Restrictions eased in Europe, omicron cases records in Far East

NICOSIA, Cyprus

Cyprus is lifting COVID-19 restrictions on access for the unvaccinated to bars, restaurants and other venues following a leveling off of new coronavirus cases in recent days that has eased the pressure on the health care system.

Health Minister Michalis Hadjipantela said Tuesday that unvaccinated people can enter nightclubs, soccer stadiums, theaters, hotels and cinemas starting Feb. 21 as long as they show a valid COVID-19 rapid test taken within the previous 24 hours.

The maximum number of people permitted in nightclubs and other venues is being raised by 50 to 250, while single-table seating increases from eight to 12. The number allowed to gather in private residences doubles to 20.

Maximum capacity at soccer stadiums and cinemas is being raised to 70% and 75%, respectively. The percentage of private sector employees required to work from home is being halved to 25%.

Hadjipantela also said that the “test-to-stay” measure under which primary, junior high school and high school students are required to undergo regular rapid tests to attend classes is also being expanded to teaching staff and government workers.

Cyprus has seen daily COVID19 cases taper off in recent days to hover at an infection rate of around 2.2% as have hospital admissions of serious cases.

HONG KONG

Hong Kong’s leader on Tuesday said a surge in coronavirus cases is overwhelming the city’s emergency resources, but defended the strict measures that have been imposed.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam said the Chinese central government was extending help to the city, which remains a nominally autonomous enclave.

Despite its varying success, Hong Kong has stuck with China’s zero-tolerance strategy requiring lockdowns, quarantines and mass testing for COVID-19.

“So far, our measures to contain the spread of the disease remain legitimate and valid,” Lam told reporters.

“The problem we are facing is given the magnitude, the pace of and the severity of this fifth wave,” she said, “It outgrown our capacity.”

City health officials later reported a daily tally of 1,619 new cases, on top of a record 2,071 the previous day.

The Hospital Authority announced that it will dedicate seven clinics to seeing COVID19 patients with mild symptoms. Other medical services at the clinics, including COVID-19 vaccinations, will be suspended.

The authority said the clinics and a new telephone hotline were “to cope with the rapid and huge increase in the number of confirmed patients, which has overwhelmed the capacity of isolation facilities of public hospitals and the community treatment and isolation facilities.”

Lam added that authorities will designate as quarantine stations new public housing units that have yet to be occupied, along with about 10,000 hotel rooms. Hong Kong requires confirmed coronavirus cases to isolate.

The city’s restrictions extend to limiting in-person gatherings to no more than two households, allowing only vaccinated people in shopping malls and supermarkets, and closing places of worship, hair salons and other businesses.

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THE HAGUE, Netherlands

The Dutch government announced Tuesday that it will scrap virtually all its remaining coronavirus restrictions by the end of the month as infection rates begin to decline and pressure on health care services eases.

“The country is opening up again,” Health Minister Ernst Kuipers said.

The Dutch are following neighboring Belgium and other European nations in easing restrictions as the continent increasingly looks for ways of co-existing with the virus without the economic and social damage wreaked by lockdown measures.

Earlier Tuesday, the Dutch national public health institute said in its weekly update that new COVID-19 cases declined by 22% over the past seven days and ICU admissions fell 28%.

“It looks like we are at or over the peak,” Kuipers said.

The government late last year imposed some of Europe’s toughest lockdown measures amid fears that a surge in infections sparked by the omicron variant could overwhelm hospitals. But while cases shot up, intensive care unit admissions fell, allowing authorities to relax restrictions that had forced bars and restaurants to close over the lucrative Christmas holiday season.

Hospitality and other public venues have been open for weeks with limited hours. Nightclubs have remained closed, sparking anger among owners and clubbers.

Lockdowns and vaccination campaigns have caused anger and resentment among a small section of society and sparked regular protests, some of which have erupted into violence.

Kuipers said the restrictions would be eased in three steps.

With immediate effect, the government dropped its advice to always work from home and instead urged people to work from home half the time. It also scrapped its advice to restrict the number of visitors people allow into their homes to four per day.

Beginning Friday, bars, restaurants, theaters, cinemas and other public venues will be allowed to stay open until 1 a.m. instead of the current order to close at 10 p.m. Visitors to such venues will no longer have to remain seated and wear a mask when they walk around.

A week later, pre-pandemic opening hours will apply to all public venues and a COVID-19 heal pass will no longer be necessary to get access to venues. Social distancing and mask mandates will be dropped with the exception of mask wearing on public transport and at airports.

SEOUL, South Korea

South Korea will distribute free coronavirus rapid test kits at elementary schools and nursing homes starting next week as it weathers an unprecedented wave of infections driven by the fastmoving omicron variant.

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Wednesday reported its highest daily jump in coronavirus infections with 90,443 new cases, shattering the previous one-day record set on Tuesday by more than 33,000 cases. Some experts say the country could see daily cases of around 200,000 in March.

While omicron has so far seemed less likely to cause serious illness or death compared to the delta variant, which rattled the country in December and early January, hospitalizations have been creeping up amid the greater scale of outbreak.

Prime Minister Kim Bookyum, Seoul’s No. 2 official behind President Moon Jae-in, said officials will start distributing free rapid test kits at kindergartens, elementary schools and nursing homes next week to strengthen protection for unvaccinated children and high-risk groups.

Education Minister Yoo Eunhye said schools will be getting enough kits for students to use twice a week, but added that such tests won’t be mandatory.

“We ask for students to be tested at home with the rapid antigen test kits on the evenings of Sunday and Wednesday before coming to school,” Yoo said during a briefing. “When testing positive from those tests, please visit the local health office to get PCR (lab) tests.”

The fast-developing omicron surge has left officials debating whether the country should maintain strict social distancing rules, including a six-person limit on private social gatherings and a 9 p.m. curfew for restaurants.

Struggling business owners have called for the measures to be removed, questioning whether they are meaningful when cases are growing rapidly.

But health experts warn that easing social distancing may allow transmissions to veer further out of control, which would further stretch worn-out health and government workers and threaten high-risk groups and children younger than 12 who have yet to be vaccinated.

The country has already eased quarantine restrictions significantly starting this month to prevent major disruptions at workplaces and essential services, which may occur if huge numbers of people are constantly placed under quarantine. (AP)