Belgium braces for another surge in COVID-19 cases

October 21, 2021

BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgium's government warned Thursday that the country could well be on the cusp of another major surge in COVID-19 cases despite its high vaccination rate. Though the government recently relaxed the mandatory use of facemasks, it is again starting to encourage the population to use them to counter a rise in cases reminiscent of the first three surges of the past 1 1/2 years.

“We are clearly in a fourth wave,” Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke told the VRT network. “We will see a major increase in infections and, unfortunately, hospital admissions.” The government has this month loosened some restrictions, including allowing for more indoor events and dropping requirements for customers to wear masks in bars.

Belgium, a nation of 11 million, again has over 3,000 infections a day, an increase of 50% compared to the week earlier. Hospital admissions are at 80 a day now, an increase of over 40%. Even if the total numbers are still manageable, there are worries about the curve spiking again, even though 85 percent of the adult population is vaccinated.

Moscow to shut shops, schools as COVID-19 deaths soar

October 21, 2021

MOSCOW (AP) — Authorities in Moscow on Thursday announced plans to shut restaurants, cinemas and non-food stores and introduce other restrictions later this month, as Russia registered the highest daily numbers of new coronavirus infections and deaths since the start of the pandemic.

The government coronavirus task force reported 36,339 new confirmed infections and 1,036 deaths in the past 24 hours. That brought Russia’s death toll to 227,389, by far the highest in Europe. President Vladimir Putin has voiced consternation about vaccine hesitancy and sought to urge more to come forward for jabs.

Putin on Wednesday responded to rising contagion and deaths by ordering Russians to stay off work from Oct. 30 to Nov. 7, and Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin followed up Thursday by introducing a slew of restrictions in the capital.

All non-food stores, gyms, cinemas and other entertainment venues in the Russian capital will be shut from Oct. 28 to Nov. 7. Restaurants and cafes will only be allowed to deliver takeaway orders, and schools and kindergartens will also be closed during that period.

Access to museums, theaters, concert halls and other venues will be limited to holders of digital codes proving vaccination or past illness, a practice that will also remain in place after Nov. 7 per the Cabinet's advice.

Most state organizations and private businesses except for those operating key infrastructure and a few others will halt work in the 11-day period, the mayor added. Earlier this week, Sobyanin said unvaccinated people over 60 will be required to stay home except for brief walks and open-air exercise. He also told businesses to keep at least a third of their employees working remotely for three months starting Oct. 25.

“The situation in Moscow is developing according to the worst-case scenario,” Sobyanin wrote on his blog, adding that the number of infections in the capital is nearing all-time highs. Russia’s daily infections have been surging for weeks and coronavirus mortality numbers topped 1,000 for the first time over the weekend amid low vaccination rates, lax public attitudes toward taking precautions and the government’s reluctance to tighten restrictions. Only about 45 million Russians — roughly a third of its nearly 146 million people — are fully vaccinated.

Putin strongly urged Russians to get vaccinated, saying “why wait for the illness and its grave consequences?" The Russian leader, who got the domestically developed Sputnik V vaccine earlier this year, said he was bewildered by vaccine hesitancy, even among his close friends, who told him they would get the shot after he does and then kept delaying it.

“I can’t understand what’s going on,” Putin said Wednesday. “We have a reliable and efficient vaccine. The vaccine really reduces the risks of illness, grave complications and death.” Russia became the first country in the world to authorize a coronavirus vaccine in August 2020 and has plentiful supplies. But citizens have been hesitant to take up the jabs, and some have blamed the skepticism on conflicting signals from authorities.

While extolling Sputnik V and three other domestic vaccines, state-controlled media often criticized Western-made shots, a message that many saw as feeding doubts about vaccines in general. The nonworking period, which includes a two-day state holiday, should help limit the spread by keeping people out of offices and off crowded public transportation. The government also urged local authorities to restrict access to restaurants, theaters and other entertainment venues during the period.

Putin said that in some regions where the situation is the most threatening, the nonworking period could start as early as Saturday and be extended past Nov. 7. The Kremlin has ruled out a nationwide lockdown like the one early in the pandemic that dealt a heavy blow to the economy and sapped Putin’s popularity. Authorities have instead allowed regional authorities to decide on local restrictions.

Many of Russia’s 85 regions already have restricted attendance at large public events and introduced digital codes proving vaccination or past illness for access to restaurants, theaters and other venues. Some have made vaccinations compulsory for certain public servants and people over 60.

But Moscow had avoided restrictions until now, with restaurants and movie theaters brimming with people, crowds swarming nightclubs and karaoke bars, and commuters widely ignoring mask mandates on public transportation even as ICUs have been filling quickly.

Authorities in the capital have avoided restrictive measures until now partly because Moscow's health care system has more resources compared to other regions. But Sobyanin said that tougher measures are now inevitable amid soaring infections and deaths.

“The experience shows that nonworking days are the most effective way to reduce contagion and deaths,” he said.

Spain pledges quicker help for La Palma volcano damage

October 23, 2021

SANTA CRUZ DE LA PALMA, Canary Islands (AP) — Spain's prime minister announced Saturday that his government will speed up already promised aid to help the thousands of residents on La Palma island whose homes and livelihoods have been destroyed by a protracted volcanic eruption.

On his fifth visit since the Atlantic island was shaken by the Sept. 19 eruption, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said that his government would pass new measures this week to help millions of euros in aid to reach those in need.

Sánchez's government had already assigned 63 million euros ($73 million) in direct aid, with another 6 million euros ($7 million) for the local farming and fishing industries impacted in the impacted area.

Lava flows from the eruption on the Cumbre Vieja volcanic ridge have damaged or destroyed more than 2,100 buildings, mostly houses and farms. The molten rock, which has covered over 850 hectares (2,100 acres), has also knocked out irrigations systems and roads in the largely agricultural area.

Though most of the island of 85,000 people off northwest Africa is unaffected by the eruption, part of the western side is facing an uncertain future. The lava flows are still going strong over a month later, gobbling up more buildings and forming newly-born land where it has reached the sea. Locals are also feeling the toll of the nonstop roar from the volcano and the constant series of low-level earthquakes under their island.

About 7,500 residents have had to be evacuated from their homes in prompt action by authorities that has prevented the loss of any lives. Most have taken refuge with family or friends but around 430 people are in temporary lodgings provided by the local government.

The Canary Islands government is buying up empty apartments to house those whose homes have been demolished. It has also pledged to modify regulations to help rebuilding efforts once the eruption finally stops.

But the end is nowhere in sight, warned Canary Islands president Ángel Víctor Torres. “We still have weeks ahead of us,” Torres said. “We are living through some very difficult times. (But) no resident of La Palma will have to leave the island to continue their lives.”