ISTANBUL — Turkey will begin vaccinating people over 60 and some risk groups as daily infections climb, the country's health minister says.
Minister Fahrettin Koca announced on Twitter the spouses of people above 60 are also eligible. The risk groups included in this round of vaccinations are people with underlying conditions.
Turkey rolled out its vaccination program in January with CoronaVac by Chinese biopharmaceutical company Sinovac and has administered more than 14.6 million shots. This week, the country also received approximately 1.4 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine.
Daily infections reached more than 30,000 Saturday as Turkey continues with relaxed restrictions. Another 151 new deaths were registered, bringing the total confirmed death toll to 30,923.
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THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:
— Brazil daily deaths near 4,000, worst may lie ahead
— Countries neighboring Serbia flock for coronavirus vaccine
— Israelis gather for Passover, celebrating freedom from virus
— Shots and a musical serenade at NYC vaccination center
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HERE'S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:
HONOLULU — Weddings on Oahu in Hawaii can be held outside with a maximum of 100 people after an easing of public health orders related to the coronavirus pandemic.
Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi says the easing of the 10-person wedding restriction is effective immediately. A limit of 10 people will continue for indoor weddings.
For outdoor weddings, all must wear face masks and each wedding must be supervised by "event planning professionals." Temperature checks will be required.
The news was applauded by members of the state's wedding industry, which was dramatically affected by the pandemic.
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The confusing maze of websites and phone numbers required to sign up for an COVID-19 immunization in the U.S. is presenting a challenge for people who are visually impaired or hard of hearing.
Providers are using different systems that can vary by state and even cities. The blind and deaf says that often forces them to rely from others to help them get in line.
In Oregon, Carla McQuillan can't see and couldn't use screen reader to make an appointment. Dante Little says he helped 20 disabled people in Alabama who couldn't otherwise get shots.
The CDC reports an estimated 12 million Americans over age 40 have impaired vision, including 1 million who are blind. The National Association of the Deaf says a 2011 study found 48 million Americans are deaf or hard of hearing.
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BERLIN — Health Minister Jens Spahn says Germany needs a strict lockdown last at least 10-14 days to reduce the rapid rise of coronavirus infections, which has been fueled by a more contagious variant.
The country's disease control agency announced 20,472 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 157 additional deaths on Saturday. The head of the Robert Koch Institute said Friday that Germany could see as many as 100,000 infections daily if infections keep rising exponentially.
This week, the governors of Germany's 16 states resisted imposing stricter rules demanded by medical experts. Some states have also refused to implement an "emergency brake" previously agreed with Chancellor Angela Merkel when weekly case numbers rise above 100 per 100,000 inhabitants.
Spahn said at a public meeting Saturday, "if we look at the numbers, including the developments today, we need another 10-14 days, at least, of properly driving down contacts and movements, a lockdown if you want to call it that, like we had for Easter last year."
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PORTLAND, Maine — Spring has arrived, and many older adults in the U.S. who have been vaccinated are emerging from a hibernation imposed by the coronavirus pandemic.
They are relishing the little things like shopping and going to the gym, along with the big things like visiting relatives. Older adults who suffered the most during the pandemic are beginning to move forward with getting their lives on track.
Seventy-nine-year-old Florida resident Ken Hughes says there's an "extra level of confidence" among those who have been vaccinated. And many are able to see grandchildren. Bill Griffin of Maine got to hug his 3-year-old granddaughter for the first time in a year.
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RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazil accounts for a quarter of the daily coronavirus global deaths, more than any other nation.
There is growing recognition among experts, mayors and governors that shutdowns are no longer avoidable. Restrictions on activity they implemented last year were half-hearted and consistently sabotaged by President Jair Bolsonaro.
The nation's seven-day average of 2,400 deaths stands to reach to 3,000 within weeks, experts told the Associated Press. Spikes of daily deaths could soon hit 4,000; on Friday there were 3,650 deaths.
Bolsonaro remains unconvinced of any need for clampdown, which leaves local leaders pursuing a patchwork of measures to prevent the death toll from spiraling. However, a more contagious variant is rampaging across Brazil. New daily cases topped 100,000 for the first time on Thursday.
Brazil's state-run science and technology institute, Fiocruz, on Tuesday called for a 14-day lockdown to reduce transmission. Delivery delays from AstraZeneca have slowed vaccines, with only 2% of the nation fully vaccinated.
There have been 12.4 million confirmed cases and more than 307,000 confirmed deaths in Brazil, second only to the United States.
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ISLAMABAD — Pakistan officials say the country could face a worse situation than the first wave of the coronavirus if the current surge isn't controlled.
That's according to the Pakistan minister for planning and development Asada Umar. Pakistan has reported 4,668 new cases and 67 death in the last 24 hours, where eastern Punjab province and northern Pakistan are experiencing a third wave.
Umar says, "If the increase continues at this rate then in the next few days or next week, we will go beyond the level and peak we saw in the first wave in June."
Umar says disregard for precautionary measures has become a big reason for the sudden rapid increase in the spread of this disease. He warned of strict actions if people don't follow guidelines to counter the spread of the virus.
Pakistan has reported 649,824 total confirmed cases and 14,158 confirmed deaths.
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LONDON — Britain's vaccines minister says booster shots designed to fight new variants of the coronavirus should be ready for distribution to people over 70 by September.
Nadhim Zahawi told the Daily Telegraph newspaper the government is expecting up to eight different shots to be available by the autumn, including some that may protect against variants.
He said booster shots would be given first to the frontline health workers, the elderly and people with serious health conditions that make them more vulnerable to COVID-19.
While much of Europe is seeing a new surge in the pandemic, Britain is counting on a rapid mass-vaccination program to help it end lockdown and curb Europe's coronavirus outbreak.
Nearly 30 million people in the U.K., accounting for 55% of all adults, have received a first dose of vaccine. The U.K. has recorded more than 126,000 confirmed deaths.
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AUSTIN, Texas — A Texas judge is allowing the City of Austin to continue to require face coverings in local businesses weeks after Gov. Greg Abbott ended a statewide mask mandate and other COVID-19 safety measures.
The ruling Friday by state District Judge Lora Livingston is at least a temporary victory for local leaders in the liberal state capital who have repeatedly clashed with Abbott over his handling of the pandemic.
Face coverings have been loosely enforced in Texas, which earlier this month became the biggest state to drop COVID-19 restrictions. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is expected to appeal the ruling.
The roughly 3,400 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in Texas is the lowest number since October. On Monday, Texas will begin making all adults eligible for coronavirus vaccinations.
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GENEVA — A leader of the U.N.-backed program to ship coronavirus vaccines to needy people in low- and middle-income countries has expressed disappointment about supply delays from a key Indian manufacturer, but says he hopes the United States can begin sharing shots soon.
Dr. Seth Berkley is the CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and he says doses for health care workers and other high-risk groups in such countries to be delivered through the COVAX program will be set back weeks.
He was elaborating Friday on an announcement a day earlier from Gavi and partners that as many as 90 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine made by the Serum Institute of India will be delayed through the end of April as India's government grapples with a spike in cases.
Berkley says that "we had hoped to reach all health care workers and high-risk groups by the end of March."
He says talks continue with India's government and SII "with the hope that we can get some of those doses freed up and be able to then move back into full swing scale-up later, in perhaps May."
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PRAGUE — The Czech Republic's lower house of Parliament has voted to extend the state of emergency in one of the hardest hit European Union countries till April 11. The house's approval enables the government to keep in place a tight lockdown through Easter that ends on April 5.
Among the restrictions that became effective on March 1, people have been banned from traveling to other counties unless they go to work or have to take care of relatives. They are part of the measures that are believed to contribute to slowing down the spread of a highly contagious virus variant first found in Britain.
The day-to-day increase of new cases reached 7,853 on Thursday. It was the lowest number for a week day since Feb 8, and about 25% less than the same day a week ago.
According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, the 14-day case notification rate of new cases per 100,000 inhabitants was 1,328 in the Czech Republic, still the second highest in the EU after Estonia. The nation of 10.7 million had 1.5 million confirmed cases with 25,639 deaths.
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JUNEAU, Alaska — The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development reported that the state had 22,300 fewer jobs last month than it did in February 2020, citing an ongoing economic toll from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The department said the biggest losses were in the leisure and hospitality sector, which had 7,300 fewer jobs last month than in February 2020. Oil and gas had 3,900 fewer jobs, and the transportation, warehousing and utilities sector had 1,800 fewer jobs.
The report showed 2,000 fewer local government jobs last month compared to February 2020, with losses primarily tied to K-12 education. There were 200 more jobs in state government compared to February 2020, which the report says is largely due to pandemic-related hires for work such as contract tracing and processing unemployment insurance claims.
The department says job losses remain "historically large," with unemployment claims during the second week of last month nearly four times higher than the same week a year earlier.
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PHOENIX — Health officials in Arizona announced an outdoor state-run COVID-19 mass vaccination site in the Phoenix suburb of Chandler will be replaced April 5 by a drive-thru operation inside a large business warehouse in Mesa in advance of approaching hot weather.
The Department of Health Services announced the vaccination site now run at Chandler-Gilbert Community College will use 30,000 square feet (2,787 square meters) of a 500,000-square-foot (46,451-square-meter) distribution center belonging to Dexcom Inc.
Republican Gov. Doug Ducey said the site switch will maintain the state's vaccination program's presence in southeastern Maricopa County while protecting staff, volunteers and people getting vaccinated.
The department said the 24-hour site at State Farm Stadium in Glendale will convert to overnight operations only and additional indoor sites are being sought in preparation for summer heat.
Department officials say people who received first doses at the Chandler-Gilbert facility on or after March 14 have been scheduled for their second doses at the Dexcom site, which will operate 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week.
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ATHENS, Greece — Authorities in Greece said students and teachers will have to use self-test kits for COVID-19 in order to attend classes when schools reopen.
Greece is planning to make the test kits freely available on a weekly basis to every resident of the country with a social security number, starting next month. The program is designed to allow for the reopening of schools as well as restaurants and retail businesses which have remained mostly closed since the lockdown was imposed in early November.
Vassilis Kontozamanis, the deputy health minister, said a legislative amendment in parliament would be needed to make testing mandatory for school attendance.
Greece is currently grappling with a surge in coronavirus infections which has seen many hospitals run by the state health system reach capacity. The country's center-right government says it plans to launch the tourism season in mid-May but has not yet given a date for schools and retail businesses to reopen. School children of all ages are currently attending compulsory online classes.
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NICOSIA, Cyprus — Cyprus' Health Ministry says the spread of the U.K. variant of the coronavirus throughout the east Mediterranean island nation has marked an "alarming" increase, making up 95.5% of all new infections from Feb. 16 through Mar. 6.
The Ministry said statistics show that cases of the U.K. variant have more than doubled from the two-week period covering Feb. 1-Feb. 15.
It said various studies completed within several European countries have indicated that the U.K. variant is 50% more contagious. In Cyprus, it's also appearing in younger COVID-19 patients which has resulted in more hospitalizations of younger people.
Between Mar. 10-Mar. 23, 5,093 new COVID-19 cases have been diagnosed. The 14-day cumulative diagnosis rate is 573.5 per 100,000 population.
As of Mar. 23, a total of 42,028 COVID-19 cases have been diagnosed on the island nation of around 900,000 people, of which 248 died due to COVID-19.
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The Link LonkMarch 27, 2021 at 07:06PM
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