Covid news - live: Europe entering ‘plausible endgame’ for pandemic, says WHO

The World Health Organisation’s Europe director said on Thursday that the continent is entering a “plausible endgame” to the pandemic.

In a statement at a media briefing, Hans Kluge said the continent is entering “a plausible endgame for the pandemic – not to say that it is now all over – but to highlight that in the European region, there is a singular opportunity to take control of the transmission.”

Dr Kluge said that as winter subsides in the coming weeks, the spring “leaves us with the possibility for a long period of tranquility and a much higher level of population defense against any resurgence in transmission.”

This would be possible only through “a drastic and uncompromising increase in vaccine-sharing across borders,” he said.

Stressing on vaccinations, Dr Kluge said it is essential for vaccines to be provided to everyone across Europe and beyond.

Canada’s prime minister Justin Trudeau has said that a military response to the ongoing truckers protest against Covid-19 vaccine mandates is “not on the cards right now”.

Mr Trudeau said one must be “very, very cautious” about deploying troops on Canadian soil.

While he said that any formal requests for assistance from the City of Ottawa or Ontario will be considered, no such request has been made to the federal government yet.

The prime minister’s statement comes after Ottawa police chief Peter Sloly said this week that all options are on the table, including calling in the military to disperse protesters blocking the highway.

The BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron has been found in five African countries, a World Health Organisation (WHO) scientist said on Thursday.

“BA.2 ... has been reported in five countries, that is Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Senegal as well as South Africa,” Nicksy Gumede-Moeletsi said in an online media briefing.

“We are very concerned,” she added.

The scientist explained that BA.2 was proving hard to identify because it was not always picked up by the S-Gene Target Failure criterion, used to distinguish the original Omicron from other variants.BA.2 does not have the same missing target gene as the original Omicron variant and scientists are monitoring it the same way they have tracked prior variants, including Delta.

This was done by tracking the number of virus genomes submitted to public databases such as GISAID.

My colleague Colin Drury explains why the BA.2 variant has sparked concerns

The Centres for Medicare and Medicaid Services said on Thursday that people who are enrolled in the US government’s Medicare programme will get over the counter Covid tests for free from spring.

Under the new coverage, beneficiaries will be able to access up to eight over-the-counter Covid-19 tests per month for free.

Medicare is a federal programme that provides healthcare payment coverage for people aged 65 and older, and younger people with permanent kidney failure.

Regulators in the UK have approved Nuvaxovid — the Covid-19 vaccine developed by US-based vaccine maker Novavax — for use in adults.

In a statement, UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said on Thursday that the vaccine has been approved or adults for a first and second dose as it met the required safety, quality and effectiveness standards.

MHRA’s chief executive June Raine said it was approved following “a rigorous review of the safety, quality and effectiveness” of the vaccine.

With the approval, Nuvaxovid becomes the fifth Covid vaccine authorised in the UK, the regulator said.

President Vladimir Putin has said that his government is mulling easing some pandemic restrictions, even as Russia sees record-breaking surge of infections driven by the Omicron variant.

In an online meeting with Russia’s top business association Business Russia on Thursday, Mr Putin assured its members that the government is not planning any lockdowns.

“The general assessment is that even restrictions for those who come into contact can be lifted in the nearest future, I mean to give people the opportunity to continue working in peace,” he said.

“So, no lockdowns are planned.”

On Thursday, the country’s state coronavirus task force reported 155,768 new infections, a daily tally 10 times greater than a month ago, when about 15,000 new cases were recorded each day.

The task force also reported 667 deaths.

Barring a six-week lockdown in 2020, Russia has not enforced any lockdowns during the pandemic.

In October 2021, the government had asked people to stay at home and work remotely for about a week

India has become the third country in the world to record over 500,000 Covid deaths in the pandemic.

Federal government data from Thursday showed the cumulative infection tally stood at more than 41 million, including 500,055 fatalities.

India is now the third country, after the US (896,557) and Brazil (630,301) where more than 500,000 people have succumbed from Covid.

Health experts in India have, however, maintained that the country’s death toll, after last summer’s devastating second wave driven by the Delta variant, was much greater.

The Indian government has dismissed reports of undercounting deaths, saying the country has a robust system of birth and death records.

The upper house of the Austrian parliament on Thursday approved its Covid-19 vaccine mandate, paving the way for its implementation.

The law was passed in an overwhelming mandate of 47 to 12.

An earlier vote on 20 January in the lower chamber of parliament had led to the passing of the law.It will now be sent to president Alexander van der Bellen for his assent.

Under the law, all adults above 18 will be required to be fully vaccinated against Covid.

Once the mandate goes into effect, authorities will write to every household to inform them of the new rules.

Police will start checking people’s vaccination status during routine checks from mid-March.

Those who cannot produce proof of vaccination will be asked to do so in writing and will be fined up to €600 (£505) if they don’t.

Not all of the country’s states, however, have decided to follow the federal government’s lead.

Vienna mayor Michael Ludwig said on Thursday that the capital will continue requiring proof of vaccination or recovery to enter restaurants.

South Korea on Friday extended Covid-19 restrictions amid a surge in cases following the Lunar New Year holiday.

Prime minister Boo-kyum said at a government meeting that the decision was taken due to the “inexorable” virus spread driven by the highly contagious Omicron variant while acknowledging the public’s fatigue with pandemic restrictions.

Restrictions will remain in force until at least 20 February, which will include curbs on private social gatherings.Such gatherings between those who are fully vaccinated will be restricted to six people, while unvaccinated people will be able to eat or drink alone at restaurants and coffee shops.

Public indoor dining is banned after 9pm.Proof of vaccination or a recent negative test is also required to enter potentially crowded venues such as restaurants, nightclubs, karaoke rooms and gyms.

Officials said the government will resume steps to restore pre-pandemic normalcy if it becomes clear the hospital system can withstand the omicron-driven surge without strict social distancing rules.