In China, the areas where Covid-19 has been detected are still being disinfected. WHO experts presented the first results of their investigation in Wuhan, China; Greece declares a third wave of the epidemic; a COVID outbreak at a British military base in Kenya; curfew in the Netherlands extended until spring. All the latest news on the coronavirus situation around the world in our daily roundup.
According to Johns Hopkins University, more than 106.5 million people worldwide were infected with the coronavirus last year, and more than 2.3 million died. Nearly a quarter of the cases are in the United States, where more than 27 million people have been diagnosed with Covid-19.
The WHO expert group currently working in the Chinese city of Wuhan has virtually ruled out the possibility that the coronavirus escaped from the laboratory of the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Such a possibility…
WHO experts still believe that the epicenter of the pandemic was the Wuhan market, but they have concluded that the virus broke out from there earlier than previously thought. As a result, the group will focus its further investigation on studying this chain, including game suppliers and markets.
An international team of scientists has arrived in Wuhan to determine the source and spread of the pandemic that has caused irreparable damage around the world. “They have already visited key sites in the city and talked to local scientists, first patients and their treating physicians.” During a special press conference dedicated to the initial findings of the investigation, experts reported that the information they have collected indicates that the geographic spread of the coronavirus in December 2019 was much broader than previously thought. According to the scientists, SARS-CoV-2 had already spread far beyond the Wuhan food market, currently considered the epicenter of the pandemic. Representatives of the Chinese Ministry of Health have pledged the country’s authorities’ full support to the WHO group.
There have been 11 cases of coronavirus among military personnel at a British military base in Kenya, north of Nairobi. A total of 320 people who recently arrived from Britain have been quarantined. Despite the situation, an additional 150 people flew out of Nairobi on Monday. The British command assures that all of them will be subjected to strict quarantine. Approximately 10,000 British military personnel train in Kenya each year. Residents say personnel are being temporarily recruited from their ranks to work in the service sector. The Nairobi press reports that residents of the capital are concerned about the outbreak at the military base.
Meanwhile, new quarantine rules have been introduced for anyone arriving in the UK. Instead of 14 days quarantine, it is now 10 days, but on the second and eighth day of quarantine it is mandatory to take Covid-19 tests. On Tuesday, British Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced that British and Irish citizens who break quarantine rules when entering the country will face a £10,000 fine and up to 10 years in prison.
In the Netherlands, the curfew was extended until early March. The question of whether to lift or extend the quarantine measures was resolved the day before, and the government concluded that the country was not yet ready to relax, despite declining infection statistics. The Dutch authorities are particularly concerned about the British strain that has entered the country. In addition, the unprecedented snowfall in many cities over the past 10 years has temporarily halted the operation of vaccination centers.
A strict lockdown was imposed in the Netherlands in mid-December. Schools and most businesses were closed, and bars and restaurants suspended operations at the end of last fall. In January, a wave of protests against the lockdown swept through the country’s cities, and some 200 people were arrested during the demonstrations. For the first time in three months, the morbidity rate in Germany has fallen below 75 cases per 100,000 people. On Tuesday, the figure was 72.8. On Wednesday, the government will discuss further plans to contain the epidemic, but it is unlikely that the lockdown will be lifted at that time. Representatives of several film production companies have written a joint letter to Angela Merkel, urging her to open cinemas during the Easter holidays. The mayor of the city of Perpignan in southern France decided to violate the general lockdown rules and tried to open four city museums. The mayor is known for his extreme right-wing beliefs and believes that saving the economy is a priority at this time. However, the regional prefect appealed to the court and obtained an injunction against the mayor’s unauthorized actions.
In France, the owners of some restaurants sell restaurant furniture. Neighboring Italy has partially reopened its cultural sector, and now the Association of Museums in France is asking the Ministry of Culture to do the same. Museum workers believe that reopening is possible with strict adherence to epidemiological measures and social distancing. According to Greek Health Minister Vassilis Kikilias, the country is seeing signs of a third wave of the coronavirus epidemic. According to him, intensive care units are rapidly filling up again with patients. The authorities do not rule out the introduction of a new lockdown in Athens, where the situation is worse than in other regions. One of the leading international travel companies, Tui, promises to return to at least 80% of its usual capacity by the summer. According to company officials, 2.8 million people have already booked their summer vacations.
The global tourism industry is optimistic due to widespread vaccination campaigns. Summer sales are currently running at an average of 44% of last year’s level. However, industry experts say the comparison is not meaningful because in January-February of last year, no one realized the scale of the impending pandemic and people were confidently booking their vacations.