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The arrival of COVID-19 in this northern European country has led to a clear “game changer” for fabric producers, Molbak said in an interview with Politiken on Tuesday. Now, attempts to keep the industry “pose an undue risk to human health nationally,” he said.
Denmark planned to destroy the entire tissue population of the country – 17 million. fur animals, – the discovery of a new strain of COVID-19 that could thwart global efforts to stockpile the vaccine. The so-called fifth focal strain, which has spread among Danish tissues, has caused changes in the viral needle protein, which has become the target of many vaccine developers.
But the tissue slaughter planned for this week was postponed after internal political disagreements forced the Danish minority government to admit it lacked the necessary support from Parliament to implement its plans. There are even doubts about the legitimacy of his order to eradicate the entire tissue population of the country.
Until now, farmers have stopped the massive destruction of tissues in Denmark and have euthanized only animals that are infected. Even before the government’s forced withdrawal, farmers had already massacred about 2.5 million. stations, TV2 reports.
With this issue becoming the dominant focus of the political agenda, there is now concern that scientific arguments will not be heard. In an interview with the Politiken newspaper, Molbak expressed concern about an aspect emphasized by lawmakers, which he said was wrong.
“In my opinion, the issue of the so-called fifth focal variety is getting too much attention,” he said. Even if the fifth focal mutation disappears, “new strains of tissue can emerge that will cause equivalent or even greater problems. Varieties of the sixth, seventh or eighth foci “.
According to Molbak, the key question now is whether it makes sense to continue growing tissue on farms, given these risks.
“Since June, our biggest concern has been that large source of tissue, perfect for the virus,” he said. – It really is the most likely storm. Animals are raised that are extremely susceptible to the virus and that are considered large flocks, as is the case in Denmark ”.
“Tissues get infected with the coronavirus very easily, and even then the virus spreads at the speed of light,” he said. – We have seen it happen to people later. And that makes it virtually impossible to control this spread during a pandemic. “
The textile industry resists
Planned tissue sacrifice: 17 million. fur animals had to be gassed and burned or buried in mass graves, drew global interest last week, concerned that the COVID mutation in Danish tissue farms could undermine efforts to develop an effective vaccine.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said last week her government is in talks with the World Health Organization (WHO) on ways to control the outbreak, hinting that WHO has backed the proposal to eradicate the tissues.
But the Frederiksen government, which initially deemed it unnecessary to pass a new law for such a move, now recognizes that it will need parliamentary approval. Negotiations were due to start Monday afternoon and opposition parties have already expressed reluctance to support such a move.
The government cannot pass an urgent tissue slaughter bill without a three-quarters majority, which means the opposition could block the plan.
The tip of the iceberg
Danish tissue producers and the center-right opposition bloc have voiced outrage at the planned tissue destruction and have called the initiative an overreaction. Meanwhile, the country’s Health Ministry had to withdraw its earlier comments on Friday that the virus had spread to eastern Denmark, in fact most likely.
The opposition argues that the latest mutated strain of the COVID-19 virus, called the fifth outbreak, was identified in September. However, the government claims that the latest mutation is just the tip of the iceberg. He also argues that there is a risk of new and more dangerous strains forming on tissue farms if all of these animals are not eradicated.
Jakob Ellemann-Jensen, leader of the largest opposition party, the Liberals, told TV2 that he would not support the government’s proposal for massive tissue destruction “here and now.”
“There is no way to pass this law so quickly,” he said.
The textile industry, which accounts for about 0.7 percent. Danish exports, which employ some 3,000 people, have also received support from other opposition lawmakers.
Apply the brake
Rasmus Jarlov, a member of the Conservative People’s Party and a former business minister, said the plan should be postponed for a while until more details come to light.
“You need a reasonable balance between costs and risks,” he stressed. “It would be more logical to apply the brake now.”
Henrik Dahl, a spokesman for the Liberal Alliance, said experts advising his party called the government’s reaction “highly exaggerated,” the Berlingske newspaper reported.
The tissue industry, while outraged by the proposed tissue sacrifice, has made it clear that ultimately it has few alternatives.
“I’m surprised,” said Tage Pedersen, president of the Danish Fabric Breeders Industry Group. “Over the past month, tissue farmers across the country have been hit hard by completely abnormal behavior … and now it is.”
However, Petersen says he “urges producers to continue the slaughter process.” No matter how this whole story ends, “the entire industry will still be ruined,” he said.
The government is offering support to fabric producers to ensure that laid off workers continue to receive at least 75 percent. your monthly salary, or up to 30,000 crowns ($ 4,800).
The mutated virus was found in Denmark without tissues in a total of twelve people in North Jutland. As a result, residents of the most affected communities have been instructed not to leave the region.
Copenhagen announced last week that a mutation called Cluster 5 in the Danish COVID-19 range could jeopardize the efficacy of any future COVID-19 vaccine. Experts said that the mutated virus was capable of infecting humans and that at least 12 people had already been infected through tissues.
All these cases of infection were recorded in the North Jutland region.
In the seven affected municipalities, strict restrictions were applied for a month.
“It just came to our attention then. We are talking about a mutated virus that originated in North Jutland and we will eradicate it in North Jutland,” Birgit Hansen, mayor of Frederikshavn Municipality, told AFP.
Following a government pledge announced on November 4, a total of 2.4 million people died in the country on Tuesday. tissues.
No new cases of strain 5 coronavirus have been detected in humans since September, and there are no longer active cases of this infection, raising hope that the mutated virus may have been abruptly eliminated.
Parliament was due to pass a new law on Tuesday ordering the destruction of sick animals, but lawmakers decided not to rush the measure in the face of opposition from some politicians.
The bill will now be debated in Parliament in three readings, as usual.
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