The Evening Report - June 15th
Delta variant outbreak prompts quick reaction in Denmark
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The Danish Agency for Patient Safety is urging people living in the residential areas of Kongens Vænge 1 and 2 in Hillerød to get tested as soon as possible. Infection cases of the concerning Delta (B.1.617.2) corona variant have been identified there. Styrelsen for Patientsikkerhed says intensified infection detection efforts are underway and testing capacity in Hillerød has been increased.
In a Facebook post, Hillerød Kommune says students from Grønnevang School have been sent home due to Delta variant infections. The kommune says this is a “minor outbreak” but it is urging residents near the school to get a PCR test ASAP. It says the test center at the school is open until 8pm today and tomorrow.
“If you live in the area around Grønnevang School, we would encourage you to come by the test center and have a PCR test taken as soon as possible. You can also come without an appointment.”
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The latest Staten Serum Institut variant update says there are now 154 confirmed cases of the Delta variant in Denmark. While the number is increasing, it is so far not exploding here the way it has in the United Kingdom.
Another variant of concern is a further mutated Alpha variant (B.1.1.7) with the E484K ‘escape’ mutation. While the parent strain is the dominant COVID type across the country, this mutated version is not spreading so rapidly. Currently, there are 348 confirmed infections.
The SSI says there are 51 cases of the B.1.621 variant. This is the one first identified in Colombia and that was behind the outbreak in Bornholm a few weeks ago. It has the N501Y mutation, which has been linked to increased infectivity.
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Good news. Danish Health Minister Magnus Heunicke says for a 2nd week in a row the COVID contact number (reinfection rate or R0) is at 0.8. When the R0 is under one, it reflects a declining infection situation. He credits the vaccination campaign and the “seasonal effect” for the low number. The seasonal effect is a factor in COVID modeling, where warmer weather results in more people being outside, making it harder for the virus to spread.
Heunicke also notes the HOPE project, a measurement of social responsibility during the pandemic, shows that 97% of people in Denmark are willing to get vaccinated.
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Denmark is reporting 222 COVID infections and one more coronavirus death in the last day.
Yesterday there were 505,510 total corona tests done, 81,080 PCR and 424,430 rapid, for a positivity percentage of 0.27%.
Look at that infection curve fall! Denmark is now seeing daily infection numbers not seen since last September.
COVID hospitalizations (101) have inched downward (-1) while the number of infected in an ICU (19) also edged down (-1) and of those the number on a ventilator (12) also dropped (-4).
On the vaccination campaign, to date 2,777,818 1st vaccine doses have been administered (47.5% of the population) while 1,523,596 people (26.1%) are now fully vaccinated.
Yesterday there were 74,067 total vaccinations done.
In the alternate vaccination scheme operated by a private provider outside the state system 3,068 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine were administered to push the total to date to 33,645.
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No planes or boats are allowed to leach Greenland’s capital, Nuuk. According to the Greenlandic media KNR, five new COVID infections have been identified, leading to the lockdown at the airport and harbour. Officials say there are about 200 contacts being chased down at the moment due to two of the infected having participated in large social events. At this point, there is no ETA when boat and plane traffic out of Nuuk will resume.
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Sweden’s Public Health Agency says its infectious disease database, SmiNet, is still offline, with no ETA on when things might be resolved. The database holds, among other things, the country’s COVID infection case data, which means reporting coronavirus numbers will be severely hampered until its brought back online.
The agency is saying today that it was taken offline on Sunday “following indications of a possible security flaw which is now being investigated.” This is the second time since the end of May the database has been taken offline. The first time was due to possible attempts to access it that are also under investigation. When it was brought back online a week later, Swedish authorities said “several measures have been taken to strengthen security.” Not just for SmiNet but for all the Swedish Public Health agency systems.
In updating the SmiNet situation today, the health agency says case data shows that COVID infection continued to decline last week. Although it added “there are regions where development is not as favorable.”
Sweden has added 1,180 infections in numbers dating up until Sunday when SmiNet was taken offline. This is obviously a partial picture of infection activity since Friday’s update.
COVID vaccination numbers are being updated and more than half the population now has at least one dose. To date 4,201,394 1st dose vaccinations (51.3% of the population) have been administered while 2,250,996 people (27.5%) are now fully vaccinated.
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Region Stockholm says due to SmiNet being offline, it is unable to report infection numbers. But the region says COVID pressure on hospitals in the capital region continues to ease. The situation has improved to the point that the hospital system has ended its pandemic-related state of emergency and operations have returned to normal.
Acting Director of Health Johan Bratt:
“The number of patients with COVID who are being cared for at our hospitals varies slightly between days. There is no reason to believe otherwise than that in the coming weeks we will see a continued reduction of patients. We would like to continue to remind everyone that there is still infection in the community and that we are still seeing coronavirus infected patients every day. Therefore, it is important that you continue to follow the recommendations and that you get vaccinated with both the first and second dose of vaccine as soon as you get the opportunity.”
The region currently has 80 patients being treated for COVID of those, 24 are in an ICU (-3) while 50 are in an emergency hospital (+10) and six are in geriatric care (-7).
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The hospital situation in Stockholm has improved to the point that the Regional Board will recommend ending the crisis agreement that has been in place as of December. The crisis agreement, when enacted, makes allowances in the collective agreement for healthcare employees to work overtime for extra pay to cover off their efforts. If approved, the crisis agreement would officially be repealed on June 16. This was the second time in the COVID pandemic that Swedish authorities invoked the crisis agreement, which hadn’t been used since a bad wildfire season years before the pandemic.
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Finland has registered 73 infections with no new deaths since yesterday’s mini-update. The Finnish Health Institute has switched to doing robust updates including fatalities and hospitalizations only on Wednesdays.
On the vaccination front 2,848,931 1st dose inoculations (51.1% of the population) have been administered while while 729,128 people (13.1%) are now fully vaccinated.
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Today, the mayor of Oslo announced an easing of virtually all COVID restrictions. As of noon tomorrow, the ban on gatherings of more then ten people in a private home is rescinded. All local rules and limitations on indoor and outdoor events, sporting events, and leisure activities are lifted. Bingo halls, bowling allies, and playgrounds can reopen. Infection-control measures and caps on retail stores, gyms, museums, galleries, indoor swimming pools, spa facilities, and hotels are removed. As well, the city council is abolishing mask and social distancing requirements, except when in public transportation, including taxis.
Oslo Mayor Raymond Johansen on Facebook:
“Everything indicates that the worst is behind us. Oslo has made it through. It has come with a cost. It has been very tough for many. But the efforts of all of you, the responsibility we have taken jointly, it has allowed Oslo to break down the infection again and again. It is the effort that makes it possible to reopen Oslo, and to a large extent return to the city life as we know it.”
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Norway has added 274 infections and had no new corona deaths since yesterday’s update.
COVID hospitalizations (47) ICU numbers (14) and ventilator numbers (10) are all unchanged.
To date 36.65% of Norwegians have had one vaccine dose and 25.11% have had both.
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The Norwegian Government is going to contribute 45 million Norwegian kroner (about $6.5 million Cdn) to the World Health Organization to research the effects of non-pharmacological infection control measures during the COVID pandemic. The idea is to assess what worked, why it worked, and what didn’t, to be better prepared in the advent of another epidemic.
Norwegian Institute for Public Health Director Camilla Stoltenberg:
“This is a large and important task for NIPH, and in line with our strategy: scientific knowledge as an essential part of preparedness and response to pandemics.”
Research Director Atle Fretheim:
“During the pandemic large parts of the population followed intervention measures to prevent the spread of infection. It is important to gain more knowledge about how infection control measures work. We have gained a lot of experience over the past year, not least about how difficult it can be to carry out effective studies of infection control measures.”
The new center will carry out an analysis of the COVID pandemic, and others to determine benefits of infection control measures and the social and economic consequences. It will then work to create better infection control measures, improved masks, and better digital infection detection tools.
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Germany’s is inching closer to having half its population vaccinated with at least one dose. Health Minister Jens Spahn says 40.5 million people in Germany (48.7% of the population) have had one inoculation. Among the 18 to 59 years old age group 1st dose vaccinations now cover more than 40%. He says 22.3 million people (26.8%) are now fully vaccinated.
Spahn says Germany has already issued nearly five-million digital EU COVID certificates to facilitate travel within the European Union as of July.
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EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said today that total vaccinations in the European Union have surpassed 300 million. She says they are on track to have 70% of Europe’s adult population vaccinated by next month.
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The EU Council has agreed on draft rules to strengthen the European Medicines Agency for when the next pandemic arrives.
Minister for Health of Portugal Marta Temido:
“Although COVID is still taking its toll, we need to be better prepared for when another health crisis strikes. A stronger European Medicines Agency will play a key role in this. It will help us to prevent shortages of critical medicines and medical devices and be faster in developing medicines to fight any disease causing a crisis.”
If approved, the agreement would enhance the EMA’s powers so it can better control the levels of critical medicines or medical devises, address any shortages, and set up expert panels to assess “high-risk medical devices” and provide essential advice in a crisis.
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The Delta variant continues to increase the infection pressure in the United Kingdom with 7,673 new infections and ten more fatalities today. In the last seven days infections and hospitalizations continue to increase once again while coronavirus deaths are trending down.
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Canada reported 951 infections, the lowest daily number since last September, while suffering another 13 coronavirus deaths.
The Canadian vaccination campaign has so far administered 24,558,682 1st dose vaccinations (64.62% of the population) while 4,910,084 people (12.92%) are now fully vaccinated.
In Ontario today Health Minister Christine Elliott tweeted “Ontario is reporting 296 cases of #COVID19 and nearly 17,200 tests completed. Locally, there are 62 new cases in Peel, 60 in Toronto, 45 in Waterloo, 15 in York Region and 13 in Halton. As of 8:00 p.m. yesterday, 11,529,430 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered, including 184,989 doses administered yesterday.“ There were also another 13 deaths.
Quebec reported 105 infections and six deaths.
In Atlantic Canada, Nova Scotia registered four new infections. New Brunswick had three. Newfoundland and Labrador two. The Atlantic provinces will resume the travel bubble as of June 23rd.
Manitoba saw 124 infections and two more deaths yesterday. The province’s chief medical health officer told reporters yesterday that everyone currently in an ICU in the province was unvaccinated.
There were 55 infections and one corona death in Saskatchewan yesterday.
Alberta recorded 115 infections and one more COVID related death yesterday.
B.C. registered just 96 infections yesterday as it tabled three days worth of data with a total of 277 infections and four more virus deaths. The province is going ahead with a phase two reopening beginning today.