Covid Updates From Around the World

Europe: Starting today, people in England will be able to see what the inside of a pub looks like for the first time in months thanks to an easing of restrictions. And countries including Greece and Portugal are gradually opening their borders for the all-important summer tourist season. But at least in England, officials are worried about the growing prevalence of the highly transmissible B16172 variant first found in India.

Southeast Asia: Despite early successes at taming the coronavirus, Singapore and Taiwan are clamping down aggressively to combat new outbreaks. Singapore is sending most kids back to Zoom school this week, and Taiwan is limiting indoor social gatherings to five people.

North America: The one-week average of new cases in the US hit its lowest level since June. Meanwhile, the Canadian government has started to discuss reopening the border with the US, which has been closed since March 2020.

Read more at: Covid Updates From Around the World

Netherlands - Health Insurance: Dutch go for pricey health policies

Just one in eight adults in the Netherlands has opted for a budget health insurance policy which limits their choice of doctor but offers major savings on premiums. In addition, a majority of people do not dare to set their own risk limit above the statutory €375 a year, even though this can bring down premiums as well.

Three-quarters of people also take out expensive top-up polices as a matter of course, the Telegraaf says on Friday. Next year, health insurance premiums are set to rise by around €7 per month and the own-risk element will go up to €385.

The basic health insurance policy currently averages around €100 a month but can be cut to as low as €63 by pushing up the own-risk and opting for less choice.

Read more: Dutch go for pricey health policies - DutchNews.nl