The EU withdrew its controversial plan to use a Brexit clause to stop Covid-19 vaccines crossing the Irish border amid the ongoing row over jab supplies.
The European Commission said it would trigger Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol, halting vaccines entering the UK with checks at the border of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The commission mentioned that the protocol was to ensure all citizens of the bloc have access to jabs and maintain transparency.
Nonetheless; this step was widely condemned across the UK and Ireland, with both Sinn Fein and the Democratic Unionist Party describing the move as “totally ill judged.”
Northern Ireland's first minister Arlene Foster said the EU bid was an "incredible act of hostility" that placed a "hard border" between the country and the Irish Republic over the vaccine supply chain.
On his part, Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged the EU to "urgently clarify its intentions" and detail how it would honor its commitments to the Northern Ireland peace process during talks with Irish premier Micheal Martin.
Hours later, the EU clarified it was in fact "not triggering the safeguard clause" and called its earlier decision an "oversight."
Ursula von der Leyen tweeted late on Friday that she had held "constructive talks" with Johnson.
[embed]https://twitter.com/vonderleyen/status/1355299075223121928?s=08[/embed]
"We agreed on the principle that there should not be restrictions on the export of vaccines by companies where they are fulfilling contractual responsibilities," Von der Leyen said.
Germany
From today, Germany is going to close its borders to people, arriving from the five countries affected by the Covid-19 variants, in order to protect the German population.
German Health Minister Jens Spahn announced that Germany will be prohibiting arrivals from the United Kingdom, Ireland, Brazil, Portugal and South Africa, until 17th February.
These five countries are considered to have been the worst hit by the Covid-19 variants.
Exceptions will be given to people who are resident in Germany, citizens who are returning to Germany, as well as transit passengers and various other categories such as freight traffic, or medically necessary travel, including the transport of medical staff, ambulance planes, the transport of human organs for transplant and other humanitarian reasons.
Spahn asserted that lockdown is having a noticeable affect; however, he advised caution with a possible new vaccine.
"We are seeing a positive trend in the case numbers," he said at the federal press conference on Friday. "The 7-day incidence is below 100 again, the tough measures are actually making a difference, they are working."
France
France is also closing its borders to people arriving from outside the European Union, starting from Sunday, trying to stop the spread of new variants of COVID-19.
Following an emergency government health security meeting at the presidential palace Friday night, French Prime Minister Jean Castex announced the measure, warning of a “great risk” from the new variants.
All those arriving from other EU countries will be required to produce a negative virus test, Castex said.
France will close all large shopping centers starting from Sunday and limit travel to and from its overseas territories.
Castex ordered stepped up police checks of those who violate France’s 12-hour-a-day curfew, hold secret parties or reopen restaurants in defiance of a closure order in place since October, stressing that the measure is an attempt to avoid the economic cost of a third lockdown.
On his part, President Emmanuel Macron stated that Astrazeneca vaccine is “ineffective” for people over 65.
Macron told reporters that there was “very little information” available about the vaccine developed by the Anglo-Swedish company and Oxford University.
“Today we think it is virtually ineffective for people over 65,” Macron stated. “What I can officially tell you today is that the first results we have are not encouraging for 60-65 year olds about AstraZeneca.”
Spain
Spain's death toll from Covid-19 rose by 513 to 58,319, which is one of the highest one-day increases since the first wave of the pandemic, health ministry data reported on Friday.
The data said 38,118 new infections had also been detected, off last week's record of 44,357, which led to rising pressure on hospitals, with 44% of all intensive care beds occupied by Covid-19 patients.
In the same vein, the Madrid region reported an outbreak in a nursing home that has caused 11 deaths and infected all its 48 residents, as well as 17 staff.
Meanwhile, doctors complained about recent delays in vaccine deliveries that forced several regions, including Madrid, to stop vaccinating new people from priority groups, such as medical sttaf, and only administer second shots to those who have already received a first dose.
"The inability...to deliver the necessary doses at the required speed has been a crushing blow, at least for health workers," Javier Marco, medical director of Madrid's Isabel Zendal hospital, said, adding they again felt unprotected and "at the mercy of the pandemic for an unknown length of time."
"We have been under tremendous pressure since March, with very bad living conditions, fearing that we might infect our families at any moment," Marco mentioned. "What keeps us going is the need society has for us."
Russia
COVID-19 cases in Russia grew by 19,032 in the past 24 hours, the total number of infected people reached 3,832,080, according to what the anti-coronavirus crisis center reported on Saturday.
The growth rate stands at 0.5%, the crisis center added.
The lowest daily growth rates were recorded in the Tuva region (0.1%), the Yamalo-Nenets autonomous region, the Jewish autonomous region (0.2% each), Moscow, the Magadan Region, Ingushetia, Khakassia, the Kostroma Region, Chechnya, the Kemerovo Region and the Tomsk Region (0.3% each).
Another 2,512 cases were confirmed in St. Petersburg, 1,069 in the Moscow Region, 472 in the Nizhny Novgorod Region, while the Voronezh and Rostov regions reported 376 daily cases each.
Meanwhile, 479,419 people in Russia continue treatment.
The recoveries grew by 24,502 in the past 24 hours reaching 3,279,964; whether deaths grew by 512 in the past 24 hours compared to 534 fatalities reported a day earlier.
Russia recorded a total of 72,697 cases that died of COVID-19 till this moment.
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