COVID-19: GLOBAL IMPACT
China attends virus summit
China made a surprise appearance at an international coronavirus summit yesterday attended by leaders from more than 40 governments — but the United States remained absent. The conference, seen as a major moment in the drive to establish a unified global approach to the pandemic, led to countries and global health organisations committing $13.3 billion to develop vaccines, treatments and diagnostics to fight Covid-19. Nations also pledged to share their endeavours equitably. A last-minute addition saw China’s ambassador to the European Union Zhang Ming join the event, where he said the country is a “responsible member of the international community”. Several major players were absent, including India, Russia, Brazil and the US, raising concerns “vaccine nationalism” may hamper co-operation.
Study: More people immune
Ten times more people than previously thought may have already acquired immunity to the coronavirus, according to a groundbreaking study in Germany. Scientists from the University of Bonn yesterday claimed their findings show that 1.8 million people across Germany have already been infected with the virus. That is more than 10 times as many as have tested positive so far, and would mean more than 1.6 million may have been infected and recovered without knowing it. The findings are based on the first comprehensive study of the effects of the virus on a single community in Gangelt, the town at the epicentre of Germany’s first major outbreak.
Hugs okay in Denmark
Grandparents were given the all-clear to see, hug and even kiss their grandchildren by Denmark’s Health Authority yesterday in new national guidelines for people most at risk from coronavirus. The advice also increased the age of people classified as “at risk” from 65 to 70. It states: “You can of course give hugs to those
closest to you, for example your partner, children and grandchildren. But avoid handshakes, hugs and kisses on the cheek with anyone apart from those closest to you.”
Turkey plans to ease restrictions
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced yesterday what he called a “normalisation plan” to gradually ease restrictions imposed during the coronavirus pandemic as the death rate falls, but warned of tougher measures to come should the number of infections rebound. Erdogan said that the government would lift entry and exit restrictions for seven cities where the coronavirus outbreak has been brought under control. The measure, however, will remain in place for 24 other cities, including Istanbul and Ankara. Meanwhile, the health minister announced 64 new deaths from Covid-19 in the past 24 hours — slightly up from Monday’s 61 deaths, which was the lowest number of daily fatalities in over a month.