‘Unmasked crowds at Euros devastating’
GENEVA/NAYPYIDAW: A World Health Organization (WHO) epidemiologist said she was devastated to watch unmasked crowds singing and shouting at the Euro 2020 football final at the Wembley Stadium in London on Sunday, expressing concerns that it would spur Covid-19 transmission, including of the highly infectious Delta variant of the coronavirus.
Britain is facing a new wave of Covid-19 driven by the new variant despite having one of the world’s highest vaccination rates. It plans to scrap most remaining anti-coronavirus restrictions on July 19, in a move that worries some scientists.
In unusually forthright comments from the UN health agency, which usually refrains from remarking on the policies of individual member states, its Covid-19 technical lead Maria van Kerkhove called the sight of the more than 60,000 spectators at the match between Italy and England “devastating”.
“Am I supposed to be enjoying watching transmission happening in front of my eyes?” she tweeted in the late stages of the match. “The #COVID19 pandemic is not taking a break tonight... #SARSCoV2 #DeltaVariant will take advantage of unvaccinated people, in crowded settings, unmasked, screaming/ shouting/singing. Devastating.”
A day of alcohol-fuelled festivities had begun with rowdy scenes in central London and tens of thousands made their way to the national stadium for the game, with flares being let off in railway stations and singing on trains.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson this month defended the decision to allow more than 60,000 people to attend the final, saying it was being hosted in a “careful and controlled manner with testing of everybody who goes there”. He says Covid-19 vaccines have created a “considerable wall of immunity”.
In Myanmar, ousted and jailed leader Aung San Suu Kyi is “gravely concerned” about the country’s worsening coronavirus situation, her lawyer said on Monday. Khin Maung Zaw said Suu Kyi voiced her concern during a meeting of her legal team before a court appearance on Monday. Suu Kyi has been detained since a February 1 coup and is on trial charged with multiple offences, which her legal team reject.
China’s two major Covid-19 vaccine makers have signed agreements to provide up to 550 million doses to Covax, the UN-backed programme that delivers vaccines to poor countries and others that need them.
Gavi, the partner playing a leading role in Covax, announced it would buy 110 million doses from Sinopharm and Sinovac between now and October. It has the option to buy 440 million more doses by mid-2022.