Summary
Here’s a recap of all the international Covid developments:
- Brazil has registered 473 new Covid-19 deaths and 58,540 new cases, the health ministry said.
- Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau invokes emergency measures to tackle the ongoing protests.
- Plans to delay Covid jabs for UK children aged five to 11 have been criticised.
- Boris Johnson is expected to deny wrongdoing over No 10 lockdown parties.
- All remaining Covid-19 legal restrictions are to be lifted in Northern Ireland from 15 February and replaced with guidance.
- UK ministers press ahead with plan to wind down Covid testing.
- Israelis mount their own Covid-19 ‘Freedom Convoy’.
- Italy has reported a rise in daily Covid-19 related deaths with 281 registered, the health ministry said. This compares with 191, the previous day. A further 28,630 Covid-19 daily related cases were recorded.
- Kuwait’s cabinet has lifted many Covid-19 restrictions including a ban on foreign travel
- About 500 cars and campervans have arrived in Brussels, mainly from France, in a convoy to protest against Covid-19 restrictions. The vehicles were barred from the city. Police directed them to a parking place on the outskirts of Brussels, from where protesters continued on foot to a square in the city centre and the area housing European Union institutions.
- The UK recorded 41,648 new Covid cases on Monday, government figures showed, and a further 35 deaths within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test. That is compared with 41,270 infections and 52 fatalities in the 24 hours prior
- More than 60 charities, campaigners and non-governmental organisations have accused Moderna of attempting to derail World Health Organization (WHO) plans to manufacture more Covid-19 vaccines in Africa. In an open letter, they urged Moderna to “act in the interests of people, not profits” by withdrawing patents and patent applications in South Africa.
- The Duchess of Cornwall, 74, is self-isolating after testing positive for coronavirus. The announcement by Clarence House comes after it announced on Thursday that Prince Charles, 73, had tested positive for the virus.
- Covid restrictions in Germany are set to end as case numbers have dropped slightly, according to a draft official plan seen by Agence France-Presse. The plan is expected to be approved by the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, and the heads of the federal states on Wednesday.
- Hong Kong’s leader, Carrie Lam, has said an “onslaught” of Covid-19 infections has dealt a heavy blow and overwhelmed capacity to deal with the virus. Daily infections have multiplied by a factor of 13 over the past two weeks, from about 100 cases at the start of February to a record 2,071 on 14 February.
- The busiest US-Canada border crossing has reopened after protests against Covid restrictions closed it for almost a week. The Sunday night reopening of the Ambassador Bridge between Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, Michigan came as Canadian officials held back from a crackdown on a larger protest in the capital, Ottawa.
- A court in Bologna has temporarily stripped the parental rights of a couple after they refused blood from Covid-vaccinated donors for their son in need of an urgent blood transfusion before undergoing delicate heart surgery. The couple had reportedly requested non-vaccinated blood for “religious reasons”.
- Families bereaved by Covid in the UK want Boris Johnson to relinquish control over which issues will be investigated in the pandemic public inquiry, alleging he is compromised by allegations of lockdown-breaking at Downing Street.
- New Zealand’s prime minister has said protesters who oppose coronavirus mandates were using “intimidation and harassment”, as authorities appeared to take a harsher stance toward the convoy of demonstrators that has disrupted the capital of Wellington for nearly a week.
- Taiwan aims to ease its strict Covid quarantine policy from next month as it needs to gradually resume normal life and reopen to the world, the government said on Monday.
- South Korea will begin giving out fourth doses of Covid vaccines this month and supply millions of additional home test kits to ease shortages amid a surge in Omicron infections, authorities confirmed on Monday.
Here is some more information on the Emergencies Act invoked by Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau to tackle the “Freedom Convoy” protests.
The Emergencies Act was passed in 1988 and gives the government added powers for 30 days in times of national crisis.
Under the Act, the government could:
- bar travel to or from specific areas
- order the evacuation of people and personal property from certain areas
- direct individuals and companies to provide essential services
There is no indication Trudeau would seek military intervention.
On Friday he said: “We are a long way from having to call in the military.”
Reuters reports that Trudeau will activate the emergency measures which include cutting off the financing.
The Canadian Parliament would have to approve the use of the emergency measures within seven days. It also has the power to revoke them.
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