This article will be updated throughout the day.
11.09 – ‘Wait to get pregnant’
Brazil has asked women to postpone pregnancy until the worst of the pandemic is over. The Brazilian corona variant could be the most aggressive in pregnant women, CNN writes.
“If possible, they should postpone it for a while so that they have a calmer pregnancy,” said Health Department Director of Acute Care Raphael Camara. “We can’t say that to women of 42, 43 years old, of course, but for a young woman who can do it, it really is the best option to wait.”
Brazil has been hit hard by corona. While last year was already tough, now the number of corona deaths has doubled. Hospitals in Manaus are out of oxygen and have already cut off patients due to the shortage.
At the moment research is still being done into the variants. “We don’t have any national or international studies available, but according to our experts’ clinical judgment, the new variant is a more aggressive effect on pregnant women,” said Camara. “Previously the severity was linked to the end of the pregnancy, but now they are seeing a more serious effect in the second trimester and even the first.”
Worldwide there are concerns about the mutation of corona. Virologist Bert Niesters of the UMCG finds the Brazilian variant the most worrying of all mutants. “Brazil is really dangerous for the whole world. The vaccines we have now are much less effective against the variants that come from there. That is what I am most concerned about at the moment. From there you can be all over the world very quickly. ”
10.46 – The catering industry looks back with satisfaction on the café trial in Utrecht
Koninklijke Horeca Nederland is satisfied with the café trial in five Utrecht pubs and is looking forward hopefully to the results of the experiment. Five catering outlets in the city center of Utrecht were open for four days to investigate whether guests and staff could adhere to the corona measures.
That was not completely flawless. “Sometimes someone forgot to put on a face mask on the way to the toilet, but that was corrected. Mistakes are part of the deal, ”says chairman Pieter Honing of the local chapter on Sunday. “The researchers were impressed. TNO has not seen any strange things. ”
The catering businesses had to close their doors again on Saturday evening. That happened with a smile and a tear. Happy to have been open again and sad because it is over. According to Honing, it was “old-fashioned fun.” People talked to each other, played games, felt free despite being watched all the time. “Everything we saw before, we saw again.” Enforcement also did not have to intervene after the pubs had closed.
TNO will present the research results in four weeks. The hospitality industry cannot wait. “I find the outcome of today’s Catshuis meeting more exciting,” said the chairman.
10.17 – Israel removes the duty of masking in outdoor areas
Israel has put an end to the mandatory wearing of mouth masks in the outdoor area. Schools are also being fully reopened, Israeli media write. The country is thus taking another major step in phasing out the measures to prevent the spread of the corona virus.
People in Tel Aviv enjoy the weather.
Ⓒ EPA
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Israel, with over 9 million inhabitants, is one of the world’s leaders in the field of vaccination. More than half of the population is now fully vaccinated. The government’s ‘coronatsaar’, Nachman Asch, predicts that the entire economy could be reopened next month, according to news site Times of Israel. The condition is that things continue to go in the right direction with the corona figures.
Israelis are still required to wear masks indoors, although that rule does not apply in their own living quarters. A top official from the Ministry of Health advised his fellow countrymen to always wear a face mask when meeting in groups. “We have to behave well so as not to lose the progress we have made.”
07.15 – France suspends all flights to and from Brazil
France has suspended all flights to and from Brazil due to the Brazilian variant (P1) of the corona virus. The country is also introducing a mandatory ten-day quarantine for travelers from Brazil, Argentina, Chile and South Africa out of concerns about several coronavirus variants. Air connections with Argentina, Chile and South Africa will remain intact.
French President Macron during a television interview.
Ⓒ AFP
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The situation in Brazil has been deteriorating since February due to an outbreak of a local variant of the virus. The more contagious and dangerous corona variant P1, which surfaced in the Amazon region in December, is of particular concern because it spreads almost half faster than the ‘classic’ version of the virus. The Brazilian variant may be more resistant to vaccines and antibodies after a previous infection with the corona virus.
The fact that flights from Argentina, Chile and South Africa are still allowed to continue is, according to the French authorities, because the presence of Covid variants in those countries has not yet reached the same alarming level as in Brazil.
23.44 – Massive support for hospital employees’ petition against Orange Day 538
More than 91,000 people have one petition signed that employees of the Amphia Hospital in Breda on the initiative of surgeon Rogier Crolla started at 538 Orange Day. On Saturday around 7.30 pm, the counter of the petition ‘With 538 disdained for care’ was still more than 11,000, on Sunday morning there were 91,000. The “concerned caregivers, patients on the growing waiting lists, their loved ones and others” argue that “this ill-considered pseudo-experiment” should be called off.
10,000 people are allowed to attend the music station’s Fieldlab experiment on 24 April in Breda. The initiators of the petition do not understand this at all. “Celebrating a party with 10,000 people 400 meters from a hospital overloaded by Covid is a blow to patients and caregivers,” they write.
Due to the corona pandemic, the hospital has reduced its operating capacity by at least half and the operating rooms are only available for acute and urgent care. Doctors assess daily whether surgery is really necessary or can be postponed. An Amphia spokesperson said earlier that he was concerned about the party, because the use of drugs or alcohol can lead to acute medical situations.
Crolla does not want to explain the petition and refers to the spokesperson for the Amphia. According to the surgeon, the hospital would not condemn the action. According to Mark van Hassel, spokesman for the Amphia, the petition that came online earlier today is a private initiative of surgeon Crolla. “He set this up in a personal capacity, but it further underlines the concerns that live among our care workers. We already expressed these concerns clearly from within our organization yesterday, ”he told BN DeStem.
The enthusiasm for the tickets for the event was enormous: more than 1 million people tried to get a ticket. The cards were distributed by draw.
The event takes place at the Chasséveld in Breda. Hospitality entrepreneurs in the city reacted furiously to the test event. They felt insulted that a major event is allowed in the city, while they have not been allowed to receive guests for months due to the corona measures. Radio 538 and the Breda catering industry will soon discuss how they can work together. On Monday there will be an extra meeting in which the Breda mayor Paul Depla has to give a text and explanation to the city council about the event.
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Lunch Update
An update of the most important news every day during lunch.