Millions of people face Easter with virus threat as US records 100 million shots

Millions of Christians around the world braced for another restricted Easter weekend on Saturday due to coronavirus outbreaks, but there was good news from the hard-hit United States, which passed the 100 milestone. million vaccinations.

There have been worrying spikes in infections in many parts of the world, even as vaccine deployments accelerate, forcing the reimposition of deeply unpopular restrictions, including in European countries.

Italy began a strict Easter lockdown on Saturday, with the entire country seen as a high-risk coronavirus “red zone” at a time when families typically hold reunions.

At the Vatican on Good Friday, a handful of spectators spotted Pope Francis presiding over the ‘Stations of the Cross’ ceremony in empty St. Peter’s Square, with Covid-19 restrictions preventing large gatherings there for a second year in a row.

New restrictions also came into effect on Saturday in France, where authorities are scrambling to deal with a dramatic increase in cases that has overwhelmed hospitals in the capital Paris.

Sidewalks had already been stepped up in other European countries such as Belgium and Germany – where the government abandoned strict Easter lockdown plans – saw Chancellor Angela Merkel urging people to limit their social contact before the pause.

“Doctors and nurses are doing all they can,” Merkel said Thursday, warning that hospitals were filling up with young people.

“We should not leave them alone, but rather support them with our own actions … This means that it should be a quiet Easter celebration, in a small circle, with greatly reduced contact.”

Across the Atlantic in Canada, similar restrictions were imposed before Easter in Ontario and Quebec, the country’s two most populous provinces.

But there has been a shift towards normal in Jerusalem’s Old City, where a lockdown held back Easter last year.

There was a modest crowd this year as most of the major venues opened thanks to Israel’s successful vaccine rollout.

“Last year was very tough. We felt the city was dead,” said Lina Sleibi, a Palestinian Christian who sings at church services in the holy city of Bethlehem, near the West Bank.

Now “you feel alive again”.

‘We have to finish this job’

The pandemic has claimed more than 2.8 million lives worldwide with no end in sight.

But the United States, the country hardest hit by Covid-19, has become the first nation to administer at least one vaccine to more than 100 million people – roughly half of its adult population.

President Joe Biden has promised to cover the vast majority in a matter of weeks.

But infections continue to rise in parts of the country. Despite the successful deployment of the vaccine, Biden urged Americans to continue to wear masks and take other precautions.

“I beg you. Do not make the progress that we have all fought so hard to achieve,” he said in a brief speech.

“We have to finish this job.”

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has updated their guidelines to say fully vaccinated people can travel without observing quarantines, although they should still wear masks.

Crisis in Latin America

One of the worst Covid-19 epidemics is devastating Brazil, which has reported more deaths than any country in the world after the United States.

It is the epicenter of an ongoing crisis in Latin America, where infections have surpassed 25 million, likely fueled by a seemingly more contagious variant first detected in Brazil.

The devastation in Brazil has frightened neighbors who are already battling their own growing number of cases.

Peru entered an Easter lockdown, Chile closed all borders, Ecuador announced new restrictions, and Bolivia sealed its border with Brazil.

Argentine President Alberto Fernandez announced Friday evening that he had tested positive for the coronavirus. He had received the two-dose Sputnik V vaccine from Russia.

The president, who turned 62 on Friday, was isolated as a precaution but said he was “physically well”.

“Although I would have liked to have finished my birthday without this news,” he said, “I’m in a good mood too”.

burs-qan / jah