COVID-19

COVID-19: There Will Be Further Relax Restrictions in European Countries

Published

4 years ago

May 17, 2020

GiftUgbede

European COVID- 19 Lockdown Restrictions

COVID-19: There Will Be Further Relax Restrictions in European Countries

European countries will be furthering their COVID-19 lockdown easing as of Monday. Italy and Spain are included.

After two months of Lockdown, most businesses are to begin their work back as from Monday.

Two or more people are now free to meet as Spain is set to relax its restrictions.

Most businesses in Italy, including bars and hairdressers, will be free to reopen after more than two months of nationwide lockdown measures.

Spain is set to relax its restrictions in most of the country, with groups of up to 10 people free to meet.

The measures follow consistent drops in the number of daily recorded deaths.

On Sunday, Italy recorded the fewest daily deaths since it entered lockdown in March.

It said 145 people had died with the virus in the previous 24 hours. This marked a significant drop from its highest daily death toll, which was more than 900 on 27 March.

Also Read:

In Spain, the daily death toll fell below 100 for the first time since it imposed its lockdown restrictions.

But officials are warning that complacency over the virus could lead to the second wave of infections.

What’s happening on Monday?

Restaurants, bars, cafes, hairdressers and shops will be allowed to reopen in Italy, providing social distancing is enforced.

Pope Francis held a private Mass at St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, which has been disinfected ahead of its reopening to tourists.

Almost 32,000 people in Italy have died in the pandemic, and the economy is expected to shrink by nearly 10% this year.

Catholic churches are preparing for the resumption of Mass, but there will be strict social distancing, and worshippers must wear face masks. Other faiths will also be allowed to hold religious services.

But health officials have warned of the continued dangers of large social gatherings.

In one of the European countries, Spain, a majority of people will have emerged from lockdown by the end of the week.

The country has a four-phase system for reopening, which authorities are applying at different speeds in different regions.

Most of Spain is now in phase one. As of Monday up to 10 people are allowed to meet together, provided they wear masks and social distance, while bars and restaurants can open outdoor seating at half capacity. Cinemas, museums, and theatres are also opening at reduced capacity.

Barcelona, Madrid, and parts of the north-west, however, remain in phase 0. Most restrictions will remain in place, but some small shops will be allowed to reopen on Monday, and funerals can be held for groups of up to 10 inside and 15 outside. This has been dubbed “phase 0.5” – an intermediate step in these regions.

The country is now “very close” to stopping the transmission of COVID- 19, the head of the emergency health center, Fernando Simon, said on Sunday.

But he warned that the risk of a second wave of cases was “still very big”.

Elsewhere in Europe:

Belgium is to begin reopening primary and secondary schools under strict conditions on Monday, with museums and zoos also opening their doors – albeit only to those who book online, to limit numbers
The famous Acropolis reopened in Greece, and secondary school pupils are returning to class
Restaurants, cafes and pastry shops restart business at reduced capacity in Portugal
Poland’sbeauty salons and hairdressers reopen, as well as restaurants and cafes

Related Topics:COVID-19 European countries Italy Spain

Up Next

COVID-19: President Mohammed Will Be Addressing Nigerians On Monday, May 18, 2020.

Don't Miss

COVID-19: China Stopped Who From Raising Alarm –CIA reports

Click to comment

COVID-19

PCR Tests for Travellers Fraudulent, Probe NCDC, Ministry – WHO Envoy

Published

2 years ago

March 18, 2022

GiftUgbede

PCR Tests for Travellers Fraudulent, Probe NCDC, Ministry – WHO Envoy

The World Health Organisation’s Special Envoy for the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator, Ayoade Alakija, has called for an investigation of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and the Ministry of Health over the required COVID-19 PCR tests for inbound passengers to Nigeria.

YOU CAN FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK

Alakija, in a tweet via her official Twitter handle, @yodifiji, wondered why the PCR tests were done with no reagents.
According to reports, the Director General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Ifedayo Adetifa, had earlier insisted that Nigeria would not scrap COVID-19 tests for inbound passengers into the country.

Adetifa had said the country was reporting a high rate of COVID-19 cases from inbound passengers, hence the need for the insistence of the tests.
Alakija, reacting to a tweet by a journalist, David Hundeyin, tweeted, “It’s a scam. The entire thing is a criminal enterprise and should be exposed. “Diagnostic tests to enter a country where the government officials have interest in Dx test centres. PCR tests with no reagents? NCDC and MOH should be investigated. It is a scam, period.”

COVID-19

Austria Suspends Mandatory Covid-19 Vaccine Law

Published

2 years ago

March 9, 2022

GiftUgbede

Austria has announced that it is suspending mandatory Covid-19 vaccinations for all adults this came weeks after the legislature took effect in an EU first.

YOU CAN FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK

The Alpine nation of nine million people was among few countries in the world to make jabs against the coronavirus compulsory for all adults.
The law took effect in February and called for fines up to 3,600 euros ($3,940) from mid-March for those who do not comply.

However, minister Karoline Edtstadler said the law’s “encroachment of fundamental rights” could no longer be justified by the danger posed by the pandemic.
“After consultations with the health minister, we have decided that we will of course follow what the (expert) commission has said,” Edtstadler told reporters after a Cabinet meeting.
“We see no need to actually implement this compulsory vaccination due to the (Omicron) variant that we are predominantly experiencing here.” He noted

According to him,the highly-contagious variant is widely believed to be less severe than previous strains of the virus, and so far Austrian hospitals have been able to cope with a surge in cases.

COVID-19

F.G. Commences Vaccination with Over 30 Million J&J Vaccines

Published

2 years ago

February 25, 2022

GiftUgbede

Following efforts to increase the COVID-19 vaccination coverage of eligible persons across the country, the Federal Government has launched the service delivery, communication, accountability, logistics, electronic reporting, and supportive supervision (S.C.A.L.E.S) strategy.

The SCALES 2.0 strategy, which will ensure that more Nigerians can easily locate a nearby health facility to get vaccinated by visiting the website (www.vacsitefinder.nphcda.gov.ng), will also integrate childhood immunisation alongside other primary health care services.

YOU CAN FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK

Also, eligible persons can now get vaccinated with a single shot of the Johnson and Johnson (J&J) COVID-19 vaccines, as there are over 30 million vaccine doses available.

Nigeria has received over 64 million COVID-19 vaccines – AstraZeneca, Moderna, J&J and Pfizer. Furthermore, 48 million vaccines are expected before mid-year.

Latest vaccination data showed that as of February 21, 2022, a total of 17,199,853 eligible Nigerians have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccination, while 7,663,560 have received their second dose. In total, 24,863,413 vaccine doses have been administered.

The Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr Faisal Shuaib, made this known in Abuja during the launch of the SCALES 2.0 strategy with the use of the single dose J&J vaccine.

Dr Shuaib said: “We want to ensure that we not only decentralise COVID-19 vaccination, but make sure that we improve coverage and access to COVID-19 vaccination. Today, we are vaccinating just a little over 200,000 people per day. For us to reach our target of reaching 70 per cent of eligible populations before the end of 2022, we have to hit 550,000 people per day. This will ensure that we reach herd immunity.

“We are also going to be launching the single shot vaccine (Johnson & Johnson) for everyone. We understand that one of the reasons there is a gap between our first and second doses is because people experience adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination. Although the adverse events are very mild, we know that the opportunity to have a single shot not only in the hardest to reach areas, but everybody having access to one single shot will definitely increase our coverage of COVID-19 vaccination.

“The COVID-19 vaccination ‘site finder’ will improve the ability of Nigerians to assess COVID-19 vaccines. If you are able to sign on to this website, you will be shown the nearest COVID-19 vaccination centre.”

In her remarks, the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa, Dr Moeti Matshidiso, hailed the Federal Government’s vaccination strategy and efforts in ensuring that more Nigerians are covered.

She said: “I think we have learnt many lessons on how to leverage the capacities and lessons in delivering such campaigns in a country like Nigeria and internationally.

“I understand that there is going to be a great deal of emphasis on decentralisation – on really leveraging the decentralised nature of the Nigerian system and government to engage decision makers at the state and local government level, so that they can drive the very much action needed to speed up delivery of vaccines to the population.

“There will also be the need to expand the delivery capacity because at the same time the country is carrying out this important work, there is other work of delivering vaccines, responding to public health emergencies going on.”

The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, added: “Let me assure Nigerians that we have adequate stock of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, as we have over 30 million doses in stock. I call on all eligible persons that are yet to receive their vaccination to go to the nearest COVID-19 vaccination site and get vaccinated. This single dose offers the same protection you get from two doses of AstraZeneca, Pfizer Bio-N-Tech and Moderna vaccines.