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HEALTH-VIRUS-EU
New lockdowns in Europe, overseas fans banned at Tokyo Olympics
PARIS, March 21, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – Several European countries introduced new
lockdown measures Saturday as they battled surging coronavirus infections,
while Tokyo Olympics organisers were forced to announce an “unavoidable” ban
on overseas fans to keep the Games safe.
Residents in Poland, parts of France and Ukraine’s capital Ukraine all
faced new restrictions, with most shops shut and people urged to work from
home.
Elsewhere in Europe, frustrations with Covid-19 curbs were spilling over,
with scuffles breaking out at a large anti-restrictions protest in the German
city of Kassel, and thousands joining similar demonstrations in Liestal,
Switzerland and London.
“End the lockdown” and “Corona rebels”, read signs held by demonstrators
at the protest in Kassel, which was organised by a group that has drawn in
activists from both the far-left and far-right as well as anti-vaxxers and
conspiracy theorists.
In Africa, Madagascan President Andry Rajoelina reiterated his own vaccine
scepticism, adding that it would be an untested herbal remedy he has
previously touted “that will protect me and my family”.
The pandemic is still speeding up worldwide, with the number of new Covid-
19 infections rising globally by 14 percent over the past week, according to
AFP data.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan became the latest world leader to
test positive — two days after receiving China’s Sinopharm vaccine.
The former cricketing legend is self-isolating with mild symptoms, his
spokesman said.
– France’s ‘lockdown-lite’ –
More than a third of France’s population is now under a renewed lockdown
as the country, along with several European neighbours, battles a third wave
of the virus.
But the curbs are lighter than those enforced at the height of the
pandemic last year, with schools remaining open and hairdressers, shoemakers
and chocolate shops added to an expanded list of businesses allowed to accept
customers.
The government has also scrapped the forms once required to justify all
trips outside the home, which were widely derided as an example of excessive
French bureaucracy.
On the sunny banks of the River Seine, some Parisians questioned whether
the restrictions could really be described as a “lockdown” at all.
“I can’t see any change, apart from the closed shops,” said a resident
named Philippe, strolling with his daughter in the midst of cyclists and
joggers.
– AstraZeneca row escalates –
The row over AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine meanwhile shows no signs of
abating, with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen threatening to halt exports of
the jab if the bloc does not receive its deliveries first.
The Anglo-Swedish pharma giant has delivered only 30 percent of the 90
million vaccine doses it had promised for the first quarter of the year,
blaming production delays at its EU plants.
“We have the option of banning a planned export. That’s the message to
AstraZeneca: you fulfil your contract with Europe first before you start
delivering to other countries,” von der Leyen told Germany’s Funke media
group.
European officials are furious that AstraZeneca has fallen short on the
continent while fully delivering on its UK commitments — something that has
allowed the recently-departed EU member to give half of its adult population
at least one jab as of Saturday.
AstraZeneca has also had to contend with worries that its jab may cause
blood clots, with more than a dozen countries pausing its use recently.
Several European countries including Germany and Italy resumed AstraZeneca
vaccinations Friday after an all-clear from EU regulators and the World
Health Organization.
But Scandinavian nations Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland have all said
they want more information before deploying the vaccine again.
Seeking to reassure their populations, British Prime Minister Boris
Johnson and his French counterpart Jean Castex both received a dose of
AstraZeneca on Friday.
“I literally did not feel a thing. It was very good, very quick,” said
Johnson who became seriously ill from Covid-19 last year.
Brazil, meanwhile, said it was in talks with the US to import Covid-19
vaccines that Washington is not currently using and has already vowed to
share with Mexico and Canada.
– Foreign fans banned from Olympics – With more than 400 million vaccine
doses already injected globally, organisers of the Tokyo Olympics had
previously billed this summer’s Games as a chance to provide “proof of
humanity’s triumph over the virus”.
But on Saturday, Olympics chiefs announced that overseas fans would be
banned as it remains too risky to invite large international crowds to Japan.
“We have to ensure a safe and secure environment for all the
participants,” said Tokyo 2020 chief Seiko Hashimoto. “It was an unavoidable
decision.”
The unprecedented ban will make the Tokyo Games the first ever without
overseas spectators.
BSS/AFP/FI/0840 hrs