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  • 12 Jan, 2021 Mexico reaches ‘preliminary agreement’ to buy up to 24 million doses of Sputnik V vaccine

    Mexico has studied Argentina’s use of Sputnik V in its immunization campaign, and could order the Russian-made vaccine in the future, the country’s senior health official has said.

    “There is data that shows that the vaccine is safe. We had a meeting with Russian officials [in Argentina]…and reached a preliminary agreement that would potentially give the Mexican government the capacity to receive the vaccines made by the Gamaleya Research Institute,” Undersecretary of Prevention and Health Promotion Hugo Lopez-Gatell said at a press conference on Monday.

    “We are thinking that we could use up to 24 million doses of this vaccine, for 12 million people,” he added.

    Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador had earlier instructed Lopez-Gatell to travel to Argentina and study its nationwide immunization campaign using Sputnik V, which began there in late December.

    “The results of the vaccine developed in the laboratories in Russia are also apparently good, and that vaccine will also be available soon,” Obrador said last week.

    Mexico launched its immunization campaign on December 24, using the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. An additional 430,000 doses were delivered in the country on Tuesday, Lopez-Gatell said.

    The government approved the “emergency use” of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine last week, and is currently studying other vaccine options. 

  • 2021-1-12. Queensland’s Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young has defended the three-day lockdown across Greater Brisbane, as the state records three new cases of COVID-19

    2021-1-12. Queensland’s Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young has defended the three-day lockdown across Greater Brisbane, as the state records three new cases of COVID-19.

    Dr Young said the lockdown was needed to immediately and quickly manage the potential spread of the highly contagious UK variant.

    It came into force at 6:00pm on January 8 for residents in Brisbane, Ipswich, Logan, Moreton Bay and the Redlands after a hotel quarantine cleaner tested positive to the UK strain of COVID-19.

    Dr Young said the response to the lockdown was “absolutely brilliant” and rejected a suggestion by one medical expert that short lockdowns were not effective when managing a potential outbreak.

    “We had to go and do something immediately, do it quickly and just get it managed,” Dr Young said.

    “I think that three-day circuit-breaker — is what I am calling it — just sets the framework, and the response here in Greater Brisbane was absolutely brilliant.

    “I went out, people were wearing masks, people were socially distancing, people weren’t going out. It was fantastic and that happened immediately.

    “I do realise the absolute imposition, I understand the difficulties for businesses, but I think it has been enormously successful.

    “We will now see the outcomes from it.”

    However, Australian National University infectious diseases expert Peter Collignon told ABC News Brisbane’s short lockdown would not advantage health authorities.

    “We’ve got to be careful with really hard lockdowns when you don’t have many cases, when the track record in Australia is you can keep it under control,” Professor Collignon said.

    “The average incubation period is five days, and mostly it can go out to 12 or even 14 days.

    “If you’re going to do a lockdown to stop spread, you usually have to do it for at least 10, probably 14 days and maybe 28 days, and I don’t think that would have been justified.”

    The hotel quarantine cleaner’s partner was one of the three new cases of COVID-19 recorded in Queensland.

    Health authorities confirmed the man tested positive for the virus on Monday but said the case would be included in today’s count.

    The man has been in quarantine since January 7, and Queensland Health has issued alerts for locations in Sunnybank Hills and Acacia Ridge.

    The two other cases are a father and daughter who travelled from Lebanon in the Middle East and are in hotel quarantine.

    Further tests are underway to determine if these three cases have the UK strain of the virus.

    Queensland Health recently updated its contact tracing site with three locations linked to the partner testing positive:

    Nextra Sunnybank Hills Newsagent on January 5 between 8:00am and 8:15am
    Bunnings Warehouse in Acacia Ridge on January 5 between 2:00pm and 2:40pm
    Sunnybank Cellars on Hellawell Road, Sunnybank Hills, between 2:05pm and 2:15pm
    It is urging anyone who visited these places at the nominated times to get tested immediately.

  • 2021-1-12，在欧洲大陆，多数国家也在第二波疫情中受到严重冲击。欧洲国家历来以医疗体制健全、医疗资源丰富而闻名于世，但是，面对突如其来的新冠疫情，一些国家也显得措手不及，防疫措施漏洞百出

    2021-1-12，在欧洲大陆，多数国家也在第二波疫情中受到严重冲击。

    欧洲国家历来以医疗体制健全、医疗资源丰富而闻名于世，但是，面对突如其来的新冠疫情，一些国家也显得措手不及，防疫措施漏洞百出。

    德国

    第一波疫情期间，德国高效的防疫措施受到国际社会普遍好评。然而，时至今日，德国在防疫领域的好名声，也早已烟消云散。

    去年九月，当德国总理默克尔发出警告，宣称圣诞期间每日新增感染人数有可能会高达192000例，很多人对此报之一笑，认为这纯属痴人梦呓。

    官方的错误不仅表现在没有及时采取应对措施，防疫准备工作也做得很不充分。事实上，病毒专家一直都在不厌其烦地强调，进入冬季后，疫情会加重，将会出现第二波感染高潮。

    令反对党和医学家极为不满的是，整个夏天，政府并没有为即将到来的第二波疫情做好防范准备。无论是地方卫生防疫部门，还是中小学校，网络设施都极其不完备，以至于面对第二波疫情，数据传输和网络授课方面都遇到了难以克服的困难。

    丹麦

    第一波疫情期间，丹麦的表现也相当出色。去年夏季，皮尤中心的一项民调显示，95%的丹麦人对政府的防疫举措感到满意。

    然而，水貂事件却使政府的名誉扫地。丹麦拥有大量的水貂养殖场，一些水貂体内发现变异的新冠病毒后，有关当局下令宰杀全部人工养殖的水貂，以遏制这一病毒传染给人类。于是乎，一千五百万只水貂瞬间遭到宰杀。

    然而，匆忙掩埋的水貂尸体很快腐烂膨胀，顶出了地面。且不说空气中弥漫的臭味，居民们更担心，地下水也会受到污染。现在，当局已经决定今年五月将水貂尸体再次挖掘出来，然后进行火化处理。

    丹麦阿尔豪斯大学生物医学研究所的帕鲁丹（ Søren Riis Paludan）教授担心，宰杀水貂的行动可能会给丹麦带来严重后果。去年12月，他对《金融时报》表示，水貂事件吸引了全部注意力：“我们有三个星期没有讨论感染病例正在迅速上涨的事实，疫情和感染人数一度成了次要的事情。”

    12月中旬开始，丹麦关闭了学校，餐饮以及绝大多数的店铺。近日来，防疫措施又被进一步收紧。

    荷兰

    在相当长的时期内，荷兰政府并没有要求民众在公共场合佩戴口罩，只有搭乘公共交通时才是例外。因为，政府并不认为佩戴口罩有利于防疫。直到去年九月底，政府才发出佩戴口罩的建议。12月1日起，在封闭时的公共场所，佩戴口罩已经成为义务。然而，早在去年七月，世界卫生组织就已发出佩戴口罩的防疫建议。

    荷兰政府的疫苗政策也招致强烈批评。反对派和医务人员以“杂乱无章”“丢人显眼”等激烈措辞批评政府的举措。直到一月6日，荷兰才迟迟开始接种疫苗的工作，比德国等欧盟邻国整整晚了十天，尽管订购的疫苗早已运抵荷兰境内。

    比利时

    不得不说，即使是在疫情爆发之前，比利时医疗系统的名声就无法和其他欧洲国家相提并论。而疫情对比利时的冲击也就可想而知。该国卫生部长范德布鲁克（ Frank Vandenbroucke）去年十月就已坦承：“我们即将经历一场海啸。” 当时，比利时的医院已经人满为患，大量患者被送往邻国救治。由于人手短缺，很多已经感染病毒的医务人员仍不得不继续工作。

    欧盟医疗机构的统计显示，依照人口比例，比利时的感染率一度曾高居欧盟榜首。十月底，十四天内十万居民的感染病例曾高达1774人。由于政府采取了严厉的防疫措施，目前局势已经有所缓解。

    瑞典

    在相当长的时期内，瑞典采取了与欧洲其他国家截然不同的防疫策略，并因此引起广泛争议。该国拒绝采取强硬的防疫措施，而是呼吁民众理性防疫，希望通过病毒的自然传播，达到群体免疫的效果。然而，今年秋季，感染人数突然暴增。

    古斯塔夫国王发表的圣诞讲话中，批评该国迄今为止的防疫措施已经失败。他说：“我国的死亡人数非常之高，这太可怕了。”上周五，瑞典议会通过决议，授权政府可以在必要情况下发布关闭店铺的命令。

    奥地利

    一年前，奥地利滑雪胜地伊施戈尔因发生聚集性新冠感染，一度成了整个欧洲的关注热点。事后独立的专家调查显示，奥地利政府在伊施戈尔疫情传播问题上存在失职和失误。目前这一滑雪胜地再次对公众开放，但是由于冬季体育爱好者大量涌入，有关当局不得不收紧了防疫措施。

    疫情引发的危机仍在不断升温。去年12月初，全民检疫措施并未能激发民众的参与热情，更何况政府的准备工作也相当不充分。总理库尔茨有关外来移民将病毒带入奥地利的言论引发一派批评声，因为相关的数据显示他的言论毫无根据。接种工作开始后，尽管库房里存贮着大量疫苗，但接种工作的进展却异常缓慢。有鉴于此，现在要求卫生部长安舒波尔（Rudolf Anschober）辞职的呼声越来越高。

    法国

    按照霍普金斯大学发布的数据，法国是继英国之后，感染人数最多的欧洲国家。因此，法国也采取了极其严厉的防疫措施，比如宵禁和限制活动范围。由于医疗系统面临瘫痪，去年春季和秋季，法国都曾向德国转移重症患者。

    由于接种疫苗的工作进展缓慢，法国地方政治家不断批评巴黎当局防疫无能。

    新冠疫情也带来了一些意想不到的影响：一家供电公司致电用户，呼吁大家节约用电。由于法国多数家庭使用电暖气，目前已经出现了电力不足的问题。这一方面是由于气温下降，另一方面也是由于疫情造成的线路检修缺失。

  • 2021-1-12，丹麦拥有大量的水貂养殖场，一些水貂体内发现变异的新冠病毒后，有关当局下令宰杀全部人工养殖的水貂，以遏制这一病毒传染给人类

    第一波疫情期间，丹麦的表现也相当出色。去年夏季，皮尤中心的一项民调显示，95%的丹麦人对政府的防疫举措感到满意。

    然而，水貂事件却使政府的名誉扫地。丹麦拥有大量的水貂养殖场，一些水貂体内发现变异的新冠病毒后，有关当局下令宰杀全部人工养殖的水貂，以遏制这一病毒传染给人类。于是乎，一千五百万只水貂瞬间遭到宰杀。

    然而，匆忙掩埋的水貂尸体很快腐烂膨胀，顶出了地面。且不说空气中弥漫的臭味，居民们更担心，地下水也会受到污染。现在，当局已经决定今年五月将水貂尸体再次挖掘出来，然后进行火化处理。

    丹麦阿尔豪斯大学生物医学研究所的帕鲁丹（ Søren Riis Paludan）教授担心，宰杀水貂的行动可能会给丹麦带来严重后果。去年12月，他表示，水貂事件吸引了全部注意力：“我们有三个星期没有讨论感染病例正在迅速上涨的事实，疫情和感染人数一度成了次要的事情。”

  • 11 Jan, 2021 Gorillas in US zoo test positive for Covid-19 in ‘a world’s FIRST’ via suspected human-to-animal transmission

    11 Jan, 2021 Gorillas in US zoo test positive for Covid-19 in ‘a world’s FIRST’ via suspected human-to-animal transmission

    Gorillas sit after members of their troop tested positive for Covid-19, at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park in San Diego, California, January 10, 2021

    At least three gorillas at a zoo in California have contracted Covid-19, becoming the first known cases among the species in the US, and possibly the world. They are believed to have been infected by an asymptomatic staff member.
    All eight members of the gorilla troop at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park are being re-tested and monitored after three of the primates turned up positive for the illness on Monday, the US Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) said in a statement, noting they are the “first gorillas in the United States to be confirmed positive” for the coronavirus.

    “It is suspected that they acquired the infection from an asymptomatic staff member with Covid-19, despite precautions taken by the zoo,” the NVSL said, adding “The gorillas are expected to fully recover.”

    The Safari Park observed in its own statement that while the test results confirmed infections in some of the animals, they do not “definitively rule out the presence of the virus in other members of the troop,” suggesting the need for further screening. The gorillas are “doing well,” but are experiencing symptoms similar to those seen in humans, such as congestion and coughing, according to the park’s executive director, Lisa Peterson.

    “The troop remains quarantined together and are eating and drinking. We are hopeful for a full recovery,” she said, adding in comments to the Associated Press that the animals “have their own resiliency and can heal differently than we do” and that the focus for now is to keep them “healthy and thriving” as they recover.

    California Governor Gavin Newsom also noted the news during a Monday press conference, saying“Our beloved gorillas, obviously, we are concerned about,” and that the infections would likely grab the attention of residents as the state sees a surge in daily coronavirus cases.

    The NVSL assured that while “we are still learning about SARS-CoV-2” in wildlife, there is currently “no evidence that animals play a significant role in spreading the virus to people,” adding that such risk is “considered to be low.” Humans, however, can spread the coronavirus to some animals, the agency added, recommending those with the illness “avoid contact with pets and other animals.”

    While the gorillas in San Francisco may be the first known cases among the species, fears of a primate infection spiked last July at the Miami-Dade Zoological Park and Gardens after one gorilla, ‘Shango,’ got into a brawl with his brother ‘Barney,’ though he ultimately tested negative for the virus. Other large animals in captivity have, however, contracted the illness previously, with at least one tiger at the Bronx Zoo testing positive last April, while six other big cats there developed dry coughs. Smaller creatures, such as pet cats, have also come up positive in a small number of cases.