Monday Morning News & Notes
An update on Denmark’s COVID situation is coming today
🇩🇰
The Danish National Health Authority says a press conference will be held today at noon on “the status of the covid-19 situation" per a press release issued this morning. Denmark’s Health Minister Magnus Heunicke will attend as will officials from the Staten Serum Institute, The Danish Agency for Patient Safety, and police.
-
An outbreak over the weekend originating at a north Sjælland restaurant has grown to 67 infections as of the last update. A new corona variant first identified in Mexico, B.1.1.519, has been identified as being behind the burst of infections.
-
On Saturday, people living in an residential area of Herlev were strongly encouraged to get tested after infections of the U.K. variant with the E484K mutation were confirmed. The mutation is a concern because it helps the virus evade antibodies.
According to the latest Statem Serum Institut update, the total number of further mutated U.K. variants with E484K across the country has jumped from 50 to 72 since May 4th.
The original strain of the U.K. variant remains by far the dominant COVID strain in Denmark, accounting for between 92 to 95% of all sequenced positive test results.
-
Another case of the Brazilian P1 variant has been confirmed in Denmark pushing the total so far up to 20 total infection cases.
-
Infections of the India variant, B.1.617, have also increased a little going from 62 confirmed infections to 67 in Denmark.
-
Denmark added 1,551 infections and two more deaths over the weekend. 677 infections and two deaths were reported on Saturday, and 874 infections were reported on Sunday.
-
DR has crunched the numbers on the massive amount of testing going on daily across Denmark. It has determined that it is costing over 60 million kroner (about $11.8 million Cdn) per day. The government is not disputing the number. While opposition parties call it “an insane amount of money” at least one professor says it’s good value. University of Southern Denmark Health Economics Professor Jes Søgaard told the national broadcaster that all the testing has helped stave off a third infection wave and the massive costs of extending or going back into a lockdown. He estimates a full lockdown costs about 2-3 billion kroner per week.
-
A lack of testing facilities in rural Denmark is becoming a hindrance for local businesses and attractions, not to mention residents. The Danish Industry Association for small and medium sized companies found people living in more than 50 villages have an average of a 30 minute drive, longer by public transit, to the nearest Testcenter. A good number of the villages the farthest away from a testing site are in North Jutland.
In Vorupør, North Sea Cafe owner Per Møller Nielsen told TVMV that they have had a number of cancellations because people didn’t have a valid test result. He says their tests had just expired and it was easier to cancel plans requiring a coronapas than it was to drive or commute out to a testing facility, stand in line, get tested, and come back.
“If you just have to have a test done, then you have to go all the way to Thisted and stand and wait and then come back again, and no one bothers. Not at all. And I would not do it myself to be honest. I do not know if you can have one in every city, but I think it's a shame that it is like that.”
Nearby, the North Sea Aquarium has decided not to reopen because they don’t think they will see many visitors due to the coronapas requirement.
-
Region Nordjylland is opening five new COVID testing centers in Aalborg Kommune next week in a bid to address long line ups.
-
At the end of May, the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration will begin digging up tonnes of dead mink that were slaughtered in 2020 due to coronavirus outbreaks. The story made a series of international headlines last year due to the COVID mink variant. In response, the Danish government ordered all farmed mink be destroyed, an order later determined to be illegal. On top of that, the mink were buried improperly and near a popular swimming lake in Nørre Felding raising the ire of the locals amid concerns about the environment and pollution.
🇳🇴
Norwegian health authorities will render a decision on the AstraZeneca vaccine today. Norway followed Denmark in suspending use of the vaccine due to rare but potentially fatal side effects. The Norwegian Health Institute has recommended removing the vaccine from the country’s vaccination schedule entirely and today a final decision will be announced.
🇪🇺
Over the weekend, the European Union agreed to terms on a new contract with Pfizer/BioNTech for up to 1.8 billion more vaccine doses. These doses are due to arrive in Europe in 2022/23.
-
The E.U. looks set to officially say goodbye to AstraZeneca. Officials with the bloc confirmed over the weekend the contract with the British/Swedish vaccine maker runs out in June and as of right now the E.U. has no interest in extending it or negotiating a new deal.
🌎🦠
A new analysis from the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation has found that the global COVID death toll could be more than double what is currently being reported.
In the United States it says the number of people killed in the coronavirus pandemic is 61% higher than is claimed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The agency has reported 591,594 Americans have died in the pandemic. The Institute claims it is actually 905,000, a number much higher than the lives lost during the Spanish flu epidemic.
Globally, the Institute points to countries like Egypt, Iran, and Russia who it says are vastly understating pandemic deaths. After studying data on excess deaths, the report claims that the ‘real’ death toll in Russia and Iran could be 13 times higher than what is being reported.
In India, multiple reports have already stated daily coronavirus deaths could be double the reported numbers. The study estimates that by September, India will surpass the United States in corona deaths to have the highest pandemic death toll in the world.
🇨🇦
Over the weekend Ontario added 6,080 infections and 72 more virus deaths. There were 2,862 infections and 25 deaths reported on Saturday and 3,216 along with another 47 deaths on Sunday. 47 is the highest daily corona death toll in the province since February 4th. As of 8:00 p.m. yesterday, 6,144,685 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered.
New COVID restrictions were brought into force in Manitoba over the weekend in an effort to curb rising infection rates. As of yesterday a number of businesses across the province, from gyms to salons, were ordered closed. Indoor activities including sports and religious services have also been prohibited. All K-12 schools in Winnipeg and Brandon were closed and students have moved to distance learning until at least May 30th.