Coronavirus - 6 February 2022

Russia's coronavirus cases hit new record high

Russia reported 180,071 COVID-19 cases on Saturday, a record daily high, as the Omicron variant continued to spread, the coronavirus task force said.
Russia confirmed 661 deaths of coronavirus patients in the past 24 hours, the authorities said.
There were 177,282 cases the previous day.

Olympics-China reports 10 new COVID cases among Olympics personnel on Feb 5

China detected 10 new cases of COVID-19 among Olympic Games-related personnel on Saturday, down from 45 a day earlier, the organising committee of the Beijing 2022 Winter Games said on Sunday.
Of the cases detected, four were among new airport arrivals, including two athletes or team officials.
The remaining six were already in the “closed loop” bubble that separates event personnel from the public, according to a notice on the Games’ official website.

Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister James Marape tested positive for COVID-19 upon arrival in Beijing on Thursday for the opening of the Winter Games and will not be traveling to France next week for an Indo-Pacific summit, his office said on Sunday.
Reuters reports:
The prime minister’s office said in statement on its Facebook page:

:Left Quotes: Prime Minister Marape will now abort the French leg of this trip due to COVID-19 restrictions, having returned a positive test result upon arrival in Beijing last Thursday evening.

Marape was due to return to PNG on Sunday but did not give any further details about his condition.
According to a statement posted on the website of the PNG’s National Control Centre for COVID-19, Marape received his booster vaccination against the coronavirus on Jan. 24th.
On Saturday, while in Beijing Marape held a virtual meeting with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang to discuss strengthening economic cooperation, Marape’s office said.
A joint statement published on China’s embassy in the United States after the meeting stated that the two sides agreed to strengthen cooperation in trade, investment, energy, resources and infrastructure, among others.
Marape was to travel from Beijing to the Feb. 9-11 One Ocean Summit in the northwest of France on 9-11, held in the context of the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union, with the support of the United Nations.
Marape was also scheduled to meet France’s President Emmanuel Macron, Marape’s office said earlier in the week.

South Korea crosses 1 million Covid-19 infections after new daily record
La Prensa Latina
Seoul, Feb 6 (EFE).- South Korea crossed Sunday one million total Covid-19 cases since the start of the pandemic, following a fresh daily record of 38,691 cases amid a rapid increase in infections caused by the spread of the Omicron variant.
Gyeonggi Province, which surrounds Seoul, reported the most cases at 11,924, the capital accounted for 7,778 infections and the port city of Incheon reported 2,227 cases, according to data published by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).
With Sunday’s cases, the total number of Covid-19 infections in the Asian country climbed to 1,009,688.
Infections have increased sharply on Asian territory in recent days, and daily cases crossed the 30,000 barrier for the first time on Saturday, three days after reaching 20,000 and a week after surpassing 10,000 on Jan.26.
Infections have multiplied by more than five times in the last two weeks in South Korea, where authorities believe the numbers could increase further and reach 100,000 cases a day in the coming weeks.
KDCA also reported Sunday the death of 15 people from the virus, bringing the total number of deaths from Covid-19 to 6,873, representing a 0.68 percent mortality rate in the Asian country.
So far, 28.17 million people or 54.9 percent of South Korea’s population have been administered the booster shot of the Covid-19 vaccine, whereas 44.11 million or 86 percent of the population have received two doses.
In an attempt to curb the spread of infections, the government has extended until Feb.20 its current prevention measures, which include a ban on private gatherings of more than six people and require shops to close at 9pm.
South Korean authorities are also expected to lower the age of people eligible to be treated with Covid-19 pills from 60 to 50 from Monday. EFE
co-mra/sc

No internet, bad food and dirty rooms: Olympic athletes struggle in Covid quarantine

New England Public Media

BEIJING — Olympic athletes who test positive for COVID-19 and forced to isolate in Beijing are reporting serious issues with their quarantine conditions.
Team officials from Germany, Belgium, and Russia said their athletes are facing nightmarish situations, like poor to no internet connection, bad food, and no training equipment, in the so-called quarantine hotels set up by Chinese officials.
No access to fitness equipment or struggling to communicate with their teams are especially problematic for athletes trying to stay in tip-top shape before they compete.
"My stomach hurts, I'm very pale and I have huge black circles around my eyes. I want all this to end. I cry every day. I'm very tired," Russian biathlon competitor Valeria Vasnetsova posted on Instagram.
Her account has since gone private.
Vasnetsova, who missed her competition, said she received pasta, orange sauce, meat, and potatoes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for five days straight.
Germany's Eric Frenzel, a three-time gold medalist in Nordic combined, also tested positive. Dirk Schimmelpfennig, the head of Germany's delegation, said the hotel conditions for him were "unreasonable." The rooms were too small, unhygienic, and food deliveries didn't come often enough.
Athletes are stuck in these isolation facilities until they test negative with two consecutive PCR tests. Only then can they be released and reenter the Olympic Village to train with their teams and to compete.

Read more here.

Vietnam records 14,105 new local Covid cases

Le Nga

HCMC's Tan Son Nhat airport is overrun by air travelers returning from the Tet holiday on Feb. 5, 2022. Photo by VnExpress/Gia Minh

Vietnam on Sunday recorded 14,105 new local Covid-19 cases in 56 cities and provinces and 63 deaths.
The three localities with the highest number of cases are Hanoi with 2,797 cases, Da Nang with 927 cases and Quang Nam with 853 cases.
The Health Ministry announced another 63 deaths due to Covid-19 on Sunday, including seven in the Mekong Delta's Ben Tre, six in Ba Ria-Vung Tau bordering HCMC, five in the Mekong Delta's Vinh Long, and four each in HCMC, Da Nang and Bac Ninh. The death toll in Vietnam has climbed to 38,327, or 1.6 percent of all infections.
The country now has 168,469 active patients, and 2,203 of them are severe.
6,802 Covid-19 patients were announced recovered on Sunday, bringing the number of recovered cases to 2,112,715 cases.
Vietnam has recorded 192 cases with the Omicron variant to date, with 92 of them in HCMC.
Of its 96-million population, 74.2 million have received two vaccine shots and 28.8 million have received three.

Bandung limits face-to-face schooling to 50 percent of class capacity

Antara News Agency
Bandung, W Java (ANTARA) - The Bandung city government in West Java is limiting face-to-face schooling to 50 percent of the class capacity in response to a rise in COVID-19 cases.
The policy was set forth in the Bandung Mayor's Regulation No. 13 of 2022 on the fifth round of amendment to the Bandung Mayor's Regulation No. 103 of 2021, Secretary of the Bandung City Administration Ema Sumarna said here on Sunday."We must anticipate and adjust to this. But in case of escalation (in COVID-19 spread) that we do not expect it is possible to amend the regulation again," he said.
The policy to limit face-to-face learning is contained in Article 6 of the Bandung Mayor's Regulation No. 13 of 2022 under which face-to-face schooling can be held at a maximum of 50 percent of the class capacity.
The head of the Bandung City Education Office will later decide the number of schools allowed to hold 50-percent face-to-face schooling at 50 percent of the class capacity. Earlier, 350 schools were allowed to hold 100 percent face-to-face schooling.
The regulation also allow schools that cannot hold face-to-face class to implement remote learning.
Ema said the policy is designed to stay alert for the recent increase in COVID-19 cases.
The COVID-19 cases in Bandung can increase ten folds in one week unless necessary steps are taken, he said.
Reporter: Bagus Ahmad R, Suharto
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
COPYRIGHT ANTARA 2022

Covid rule traps: Tourists who had their jabs more than 270 days ago need a booster to enter France, Spain and Denmark

James Tapper - The Guardian
Travellers have been warned to check their half-term holiday plans to make sure they meet Covid vaccination rules when travelling to EU destinations as a growing number of countries impose new restrictions.
France joined Spain and Denmark last week in requiring anyone who completed their vaccination jabs more than 270 days ago to have a booster to enter the country – or be considered unvaccinated. Austria requires boosters after 180 days.
It means that any of the 18 million people in the UK who had their second dose before mid-May in 2021 would need to have been boosted if they travel to those countries on Saturday, 12 February. Yet only 65% of over-12s have had a booster so far.

Chinese city locked down and reportedly sealed off after Omicron breakout

The Chinese city of Baise in #Guangxi (population 3.57 million) has been locked down because of a #Covid outbreak, reports the BBC’s China correspondent Stephen McDonell. He says that it has reportedly been sealed off with people not allowed to enter or leave.


Back to the office tomorrow for workers in India
The Times of India is reporting that the central government offices is calling all workers back to the office from tomorrow, following a decline in coronavirus cases.
Minister of state for personnel and PMO Jitendra Singh said:

A review of the pandemic situation was done on Sunday and it has been decided that full office attendance, without any exemption, shall resume with effect from February 7, 2022.

Another 54,095 Covid cases have been confirmed in the UK, the lowest figure since December, but the statistic does not include cases in Scotland.
The last time daily infection numbers were this low was on 14 December, however Scotland does not report its daily positive test numbers until Monday.
It comes as a further 75 deaths were registered on Sunday. The death toll stands at 158,318 with more than 17.8 million people now having tested positive for the virus.

Italy has reported a fall in Covid cases on Sunday, with 77,029 new infections compared to 93,157 on Saturday.
It took the number of people to have tested positive during the pandemic in the country to more than 11.6 million.
Data from the health ministry, reported by Reuters, showed a decline in daily deaths, from 375 on Saturday to 229 on Sunday.

China’s chief epidemiologist has said that as long as there’s no other way to contain the spread of the virus, the country won’t adjust it’s “dynamic Zero Covid” pandemic control policy.
Vincent Ni - The Guardian
In an interview with the state-owned Global Times on Sunday, Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist with the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, also said that even though China has reached a 70 percent vaccination rate, as long as the virus can evade herd immunity, people can still get infected.
It comes as the city of Baise in Guangxi has been locked down because of a Covid outbreak. Reports say that it has reportedly been sealed off with people not allowed to enter or leave.
Wu pointed to the recent outbreak in the northern port city of Tianjin, where many infected with Omicron had been vaccinated. It is the latest confirmation from Beijing that China won’t re-open any time soon.
“We previously thought Covid -19 could be basically contained through vaccines, but now it seems that there’s no simple method to control it except with comprehensive measures, although vaccines are the most important weapon in curbing the epidemic, including Omicron,” Wu said.
Wu told the Global Times that living with Covid is a “permanent task for humans”.

France registered 155,439 positive cases on Sunday, lower than the number on the same day last week.
It follows a continued downward trend in infections for the country which has seen more than 20.7m positive tests throughout the pandemic. At the peak of the Omicron wave, more than 350,000 cases were recorded on several days in January.
Another 129 deaths were recorded, taking the death toll to 132,506.

Honduras president tests positive

Xiomara Castro, the president of Central American country Honduras, has tested positive for Covid-19.
In a tweet, she said she had mild symptoms.
Castro took office in January 2022 and is the country’s first female to become president.

The mayor of Ottawa has declared a state of emergency over Covid-19 protests.

Jim Watson said the order highlights the need for support from other levels of government, as protesters opposed to lockdowns brought downtown of the Canadian capital to a stand still.
Thousands descended at the weekend, joining a hundred who had stayed throughout this week. Associated Press said residents were furious at the blaring of horns, traffic disruption and harassment.

Brazil registered 59,737 Covid cases on Sunday, its health ministry has reported.
Officials said it had recorded 391 new coronavirus deaths.

John Whaite to miss Strictly Come Dancing tour dates after testing positive for Covid in Glasgow

Siobhan Macdonald - Daily Record
John Whaite has to miss out on Strictly Come Dancing tour dates after testing positive for Covid-19 after a show in Glasgow.
The Great British Bake Off star took to Instagram today to tell fans the disappointing news after one of his lateral flow tests came back positive.
The Strictly tour is currently in Glasgow until February 7, before heading back down South for performances in Nottingham and London.

Johannes Radebe and John Whaite during the dress rehearsal for Saturday's live show of BBC1's Strictly Come Dancing.  (Image: PA)

The 32-year-old Strictly star said: "Hi everyone, little bit of bad news I’m afraid.
"A lateral flow this morning has come back positive so I now have to sit here in this glamorous captivity until a result of a PCR comes back – and I’m hoping they come back negative because I feel fine.
"I’m triple jabbed, I had coronavirus in summer, so I’m hoping it’s just a false positive. But that does mean of course that I won’t be able to perform today or tonight in Glasgow, so I am very, very, very, very, very sorry if anyone was hoping to see me shaking my thing on the dance floor because I just won’t be there shaking it.
"I’ll be in my hotel room – probably still shaking it – but that isn’t something I wish the world could see because it isn’t pretty, darling.
"When you’re not in sparkles and sequins, it ain’t pretty – they’re the real me, vile [sic]!
"Anyway, I’m sorry I can’t be there. I hope you enjoy the show nonetheless, and good luck to all my friend who are in the show today. I’m sorry I’m letting you all down."
John is the latest Strictly star forced to miss performances of the live tour for various reasons.
Pro Amy Dowden was forced to miss some dates after a flare up of her Crohn’s disease ahead of the Manchester shows.
Tilly Ramsay's pro partner Nikita Kuzmin had to miss out on dates after testing positive for Covid-19, but was fortunately able to re-join the tour after.

Ottawa declares state of emergency over COVID-19 protests

Rob Gillies - Associated Press
The mayor of Canada's capital declared a state of emergency Sunday and a former U.S. ambassador to Canada said groups in the U.S. must stop interfering in the domestic affairs of America's neighbor as protesters opposed to COVID-19 restrictions continued to paralyze Ottawa's downtown.
Mayor Jim Watson said the declaration highlights the need for support from other jurisdictions and levels of government. It gives the city some additional powers around procurement and how it delivers services, which could help purchase equipment required by frontline workers and first responders.
Thousands of protesters descended in Ottawa again on the weekend, joining a hundred who remained since last weekend. Residents of Ottawa are furious at the nonstop blaring of horns, traffic disruption and harassment and fear no end is in sight after the police chief called it a “siege” that he could not manage.
The “freedom truck convoy” has attracted support from many U.S. Republicans including former President Donald Trump, who called Prime Minister Justin Trudeau a “far left lunatic” who has "destroyed Canada with insane Covid mandates.”
“Canada US relations used to be mainly about solving technical issues. Today Canada is unfortunately experiencing radical US politicians involving themselves in Canadian domestic issues. Trump and his followers are a threat not just to the US but to all democracies," Bruce Heyman, a former U.S. ambassador under President Barack Obama, tweeted.
Heyman said “under no circumstances should any group in the USA fund disruptive activities in Canada. Period. Full stop.”
After crowdfunding site GoFundMe said it would refund or redirect to charities the vast majority of the millions raised by demonstrators protesting in the Canadian capital, prominent U.S. Republicans like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis complained.
But GoFundMe had already changed its mind and said it would be issuing refunds to all. The site said it cut off funding for the organizers because it had determined the effort violated the site’s terms of service due to unlawful activity.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has called it an occupation.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxon tweeted: “Patriotic Texans donated to Canadian truckers' worthy cause." and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said on Fox News “government doesn’t have the right to force you to comply to their arbitrary mandates.”
“For some senior American politicians, patriotism means renting a mob to put a G-7 capital under siege,” tweeted Gerald Butts, a former senior adviser to Trudeau.
In Canada's largest city, Toronto, police controlled and later ended a much smaller protest by setting up road blocks and preventing any trucks or cars from getting near the provincial legislature. Police also moved in to clear a key intersection in the city.
Many Canadians have been outraged over the crude behavior of the demonstrators. Some protesters set fireworks off on the grounds of the National War Memorial late Friday. A number have carried signs and flags with swastikas last weekend and compared vaccine mandates to fascism.
Protesters have said they won’t leave until all mandates and COVID-19 restrictions are gone. They are also calling for the removal of Trudeau’s government, though it is responsible for few of the measures, most of which were put in place by provincial governments.

UK reports 54,095 new COVID-19 cases and 75 deaths

The UK on Sunday reported 54,095 new confirmed COVID-19 cases and 75 deaths, according to government data.
Sunday's figures represent a decline from Saturday's figures when 60,578 new cases and 259 deaths were reported.
The figures are also a reduction from last Sunday's when 69,007 new cases and 91 deaths were reported.
Overall, more than 17.7 million people in the UK have tested positive for COVID-19 since the pandemic began, and more than 158,000 people have died.
Meanwhile, 13,929 people and 27,148 others received their first and second COVID-19 vaccine doses taking their respective totals to 52,427,710 and 48,576,227. 37,529,824 people have now received a third dose/booster shot after 36,338 such doses were administered.
On Friday, World Health Organization (WHO) regional director for Europe Dr. Hans Kluge said the region was entering the "plausible endgame" of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kluge said Europe must continue to preserve immunity by vaccinating and boosting, protecting the most vulnerable, promoting self-protecting behaviour and individual responsibility and intensifying surveillance to detect new variants.