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