Denmark stands firm on returning refugees to Syria
The updated health advice comes as more than half of all adults in the United States have now received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, according to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention
Fully vaccinated people can safely engage in outdoor activities like walking and hiking without wearing masks but should continue to use facecoverings in public spaces where they are required, US health regulators said on Tuesday.
The updated health advice comes as more than half of all adults in the United States have now received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, according to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“The release of these new guidelines is a first step at helping fully vaccinated Americans resume activities they had stopped doing because of the pandemic, while being mindful of the potential risk of transmiting the virus to others,” the CDC said.
Wearing face masks has been considered by experts as one of the most effective ways of controlling virus transmission. With most COVID-19 transmission occurring indoors, and vaccinations on the rise, the use of masks outdoors has been under public debate for weeks in the United States as Americans look to enjoy the benefits of being fully vaccinated.
New COVID-19 cases have dropped 16% in the last week as the US surpassed 140 million people having received at least one shot of authorised vaccines from Pfizer/biontech , Moderna or Johnson & Johnson’s one-dose vaccine.
This was the biggest percentage drop in weekly new cases since February, according to a analysis of state and county data.
The agency said fully-vaccinated Americans can safely dine outdoors with friends from multiple households at restaurants and atend small outdoor gatherings with a mixture of fully vaccinated and unvaccinated people.
CDC continues to recommend masking for crowded outdoor events such as parades and sporting events and indoor visits to the hair salon, shopping malls, movie theaters and houses of worship.
The agency classified activities as “red,” “yellow” and “green” based on level of safety for unvaccinated people.
It said unvaccinated people can also walk and run unmasked with household members outdoors safely and atend small outdoor gatherings with fully vaccinated family and friends.
Data on whether vaccinated people can spread infection to those who did not receive their shots is limited and the CDC warned that people should evaluate risk to friends and family before going out without masks.
This is an update to the CDC’S guidance, which in March said people who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 can meet without masks indoors in small groups with others who also have been inoculated.
The United States will start to share up to 60 million doses of Astrazeneca’s vaccine with other countries as soon as the next few weeks, the White House said.
EUROPE: France and Germany together laid out plans for billions in spending from the European Union’s pandemic recovery fund aimed at fighting climate change and boosting the use of digital technology across the economy.
The finance ministers of the EU’S two biggest economies on Tuesday underlined their joint determination to use the spending to transform Europe’s economy and get the continent growing again as it lags behind the US and China in rebounding from the pandemic recession.
The European Commission launched legal action against Astrazeneca for not respecting its contract for the supply of vaccines and for not having a “reliable” plan to ensure timely deliveries.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson denied a newspaper report that he had said he would rather bodies piled “high in their thousands” than order a third lockdown. The number of new COVID-19 cases in Sweden has decreased in the past week, but infections are still at a high level and it is too early to say whether the trend will continue, the Health Agency said on Tuesday.
Sweden has experienced a severe third wave of the pandemic and the number of patients treated at intensive care has been the highest since during spring last year, although deaths have remained low.
The country, which has shunned lockdowns throughout the pandemic, registered 14,911 new coronavirus cases since Friday, health agency statistics showed on Tuesday, the lowest weekend figure in five weeks.