LIVE | Poll: majority of Dutch people for a ban on travel to ‘orange area’ | Inland

After a rapid increase in the number of corona cases, ‘testing for access’ was largely thrown into the trash.

Ⓒ ROBIN UTRECHT

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Looking back, 54 percent now think that the latest relaxation of the corona measures was irresponsible. There was a lot of support for that at the time. Meanwhile, 41 percent in general is in favor of further tightening, 37 percent want to keep the rules as they are now. A minority of 11 percent wants to relax further, while 9 percent want all measures to be released.

07.00 – Sydney extends lockdown by at least two weeks, border remains closed

Sydney will remain in lockdown for at least another two weeks, at least until July 30, New South Wales state Prime Minister Gladys Berejiklian announced on Wednesday. The lockdown fits within the Australian ‘Covid zero strategy’ with which the authorities want to completely eradicate the transmission of corona infections.

Most Sydney residents are allowed to leave home to exercise, run essential errands, work or for health reasons. But the schools are closed and people are encouraged to stay at home. Prime Minister Berejiklian did not rule out stricter restrictions if the number of cases continues to rise.

Australia’s largest city is already in its third week of lockdown to contain a coronavirus outbreak fueled by the Delta variant. On Tuesday, 97 new infections were registered, ten more than the day before.

The latest Covid-19 outbreak in Australia started in mid-June and has since grown to 864 cases. Twenty people are currently in intensive care, two have died. The total death toll on the continent is officially still below 1,000, with a population of about 25 million people.

Australia has been praised for its early handling of the pandemic, but the slow implementation of the vaccination program has left a significant portion of the population unprotected as much of the world cautiously reopens.

The Australian border has been largely closed since March 2020 and is unlikely to reopen this year.

07.30 – Sint Maarten continues longer with vaccination program

Sint Maarten will continue longer with the vaccination program against Covid-19, whereby people can walk in at one of the vaccination centers on the island without an appointment. At the end of May, the government stated that the number of people who registered was relatively small and that from August 1, people could only be vaccinated after making an appointment. You would also have to pay for a vaccination.

The number of vaccinations is still not high, up to and including Monday 23,365 people have received a vaccination. That’s just over half the target of 85 percent of the adult population. But in recent days, interest has risen noticeably. The government held pop-ups in central places on Friday and Saturday, which attracted a total of nearly eight hundred people.

Because of that sudden increase, and because of the presence of the infectious delta variant on the island, it was decided on Tuesday to extend the period of free vaccinations and walk-ins. Anyone over the age of 12 who has not yet been vaccinated is urged to get a first shot in the next three weeks. Also, more pop-ups will be held.

06.00 – Los Angeles sets aside record amount for tackling homeless crisis

Los Angeles has budgeted a record $527.1 million for 2022 to combat the growing homeless crisis in the city. The money will be spent on social work, housing and initiatives to prevent homelessness, among other things.

The number of homeless people in the City of Los Angeles increased by 13 percent in 2020, before the pandemic, to 66,436 people, out of a population of more than ten million. A census was canceled this year because of the pandemic, but it is generally assumed that since then – because of the same pandemic – the number of homeless people has increased further.

Los Angeles sometimes takes controversial measures to tackle widespread homelessness. Earlier this year, for example, homeless camps around the centrally located Echo Park Lake were cleared, an action that led to many protests. On April 21, a federal judge ordered the city to provide shelter or housing for the more than 4,600 residents of the well-known skid Row tent camp before October.

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