Thousands of people are being buried in Brazil. Many families have no time to say goodbye to their loved ones.
In Brazil, a record number of over 4,000 people died from the coronavirus in a single day.
Scientists have concluded that one-third of those who have had the coronavirus experience symptoms of mental disorders.
The pandemic has led to a shortage of one of the most popular products in the US – tomato ketchup. This is attributed to the pandemic’s surge in demand for classic American fast food, which always uses ketchup.
Turkey reports a record number of cases in one day – nearly 50 thousand people. This and other news about the development of the situation with the Covid-19 pandemic around the world are in our review. According to Johns Hopkins University, 132.5 million people worldwide have been infected with the coronavirus and more than 2.8 million have died.
The most alarming epidemiological situation in the world is currently in Brazil, where more than 4,000 people have died in the last 24 hours. This is a record number for the entire duration of the pandemic. Doctors say that in many hospitals, people are dying without help. The staff is overwhelmed and there is a lack of space. The total number of Covid-19 victims in the country has almost reached 337 thousand, which is the second highest in the world after the USA. However, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro continues to oppose the imposition of lockdowns and other measures to contain the virus. In his opinion, the damage to the economy will have a far greater impact on the country than the losses from the pandemic. Bolsonaro is also trying to reverse the restrictive measures introduced by local authorities in several states.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is leaning toward another short-term nationwide lockdown, government spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer said Wednesday. According to her, the current selective system of restrictive measures in place in all 16 states is not producing the desired results.
In Berlin, tents have been set up where you can take the quick COVID tests needed to access shopping malls, museums, and hair salons. The burden on the health care system is not diminishing, the number of sick people is increasing, and on the contrary, the economy continues to decline despite the easing measures, as was noted in Berlin. Calls for a new short-term lockdown come not from the federal government but from several regional authorities, but Merkel is ready to support them.
The total number of people infected in Germany is approaching 3 million, with 77.4 thousand deaths during the pandemic.
On Wednesday, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis will appoint a new health minister, the country’s fourth this year in the midst of the pandemic. The person chosen will be the chief physician of one of Prague’s hospitals, Petr Arenberger. The previous health minister, Jan Blatny, took up the post in October last year.
According to the Czech government, the country has experienced three new spikes in infection rates in the past six months, lost more than 27,000 lives, and ranked first in the world in the number of deaths per capita.
Such a memorial was organized on the main square in Prague on the anniversary of the death of the first Czech patient diagnosed with Covid-19, who died a year ago on March 29.
Last month, Babish strongly criticized the plan presented by the Ministry of Health to combat the epidemic. In particular, according to the Prime Minister, it did not pay enough attention to such priority tasks as the implementation of express tests for teachers and students and the strategy of the vaccination campaign. Blatny also strongly opposed the use of the Russian vaccine “Sputnik V” until it is approved by the European regulator, and Babis has repeatedly tried to conclude an agreement with Russia. Until that happens, however, the prime minister of the Czech Republic said last week that the acute shortage of vaccines in the European Union will soon force him to turn to Moscow.
In the UK, the vaccine from the American manufacturer Moderna will be used from Wednesday. This is the third vaccine to be used in the UK, alongside AstraZeneca and Pfizer. Today, some people in Wales received their first doses of Moderna. The vaccination campaign in the UK is progressing much faster and more efficiently than in continental Europe. More than half of the country’s 66 million people received the first dose of the drug, and nearly 6 million people were fully vaccinated.
“The Irish Teachers’ Union has announced its willingness to strike if teachers are not given priority in receiving the vaccine.” At the very beginning of the vaccination campaign, they were included in the list of priority professions, but later the government ordered to prioritize the vaccination of older age groups of the population. Education Minister Norma Foli said she understood the teachers’ discontent, but they must understand that schools are considered low-risk places for the transmission of infection.
In Italy, two police officers were injured during a protest in Rome organized by merchants and restaurant owners. Hundreds of people took to the streets demanding the lifting of restrictions on business operations. It was reported that one of the local extremist groups was involved in organizing the protests.
The White House ruled out the possibility of mandatory vaccination cards in everyday life, saying that the privacy and rights of Americans must be protected. Similar practices are being discussed in many countries around the world, and in some places, such as Israel, they are already being widely implemented. Many governments believe that this is the quickest way to normalize life.
Vaccination in the U.S. is not progressing as quickly as officials had hoped. Opponents of vaccine passports call them discrimination, invasion of privacy, and violation of medical confidentiality. US authorities have announced that they will not support a system requiring citizens to carry such a document. During a press briefing, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki stated that there will be no federal databases or documents that could potentially be used against a specific category of people. The U.S. is the country hardest hit by the pandemic, with nearly 31 million people infected and 556.5 thousand deaths. Some states have long resisted restrictive measures that would have a serious impact on the economy.
Studies of 230 people who recovered from Covid-19 found that within six months of the illness, one in three experienced symptoms of brain dysfunction or mental disorder. Based on these data, scientists at the University of Oxford warn that the pandemic could lead to a wave of neurological problems in the entire global population. A total of 14 different disorders were identified by the researchers, with the most common being depression, anxiety and sudden mood changes. Less frequently observed were cases of post-COVID-19 stroke (in 7% of severely ill patients) and early signs of dementia (2%), but scientists say these manifestations should also be taken into account. At the same time, they cannot yet explain exactly how the coronavirus affects the human nervous system.
Scientists are not yet ready to describe exactly the mechanisms by which the coronavirus affects the nervous system. The study was conducted jointly by British and American specialists. The majority of volunteers participating in the study are patients from the United States. This is not the first study of its kind. Last year, the same group of scientists concluded that about 20% of people who recover from Covid-19 begin to experience mental problems soon after. According to the new data, 34% are susceptible to disorders. According to the authors of the study, which was published in the prestigious Lancet, this is a very alarming trend. The problem identified requires immediate further investigation and action. Scientists say the coronavirus can no longer be considered just a respiratory infection.