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New anti-Covid squeeze in London, which is almost closed again since Wednesday. The announcement reaches the municipalities by Matt Hancock, Boris Johnson’s Minister of Health, formalizing the decision to react without delay to the local resurgence of infections registered after the end of the one-month national lockdown on December 2. The squeeze foresees that the capital goes from the orange alert to the red one with a new closure of restaurants, pubs and some shops. Limitations that will last for now until the 23rd, when throughout the Kingdom, including London, a relief from the 5-day restrictions will be activated on Christmas.
Hancock later added, speaking to a parliamentary committee, that a new variant of the coronavirus has been identified that could be associated with a more rapid spread of Covid-19. The minister assured that “nothing suggests” that the variant has caused worse forms of disease or that the vaccines are no longer effective. It also specified that 60 different local authorities in England have recorded Covid infections caused by the new variant.
There is currently “no evidence” that the variant of the coronavirus discovered in Britain “behaves differently”. WHO’s Dr Maria Van Kerkhove said this at the regular Covid-19 briefing. The new variant, he explained, “is already being monitored by the Virus Evolution Working Group in the context of the various virus mutations discovered in mink in different parts of the world.”
“The anti-covid vaccination in Spain will begin on January 4 or 5, after the green light from the European Medicines Agency ”, scheduled for December 29. The Minister of Health, Salvador Illa, announced, according to reports from El País.
The first massive screenings have begun – with free Covid-19 tampons for all – in two French cities, Le Havre and Charleville-Mezieres. In the port of Normandy, the goal is to test 270,000 inhabitants in 5 days. Roubaix and Saint-Etienne will follow. Meanwhile, there is no guarantee for the reopening of bars and restaurants from January 20. “I cannot tell you with certainty that we will reopen the bars and restaurants on January 20. To say this would mean taking too much risk,” said French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire, interviewed by Franceinfo. The minister said that negotiations are planned to see how the bars and restaurants “can restart.” Meanwhile, its reopening continues to be conditional on the evolution of the epidemic.
New York City must prepare for the eventuality of a total shutdown. To evoke the hypothesis is Mayor Bill de Blasio. “The governor said that we must prepare for the possibility of a total closure and I agree. We have to admit that it is a hypothesis and we have to start preparing,” says de Blasio.
I almost said coronavirus In Russia They have increased by 27,328 in the last 24 hours for a total of 2,681,256 infections. The coronavirus crisis center reported this. Instead, the deaths were 450, bringing the total deaths to 47,391, reports Tass.
In Israel Covid-related deaths – since the start of the pandemic – have exceeded 3,000 (3,003). This was said by the health ministry, underlining that the positivity rate continues to grow and based on data from the last 24 hours it has reached 3.4% (of about 49 thousand swabs), higher than in previous days when it was between 2.4% and 2.9%. There were 1,710 new infections and in the country there are 17,691 active cases and of these, the serious ones amounted to 383. It is not ruled out that in the face of new data the government will not impose new restrictions. Meanwhile, the vaccination campaign should begin next Sunday, which will see – according to Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu – the distribution of 60,000 daily doses. Netanyahu himself should be vaccinated next Saturday night to eliminate resistance from part of the population. In this sense, the Ministry of Health is working on a “green passport” that allows those who are vaccinated to be exempt from the current restrictions, including quarantine if they have come into contact with positives.
Brazil has exceeded 6.9 million infected by coronavirus and could reach 7 million cases this week, given the current average of more than 40,000 per day: this can be seen in the data of the health secretariats of the state governments. Between Saturday and last night, 6,901,990 were infected, of which 21,395 in the last 24 hours. The average of the last week was 42,721 infected, with an increase of 20% compared to the average recorded two weeks ago. Taking into account that on weekdays the number of infected is greater than that of the weekend, between tomorrow and Thursday Brazil can reach 7 million infections. In the last 24 hours, deaths were 276, bringing the total to 181,419, with a daily average of 637, 23% more than that measured 14 days ago.
South Korea registered 718 new cases of Covid-19, of which 682 of national transmission, compared to the record of 1,030 detected on Sunday, the highest daily number in the country during the pandemic. According to data from the Korea Disease Prevention and Control Agency (Kdca), the total number of infections has risen to 43,484. Starting today, and running until January 3, the government has decided to provide free Covid-19 testing at 150 emergency clinics in Seoul and its metropolitan area to track the asymptomatic. The country has been identified as a model in the fight against the virus: from the peak of 909 cases on February 29, the cases have been gradually decreasing until the new rebound was consolidated at the end of November before the peak of 1,030 on Sunday. Last week the government raised social distancing measures to the level of 2.5, without achieving the expected results. Level 3, the highest, is less stringent than the blockade adopted in the US or Europe, with the aim of reducing social impact and restricting productive activities: it provides, for example, the prohibition of meetings with 10 or more people, with the suspension of sports practices, with schools in online mode. “Level 3 of the distancing scheme will be our last resort,” Premier Chung Sye-kyun said during a meeting. “The most important thing is that people follow the rules.” The Kdca reported seven new deaths, bringing the total to 587.
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