Coronavirus - 12th November 2021

A summary of recent developments:

• The Netherlands recorded more than 16,364 new coronavirus infections in 24 hours, the highest number since the start of the pandemic. Dutch health experts have called on the government to impose a partial lockdown to fight the increase in cases.
  
  
• Germany’s chancellor-in-waiting Olaf Scholz has pushed ahead with a plan to phase out a state of national emergency by the end of the month, despite the country recording a record-high number of 50,196 new daily coronavirus cases on Thursday.
  
  
• Australia passes the 90% first dose vaccination milestone for those aged 16 and over.
  
  
• Brazil reports 188 Covid deaths in past 24 hours and 15,300 new cases of the coronavirus.
  
  
• Sweden has seen a sharp decline in Covid testing this month after its health agency said vaccinated Swedes no longer need to get tested, even if they have symptoms.
  
  
• Russia reported 1,237 Covid deaths, close to a record one-day toll recorded the previous day, amid a nationwide surge in cases. Authorities said they are preparing new restrictions.
  
  
• Protests continue in Zagreb, Croatia, for the fourth day against obligatory certificates for the public sector as the country’s Covid-19 cases hit a record high.
  
  
• The UK reported another 42,408 Covid cases and a further 195 deaths within 28 days of a positive test.
  
  
• Morgues are filling up in Romania and Bulgaria as the countries record the EU’s highest daily death rates from Covid-19, after superstition, misinformation and entrenched mistrust in governments and institutions combined to leave them the least vaccinated countries in the bloc.
  
  
• EU drug regulator lists rare spinal condition as side-effect of Johnson & Johnson Covid shot. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said it was also assessing reports of a rare blood condition known as capillary leak syndrome (CLS) following inoculation with Moderna’s vaccine.
  
  
• Moderna has offered to sell its vaccines to the African Union at $7 a shot, the head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control said.
  
  
• Covaxin, the first Covid-19 vaccine developed in India, is “highly efficacious” and presents no safety concerns, according to a recent study published in the Lancet.
  
  
• Austria saw a record high of daily infections as intensive-care units are increasingly strained. About 65% of Austria’s population is fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, the lowest rate of any western European country apart from Liechtenstein.
  
  
• The UK government’s vaccine mandate for care home workers came into effect as about 50,000 care home staff have not been fully vaccinated in England and will not be allowed to work from Thursday.
  
  
• Israel holds world’s first “war game drill” in case of an outbreak of a new lethal variant of Covid-19. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and senior aides holed up in a nuclear command bunker to simulate an outbreak, describing such an eventuality as “the next war”.
  

The Netherlands considers imposing partial lockdown

A three-week partial lockdown is more than recommended by government health advisors, but is being seen as a trade off against other advice. The government is not planning to close cinemas and theatres – which had been suggested by the Outbreak Management Team.

Sports matches can go ahead but without supporters, NOS said. This means Tuesday evening’s World Cup qualification game between the Netherlands and Norway would take place in an empty stadium.

In the meantime, the cabinet wants to anchor other measures – such as the return of social distancing – in law, NOS said. It will take one or two weeks to get that through both houses of parliament.

Chinese port city battles growing Covid cluster

Czech Republic reports more than 10,000 new daily cases for third time this week

Russia reports 40,123 new cases and 1,235 deaths in last 24 hours

A database of Russians who purchased fake coronavirus vaccine certificates has leaked online, the Kommersant business daily reported Friday, with experts warning that the buyers are now at risk of both blackmail and jail time.
With vaccine skepticism rampant, many Russians have turned to the black market to purchase counterfeit QR code passes that prove one’s vaccination or negative Covid-19 status. Nearly every Russian region now requires the passes in order to access public areas and events amid a record-breaking fourth wave of the pandemic.
The issue gained further urgency as lawmakers announced plans Thursday to mandate the QR codes nationwide and the Kremlin warned that these and other restrictions will only be lifted after the end of the coronavirus pandemic.

Germany to reintroduce free Covid tests from tomorrow

• Germany will reintroduce free Covid-19 tests from Saturday.
  
• Doctors will get higher reimbursements for administering Covid-19 vaccinations from Tuesday.
  

Denmark reintroduces digital Covid pass for indoor settings from today

Germany to classify visitors from Austria 'high-risk', impose quarantine on unvaccinated

China reports first positive Covid test among athletes taking part in Winter Olympic test events

Today so far

• The Netherlands will become the first western European country to impose a partial lockdown since the summer, Dutch media have reported, introducing strict new measures from Saturday in the face of record numbers of new Covid-19 infections.
  
• The restrictions, due to be announced by the prime minister, Mark Rutte, on Friday evening and to last at least three weeks, include the closure of bars, restaurants and non-essential shops from 7pm, the public broadcaster NOS said.
  
• Austria is set to place millions of people not fully vaccinated against Covid-19 in lockdown in a matter of days as infections soar to record highs and intensive care units face an increasing strain. The country’s worst-affected province of Upper Austria plans to introduce a lockdown for the unvaccinated from Monday next week following recommendations from medical experts.
  
• Germany’s health minister Jens Spahn has made a series of announcements. Covid tests will become free again from Saturday, and from Tuesday doctors will be given greater financial incentive to administer vaccines. From Sunday visitors from Austria will be classed as “high-risk” and must enter quarantine upon arrival in Germany unless they have been vaccinated or have recovered from Covid-19.
  
• The Czech Republic reported 10,395 new Covid-19 cases for 11 November, surpassing 10,000 for the third time this week.
  
• Denmark has reintroduced its digital Covid pass from today, after it declared the coronavirus once again “a socially critical disease” amid an increase in domestic cases.
  
• Dr Bharat Pankhania, senior clinical lecturer at Exeter University College of Medicine and Health, has said that in Western Europe the large pool of unvaccinated people combined with a widespread post-lockdown resumption of socializing and a slight decline in immunity for people who got their shots months ago is driving up the pace of infections.
  
• Russia’s case and death numbers remain at similar levels to yesterday with 40,123 new cases and 1,235 deaths. Media reports suggest that a database of Russians who purchased fake coronavirus vaccine certificates has leaked online.
  
• China has reported the first Covid-19 cases among foreign athletes at preparatory events for the upcoming Beijing 2022 Winter Games, as stringent measures being put in place to control any outbreaks are put to the test.
  
• The Chinese port city of Dalian has reported China’s highest daily Covid count as the nation continues to battle the most recent outbreak since mid-October. The growing Covid-19 cluster has spurred the northeastern port city to limit outbound travel, cut offline school classes and close a few cultural venues after being told by national authorities to contain the outbreak more quickly.
  

The state alone will not be able to contain the spread of Covid-19.

I personally won’t be attending New Year’s Eve parties. But I urge people not to wait until then to think about their actions.

Otherwise the nation will experience a bitter December.

I’m seeing the storm clouds gathering over parts of the European continent and I’ve got to be absolutely frank with people, we’ve been here before and we remember what happened when a wave starts rolling in.
The UK has built up a huge amount of protection thanks to the vaccine rollout and people’s amazing willingness to come forward and get jabbed.
What I’m saying today is the urgency of getting that booster jab is more prevalent than ever.
If you can get it, it’s a great thing, the levels of protection it gives you are terrific so over 50s we’re now calling forward, they should come and get it.
What I’m also saying is if we don’t do it fast enough we can see the potential risks to the state of the pandemic and what’s happening in other parts of Europe.

Dutch PM announces western Europe's first lockdown since summer

Boris Johnson urges people to get Covid boosters as he warns of ‘storm clouds’

Evening summary

• The Netherlands will return to partial lockdown amid surging Covid cases - the first lockdown in western Europe this winter. Taking effect from Saturday evening for three weeks, restaurants and non-essential shops will close early and spectators will be barred from major sporting events, as the country tackles record infections and intensive care admissions. Social distancing will be reintroduced, as many people as possible should work from home, and no more than four visitors over the age of 13 will be permitted in people’s homes, the prime minister Mark Rutte announced.
  
• Elderly and vulnerable people must get their booster jabs if a rise in Covid cases in the UK is to be prevented, the British prime minister said, as he warned of “storm clouds” forming over parts of Europe where infections are surging. Speaking in a broadcast clip, Boris Johnson said the situation was of concern. “I’m seeing the storm clouds gathering over parts of the European continent. And I’ve got to be absolutely frank with people: we’ve been here before. We remember what happens when the wave starts rolling in,” he said. Story here.
  
• AstraZeneca has started signing commercial contracts to supply its Covid-19 vaccine next year as the pandemic moves to an “endemic phase” – in a major shift away from the drugmaker’s not-for-profit pricing. Britain’s biggest pharma firm expects the vaccine to move to “modest profitability” as new orders are received. However, the chief executive, Pascal Soriot, insisted that it was offering affordable and tiered pricing, depending on countries’ ability to pay. He said the vaccine, developed with Oxford University, would not become “a huge profit earner”. Story here.
  
• Latvia’s parliament voted to ban lawmakers who refuse to get a Covid vaccine from voting on legislature and participating in discussions and to dock their pay. Latvia has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the EU. The restrictions on vaccine-rejecting MPs was supported by 62 of its 100 lawmakers, and will last from Monday until mid-2022.
  
• Germany’s health minister, Jens Spahn, said the country faces a “bitter December” if immediate measures are not taken to try to control the spread of coronavirus. Against a backdrop of record infection rates, Spahn announced a return to free testing from Saturday and plans to introduce a so-called 2G Plus rule, according to which people would have to be vaccinated or recovered in addition to producing a negative test in order to attend cultural, sporting and other gatherings. The German government also declared Austria, the Czech Republic and Hungary as high-risk areas and advised Germans to avoid travelling there.
  
• The head of Germany’s Robert Kock Institute advised Germans to avoid large gatherings amid the record surge in coronavirus infections, warning: “It’s five minutes past midnight.” Germany’s weekly infection rate has soared to an all-time high of 263.7 per 100,000 people, and intensive care beds are filling up rapidly. With Christmas markt season approaching, Wieler said large gatherings “must be viewed very critically” and in some situations “clearly should be cancelled”. Prof Lothar Wieler added that he would be skipping next month’s New Year’s parties, “but I urge people not to wait until then to think about their actions”.
  
• Austria’s government is likely to decide on Sunday to impose a lockdown on people who have not been vaccinated against the coronavirus as daily infections have surged to record levels, the chancellor Alexander Schallenberg said. He did not say when the lockdown would take effect, but the two provinces hardest-hit by this wave of infections, Upper Austria and Salzburg, have said they will introduce the measure for themselves on Monday. Story here.
  
• Norway will offer a third Covid vaccine dose to everyone aged 18 or older and will give municipalities the option of using digital “corona passes” as a way to beat back an ongoing surge in infections, the government said. The country is not going back into lockdown, but new measures include a requirement for adults who have been in contact with a positive case to be tested, and unvaccinated health workers will have to be tested twice a week and wear masks.
  
• Mauritius imposed a raft of Covid-19 curbs today as it confronts a surge in cases despite a high vaccination rate. A month after reopening its borders to international visitors, schools were closed this week, with all classes to be held online, while bars and discos have been ordered to shut and concerts and sporting competitions banned. The government is also limiting numbers of people attending gatherings such as weddings, funerals and rallies, but said beaches would be open, although picnics are prohibited.