The latest coronavirus news from Canada and around the world on Thursday. This file will be updated throughout the day. Web links to longer stories if available.
7:30 am During the first year and a half of the coronavirus pandemic, it appeared that Taiwan would remain largely unscathed by the devastation that was taking place elsewhere. Apart from the almost universal use of masks, people went about their lives in a normal way.
But Taiwan was caught off guard when the virus hit. The health system was unable to handle the number of COVID tests needed and doctors lacked the proper medications. The death toll rose rapidly from just 12 to more than 800.
Bereaved families seeking an apology and 60 million New Taiwan dollars in compensation from the government, saying he was unprepared, despite a year and a half of the pandemic, leading to unnecessary deaths and suffering.
The families’ lawyers presented their case on Thursday to the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Executive Yuan, Taiwan’s cabinet.
6:08 am: Health Sciences North said Wednesday that it is “feeling the shock” of the rapid rise in local COVID-19 cases, as admissions have risen steadily in recent weeks.
As a result, the hospital is reintroducing COVID-19 measures for visitors as of November 11 “until further notice,” it said in a statement.
Currently, the hospital has 20 admitted patients, one of them in the ICU and 19 in other units, who tested positive for COVID-19.
There are also 38 admitted patients, including one in the ICU and 37 in other units, who have been evaluated for COVID-19 and are awaiting results.
Public Health Sudbury and Districts declared a COVID-19 outbreak at level four of the North Tower on October 30.
The hospital said these numbers are some of its “highest COVID-19 revenues since the pandemic began.”
“Our occupancy is still well above 100 percent,” the hospital said, adding that the numbers put everyone at risk for further transmission and outbreaks in the future.
“In order to help the situation and reduce the risk to our patients and staff, HSN is reverting to measures for visitor assignments that were introduced earlier in the pandemic.”
6:08 am: Canadians will return to cenotaphs and monuments across much of the country on Thursday morning to remember and pay their respects to those who fought and died in the service of Canada.
This year’s Remembrance Day ceremonies will contrast with those of last year, when organizers discouraged people from attending in person due to the second wave of COVID-19.
Royal Canadian Legion spokesperson Nujma Bond hopes for a return to a semblance of normalcy, including at the National War Memorial in Ottawa, where people are invited to attend.
However, some restrictions and changes will remain in effect as COVID-19 continues to pose a threat, Bond said, with masks and physical distancing requirements for anyone planning to attend the ceremonies.
6:06 am: Belgian authorities said Wednesday they approved plans to have a COVID-19 booster vaccine for everyone who wants one.
The health ministers of the different regions of the country said that in addition to the booster vaccines for health professionals and the group of people over 65 that are already being administered, they will begin to prepare a booster vaccination campaign for the most youths.
It also approved a booster dose for those who have received the one-dose J&J vaccine.
Although Belgium has one of the highest vaccination rates in Europe, it is currently struggling to contain a fourth peak of the pandemic.
6:04 am: Colleges that adopted the COVID-19 vaccine mandates this fall have seen widespread compliance despite many schools making it easier to phase out the vaccines by granting waivers to almost any student who requested them.
Facing pockets of resistance and scattered lawsuits, universities have been careful because forcing students to get vaccinated when they have a religious or medical objection could put schools in tricky legal territory. For some, there is an additional concern that taking a hard line could lead to a drop in enrollment.
Still, mandated universities report much higher vaccination rates than surrounding communities, even in places with high vaccinations. Some colleges have seen near-complete compliance, including at the state’s flagship schools in Maryland, Illinois, and Washington, helping them avoid large outbreaks like the ones that disrupted classes a year ago.
6:03 am: The campaign to vaccinate elementary school-age children in the United States is off to a good start, health officials said Wednesday, but experts say there are signs that the initial momentum will be difficult to maintain.
About 900,000 children ages 5 to 11 will have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in their first week of eligibility, the White House said, providing a first look at the pace of the school-age vaccination campaign.
“We are off to a very strong start,” White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients said during a briefing with reporters.
Federal regulators granted final clearance for the vaccines on November 2, and the first doses for children began in some locations the next day.
The estimated increase in vaccinations for elementary school-age children appears similar to a jump seen in May, when teens ages 12 to 15 became eligible to receive the vaccines.
Now, nearly 20,000 pharmacies, clinics and doctors’ offices are offering the doses to younger children, and the Biden administration estimates that more than 900,000 of the doses will have been administered to children by the end of Wednesday. On top of that, around 700,000 first injection appointments are scheduled for the next few days.
6:01 am: A coalition of 10 states sued the federal government on Wednesday to try to block the COVID-19 vaccine requirement for healthcare workers, marking a new front in the resistance of Republican-led states to the pandemic policies of the administration of President Joe Biden.
The lawsuit filed in federal court in Missouri contends that the vaccine requirement threatens the jobs of millions of healthcare workers and could “exacerbate an alarming shortage” in healthcare fields, particularly in rural areas where some health care workers health have hesitated to get the shots.
The lawsuit follows similar ones from Republican-led states defying new rules from the Biden administration that will require federal contractors to make sure their workers are vaccinated and that companies with more than 100 employees require their workers to be vaccinated. or wear masks and get weekly tests for coronavirus. . All mandates are scheduled to go into effect on January 4.
The Biden administration contends that federal rules supersede state policies that prohibit vaccine mandates and are essential to curbing the pandemic, which has killed more than 755,000 people in the U.S. But the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals for The New Orleans-based US has already temporarily blocked the commercial vaccine. rule, saying it raises “serious statutory and constitutional questions.”
6 am: A fire at a COVID-19 hospital in Romania killed two people on Thursday, authorities said. It was the fourth fatal fire in a Romanian COVID-19 hospital during the pandemic.
The fire broke out in the infectious disease wing of the hospital in the city of Ploiesti as 21 patients were receiving care, authorities said. Authorities identified the two victims as men in their 70s. A nurse who was reportedly severely burned was transferred to a hospital in Bucharest, the Romanian capital.
The cause of the fire, which was quickly extinguished, was not yet known, but was being investigated.
Acting Prime Minister Florin Citu sent his condolences Thursday morning to the families of the fire victims, saying “such tragedies must not be repeated.”
“I always asked that hospitals be prepared for the fourth wave,” Citu said during a press conference. “We are facing an overload of the medical system due to the fourth wave, and everyone involved must ensure that all measures are taken for the safety of patients.”
5:59 am: Can COVID-19 Testing at Home Make Holiday Gatherings Safer?
Yes, combined with vaccination, COVID-19 home test kits can add a layer of safety and peace of mind by providing immediate results during this second year of a pandemic vacation.
“We will use rapid tests to verify everyone before we meet,” says Dr. Emily Volk, president of the College of American Pathologists, who is planning a holiday meal with six vaccinated family members. “We will when they walk through the door.”
Home kits are not as accurate as the PCR tests that are done in hospitals and at test sites, says Volk. But they have the advantage of giving results in minutes instead of days.
5:57 am: Germany’s national disease control center reported a record number of more than 50,000 daily cases of coronavirus on Thursday, as the country’s parliament was ready to discuss legislation that would provide a new legal framework for measures against the coronavirus.
The Robert Koch Institute registered 50,196 new cases, up from 33,949 daily cases the week before. Infections have risen so rapidly in recent days that hospitals in especially affected regions once again canceled planned surgeries so that medical staff could focus on COVID-19 patients.
The institute also reported 237 daily deaths from COVID-19, bringing the death toll from the pandemic in Germany to 97,198. One of the country’s leading virologists, Christian Drosten, warned on Wednesday that another 100,000 people could die in the coming months if the country’s vaccination rate did not accelerate rapidly.
Unlike other European countries, Germany has refused to make vaccinations mandatory for certain categories of workers. However, the country has struggled to find ways to persuade more people to get vaccinated voluntarily.
Thursday 5:55 am: The National Institutes of Health is prepared to aggressively defend its claim that its scientists helped invent a crucial component of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine, including taking legal action if government attorneys deem it necessary, the director said Wednesday. of the agency, Dr. Francis Collins.
Moderna’s vaccine, which appears to provide the world’s best defense against COVID-19, grew out of four years of collaboration with research scientists at the NIH Vaccine Research Center. The New York Times reported Tuesday that the company has blocked three NIH researchers from being named in a key patent application.
Much more than scientific recognition is at stake. If federal researchers were named co-inventors on the patent, the government would have a nearly unlimited right to license the Modern vaccine to other manufacturers, which could expand access to it in poorer nations and generate millions in government revenue. .
Collins declined to be interviewed. But speaking to Reuters before a virtual health conference hosted by the news service, he made clear that the NIH, the government’s biomedical research agency, was not backing down.
Read the news about the coronavirus on Wednesday.
Reference-www.thestar.com