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Santa Claus is considered an essential worker. UK government is getting closer to approval of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. The death toll in Russia is skyrocketing.
If you’ve just joined us, here’s the latest coronavirus news from across the continent to keep you up to date.
UK
The UK government has announced an “important first step” in getting the AstraZeneca vaccine “approved for deployment”, formally returning the company’s investigational vaccine candidate to the drug regulator for evaluation. The Anglo-Swedish drugmaker is developing the vaccine in collaboration with the UK University of Oxford.
If it gets regulatory approval, the UK will be one of the first countries in the world to receive it, according to the country’s Department of Health and Welfare (DHSC).
AstraZeneca expects to have up to 4 million doses ready for the UK by the end of the year, with 40 million more by the end of March, he added.
The news came at a critical time for the company, which fended off criticism of its data’s lack of transparency.
North Ireland began a two-week “circuit breaker” lockdown in an attempt to reduce infections before Christmas. Schools will remain open, but some businesses in the retail, leisure and hospitality sectors have been forced to close.
Meanwhile, the regions of England could see their coronavirus risk category de-escalated before Christmas, as part of a review period in mid-December. The national lockdown will end on December 2, after which London will be placed in the Tier 2 “High Alert” risk category, while cities such as Greater Manchester, Birmingham, Leicester and Bristol will be placed in the Tier 3 “Very High” category. Alert ”. .
Ireland
The Irish government is set to announce its plan to exit level five restrictions which have seen businesses shut down and social gatherings banned since October.
Restaurants and pubs are likely to reopen on Monday, according to public broadcaster RTE, but it is expected that household gatherings will not be allowed until December 18. He also says hairdressers will reopen on Wednesday and people will be able to travel to their county and attend church services.
Deputy Prime Minister Leo Varadkar told RTE this week the government plans to allow three households to come together for up to two weeks during the Christmas period. “We know people are going to do it anyway, so it’s better that we provide it in a safe way,” he said.
Meanwhile, Santa Claus will be exempt from coronavirus restrictions during the holiday period.
Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney told parliamentarians yesterday that he “had been working on the Santa Claus issue for several weeks,” noting that as Santa Claus was an essential worker, “he is not required to quarantine for 14 days and should be able to get in and out of L ‘ Irish airspace, and indeed into and out of Irish homes, without having to restrict its movements.
He added that children should not stay awake at night to greet Santa because he will always be forced to move away socially.
Germany
Germany took a dark step on Friday by registering its millionth coronavirus case. Once seen as a symbol of hope amid the chaos of Covid-19 in Europe, the country has struggled to cope with a second wave.
It comes after Chancellor Angela Merkel announced that the coronavirus restrictions and the country’s partial national lockdown would last until December 20 and could be extended until 2021. “It’s up to us. We are not helpless, ”she told the German Bundestag on Thursday.
In the past 24 hours, data released by the Robert Koch Institute shows 22,806 new cases recorded, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in Germany to 1,006,394.
Germany also recorded its highest single-day death toll since the start of the pandemic. In the past 24 hours, 426 virus-related deaths have occurred, bringing the total number of deaths to 15,586.
Russia
Russia also hit records, with 27,543 new cases recorded on Friday, bringing the total number recorded since the start of the pandemic to 2,215,533.
According to data from the country’s coronavirus response center, this is the highest number of cases ever reported in a single day – 2,000 more than the previous record. Another 496 deaths have been recorded, bringing the total death toll to 38,558 so far.
Moscow alone accounted for 7,918 new cases. Mayor Sergei Sobyanin on Thursday extended some new restrictions in the city until January 15. As the worst-affected city, the capital also broke its own record on Friday.
It’s important to keep in mind that official Russian death figures can vastly underestimate the actual toll by excluding people with suspected post-mortem Covid-19 and even those with pre-existing illnesses that have proven fatal due to of the infection, a CNN investigation revealed.
Spain
Health Minister Salvador Illa formally outlined Spain’s three-phase vaccine deployment strategy, with fifteen population categories created to determine who would have priority in receiving a vaccine.
Topping the list are the elderly, people with disabilities who live in residences and the staff who care for them. Illa estimated that 2.5 million people would be vaccinated in the first phase, which would run from January to March.
The second phase would include other Spaniards over 64 and those belonging to higher risk groups. Those who live or work in closed communities as well as those vulnerable due to their social environment would also be prioritized, he said, with the general population starting to get vaccinated in June on a free and voluntary basis.
Finland
The country, hailed as having recently one of the lowest infection rates in Europe, according to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, is now seeing cases increasing at “an alarming rate,” the report said on Thursday. Ministry of Health.
According to the Ministry of Health, the number of cases “rose sharply and new infections were reported in all hospital districts” between November. From November 16 to 22. During this period, 2,541 new cases were reported, an increase of 906 from the previous week.
Infection rates are particularly high in the Greater Helsinki region, he added.
The health ministry confirmed that new restrictions and recommendations were to be introduced, but did not elaborate on details of the proposed measures. So far, the country has reported a total number of 22,652 cases and 388 deaths linked to the coronavirus.
Italy
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has hinted that many Italian red areas “will turn orange or yellow, as the latest Covid-19 surveillance report, which will be released later on Friday, is expected to reveal the country’s R number has been reduced to 1.
Speaking to Italian news channel Channel 5 on Thursday, Conte said that “this would mean that the citizens of these local authorities could benefit from less restrictive and less penalizing measures.” But he warned that sacrifices still need to be made to avoid a third wave in January: “We cannot let our guard down. Italians know it will be a different Christmas.”
Daily deaths in Italy continue to be reported at staggering heights, with 822 deaths recorded on Thursday. However, for the first time in seven weeks, the number of intensive care patients has declined.
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