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- Experts want clarity about corona policy as soon as possible: ‘You can’t go on with harmful measures forever
- France is tightening corona rules despite protests you have to take this into account as a tourist
- Corona numbers are going in the right direction: fewer positive tests, fewer corona patients
16.37 – MBO Council: now is the time to fully open MBO again
If there is one moment to fully reopen secondary vocational education, it is now, says the MBO Council in the run-up to the cabinet decision on reopening higher education this Friday. The cabinet has asked higher education to prepare for full reopening, but also to keep a scenario in mind in which 1.5 meters must still be kept in mind.
If there are “extremely good reasons”, the MBO Council can also understand the latter option, according to a spokeswoman. “Vaccination rates are increasing and the number of corona infections continues to fall. But of course we don’t know what the Outbreak Management Team advises about this. There may be other, epidemiological reasons for continuing to maintain the 1.5 meters. We rely on science.”
Of course, MBO would prefer to go back to normal, “but it must be safe and responsible,” said the spokeswoman.
The Association of Universities of Applied Sciences is more adamant and believes that higher education should be ‘at the top of the government’s list of priorities’. “If we also have to maintain the 1.5 meters in the new academic year, we can only use 30 percent of our space,” said a spokeswoman. “In practice, this means that students can only receive physical education on average one day a week.” And that is far too little, according to the association. “Now it’s our turn.”
The university umbrella organization VSNU also shares this opinion. “Education has long been a closing item in corona policy,” says a spokeswoman. “And now students are again at risk of being duped, this time from the festivities this summer, which caused the infection rates to rise. It would be really sour if this means that the 1.5 meter distance is returned to higher education.”
Moreover, it is technically very difficult for universities and colleges to adapt to a scenario in which the 1.5 meters must be maintained. “Then we would have to change everything again within two weeks,” according to the Association of Universities of Applied Sciences. The VSNU calls this “almost impossible.” According to the MBO Council, it is indeed “not fun” to have to set up the schedules at a distance of 1.5 meters. “But if it is necessary, then it is possible. MBOs have prepared for this.”
15.52 – Germany continues to put pressure on unvaccinated people
The German authorities will continue to put pressure on unvaccinated people. Corona tests will no longer be free from October 11. With the step, unvaccinated people are to be persuaded to still be vaccinated, German media report about the decision of the government in Berlin and the sixteen federal states.
A negative test is becoming a necessity for unvaccinated people, because it is intended that the so-called 3G rule (vaccinated, cured or tested negative) will soon apply in general. Without meeting one of the three conditions, you will no longer enter the catering industry or the hairdresser and other contact professions. Sports or events indoors and large events indoors or outdoors would also become taboo, according to media.
11.00- Number of new corona infections in Israel above 6000
In Israel, 6275 new corona infections have been detected in the past 24 hours. It is the first time in six months that this number has exceeded 6000. The number of seriously ill corona patients in hospitals rose to 394.
Israel energetically embarked on the vaccination campaign early this year and has long faced low infection rates as a result. Currently, 58 percent of the population is fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. Due to the emergence of the delta variant, the number of infections is skyrocketing.
The Israeli government previously said that the effectiveness of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine drops significantly after a few months. According to Israel, it would protect 39 percent against infection.
The corona measures were tightened in Israel on Sunday. For example, in many places a mouth mask is required again and a vaccination certificate or a negative test is required for every meeting to gain access, also for children. Further measures are not excluded.
09.00 – Schools and GGDs in conversation about injections for young people
In several of the 25 GGD regions, educational institutions and the GGD are discussing how they can interest pupils and students in corona vaccines at the start of the new school year. A spokeswoman for the GGD confirms this after a report in the Volkskrant.
She couldn’t say exactly where all this happens because it’s a matter for the regions themselves. Sometimes there has already been a request for a test box near the school, which will then also be sent, sometimes the discussions are still only in an exploratory phase.
The focus of the initiatives is purely on providing information to the vaccination candidates, or they can ultimately decide for themselves whether they really want to be vaccinated. The GGD provides the necessary information materials.
Teenagers have been able to get corona shots since the beginning of last month, but they are not really flocking in yet. There are not only such contacts with secondary schools, but also with colleges and universities, according to the GGD.
06.40 – Number of new corona cases is still falling, but very slowly
The number of new corona cases is no longer falling as quickly as in previous weeks. Only slightly fewer positive tests have been registered in the past week than in the week before. The decline appears to be leveling off.
The National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) will again provide weekly figures on the state of the outbreak on Tuesday. In the six days since the last update, 15,881 positive tests were registered, an average of almost 2650 per day. This means that the weekly figure could be between 18,000 and 19,000 on Tuesday. That would be a 10 to 15 percent drop from last week.
The current corona wave peaked in mid-July. In a week there were almost 70,000 positive tests. A week later, that had almost halved to more than 37,000. Last week, it almost halved again, to just over 21,000.
RIVM also reports how many corona patients have been admitted to hospitals in the past week. That number appears to be decreasing further. Last week, the service reported 541 new admissions in a week, slightly lower than the week before. The peak seems to have been reached, the RIVM stated at the time. The number of deaths reported in a week is still rising. That is likely to be around 40, the highest level in about two months. Last week, RIVM reported 28 deaths and 21 the week before.
RIVM will also calculate the new reproduction number on Tuesday, which indicates how quickly the virus is spreading. It has been hovering around 0.7 for a while now. Such a low number indicates that the virus is finding it increasingly difficult to infect new people. The outbreak can then slowly extinguish. At the beginning of July, the reproduction number was at 3, the highest level ever. The figure is always about the situation two weeks earlier, because more recent figures are not yet reliable enough.
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