Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus believes that vaccines will not be able to defeat the coronavirus quickly. Against the backdrop of the Covid-19 outbreak among staff at WHO headquarters, the head of the organization does not believe in the immediate efficacy of the vaccine.
Meanwhile, scientists at Cardiff University have found that commercially available mouthwashes kill the coronavirus in saliva. This and other news about the situation with Covid-19 in the world – in our almost daily review.
The WHO states that 65 cases of Covid-19 have been identified among staff at its headquarters in Geneva. But the head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the vaccine that many in the world are counting on will not end the pandemic on its own. At least not as quickly as many hope. According to Gebrayesus, the first to be vaccinated will be health care workers, social service workers, teachers and people in high-risk groups. During this time, the virus will continue to spread freely. Therefore, even with the introduction of the vaccine, restrictive measures will have to remain in place for a long time.
A large number of lawsuits have been filed in Spanish courts against the Spanish authorities and health system. The plaintiffs accuse the government structures of leaving patients with other serious diseases, especially cancer, without medical assistance in the midst of the fight against the coronavirus. When the pandemic began this winter, Spain was one of the hardest-hit countries in Europe. According to Johns Hopkins University, the total number of people infected in the country is nearly 1.5 million, with 41.2 thousand deaths.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said that the leaders of 16 German states oppose her attempts to introduce stricter measures to contain the epidemic. The discussion on tightening the quarantine has been postponed again, this time until November 25. Part of this is related to the upcoming winter season. Authorities in some regions fear that closing ski resorts and toboggan runs will further damage an already struggling economy. Merkel is also proposing to make masks mandatory in schools and to reduce the number of students in classrooms. The situation in Berlin is of particular concern to the Chancellor. According to the German authorities, the second wave of the epidemic is gradually being brought under control, but the daily indicators of new infections are still high and cause for concern.
In Austria, only stores selling basic necessities remain open. In Austria, schools and non-food stores will be closed from Tuesday until December 6. The country’s chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, announced over the weekend that this was a necessary measure against the spread of the second wave of the epidemic. The UK government is considering the possibility of temporarily reducing the country’s spending on international humanitarian aid. This is due to an increase in budgetary expenditure directly or indirectly related to the pandemic – in particular, equipment for medical facilities and financial support for people who are unable to work remotely. Meanwhile, the Scottish government on Tuesday announced the tightening of restrictions in 11 districts in the western part of the country, including Scotland’s largest city, Glasgow. From Friday, non-food shops, drinking establishments such as pubs and restaurants, and sports halls will be closed.
Turkey has decided to tighten the current quarantine restrictions by introducing a partial lockdown in certain regions of the country, which will be in effect on weekends. “The quarantine restrictions will be in effect from 8 p.m. to 10 a.m. on weekends. They will not disrupt the supply system and production,” reassured President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a televised address to the country.
On weekends, it will only be possible to buy food to go in Turkey. He said students will continue their studies in online mode until the end of the year, and restaurants and cafes will only be able to operate for delivery. Movie theaters and other entertainment venues will be closed, and stores and shopping malls will operate only during certain hours. “We are facing a serious situation. The number of infections and deaths has reached a dangerous level, starting from Istanbul, so we have to be careful,” Erdogan said. According to the president, he would like to avoid stricter measures, but if the trend of the disease continues, he will have no other choice. The number of new cases has risen sharply in recent days. Authorities reported that on Tuesday, more than 3.8 thousand people were diagnosed with Covid-19 and 103 infected people died. In total, the coronavirus has caused the deaths of more than 11.7 thousand people in Turkey since the beginning of the pandemic.
Recently elected U.S. President Joe Biden said that more Americans will die in the face of a worsening epidemic if Donald Trump continues to block the transfer of power. The U.S. leads the world in the number of people infected and the number of deaths (11.2 million and 247.2 thousand, respectively). Just last week, one million more people in the country became infected. This week, U.S. officials will ship more than 7 million rapid antibody tests to the hardest-hit states for distribution primarily to hospices, nursing homes and other vulnerable populations. Local officials are urging people to avoid large Thanksgiving celebrations. In Chicago, the third largest city in the U.S., residents have been urged to stay home as of Monday.
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The remote Canadian territory of Nunavut, which includes part of the Arctic Archipelago, has experienced an outbreak of Covid-19. The region is shutting down all non-essential services, businesses and institutions for at least two weeks. Schools will also be closed. Entry into the area will be by special permit only. The peculiarity of the situation lies in the fact that Nunavut is the largest and least populated of Canada’s territories and provinces. With an area comparable to that of Indonesia, it is inhabited by only 33.7 thousand people who rarely leave their region. A total of 305.4 thousand infections and over 11 thousand deaths have been reported in Canada.
In Australia, which recently declared that it had successfully contained the epidemic, 17 new cases of Covid-19 were detected on Tuesday. All occurred in Adelaide, in a hotel used to quarantine incoming travelers to the country. New Zealand, where the situation has been relatively benign, is introducing mandatory masks on public transport and domestic flights as of Thursday.
Authorities in South Korea are once again enforcing the social distancing rule in Seoul and surrounding areas. Events with more than 100 participants are banned. The number of worshippers at religious services and sports fans should not exceed 30% of the capacity of temples and stadiums.
In the past 24 hours, a record number of cases have been confirmed in Iran – over 13,000, with 486 deaths. The country’s authorities have repeatedly stated that the Iranian economy cannot withstand a full lockdown and have implemented local quarantine measures. This time, however, the decision has been made to implement the first nationwide lockdown.
British dentists began widespread use of mouthwash after the pandemic began. A new study from Cardiff University in the UK has shown that widely available mouthwashes kill the virus within 30 seconds of contact. According to scientists, there are promising signs that liquids containing 0.07% cetypyridinium chloride (CPC) may be used as one of the means to fight the coronavirus. Laboratory research shows that mouthwash liquid destroys coronavirus in saliva. However, there is currently no evidence of its effectiveness as a therapeutic agent because it does not reach the respiratory tract or lungs. These conclusions, which have not yet been peer-reviewed, are consistent with the results of previous tests showing that fluids containing CPC help reduce SARS-CoV-2 viral load.