Swiss Health Minister Alain Berset is in a bit of a bind.

With just under two-thirds of the population fully vaccinated, the Swiss have one of the lowest vaccination rates in Western Europe.

Now, Covid-19 infections are rising exponentially, with case numbers rising by 40% to 50% each week.

So is the health minister planning new restrictions, like neighbouring Germany, or even making vaccination mandatory, like Austria?

Not a bit of it. In fact, on Sunday, Switzerland votes on getting rid of some Covid restrictions altogether.

From the start of the pandemic the Swiss government has performed a tricky balancing act, trying to introduce measures to control the spread of Covid, while still staying true to Switzerland’s system of direct democracy, in which the government has little formal power and the people have the final say.

Switzerland’s lockdowns were never as strict as its neighbours. People were allowed outside for exercise whenever they wanted and the schools only closed for a few weeks.

But last summer, with cases falling dramatically, Switzerland didn’t have a celebratory, UK-style “freedom” day either.

Instead, a Covid certificate was introduced with proof of vaccination, negative test, or immunity through having had the virus. In September it became obligatory to enter bars, cafes, restaurants, cinemas, museums, sporting events, and face-to-face university classes.

But not everyone agrees.

Vaccination has long been a sensitive issue here, especially in German-speaking Switzerland. A belief that natural immunity is best led to a drop in childhood measles vaccinations that sparked a surge in measles cases across Europe.

Meanwhile, in the alpine communities, a historic pride in their own independence rooted, some say, in the time when the mountain villages were cut off from the world each winter, means there is resistance to the government issuing orders.

And so, when the certificate was introduced and Covid tests stopped being free, life for the unvaccinated became difficult and even going out for a beer was suddenly expensive.

The government hoped the measures would encourage people to get vaccinated. Instead, many took to the streets and others gathered enough signatures to challenge the Covid certificate in Sunday’s referendum.

Covid: Swiss vote on ending restrictions while cases surge
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Covid – The US will restrict travel from South Africa and seven other southern African countries to try to contain a new coronavirus variant spreading there.

From Monday, only US citizens and residents will be allowed to travel from the region.

This follows a similar flight ban imposed by the EU and the UK. Canada is also introducing travel restrictions.

The World Health Organization (WHO) earlier declared the new variant to be “of concern”, naming it Omicron.

US officials said flights from South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Malawi will be blocked, mirroring earlier moves taken by the EU. The ban will come into effect on Monday.

In a statement, President Joe Biden called the move a “precautionary measure” taken until more is known about the variant.

Canada is also shutting its borders to foreign travellers who have recently been to South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Botswana, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Foreign citizens will be banned from Canada if they have been to the seven nations in the past 14 days.

The Omicron variant was first reported to the WHO from South Africa on 24 November and has since been identified in other countries.

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South Africa’s health ministry has criticised the rush to impose new travel restrictions, calling them “draconian”, and contrary to WHO guidance.

Scientists say they still have much to learn about the virus’s new mutations, and the WHO has said it will take a few weeks to understand the impact of the new variant, as experts work to determine how transmissible it is.

The WHO on Friday said preliminary evidence suggested the new variant carried a higher risk of reinfection than other variants.

Scientists have said it is the most heavily mutated version yet, which means Covid vaccines, which were designed using the original strain from Wuhan, China, may not be as effective.

The WHO says so far fewer than 100 sample sequences have been reported. Cases have mainly been confirmed in South Africa, but have also been detected in Hong Kong, Israel, Botswana and Belgium.

Most of the cases in South Africa have been from its most populated province, Gauteng, of which Johannesburg is the capital city.

The WHO has warned against countries hastily imposing travel restrictions, saying they should look to a “risk-based and scientific approach”.

Source – https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-59427770

Covid: US joins EU in restricting flights from southern Africa
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Covid – The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a new coronavirus variant to be “of concern” and named it Omicron.

It had a large number of mutations, and early evidence suggested an increased reinfection risk, the WHO said.

It was first reported to the WHO from South Africa on 24 November, and has also been identified in Botswana, Belgium, Hong Kong and Israel.

A number of countries around the world have now decided to ban or restrict travel to and from southern Africa.

Travellers from South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho and Eswatini will not be able to enter the UK unless they are UK or Irish nationals, or UK residents.

US officials said flights from South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Malawi would be blocked, mirroring earlier moves taken by the EU. It will come into effect on Monday.

Brazil and Australia also introduced travel restrictions.

‘Bad news – but not doomsday’

On Friday, the WHO said the number of cases of this variant, initially named B.1.1.529, appeared to be increasing in almost all of South Africa’s provinces. 

“This variant has a large number of mutations, some of which are concerning,” the UN public health body said in a statement.

It said “the first known confirmed B.1.1.529 infection was from a specimen collected on 9 November”.

The WHO said it would take a few weeks to understand the impact of the new variant, as scientists worked to determine how transmissible it was.

A top UK health official warned that vaccines would “almost certainly” be less effective against the new variant.

But Professor James Naismith, a structural biologist from the University of Oxford, added: “It is bad news but it’s not doomsday.”

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He said mutations in the variant suggested it may spread more quickly – but transmissibility “is not just as simple as ‘this amino acid does this'” and was determined by how mutations worked together.

Only about 24% of South Africa’s population is fully vaccinated, which could spur a rapid spread of cases there, Dr Mike Tildesley, a member of the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Modelling group (Spi-M), told the BBC on Friday.

Meanwhile, US infectious disease chief Dr Anthony Fauci said that while the reports on the new variant threw up a “red flag”, it was possible that vaccines might still work to prevent serious illness.

“Until it’s properly tested… we don’t know whether or not it evades the antibodies that protect you against the virus”, Dr Fauci told CNN.

The WHO has warned against countries hastily imposing travel restrictions, saying they should look to a “risk-based and scientific approach”.

However, in addition to the UK, and the US and the EU, a host of other countries have also announced restrictions:

• Australia announced on Saturday that flights from South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, the Seychelles, Malawi, and Mozambique would be suspended for 14 days. Non-Australians who have been in those countries in the past two weeks are now banned from entering Australia
• Japan has announced that from Saturday, travellers from much of southern Africa will need to quarantine for 10 days and take a total of four tests during that time
• India has ordered more rigorous screening and testing for travellers arriving from South Africa, Botswana and Hong Kong
• Iran will ban travellers from six southern African countries, including South Africa. Iranians arriving from the region will be admitted after testing negative twice, state TV says
• Brazil also said it was restricting travel to the region from six countries in Africa

Source – https://www.bbc.co.uk/

Covid: New variant classed ‘of concern’ and named Omicron
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Sajid Javid, Health Secretary has been criticised for saying people should no longer “cower” from coronavirus.

He made the comments after tweeting that he had made a “full recovery” from Covid, a week after testing positive.

“Please – if you haven’t yet – get your jab, as we learn to live with, rather than cower from, this virus,” he wrote.

But Labour accused him of denigrating those who followed the rules, while a victims’ group founder said his comments were “deeply insensitive”.

Cower is defined by the Cambridge Dictionary as meaning to bend down or move backwards with your head down because you are frightened.

Shadow justice secretary David Lammy questioned his use of the word.

“129,000 Brits have died from Covid under your government’s watch,” Mr Lammy wrote. “Don’t denigrate people for trying to keep themselves and their families safe.”

Lib Dem health spokeswoman Munira Wilson said Mr Javid’s tweet was “outrageous” while thousands remain in hospital with Covid-19.

“His careless words have insulted every man, woman and child who has followed the rules and stayed at home to protect others,” she said.

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“He owes them all, especially the millions who are shielding, an apology.”

Co-founder of Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice Jo Goodman said Mr Javid’s comments were “deeply insensitive on a number of levels”.

“Words matter and the flippancy and carelessness of this comment has caused deep hurt and further muddied the waters of the government’s dangerously mixed messaging.”

Mr Javid replaced Mr Hancock as health secretary last month after his predecessor stood down.

He has been seen as more strongly in favour of lifting coronavirus restrictions, previously describing the move as “irreversible”.

On Saturday, cases fell for the fourth day in a row, with 31,795 infections recorded. However, the seven-day average for deaths is up by 57.4%, with 86 deaths reported on Saturday.

The vaccination programme has reduced hospital admissions and deaths in this current, third wave of the pandemic.

Modelling produced last month by Public Health and the MRC Biostatistics Unit estimates that vaccines had prevented 7.2 million infections and 27,000 deaths in England alone.

Source – https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-57958538

Sajid Javid criticised for ‘cower’ Covid remark
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Covid-19 – Germany’s health agency said on Monday it would lift a ban on most travellers from the UK, India and three other countries hit by the Delta variant of Covid-19.

The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) said India, Nepal, Russia, Portugal and the UK, currently listed as so-called Covid-19 virus variant countries, would be reclassified from Wednesday as “high-incidence areas”.

The change eases a ban on entry for travellers who are not German residents or citizens, instead of meaning anyone will be able to enter as long as they observe quarantine and testing rules.

Germany introduced its “virus variant country” travel category in a bid to stop new coronavirus variants that have not yet spread widely on home soil.

But Health Minister Jens Spahn said last week that the Delta variant was fast becoming dominant in Germany, meaning that bans on most travellers from countries hit by that variant may be lifted.

Given the increasing spread of Delta, which was first detected in India, and research suggesting vaccines are effective against it, “we will look at the situation in the next few days”, Spahn said.

Chancellor Angela Merkel also hinted at a potential softening in Germany’s stance towards travellers from Britain during a visit to London on Friday.

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Last month, Merkel had called for tough restrictions, including longer quarantine, for people travelling from Britain, where the Delta variant has caused a surge in cases.

But she indicated that the stance could soften as travel advice was reviewed.

“We think that in the foreseeable future, those who have received double jabs will… be able to travel again, without having to go into quarantine,” she said.

Only citizens and residents of Germany are permitted to enter from a variant country and are subject to a two-week quarantine, regardless of whether they are fully vaccinated or can provide a negative Covid-19 test.

By contrast, anyone can enter from a high-incidence country as long as they provide a negative test on arrival. They must in principle enter a 10-day quarantine but can end it after five days with another negative test.

Travellers from high-incidence areas are also exempt from quarantine if they have been fully vaccinated.

Countries where variants other than Delta are circulating, such as Brazil and South Africa, remain in the Covid-19 variant category.

Despite the rising share of the Delta variant, the overall incidence in Germany has been steadily declining in recent weeks.

Source – https://www.ndtv.com/

Covid-19: Germany lifts ban on tourists from UK and Portugal
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vaccinated – The prospect of care home workers being required to get vaccinated against Covid-19 has moved a step closer, with a crucial endorsement from the UK’s human rights watchdog.

Ministers are considering changing the law to make vaccination a condition of deployment for people in some professions that come into regular close contact with elderly and vulnerable people at high risk from the coronavirus.

In a report to the government seen by the Guardian, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) admitted that making vaccines compulsory for care home staff would be a “significant departure from current public health policy”.

But they judged that ministers were “right to prioritise protection of the right to life for residents and staff” and said it would be reasonable for care home workers to need a jab “in order to work directly with older and disabled people, subject to some important safeguards”.

The EHRC is also likely to make a similar recommendation about healthcare workers, after the vaccines minister, Nadhim Zahawi, suggested over the weekend that NHS staff could face mandatory jabs, too, as some patients were “being infected in hospital”.

Zahawi said no decisions had been made yet, and stressed there was a precedent: surgeons were required to be vaccinated against hepatitis B. He added: “It would be incumbent on any responsible government to have the debate, to do the thinking about how we go about protecting the most vulnerable by making sure that those who look after them are vaccinated.”

A government source said: “We think it would save lives.”

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There is nervousness in Whitehall about making moves to force anyone to have a coronavirus injection, given the fear that this could make people who are already vaccine hesitant even more resistant.

However, now that care workers had been eligible for vaccines for months due to their high position on the priority list, the EHRC said some demographic groups that were less likely to get vaccinated were “disproportionately represented in the adult social care sector workforce”.

Source – https://www.theguardian.com/

Vaccinated – UK rights watchdog endorses compulsory Covid jabs
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Delhi – Amid novel coronavirus surge and the attempt to contain, Delhi government on Sunday extended the lockdown by another week till 17 May. According to the new order, several new and stringent curbs will come into force from tomorrow, including shutting down metro services across all the lines.

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) issued a statement saying, “Delhi Metro services on all its Lines shall also remain suspended for passenger and essential services from 10.05.2021 till 5:00 AM of 17.05.2021.”

During the previous restrictions, the metro was available in the morning (8 am to 10 in) and evening (5 pm to 7 pm) peak hours across the network with a headway (frequency) of 30 minutes.

Announcing the lockdown extension, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that all other essential services will continue in the city. The lockdown scheduled to end at 5 am on Monday will now be extended up to May 17 morning

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Dining-in at restaurants will remain prohibited, shopping malls will continue to be shut and employees of businesses outside of essential services will be required to keep working from home.

Marriages can only be held at home or court with not more than 20 people, according to an order issued by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA).

“There will be a complete prohibition on marriage ceremonies at public places, banquet halls, hotels and similar places during the period,” it said.

Kejriwal said although COVID-19 cases have come down in the last few days, but any leniency would squander the gains achieved so far in the current wave of the pandemic.

Speaking about the effect of the restrictions in controlling the spread of the virus, the CM said: “The positivity rate had reached 35% when we first implemented the lockdown. It has since come down due to the strict measures. In the last two days, it has reached 23%.”

“We used the lockdown period to boost our medical infrastructure and to increase oxygen beds at various locations. The oxygen situation has improved in Delhi. We are getting less panic or SOS calls from hospitals now,” he added.

Source – https://www.livemint.com/

Delhi extended lockdown: Metro services to be shut till 17 May
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Vaccinated – President Joe Biden kept his face mask on Tuesday after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said fully vaccinated Americans can now safely go without masks outside, saying he was doing so to make a point.

Biden wore his face mask as he came out onto the North Lawn of the White House to deliver remarks on the coronavirus pandemic. He paired the dark mask with his signature aviator sunglasses against the bright, sunny day. 

He took the mask off to speak – waiting until he reached the podium to do so – and said he walked out of the White House wearing one so people could watch him remove it and not put it back on until he was back inside the building.

‘Watching me take if off and not put it back on until I’m inside,’ he said when asked what message he was giving. There was only a few reporters and staff on hand for his outdoor remarks.

Biden was fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before he took the oath of office on Inauguration Day in January. 

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the president will follow the new guidelines but conceded it will take some time to adapt the new habit. 

‘He’ll be following public health guidelines so I think you saw him outside today – he took the mask off, he didn’t put the mask back on,’ she said at her press briefing. ‘It will take some time to adjust and adapt for all of us.’ 

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The president spoke for a little than five minutes about the pandemic, where he encouraged people to get vaccinated as the inoculation rate in the United States has started to drop off. He pointed out getting vaccinated means getting back to normal life. 

‘Vaccines are about saving your life, but also the lives of the people around you, but they’re also about helping to get us get back to closer to living our normal lives, getting together with friends, going through the park for a picnic without needing a basket or back to that place now as long as you get vaccinated,’ Biden said. ‘So go get the shot. It’s never been easier.’ 

He also pointed out the new CDC guidelines: ‘Starting today, if you’re fully vaccinated and you’re outdoors and not in a big crowd, you no longer need to wear a mask.’

After his remarks, he left the podium, set up next to the driveway outside the White House, with his face mask in hand. 

Source – https://www.dailymail.co.uk/

Vaccinated – Americans can go maskless outside
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Israel – Israelis went about barefaced on Sunday after the order to wear masks outdoors was rescinded in another step towards relative normality thanks to the country’s mass-vaccination against COVID-19.

With about 81% of citizens or residents over 16 – the age group eligible for the Pfizer/BioNTech (PFE.N), (22UAy.DE) vaccine in Israel – having received both doses, contagions and hospitalisations are down sharply.

But entry by foreigners is still limited and non-immune Israelis who return from abroad must self-isolate, due to concern virus variants could challenge the vaccine. read more The Health Ministry said it had detected seven cases of a new Indian variant in Israel, whose potency was being assessed.

“We are leading the world right now when it comes to emerging from the coronavirus,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters. “(But) we have still not finished with the coronavirus. It can return.”

The police-enforced wearing of protective masks outdoors, ordered a year ago for non-exercise activities, was scrapped. But the Health Ministry said the requirement still applied for indoor public spaces and urged citizens to keep masks to hand.

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“Breathing Freely,” read the cover headline of the mass-circulation daily Israel Hayom.

“Being without a mask for the first time in a long time feels weird. But it’s a very good weird,” Amitai Hallgarten, 19, said while sunning himself at a park. “If I need to be masked indoors to finish with this – I’ll do everything I can.”

With Israeli kindergarteners, elementary and high school students already back in class, middle school pupils who had been kept at home or attended class sporadically returned to pre-pandemic schedules.

Teachers were instructed to continue ventilating classrooms and to maintain social distancing in lessons and breaks. Extra-curricular activities such as children’s theatres remain off-limits.

“This is still a non-vaccinated population (children under the age of 16) that we want to safeguard,” Health Ministry official Sharon Alroy-Preis told Israel’s Army Radio.

Israel counts East Jerusalem Palestinians among its 9.3 million population and has administered the vaccines there.

The 5.2 million Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and the Islamist Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip have been receiving limited supplies of vaccines provided by Israel, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, the global COVAX vaccine-sharing scheme and China.

Source – https://www.reuters.com/

Israel drops outdoor COVID mask order
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Covid – A petition urging the government not to introduce vaccine passports could be debated by MPs after it gained more than 200,000 signatures.

The online petition says the passports could be “used to restrict the rights of people who have refused a Covid-19 vaccine”.

On Tuesday, Boris Johnson announced a review of vaccine certificates, or passports.

Proof of vaccination could allow people to travel or attend large events.

Vaccination is not mandatory, and the petition says passports “would be unacceptable”.

The prime minister has appointed Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove to look at the issues involved in any scheme, which could see the existing NHS app updated to include proof of vaccination.

Previously, the government had said it was not planning to introduce such a scheme for domestic use.

On Friday, Heath Secretary Matt Hancock said the government wanted to enable people to prove their vaccination status if other countries demand it for travel abroad.

But he told reporters at a Downing Street press conference questions about how they might be used domestically would be examined during the review.

“I think it’s best to allow that review to take evidence, to consider all of the broad range of issues, and then come to its conclusion,” he said.

“It’s right we take our time to think about this.”

On Tuesday, Mr Johnson said there are “deep and complex issues” with using vaccine passports or certificates to prove someone’s Covid-19 “status”.

He said using certificates to allow visits to venues such as pubs and theatres was a “novelty for our country”.

‘Two-tier society’

The petition posted on the Parliament website says: “We want the government to commit to not rolling out any e-vaccination status/ immunity passport to the British public.

“The government must be completely clear to the public about the use of vaccine passports and their intensions, which will undoubtedly affect societal cohesion.”

The human rights pressure group Liberty has also expressed concern about the idea.

Its head of policy and campaigns, Sam Grant, said vaccine passports could “create a two-tier society where some people can access support and freedoms, while others are shut out – with the most marginalised among us hardest hit”.

He added: “The road out of lockdown can’t ride roughshod over our rights.

“That’s why we need the Coronavirus Act to be repealed, and replaced with strategies that provide support to help people to follow health guidance.

“That means rejecting proposals like immunity passports which are based on exclusion and division. Instead, we must work to bridge divides with strategies that protect everyone.”

Former prime minister Tony Blair – who has made a string of coronavirus proposals through his think tank – said the usefulness of vaccine passports would depend on circumstances.

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Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/4996644#ixzz6sOVaoJj1

In travel, he said, they would become inevitable as other countries introduce them and so the government should put in a system now to be ready for this.

Speaking via video link at an Institute for Government event, he said he did not think it would be “unreasonable” for care homes and healthcare organisations to demand staff are vaccinated, but did not envisage vaccination becoming compulsory in other areas.

He added that “personal liberty also means you’re able to have the ability to travel”.

Any parliamentary petition signed by over 100,000 people must be considered for a debate in Westminster Hall, the Commons’ second chamber.

Westminster Hall debates had been suspended due to restrictions on Parliament’s capacity to adhere to social distancing rules, but on Thursday MPs voted to restart them.

Chair of the Petitions Committee, Catherine McKinnell said 41 petitions currently waiting for debates had been started since the suspension.

She added: “I welcome the House’s agreement to resume Westminster Hall debates, and for them to be hybrid, helping to keep Parliament Covid-secure and ensure that as many Members as possible can take part in our debates.”

Source – https://www.bbc.co.uk/

Covid: Thousands Sign Petition Against Vaccine Passports
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