Austria Coronavirus restrictions eased on Wednesday, allowing restaurants, hotels and theaters to reopen for the first time in more than five months.
“The light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter and brighter,” Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said.
Quarantine will also no longer be required for many foreign visitors to Austria from Wednesday, Health Minister Wolfgang Mückstein said.
Visitors, however, must provide a health certificate showing that they are not infected with the coronavirus.
“The number of infections is declining in many countries, which is why we can announce these eases on entry alongside our measures to open this country,” Mückstein said.
France has reopened its terraces, although limited to 50% of their capacity and six people per table. Restaurants and cafes will have to wait until June 9 to allow customers to enter.
Cinemas, theaters and museums in France can once again welcome visitors, who still have to wear masks and maintain a physical distance.
The night curfew in France at 7 p.m. will be delayed by two hours – so from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.
Disneyland Paris announced its reopening on June 17th.
France’s easing of restrictions precedes a large-scale unlock of activities scheduled for June 30.
Of Germany The number of confirmed coronavirus cases has increased from 11,040 to 3,614,095, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for Infectious Diseases showed. This is almost 4,000 fewer cases than at the same time last week. The reported death toll increased from 284 to 86,665.
Asia
Countries in Asia have tightened restrictions following several outbreaks of COVID-19.
Coronavirus success story Taiwan has reported more than 1,000 cases since last week and put more than 600,000 people in medical isolation for two weeks.
Taiwan raised its COVID-19 alert level for the entire island on Wednesday, registering 267 new cases. The capital Taipei is already under a higher alert level, with restrictions on gatherings and the closure of some non-essential shops and entertainment venues.
The latest wave is believed to be due to the more easily transmissible coronavirus variant first identified in the UK, also known as the UK variant.
India set another record for daily COVID-19 deaths, even as infections have declined. The health ministry on Wednesday reported 4,529 deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the total death toll to 283,248.
The South Asian country has also confirmed 267,334 new infections, with daily cases falling below 300,000 for the third day in a row.
Mongolia saw its death toll drop from 15 to 233.
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COVID: Vaccinating people in the world’s most remote places
A difficult climb
Medical personnel who wish to vaccinate residents of the mountainous regions of south-eastern Turkey must be in good physical condition. Ensuring vaccination in mountain villages is particularly important, Dr Zeynep Eralp told DW. “People often live close to each other and infection can spread quickly,†she said. Also, people don’t like going to hospitals, so “we have to goâ€.
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COVID: Vaccinating people in the world’s most remote places
Through snow and ice
Many older people cannot go to a vaccination center. In the Maira Valley in the western Italian Alps, near the border with France, doctors go from house to house to administer their COVID-19 injection to residents over the age of 80. A roadside blessing from the Madonna is a bonus.
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COVID: Vaccinating people in the world’s most remote places
Flight to the far north
Carrying a single vial containing several doses of the vaccine, the nurse is on her way to Eagle, a town on the Yukon River in the US state of Alaska, with a population of less than 100 people. Indigenous peoples are given priority in many immunization programs. Depending on where they live, the nearest health clinic may be far away.
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COVID: Vaccinating people in the world’s most remote places
Some need to be convinced
Anselmo Tunubala washes his hands before vaccinating an elderly lady. Every day, the 49-year-old walks through the mountains of southwest Colombia, talking to people in the local language about the importance of a vaccination. He is a member of the Misak, many of whom are skeptical of vaccination as they tend to rely on traditional medicine and the advice of religious leaders.
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COVID: Vaccinating people in the world’s most remote places
Walking hours
The men and women in the photo above walked for up to four hours to be vaccinated against their coronavirus in the remote village of Nueva Colonia in central Mexico. They belong to the indigenous Wixarika people, perhaps better known as the Huichol.
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COVID: Vaccinating people in the world’s most remote places
Hang tight
For her photo, Olga Pimentel simply stopped her boat next to that of the vaccination team. The community of Nossa Senhora do Livramento on the Rio Negro in Brazil is only accessible by river. “Gorgeous! It hardly hurts,†the 72-year-old laughed and shouted, “Viva o SUS!†– “Long live the Brazilian public health service!”
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COVID: Vaccinating people in the world’s most remote places
Candlelight vaccination
For a long time, right-wing populist President Jair Bolsonaro campaigned against COVID-19 vaccinations in Brazil. But in the meantime, the campaign has taken off. Indigenous peoples and the Quilombolas, descendants of African slaves, were among the first to be vaccinated. Raimunda Nonata, 70, lives in a community without electricity, so she was shot by candlelight.
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COVID: Vaccinating people in the world’s most remote places
Paddle on the lake
After their vaccination, an elderly woman and her daughter moved away from Bwama Island, the largest in Lake Bunyonyi in Uganda. The government of this Central African country is trying to deliver the vaccine to remote areas.
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COVID: Vaccinating people in the world’s most remote places
Rough terrain
Another trip on the water – but its time, no boat. On the way to the village of Jari in Zimbabwe, this vaccination team had to take a flooded road. According to the African Union health agency, Africa CDC, less than 1% of Zimbabwe’s population has been fully vaccinated to date. The medical staff came first.
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COVID: Vaccinating people in the world’s most remote places
Welcome home visit
Japan may have huge sprawling cities, but many people also live in small isolated villages with only a few hundred people – like here in Kitaaiki. Residents who cannot make it to the nearby town are happy to welcome the doctor and a vaccine to their homes.
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COVID: Vaccinating people in the world’s most remote places
Valuable goods
Indonesia launched its vaccination campaign in January. From Banda Aceh, the medical team traveled by boat to remote islands. The vaccines in the cooler are so precious that the team was accompanied by security personnel.
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COVID: Vaccinating people in the world’s most remote places
Superspreader event?
India has been hit hardest by the pandemic in recent weeks. In mid-March, medical staff visited the village of Bahakajari on the Brahmaputra River, where a group of women signed up for their COVID-19 injection. None wore a face mask or kept a safe distance.
Author: Uta Steinwehr
Hong Kong and Singapore postponed a second time a non-quarantine travel bubble after an outbreak of unknown origin in Singapore.
China recorded new cases apparently linked to contacts with people arriving from abroad.
From Japan The health ministry is considering allowing pharmacists to administer coronavirus vaccines to speed up its vaccination campaign, a government spokesperson said. The announcement comes as calls multiply for the cancellation of the Olympics.
Just 65 days before the start of the Tokyo Olympics, less than 30% of doctors in major Japanese cities have been vaccinated against COVID-19, the country Nikkei the newspaper reported.
Japanese figures released this week showed that three months after the country’s COVID-19 vaccination campaign began, less than 40% of its medical staff are fully vaccinated.
mvb / nm (Reuters, AP, AFP)
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