Dutch justice, seized by opponents of health restrictions after violent riots, confirmed the curfew in the Netherlands on Tuesday, pending a decision on the merits on Friday, as European governments try to stem the spread of more contagious or dangerous coronavirus variants.
A fourth vaccine, that of the American giant Johnson & Johnson, was submitted for approval to the European Medicines Agency on Tuesday, which is expected to rule in mid-March on its use in the European Union.
The question of vaccines, already tinged with geopolitics with the successes touted by the Kremlin of the Russian vaccine Sputnik V, is brought to the ground of the spy novel with revelations citing the intelligence services of Seoul: North Korean hackers have sought to penetrate the computer systems of the American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, producer of the first vaccine put on the market.
North Korea, neighbor and trading partner of China where the pandemic first appeared in December 2019, unconvincingly claims that it has not experienced any case of contamination, when the disease has killed more than 2.4 million people in the world.
The National Intelligence Service (NIS) “informed us that North Korea had attempted to obtain technologies including the vaccine and treatments for Covid by means of a cyber attack to hack Pfizer,” said in Seoul MP Ha Tae-keung.
In July, it was the United Kingdom which said it was “absolutely sure” of Moscow’s involvement in cyber attacks aimed at stealing data on an anti-Covid vaccine. Russia fiercely denied.
– Confirmed curfew –
For the moment, it is on the political-judicial ground that a battle is being played out in Europe, at a time when countries like Germany go so far as to close borders – for the moment with the Czech Republic and Tyrol Austrian – to stem the spread of variants.
A court in The Hague, seized by opponents of the restrictions, ruled on Tuesday that “the curfew is a profound violation of the right to freedom of movement and privacy”, ruling that the Dutch government had abused the powers of emergency and ordering that this measure be lifted “immediately”.
But in the evening, an appeals court suspended the judgment. “The curfew is valid, this evening too”, reacted on Twitter the Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
The appeals court wanted to prevent a “yo-yo effect”, the judge explained, pending Friday’s hearing in which the court must decide whether to allow the curfew to continue until March 2 or whether it should end.
The curfew imposed in the Netherlands at the end of January led to the worst riots the country has seen in decades.
While it will soon be a year since Europeans are faced with emergency health measures ranging, depending on the period and country, from the simple wearing of a mask to total confinement, a breach was opened last week by the Czech Parliament, who refused to extend the state of emergency requested by the government.
In Italy, the government’s turnaround, which on Monday refused to allow ski lifts to be reopened at ski resorts, has caused exasperation.
“It’s a disaster. It’s been a week that we have paved the slopes for the opening and that we prepare the sanitary protocol, this last minute announcement is unacceptable”, was carried away Denis Trabucchi, ski instructor of the Cima Piazzi station in Valdidentro, Lombardy. “We see images of crowds in the shopping centers which remain open, while here we are in the open air!”
France is afraid of being the victim in turn of this turn of the screw at the German borders, which Berlin threatens to apply also to its border with Moselle, French department where the South African variant is spreading.
In a letter sent to the 27 EU member states on Tuesday, the European Commission urged them to avoid border closures and general travel bans. The difficult European coordination on these restrictions which hinder free movement in the EU will be one of the hot topics of the February 25 summit.
– “Despair is getting worse” –
As for the German government, it is confronted with the discontent of the professionals of the hotel and trade. “Despair is getting worse,” said Guido Zöllick, president of the federation of hotels and restaurants.
But governments and governing bodies are staying the course on the health priority.
“The virus is evolving and will continue to evolve. It is important that we prepare for the appearance of mutations: some are there, others will emerge,” said a spokesperson for the European executive, while Brussels has been criticized for misfires in deliveries of Covid-19 vaccines.
Elsewhere in the world, Japan announced that it would begin administering vaccines on Wednesday, initially reserved for a small number of hospital staff, with the rest of the population having to wait several weeks, or even months, at the approach. of the Olympic Games.
As for Mexico, it will raise on Wednesday before the United Nations Security Council the issue of unequal access to vaccines against Covid-19 in Latin American countries compared to producing countries like the United States.
The Palestinian Authority for its part accused Israel of having blocked the delivery of 2,000 doses of the Russian vaccine intended for the Gaza Strip. Hamas denounced a “crime” of the Hebrew state.
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