In Austria, further corona restrictions will come into effect on July 1st. The curfew introduced due to the Corona crisis will be lifted. Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) announced that night catering would be possible again with initially slightly reduced capacity. “It can be danced, married, celebrated”. The infection situation was significantly better than generally expected, said the head of government with a view to the seven-day incidence of 15.
“We can take further big steps towards normalcy,” said Kurz. According to the government, employees are no longer required to wear an FFP2 mask in the catering industry. Events in art, culture and sport are possible without upper limits for the public; then events with standing room will be allowed again. Instead of an FFP2 mask requirement, it will be sufficient to wear mouth and nose protection in shops, buses and trains as well as in museums.
The so-called 3-G rule also applies to visits to restaurants or events. That means: the guest has to be tested, recovered or vaccinated. From July 1st, however, only those who are at least twelve years old have to be tested. On July 22nd, further simplifications are to come into force. (17.06.2021)
Hundreds of Sinovac-vaccinated doctors infected in Indonesia
In Indonesia, authorities said more than 350 doctors were infected with the coronavirus despite having been vaccinated with the Chinese vaccine Sinovac. Most of those affected had no symptoms, but dozens of doctors would have to be treated in hospital, says a representative of the health authorities on Java. There is a corona outbreak in one district that is attributed to the more contagious virus variant Delta. (17.06.2021)
Americans will soon be able to travel to Europe more easily again
People from the United States and several other countries should be able to enter the European Union more easily in the future. This was confirmed by the Portuguese Presidency after discussions with the permanent representatives of the EU countries in Brussels. The background is a better corona situation. The pending formal resolution is expected to be adopted by the end of the week.
In addition, the entry requirements for people from Albania, Lebanon, Macedonia, Serbia, Macau, Hong Kong and Taiwan are to be relaxed. This would mean that the list of countries from which entry is easier would be around twice as long. So far there have been Australia, New Zealand, Rwanda, Singapore, South Korea, Israel, Japan and Thailand. All other countries have drastic restrictions. The list is revised regularly.
All EU countries except Ireland and the non-EU countries Switzerland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland had already agreed on the entry restrictions at the beginning of the corona pandemic. Accordingly, all non-essential trips to the EU are prohibited. However, the entry stop is not legally binding. There are also exceptions, for example, for EU citizens and their families.
The decision from Brussels is unlikely to be reciprocated by the United States for the time being. Last week, the USA relaxed its corona travel warning for American citizens for destinations such as Germany and some other EU countries, but the reassessment did not change the entry ban imposed on foreigners from the European Schengen area and several other regions due to the pandemic. As a rule, entry is still only possible with a special permit. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said last week that a group of experts had been set up with the EU to work out criteria for opening up. (16.06.2021)
New York ends corona measures
Almost all corona restrictions will be lifted in the US state of New York. Only the requirements of the federal government remain in force. Public transport and health systems, for example, are affected. The last restrictions imposed by the state itself and not yet withdrawn in the commercial and social areas would be lifted immediately, said Governor Andrew Cuomo. Regardless, companies and individuals could continue to take precautions if they wished to.
Cuomo justified the repeal by saying that 70 percent of adults in the state have now received at least one dose of vaccine. With the metropolis of the same name, New York was one of the pandemic hot spots in the USA last year. More than 600,000 corona deaths are reported across the US. (16.06.2021)
Media: Plans for up to 10,000 spectators at Olympic competitions
At the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, up to 10,000 local spectators could attend the competitions on the sports facilities. The business newspaper reported Nikkei and the Kyodo news agency ahead of the deliberations of the Japanese government’s corona task force. Accordingly, the number of spectators could be limited to 50 percent of the capacity of a venue or 10,000 people – whichever is lower.
A final decision on the number of spectators at the Olympic (from July 23rd) and the Paralympic Summer Games (from August 24th) is not expected until the Corona emergency in Tokyo ends on June 20th. It is already clear that foreign viewers will be excluded from the games. Experts fear that if the crowd is too large, the corona infections could shoot up again. The vaccination program in Japan is making very slow progress, with just over five percent of the population being fully vaccinated so far. (16.06.2021)
With a few exceptions, Israel lifts the mask requirement
Due to the persistently low number of new corona infected people, Israel is lifting the mask requirement, with a few exceptions. From Tuesday onwards, only unvaccinated visitors and employees in hospitals and care facilities will have to wear masks. The reason for this is the increased risk of patients and seniors to get sick. People who are on their way to their quarantine, as well as passengers and staff in aircraft, must continue to wear masks. The Ministry of Health announced this on Monday evening.
Israel, a nation of nine million, has been successfully implementing a vaccination campaign since December 19. Around 5.1 million have already received a second vaccination, meaning that almost 60 percent of the population has complete vaccination protection. New infections and serious illnesses have fallen sharply in the past few months. The Ministry of Health announced on Monday that only four new cases had been registered within 24 hours.
On June 1, Israel had largely lifted state restrictions due to the sharp decline in new corona infections and serious illnesses. Since then there was no longer any mask requirement outdoors. Most recently, however, many Israelis have stopped wearing masks in shops. Experts also warn that new variants could be brought in from abroad. (15.06.2021)
Johnson extends measures in England by a month
Due to the rapid spread of the Delta variant of the corona virus, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has extended the containment measures still in place until July 19, as he announced at a press conference. “I think it makes sense to wait a little longer,” said Johnson. He is confident that four weeks will be enough. During this time, the vaccination program should be accelerated again. The “Freedom Day” previously planned for June 21st will be postponed by up to four weeks.
For this Monday in June it was planned to lift all contact restrictions still in force. Shops and restaurants have already been open for weeks. Now only the rules for weddings on June 21 are relaxed – more than 30 guests are now allowed there again. The other parts of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own corona rules, which, however, differ only slightly from those in England. If the situation in England improves quickly, Johnson said changes could be made after two weeks.
Although the British vaccination campaign is well advanced and almost 57 percent of adults are already fully vaccinated, the Delta variant, which was first discovered in India, has caused the number of infections in the country to skyrocket again. After only very few new infections were counted for weeks, the so-called seven-day incidence is now almost 68 again. The value reflects the number of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants within one week. Prime Minister Johnson spoke of an increase in new positive tests of currently 64 percent per week and an increase in ICU cases.
According to a Scottish study, the risk of hospitalization is twice as high with the Delta variant as the Alpha variant, which emerged in the UK in January. The vaccines from Biontech / Pfizer and Astra Zeneca still offer the best protection against the virus variant from India, according to the study by the universities of Edinburgh and Strathclyde. They published their results in the journal The Lancet. The vaccine from Pfizer offers 92 percent protection against the alpha and 79 percent against the delta variant 14 days after the second dose, while that from Astra Zeneca offers 73 percent (alpha) and 60 percent (delta).
However, the scientists warned that the comparison should be used with caution because of the difficult data situation. The study covers a demographic distribution of cases in Scotland from April 1st to June 6th. A more complete analysis of the data is to follow. “We need to encourage everyone to agree to their vaccination offer to ensure they have received both doses,” said Scottish Authority’s Jim McMenamin in response to the findings. (14.06.2021)
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