The latest coronavirus news from Canada and around the world on Saturday. This file will be updated throughout the day. Web links to longer stories if available.
8:19 am: This was supposed to be Christmas in Europe, where family and friends could once again embrace the Christmas festivities and each other. Instead, the continent is the global epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic as cases skyrocket to record levels in many countries.
With infections on the rise again despite nearly two years of restrictions, the health crisis increasingly pits citizens against citizens: the vaccinated against the unvaccinated.
Governments desperate to protect overburdened healthcare systems are imposing rules limiting options for the unvaccinated in the hope that doing so will increase vaccination rates.
Austria took it a step further on Friday, making vaccinations mandatory from February 1.
“For a long time, maybe too long, others and I thought that it must be possible to convince people in Austria, to convince them to get vaccinated voluntarily,” said Austrian Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg.
He called the measure “our only way out of this vicious cycle of viral waves and lockdown discussions forever.”
While Austria is so far the only country in the European Union to make vaccines mandatory, more and more governments are cracking down on it.
Starting Monday, Slovakia will ban people who have not been vaccinated from all nonessential shops and malls. They will also not be allowed to attend any public events or meetings and will be asked to test twice a week just to go to work.
8:18 am: Police opened fire on protesters and seven people were injured in riots that broke out in central Rotterdam around a demonstration against COVID-19 restrictions. The mayor of the Dutch city called it “an orgy of violence.”
Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb told reporters in the early hours of Saturday morning that “on several occasions the police felt the need to draw their weapons to defend themselves” as rioters rampaged through the central business district of the port city, setting fire and throwing stones and fireworks at officers.
“They shot the protesters, people were injured,” Aboutaleb said. He had no details about the injuries. Police also fired warning shots.
Several police officers were also injured in the violence, and officers arrested dozens of people and hope to arrest more after studying video footage from security cameras, Aboutaleb said.
Photos from the scene showed at least one police car on fire and another with a bicycle through the windshield.
Riot police and a water cannon restored calm after midnight.
It was one of the worst outbreaks of violence in the Netherlands since restrictions on the coronavirus were first imposed last year. In January, rioters also attacked the police and set the streets of Rotterdam ablaze after the curfew came into effect.
8:15 am: The United States on Friday opened COVID-19 booster vaccines for all adults and took the additional step of urging people 50 and older to seek one, with the goal of avoiding a winter surge as cases of the coronavirus even before millions of Americans travel on vacation.
Until now, Americans faced a confusing list of who was eligible for a booster that varied based on age, health, and what type of vaccine they received first. The Food and Drug Administration authorized changes to the drivers for Pfizer and Moderna to make it easier.
Under the new rules, anyone over the age of 18 can choose a Pfizer or Moderna booster six months after their last dose. For anyone who has received the Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccine, the wait has already been just two months. And people can combine enhancers from any company.
“We heard loud and clear that people needed something simpler, and this, I think, is simple,” FDA vaccine chief Dr. Peter Marks told The Associated Press.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had to agree before the new policy became official Friday night. CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky supported a recommendation from her agency’s scientific advisers that, in addition to offering a booster to all adults, had emphasized that people age 50 and older should be encouraged to received it.
“It’s a stronger recommendation,” said Kaiser Permanente Colorado CDC advisor Dr. Matthew Daley. “I want to make sure that we provide as much protection as possible.”
The CDC also called on those who had previously qualified but had not yet signed up for a booster to stop putting it off, saying older Americans and people at risks like obesity, diabetes or other health problems should try to get one. before the holidays.
The expansion makes tens of millions more Americans eligible for an extra dose of protection.
The number one priority for the US and the world is still getting more unvaccinated people getting their first doses. All three COVID-19 vaccines used in the US continue to offer strong protection against serious illnesses, including hospitalization and death, without a booster.
8:15 am: More than 200 foreign tourists arrived on the largest island of Phu Quoc on Saturday, the first to visit the Southeast Asian country after nearly two years of border closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fully vaccinated South Korean travelers will spend their vacation in hotel complexes without a mandatory 14-day quarantine. They were tested upon arrival, and once negative results are returned, they can join activities on the island, including tourism, shopping, and entertainment events that require vaccination certificates.
“The program is among the country’s efforts to revive its tourism industry while reopening and developing the economy step by step under a new normal context,” said Nguyen Trung Khanh, president of the Vietnam Tourism Administration, who welcomed the charter flight on the airport runway.
According to the Ministry of Health, all staff members working in service facilities and 99% of Phu Quoc adult residents have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The island plans to vaccinate children ages 12 to 17 next month.
Vietnam closed its border in March 2020, shortly after confirming its first COVID-19 case.
Since then, it has only allowed several international flights a week with returning foreign experts, diplomats and Vietnamese citizens. Those international arrivals must undergo a 14-day quarantine at designated hotels or government-run facilities.
8:15 am: Russia’s record death toll from coronavirus persisted for a second day in a row on Saturday as the number of new infections declined.
The state coronavirus task force reported 1,254 deaths from COVID-19, which matches Friday’s count.
The task force also reported 37,120 new confirmed cases. New daily infections in recent weeks appear to be trending down, but are still higher than during previous waves of the virus.
The latest increase in infections and deaths comes amid low vaccination rates and lax public attitudes toward taking precautions. Roughly 40% of Russia’s nearly 146 million people have been fully vaccinated, even though the country approved a COVID-19 vaccine developed in the country months earlier than most of the world.
In total, the coronavirus task force has reported nearly 9.3 million confirmed infections and 262,843 deaths from COVID-19, by far the highest death toll in Europe.
Some experts believe that the true figure is even higher. Reports from Russia’s statistical service Rosstat that the coronavirus-related death count retroactively reveals a much higher mortality. They say that 462,000 people with COVID-19 died between April 2020 and September this year.
Russian officials have said the task force only includes deaths in which COVID-19 was the main cause and uses data from medical facilities. Rosstat uses broader criteria for counting deaths related to the virus and takes its numbers from the vital registration offices where the registration of a death is finalized.
8:15 am: After millions of Quebecers rolled up their sleeves for COVID-19 vaccines, it could soon be the zoo animals’ turn to get vaccinated.
The Granby Zoo, east of Montreal, says it expects in the coming weeks or months to vaccinate about 90 animals against COVID-19, including gorillas, big cats and other creatures considered susceptible to the disease. The vaccines are in the United States awaiting authorization for Canada.
“Hopefully, we can start at least a few species by Christmas. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for that, ”Emilie Couture, a zoo veterinarian, said in a recent interview.
She said the zoo plans to vaccinate the species that appear to be the most vulnerable to COVID-19. Primates and big cats like tigers, jaguars and leopards top the list, he said, adding that the zoo also includes some other mammals like red pandas.
There has been a “worrying” increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in North American zoos, especially among large cats such as lions and leopards, Couture said. Last week, three snow leopards died at the Lincoln Children’s Zoo in Nebraska from complications from COVID-19, an event she said shocked the North American zoo community.
Reference-www.thestar.com