Day: September 28, 2021

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Japan decides to lift coronavirus state of emergency

Japan on Tuesday decided to end the state of emergency in the country imposed to curb the COVID-19 pandemic, local media reported.

The decision will formally go into effect on Thursday, said a report by the Tokyo-based Kyodo News after a statement by outgoing Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.

Suga told a parliament committee that the number of new coronavirus cases and patients with severe symptoms had “dramatically declined.”

“We will enhance social response to the spread of infections through vaccinations and health care system enhancement among other steps and work on balancing antivirus measures and restoring normal lives,” he said, as the country has so far reported 1,696,061 COVID-189 cases, including 17,511 deaths, since the outbreak of the pandemic.

The state of emergency had empowered local governments to impose stricter measures to halt the spread of the coronavirus.

At least 18 provinces of Japan, including the capital Tokyo, are under extraordinary measures as the country has continued to grapple with the virus outbreak.

Japan first imposed the virus emergency last April under former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

The Suga government extended and expanded the emergency several times since April 4 this year.

This move comes as the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is set to elect its new leader on Wednesday to succeed Suga as premier in the first week of next month.

However, the government is still expected to urge people against attending crowded places while restaurant working hours will be curtailed for about a month after the state of emergency is lifted.

Source: Anadolu Agency

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New York Governor calls in extra health care workers after vaccine mandate deadline

The governor of New York State signed an executive order expanding the availability of health care workers on the eve of a mandatory vaccine deadline for all state workers.

The deadline for workers to be vaccinated was midnight Monday. The state is reporting that 92% of health care workers, including nursing home staff, have received at least one dose of the vaccine but the rate is uneven: larger hospitals are seeing vaccine rates up to 99%, while the vaccine rate lags at smaller hospitals.

The mandate is mostly without exceptions. Health care workers face unpaid leave if they refuse the vaccine but can return if they get the shot.

The order on Monday by Governor Kathy Hochul allows retired health care workers to head back into service, even if their medical licenses have expired. She is also considering expanding visa applications for those out of the country who can serve as medical professionals and possibly relying on medical professionals in the National Guard, which jumps into service during state and national emergencies.

New York is also setting up a command center that can direct health care workers to different hospitals where the vaccine mandate might create a larger loss of workers.

The state vaccine mandate also applies to school teachers and the court system and could serve as a basis for vaccine mandates in other states.

Opponents argue that getting the vaccine should remain an individual choice. But proponents point out that workers have taken an oath to protect their patients’ health above all else and health care workers are already required to have vaccinations for other diseases.

“I’m sick and tired of talking about COVID,” Hochul said in an interview on Monday as she urged remaining unvaccinated workers to “please do the right thing,” by getting vaccinated.

Source: Anadolu Agency

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Bangladesh gets COVID-19 vaccine boost from US

Bangladesh’s sluggish COVID-19 vaccination drive received a welcome boost on Tuesday with the arrival of 2.5 million Pfizer-BioNTech doses.

The shipment came from the US under the global vaccine-sharing COVAX initiative, the Health Ministry said, raising Washington’s total donation to Dhaka to 3.6 million.

According to the ministry, Bangladesh has received around 50 million doses of different vaccines, both as gifts and commercial supply, and has administered more than 41 million so far.

Vaccination coverage remains quite low in the country, with around 16 million people – just about 10% of the population – fully vaccinated, according to latest figures.

Daily virus fatalities stood at 31 and new infections were over 1,300 on Tuesday.

A total of 1,310 cases raised Bangladesh’s overall count above 1.55 million, while the death toll now stands at 27,470, according to latest figures.

Source: Anadolu Agency