People are seen after the partial relaxation of the Corona measures, in a shopping area in Berlin on Feb 18, 2022 during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. (MICHELE TANTUSSI / AFP)
ATHENS / WASHINGTON / / TUNIS / LONDON / BERLIN – Germany reported a record high seven-day incidence of the coronavirus on Tuesday, just days before the planned easing of restrictions.
The Robert Koch Institute registered 198,888 new infections, that is 42,000 higher than a week ago, bringing the total number of infections to more than 17.4 million.
The Robert Koch Institute registered 198,888 new infections, that is 42,000 higher than a week ago, bringing the total number of infections to more than 17.4 million
The seven-day incidence rose to a new high of 1,585.4 infections per 1,000 people, up from 1,543.0 the day before. Another 283 people died, bringing the total to 125,873 people.
This week, the government wants to adopt a slimmed-down law that will significantly reduce restrictions around Germany. The existing law expires on Saturday.
The government argues that even though cases are rising, there is no longer a major risk of overloading the health system.
Limited protective measures will still be possible in hotspots with high numbers of infections.
Pedestrians wearing face masks cross Westminster Bridge with Elizabeth Tower in central London on July 26, 2021. (TOLGA AKMEN / AFP)
Britain
The British government will remove all remaining COVID-19 restrictions on international travel for all passengers ahead of the Easter holiday, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced Monday.
From 4 am local time the coming Friday, all COVID-19 travel restrictions will be lifted, including the passenger locator form for arrivals into Britain, as well as all tests for passengers who do not qualify as vaccinated
From 4 am local time the coming Friday, all COVID-19 travel restrictions will be lifted, including the passenger locator form for arrivals into Britain, as well as all tests for passengers who do not qualify as vaccinated.
Therefore, holidaymakers will be able to enter Britain without any restrictions for the first time since the start of the pandemic.
Currently, only fully vaccinated arrivals can enter the country without the need for tests. But they must fill out a passenger locator form within 72 hours of travel.
Karen Dee, Chief Executive of Airport Operators Association, welcomed the announcement, saying that "a return to restriction-free travel is good news for passengers and should allow for aviation to take significant steps towards recovery."
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The move comes as coronavirus infections are rising in all four UK regions for the first time since the end of January, with Scotland already reporting record-high infection data, according to the latest estimates from the Office for National Statistics.
Tim Spector, professor of genetic epidemiology at Kings College London, told Sky News, "It is disappointing that as we hit record levels of COVID-19, Grant Shapps is saying it's safe."
Official figures on Monday showed Britain added 444,201 COVID-19 cases and 726 deaths over the last seven days. The total caseload in Britain is 19,700,952, with total deaths at 162,873.
More than 91 percent of people aged 12 and above in Britain have had their first dose of vaccine, more than 85 percent have received both shots and more than 67 percent have received booster jabs.
Cuba
Home to about 2.2 million residents, Cuban capital Havana has dropped most COVID-19 restrictions in this era of the new normal although mask mandates remain in place in public areas.
Citywide, thousands of workers have returned to the office. Beaches, hotels, swimming pools, gyms and sports venues are operating, but with limited capacity.
In addition, thousands of students in the capital returned to the classroom this month for the start of the new academic year.
A couple holds each other at a COVID-19 intensive care unit of the la Timone hospital in Marseille, southern France on Dec 23, 2021. (DANIEL COLE / AP)
France
French health authorities reported 18,853 new COVID-19 infections on Monday, a figure showing a week-on-week increase for the tenth consecutive time on the day France lifted most of the restrictions put in place to contain the pandemic.
The seven-day moving average of new cases, which evens out reporting irregularities, reached 65,882, the highest since Feb 24.
The number of people hospitalized for COVID-19 rose by 8, to 20,925, a figure still 37 percent lower than the pandemic peak of 33,497 reached in November 2020. But it has gone up for the second day running, a first since early February. And the week-on-week decrease has been decelerating for nine days.
A change in trend in infections is usually visible two weeks later in hospitalizations figures.
The COVID-19 death toll went up by 185 over 24 hours, the steepest rise in 10 days, to 140,294.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis speaks during his meeting with the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople at the Greek Consulate in Istanbul on March 13, 2022. (YASIN AKGUL / AFP)
Greece
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has tested positive for COVID-19, he said in a video message on Instagram on Monday.
"Recently, we are all occupied with the war in Ukraine and increased prices but the coronavirus is still here. I tested positive this morning and therefore will isolate at home and work from there," Mitsotakis said, wearing a mask.
Mitsotakis, triple vaccinated against COVID-19, met with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in Istanbul on Sunday.
Tunisia
Tunisian Health Minister Ali Mrabet warned on Monday that his country may witness a new wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in May.
The progress of fighting the virus does not justify laxity on the preventive measures, the minister told Mosaique FM, a private radio station.
He also stressed the importance of vaccination, adding that "the war against the pandemic must continue until it is eliminated."
Earlier on Monday, the Tunisian Ministry of Health reported 368 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total tally of infections in the North African country to 1,029,596.
Then US President Donald Trump speaks during the summit on transforming mental health treatment to combat homelessness, violence & substance abuse," at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, DC, US, Dec 19, 2019. (AI DRAGO / BLOOMBERG)
US
The Biden administration wants to expand a federal COVID-19 tracking system created during the pandemic to provide a more detailed view of how respiratory and other infectious diseases are affecting patients and hospital resources, according to a draft of proposed rules reviewed by Reuters.
The plan would build upon a hospital data collection system designed by the Department of Health and Human Services under the Trump administration. Management of the program was transferred last month to HHS's lead public health agency, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The change comes amid criticism over the CDC's shifting public health guidance during the pandemic and its ability to collect and analyze COVID-19 data in a timely and transparent way.
Authorization for the current hospital data tracking program is due to expire once the government lifts the national state of pandemic emergency.
The proposed plan would ensure it remains in place long term and add new requirements of the nearly 6,200 participating hospitals, such as providing data on the number of patients with flu-like illnesses and other diseases with pandemic potential in addition to COVID-19 and influenza.
Meanwhile, the White House said on Monday that the Omicron BA.2 sub-variant of COVID-19 had been circulating in the United States for some time, with roughly 35,000 cases at the moment, and more money was needed to help fight it.
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Besides, As many as one third of all deaths from COVID-19 among US children have occurred during the Omicron surge of the pandemic, The Guardian has reported.
"Children seem to be facing increasing risks from COVID-19 even as mask mandates drop across the country, and vaccination rates among children stall out at alarmingly low rates," said the British newspaper on Friday.
Citing data from the US CDC, the report said since the beginning of 2022, 550 children have died from COVID-19 in the United States, compared with 1,017 children in the preceding 22 months. The figures cover the group aged 0-17; their fatality rate remains the lowest compared to other cohorts.
