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13.00 – ‘Happy Monday’ in England: lockdown further relaxed

England took a big step on Monday in easing the lockdown. The English no longer need a valid reason to leave their home. Some media speak of a ‘Happy Monday’.

The United Kingdom is one of the countries most affected by the pandemic. The country has reported the highest death toll in Europe with more than 126,000 deaths, but is now also a leader in vaccination there. More than 30 million Britons have already received a first dose of a corona vaccine.

That vaccination campaign seems to be having an effect. For the first time since September 14, no new deaths were reported in the capital London, Sky News reports. A local doctor warned that people should not count themselves rich too soon. “We were in the same situation before last fall. After that, the number of infections and deaths rose again in the winter. ”

The British government is now daring to gradually ease the lockdown in England. People are now allowed to meet outside again in groups of a maximum of six people or an unlimited number of people from two households. Outdoor sports venues may also reopen, such as tennis and golf courses.

Many Britons made good use of the relaxation of these measures. In some cases, they can meet up with family and friends for the first time in months. A minute after midnight, players gathered on a golf course near Derby to hit a ball.

Some drastic measures still remain in force. For example, the English are not yet allowed to receive guests indoors, although exceptions are possible. The lockdown relaxation plan consists of several steps. They only concern England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are on their own schedule.

In the next step in the relaxation plan, all stores will reopen. Catering companies are then allowed to serve customers in the outdoor area. The exact date has not yet been set, but it is not expected to happen before April 12. The final step is to remove all restrictions on social contacts. That could happen after June 21.

11:35 AM – 6423 curfew fines issued in week time

Police fined 6,423 people last week for violating curfews. That’s over 500 more than the week before, when the police issued 5,906 curfew fines. The police ended fifty illegal parties last weekend.

The number of fines for violating the ban on group formation fell from 159 to 140 last week. The number of warnings the police issued to people who ignored the corona measures is comparable to previous figures. Last week, 204 people received a warning, the week before 217.

Curfew starts at 10:00 PM on Wednesday instead of 9:00 PM. The end time remains 4:30 am.

11.25 – ‘WHO report: virus to humans probably via two animal species’

The WHO experts who investigated the origin of the coronavirus in China believe it is likely that the virus has passed from one bat to another animal and from there to humans. It is very unlikely that it was accidentally jumped in a laboratory in Wuhan. This is stated in a WHO report that the French news agency AFP has seen.

The experts believe that they have not been able to work sufficiently free time in Wuhan and want to do more research. At the end of 2019, Chinese authorities tried to keep facts about the emerging virus secret and tackled whistleblowers. When an epidemic broke out in Wuhan, they pointed to a market where, among other things, animals were sold. Since then, it is believed that the virus came from a bat and passed on to humans. The WHO experts believe in their report that this did not happen directly, but through another animal.

They call this ‘the missing link’ because it is not known what kind of animal it would be. The WHO expert team returned last month after investigating in China. No research report on this has yet been published. At their press conference after the visit to China, they said on February 9 that they and their Chinese colleagues could not yet draw clear conclusions. They said they were working on hypotheses and estimating the likelihood of those assumptions.

In the eyes of the researchers, for example, it is also possible that the virus did pass from bats to humans, and it cannot be completely ruled out that the virus does come from the Chinese research laboratory in Wuhan. It is also possible that the virus got into humans through frozen meat, because the virus survives in the freezing cold. The Chinese authorities attach great importance to this ‘deep-freeze theory’.

Since the outbreak of the virus in Wuhan, the WHO has been accused of not wanting to face the fact that the Chinese authorities are still not disclosing things. According to the head of the human rights organization HRW, the WHO does not want to say anything critical about China, such as the previous attempts to keep secret that the virus is passing from person to person or about the lack of much important information from the early days of the virus in the Wuhan region .

10.48 – Belgium on strike, but no consequences for vaccine transport

Many Belgian buses, metros, trams and trains are out of action on Monday. Many large companies and supermarkets also run at no more than half speed. The unions are on strike to enforce pay rises.

The employers say they cannot afford more than 0.4 percent surcharge in the coming years. But the unions are not satisfied with that. Many companies are having a hard time in the corona crisis, they admit, but there are also plenty that are actually benefiting from it. Parcel deliverers and supermarkets, for example.

The factories of Audi and Volvo, for example, are shut down on Monday. The trains run on a limited timetable. But train traffic to and from the Netherlands, for example, should experience little inconvenience.

Action is also being taken at the freight department of Brussels Airport in Zaventem, an important pivot in the distribution of corona vaccines. But “of course we are not going to block vaccine shipments,” said a union leader.

7.00 – Pharmacists want space in OMT

The pharmaceutical sector wants a seat in the Outbreak Management Team (OMT). Marc Kaptein, medical director of Pfizer Netherlands and chairman of the Dutch Association for Pharmaceutical Medicine (NVFG), tells the AD that future pandemics could be better combated this way. OMT chairman Jaap van Dissel sees little point in the idea.

The NVFG chairman emphasizes in the interview that these are experts from the sector and not people with commercial positions. “I think our sector deserves a stronger voice. We have so much knowledge in-house. Of course we have financial interests, but we have to be able to adjust that. ”

Kaptein states that pharmaceutical companies have shown in the corona crisis that they are worthy of the trust of society by providing effective corona vaccines within a year. It bothers him that during the corona crisis the cabinet took advice from “a whole spaghetti mess” of organizations, but that the NVFG was not involved in anything. “That has led to a delay in the vaccination campaign anyway.”

The OMT chairman, RIVM boss Jaap van Dissel, says that a place on the team “is not a prize you can win. Moreover, I think you have to be careful not to overhaul everything because of this pandemic. ” Minister of Health Hugo de Jonge notes that the vaccination campaign, in which pharmaceuticals play an important role, is not the responsibility of the OMT.

Kaptein, however, sticks to his position. “I think the OMT is composed of the RIVM, experts and the chairpersons of professional associations that play a role in the fight against infectious diseases, such as the general practitioners, the paediatricians and the microbiologists. We as NVFG could also belong to that. ”

6.55 – Australian Brisbane is locked

The Australian city of Brisbane will go into lockdown for three days after four new local corone infections were identified on Monday morning, the Queensland government announced. The state is concerned that the British variant of the coronavirus is spreading in the city, of which seven cases were found at the beginning of this month. The new infections are also of the British variant.

The temporary lockdown will take effect on Monday at 5:00 PM local time. People should only leave home when they have essential work to do, to run errands, to perform care duties, or to exercise. Schools must close their doors.

In the rest of the state of Queensland, where more than 5 million people live, residents are again required to wear masks in public and no more than 30 people are allowed to gather at home. “We must do this now to avoid a longer lockdown,” said Queensland Prime Minister Annastacia Palaszczuk.

6.45 – ‘Significantly fewer German corona infections reported

The number of new corona cases in Germany is considerably lower than the day before. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the German counterpart of the RIVM, registered 9,872 new corona infections on Monday morning. The day before, 17,176 new cases were reported, compared to about 20,472 on Saturday.

In the past 24 hours, another 43 people died from the effects of Covid-19. The corona virus has now claimed at least 75,931 lives in Germany.

Germany is experiencing a significant resurgence of the corona virus, mainly driven by the so-called British variant. However, the Berlin government and state leaders increasingly disagree on how to contain the outbreak. The lockdown in Germany will run until April 18, but the decision to limit the number of social contacts around Easter with measures was withdrawn by Merkel on Wednesday after a storm of criticism.

According to the chancellor, more restrictions are needed to stop the corona virus in time, for example further limiting the number of allowed contacts, setting a curfew and focusing on working from home.

6.30 – Chile postpones elections

Chilean President Sebastian Pinera has asked Congress to postpone the election of the convention drafting the new constitution until May. This is due to the large increase in the number of corona infections. Elections are scheduled for April for a so-called convention consisting of 155 citizens, who will draft the new constitution.

Chileans voted by a large majority last October for a new constitution, to be drawn up by citizens. The current constitution dates back to the days of the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, who was in power from 1973 to 1990. In a referendum, about 78 percent voted in favor of changing the constitution.

In total, the corona virus has already been diagnosed in more than 977,000 Chileans. The corona pandemic has already claimed the lives of more than 22,000 inhabitants.

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