The Evening Report - March 10th
A data change drastically increased today’s infections numbers in Denmark
🇪🇺
The European Union has purchased another four-million doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. These will arrive before the end of March and be in addition to existing shipments.
The doses, according to the E.U. Commission, will be targeted at COVID hot spots among member countries. Specifically mentioned are the Tyrol region in Austria, Nice and Moselle in France, Bolzano in Italy, and areas of Germany including Bavaria.
Danish Health Minister Magnus Heunicke tweeted today that this means an additional 50,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine are coming to Denmark in the next two weeks. Heunicke says the vaccination schedule will be updated accordingly.
🇩🇰
There has been a big increase in COVID infections in Denmark day over day. The Staten Serum Institut has merged both public PCR and private rapid testing data on its coronavirus dashboard. This has resulted in 2,007 infections and one death being reported in the last 24 hours.
DR is reporting the day to day infection increase as 666 new cases. The influx of infections as they merge the data likely has a historical component to it, with infections over previous days or weeks.
It will take a few days worth of reporting the data to get a better sense of what this means for the overall COVID picture in Denmark.
—
COVID hospitalizations (230) are up (+9), the number of people in an ICU (43) also increased (+5), and of those the number of people on a ventilator (24) inched up (+1).
On the vaccination front, 560,656 1st vaccine doses (9.6% of the population) and 217,470 2nd doses (3.7% of the population) have been administered.
Yesterday a total of 18,966 vaccinations were administered.
—
As students prepare to return to school next week, Denmark’s School Leaders' Association (Skolelederforeningen) says too many details are missing in action.
Skolelederforeningen Deputy Chair Dorte Andreas says that while it is good students can return to school, teachers and staff have more questions than answers right now.
"It may sound easy, but it is not. For example can students use toilets inside, or must toilet facilities be established outside? Can students come to school on the same days, or should they come on different days?”
Andreas says school administrators must also now deal with a number of teaching logistics.
"Schools must now handle both distance education, emergency education, general education at school, and outdoor education. There is beginning to be a challenge in terms of having enough staff."
She says, on top of that, there are also challenges in regards to testing capacity as graduating students return.
—
The Danish Agency for Patient Safety (Styrelsen for Patientsikkerhed) has done an interesting analysis of where people are getting infected.
Looking at contact tracing data in the hard hit Kommune of Næstved over a three week period, the agency found that most became infected at work or via friends and other family. 26% couldn’t say for certain where or how they became infected. Just 4.5% were infected in a primary school, daycare, or at seniors care centers, residences, and homes.
Mayor Carsten Rasmussen is urging everyone to not hesitate in getting tested.
“I can’t say it clearly enough, get tested. Even if you do not feel sick or think you have been around many other people. One in three infected people have no symptoms and test positive. Therefore, one may inadvertently infect one's friends, family, and co-workers without knowing it.”
—
The Danish Agency for Patient Safety says care homes across 94 municipalities have removed visiting restrictions due to the number of vaccinated seniors. However the agency notes there are still 21 care homes with visiting restrictions remaining in place.
—
The Bakkeskolen Cosmos in Esbjerg has been closed due to an outbreak of COVID infections in the surrounding Jerne district. All staff, students, and their families should get coronavirus tests. The school will remain closed until at least March 18th.
Mayor Jesper Frost Rasmussen says closing the school is one of several important tools in addressing rising infection levels.
“We have responded immediately, and locally in Jerne we have put in a focused outreach effort, where we encourage people to get tested and go into isolation if you are infected or in close contact with an infected person. We will continue to do this so that we can bring the infection down.”
Over in Nykøbing Falster on Lolland the Børnehuset Østerbro has also been closed. Seven adults and ten children have tested positive for a COVID variant. Which variant hasn’t yet been determined. 77 close contacts, 63 of which are children, must go get tested.
🇸🇪
Sweden has added 5,917 infections and another 46 coronavirus deaths since yesterday’s update.
COVID infections in Sweden now exceed 700,000, which is over three times higher than Denmark and almost double DK, Norway, and Finland combined.
On the vaccination front to date 690,391 1st dose (8.4% of the population) and 320,441 2nd vaccine doses (3.9% of the population) have been administered.
Sweden, like Denmark, is poised for a serious ramping up of vaccination efforts. It is expecting millions of doses to arrive in the next few weeks, and about 15-million in total between now and the end of June, when it has promised to get everyone vaccinated.
🇫🇮
Infections in Finland have shot up again as it registered 779 infections and three more corona deaths since yesterday’s update.
COVID hospitalizations (213) are up (+5). ICU numbers (43) are also up (+3).
To date 515,218 1st dose (9.2% of the population) and 85,258 2nd vaccine doses (1.5% of the population) have been administered.
Beginning today in Helsinki anyone between the ages of 18 to 54 who are at higher risk for COVID can make a vaccination appointment. This is specifically targeted at people who have Down syndrome, are fighting cancer, or have a disease or condition compromising their immune system.
🇳🇴
Norway has added 769 infections and had no new virus deaths since yesterday’s update.
COVID hospitalizations (161) are up (+6) and ventilator numbers (20) inched up (+1).
To date 408,594 1st doses (7.61% of the population) and 214,114 2nd vaccine doses (3.99% of the population) have been administered.
Norway’s Public Health Institute has updated workplace COVID guidelines to try and reduce infection spread.
The agency says last year there were 109 workplace specific COVID outbreaks resulting in 1,205 infections. This year they have already had 63 with 689 people becoming infected.
While last year marine and shipyard industries seemed hardest hit, this year it is mostly construction sites.
The health agency encourages employers to really emphasize hand washing, social distancing, and cleaning common areas. Anyone with any symptoms should stay home and get tested immediately.
🇪🇺
The European Medicines Agency says so far there seems to be no link between four cases of multiple thrombosis in Austria and a batch of AstraZeneca vaccine doses in a preliminary report.
Austria has paused AstraZeneca inoculations to do due diligence with an investigation after four cases of multiple thrombosis that has resulted in one death.
🇮🇹
COVID infections shot back up in Italy today with 22,409 new infections and another 332 virus deaths.
The Italian Health Institute said today the U.K. variant is the dominant strain in the country as it is now over half of all positive cases.
A COVID Task Force in Italy is now considering whether or not to tighten restrictions.
🇨🇿
There is still no light at the end of the tunnel in the Czech Republic as it recorded 15,196 new infections and 105 corona deaths today.
The first corona patients were taken from the Czech Republic to Poland as efforts continue to try and ease an almost exhausted hospital capacity in the country.
COVID deaths in the Czech Republic shot overall fatalities in January to numbers not seen during any January since 1950.
🇵🇱
With 17,260 new infections today and 398 more corona deaths, Poland has seen the highest number of new infections of any day since early November.
🇭🇺
Hungary recorded 5,653 new infections and 179 virus deaths today as it continues to see an infection wave engulfing the nation.
🇬🇷
With another 2,629 infections today, Greece remains a COVID hot spot in Europe.
🇬🇧
In the United Kingdom there were 5,926 new infections and 190 more corona deaths today.
The rate of fatalities, hospitalizations, and positive test results over the last seven days continues to decline.
To date 22,809,829 1st vaccine doses have been administered while 1,254,353 people are now fully vaccinated against the coronavirus.
🇨🇦
Yesterday Canada recorded 2,826 new infections and 21 corona deaths.
To date 1,996,474 1st vaccination doses (5.25% of the population) have been administered while 582,043 people are now fully vaccinated against the coronavirus.
In an update today Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam said there are 2,663 COVID variant infections across the country, an increase of 293 since March 8th. Most of those (2,480) are U.K. variant infections, an increase of 263. There are also 153 South African variant infections and, most concerning, 30 confirmed cases of the P1 variant, which has almost doubled in a week.
Variant infections are highest in Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, and Quebec, respectively.
Worth noting, Canada does not have an amazing testing regime so it beggars belief that the ‘real’ number of variants isn’t much higher.
-
Despite Health Canada approving the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine last week, it doesn’t look like any doses will be arriving anytime soon. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the company is having problems with its vaccine manufacturing facilities and cannot say when vaccine deliveries might begin to arrive.
-
Ontario’s Health Minister Christine Elliott tweeted today that “Ontario is reporting 1,316 cases of COVID19 and over 54,100 tests completed. Locally, there are 428 new cases in Toronto, 244 in Peel and 149 in York Region. As of 8:00 p.m. yesterday, 978,797 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered.” There were also another 16 deaths.
-
Quebec registered 792 infections and another ten virus deaths today. 581 people are in hospital with 112 in an ICU. The province has begun vaccinating residents 70 years old and older.
-
In Atlantic Canada Nova Scotia had one new infection. Both Newfoundland and Labrador and New Brunswick had no new infections.
-
Manitoba has announced it will begin sequencing all positive test results in order to screen for corona variants as new confirmed variant infections grow. Yesterday there were 66 new infections in the province and one death.
-
Saskatchewan had 113 new infections as the province began to gradually ease some restrictions.
-
There were 255 infections and six deaths yesterday in Alberta. The province is beginning to open up vaccinations for people between 50 and 64 years old.
-
Yesterday B.C. reported 550 new infections and two corona deaths. Of concern is a rise in variant infections with 530 cases of the U.K. variant, 33 of the South Africa , and now 13 P1 variant infections. To date, 343,381 vaccine doses have been administered. 86,938 are second doses.