nearly two-thirds of the inhabitants of Germany According to a poll released on Sunday,
It found that 63% of respondents supported plans to make vaccination mandatory. Opposed she was less than 1 in 3 and 7% did not respond.
Deutsche News Agency DPA’s YouGov survey included more than 2,000 people interviewed last week.
The poll comes days after the government announced plans to make vaccinations against COVID mandatory in the coming months.
On Saturday, incoming Prime Minister Olaf Scholz promised an “all-new campaign” to ensure that millions of people could be vaccinated “this month in December.”
Meanwhile, incoming Transport Minister Volker Wissing has warned Germans to skip trips to visit relatives at Christmas time amid the emergence of Omicron variants.
“Winter 2021 will be more dramatic than winter 2020. We can’t stop taking Corona seriously,” he said. Built am Sonntag He urged the Germans to minimize the number of contacts.
Germany recorded a slight drop in new cases on Sunday. The Robert Koch Institute for Disease Control (RKI) recorded 42,055 new cases and 94 new deaths.
Europe
Austria We have seen the third weekend of protests against government restraints to stem the winter COVID wave.
Tens of thousands of people gathered in the capital Vienna on Saturday to protest plans to become the first EU member state to make vaccination against the new coronavirus mandatory and new lockdowns.
About 1,500 people took part in the protest, police said. Several arrests were made on charges of disturbing public order.
Austria is in a partial lockdown, which is expected to end on December 11th.
Since the lockdown was implemented, the number of domestic infections of 8.9 million has fallen from a high of 13,000 a day to below 10,000.
of GermanyFive journalists were attacked during protests in Berlin on Saturday by the conspiracy theorist group Querdenker (Lateral Thinkers) against the latest COVID-19 restrictions, according to the ver.di union.
tages spiegel The newspaper reported that three of its journalists suffered minor injuries, including one of its own journalists.
“I am very concerned that violence against journalists will increase in the coming months,” Jörg Reichel, head of ver.di’s journalism department in Berlin, told the paper.
Despite a ban by the Berlin authorities, the protests, attended by about 500 people, proceeded. Most protesters were not wearing masks and practicing social distancing, according to reports.
Poland When Switzerland Added to list of high-risk coronavirus regions in Germany, joins
About 60 countries.
People returning from such areas who have not been vaccinated and have not recovered from the coronavirus
Those infected will face a 10-day quarantine.
in the Englandthe travel industry reacted angrily to plans to reintroduce pre-departure COVID testing for arrivals in the country.
From 0400 UTC on Tuesday, proof of a negative lateral flow or PCR test result within the last 48 hours will be required before boarding a flight. This will be added to the required PCR test within 2 days of arrival.
The Business Travel Association said the measure would be a “hammer blow,” but the Airport Operators Association said it would be “a devastating blow because pre-departure inspections discourage people from traveling.”
From Tuesday, you will be required to undergo a COVID test within 48 hours before departure to enter the UK.
Americas
New York announced three more cases of the omicron variant, bringing the number of state cases to eight.
Massachusetts, Connecticut and Washington announced their first cases on Saturday, a day after New Jersey, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Maryland reported their first confirmed cases, showing how many states will find the variant. is also increasing.
Missouri reported its first probable case on Friday. This subspecies has also been detected in Nebraska, Minnesota, California, Hawaii, Colorado, and Utah.
Omicron’s arrival comes as hospitals across the state continue to strain under a surge in virus cases. Most of it is due to the delta type, and there is also a shortage of personnel.
10 people aboard Norwegian cruise line ship approach US city new orleans Tested positive for virus.
Over the past week, Norwegian Breakway has made stops in Belize, Honduras and Mexico, carrying 3,200 passengers. I am planning to return to the US this weekend.
Before disembarking, each person on board will be tested and if found positive, will be told to self-isolate at the accommodation provided by the cruise line, officials said.
Cruise ships were an early source of outbreaks when the pandemic began, with some ships being rejected at ports. Some passengers died at sea, while others were ill and were carried off the ship on stretchers.
Asia
India reports the highest number of deaths per day from COVID since July after two states revised their death tolls.
2,426 unrecorded deaths in the eastern state of Bihar and 263 in the southern state of Kerala were tallied on Sunday, a spokesman for the federal health ministry told Reuters.
The revised figures dropped to 2,796 deaths a day, the highest since July 21.
A devastating second wave occurred in March and April of this year, killing thousands. Some medical experts believe the death toll is much higher than the reported 473,326.
Africa
The recently discovered progenitor of the Omicron subspecies may have existed for a very long time.
according to them South Africabased co-discoverer.
“According to current knowledge, early forms of Omicron evolved as separate viral forms before alpha and delta appeared,” said Wolfgang Preiser of Stellenbosch University near Cape Town.
Preiser is a member of a research consortium that discovered a subspecies in southern Africa last month.
He added that this type of virus probably evolved over many months without attracting much attention.
“The question is, why has Omicron been hidden for so long, and why is it now active?
Are we still missing mutations that can spread rapidly? ”
First case of Omicron variant reported SenegalA visitor leaving the country after an international conference in the capital, Dakar.
Local health officials said late Saturday that the 58-year-old patient arrived in Senegal by air from another West African country on 22 November.
He had been vaccinated earlier this year and had no symptoms.
middle east
Saudi Arabia Authorized the entry of people vaccinated against Russia’s Sputnikjab.
The move will allow Muslims to participate in religious pilgrimages such as the Hajj and Umrah pilgrimage to Islam’s holiest sites in the cities of Mecca and Medina, the vaccine developer said on Sunday. .
Foreign tourists who have been vaccinated against Sputnik will still be required to undergo a 48-hour quarantine and PCR test.
the court of Jordan The director of a state hospital was sentenced to three years in prison over the deaths of 10 patients.
Abdel Razak al-Khashman and four aides were convicted of “causing death” at Salt State Hospital where a patient died after running out of oxygen.
The death in March sparked public outrage in Jordan and led to the resignation of Health Minister Nazir Obeidat.
Oceania
Australia On Sunday, it cleared the first COVID vaccine for children aged 5 to 11. Health Minister Greg Hunt said the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine had been given provisional approval to be administered to young children for the first time. .
He said immunization of a cohort of 2.3 million Australian children will begin on 10 January, subject to approval from the national Immunization Advisory Board.
mm/rs (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)
