New Coronavirus News from 7 Nov 2021

Not only Germany but also in these countries, corona wreaked havoc, then so many cases came to light [News Track English, 7 Nov 2021]

By Shruti Wilson

Washington: We all know that for a long time now, the world's corona havoc has not been reduced, even today there are many countries where new cases of corona are being seen every day, as well as the increasing number of cases of this infection. Since then, fear among people has been growing even more rapidly, with new reports of infection surging in many states. So let's know.

34,002 cases in Germany: The Covid epidemic has also started wreaking havoc in Germany.
According to media reports, 34,002 covid cases have been reported in Germany in a day while 142 patients have died in the same period. In Germany, 4,743,490 covid cases have been reported so far, while 96,488 patients have lost their lives due to corona epidemic. Reports say that two-thirds of the eligible population of the European country, Germany, has undergone covid vaccination.

Things are not good in the U.S. and U.K. too :-
U.S.: Fear of an epidemic among people in the U.S. is growing even faster amid the ever-increasing corona cases. Covid infection cases in Colorado province have reached the top level of the year. Now, the situation is such that hospitals do not have beds for treatment of other diseases.

U.K.: According to recently released reports, britain has seen 30,693 new cases of covid infection, while 155 people have lost their lives. On Friday, 34,029 new cases were reported, while 193 patients died.

The Irish Times view on Covid-19 in Germany: The fourth wave [The Irish Times, 7 Nov 2021]

Fear of making timely decisions has spread like virus through German domestic politics

Exactly a year ago, Germany’s BioNTech announced it had developed the world’s first Covid-19 vaccine (and later partnered with Pfizer to scale up trials, production and distribution). A year after that breakthrough, however, Germany is bringing up the rear in western Europe on vaccinations and booster jabs against breakthrough infections.

On Friday Germany broke a record with 37,000 new cases in 24 hours. Though nearly a quarter of adults over 18 remain unvaccinated, there is no co-ordinated plan – and little debate – over how to deal with those who continue to refuse a jab. From today, the eastern state of Saxony will push forward and exclude unvaccinated people from restaurants, sports venues and cinemas.

Number of people currently confirmed to have COVID-19, in Europe
This chart gets updated multiple times each day with data by Johns Hopkins. To zoom, use the zoom buttons or hold CTRL while scrolling.

In neighbouring Thuringia, Germany’s biggest Covid-19 hotspot, state premier Bodo Ramelow warned that state hospitals may prioritise intensive care beds for vaccinated patients, with unvaccinated patients transferred out of state for hospital care. His proposal sparked howls of outrage, but has forced debate on how this fourth wave is less a medical or logistical challenge than a crisis of ethics and of political decision-making.

Faced with conflict
In common with other European countries, Germany is faced with the conflict between the absolute right of the individual not to be vaccinated and, in a pandemic, the obligation to do all that is possible to protect a wider society that includes older people, the chronically ill and those with compromised immune systems.

There is a terrible irony that this fourth pandemic wave will dominate Angela Merkel’s last weeks as chancellor. Among her many achievements in the past 16 years has been one consistent weak-spot: prevarication. Her fear of making timely decisions has spread like a virus through German domestic politics, where 16 federal states – each with its own health ministry – have struggled to co-ordinate their response to an invisible enemy that knows no borders.
Covid’s fourth wave has exposed just how Merkelised German politics is. When no decision is the political default option, the cost can be considerable.

German coalition parties to table coronavirus draft law on Monday [KFGO News, 7 Nov 2021]

by Vera Eckert & Chizu Nomiyama

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – The three German parties working to agree on a coalition government by early December will present proposals to combat a raging fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country on Monday, daily newspaper Die Welt said.

“On Monday, we will present to parliament a draft law for a suitable and decisive fight against corona,” said the deputy parliamentary leader of the Social Democrats (SPD), Dirk Wiese.

The plan, which includes the reintroduction of free tests, comes from the SPD, Greens and Free Democrats, which together hold a parliamentary majority, and will be discussed by the Bundestag, the lower house of parliament, later this week.

It is aimed to come into force before a national state of epidemic emergency expires on Nov. 25.
The newly convened Bundestag is scheduled to consult on necessary law changes in sessions on Nov. 11 and Nov. 18.

The Greens and FDP especially have pushed free testing, which was abolished to incentivise people to get jabs, but those refusing to be injected up to now are not seen budging.

Doctors have supported calls for the reducing or waiving of test fees. They say the advantage, aside from serving the general cause of containing the virus, is to retain a good overview of its spread.

“Free citizen tests can be an important tool, especially in autumn,” said the FDP’s health spokeswoman, Christina Aschenberg-Dugnus.

Germany will soon open its traditional Christmas markets which attract crowds.

The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious disease reported 23,543 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, up by 6,656 from a week ago.

The leader of Bavaria state, Markus Soeder, called for more aligned strategies between the federal level and the country’s 16 states to avoid a patchwork of regulations.

On broadcaster ARD’s Anne Will talk show, he called for more mandatory tests, more decisive offers of booster shots, and possibly mandatory vaccinations for certain professions.

Covid 19 Delta outbreak: Germany's fourth surge 'worrying' experts [New Zealand Herald, 7 Nov 2021]

By Jessica Wang

It's "highly likely" Germany's intensive care units could reach capacity in as little as four to five weeks as the country battles another runaway Covid surge, a top epidemiologist has warned.

Epidemiologist and Senior Fellow at the Federation of American Scientists, Dr Eric Feigl-Ding issued the grim warning after Germany recorded pandemic-high levels of Covid cases this week, with over 34,000 and 37,000 new infections on Thursday and Friday respectively.

This is despite the fact that 66.9 per cent of Germany's population has been fully vaccinated, which puts it on par with the UK (68.1 per cent).

However, if Germany is unable to slow their spread and decrease the amount of patients presenting to hospital, Dr Feigl-Ding predicted health authorities will need to re-enact lockdown measures in December.

"Germany is in trouble – available intensive beds falls to less than 10 per cent in many regions due to Covid-19 hospitalisation surge.

"Overload of the nationwide intensive capacity in Germany is highly likely in about four to five weeks. Lockdown possible in December at this rate."

'This winter is going to be bad'
Germany's increasing cases and reduced hospital capacity has also alarmed their disease and control centre, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI).

On Thursday the RKI increased their risk assessment for the unvaccinated from "high" to "very high," however President Lothar Wieler added that those fully-vaccinated should also be weary.

"For the fully vaccinated, the risk is assessed as moderate, but increasing due to rising infection rates," he said.

He also credited the "very worrying" fourth wave with the country's flatlining vaccination rates, which has sat around 66 per cent for the last month.

Pandemic travel news: Russia and China fight Covid outbreaks [CNN, 7 Nov 2021]

By Maureen O'Hare

(CNN) — Russia and China are fighting record Covid outbreaks, US domestic air travel is set to go from bad to worse, but there's good news out of Asia-Pacific.

Here are some things we learned in pandemic travel this week.

1. Russia has moved to the CDC's highest-risk category
Covid cases in the world's largest country by area have hit a record high, with close to 274,000 new cases reported in Russia in the past week and only 34% of the population fully vaccinated.

The rise means that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) this week added Russia to its list of "very high" risk travel destinations, the criteria for which is having had more than 500 cases per 100,000 residents in the past 28 days.

There are now nearly 80 countries on the CDC's "no-go" Level 4 list, including the UK, Greece, Switzerland and Thailand.

2. China is doubling down on its zero-Covid strategy

All across Asia Pacific, from Australia to South Korea, countries are easing restrictions and reopening borders as they move away from zero-Covid strategies -- but China is holding out.

The country is working to contain its most widespread Covid outbreak since Wuhan, although recent case numbers are still only in the hundreds. A single Covid case at Shanghai Disneyland at Halloween sent the whole park and adjacent Disneytown shopping district into lockdown.

Despite fully vaccinating more than 75% of its population, China is sticking to its policy of closed borders, lengthy quarantines for international arrivals and localized lockdowns.

3. Flying has gotten really bad. Here's why

Thousands of canceled flights across the United States. Violent outbursts from passengers and even between crew. Operational meltdowns were behind the recent mass cancellations at American Airlines and Southwest which left tens of thousands of passengers stranded, but problems in US domestic travel run deeper than that -- and may well get worse.

Staffing shortages mean flight crews are overworked and vaccine mandates could lead to even more shortages. Lower availability of flights, meanwhile, means higher ticket prices for those flights. Planes are packed, there's division over mask rules, and tensions are rising.

Meanwhile, the US will reopen to fully vaccinated foreign visitors on November 8. "It's going to be a bit sloppy at first, I can assure you," Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian said at a late October travel industry conference. "There will be lines, unfortunately."

4. The ultra long-haul dream hasn't gone away
Ultra long-haul flights are classed as any that are scheduled to last more than 16 hours -- and they've actually been around since the 1930s.

While the aviation industry is focused on recovery rather than bum-numbing record-breaking, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has told CNN's Richard Quest that in 2022 his airline hopes to revisit development of Project Sunrise -- a plan to operate the world's longest nonstop flights, which would allow travelers to fly between London or New York to the eastern Australia cities of Sydney and Melbourne. The aim is to then launch in the following two to three years.

The world's longest scheduled passenger flight currently in service is Singapore Airlines' Singapore-JFK flight, which covers 9,536.5 miles and takes 18 hours and 40 minutes on the Singapore-bound route.

5. Try warm-weather destinations, say travel experts

While the 2020 holiday season was a stay-at-home affair, this year moving around the world is safer and more accessible. However, we still need weigh up risks versus benefits during every step of vacation-planning.

CNN Travel asked industry experts and CNN medical analyst Dr. Leana Wen about what you need to consider when making those destination decisions.

Your vaccination status is the most important factor when it comes to ease of travel, with many countries not letting the unjabbed enter. If you want to reduce your Covid risk but are still keen for a vacation abroad, consider warm-weather destinations where most of the activity is outdoors.

7. The 'world's best' cheese for 2021 was revealed

Even if you're not making plans to jet off anywhere for a while, you can still travel the world with your palate.

A soft goat's cheese from Spain won first place at the World Cheese Awards on November 3, having been chosen out of more than 4,000 entries from more than 40 countries.

The winning cheese, called Olavidia, is from an artisan cheesemaker using the commercial name Quesos y Besos (Cheeses and Kisses). The crown returned to Europe this year after the previous winner was -- for the first time ever -- an American cheese, Oregon's Rogue River Blue.

8. There were joyful reunions at Australian airports
Tens of thousands of loved ones and family members have been kept apart for more than 20 months due to Australia's strict border policy in response to Covid-19.

When the country's international borders finally reopened on November 1, there were hugs, tears and emotional reunions at Sydney and Melbourne airports.

So far, only the highly vaccinated states of New South Wales and Victoria have relaxed restrictions on international arrivals, but the Australian government says further border limits will be removed as other parts of the country meet their 80% vaccination targets.