The vaccination campaign in the UK continues in full swing. 20 million people have already received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. However, there is concern about the reluctance of some ethnic groups towards the vaccine.
In a London suburb, Walthamstow, the vaccination rate for the black population was 36% compared to 70% for the white population. Doctors suspect it may be due to mistrust and misinformation around vaccines.
“The doubts about vaccines in certain groups are due to a series of reasons, the experience of the country of origin with vaccination campaigns, having had a bad experience with a particular vaccine or pharmaceutical, which generates a lot of mistrust. That is why we need health workers to step up and say ‘I have been vaccinated, these are the advantages and if you have questions talk to us,’ “explained Naheed Khan-Lodhi, a British doctor.
For its part, the British Government has set itself the goal of vaccinating all those over 50 by April 15 and hopes to reopen the economy in stages, with the return of schoolchildren to class as of March 8 and the opening of non-essential stores on April 12.
AstraZeneca is unpopular in Germany
The German Minister of Health, Jens Spahn, defended on Friday the efficacy and safety of the AstraZeneca vaccine, against which there have been reservations in Germany for its side effects and for its alleged lower effectiveness compared to those of Moderna or Pfizer- BioNTech.
“The vaccine is safe, effective and protective,” Spahn said about it.
Scientists have also come out in defense of the vaccine, but several states have called for AstraZeneca doses to be given only to younger people if those 65 and older don’t want them.
Czech Republic swims against current for Sputnik V vaccine
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, Andrej Babis, appears to break ranks with Brussels. He has assured that he is willing to acquire the Russian Sputnik V vaccine without waiting for the approval of the European Medicines Agency.
“There are people who write to me that they want the Russian vaccine, which will always be voluntary, so why not use it. If it is safe and is used in other countries, why not here?” Babis said.
Netherlands helpless in the face of fed up with coronavirus
Amsterdam police broke up a protest against sanitary measures on Sunday. Dozens of demonstrators carried banners that read “enough of the COVID dictatorship.”
Last month, several cities in the Netherlands experienced days of unrest in response to a night curfew to curb the transmission of the virus.
After the curfew came into effect on January 23, groups of young people in different cities rioted against the police, which led to violent riots, looting, and destruction of public furniture in protests that lasted four consecutive nights, around the restriction start time, at 21:00 local time (20:00 GMT).
NORTHERN IRELAND.- The Minister of Health, Robin Swann, expressed that he hopes that after the pandemic there will be a monument to the people who died from Covid-19 in Northern Ireland.
One year after the first case of coronavirus was registered in that country. The death toll recorded by the Health Department is 2,055, and three more deaths were reported this Sunday.
Swann said he wanted his colleagues in the Stormont executive to consider a proposal for a monument.
He said talks had been held within the Health Department about remembering those who had lost their lives to the Covid-19 virus.
It is how we do this in a respectful way, but also recognizing the sacrifice of loss and also, at the same time, the sacrifice of service of our health service families, he told BBC Radio Ulster.
On the beginning of the pandemic, Swann recalled that the projected number of deaths in Northern Ireland “shook” the ministers and that they had to prepare for the “worst case scenario”.
Out of many in our volunteer sector and communities as well, who helped their communities at the time when they were at their most vulnerable point (…) So it’s something that I’m very interested in submitting a proposal to my fellow executives on How do we do it.
He said there would be a period of reflection and inquiry but that for now the world is still “in the teeth” of the crisis.
It should be noted that the former Ulster Unionist Party leader said that when he was appointed health minister in January last year, he would only serve as health minister for “a few months until things calm down.” However, there was a “conscious decision to maintain that continuity” when the pandemic began.
On the other hand, a couple of weeks ago, the government of Boris Johnson called for “calm and moderation” in that British province, after the authorities had to suspend the customs controls introduced after Brexit due to threats against its workers.
Germany on Sunday (02.28.2021) classified the French department of Moselle as a high-risk area for COVID-19 and will impose stricter requirements at the border. Moselle is an area “with a particularly high risk of infection due to the widespread appearance of variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus,” warned the Robert Koch Institute for Disease Control in Germany.
As of Tuesday, in order to travel through that Moselle border, travelers must show a recent negative test, according to the current German position. However, Germany will not impose systematic customs controls, as it did in the spring of 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic, on the French border.
“The border will not be closed,” a French Interior Ministry spokesman told AFP on Sunday, highlighting that the German regions bordering the Moselle (Saarland and Rhineland-Palatinate) did not request it, but also because the regional authorities of both sides of the border “cooperate closely” on that issue.
For his part, the French Secretary of State for European Affairs, Clément Beaune, asked Berlin to avoid very “strict” controls that amount to a “virtual closure” of the border. Germany has imposed stringent border controls with the Czech Republic and the Austrian region of Tyrol, due to fears of a new wave of infections linked to the British and South African variants of the virus. (AFP)
Landfill empties Germany’s cities
Lonely walk in Berlin
Kurfürstendamm: shopping street, promenade and one of the busiest avenues in Berlin during New Year’s Eve shopping. Well, it was. Since Germany decided to deal with the advance of the pandemic with drastic measures, most of the stores in this area of the German capital have had to close their doors.
Landfill empties Germany’s cities
Less Christmas glitter
Not far from Kurfürstendamm is located, in normal times, the lively Christmas market of Breitscheidplatz. There, amid strong security measures, many people used to congregate to celebrate these dates. The place gained notoriety in 2016, when twelve people were killed in a terrorist attack. Now he looks bleak and lonely.
Landfill empties Germany’s cities
It only remains to look at the showcases
Kaufhaus des Westens (Kadewe), located on Tauentzienstraße, continuation of Kurfürstendamm, is the best-known department store in the republic. With the exception of the famous grocery sector, everything is closed here. German retailers will receive compensation payments from the state, but many are still waiting for the promised aid this December.
Landfill empties Germany’s cities
Loneliness in Hamburg
Things are no different in Germany’s second city, Hamburg. In the center, around Mönckebergstraße, silence reigns. Also here the retail sector expects a sharp drop in sales after the second lockdown, and always assuming that this ends on January 10, as expected. If this spreads, nobody dares to take accounts.
Landfill empties Germany’s cities
Police checks in Freiburg
Freiburg im Breisgau is known as a lovable city, located at the edge of the Black Forest and crossed by streams. Here too, as in the entire federal state of Baden-Württemberg, a confinement regime prevails, with curfews, since last December 12. You can only leave home for reasons of force majeure. During the night there are even more radical measures.
Landfill empties Germany’s cities
Total abstinence in Munich
In the Bavarian capital, people gathered around Marienplatz and Stachus (which is officially called Karlsplatz) to share and savor glasses of mulled wine. This year that will not be possible in Munich or anywhere else, because it is forbidden to drink alcohol in public spaces. Because of the coronavirus, of course.
Landfill empties Germany’s cities
Widespread support
The whole of Bavaria is fast asleep because of the containment measures imposed by the authorities. The southern state is one of the most affected by the coronavirus. Despite the harshness of the new measures, 69 percent of Germans agree with them, according to a poll released this week by the ARD radio network.
Landfill empties Germany’s cities
The Saxony problem
In the federal state of Saxony, the incidence rate of SARS-CoV-2 is as high as almost anywhere else: more than 700 infections per 100,000 inhabitants were reported in one week in the Bautzen district alone. On Reichenstraße, Bautzen’s busiest boulevard, the Christmas pyramid now looks sadder than ever.
Landfill empties Germany’s cities
With mask in Dresden
Also in Dresden these rules apply, and in fact wearing masks has been mandatory for quite some time. The regulation against the coronavirus was tightened this weekend: supermarkets will only be able to sell items of daily use. Clothes, books and toys are no longer available, so as not to attract more buyers than necessary.
Landfill empties Germany’s cities
An image like from another era
Surely since the years of the Berlin Wall that the square in front of the Brandenburg Gate was not so empty. Not only are tourists missing, but the country’s biggest New Year’s Eve party was also canceled. It was also decided to cancel the launch of fireworks. The famous countdown to the new year will be done this time digitally and on television. Anyway, happy 2021!
Show business in the last year he dressed in mourning with the death of great stars of the national show, who lost the battle against covid 19, some of them in a very regrettable way.
The first of them was Caffeine Óscar Chávez, actor, singer-songwriter of trova, folk music and a ballad with songs like “Mariana”, “La Niña de Guatemala” and “My Country is sold”, who died in April.
The Ministry of Culture and its institutions mourn the death of Óscar Chávez, representative of the trova and traditional Mexican music who with his work managed to portray the reality of Mexican society and give a voice with his music to just causes. pic.twitter.com/0tIFZQsj3r
With him began a painful list of characters who were mostly veterans, both film and television and that included:
The singer of Japanese origin Yoshio passed away from disorders caused by covid, after being hospitalized for several days. His most representative themes were “What happened, happened”, with which he participated in the OTI Festival, and “Queen of hearts”.
Pilar Pellicer, 81 years old. The first actress, who was directed by Emilio “El Indio” Fernández, is remembered for her participation in films such as “Three women at the stake”, “Perpetual imprisonment” and “Las Poquianchis”.
Raymundo Capetillo died at the age of 76, leaving a long list of hits on the small screen as “Wild Rose”, “Chains of Bitterness” and “Dreamers.”
Cecilia Romo had to be hospitalized for several weeks, According to his doctors he managed to recover, however, he relapsed and could not overcome this virus. She is remembered for her performance in soap operas such as “Como tú no hay dos”, “Valentina” and “Rosa Salvaje”. He was 74 years old.
To end the year and the grief, the great Yucatecan singer-songwriter Armando Manzanero He was also the victim of a kidney complication, caused by this disease. Behind them are more than 800 titles, which are already part of the musical history of this country.
International
Adam Schlesinger, 52, died of coronavirus. Emmy and Grammy Award Winning Musician and composer famous for his work with his band Fountains of Wayne and for the television series “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”.
Another of the victims of the coronavirus this year was the Italian actress Lucía Bosé, mother of the Spanish singer Miguel Bosé. The 1950s star rose to prominence for his performances in “Death of a Cyclist” and “This is the Aurora”. He was 89 years old.
Luis Eduardo Aute also suffered complications from covid that led him to lose his life leaving great successes, especially in the trova.
Nick Cordero died at 41, the actor of Costa Rican descent was nominated for a Tony for his performances in Broadway plays such as “Waitress,” “A Bronx Tale” and “Bullets Over Broadway.”
Alan Merril, lead singer of the band Arrows, and co-author of the famous song “I Love Rock N ‘Roll”, he suffered various pulmonary complications that led to his death.
The world of fashion was also affected by this evil when in October, the mythical Japanese designer Kenzo Takada, died. The designer, who was already retired from his clothing firm and accessories, created a whole empire in the fashion world that even included beauty products.
Andrew Jack, the British actor known for his performances in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” and “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” As the greatest of the resistance Emmat, he passed away in London at the age of 76.
Tony winner Terrence McNally for “Love! Valor! Compassion!” and “Master Class”, as well as the musicals “Ragtime” and “Kiss of the Spider Woman”, he was 71 years old.
Mexico City. One year after the notification of the first case of Covid-19 in Mexico, laboratory-confirmed deaths report a cumulative 185,257, with an increase of 783 deaths reported from Friday to Saturday, while the estimated cases increased by 6 893, for a total of 2 million 278 thousand 701.
In the evening conference at the National Palace, Christian Arturo Zaragoza, director of Epidemiology, indicated that there is a reduction of 21 percent in the estimated cases, compared to the previous epidemiological week. He stressed that the active epidemic is 53,393 cases, which represents 2 percent of infections.
Regarding the availability of general beds, he pointed out that only two entities report between 69 and 50 percent occupancy, which corresponds to Mexico City with 56 percent and Puebla with 51 percent, while the national occupancy rate is 30 percent.
The same occurs, he said, in the availability of beds with a ventilator, since only Mexico City, with 60 percent, and Colima with 50 percent, maintain the highest saturation of beds for critical patients in the country, with a national average 34 percent.
Meanwhile, José Luis Alomía, General Director of Epidemiology, updated the figures of the National Vaccination Strategy, indicating that 73,242 doses were applied today, for a cumulative of 2 million 383 thousand 411 doses applied to date. Of these, 565,377 correspond to second doses for health personnel who completed their vaccination schedule.
As for older adults, he stressed that one million 49 thousand 393 have received their first, and recalled that all types of vaccines that have arrived in Mexico are being used to meet the goal of immunizing those over 60 years of age and more. He indicated that to date 3 million 839 thousand 625 doses of four different types of vaccines have arrived.
Toluca,Mex. Data from the most recent report from the federal Ministry of Health indicate that in the State of Mexico there are 215 thousand 795 accumulated confirmed cases of Covid-19, 28 thousand 433 deaths and 31.18 percent of hospital occupancy after one year of the first detected case of coronavirus.
The state government asked the mayors of the 125 municipalities of the entity, to know and disseminate among their population the agreed provisions after extending the orange color of the epidemiological traffic light for two more weeks due to the Covid 19 coronavirus pandemic.
Ernesto Nemer Álvarez, head of the Government Secretariat, reported this Saturday that, as of Monday, March 1, cinemas, theaters, cultural centers and gyms will be able to open with a maximum capacity of 30 percent and with a closing time until 9 p.m. hours.
He exhorted the municipal authorities to “maintain mechanisms that guarantee the reopening of said spaces in a responsible manner, prioritizing health care and the life of citizens”, buildings in which sanitary measures must be respected, such as healthy distance, use of face masks and other actions such as the use of face masks.
On Friday, the governor of the state of Mexico visited the municipality of Nezahualcóyotl where he recorded a spot, which was broadcast on social networks, in which he announced the reopening of businesses that remained closed since last December when the entity entered, for the second time, in the red traffic light phase due to an increase in hospitalized people and deaths.
One year after the start of the pandemic in Mexico, infections of the virus that develops the SAR-Cov-2 disease continue to be recorded. Ecatepec is the municipality where the pandemic has had the greatest impact.
In that town, until 2:00 p.m. this Saturday, there had been 29 thousand 223 accumulated confirmed cases, there are four thousand 135 deaths and 29.84 percent hospitalization.
The second place is occupied by Nezahualcóyotl with 23 thousand 587 confirmed cases, two thousand 796 deaths and a hospital occupation of 24.12 percent.
In the eastern area, Chalco is the town with the greatest impact, although it has a lower population than urban towns such as Chimalhuacán, Ixtapaluca and La Paz, it surpasses all of them.
In Chalco, there are 9,460 accumulated confirmed cases and 1,176 people have died. Even its hospitalization percentage is above the state average, with 31.64 percent.
For this reason, the call of the General Secretariat of the Mexican government who urged local authorities, such as that of Chalco, to support actions to spread them among the population and that businesses also carry them out.
Mexico City. The application of the vaccine against Covid-19 to 20 percent of the population in Mexico, represented by older adults, will reduce mortality from this cause by 80 percent, according to the analysis of the Technical Advisory Group on Vaccination (GTAV) de México, made up of experts in immunology, vaccination, infectology, sociology, health systems and economics.
For this reason, the National Policy for Vaccination against the SARS-CoV-2 Virus, to Prevent COVID-19 in Mexico, considers older adults as a priority group due to their impact on reducing mortality.
Vaccination of older adults in rural areas is an act of social justice and equity, since, if a person living in these areas becomes infected, the response capacity is limited due to the diminished infrastructure that puts them at greater risk, explained the general director of the National Center for Preventive Programs and Disease Control (Cenaprece), Ruy López Ridaura.
Likewise, given the limited production capacity of vaccines by pharmaceutical companies, and with the aim of increasing the effectiveness of the operation, the total coverage of rural areas has been favored, rather than a small proportion, less than 10 percent, in regions urbanized, he added.
It is necessary to advance in the 32 states, “we could not dedicate all vaccines to only one city when mortality is high in older adults in practically all cities,” hence the shipments are distributed throughout the country, he said.
However, the vaccination plan advances simultaneously in rural and urban areas as the number of vaccines arriving in the country increases, as has happened with the application of the vaccine in municipalities of Mexico City and Ecatepec, a municipality with one of the higher mortality rates.
The general director of Cenaprece recalled that there are vaccines that operationally facilitate their management in rural areas such as AstraZeneca and Sinovac, while Pfizer-BioNTech and Sputnik V are preferably distributed in urban areas.
According to the vaccine reception schedule, it is expected that between March and April all older adults who accepted the application of the vaccine will have been vaccinated and, probably 60 percent of them have the second dose.
It is worth mentioning that according to the document National Vaccination Policy against the SARS-CoV-2 Virus, to Prevent Covid-19 in Mexico, the recommendation of vaccines to older adults was the result of a meticulous analysis of national and international information. Specific studies of health risks, poverty and inequity in relation to infection and death by COVID-19 carried out at the National Institute of Public Health (INSP) were reviewed, in addition to the criteria for promoting human well-being, equal respect, global equity , national equity, reciprocity and legitimacy.
The national vaccination policy against Covid-19 takes into account four prioritization axes: people’s age, personal comorbidities, priority care groups and behavior of the epidemic.
Smith is the most frequent surname in the entire UK, from the Scottish highlands to Cornwall, with almost half a million ‘users’. It is the equivalent of our Rodríguez or García. For a year, the thousands and thousands of ladies and gentlemen Smith have not stepped on your favorite holiday destination: Spain. But something is beginning to change. The rate of vaccination in the United Kingdom is going from strength to strength and the Government of Boris Johnson has announced that the skies will open to international flights from May 17, which has triggered reserves for the summer bound for the warm Spanish coasts. “The United Kingdom is on the threshold of becoming the first country in the world to safely resume international travel and trade,” said John Holland-Kaye, CEO of Heathrow, who was until the pandemic the largest airport in Europe, controlled, by the way, by the Spanish Ferrovial.
And, as in ancient times, good omens are read in the sky. And the best auspiciousness (from the Latin «avís» ave and «spicio» ver, literally «the one who looks at the birds») is that airplanes can be seen again among the clouds of large European cities, which is reflected in the website of flights in real time «Flightradar», where Europe appears again full of tiny yellow aircraft. ‘The British Premier’s speech has provided confidence for many of our customers in the UK, increasing flight demand by up to 337% and the holidays up to 630% in a week. We have put more flights and vacations up for sale this summer along with more destinations ”, revealed the CEO of EasyJet for southern Europe, Javier Gándara.
If the British yearn to return to Spanish beaches, the Spanish tourism sector crosses its fingers so that nothing goes wrong. The British are the best customers. They suppose the 21.6% of foreign touristsThey are the ones who spend the most and the ones who spend the most time in Spain. “If the British do not arrive in summer, we are lost, we will close,” the president of one of the largest national hotel companies told this newspaper.
A semi-deserted beach in Mallorca last summer due to the lack of touristsCATI CLADERAEFE
The omens are good and it is expected that 40% of the British will be vaccinated in April and almost 90% in summer, but in the sector nobody wants to throw the bells to the flight. Will tourists return to our beaches this summer or will everything remain in a mirage, as in 2020?
The hotel zone of Palmanova-Magaluf Today it looks like the scene of a “spaghetti western.” Without retirees from the Imserso and outside of the summer season, there is not a single hotel open and the shadows of those who walk seem like ghosts between concrete and palm trees. Magaluf is one of the favorite destinations of the British in Spain along with Benidorm and the Canary Islands. Epicenter of «baked beans» and «fish & chips» in Mallorca, its hoteliers they hope to start lifting the blind in May, but caution is maximum after last summer it opened a third of its 88 hotels in a testimonial way.
«The situation is dramatic. There are hotels that have been closed since November 2019 and at Easter there are no forecasts that it will improve. If all goes well, we hope that everything will be open in June and that the summer season will lengthen until Imserso’s clients arrive, who will be very well received. For now, the evolution of reserves is positive. We have to see if it has continuity, ”explains Mauricio Carballeda, president of the Hotel Association of Palmanova and Magaluf, to LA RAZÓN.
‘The UK roadmap is positive because it dissipates uncertainty. In any case, a health passport must be created. Barriers must be eliminated with the substitution of PCR tests for antigen tests, which are more affordable and operational, and the quarantines that, for example, Germany is still requiring, underlines María Frontera, president of the Mallorca Hotel Business Federation, who It groups 850 hotels and manages 200,000 hotel rooms on the islands.
The other «little Britain» of the Peninsula is Benidorm. Long enough to lend his name to a popular sitcom aired for ten years on ITV. “Benidorm”, awarded up to a Bafta and with peaks of eight million viewers per season, recreated the comical adventures of a group of British tourists in Miami on the Costa Blanca. There, the hoteliers are somewhat more optimistic and predicting the weeks with the largest reservations “in the history of British tourism.” This is what Toni Mayor, president of the Valencian Community hotel association, assures us, who affirms that “massive” reservations are being received as of May 17. In the Valencian Community, the reserves were already “very good” for August, September and October, when it is estimated that 90% of the British can be vaccinated, but now Reservations are being made since May. “We sign if half the summer season is saved,” sighs Mayor, who considers the health passport that Chancellor Merkel has already given the green light to be key and which could make Tourespaña’s forecast that, from May, there will be a “Boom” from Germany, the second issuer with 13.2% of visitors.
«They are the first rays of sun. We knew that there is a dammed demand and a tremendous desire to travel. It is true that in recent days there is an unusually high level of reserves, but now you have to see if they materialize because before the reservations for this time were prepaid at respectable prices and now they are made with total flexibility and with free cancellation until the last day, “José Luis Zoreda, vice president of the Exceltur employer’s association, warns this newspaper. “The good sign is that the British and German tourism sectors themselves are putting pressure on their governments to reactivate the business. Not in vain the main European tour operator is German. TUI has direct aid from Berlin of 7,500 million and is the main client in Spain. It cannot fall as Thomas Cook fell. ‘ In this way, the health certificate will be key. “If there is a yellow fever card, why not a certificate to prove that you have the vaccine or that you have done an antigen test to travel freely in Europe and end the nonsense of quarantines”, reiterates Zoreda.
In 2020 they were lost 106,000 million of tourist activity. The normal would have been about 150,000 million income. The forecast in 2021 is to close around 96,000 million recovering 48,000 million. That would raise the weight of tourism in GDP from 4.2% to 8.2%, still far from the 12.2% prior to the pandemic.
From the hotel management Cehat, its general secretary, Ramón Estalella, asks direct aid so that companies “can stay alive until the arrival of these tourists encouraged by the big British, German and even Swedish operators.”
«It is almost worth sacrificing Easter to get out of this nightmare», Carlos Garrido ruling from the travel agency employer’s association. Everything for Mr. and Mrs. Smith to get toasted again under the Spanish sun.
New restrictions to contain the pandemic in France. The country exceeds 86,000 deaths and maintains the number of daily infections above 25,000. The city of Dunkirk, in the North department, have imposed a house lockdown this weekend.
“We come to do the shopping on Saturday morning and then we return home to never go out!”, Says this woman.
The same restrictions apply in Nice, in the Alpes-Maritimes department. Departures of maximum one hour and within a radius of 5 km. And with the accesses to the beach closed for two weeks.
The Government has also put under “reinforced surveillance” about twenty departments in which almost 40% of the French population lives, including those in the Paris region.
Poland has also imposed strict measures in the face of the alarming increase in cases in the Warminsko-Mazurskie province (in northern Poland), restrictions that will be in effect until March 14.
“We are used to it and frankly I am glad that these restrictions are in force, I myself had a hard time with COVID -19, it bothers me when people ignore the pandemic and go with their mask down or with a scarf rolled over their faces.” said this Pole.
In addition to schools, hotels, shopping centers, cinemas, theaters, museums, and sports facilities throughout the country remain closed.
Boris Johnson’s decision to include dates in his proposed roadmap for exiting the third lockdown in England is a “dangerous strategy” that runs the risk of undermining compliance with Covid-19 rules, behavioral scientists have said. “The data, not the dates, has been converted to dates, not data,” said Reicher, adding that the choice of Midsummer Day for a possible return to normal was an “incredibly powerful symbolic message.”
| labels: covid-19, boris johnson, experts, criticize, dates, data, risk
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