Only San Marino ahead of it: Corona-stricken Belgium

Number of Corona Victims bBelgium Reached more than 20,000 people today (Sunday). In the last day, 46 more patients have died from the virus.

Belgium has a population of 11.5 million, and since the beginning of the plague it has reported 662,694 infections in Corona and 20,038 deaths. After tiny San Marino, the mortality rate in Belgium from the corona virus (the number of deaths relative to population size) is the highest in the world. San Marino has a population of about 33,000, and the death toll from Corona is 64.

Belgium counts all those who were diagnosed as carriers of the virus and died as victims of Corona. In the first wave, it also counted those whom authorities estimated to have died of coronation – even if untested – as a victim of the plague. According to the health system, more than half of the victims of the plague have so far been in nursing homes. Last month, Amnesty International said Belgian authorities had “abandoned” the elderly in nursing homes.

Belgium, the seat of NATO and the European Union, is trying to downplay comparisons that show it is one of the countries hardest hit by the virus. Virologists point to some serious mistakes and systemic failures in the fight against the plague in Belgium. Health Ministers.

At the height of the first wave, the Institute of Public Health in Belgium reported more than 250 deaths a day. The peak was on April 8, when 322 victims were reported. The numbers dropped slightly in the summer months, but soared again in October. On November 10, a daily record of 218 deaths was reported. The average daily number of casualties last week was 58, and about 1,780 new infections per day.

In October, the Belgian government imposed severe restrictions – including a night curfew, a duty to work from home and the closure of pubs and restaurants – but in recent days it has once again suffered from a spike in morbidity. On Friday, the government announced that no further restrictions would be imposed at the moment, and that the current restrictions would be examined in a situation assessment on January 22, so it would be clearer how the festival season and school opening affected the morbidity. The vaccination campaign in Belgium began last Tuesday, January 5.

Last month she was UK The first in the West to start vaccinating its citizens against the virus. Today the government announced that it aims to vaccinate by mid-February all citizens who are at risk groups. Health Minister Matt Hancock has said that so far 2 million people have received the first dose of the vaccine, and that in recent days Britain has increased the rate of vaccines. “In the last week, more people have been vaccinated than in any December,” Matt Hancock said. He added that the rate of vaccinators currently stands at 200,000 a day, and the ambition is to reach a rate of 2 million a week. By comparison, Israel vaccinated 1.77 million citizens and began vaccinating after Britain.

Britain aims to have everyone vaccinated by autumn. Hancock noted that it is currently necessary to vaccinate those who are at risk – senior citizens and those suffering from background illnesses. “So far we have vaccinated about a third of those aged 80 and over, we are making very good progress,” Hancock said. The minister added that the government’s target is to vaccinate more than 14 million people by mid-February – including those aged 70 plus and those with background diseases who are in the risk groups, and medical and nursing workers.

The mutation in the corona virus is rampant in the UK, and the kingdom has high hopes for the vaccination campaign and hopes it will allow life to return to normal, at least to some extent, by spring. So far, the UK has approved two vaccines – the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccines and the Asterznica and Oxford University vaccines. Both vaccines have already been used, and this week Britain will approve the “Modern” vaccine – which will be distributed to Britons from the spring months.

The rate of vaccinators in the kingdom is rising as the mutation of the corona virus – which is estimated to infect up to 70% more than the original strain of the virus – is spreading in the kingdom and is taking a heavy toll, with unprecedented numbers of victims. Yesterday, Britain crossed the 3 million-infected threshold, after the government announced 59,937 infected. In the last day, another 1,035 people died, and since the beginning of the plague, 80,868 have died – the most in Europe and fifth in the world.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson last week imposed a third closure on England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland also imposed severe restrictions. Hospitals in the UK are dealing with heavy loads, and at the same time the government is urging citizens to stay home so as not to get infected and infected. “Obviously we are all fed up with the restrictions, but we must find the collective strength to get through this critical stage and save as many lives as possible,” said Chris Whitty, head of England’s health service.

Some public health experts continue to harshly criticize the government’s treatment of the plague. “The UK has no clear strategy other than to respond to the closure whenever hospitals are under pressure,” said Debbie Seridhar, a public health expert at the University of Edinburgh. She called on British government ministers to learn from other countries – such as East Asia and the Pacific – where life has “largely returned to normal”. She said that excessive reliance on the vaccine operation as a condition for removing the restrictions is a dangerous thing.

Following the third closure, Johnson’s conservative government is facing harsh criticism and outrage. The public wants to know how Britain got into this situation – for the third time. Johnson has been criticized since the beginning of the Corona spread – when he chose to delay the first closure. Johnson, later accused of contempt for the plague, contracted Corona and was hospitalized in intensive care. His critics say the slow response to the plague was the first in a string of deadly mistakes. Johnson defended his treatment of the plague, saying it was easy to find mistakes in retrospect. “Retrospective is an amazing tool,” the prime minister said in an interview with the BBC. “Scientific consultants say all sorts of things at different times, never unanimously.”

A poll published in the Observer states that 43% of Britons think Johnson should resign, and 40% believe he should stay in office. It should be noted that an overwhelming majority of conservative voters – 87% – think Johnson should stay and only 7% of conservative voters think he should vacate his seat. 72% of respondents believe the government did not respond “quickly enough” to the Corona threat. 42% were more determined and responded that they were convinced that Johnson’s government had acted late in the fight against the virus.

BGermany The death toll has risen to more than 40,000 today. Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned that the coming weeks could be “the hardest” since the start of the epidemic. The Robert Koch Institute for Infectious Diseases reported an additional 465 deaths in the past day, and 40,343 since the onset of the plague. To date, more than 1.9 million citizens have been infected, and in the last day, close to 17.00 new infections have been reported.

Germany, which has 83 million inhabitants (the most in the EU), also imposed another closure to stop the spread of the virus. Non-essential schools and businesses will remain closed until at least January 31st. Like other countries in the union, Germany also began vaccinating its citizens against Corona in late December. More than half a million have so far received Pfizer vaccines. In the coming days, the distribution of the “Modern” vaccine will begin. Merkel admitted that the vaccination campaign is not currently meeting targets, but promised that the pace would improve. “What matters, and what we can say, is that we have enough vaccines available to everyone.”

Forecasters warned of extreme weather during the week and temperatures that would reach minus 10 degrees, and warned authorities there was a fear that trees would collapse due to the heavy snow. In the Madrid area, rescue teams reached 1,500 drivers trapped in cars. At the same time, police dispersed a crowd of residents who went out to play in the snow, after authorities called on citizens to stay indoors for fear of accidents or mass infection in Corona.