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Today Denmark’s Statsminister Mette Frederiksen, along with the Austrian Chancellor, leave for Israel to discuss its COVID vaccination strategy. Frederiksen has also raised the possibility of Denmark becoming a co-owner of a vaccine facility either in Israel or in another country.
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The Danish Regions and General Practitioners Organization are both lobbying the government to change the vaccination strategy. Both groups support prioritizing seniors and the most high risk and vulnerable. However, as the general population begins to be vaccinated, they are calling for people to be prioritized by age. They say this will make the vaccination effort simpler and less confusing.
The proposal to move to vaccinating by age once the priority groups are done is gaining traction in Denmark. The Danish Lung Association is backing the idea although it also wants some 2,000 younger people suffering lung related ailments to be included in priority groups being vaccinated.
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The European Medicines Agency announced this morning that it has begun a rolling review of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine. This is the 1st step towards a future decision on whether or not to recommends its use in Europe.
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The Czech Republic’s grim pandemic situation continues to get worse as infections shot up yesterday with 16,756 new cases while suffering another 178 deaths.
As the country’s health care system teeters on the brink, a number of nearby countries including Germany, Austria, Slovenia, and Switzerland have offered to take Czech corona patients to ease the strain on hospitals. However, language hurdles are preventing a quick evacuation of the patients as their medical records must be translated to the language of the country taking them.
Amid the dire situation Police in Prague say they have handed out over 9,000 tickets for COVID infractions, ranging from not wearing a mask to illegal gatherings.
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The German government has unveiled a five stage plan to gradually ease corona restrictions.
Beginning March 8th, up to five people from two households will be allowed to visit each other, children under the age of 14 are exempt.
Some shops, like book stores or garden centers, can reopen.
For other retailers reopening is tied to infection rates. Where case numbers are sustained below 50 per 100,000 people for a period of seven days, retailers will be allowed to open their doors.
For those in areas where the infection rate is higher, a ‘click and meet’ system applies. Customers would book times online to go to specific stores.
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Daily infection numbers continue to creep up in France. In response, the French Prime Minister and the country’s health minister are expected to announce new restrictions tonight to try and reduce the infection spread. Reports say they will be targeted at regions seeing the most infection activity.
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Italy saw its highest number of new infections since January 1st, as corona variants, especially the U.K. mutation, spread rapidly.
Italy has closed schools and is now sealing off towns with the highest infections rates in so called COVID ‘red zones’ to try and curb the infection spread.
While well over half of new infections involve the U.K. variant, the Brazilian P1 variant is now spreading, particularly in central Italy.
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Poland saw an infection surge yesterday sending numbers to heights not seen since early November.
The Polish government is opening up temporary hospitals in nine provinces and it will also hand out free masks as it warns a third wave is “accelerating.”
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Infection numbers are also rocketing up in Greece. Yesterday, it reported numbers not seen in the country since November when it went into a national lockdown.
The infection rise is straining the Greek health care system as the number of new patients in the last day rose by 36%, a huge increase.
Greece is tightening corona restrictions further, reducing people’s already very limited movements. The situation has been complicated complicated by yesterday’s 6.3 earthquake which sent thousands of people fleeing into the streets.
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Estonia recorded its 2nd highest ever number of new COVID infections yesterday.
New restrictions come into force in Estonia on March 6th and include the following:
restaurants and eateries must close on weekends and after 6pm on weekdays.
Capacity inside stores and eating establishments is capped at 25.
In-person learning for many students is being scaled back to just a few days a week.
People are also being urged to reduce social contacts and, wherever possible, work from home.
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Hungary continues to see high infection numbers.
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Infections in Serbia also continue to trend upward.
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While infection numbers continue to drop in the U.K., scientists are still waving a caution flag. They say that with one in over 200 people still being infected, the numbers remain much too high.
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A study published yesterday in the U.K. found that one dose of either the Pfizer/BioNTech or AstraZeneca vaccine provides enough protection against severe impacts of COVID to prevent hospitalization for those in their 80s.
The study called AvonCAP is an ongoing corona surveillance project funded by Pfizer.
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In South America, Brazil recorded its deadliest day of the COVID pandemic yesterday with 1,840 corona deaths while adding another 74,376 infections, its 2nd highest number of daily infections to date.
The Brazilian state of São Paulo is going back into a lockdown as corona numbers surge upward across the country.
The Brazilian government has agreed to purchase 100 million doses of the one shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
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Mexico registered 7,913 new infections and 1,035 corona deaths yesterday.
It was one of only three countries, behind the United States and Brazil, to see over a thousand virus fatalities yesterday.
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Elsewhere in the world, Cuba continues to be hit with a COVID wave exponentially higher than anything it has seen previously.
As developing countries compete with wealthier nations for vaccine doses, Cuba is going its own way as it seeks to develop homegrown corona vaccines. As its infection numbers soar, two of the island’s four vaccine candidates are beginning final trials.
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In Africa, infections are rising in Ethiopia.
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In the Middle East, Palestine continues to see coronavirus infections march upward.
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Jordan is being hit with a 2nd infection wave.