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Hopes for Covid-19 vaccines have given citizens weary of the virus around the world a boost, but the disease remains rampant and world leaders urge people to be patient.
PARIS: France is expected to loosen its coronavirus restrictions on Tuesday, as the head of a major airline said the vaccination test will likely become the only way for people to fly in a post-pandemic world.
Hopes for Covid-19 vaccines have given citizens weary of the virus around the world a boost, but the disease remains rampant and world leaders urge people to be patient.
French President Emmanuel Macron will address the country, currently under lockdown, to announce a reworking of the rules following a drop in infections nationwide.
Macron’s televised speech comes a day after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that thanks to a breakthrough in the vaccine, “the escape route is in plain sight” from the coronavirus crisis.
Johnson said that although the “scientific chivalry” was arriving, he warned that “Christmas cannot be normal and there is a long way to spring.”
The world remains mired in an unprecedented health crisis that has devastated economies, infected nearly 58.9 million people and left nearly 1.4 million dead.
AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford said Monday that their drug had shown an average 70% effectiveness in stopping the virus after testing it in 23,000 people, days after tests of two other drugs suggested they were more than 90% effective. .
While the director general of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, called the latest batch of results clear at the end of the “long dark tunnel,” he warned that the world had to make sure the drugs were distributed fairly. .
“Every government rightly wants to do everything it can to protect its people,” Tedros said. “But now there is a real risk that the poorest and most vulnerable will be trampled on in the vaccine stampede.”
– Qantas Vaccine Rule –
Australia’s Qantas announced that international travelers will need to get vaccinated against Covid-19 to fly, becoming the first airline to suggest such rules could become common across the industry.
Chief Executive Officer Alan Joyce said the Australian flag carrier would implement the measure once the vaccine is available to the public.
“Whether you need it domestically, we’ll have to see what happens to Covid-19 in the market, but certainly for international visitors coming (to Australia) and people leaving the country, we think it’s a necessity.” . he told Channel Nine.
Joyce predicted that the rule would likely become standard practice around the world as governments and airlines consider introducing electronic vaccination passports.
Meanwhile, Australia’s state of Victoria announced on Tuesday that its latest coronavirus patient had been Covid-19 free, a major milestone for what had been the epicenter of the country’s second wave.
An outbreak in Melbourne, the capital of Victoria, sent Australia’s second-largest city into a strict lockdown for months, with residents subject to a curfew and mandatory mask rules.
Authorities have reversed the toughest of restrictions and other states have begun to reopen their borders to Victoria, with New South Wales being the first to do so on Monday.
– ‘Selfish deaf ears’ –
The United States, by far the worst affected nation, celebrates Thanksgiving on Thursday and many Americans plan to vacation with extended family despite authorities warning they risk exacerbating the disease that is ravaging the entire country. .
Nearly 258,000 people have died nationwide and the number of cases is approaching 12.4 million, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Without actually issuing a total ban, the US government’s health protection agency has for the first time asked Americans not to travel during annual vacations, in which families gather to eat turkey, yams. and cranberry sauce.
This past weekend was the busiest since the pandemic began, with more than three million people passing through U.S. airports, according to the Transportation Security Administration, which is responsible for security checks.
“Our pleas for help have fallen on selfish deaf ears,” Tweeted Cleavon Gilman, an emergency physician in Arizona, where he said hospitals were “overwhelmed” with Covid patients.
– Sports joy –
Football fans in England can expect to cheer on their Premier League teams starting next month, but only a very limited number of fans will go through the turnstiles.
A maximum of 4,000 people will be allowed to watch games in areas of the country under the less strict rules.
“Clubs, leagues and the Sports Field Safety Authority have worked hard to implement procedures to make stadiums safe and we hope this is the first step on the road back to normalcy,” said the Association of Soccer Fans.
