In the Netherlands, and likewise across the globe, governments have implemented draconian measures in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19, including emergency powers, border closures, lockdowns, and curfews.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told a forum of African leaders and officials on Saturday that the continent's low vaccination coverage was "disgraceful for humanity".2020 was a year like no other. Mask-wearing, working from home and avoiding crowds were essential to reduce the burden on health systems in the short term, the ECDC has said.Īnd the global picture continues to be a major cause of concern, with an AFP count based on official figures suggesting the number of new infections in Africa has shot up by 57 percent in the past week.
However, the EU's health agency has warned that relying on vaccines alone will not work. "I'm happy I did it because now, if I get corona, I won't feel anything." "Everybody in the family was vaccinated, I was the last one," youngster Camelia told AFP. In Denmark, one of the first European countries to start jabbing children, youngsters were putting on a brave face as they waited for their vaccines. The United States was the first large country to take the plunge and has so far vaccinated more than five million under-12s. "If all goes well, we will start vaccination of children on the afternoon of December 22 in specially adapted centres," he told France Inter radio. Portugal said tens of thousands of under-12s were set to receive their first jab this weekend.įrench Health Minister Olivier Veran said its rollout to children would begin on Wednesday. Ireland is ordering bars and restaurants to close at 8:00 pm, Denmark is shutting cinemas and other venues.Įuropean countries are also pushing hard to dole out booster jabs and widen vaccination programmes to include children. In France, a scientific panel urged the government to impose "significant restrictions" on new year festivities, and the capital Paris announced "with regret" that it was cancelling all events on the Champs Elysees.Įlsewhere in Europe, edgy governments are bringing back restrictions to fight the pandemic, which has killed at least 5,335,968 people since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019. Germany has already designated France and Denmark as high-risk zones, imposing quarantines on unvaccinated travellers. The change, which comes into effect at the end of the day Sunday at midnight, means arrivals from Britain will have to observe a two-week quarantine regardless of whether they are vaccinated. Germany's health agency meanwhile, announced it had put Britain on a list of high-risk Covid countries, which will mean tighter restrictions for travellers. Most of the new cases recorded in London are of the Omicron variant. In London, mayor Sadiq Khan declared a "major incident" in the British capital, calling the case surge "hugely concerning".īritain registered record case numbers for three days in a row during the week, prompting new regulations and reports that another lockdown is being considered.
"To sum it up in one sentence, the Netherlands will go back into lockdown from tomorrow," Rutte told a televised press conference. The Dutch also face stricter limits on the number of guests allowed in their homes, though officials made an exception for Christmas Day.
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