Covid-19: WHO: Covid will mutate like the flu and is likely here to stay

Covid-19 is likely “here to stay with us” as the virus continues to mutate in unvaccinated countries across the world and previous hopes of eradicating it diminish, global health officials said Tuesday.

“I think this virus is here to stay with us and it will evolve like influenza pandemic viruses, it will evolve to become one of the other viruses that affects us,” Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of the World Health Organization’s Health Emergencies Program, said at a press briefing.

Read more at: WHO: Covid will mutate like the flu and is likely here to stay

COVID in Europe: Netherlands closes all non-essential businesses at 5pm

COVID-19 cases are on the rise again in various parts of Europe as the cold weather has affected the spread of the virus.

Countries on the Old Continent are attempting to curb the spike through various means - from a national lockdown in Austria, to limiting access to certain services elsewhere or pushing for an increase in vaccination rates.

Around 60% of people in Western Europe are fully immunised against COVID-19, but only about half as many are vaccinated in Eastern Europe.

Read more at: https://www.euronews.com/2021/11/26/covid-19-spike-felt-across-europe-as-vaccination-remains-stagnant

USA: Biden and Harris briefed as US braces for arrival of Omicron Covid variant - by Edward Helmore

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have been briefed on the latest situation regarding the new Omicron coronavirus variant, the White House said on Saturday, as Britain, Germany and Italy reported detecting cases.

Read more at: Biden and Harris briefed as US braces for arrival of Omicron Covid variant | Coronavirus | The Guardian

Coronavirus: Omicron classified 'variant of concern' by WHO - by M. James, C. Fernando, and J.Shannon:

A COVID-19 variant first discovered in South Africa was dubbed "omicron" and classified a "variant of concern" by the World Health Organization on Friday, as the U.S. and other nations reacted to the newly discovered variant with travel restrictions.

Experts with the World Health Organization met Friday to assess the variant, which appears to have a high number of mutations in the virus’ spike protein, prompting worries about how easily it will spread. While good data on the risks of omicron is likely weeks away, the organization cited early evidence suggesting an increased risk of reinfection.

The U.S. said it will restrict travel from South Africa, as well as Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Malawi, according to a statement from senior officials from the Biden administration.

Read more at: Omicron classified 'variant of concern' by WHO: COVID updates

Coronavirus: Germany poised to pass 100,000 COVID-19 deaths

Germany is poised to pass the mark of 100,000 deaths from COVID-19 this week, a sombre milestone that several of its neighbours crossed months ago but which Western Europe's most populous nation had hoped to avoid.

Discipline, a robust health-care system and the rollout of multiple vaccines — one of them homegrown — were meant to stave off a winter surge of the kind that hit Germany last year.

Read more at: Germany poised to pass 100,000 COVID-19 deaths | CBC News

EU-Coronavirus: Europe′s fight against the coronavirus

Up until this past weekend, the Dutch soccer club SC Cambuur Leeuwarden was making the kinds of headlines everyone wants. The team got off to an excellent start in the country's first league, and was about to host FC Utrecht for the week's top match. That's when unvaccinated supporters who were prohibited from entering the stadium because of coronavirus restrictions turned violent and stormed the field. The match was almost canceled after they stormed the pitch and launched fireworks.

And Leeuwarden wasn't an isolated case. There were also reports of violence and rioting against COVID-19 restrictions in Enschede, Groningen, The Hague and in Rotterdam for the third night in a row. Rioters threw stones at police, vandalized streets and set cars ablaze. According to local authorities, more than 140 people were arrested.

Read more at: Europe′s fight against the coronavirus | Europe | News and current affairs from around the continent | DW | 24.11.2021

Netherlands: EU wants calm amid virus protests; rioters called 'idiots'

In the face of demonstrations across much of Europe protesting tough COVID-19 measures over the past days, authorities on Monday pleaded for patience, calm and a willingness to get a vaccine shot in the arm as infections spike upward again.

And for those who abused the protests to foment violence, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte just called them “idiots.”

Protest marches from Zagreb to Rome and from Vienna to Brussels and Rotterdam, bringing tens of thousands out, all had one message from a coronavirus-weary crowd — we’ve had enough!

“Not able to work where you want work, to be where you want to be. That’s not what we stand for, that’s not freedom,” said Eveline Denayer, who was at Sunday’s march in Brussels, which drew a crowd of over 35,000.

“We live in Western Europe and we just want to be free, how we were before,” she said.

Read more at: https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-health-riots-netherlands-rotterdam-445b8e7e0b3c53081d6525c83dc4dbca

US: Covid is striking again: with Covid infections rising again as upper midwest sees biggest jump

America’s Covid-19 infections are climbing again, and could soon hit a weekly average of 100,000 cases a day as daily case reports increase more than 20% across the upper midwest.

The fresh worsening of the coronavirus pandemic in the US comes as temperatures cool during the approach of winter, forcing people indoors where the virus is believed to spread more readily and may presage another wave.

Read more at: US Covid infections rising again as upper midwest sees biggest jump | US news | The Guardian

The Netherlands:Rotterdam police open fire as Covid protest turns into ‘orgy of violence’

In what the Dutch city’s mayor described as an “orgy of violence”, crowds of several hundred rioters orched cars, set off fireworks and threw rocks at police during the protests on Friday evening. Police responded with warning shots and water cannon.

Police said on Twitter on Saturday that 51 people had been arrested, about half of whom were under 18.

“Three rioters were wounded when they were hit by bullets, they remain in hospital,” police added, in an update after earlier reporting two wounded.

Read more at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/nov/19/the-netherlands-rotterdam-police-open-fire-as-covid-protest-turns-violent?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

Covid-19: Mask-wearing cuts Covid incidence by 53%, says global study | Coronavirus-by Andrew Gregory

n England, the legal requirement to wear a mask ended in July, apart from in healthcare settings and care homes, unless exempt. In Wales, they are still legally required on public transport and in all public indoor areas apart from pubs and restaurants. In Scotland, masks must still be worn in shops and on public transport, and in pubs and restaurants when not seated. In Northern Ireland, masks must still be worn on public transport and in shops.

Results from more than 30 studies from around the world were analysed in detail, showing a statistically significant 53% reduction in the incidence of Covid with mask wearing and a 25% reduction with physical distancing.

Read more at: Mask-wearing cuts Covid incidence by 53%, says global study | Coronavirus | The Guardian

COVID in Europe: Germany latest country to restrict unvaccinated - by A.Tidey, A.Brezar & A. Sandford •

COVID-19 cases are on the rise again in various parts of Europe as the cold weather has affected the spread of the virus.

Countries on the Old Continent are attempting to curb the spike through various means -- from introducing lockdowns for the unvaccinated to limiting access to certain services, or pushing for an increase in vaccination rates.

Around 60% of people in Western Europe are fully immunised against COVID-19, but only about half as many are vaccinated in Eastern Europe.

Read more at: https://www.euronews.com/2021/11/18/covid-19-spike-felt-across-europe-as-vaccination-remains-stagnant

COVID in Europe: Sweden's new COVID pass as Slovakia targets unvaccinated - by Alice Tidey and Aleksandar Brezar

COVID-19 cases are on the rise again in various parts of Europe as the cold weather has affected the spread of the virus.

Countries on the Old Continent are attempting to curb the spike through various means -- from introducing lockdowns for the unvaccinated to limiting access to certain services, or pushing for an increase in vaccination rates.

Read more at: COVID in Europe: Sweden's new COVID pass as Slovakia targets unvaccinated | Euronews

Is COVID-19 here to stay? A team of biologists explains what it means for a virus to become endemic

Now that kids ages 5 to 11 are eligible for COVID-19 vaccination and the number of fully vaccinated people in the U.S. is rising, many people may be wondering what the endgame is for COVID-19.

Early on in the pandemic, it wasn’t unreasonable to expect that SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) might just go away, since historically some pandemic viruses have simply disappeared.

For instance, SARS-CoV, the coronavirus responsible for the first SARS pandemic in 2003, spread to 29 countries and regions, infecting more than 8,000 people from November 2002 to July 2003. But thanks to quick and effective public health interventions, SARS-CoV hasn’t been observed in humans in almost 20 years and is now considered extinct.

Read more at: Is COVID-19 here to stay? A team of biologists explains what it means for a virus to become endemic

COVID-19 will likely be with us forever. Here's how we'll live with it.

COVID-19 continues to run its course, the likeliest long-term outcome is that the virus SARS-CoV-2 becomes endemic in large swaths of the world, constantly circulating among the human population but causing fewer cases of severe disease. Eventually—years or even decades in the future—COVID-19 could transition into a mild childhood illness, like the four endemic human coronaviruses that contribute to the common cold.

Read more at https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/covid-19-will-likely-be-with-us-forever-heres-how-well-live-with-it

Covid 19 medicines/vaccines: EU authorizes 2 medicines for people at risk of severe COVID-19

The European Medicines Agency has recommended the authorization of two new medicines against the coronavirus for people at risk of severe disease.

In a statement on Thursday, the EU drug regulator said it had concluded that the monoclonal antibody treatments -- a combination of casirivimab and imdevimab, and the drug regdanvimab -- have both been proven to significantly reduce the risk of hospitalization and death in patients vulnerable to serious COVID-19.

Read more at: EU authorizes 2 medicines for people at risk of severe COVID-19 | CTV News

The Netherlands: COVID-19: Dutch hospitals sound alarm as eastern Europe reports record daily deaths

Hospitals in the southern Dutch province of Limburg warned the government on Tuesday that they can no longer cope with new COVID-19 patients.

"We are heading straight for a healthcare blockage and the entire system is grinding to a standstill," five hospitals in the border province said.

"We are convinced that other parts of the Netherlands will soon follow," they added in a statement.

Read more at: https://www.euronews.com/2021/11/09/covid-19-dutch-hospitals-sound-alarm-as-eastern-europe-reports-record-daily-deaths

USA: CDC approves Pfizer's COVID vaccine for kids 5 to 11 in the U.S.

.S. health officials on Tuesday gave final approval to Pfizer's kid-sized COVID-19 shot, a milestone that opens a major expansion of the nation's vaccination campaign to children as young as five.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) already authorized the shots for children ages five to 11 — doses just one-third of the amount given to teens and adults. But the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) formally recommends who should receive FDA-cleared vaccines.

The announcement by CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky came only hours after an advisory panel unanimously decided Pfizer's shots should be opened to the 28 million youngsters in that age group.

Read more at: CDC approves Pfizer's COVID vaccine for kids 5 to 11 in the U.S. | CBC News

USA corona virus : effective Nov 8, all US restrictive lifted

BlogThis!