Tag Archives: CORONAVIRUS

World

Two weeks of enhanced quarantine begin in Turkey

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Turkey has announced the introduction of a “partial lockdown” in connection with the coronavirus epidemic for the first two weeks of the holy month of Ramadan.

This is reported by Hurriyet Daily News.

After a meeting with the government, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the new rules will start on Wednesday evening.

According to them, the curfew on weekdays will start at 7 pm, not 9 as before, and will last until 5 am. During this time, movement between cities will also be prohibited, except in cases of extreme necessity.

Cafes and restaurants will be able to work only for delivery or sell dishes with themselves. Halls for official ceremonies, gyms, etc. will be closed until the end of Ramadan.

Last week, Turkey registered new highs of coronavirus infections, the highest being more than 55,000 per day. On April 12, the figures again exceeded 54 thousand. Against the background of the deterioration of the situation, they first allowed a complete lockdown during the entire Ramadan.

More than 11 million people have already been vaccinated with the coronavirus vaccine, and more than 7 million people have been vaccinated with the second dose.

Europe

The use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in Europe was postponed due to blood clots

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The company postponed the deployment of its vaccine in the EU due to information about thrombosis among those vaccinated with Janssen.

The American company Johnson & Johnson has postponed the start of use in Europe of its Janssen coronavirus vaccine – because of information about the formation of blood clots in people who took it.

This is stated in today’s statement by J&J.

“We have decided in advance to postpone the deployment of our vaccine in Europe,” the document says.

The company, together with European health authorities, is studying data on thrombosis among vaccinated people, as well as working with experts on this issue and advocating for ” open communication of this information to medical professionals and the public.”

Earlier in the day, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommended suspending the use of the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine.

According to their data, for 6.8 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine administered in the United States, six cases of “rare and complex” cases of thrombosis were detected.

That is, blood clots were formed in 0.0001% of patients. All the victims were women aged 18-48 years, and the side effect appeared in the 6-13 days after vaccination.

Against this background, a meeting of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will be convened on April 14 to assess the potential significance of such cases. The FDA also considers information about thrombosis in vaccinated patients.

“Until this process is complete, as a precautionary measure, we recommend pausing the use of this vaccine,” said CDC Deputy Director Anna Schuchat and director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research Peter Marks.

Earlier, similar side effects were found in the AstraZeneca vaccine. This was officially confirmed by the European Medicines Agency, but the reason for this connection remains unclear.

For its part, the World Health Organization noted the high effectiveness of the J&J vaccine against new coronavirus mutations.

Europe

Britain sends Special Forces to Northern Ireland

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The British authorities have moved special forces soldiers to Northern Ireland to fight riots, the Mirror newspaper reported, citing informed sources.

According to media reports, at least eight fighters have been sent undercover to the site and will work with the MI5 Security Service, which is in charge of suppressing the unrest.

The riots and clashes between nationalists and supporters of the British government in Northern Ireland lasted more than a week, and they began in areas that support the government.

The discontent of the loyalists was caused by the refusal of the prosecutor’s office to reject claims against the organizers of the magnificent funeral of one of the veterans of the Irish Republican Army, Bobby Storey, which was held in 2020 at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

Subsequently, Irish nationalists advocating the unification of the British region with an independent Ireland also took to the streets.

Europe

Merkel to take away powers from regional heads to fight COVID-19

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The German Chancellor has clashed with the prime ministers of the states over restrictions on the coronavirus since the beginning of the pandemic, as some of them have not provided the measures agreed with her.

The coalition under the leadership of German Chancellor Angela Merkel decided to transfer to the government the right to impose restrictions due to the COVID-19 coronavirus throughout the country. About this on Saturday, April 10, writes Bloomberg.

It is reported that the Chancellor’s administration has developed a bill that will deprive the heads of 16 federal states of the ability to tighten or relax coronavirus restrictions. So far, the authorities of each German region can make such decisions independently. The government will be given the right to impose restrictions due to COVID-19 throughout the country.

The document, which was reviewed by the agency, says that Merkel plans to impose a curfew from 21.00 to 05.00 in those regions where the incidence rate over the past seven days will exceed 100 cases per 100 thousand people for three consecutive days. Non-food stores located in these lands will have to close, and companies will be required to test employees for coronavirus twice a week. In those regions where the incidence exceeds 200 cases per 100 thousand people, schools will also be closed.

“The biggest obstacle to this proposal is likely to be a vote in the upper house, where the governments of the states are represented, and Merkel’s ruling coalition, led by the Christian Democratic Union, does not have a majority,” the publication says.

Recall that the residents of Germany, who received vaccination against coronavirus, will soon be able to regain their rights and freedoms.

Business

UK house price growth in March was the highest in 6 months

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According to data published by the British bank Halifax, in March of this year, the UK experienced the fastest growth in residential property prices in the last 6 months.

The growth of the indicator was facilitated by the extension of the British government’s tax incentives for acquisitions during the period of overcoming the negative consequences of the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The cost of British housing increased in March this year by 1.1% compared to the previous month, while compared to the same month in 2020, residential real estate in the country rose by 6.5%. The Halifax report showed that the average house price in the British property market rose last month to 254,606 pounds.

After the easing of restrictions to contain the pandemic last year, the British housing market saw a sharp increase in inactivity. The March recovery in the market was made possible by the Treasury’s extension of the stamp duty holiday, and Halifax experts expect the increased level of activity to continue in the future.