LONDON (Reuters) – A coronavirus vaccination permit has brought comfort and joy to many this Christmas but they have failed to stop new loops on travel and gatherings as COVID-19 cases rise around the world and deaths in the United States exceed 3,000 for the third straight day.
Scientists and government leaders have said that the vaccines are very successful in combating the pandemic, but only once they have been administered, a process that will months, even in the richest countries in the world.
More than 73.68 million people have been reported to be infected with coronavirus worldwide and 1,655,424 have died, according to Reuters accounting, with the United States leading the way in the number of deaths and diseases.
A rapid rise in the U.S. is pushing hospitals near, weeks after millions took to the air and roads for the Thanksgiving holiday, with admissions rising to a higher altitude for just 19 days.
Many countries are now preparing for the Christmas run and Hans Kluge, director of the World Health Organization ‘s European regional office, said travel was not worth the risk.
“There is still a difference between what the authorities allow you to do and what you should do,” he said in a statement. “The safest thing right now is to stay at home.”
Travel plans for thousands of Australians were thrown into disarray when states and territories blocked borders after 28 COVID-19 cases were discovered in Sydney.
Large areas of England will be added to the “very high alert” COVID-19 rating section this weekend, putting residents under the toughest loopholes even as the government tries to defend a plan to send out invitations for five days over Christmas.
“It doesn’t look like the defense system is holding back the catastrophic wave, unfortunately,” John Edmunds, a member of the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, told Sky News.
“I think we need to look at those measures and maybe the tightening up. ”
South Korea, which has been recommended worldwide for the early treatment of the pandemic, reported 1,062 new cases on Friday, the second highest daily record ever, while in which the government was advocating tighter restrictions.
Overseas Austrians were heading home early for Christmas ahead of new quarantine rules coming into effect on Saturday. The country is entering its third lockout after Christmas, national news agency APA reported Friday.
‘NO SAFE PLACE’
Swiss Health Minister Alain Berset will ask cabinet colleagues on Friday to close restaurants for a month, two newspapers said.
The Spanish capital Madrid, one of the worst COVID-19 sites in Europe at the beginning of the pandemic, has gradually reduced its spread without closing clubs or shops.
But with an average notification rate of 244 cases per 100,000 residents over the past 14 days, the region is back to levels seen before the second wave began.
Poland could introduce even tougher invitations, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said in an interview released on Friday, a day after the government announced the start of a “national quarantine” after Christmas.
Police in Lithuania had planned to set up roadblocks to enforce locks.
“There is no safe place in Lithuania,” Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte told reporters last week.
As government leaders around the world talk to their countries about fighting the pandemic, U.S. President Donald Trump has remained largely silent, with his supporters -criticism denies that he has abdicated his responsibilities as things go awry.
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence received his vaccine live on television Friday, seeking public support for vaccines after U.S. deaths from coronavirus surpassed 3,000 for the third straight day.[L1N2IY0WG]
French President Emmanuel Macron tested positive for the coronavirus on Thursday, prompting a search and discovery effort across Europe after his many meetings with EU government leaders.
EU states will begin vaccinations against COVID-19 on December 27 as Europe tries to catch up with Britain and the United States after what has been criticized as a slow EU approval process for the sights.
The European Union has been waiting for the European Pharmaceuticals Agency to approve a vaccine from Pfizer Inc and its German partner BioNTech SE. The EMA is expected to issue on December 21st.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will work “quickly” toward the emergency approval of Moderna Inc ‘s COVID-19 vaccine candidate, FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn said Thursday.
A panel of outside advisers to the FDA strongly supported the emergency use of the vaccine, almost confirming a second option for protection.
Last week, the same panel backed the Pfizer vaccine, leading to an FDA emergency use approval a day later.
Statement by Reuters bureau worldwide; Written by Nick Macfie; Edited by Jon Boyle, William Maclean