Monday Morning News & Notes
Danish restaurants have been thrown a curve ball ahead of Wednesday’s reopening
🇮🇳
India has become a major global COVID concern. Its infection numbers are rising at an absolutely insane rate and showing no signs of slowing down with another record high 275,306 new infections just yesterday.
COVID deaths are also rocketing upward and are now eclipsing anything seen in the country’s first wave. Yesterday another 1,625 lives were lost to the coronavirus in the country.
One of the reasons global concern about India is rising is apprehension about what might be driving the explosion of infection activity. One possible culprit could be a new mutation, a double mutation to be exact, called B.1.617. This strain of the coronavirus has the E484Q and L452R mutations, which in very simple terms means the virus is more contagious and it can evade antibodies. Like the P1, it can even hit people who have had COVID and were thought to be immune.
(Graph courtesy of the very informative outbreak.info variant tracking site.)
India doesn’t have the genome sequencing ability which would allow for greater surveillance of its population. It is therefore hard to definitively say if this new variant is in fact responsible for the nuclear explosion of infection cases happening right now. We also don’t know for absolute sure if this double mutation is, or is not, vaccine resistant. These are important questions needing answers. Right now the double mutation has already been found in 16 countries and 15 U.S. states.
🇩🇰
The Staten Serum Institut told TV2 that 11 cases of the double mutation corona variant found in India, B1.617, have already been identified in Denmark. It says all 11 cases were identified in March and each one of the infected people knew each other and had a connection to “the countries where the variant is widespread.” Institut Chief Physician Anders Fomsgaard says that means there was one chain of infection involving 11 people and not 11 different chains of infection which “reassures us.” For some reason, that particular variant has not been reported by strain-type in the SSI’s weekly variant updating.
-
PostNord’s parcels center in Brøndby on Vestegnen has been hit with a COVID outbreak. The company told Danish media over the weekend several employees are believed to be infected with the South African corona variant. The company wouldn’t say exactly how many employees have been impacted but it says none of them had any contact with customers.
-
The Danish Ministry of Trade and Industry has thrown a curveball at restaurants, cafes, bars, and pubs as they prepare to reopen on Wednesday. Over the weekend the ministry tabled a “temporary” requirement that anyone looking to dine inside must make reservation at least 30 minutes prior to arrival. This is in addition to the mandated corona passport to show either full vaccination, a recently recovered infection, or a negative COVID test.
The move has been met with a firestorm of protest and indignation from opposition politicians and trade groups. Fast food restaurants like McDonalds and Sunset Boulevard have already decided to close all dine in areas again as the reservations system is incompatible with their business model. They will still serve take out and people are allowed to dine at any tables outside.
Minister of Trade and Industry Simon Kollerup:
“I understand really well that it can be hassle and annoying, but that is the prerequisite for us to be able to open as much of society, and the Danish business community, as we are doing now.”
Restaurants must ensure social distancing of 2 m2 for each table and, as before, masks must be worn when ever standing or moving inside a restaurant, cafe, bar, or pub.
Just a reminder, the reopening of eateries does not apply to municipalities, or parishes within, that exceed COVID numbers triggering an automatic lockdown.
-
Another change announced over the weekend by the Ministry of Trade and Industry has extended the period in which someone who has had COVID is considered to be immune. The period was three months from a person’s last positive test and that has now been extended to six months. This means that a positive corona test at least two weeks old and no more than six months old grants you access to any event or venue requiring a vaccine passport. This includes dining in restaurants.
-
Avedøre Parish, which is in Hvidovre Municipality in Metro Copenhagen, is about to lockdown as it now exceeds the COVID infection numbers triggering an automatic closure. That is the eighth parish in the country to see an automatic lockdown. The other parishes are Sankt Pauls also in CPH, Hvirring in Hedensted Kommune, Gellerup and Ravnsbjerg both in Aarhus Kommune, Hedeager and Fredens - both in Herning Kommune, and Kollerup-Fjerritslev in Jammerbugt Kommune.
-
Over the weekend Denmark added 1,626 COVID infections, 724 reported on Saturday and 902 yesterday, and another three virus deaths.
On the mass vaccination campaign to date, 1,058,610 1st dose vaccinations (18.1% of the population) have been administered while 499,471 people (8.5%) are now fully vaccinated.
-
We might soon get some clarification as to whether or not summer music festivals can make a return in Denmark this year and, if so, how they will be allowed to operate. Minister of Culture Joy Mogensen told TV2 that the COVID expert group should have recommendations ready on that front by this week. However, the minister is already indicating that if festivals do get the go ahead they will not be held as normal.
“I believe that it will be possible to hold some kind of live outdoor concerts also in a festival-like setting. But not as we know it.”
🇳🇴
Effective today, even children under the age of 12 entering Norway must get tested for COVID. The government announced the change over the weekend. Kids were formerly exempt. The reason for the change is due to heightened concern about coronavirus variants.
Norwegian Health Minister Bent Høie:
“It is important that the testing should not be uncomfortable for the children, and the test stations should receive guidance that the test method used should be as gentle as possible.”
The government has put a caveat in the mandate saying if a child is uncomfortable or resists COVID testing then “testing should not be performed.”
🇫🇮
The Finnish government is changing up its vaccination strategy, at least temporarily. Once the priority groups covering those 70 years of age and older are complete, vaccinations will be targeted at regions experiencing worse infection rates than others. Finland currently allocates vaccine doses to health regions based on population.
🇸🇪🇫🇮
Both Sweden and Finland say they are opening talks with Moscow to buy shipments of the viral vector Russian Sputnik V vaccine. The vaccine is currently not approved for use in Europe, although some countries are using it anyway. The European Medicines Agency has the vaccine under a rolling review, the first step towards an authorization of use decision. No date has been set to render a final verdict yet.
🇮🇹
There are reasons for hope in Italy as the outbreak situation appears to be easing. As of today, the Italian government will classify just three regions as COVID red zones. They are Puglia, Sardinia, and the Aosta Valley. An area classified as a red zone in the country must close all non-essential shops and eateries as well as have strict travel restrictions.
Yesterday Italy reported 12,694 new infections and 251 more coronavirus deaths. Of concern in Italy is the steady rate of COVID deaths. With few exceptions, almost every day since November has recorded over 250 virus deaths.
🇩🇪
Yesterday Germany held a memorial event to remember the more than 80,000 people who have lost their lives in the ongoing COVID pandemic.
Yesterday it registered 15,459 new infections and suffered another 69 corona deaths as it continues to battle the variant driven third wave.
🇨🇦
The province of Ontario and its government had an pretty awful weekend. The province recorded 4,362 new infections and 34 more corona deaths on Saturday then another 4,250 infections and 18 more virus deaths on Sunday as the third wave continues to pummel the province.
The Ford government levied a series of restrictions on Saturday that infuriated most of the province. It ignored its own health advisory council and instead closed playgrounds and banned low corona risk outdoor activities, like tennis for example. It also tried to give police extraordinary powers to stop and detain motorists in an effort to enact a travel ban. This resulted in virtually every police force in the province telling the Ford government thanks but no thanks and they will be ignoring the mandate. 24 hours later the province walked back the more contentious restrictions in the face of an absolute firestorm of opposition.
The Ford government has also spurned any offered help from the Trudeau government although it appears federal help is coming anyway.
