Monday Morning News & Notes
Infections are rising again in different regions and countries around the world
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Since Friday’s update, Denmark has added 432 COVID infections and had two more coronavirus deaths. There were 243 infections reported on Saturday and 189 on Sunday.
The infection curve in Denmark continues to drop.
The Danish vaccination campaign has administered 2,999,774 1st dose vaccinations (51.3% of the total population) while 1,635,018 people (28%) are fully vaccinated.
The usual weekend vaccination slow down was in full effect with 41,762 total inoculations yesterday.
Region Hovedstaden is reminding people who are coming to get vaccinated to make sure to bring a bottle of water along. The health authority also advises people to eat something before getting the jab. It says with the summer heat, having some food and making sure you are well hydrated should help avoid any nausea after getting inoculated. .
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Denmark’s Foreign Affairs said today the EU Digital COVID certificate - essentially an EU wide version of the coronapas - is now built right into Denmark’s coronapas app. So you don’t need to download anything or worry about where to find it. As of July 1 it is supposed to facilitate free travel around the European Union, allowing people to access events, museums, restaurants, etc based on vaccination status, recent negative test, or a recent infection.
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Roskilde’s famed Viking Ship museum says it has seen over 90% fewer guests since reopening, two months ago, than in a usual day pre-pandemic. The Museum’s Director Tinna Damgård- Sørensen spoke with sn.dk said this is due to the pandemic laying waste to international tourism. She says that usually about three-quarters of the museums guests are tourists from out of country.
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All air and boat travel in and out of Nuuk, Greenland, remains closed down and will likely stay that way until at least June 22. Authorities there made the move after five confirmed coronavirus infections. Over the weekend, a sixth case was confirmed. Greenland’s top physician Henrik L. Hansen told the Greenlandic media KNR that the new infection case was directly linked to one of the other known infections. Two of the COVID patients have been moved out of intensive care and are improving.
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Three people have been arrested, a private COVID testing provider in Sweden has locked its doors, and thousands of people in Sweden are demanding answers. On Saturday, Sweden’s Aftonbladet broke the story that a group called Doktorsgruppen may have charged for up to 100,000 COVID tests with the suspicion it never sent the tests out for analysis. Hundreds of those people were later found to have been infected, despite being assured their test results were negative with certification to match. Swedish media are reporting that three people have been arrested on suspicion of gross fraud, enabling the coronavirus infection spread, and false testimony. Since the news broke, the company’s office’s have been closed and its website has been taken down.
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The Norwegian National Institute of Public Health has studied mortality rates between Norway and Sweden since 2010 noting some interesting differences. The NIPH used cause-of-death registry statistics published by both countries in June.
It notes a marked difference in COVID fatalities during the pandemic in 2020 between the two countries.
NIPH Chief Physician Guttorm Raknes:
“The number of deaths in Norway in the pandemic year 2020 was as expected, but in Sweden there were 6.8% more deaths than one could otherwise count on. When it comes to the development between 2010 and 2019, cancer and lung diseases were more often reported as the underlying cause of death in Norway compared to Sweden, but cardiovascular diseases less often.”
The health institute says in 2020, Norway registered 412 coronavirus-related deaths, while Sweden saw 9,441. By comparing the trend in death rates between 2010 and 2019, it found there were almost 7,000 more deaths than expected in Sweden in 2020.
Another related finding was that there were fewer lung disease-related deaths in both countries last year. The NIPH attributes this in part to coronavirus infection-control measures.
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For the first time in eight months, there are now fewer than 1,000 COVID patients in German ICUs. According to Germany’s NTB, there are currently 964 patients in intensive care, including four children. ICU capacity in Germany reached its highest point in April, with over 5,000 coronavirus patients.
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With a week and a half to go before the digital EU COVID certificate (Europe’s vaccine passport) officially comes online and interest in Germany seems to be sky-high. German Health Minister Jens Spahn says in the last ten days, 22.3 million EU vaccination certificates have been issued in the country. The EU digital COVID certificate is designed to allow freedoms of travel across member countries based in digital proof of vaccination, recent negative test, or previous infection.
Spahn also says the vaccination pace continues to rocket along. He says there were over a million vaccinations administered per day in seven of the last 14 days. To date, 42 million people in Germany (50.6% of the population) have had one dose while 25.3 million people (30.4%) are now fully vaccinated.
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On Sunday, Portugal’s National Health Institute confirmed the concerning Delta variant is behind a surge of COVID infections in the Lisbon region. The agency says the variant has been confirmed to be in 60% of all new cases being reported in the country’s capital region.
On Friday, all traffic in and out of the Lisbon metro area was shut down after an explosion of infection cases.
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An EU Commission survey has found that 75% of Europeans agree that vaccines are the only way to end the pandemic. On vaccine uptake 69% have already begun the vaccination process or are eager to get going as soon as possible. 79% intend to get vaccinated. But there are differences on vaccine attitudes from country to country. The survey found younger people under 45 years of age tend to be more vaccine hesitant. A narrow majority (47% satisfied) viewed the EU’s vaccination strategy favourably while 45% were not so happy with it.
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The Delta variant continues to push infection numbers up in the UK, as it reported another 9,284 new COVID cases yesterday, along with six more deaths. Infections, hospitalizations, and fatalities all continue to trend upward.
The UK is one of the most vaccinated countries on earth, with 81% of its population having a first vaccine dose and 59.5% now fully vaccinated.
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With a month to go before the Summer Olympic Games begin in Tokyo, Japan, an athlete has tested positive for COVID. Japanese health authorities announced that a member of Uganda’s Olympic team tested positive on arrival and was immediately quarantined. The athlete, who has not been identified, along with his teammates, were all vaccinated and all submitted the required negative test result within 72 hours of leaving for Japan. The remaining members of the Ugandan Olympic team will be kept isolated and tested daily.
Japan continues to see around 1,500 new infections per day as it battles its way out of a fourth infection wave.
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Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam issued a warning about the Delta variant yesterday. Tam says the number of variant cases has surged by 66% in just the past week. She says there are still areas of the country with coronavirus incident rates of more than 200 per 100,000 residents.
“This virus is nimble and quick and loves a niche to play another trick. We can't let the steady declines in disease activity lull us into a sense that the job is done.”
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Over the weekend, Ontario added 673 infections, with 355 reported on Saturday and another 318 on Sunday.
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Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe announced on Sunday that the province will lift all COVID restrictions on July 11.
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South Africa is being hit with another infection wave, the country’s 3rd. Yesterday, it reported 13,155 new infections and 112 more virus deaths. New infection numbers in South Africa have doubled in the last two weeks and pressure is mounting on the country’s health facilities.
South Africa has had a disastrous vaccination campaign, with major missteps from the start, allegations of corruption, high rates of vaccine hesitancy, and access to vaccine doses frustrated by wealthier western nations buying up almost all of the supply.