【無了期唔知幾時完嘅武漢肺炎】國際疫情討論區09

371 new cases in Laos

Vietnam capital Hanoi to ease curbs this week

Vietnam's capital Hanoi will further ease its coronavirus restrictions from this week, the government said, with new cases on the decline and the majority of its adult population partially vaccinated.

Most construction projects can resume from Wednesday, authorities said late on Sunday, adding further easing would follow, with average new daily cases down to just 20.

So far 94% of Hanoi's adult population of 5.75 million has received one shot of a Covid-19 vaccine, with the aim of completing second doses by the end of November, said deputy chairman of Hanoi's ruling People's Committee, Duong Duc Tuan.

Hanoi has escaped the brunt of a fierce wave of coronavirus infections in Vietnam since late April, recording less than 50 of the more than 17,000 deaths nationwide, and just 4,414 of the country's total 687,000 cases.

Virus-hit Fiji to reopen borders for tourists

Fiji plans to reopen for international tourists by November, aiming to rebuild a pandemic-devastated economy while battling a delta-variant outbreak.

Once 80 per cent of Fiji's eligible population is vaccinated, it will offer quarantine-free travel to visitors from a "green list" of locations.

Of Fiji's eligible population, 66 per cent is now fully vaccinated and Bainimarama predicts the country's target will be met by November 1.

Fiji's green list includes Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Canada, Korea, Singapore and parts of the United States.

Visitors would need to be fully vaccinated and test negative for Covid-19 prior to departure.

新增5例COVID-19確定病例，分別自越南、美國、南非、史瓦帝尼、俄羅斯移入

中央流行疫情指揮中心今(21)日公布國內新增5例COVID-19確定病例，均為境外移入個案，分別自越南、美國、南非、史瓦帝尼、俄羅斯移入；另確診個案中無新增死亡。

指揮中心表示，今日新增5例境外移入個案，為3例男性、2例女性，年齡介於20多歲至50多歲，分別自越南(案16258)、美國(案16259)、南非(案16260)、史瓦帝尼(案16261)及俄羅斯(案16262)入境，入境日介於9月7日至9月10日。

指揮中心統計，截至目前國內累計3,173,829例新型冠狀病毒肺炎相關通報(含3,156,928例排除)，其中16,152例確診，分別為1,520例境外移入，14,578例本土病例，36例敦睦艦隊、3例航空器感染、1例不明及14例調查中；另累計110例移除為空號。2020年起累計840例COVID-19死亡病例，其中829例本土，個案居住縣市分布為新北市411例、臺北市318例、基隆市28例、桃園市26例、彰化縣15例、新竹縣13例、臺中市5例、苗栗縣3例、宜蘭縣及花蓮縣各2例，臺東縣、雲林縣、臺南市、南投縣、高雄市及屏東縣各1例；另11例為境外移入。

COVID-19 has killed about as many Americans as the 1918-19 Spanish flu

COVID-19 has now killed about as many Americans as the 1918-19 Spanish flu pandemic did — approximately 675,000.

The U.S. population a century ago was just one-third of what it is today, meaning the flu cut a much bigger, more lethal swath through the country. But the COVID-19 crisis is by any measure a colossal tragedy in its own right, especially given the incredible advances in scientific knowledge since then and the failure to take maximum advantage of the vaccines available this time.

“Big pockets of American society — and, worse, their leaders — have thrown this away,” medical historian Dr. Howard Markel of the University of Michigan said of the opportunity to vaccinate everyone eligible by now.

Like the Spanish flu, the coronavirus may never entirely disappear from our midst. Instead, scientists hope it becomes a mild seasonal bug as human immunity strengthens through vaccination and repeated infection. That could take time.

“We hope it will be like getting a cold, but there’s no guarantee,” said Emory University biologist Rustom Antia, who suggests an optimistic scenario in which this could happen over a few years.

For now, the pandemic still has the United States and other parts of the world firmly in its jaws.

While the delta-fueled surge in new infections may have peaked, U.S. deaths still are running at over 1,900 a day on average, the highest level since early March, and the country's overall toll stood at just over 675,000 as of midday Monday, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University, though the real number is believed to be higher.

Winter may bring a new surge, with the University of Washington's influential model projecting an additional 100,000 or so Americans will die of COVID-19 by Jan. 1, which would bring the overall U.S. toll to 776,000.

The 1918-19 influenza pandemic killed 50 million victims globally at a time when the world had one-quarter the population it does now. Global deaths from COVID-19 now stand at more than 4.6 million.

The Spanish flu's U.S. death toll is a rough guess, given the incomplete records of the era and the poor scientific understanding of what caused the illness. The 675,000 figure comes from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

US deaths in September outpace previous months

With more than a third of the month remaining, the United States has already reported thousands of more deaths in September than it did in all of August.

Through Sunday, the nation reported 32,666 deaths in September, compared with 27,755 in all of August. With deaths averaging nearly 2,000 per day, the U.S. is on track to exceed the total deaths of July and August combined within a matter of days, a USA TODAY analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University shows.

September is on track to be the deadliest month since February.

West Virginia alone has already reported 286 deaths in September, more than double the 138 reported in August. Hawaii has already reported 125 deaths in September, compared with 52 in August.

The rise in deaths comes as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report noting 99.4% of all the COVID-19 cases in the U.S. were from the ultra-infectious delta variant. The variant has caused sudden spikes across the country, forcing some hospitals to limit care along with leading to the highest numbers of children's infections since the start of the pandemic.

Nearly 30% of COVID infections across the country for the week that ended Sept. 9 were among children, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The Czech Republic on Monday began offering a third dose of a vaccine amid rising infections. The booster shot is for anyone older than 60, health workers and other vulnerable groups.

USA: Nursing home cases, deaths were undercounted in 2020

An estimated 43.7% of COVID-19 cases in nursing homes – and 40.0% of COVID-19 deaths – before May 24, 2020, were not reported to the federal National Healthcare Safety Network, according to researchers. The lack of reporting resulted in the omission of 68,613 cases and 16,623 deaths nationwide, the panel of researchers from Harvard and elsewhere report. After accounting for the unreported events in 2020, estimated nursing home cases were 592,629 and deaths were 118,335 nationwide.

"Our data, which we have made publicly available, also offer the ability to credibly study the associations of facility responses and state and federal policy in the early months of the pandemic with slowing the spread in nursing homes," the researchers say.

東京都新增確診個案3個月以來首次回落至300宗以下

日本東京都新增253宗新冠病毒確診個案，3個月以來首次回落至300宗以下，重症患者有152人，較昨日減少17人，另外再多3名患者死亡。

東京都至今有37萬2500多人染疫，2804名患者不治。

墨爾本逾千人示威 抗議當局強制建築工人接種疫苗

澳洲維多利亞州首府墨爾本有過千人不理會封城令上街，抗議當局強制建築工人接種新冠疫苗，並關閉部分工地兩星期，以遏止病毒傳播。

示威者在市中心多處投擲玻璃樽，又攻擊警車，高叫反對疫苗和封鎖限制的口號，防暴警察以胡椒噴霧和警棍驅散。

由於多個工地近期出現感染群組，當局要求所有建築工人在周末前，接種最少一劑新冠疫苗，並關閉幾乎所有地盤。

維州新增603宗確診個案，是今年單日最高數字，至於悉尼所在的新南威爾士州，單日確診數字回升至1000宗以上，再多1022人受感染。

南韓增1729人確診 創星期一單日新高

南韓過去一日新增1729人確診新型肺炎，再多4名患者死亡，累積感染人數增至近29萬人，2413人死亡。

新增病例較前一天增加124宗，創星期一單日確診新高。當局擔心，中秋假期後，疫情會進一步在全國蔓延。

6,789 new cases and 129 new deaths in Romania

Worsening rapidly.

開關啦屌

共同社：政府擬月底解除緊急事態宣言

日本共同社報道，政府正探討，19個都道府縣實施的緊急事態宣言，到月底屆滿後解除。

報道引述政府和執政黨消息說，即將卸任的首相菅義偉有意在任期內全面解除緊急事態宣言，政府高層官員也認為現實可行，但有意見擔心，病床使用率高的地區，以及近日長假期人流大幅增加的旅遊景點疫情再次蔓延。因此有方案提出，在沖繩縣等感染率較高的地區維持緊急事態宣言，或過渡到「防止蔓延等重點措施」。

報道說，有必要再觀察一周左右，本月28日即自民黨總裁選舉前一天，將舉行疫情對策總部會議，正式決定。

Are you happy now?

20-year-old gas station clerk fatally shot after asking customer to wear a face mask

Senior politicians in Germany expressed shock over the weekend killing of a young gas station clerk who asked a customer to wear a face mask, and they warned Tuesday against the radicalization of people who oppose the country's pandemic restrictions.

A 49-year-old German man was arrested in the fatal shooting of the clerk Saturday in the western town of Idar-Oberstein. The suspect is being held on suspicion of murder.

Authorities said the man told officers he acted “out of anger” after being refused service for not wearing a mask while trying to buy beer.

“He further stated during interrogation that he rejected the measures against the coronavirus,” the Trier police department said in a statement.

A requirement to wear masks in stores is among the measures in place in Germany to stop the spread of the virus.

According to police, the suspect left the gas station after the dispute but then returned a half-hour later wearing a mask and fatally shot the 20-year-old clerk in the head.

The suspect, a German citizen who wasn't identified by name in line with privacy laws, fled the scene and turned himself in to police on Sunday morning.

The center-left Green party’s candidate to succeed German Chancellor Angela Merkel voiced dismay at the killing. Germany's federal election is scheduled for Sunday.

“I’m shaken by this terrible murder of a young man who merely asked that existing rules be followed,” Annalena Baerbock said in a tweet.

Baerbock also expressed concern about the radicalization of Germany's Querdenken movement, which includes people who oppose masks and vaccines, conspiracy theorists and some far-right extremists.

Texas restaurant tells couple with immunocompromised baby to take off masks or leave

A couple in Texas was told not to wear masks when visiting a restaurant with a four-month-old son who has cystic fibrosis. After refusing to take their masks off, they were asked to leave.

Natalie Wester and her husband, Jose Lopez, who are both fully vaccinated, said that an employee at Hang Time, a restaurant in Rowlett, Texas, told them several times to remove their masks when they were out with their immunocompromised son, Austin, last week. They've been choosing to still wear masks in public to protect their child.

"Cystic fibrosis is a very life-threatening genetic disorder, and if my son were to contract COVID he would need to be hospitalized," Wester vented on Facebook.

Wester described a story on Facebook of how she and her husband were told about a "no mask" policy before being served and then were eventually asked to leave: "Our waitress comes, sits down next to me, and says, 'Our manager sent me over because I'm nicer than he is. And yes, this is political.' She then told me that masks are not allowed in their building, and they can make the rules because they are private business. She said that the mask 'doesn't work, is like using a chain-link fence to keep out mosquitoes, and doesn't give people enough oxygen.' "

The owner of Hang Time Sports Grill & Bar, Tom Blackmer, confirmed to local station CBS 11 that no masks are allowed in his establishment.

"I have spent my money on the business, my blood sweat and tears in this business, and I don't want masks in here," he told the outlet. "So when they put their masks on the other night, they were reminded that at the front to take it off. They didn't want to, and so we asked them to leave. ...I feel the overall reaction with masks is ridiculous in the United States right now."

Blackmer also told The Dallas Morning News: “They have a choice to go wherever they want; there are thousands of bars around here. Go somewhere else. ...If you are protecting somebody, you should not go out."

Wester added in her Facebook post of the ordeal: "I am so shocked at the level of ignorance in our country, and scared to think how much worse the pandemic will get knowing so many folks think this way."

The bar owner's stance comes on the heels of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order that states that authoritative bodies like counties and schools cannot make Texans wear a mask.

States throughout the nation have varied on their mask mandates since the delta variant. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) maintains that wearing masks can stop the spread of the coronavirus, and President Biden recently initiated a nationwide mandate for companies with over 100 employees to wear masks. Texas is among the states leading the nation in COVID-19 cases. Some Texas school districts have requested mask mandates to protect students and teachers against the virus, despite Gov. Abbott's executive order.

According to the Disability Rights Texas, a legal protection and advocacy organization, people with disabilities are entitled to wear a mask. The group said in a public statement unrelated to this incident: “In our view, that accommodation might also be offered to family members of individuals with a disability, based either on the law or on notions of neighborliness and common decency."

Brazilian health minister tests positive for Covid-19 while in New York for UN meeting

Brazilian Minister of Health Marcelo Queiroga has tested positive for Covid-19 while in New York City for the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), the Brazilian president's office announced Tuesday evening.

Queiroga was part of Jair Bolsonaro's Presidential Committee, according to the statement, which added he was "doing well." So far, other members of the Brazilian delegation have tested negative for the virus.
Queiroga told CNN affiliate CNN Brasil on Tuesday that he would quarantine in New York for 14 days, and wouldn't leave the United States with other members of his delegation. Some delegation members have canceled their participation due to the risk of infecting members from other countries, Queiroga said.

Queiroga, a cardiologist, is Brazil's fourth health minister since the coronavirus pandemic began. He was appointed earlier this year.
CNN Brasil was first to report on the minister's condition ahead of the release of the presidential statement.
A spokesman for the UN secretary-general declined to comment, saying they had "a contact tracing protocol in place in case of cases arising" at the UN headquarters.
Earlier this week, Queiroga came under fire for responding to protesters in New York with an obscene gesture, according to CNN Brasil. Videos went viral on social media, showing the moment he appeared in the window of a minibus and gestured to protesters in front of the residence of the Brazilian Mission at the UN, CNN Brasil reported.
Even before UNGA began on Tuesday, there were concerns the international gathering might pose a health risk -- especially with much of the US still battling severe Covid-19 outbreaks. The US government issued a letter in August encouraging world leaders to consider joining virtually, and not in person, to help avoid "a super spreader event."
Still, more than 100 heads of state and government arrived in person for the event -- with some of them unvaccinated.
Most vocal among them has been President Bolsonaro, who has long downplayed the severity of the pandemic and advocated for the use of unproven drugs. Last week, he declared point-blank on social media that he would not get vaccinated because he had once contracted the virus.
On Tuesday, Bolsonaro fulfilled the tradition of delivering the first speech at the meeting, with the rest of the Brazilian delegation in attendance. The President has so far had meetings with several leaders, including UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
Photos posted by Gilson Neto, Brazil's tourism minister, show members of the Brazilian delegation eating pizza outdoors in New York on Sunday. Nearly all were unmasked.
Shortly after the announcement that Queiroga had tested positive, Bolsonaro released a video on Twitter showing himself greeting and shaking hands with supporters in front of the hotel where he is staying, without wearing a mask.

A North Carolina-based health care system has suspended hundreds of employees for not getting a Covid-19 vaccine

A North Carolina-based health care provider announced Tuesday it has suspended hundreds of employees for not meeting the company's Covid-19 vaccine requirements.

Novant Health says employees, by now, must have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine or applied for -- and received -- a medical or religious exemption.
Those that hadn't -- about 375 workers across 15 hospitals and hundreds of clinics and outpatient facilities -- are now suspended.

Anyone who doesn't comply with the vaccine policy within the five-day, unpaid suspension period will lose their job, the Winston Salem-based company said.
About 98.6% of the company's more than 35,000 workers are complaint with the policy, it said.
Workers who started a two-dose vaccine series will now have until October 15 to get their second dose and remain in compliance, the company said.
Employees that receive exemptions are required to undergo weekly Covid-19 testing, and wear N95 respirators, masks or other appropriate protective equipment and eye protection while working on Novant Health premises, the company said.
President Joe Biden, while announcing sweeping vaccine rules for federal workers and large employers earlier this month, also said he would require the 17 million health care workers at facilities receiving funds from Medicare and Medicaid to be fully vaccinated, including at hospitals, home care facilities and dialysis centers.
Besides Novant Health, other health care systems and hospitals have similarly suspended or terminated the jobs of people who did not comply with vaccine policies.

3,416 new cases and 14 new deaths in Mongolia

Worsening again after one week's improvement.

1,178 new cases (the third highest) and 3 new deaths in Singapore

Keep worsening rapidly.
The two highest daily new cases records were set in April 2020.
Singapore has super high vaccination rate. But high vaccination rate = high infection cases (as demonstrated by almost all highly vaccinated countries).

Delta variant outbreak threatens Singapore's 'living with Covid' model

Singapore has warned it may need to reimpose Covid-19 restrictions if a new outbreak of the highly infectious Delta variant is not contained, putting at risk the city's shift towards living with the virus.

The number of new Covid-19 infections in Singapore doubled in the past week, according to the country's Ministry of Health, rising to more than 1,200 cases for the week ending September 5.
To date, Singapore has recorded a total of 68,901 Covid-19 infections and 55 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.
On Monday, Lawrence Wong, head of Singapore's Covid-19 task force, said it isn't just the total number of daily cases which is concerning the Singaporean government, but also "the rate at which the virus is spreading."
"We know from the experience of other countries that when cases rise so sharply there will be many more ICU cases and many more people succumbing to the virus," he said.
Singapore pursued an aggressive "Covid zero" policy during the pandemic, imposing tight restrictions including shutting restaurants, closing borders and enforcing social distancing.
But in June, the government announced it was planning to move toward a living with Covid strategy -- attempting to control outbreaks with vaccines and monitoring hospitalizations rather than restricting citizens' lives.
"The bad news is that Covid-19 may never go away. The good news is that it is possible to live normally with it in our midst," Singapore's top Covid-19 officials wrote in an op-ed in June.
Singapore has one of the highest Covid-19 vaccinations rates in the world, with more than 80% of the population fully vaccinated.
Throughout August, Singapore began to relax some of its Covid-19 restrictions, allowing fully vaccinated people to dine in restaurants and to gather in groups of five, up from two.
But the new outbreak has halted any further re-openings, Singapore's Covid taskforce chief Wong said on Monday.
Wong said Singapore will attempt to contain the new outbreak through more aggressive contact tracing and by "ring-fencing" cases and clusters.
Mandatory testing for high-risk workers will also happen more frequently -- once a week instead of once every two weeks. And the list of workers subjected to mandatory testing will be expanded to include retail, delivery and public transport staff.
Singapore has also banned all workplace gatherings from Wednesday, and Wong encouraged citizens to avoid unnecessary social events while they attempt to contain the outbreak.
He said it was a reflection of Singapore's new policy and high vaccination rates that the country was able to maintain a level of openness during the new outbreak.
"But if despite our best efforts, we find that the number of serious cases needing oxygen in ICU care goes up sharply, then we may have no case but to tighten our overall posture, so we should not rule that out," he said.

西方文明得返BORIS了

Ukraine extends restrictions until Dec. 31

Ukraine has extended a state of emergency that allows regional authorities to impose restrictions until the end of 2021 to tackle a surge in infections, the government said on Monday.

The state of emergency had been due to expire at the end of September.

新增7例COVID-19確定病例，分別為1例本土及6例境外移入

中央流行疫情指揮中心今(22)日公布國內新增7例COVID-19確定病例，分別為1例本土及6例境外移入；另確診個案中新增1例死亡。


指揮中心說明，今日新增1例本土病例(案16263)，為30多歲女性，因曾接觸確診個案(案16146、案16157)，於今(2021)年9月7日匡列為居家隔離，9月20日進行隔離期滿前採檢，於今日確診。個案隔離期間無症狀，亦無接觸他人，故無匡列接觸者。


指揮中心指出，今日新增1例死亡個案(案16004)，有慢性病史，8月6日自越南入境，8月17日出現發燒、喉嚨痛症狀，8月18日檢疫期滿前採檢，確診後收治住院，9月20日死亡。


指揮中心表示，今日新增6例境外移入個案，為3例男性、3例女性，年齡介於未滿5歲至50多歲，分別自美國(案16264)、柬埔寨(案16265)、英國(案16266、16267、16268)、緬甸(案16269)入境，入境日介於8月15日至9月20日；詳如新聞稿附件。


指揮中心統計，截至目前國內累計3,191,134例新型冠狀病毒肺炎相關通報(含3,173,736例排除)，其中16,159例確診，分別為1,527例境外移入(原1例本土病例(案16254)疫調後改為自英國境外移入)，14,578例本土病例，36例敦睦艦隊、3例航空器感染、1例不明及14例調查中；另累計110例移除為空號。2020年起累計841例COVID-19死亡病例，其中829例本土，個案居住縣市分布為新北市411例、臺北市318例、基隆市28例、桃園市26例、彰化縣15例、新竹縣13例、臺中市5例、苗栗縣3例、宜蘭縣及花蓮縣各2例，臺東縣、雲林縣、臺南市、南投縣、高雄市及屏東縣各1例；另12例為境外移入。

台中首例！92歲老翁施打AZ第2劑 當晚發燒抽搐隔天不治

台中市1名92歲老翁16日施打第2劑AZ疫苗，當晚出現發燒、抽搐狀況送醫急救，翌日不治，是唯一一例打第2劑死亡個案，醫院通報為疫苗不良反應事件。台中衛生局將協助家屬申請疫苗注射不良反應救濟事宜。

台中市COVID-19疫苗施打規劃，65歲以上接種英國阿斯特捷利康（AstraZeneca，AZ）疫苗間隔10周以上長輩，安排在15至17日接種第2劑。

台中衛生局今天表示，1名92歲老翁16日接種第2劑AZ疫苗後，當晚出現發燒、抽搐症狀送醫急救，17日宣告不治。

截至9月22日止，台中市AZ疫苗不良反應通報數計551案，其中含死亡案92案，而該名92歲男子是唯一一例打第2劑死亡個案。另莫德納疫苗不良反應通報120案，其中含死亡案21案；高端疫苗不良反應通報數計28案，其中含死亡案1案。