The Evening Report - April 27th
The India COVID variant “not worrying” according to Denmark’s SSI.
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The Staten Serum Institut says there are 29 confirmed infections involving the B.1.617 variant first identified in India. It estimates there are four chains of infections with three of them related to travelers from India, Iran, and Lithuania. The institut says three of the infections were contracted by Danish citizens in Denmark. None of the infections have yet resulted in hospitalization or death.
The agency says that at this point, it is not assessing the strain as a “particularly worrying variant.” It is not known whether it is too blame for the explosion of infections in India nor is it proven to be any more contagious than other variants already circulating in Denmark.
SSI's Technical Director Tyra Grove Krause:
“We do not have data to suggest that B.1.617 is more contagious than, for example, B.1.1.7, and at the same time we assess that the vaccines will be effective against it.”
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Denmark’s Health Minister Magnus Heunicke says the COVID contact number (reinfection rate or R0) has declined slightly going from 1.1 last week to 1 this week. Heunicke cautions that any impact from the latest reopening wouldn’t factor in yet. That said, he calls the pandemic situation “stable” in Denmark crediting warmer weather and vaccination efforts.
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Region Hovedstaden (Metro Copenhagen) says anyone can now sign up for a chance at any surplus vaccines at its vaccination centers. It was previously restricted to people in the priority groups who have received a vaccination invitation.
Acting Deputy Director of the Capital Region’s Emergency Preparedness, Helene Bliddal Døssing, says this is being done to avoid excess vaccines being thrown out.
“We have succeeded in creating a better flow between invitations and the number of scheduled vaccination times. This means that fewer people sign up on the waiting list, because many would rather plan for themselves when the vaccination time fits into their lives. That is why we are opening the waiting list so that everyone has the opportunity to sign up for the excess doses, so that we can continue to ensure that no vaccines are wasted.”
She says on average there are between one and five excess vaccine doses at the end of every day at the region’s major vaccination centers.
People who want a shot at the excess vaccine doses have to sign up to be on the waiting list everyday before 1:30pm. People have to be able to get to their nearest vaccination center within 30 minutes of being called.
You can sign up to be on the waiting list each day HERE
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A new vaccination center will open next Wednesday in Birkerød, located in the capital region. 500 vaccination appointments on its opening day have already been booked. It will have the capacity to vaccinate 1,500 people a day. When it opens there will be nine vaccination centers spread throughout the health region.
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Denmark is reporting 624 COVID infections and two more coronavirus deaths in the last day.
Yesterday 609,946 total corona tests were done, 164,744 PCR and 445,202 rapid, for a (PCR only) positivity percentage of 0.38%.
COVID hospitalizations (172) are down (-5) while the number of infected people in an ICU (36) also dropped (-3). The number of patient on a ventilator (24) increased slightly (+3).
On the vaccination effort to date, 1,253,844 1st dose vaccinations (21.5% of the population) have been administered while 586,729 people (10%) are now fully vaccinated.
Yesterday there were 39,196 total vaccinations done.
Denmark’s National Health Board says the majority of people aged 70-79 across the country have either been vaccinated or have begun their vaccination.
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Research from Aarhus University Hospital has found that COVID self-testing administered at home is just as accurate as a rapid test taken in any of the country’s testing facilities. Staten Serum Institut Director Henrik Ullum says he can certainly see the benefit and while he isn’t opposed, there are some challenges. Ullum says Denmark’s corona passport is linked to supervised testing. He also notes rapid tests have a high rate (47%) of false positive and negative results, according to an SSI study.
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Sweden has added 14,911 infections and another 45 virus deaths since its last update on Friday.
To date, 2,288,269 1st dose vaccinations (27.9% of the population) have been administered while 730,997 people (8.9%) are now fully vaccinated.
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The Swedish Public Health Agency says pregnant women who have a number of conditions and diseases that make them at risk for COVID can now get vaccinated but only with an mRNA vaccine (Pfizer or Moderna).
The conditions and diseases considered at risk are below:
Chronic cardiovascular disease, including stroke and hypertension;
Chronic lung disease such as COPD as well as severe and unstable asthma;
Other conditions leading to impaired lung function or impaired coughing and secretion stagnation;
Chronic liver or kidney failure;
Type 1 and type 2 diabetes;
Conditions that affect the immune system due to illness or treatment;
Over 35 years old;
BMI above 30.
That said, the Swedish Public Health Agency still does not recommend COVID vaccinations for pregnant women in general. This despite other countries like the United States, United Kingdom, and at least one province in Canada now offering vaccinations to expecting mothers.
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As graduation season approaches in Sweden, the Swedish Public Health Agency is advising schools to not hold any large graduation gatherings and ceremonies. It says any graduation ceremonies should be small, just one class at a time, with a limited number of attendees, and only be held outside.
The agency is also urging students not to hold parties of their own. It says renting a bus, boat, or other facility for a graduation party counts as a private gathering. Currently restrictions in Sweden cap private gatherings at eight people.
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Radio Sweden is reporting that Swedish officials could send up to 120 ventilators as part of an emergency shipment to devastated India.
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Finland has registered 224 infections and another two corona deaths since yesterday’s update.
COVID hospitalizations (132) have fallen (-4). ICU numbers (32) have also declined slightly (-1).
On the mass vaccination effort to date, 1,548,850 1st dose vaccinations (27.8% of the population) have been administered while 154,782 people (2.8%) are now fully vaccinated.
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The Finnish Health Institute is now recommending against all travel to India saying “the epidemic situation in the country has deteriorated rapidly.”
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Finland’s Prime Minister Sanna Marin said today the country’s COVID state of emergency should be lifted as its infections decline. The matter will have to go before parliament.
On that front, it is worth noting that the Finnish government is in crisis with negotiations over government spending hitting significant opposition and today there are conflicting reports that one of the government’s coalition partners has pulled out. The government has not fallen yet but the situation seems dicey.
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Norway added 566 infections and no new corona deaths since yesterday’s update.
COVID hospitalizations (207) are down (-1). ICU numbers (65) are unchanged while ventilator numbers (40) are down (-2).
To date, 22.63% of Norwegians have one vaccination dose and 5.73% have had both.
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A study by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health found infection control measures in schools were much more effective at reducing infections than outright closing schools. The study looked at municipalities experiencing outbreaks across Norway comparing those where schools closed to those that didn’t.
Institute Researcher and Pediatrician Pål Surén says schools using a traffic light system, a colour coded COVID threat assessment, showed statistically significant decreases in daily infections among children and young people. Infection activity going into a ‘red zone’ would trigger measures like reduced class sizes, reinforced social distancing, and other precautions.
“Together with other contact-reducing measures in society, the total number of detected cases in the municipalities is reduced. We see no additional effect of the introduction of home schooling in our analysis of the incidence of infection. To limit infection in a municipality with a high level of infection, the red level will be a more proportionate measure than home schooling.”
He says homeschooling has well documented negative impacts on children.
“It can be used when it is strictly necessary to get an overview of ongoing outbreaks or in confusing situations at the individual school, but it is important that it is short-lived due to the negative consequences.”
The study compared infection control measures in different parts of the country to establish its findings.
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Norway’s Public Health Institute has found another unexpected silver lining to the global COVID pandemic. It says the number of cases of bed bugs in the country decreased by 34% last year after a sharp increase since 2007. The number of cases of Pharaoh ants and German cockroaches also dropped 51% and 9% from the previous year, respectively. The institute says in all three cases the pests often spread by hitchhiking inside traveler’s luggage. As global travel has plummeted, so too has the pests ability to spread.
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Amnesty International is calling on the European Union to temporarily lift patent protections on COVID vaccines to enable a massive ramping up of global production. Nearly 400 E.U members of parliament have added their voice to that of 175 Nobel laureates, former heads of state, the Director General of the World Health Organization, and others in a joint appeal to lift vaccine patents.
Amnesty International says South Africa and India initially submitted the proposal to waive vaccine patent protections but the E.U, United States, and Japan have prevented the proposal from moving forward.
The Human Rights organization says in a release “Initiatives like the COVAX facility depend heavily on pledges and commitments that have yet to materialise, and in any case would be insufficient to provide the level of coverage needed to bring a timely end to the pandemic. If the situation remains unchanged, the interests and profits of the few will determine the fate of most. As the Director General of the World Health Organization has said, we face the risk of a “catastrophic moral failure”. It is not too late for the European Commission and EU governments to change course.”
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While COVID numbers across Europe largely remain in the usual weekly Sunday/Monday slump, infections numbers in Greece remain high. It recorded 3,313 new infections today and another 92 corona deaths.
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Canada reported 7,204 infections and 45 more corona deaths yesterday. If you include B.C’s weekend catch up numbers, it totals 8,931 infections and 59 deaths. That said, it looks like the third infection wave may have peaked.
On the vaccination front to date, 11,282,460 1st vaccination doses (29.69% of pop) have been administered while 1,025,325 people are now fully vaccinated.
As for today in Ontario, Health Minister Christine Elliott tweeted, “Ontario is reporting 3,265 cases of COVID19 and 34,000 tests completed. Locally, there are 1,044 new cases in Toronto, 673 in Peel, 452 in York Region, 171 in Durham and 150 in Ottawa. As of 8:00 p.m. yesterday, 4,791,030 doses of the COVID vaccine have been administered.” There were 29 more virus deaths.
The Trudeau government is mobilizing federal health care workers, the Armed Forces, and Red Cross resources to help Ontario as it gets slammed with the variant driven infection wave.
Quebec recorded 899 infections and 14 more deaths.
In Atlantic Canada, Nova Scotia has reported 96 infections, another record high. New Brunswick had 24 infections and one death. Newfoundland and Labrador had no new cases.
In Manitoba, Chief Provincial Public Health Officer Dr. Brent Roussin says the province is in precarious position with infections and hospitalizations rising. Yesterday, it reported 210 infections.
There were 245 infections and one death in Saskatchewan yesterday.
Alberta registered 1,495 new infections and seven deaths yesterday. There are 616 people in hospital with 145 in an ICU.
B.C. reported 2,491 infections and 17 more virus deaths as it tabled three days worth of COVID numbers yesterday. There are 484 people in hospital with 158 people in an ICU. Health officials also revealed yesterday that an infant died from COVID in B.C’s Children’s Hospital, the youngest victim of the pandemic in the country.