battle to prevent a third deadly wave of infections has been complicated by a spotty vaccine campaign that included several nations temporarily halting AstraZeneca injections in response to isolated cases of blood clots.
Since then, most have resumed use of the vaccine after the European Medicines Agency deemed it “safe and effective”.
But AstraZeneca has delivered only 30% of the 90 million doses it promised to the EU during the first three months of the year.
Breton said he is confident more vaccines will arrive soon, with between 300 and 350 million doses expected between now and June.
He added that 55 factories would now produce vaccines in Europe.
Meanwhile, the Professor of European Public Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine said that controls previously used in the pandemic are not working as effectively to contain new variants of Covid-19.
Professor Martin McKee said that the variants, in particular the variant first detected in the UK and increasingly the first detected in South Africa, are more communicable and are leaving people infected for longer.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, he said that these variants are circumventing many restrictions and while some countries are starting to turn around, others that were relatively unaffected before, such as Finland and Estonia, are seeing an increase in the number of cases.
Professor McKee said that a fourth wave of the virus is clearly underway in countries such as France, Germany, Hungary and Austria.
He said there are not many alternatives to increasing restrictions and better weather should make outdoor gatherings easier.
He also said that there is a long way to go to reach a critical mass of vaccines in Europe and the world.
Germany prepares to tighten restrictions until April
Germany is prepared to extend and tighten a partial lockdown until April as new virus cases rise, according to a preliminary document seen by AFP before a government meeting today.
Europe’s largest economy had begun easing restrictions, reopening schools for the first time in late February, before allowing some stores to resume operations in March.
The meeting between Chancellor Angela Merkel and the leaders of Germany’s 16 states was originally scheduled to discuss further relaxation, but a third wave of the virus driven by new variants has changed the agenda dramatically.
The lifting of restrictions on dining, cultural and leisure facilities will now have to be delayed, and instead the worst-hit areas may have to re-impose restrictions and order stores to close again.
“Without significant restrictions, the number of new infections will increase to the point that the healthcare system is at risk of being overwhelmed in April,” the draft reads.
Requirements for employees to work from home whenever possible will run through April 18, according to the document, instead of ending March 28.
To avoid any contagion in the workplace, companies will need to provide at least two rapid tests a week to employees who cannot work from home, he said.
With an eye toward the upcoming Easter school holidays, those traveling abroad will have to undergo tests and go into quarantine when they return to Germany.
The authorities also intend to introduce additional closures locally.
Yesterday, the incidence rate of infections measured over seven days reached 103.9 per 100,000 inhabitants.
Merkel and regional leaders agreed in the latest round of talks that authorities would re-tighten the screws if that rate reached 100.
“Unfortunately, we are going to have to use these emergency brakes,” the chancellor warned on Friday.
The draft document calls for these brakes to be applied where needed and applied consistently across the country.
It lays the groundwork for the closure of some schools that have just reopened and urges people to avoid traveling during Easter.
Health authorities warned on Friday that the number of coronavirus cases is increasing at a “clearly exponential rate.”
Illegal party in the streets of Marseille causes anger
More than 6,000 people, mostly unmasked, took part in an illegal street party in the southern French city of Marseille over the weekend, prompting condemnation of an “unacceptable” violation of Covid- 19.
The carnival-like gathering in the port city drew mostly young people, many of whom expressed frustration over meeting restrictions and the closure of bars and nightclubs during the pandemic.
Marseille was not among the 16 different regions that entered a new lockdown on Saturday, with its current number of cases lower than national hotspots, such as the nearby city of Nice along the Mediterranean coast or the region of the capital.
“It is completely unacceptable at a time when we are all making efforts, we are adapting and organizing ourselves to respect the different rules to fight the pandemic,” Interior Ministry spokeswoman Camille Chaize told Franceinfo radio.
Nine people were arrested and dozens were fined, he said.
Marseille Mayor Benoit Payan said he was “outraged” by the event, adding on Twitter: “There is no justification for us to undermine our collective efforts to keep the virus at bay.”
The French government introduced a limited closure on Saturday for around a third of the population, with all non-essential stores closed and travel prohibited in these areas, but schools are open and people can leave their homes at will.
Over the New Year period, around 2,500 young people broke the national curfew to attend an illegal rave in northwestern France, embarrassing the government and raising questions about why the police allowed the party to continue for two nights. .
New Zealand makes plans for Australia’s travel bubble
New Zealand is ending a long-awaited travel bubble with neighboring Australia and will reveal next month when trans-Tasmanian travel can resume, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said.
Speaking almost exactly a year after New Zealand closed its borders when Covid-19 spread around the world, Ardern acknowledged that many kiwis were impatient to travel without quarantine to and from Australia.
But he said the government will exercise the cautious approach that has seen New Zealand largely contain the virus, with just 26 deaths out of a population of five million.
“Many New Zealanders are nervous, they don’t want to risk everything we have fought so hard for,” he said during a news conference.
Before the pandemic, Australia was the largest source of foreign visitors to New Zealand and many New Zealanders have relatives living in Tasmania.
All arrivals from overseas to New Zealand are currently required to undergo a two-week quarantine, but Ms Ardern said she would make an announcement on April 6 on when the requirement for arrivals from Australia will be lifted.
He said aspects of the plan were still being finalized, including arrangements to locate contacts and make sure airlines were ready.
She said a key consideration was what would happen if there was a major virus outbreak in Australia, prompting thousands of visiting New Zealanders to try to return home.
Australia has allowed non-quarantine travel for New Zealand arrivals since October, although the deal has been briefly suspended multiple times due to virus outbreaks in Auckland.
Australia has also been one of the most successful countries in containing the coronavirus pandemic, with fewer than 1,000 deaths and around 29,000 cases in a population of 25 million.
[ad_2]