The Evening Report - June 24th
Another easing of travel restrictions is coming on Saturday
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Denmark’s Transportation ministry is easing the testing requirements for flying into the country. As of Saturday, July 26, a negative test will only be required before boarding a flight to Denmark when flying from a red high-risk country or region. Even in that case, there is a slight easing, with a negative test now allowed to be no more than 72 hours old compared to the previous 48. But it can only be a PCR test - a rapid test result no longer qualifies.
For people flying into Denmark from areas not assessed as high-risk red they will no longer be required to show a negative test to board their flight. Instead, the negative test will be checked on arrival in Denmark. It must be no more than 72 hours old if it is a PCR test, while rapid tests cannot be anymore than 48 hours old.
On Saturday, the next phase of travel restrictions are eased. This will essentially allow for people living in Denmark to travel in and out of the country almost like normal. Although that is only for Denmark, as you must be cognizant of the entry restrictions in the country you are traveling too. Also on Saturday, the COVID-colour-coded risk assessment will have ‘green’ reintroduced, which will cause some changes, especially for risk designations across EU member nations.
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The Danish Medicines Agency is being swamped with reports of COVID vaccine side effects. Before the pandemic, it was common for the agency to receive about 7,000 reports of adverse reactions to various medications. Since the vaccination campaign began on December 27, it has received over 40,000 reports of suspected vaccine side effects. It says well over three-quarters of them are common symptoms you might expect when you get vaccinated.
Unit Manager Tanja Erichsen:
"Be aware of severe or unexpected symptoms, but you do not need to contact your doctor or report suspected side effects to the Danish Medicines Agency if you experience any of the known, mild and moderate transient side effects, such as fever, fatigue, headache, chills, muscle and joint pain and redness at the injection site.”
Erichsen says it is better if the agency can focus its attention on side effects that might indicate a serious reaction.
“It is a huge task to assess the many thousands of reports. We are looking for what is not expected - it can be, for example, reports of a new possible side effect that needs to be investigated further, or a more uncommon side effect that seems to occur more frequently than assumed.”
You can find a wealth of information including on vaccine side effects in English on the LMST’s website HERE.
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Denmark is reporting 173 COVID infections with no new coronavirus deaths in the last day.
Yesterday there were 164,916 total corona tests done, the lowest tally in months. The total included 72,280 PCR tests and 92,636 rapid tests distributed for a (PCR only) positivity percentage of 0.24%.
COVID hospitalizations (68) edged upward (+4) while the number of infected in an ICU (16) also rose slightly (+1) of those the number on a ventilator (11) is unchanged.
On the vaccination campaign to date, 3,152,894 1st doses (53.9% of the total population) have been administered while 1,736,217 people (29.7%) are now fully vaccinated.
Yesterday there were 71,013 total vaccinations done.
If you live in Region Sjælland, the rest of the island outside Metro Copenhagen, and you have been invited to get vaccinated, if you haven’t already then you might want to make an appointment. The health region said today it has lost of times free for vaccination appointments.
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A majority in the Danish Parliament have voted to amend legislation to allow for the monitoring of sewage water for COVID. The process has been tested around Denmark, including on the island of Bornholm, where it proved to be an effective early warning system for coronavirus outbreaks. The method is also used in other countries, including Finland. Sewage samples from treatment plants are regularly gathered and sent for COVID testing. The results can detect a corona flare-up often before it shows up in human testing.
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In some interesting non-COVID news, for the first time in 50 years, juvenile hvidfinnede ferskvandsulk (which translates to - white-finned freshwater sulk) have been found in the Susåen near Næstved. The hvidfinnede ferskvandsulk were declared extinct in Denmark in the 1960s. The fish were imported from Sweden a few years ago and released over a three-year period back into the waterway in a multi-faceted restoration effort.
The Susåen itself has been cleaned up with better wastewater treatment and other initiatives to reduce pollutants and restore the waterway. The hvidfinnede ferskvandsulk, while a success story in their own right, are also key to saving another endangered species. The thick-shelled paint mussel has a symbiotic relationship with the hvidfinnede ferskvandsulk and needs it to survive. The mussel’s numbers are very low in Denmark and it is considered critically endangered in the rest of the world.
Næstved, Faxe, Ringsted, and Sorø Kommunes have been funded by the EU-life project to do the years-long work to restore the delicate aquatic ecosystem.
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Sweden has added 378 infections and another three virus deaths since yesterday’s update.
The Swedish Public Health Agency is still warning about a lag in reporting due its SmiNet infectious database issue.
To date 4,507,250 1st doses (55% of adult pop) and 2,721,752 2nd vaccine doses (33.2%) have been administered.
There are 64 infected people in an ICU in Sweden.
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Sweden has again delayed its vaccination calendar, pushing it another two weeks. It now plans to have everyone who wants to be vaccinated a first dose by September 19. The calendar was pushed back due to fewer Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine shipments. In its usual Thursday COVID update, Swedish Health Authorities also said the number of infections and virus deaths continues to drop like a rock. State Epidemiologist Anders Tegnell said there are now 663 confirmed Delta variant infections and added he doesn’t believe the variant will impact the downward trend.
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The Swedish Public Health Agency says while vaccination rates are still lower among the country’s “foreign born” population, they are increasing. The agency also did a survey focused on people living in Sweden but who were born elsewhere. They found three-quarters of the almost 1,500 respondents plan on getting vaccinated. About 13% said they were not likely to get vaccinated. The survey found vaccine hesitancy was more prevalent in those without post-secondary education, younger people, and people who have recently immigrated in.
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Norway has added 395 infections and had no new coronavirus deaths since yesterday’s update.
COVID hospitalizations (32) and ICU numbers (8) are both unchanged while the number of people on a ventilator (6) edged up (+1). N
To date 42.60% of Norwegians have had one vaccine dose and 27.88% have had both.
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The Norwegian Public Health Institute is warning vaccine supplies will be lower than expected in the months ahead. It says it will receive fewer Pfizer/BioNTech doses than it had planned for as of the end of July. To keep up the pace of first-dose vaccinations, it is retroactively extending the interval between first and second doses to 12 weeks. It is also authorizing switching between Pfizer and Moderna from first to second doses in the event second dose supply from one or the other begins to run short. The agency is also concerned summer holidays will further add to a slowdown of the vaccination effort.
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In its latest weekly COVID situation report, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health noted a slight increase in infection cases from week to week: 1,226 cases last week and 1,219 the week prior. Testing also rose by 5%.
Rogaland, Oslo, Vestfold and Telemark are the country’s hot spots. Rogaland saw steep increase of COVID infections, with 256 last week compared to 96 the week before. The institute says most of the new outbreaks have been among adolescents and young adults and were “quickly brought under control.” There were also some outbreaks last week related to nightclubs and some social gatherings.
Hospitalizations have continued to decrease There were 22 hospital admissions last week, the lowest number of any week since mid-October of last year.
On the variant front, the number of Delta variant infections have jumped from 50 to 240 in the last three weeks. It notes the proportion of Delta variant infections among all infections has increased from 0.7% to 3% in the last few weeks. New infections have been detected in Oslo and Viken.
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The Finnish Health Institute is warning about travel to Russia after what it called a “remarkable number of coronavirus infections” found among Finns returning from St. Petersburg. The institute says they have confirmed almost 100 so far and “the number is likely to continue to grow.” It says some of the infections have been traced to Alpen House restaurant in St. Petersburg.
It is urging anyone returning from Russia to get tested as soon as possible, especially if they were on a Neva bus tour on June 22 and 23. It says in all cases, people should also isolate until they get a negative result.
The health agency is warning that infections are exploding in Russia again with St. Petersburg having a 14-day COVID incidence rate of 240 per 100,000 residents, compared to 19 for all of Finland. It advises against all travel to Russia.
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Finland has registered 123 new infections since yesterday’s update.
It only updates fatalities and hospitalizations on Wednesdays now.
To date 3,165,379 1st (56.8% of the population) and 919,571 2nd vaccine doses (16.5%) have been administered.
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The Finnish Institute for Health is recommending that all adolescents between the ages of 12 and 15 years of age get vaccinated against the coronavirus. Up until now, only adolescents with underlying health conditions who are considered at risk can get vaccinated. The Finnish health agency says COVID has had a lesser impact on young people, with children and adolescents making up about five-percent of all infections as of the beginning of June. Finland has yet to see a coronavirus death among adolescents or children. But the agency says the impact on young people can be significant.
Chief Physician Otto Helve:
“Although the number of serious cases of the disease in children is small, restrictions on encounters, hobbies and schooling due to the pandemic have had a major impact on the lives of children and young people for a long time. Corona vaccinations can help alleviate and even end restrictions, especially for children and young people. This would have a significant impact on their well-being.”
Currently, the only vaccine authorized for use on adolescents as young as 12 in Europe is the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. It has been widely used on young people in other countries, including the USA and Canada, with no safety concerns reported.
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The latest COVID situation report from the Finnish Institute for Health has found the infection situation has improved significantly. Overall, coronavirus cases as of last week were about a third of what they were in the first week of May. The agency says a quarter of new infections were people already in isolation. But the number of infections acquired abroad has increased from 19% to 33%.
The number of hospitalizations continues to decline in Finland. The health agency says most hospitals in the country have returned to normal operations. But there are some exceptions, with hospitals in Helsinki and Uusimaa still seeing “accelerating” COVID infections.
The epidemic situation has improved significantly in most areas over the past month. In most areas, few or no infections are currently detected. Only the Helsinki and Uusimaa hospital districts are in the accelerating phase of the epidemic. Other hospital districts are mainly at the basic level, and a few municipalities are in the acceleration phase.
The demand for testing is declining as more people get vaccinated. There were 6,000 fewer tests in Finland last week than the week prior.
The update does not provide any information on variant activity in Finland.
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Germany has administered 2.3 million vaccinations in the last two days, according to Health Minister Jens Spahn. He says there are now 43.5 million people in Germany (52.2%) with one vaccine dose and 27.8 million (33.5%) who have had both doses. “With a view to the Delta variant, we are keeping the vaccination speed high.”
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Today, the UK registered the highest number of new daily COVID infections since mid-February. It reported 16,703 new infections and another 21 corona deaths. Infections, fatalities, and hospitalizations continue to trend upward in one of the world’s most vaccinated countries as the Delta variant spreads.
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Another Delta variant warning sign. Israel has announced it is reintroducing a mask mandate as of next week. Masks will once again be required when indoors. Israel has seen new infections exceed 100 in each of the last four days, numbers not seen since April. Today, the country reported 205 new infections. Health authorities in Israel, one of the most vaccinated countries in the world, say COVID outbreaks have spread to Kfar Saba, Ramla, Herzliya, and other cities. Wastewater monitoring has identified the Delta variant in parts of the country.
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The international COVAX program, designed to ensure developing countries get vaccine doses, will undergo a shake-up. Reuters has internal documents showing the organization is failing to meet the needs of the world’s poorest countries as wealthy western nations snap up vaccine supply while giving COVAX the cold shoulder. The program is well short of achieving its target of delivering two-billion vaccine doses to the poorest nations on earth by year end. To date, it has managed to acquire and deliver 90 million vaccine doses. Just 22% of the world’s population has one vaccination dose and some of the poorest counties in the world have vaccinated less than one-percent of their population. The danger is densely populated, impoverished countries can act as incubators for new and more dangerous COVID variants.
Reuters reports the overhaul will reduce COVAX’s financial risks and reduce participation with wealthy nations as both donors and recipients.
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In non-COVID news, The Cowessess First Nation in Saskatchewan announced a preliminary finding today of what might be 751 unmarked graves at a cemetery near the former Marieval Indian Residential School. They said in a press conference today ground penetrating radar recorded 751 hits. Further work will have to be done to exhume the remains to determine an exact number, as well as gather other information.
Last month, the Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation in Kamloops revealed the discovery of a burial site near a former residential school with the bodies of 215 children.
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Canada reported 727 new infections yesterday while suffering another 21 coronavirus deaths.
The Canadian vaccination effort has inoculated 25,353,705 people with one dose (66.59% of the population) while 8,637,394 people (22.69%) are fully vaccinated.
In Ontario today there were 296 infections and another six virus deaths. Waterloo is currently a hot spot.
Quebec reported 96 infections and another four deaths.
In Atlantic Canada, Nova Scotia recorded five new infections. New Brunswick had two. Newfoundland and Labrador had zero.
Manitoba saw 206 infections and two deaths.
There were 32 infections and one more death in Saskatchewan yesterday.
Alberta recorded 92 infections and another two fatalities.
B.C. logged 87 new infections and one death.