Covid-19: hospital admissions continue to decline

At the hospital, admissions continue to decline. Daily hospitalizations are down 26% from last week. Daily critical care admissions fell by 22%. The number of critical care patients was also down 9% from last week. In addition, in 24 hours, 26,475 positive cases were identified, compared to 46,001 last Monday and 82,657 on Monday January 31. Figures to be put into perspective in view of the lower number of tests carried out on Sunday. But which nevertheless mark a decline in the epidemic.

Anti-Covid vaccines: the European Union still refuses Africa the lifting of patents. The EU reiterated its opposition to lifting patents on anti-Covid vaccines, three days before a summit with the African Union (AU) which has made the subject one of its priorities. “We do not want to question an intellectual property system which allows innovation and which has made it possible in particular to very quickly have a vaccine for humanity with regard to Covid-19”declared the French Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade, Franck Riester, after a meeting in Marseille (south of France) with his EU counterparts.

Soon the return of the bamboche between colleagues? After two years of epidemic, where the festive moments at the end of the day at the office have been reduced to a trickle, the government is preparing to let go of ballast. The company health protocol will thus be amended to reintroduce the possibility of organizing office drinks. “in strict respect for barrier gestures”, according to the draft submitted to the social partners. The latest version of this protocol, which dates from January 25, indicated that moments of conviviality were “suspended”.

“Freedom convoys” also in Israel. Thousands of cars and trucks converged on Jerusalem on Monday from several Israeli cities to demonstrate against health restrictions linked to the coronavirus pandemic, imitating the convoys that appeared in Canada, but also in Europe. This convoy, which was destined for the Parliament in the center of the city, caused major traffic jams against the backdrop of a concert of horns. The estimated number of participants in the movement is still unknown.

The United States, (largely) the most bereaved country. In the 5.8 million deaths caused by the pandemic in the world at present, the country which has counted the most victims is the United States (919,697), ahead of Brazil (638,362) and India (509,011). However, the WHO estimates that, taking into account the excess mortality directly and indirectly linked to Covid-19, the toll could be two to three times higher than that officially established.

Seat of the anti-sanitary measures protest, Ontario abandons the past. The authorities of this Canadian province announced on Monday that the vaccine passport would be lifted in his province, where anti-sanitary measures protests have been taking place since the end of January. “We are going to drop the passports” as of March 1, says the Premier of Ontario, explaining that a large majority of people were vaccinated and that the omicron peak had passed. The lifting of sanitary measures is demanded by protesters who have blocked the federal capital Ottawa for more than two weeks. Faced with tensions, a state of emergency was declared on February 11.

Several arrests in Brussels with the arrival of the “freedom convoy”. In the Belgian capital, where the antipasses are to meet on Monday afternoon, the police have already arrested several people who were in possession of prohibited items such as knives, RTBF radio tells us. Around 2 p.m., there were between 50 and 100 people gathered in Place Sainte-Catherine, and around 200 demonstrators in Parc du Cinquantenaire.

Towards the end of vaccination in Denmark? In a recent statement, the Danish Health and Medicines Authority considers that it is no longer necessary to offer a third dose for adolescents, nor a fourth dose for the elderly. The vaccination campaign could thus stop “no later than spring”. The reason for this announcement against the grain of other Western countries: “a very high level of vaccination” which confers a “very high protective immunity” for the population, despite a still high circulation of the virus in the country. There would therefore currently be no need to add new reminders, according to the Danish Health Authority. However, it is cautious: “We will of course follow the epidemic assiduously, and we stand ready to reconsider this decision if, contrary to our expectations, a fourth spring wave or new variants of concern hit our country.” Since February 1, Denmark has said goodbye to the mask, health pass and other gauges.

Christian Lehmann’s Epidemic Journal. Today, the doctor and writer who holds Freed the regular chronicle of a society suspended from the evolution of the coronavirus returns to the failure of the vaccine pass and gives the floor to David Simard, specialist in the philosophy of medicine and health. Hop, it is to read here.

At the Bobigny hospital, Eric Soleilhet, led by the sheave. In the corridors of the resuscitation department of the Avicenne hospital in Bobigny (Seine-Saint-Denis), the logistician takes care of the hands and the eyes because the devices with large filters, the gowns, the respirators, the catheters or the sensors, that’s his business. It’s hard to say “I” but he admits: “I have total control of everything.” Meeting with Eric Soleilhet, a hero without a cape, who has won the admiration of his peers for his work for more than two years of the pandemic.

The deadline is shortened for the vaccination pass. From Tuesday, to keep a valid vaccination pass, the booster dose of vaccines against Covid-19 must be carried out no later than four months after the end of the initial vaccination schedule, except for those who have contracted the disease since then. The maximum period for recall was up to now seven months.

In Sweden, the old people have not finished with the vaccine. Swedish health authorities on Monday recommended a fourth dose for all people over the age of 80, as well as residents of nursing homes regardless of age. Few countries in the world have yet implemented fourth-dose recommendations, while the third-dose campaign is still in full swing to maintain immunity to the virus. The recommendation also concerns people receiving home care, again regardless of their age, according to the Public Health Authority which is leading the Swedish anti-Covid strategy.

Germany plans to remove most restrictions in March. The government plans to phase out most of the restrictions put in place to combat the Covid outbreak. “By early spring, restrictions on social, cultural and economic life should be gradually lifted,” indicates a document retracing this government project, which will serve as a basis for discussions during a meeting on Wednesday between the executive and the German regions.

Towards a new adjournment of the November 13 trial. One of the defendants, Mohamed Amri, took an antigen test on Sunday which turned out to be positive, the president of the special assize court in Paris said in a message sent to the lawyers. “As it stands, it appears that the hearing will not be able to resume on Tuesday or this week given the isolation period in force”, according to the message. The trial of the November 2015 attacks has already been interrupted twice since the beginning of January, after the positive test of Salah Abdeslam and then that of Ali El Haddad Asufi.

Open the gate. The Ambassador Bridge, a strategic axis between the United States and Canada, reopened on Sunday evening after seven days of blockage by anti-sanitary measures protesters. That “allows the free flow of commerce between the Canadian and American economies once again,” indicates the operating company of the bridge. It took two days for Canadian police to evacuate the bridge, which connects Windsor, Ontario to the American city of Detroit. The police announced that between 25 and 30 protesters had been arrested.

A “freedom convoy” en route to Brussels. Hundreds of vehicles participating in the anti-vaccination pass convoys, many of them from France, are preparing to head for Brussels, despite the ban, to protest at European level after a first attempt in Paris. The Belgian authorities recalled on Sunday that it was forbidden to demonstrate on Monday in the capital. This did not prevent the approximately 1,300 vehicles, according to the French police, from stopping in the evening in a parking lot not far from the border, near Lille.

In Hong Kong, the health system “outmoded” by the omicron wave. Hong Kong’s policy of hospitalizing any infected person, even asymptomatic, or isolating them in a quarantine center leads to overcrowding of the healthcare system and interminable waiting times. Hospitals have asked patients with few or no symptoms to stay at home until places become available. Omicron “deals a blow to Hong Kong and exceeds the city’s management capacity”recognizes Carrie Lam, the head of government.