Archiv: (endless) state of emergency / curfews / mass house arrests / lockdowns (quarantines) / zones / production ban / art ban / sports ban / assembly ban / etc


10.04.2021 - 14:12 [ New York Times ]

German lawmakers move to strengthen the government’s powers in the pandemic.

BERLIN — Germany’s government plans to ask lawmakers to grant it stronger powers in order to introduce a nationwide lockdown as the country is gripped by a third wave of the coronavirus.

The country’s approach has so far been to have the governors of Germany’s 16 states agree to any nationwide pandemic policies. But as calls from public health officials have grown stronger for a new nationwide lockdown in recent weeks, Chancellor Angela Merkel has had trouble gaining all of the governors’ support.

10.04.2021 - 14:06 [ Washington Post ]

How the pandemic turned German politics upside down

In Germany, politics is supposed to be dull. Everything about the system — its carefully calibrated federalism, support for the European Union and emphasis on coalitions and consensus — is calculated to keep public life as stable as possible. Under normal conditions it works well enough — even if it often puts outsiders to sleep.

But then came the pandemic.

10.04.2021 - 13:53 [ theGuardian.com ]

Merkel sets out plan to take control of Germany’s Covid response

Changing the law comes with considerable risk for Merkel: enshrining specific infection rates in legislation could require her government to put the law to endless ad-hoc parliamentary votes as the pandemic situation changes. A more permanent power-grab could in turn be blocked by the Bundesrat, the constitutional body through which the states participate in the legislative process.

10.04.2021 - 13:43 [ Express.co.uk ]

Merkel power-grab: German Chancellor poised to impose new restrictions as COVID cases soar

Backing the idea of the Chancellor taking control of the situation, Norbert Roettgen, who was defeated by Mr Laschet, Prime Minister of North Rhine Westphalia, in the CDU leadership contest earlier this year, said: “At the beginning of the crisis, the decision-making in the Minister-President Conference was okay.

“But it has become dysfunctional in the meantime.

10.04.2021 - 13:29 [ MajorcaDailyBulletin.com ]

Germany may close its borders on Monday

The most extreme possibility being considered is a perimeter closure of the entire country to stop tourists taking trips abroad.

10.04.2021 - 13:25 [ Irish Times ]

Merkel overrides regional autonomy to enforce centralised lockdown

On Friday Merkel administration figures insisted her move was not about calling into question Germany’s postwar federal system, which gives state considerable political autonomy. But they said the decentralised system, which allowed quick and local responses on testing a year ago, had become an impediment now to coherent infection prevention.

10.04.2021 - 11:05 [ Spiked ]

Boris Johnson: bumbling authoritarian

A year into the pandemic – and despite a world-leading vaccine rollout that is de-risking Covid more and more by the day – we are moving glacially out of lockdown. What’s more, we are told that social distancing may be here to stay for a long while yet. Even worse, the introduction of domestic vaccine passports – the transformation of Britain into a ‘papers, please’ society – now seems inevitable.

Parliament hasn’t even been guaranteed a vote on them, as Boris, doughty liberal that he is, continues to rule by decree.

09.04.2021 - 11:35 [ Bloomberg ]

Merkel Bloc Pushing for More Central Power Over Virus Strategy

(08.04.2021)

Chancellor Angela Merkel wants to push ahead with a bid to transfer powers to impose coronavirus restrictions from the regional to the federal level, as the German leader tries to reverse the latest surge in infections threatening Europe’s biggest economy.

Germany’s current “infection protection law” doesn’t allow for “common action” to tackle the pandemic because it leaves the enforcement of restrictions to the 16 states, Norbert Roettgen, a senior member of Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union, said in a position paper obtained by Bloomberg.

08.04.2021 - 19:02 [ Big Brother Watch ]

The Telegraph – Covid pass could be used by grandparents to screen birthday party guests

(03.04.2021)

Jake Hurfurt, head of research and investigations at Big Brother Watch, said:

“Netcompany’s chilling endorsement of segregated events and biosurveillance of our family members is a warning of the road Covid passes would lead us down.

“This contract shows that ministers misled Parliament and the public, claiming for months there were no plans for Covid passes and still claiming today that no decision has been made. This contract exposes the reality that work began on Covid certificates a long time ago.“

08.04.2021 - 18:53 [ theHill.com ]

Poll: 53 percent of voters support having ‚vaccine passports‘

Democrats were more likely than Republicans to support a vaccine passport, while independent voters were evenly split on the issue.

Roughly 70 percent of Democratic voters said the government should create such a system, while 60 percents of Republican voters said the opposite.

08.04.2021 - 18:22 [ DailyMail.co.uk ]

Why ARE we still in lockdown? UK’s Covid outbreak is now in a similar position as it was in JULY as figures show cases are falling in every age group, only ONE area saw a tiny rise and 94% of over-70s now have antibodies following vaccination drive

– Study shows Britain’s cases, deaths and hospitalisations has fallen to levels as low as those seen last July
– Epidemiologist professor Tim Spector of King’s College says UK’s figures are among the lowest in Europe
– University College London modelling suggested UK could pass threshold for herd immunity next week
– Tory MPs said increasingly positive data should result in Boris Johnson speeding up exit from lockdown

08.04.2021 - 08:23 [ Portal ameika21.de ]

Chile: Wahl wegen Corona endgültig verschoben, Lockdown wird verschärft

Freischaffende Journalist:innen und Mitglieder alternativer und selbstverwalteter Medienhäuser können sich seit Beginn der neuen Bestimmungen nicht mehr frei bewegen.

06.04.2021 - 11:06 [ Telegraph.co.uk ]

The PM’s caution is hard to justify

This only makes sense as a part of an incipient certification regime that would make public access to indoor events conditional on certain criteria.

06.04.2021 - 10:56 [ DailyMail.co.uk ]

Covid third wave ‚will NOT‘ overwhelm NHS: Government scientists‘ most likely scenario after the economy re-opens in June projects deaths will stay in double figures even with ALL restrictions lifted – as Boris faces backlash over ‚hellish demi-lockdown‘

Modelling by Imperial College London academics — involving ‚Professor Lockdown‘ Neil Ferguson — shows that coronavirus patients will take up around 5,000 beds during any future spike, far lower than the 30,000 occupied in January.

And thanks to the effects of vaccines far fewer of those patients will die, with daily deaths remaining below 100 even with cases above 50,000, according to the scenario that the scientists regard as most likely.

05.04.2021 - 23:10 [ i24news.tv ]

Israel: High Court rules movement ban during virus lockdown ‚unconstitutional‘

Israel’s High Court of Justice ruled on Sunday that the government repeatedly overstepped its authority it barred citizens from departing their homes more than one kilometer during multiple coronavirus lockdowns.

In the eight-to-one decision handed down on Sunday, the court specifically cited Israel’s second national lockdown last October, noting the government’s actions constituted a „disproportionate violation of the right to protest and were unconstitutional.“

05.04.2021 - 15:14 [ Telegraph.co.uk ]

Covid passports are authoritarian, illogical, vile

The Covid passport is a revolting idea. Authoritarian. Discriminatory. Un-British. The PM will give us more details in a press conference today but it’s a mark of how far lockdown has warped our values that it’s already being hailed as a “freedom pass”. The public is all for it, of course: these are the people who call the cops when they see a queue outside a church. We’ve become so used to control that being permitted to do something that in ordinary times would be quite normal, like go to the theatre or attend a football match, is treated as a benign act of mercy by an all-loving state.

05.04.2021 - 15:10 [ Graham Brady / Telegraph.co.uk ]

Vaccine passports show the state is reaching too far into our lives

There are, though, some people who can’t take the vaccine or, like pregnant women, are advised against it.

Banning these people from concerts and football matches would be divisive and discriminatory. As we plan for the peace, we should be vigilant in defence of liberty, where the state has reached too far into our lives, we should kick it out. No government in future should have the power to tell you whether you can see your children or grandchildren, nor should it be able to force you to publish your medical records as a condition for living a normal life.

05.04.2021 - 15:07 [ DailyMail.co.uk ]

Boris ‚wants vaccine passports up and running by JUNE 21‘ but could fail to get legislation past Parliament as he ‚promises Tory rebels they WILL get a vote‘ and Labour says scheme is like using ‚a sledgehammer to crack a nut‘

Boris Johnson wants domestic Covid passports in place by June 21 – but faces the prospect of an embarrassing Commons defeat after promising Tory rebels a vote on their introduction.

Michael Gove is said to have made the offer to furious backbenchers appalled at the idea of forcing Britons to prove their vaccination status to enter pubs and other social hubs.

Boris Johnson wants the scheme to be up and running for June 21, when the last social distancing measures are expected to be swept away.

04.04.2021 - 12:20 [ theGuardian.com ]

Boris Johnson to give go-ahead for trials of Covid passports

News of the trial events comes as senior Tories among a cross-party group have declared they will oppose the use of vaccine certificates, with 72 MPs signing a pledge to oppose the “divisive and discriminatory” scheme. Some have described their use as the creation of “checkpoint Britain”. A government scientific adviser has also warned that they could give people a false sense of security.

The size of the rebellion could create problems for the government, should it conclude that legislation is needed to introduce Covid passports

04.04.2021 - 12:19 [ Telegraph.co.uk ]

State of fear: how ministers ‘used covert tactics’ to keep scared public at home

The same document presented a grid of 14 options for increasing compliance which included “use media to increase sense of personal threat”, a tactic which was seen as having a “high” effectiveness though spill-over effects “could be negative”.

Some Sage participants now admit to feeling “embarrassed” by such advice.

One regular Sage attendee said: “The British people have been subjected to an unevaluated psychological experiment without being told that is what’s happening.

04.04.2021 - 12:00 [ CatholicNewsAgency.com ]

Polish Catholic parish in London: Police ‘grossly exceeded powers’ in halting Good Friday service

An April 3 statement on the parish’s website said: “On Good Friday, April 2, during the Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion, at the moment of the Adoration of the Cross, at about 6 p.m., the police came to the door of our church. We were not allowed to finish the celebration.”

“The police officers, stating that our liturgical assembly was unlawful, ordered everyone to leave our church immediately under the threat of a fine for each of the parishioners present of £200 [around $277] or even arrest. The faithful obeyed this order without objection.”

04.04.2021 - 11:55 [ Spiked ]

Now the police are breaking up Good Friday services

It looks like something out of a tinpot tyranny. The church service was being livestreamed online. Halfway through, two cops appear and arrogantly walk to the sanctuary itself, the area around the altar. They then take over the lectern from the priest and issue a dire warning to the people who had gathered to commemorate the darkest day in the Christian faith – the trial and execution of Christ. ‘You need to go home’, an officer says. ‘Failure to comply with this direction to leave… could lead you to be fined £200 or, if you fail to give your details, to you being arrested.’

03.04.2021 - 20:10 [ France24 ]

Opera at the window: Itinerant troupe takes the stage in Paris courtyards

After a year off the stage, a group of young artists have decided to keep the music of Beethoven, Ravel and Saint-Saëns alive by offering performances in Parisian courtyards, in full compliance with health regulations.

03.04.2021 - 19:55 [ DailyMail.co.uk ]

The ‚covert tactics‘ used to scare Britons into staying at home: How SAGE document called for increase in ‚perceived threat‘ of Covid using ‚hard hitting emotional messages‘

Psychologists have accused Downing Street of using ‚covert psychological strategies‘ to emphasise the threat from Covid-19 without contextualising the risks, the Telegraph reported.

It was said this created ‚a state of heightened anxiety‘, adding many people became ‚too frightened to attend hospital‘.

Experts fear Britons have been the subject of an experiment in the use of tactics which operate ‚below their level of awareness,‘ it was said.

03.04.2021 - 19:44 [ theSun.co.uk ]

Patients face TWO YEAR wait for vital operations due to ‘frightening’ backlog caused by Covid crisis

The pandemic has led to a widespread suspension of normal NHS diagnostic tests and surgery as hospitals prioritised saving Covid victims.

This has left the service in England with a record 4.59 million people waiting for hospital treatment.

Sir David told the Guardian: „The backlog is truly frightening. We can very easily get to the next election with people waiting over two years.

02.04.2021 - 12:00 [ Big Brother Watch ]

ACCESS DENIED – The Case against a two-tier Britain under covid certification

Freedom is not a reward for compliance. Freedom is not a gift to be meted out by the state according to the performance of its policies or public institutions. Freedom is innate in each of us, and our constitution. There is a common goal for the country to be healthy, safe and free – but we cannot arrive at freedom through compulsion.

There will be strong pushes for ever-inflating controls on individuals from industries that stand to profit, whether from the growing digital infrastructure those controls rely on, or the short-term boost in consumer ‘confidence’ – but the long-term impact on the economy, equality, social cohesion and the liberties that define our country cannot be under-estimated.

It would be an irrecoverable mistake to give in to these authoritarian impulses and allow our society to be divided. We urge the Government to bring the country together rather than drive groups apart – to protect citizens, prevent discrimination and safeguard our freedoms – to reject COVID-status certification.

02.04.2021 - 11:55 [ DailyMail.co.uk ]

FORTY rebel Tories including six ex-Cabinet ministers join forces with opposition MPs in bid to block ‚divisive and discriminatory‘ vaccine passports

– Unlikely alliance condemned vaccine passports as ‚divisive and discriminatory‘
– Members of coalition were organised by the pressure group Big Brother Watch
– Signed a pledge to oppose the idea if it is brought forward by ministers
– Signatories include Jeremy Corbyn, Sir Iain Duncan Smith and Esther McVey

02.04.2021 - 11:13 [ DailyMail.co.uk ]

Campaigners start legal action over Covid ban stopping care home residents aged over-65 from taking trips to see family and friends during pandemic

Legal action has begun against the government challenging guidance stopping care home residents taking journeys from their homes.

Pressure group John’s Campaign has started the proceedings in a pre-action letter sent to the Department of Health and Social Care.

The group – which is made up of both care home residents and their families – say that the ban on over-65s going on trips from the homes is unlawful.

02.04.2021 - 10:29 [ RedPilledPoland / Twitter ]

Anti-lockdown riots in #Brussels, #Belgium today.

Video by @RadioSavana

02.04.2021 - 10:11 [ Marina Strauß / Twitter ]

Police are using water cannons to disperse a rave happening at Brussels‘ Bois de la Cambre

02.04.2021 - 09:59 [ @Connybub / Youtube ]

A young woman was seriously injured as police stormed the Brussels park where teenagers were having a party today, running a horse straight into her, how can they justify this tyranny under the banner of Coronavirus?

02.04.2021 - 09:53 [ KreatelyOSINT / Twitter ]

Chaotic scenes in #Brussels, #Belgium today as police stormed into a park where revellers were gathered for a preplanned party in the sun

02.04.2021 - 09:42 [ Andy / Youtube ]

Surreal scene in brussels as minted police and water cannons charge youngsters celebrating.

(…)

02.04.2021 - 09:29 [ USA Journalist / Youtube ]

Belgium, Brussels: Belgian police using water cannon, horses, riot gear and drones

Belgium, Brussels: Belgian police using water cannon, horses, riot gear and drones to disperse a gathering of young people at a park in Brussels today.

02.04.2021 - 09:26 [ Videokings / Youtube ]

Ter Kamerenbos (Brussels) changes into a war zone as riot police breakup gathering with 5000+ youth

Around 2,000 people showed up towards the end of a warm and sunny day to attend „La Boum“ (the party) in the Bois de la Cambre park, local police said, even though the organizers had revealed days earlier that their invitation on social media was a hoax. Local media put the number of people at about 5,000.

Hundreds of police, many in riot gear and some on horseback, broke up a knot of would-be revelers beside a lake in the park with back-up from water cannon trucks and tear gas.

02.04.2021 - 09:22 [ @FedShotTheBear / Twitter ]

Good on them! You’re young LIVE LIFE

02.04.2021 - 09:15 [ Reuters / Twitter ]

A post that appeared on Facebook for a giant party in a Brussels park during Belgium’s COVID-19 lockdown was intended as an April Fool’s joke but has sent police and prosecutors scrambling as nearly 20,000 people have said they plan to attend

01.04.2021 - 22:02 [ France24 ]

Belgian police clash with partiers over Covid-19 restrictions

Large crowds have been gathering in Brussels parks this week to enjoy the unusually sunny, warm weather, despite coronavirus restrictions limiting outside gatherings to four people. Brussels prosecutor’s office had said police would be deployed at the festival and that anyone breaching restrictions could be prosecuted.

01.04.2021 - 16:07 [ Telegraph.co.uk ]

‚Behaving like a monarch‘: Emmanuel Macron under fire over lockdown U-turn as MPs boycott vote

Emmanuel Macron came under heavy fire on Thursday over his lockdown U-turn as opposition groups pledged to boycott a parliamentary vote on tougher restrictions saying they would not rubber-stamp the whims of “a monarch”.

01.04.2021 - 16:01 [ Spectator ]

Macron blames the British variant for French lockdown

Macron cited the so-called ‚Kent variant‘ as one of the main reasons for the lockdown, telling viewers: ‚This variant which was identified for the first time from our British neighbours at the end of last year and to a certain extent, of course, gave rise to an epidemic within the epidemic and that is greater than last spring.‘

It was just yesterday of course that Le Monde published a glowing article full of fawning quotes from Macron’s aides calling him ‚the president epidemiologist.‘

01.04.2021 - 15:54 [ Ken Pope / Twitter ]

In a dictatorship, the ‚official statistics‘ are manipulated to match the story that the dictator wants told. Enough said!

(…)

01.04.2021 - 15:48 [ Independent.co.uk ]

Brexit: Boris Johnson’s new laws put UK on ‘very slippery slope’ to dictatorship, warn ex-Supreme Court president

(08 October 2020)

Lord Neuberger linked the new powers to the coronavirus pandemic and suggested that if the government was seen to be ignoring the law, ordinary people might also decide to reject it,

„The government understandably expects people to obey the law: but I ask rhetorically, what moral authority does the government have expecting people to obey these draconian laws, if it itself is announcing that it intends to break its obligations under international law and intends to stop people going to court to enforce their rights against the government?“ he said.

01.04.2021 - 14:20 [ DailyMail.co.uk ]

Boris says vaccine passports WILL be needed to go on holiday as he tries to face down Tory AND Labour rebellion over ‚un-British‘ plans for proof of jab to enter pubs and shops and prepares to unveil scheme next week

Boris Johnson today said there is ‚definitely going to be a world in which international travel will use vaccine passports‘ as he faces a Labour and Tory revolt over them potentially being used domestically.

01.04.2021 - 00:42 [ Telegraph.co.uk ]

Exclusive: Covid vaccine passports would be un-British, says Sir Keir Starmer

Sir Keir stressed that using Covid status certificates in the UK was a complex issue, adding that he would scrutinise government proposals before deciding whether to oppose them.

But he said: „My instinct is that, as the vaccine is rolled out, as the number of hospital admissions and deaths go down, there will be a British sense that we don’t actually want to go down this road.“

01.04.2021 - 00:28 [ Express.co.uk ]

Brexit MEP’s controversial vaccine theory – but do YOU agree with him?

Boris was elected in December 2019 on the promise of reclaiming our freedoms from Brussels, that did not give him the mandate to permanently change how our society works. The State has more power now than at anytime since the Second World War and it’s hungry for more.

That 80 seat majority that Brexiteers gifted Boris is being used to ram ever more authoritarian diktats down our throat in the name of „protecting us“.

Where is the so-called libertarian Boris? The man with famously flexible principles has abandoned the core political philosophy that powered his rise – personal responsibility.

31.03.2021 - 19:31 [ Reuters ]

Finland withdraws COVID lockdown plan after it was deemed unconstitutional

The decision followed a statement from a constitutional law committee that deemed the proposal too vague and not in compliance with the constitution.

30.03.2021 - 23:01 [ DailyMail.co.uk ]

Germany BANS AstraZeneca jab for under-60s over unproven blood clot fears despite British scientists insisting there’s NO evidence it increases risks

– German health officials banned use of AstraZeneca vaccine in under-60s
– Earlier Berlin’s Charite hospital banned AZ jabs for women under the age of 55
– It comes despite authoritative rulings by experts that the jab is safe and effective
– Canada yesterday banned AZ jab for under-55s over the blood clot concerns

30.03.2021 - 16:29 [ DailyMail.co.uk ]

More than HALF of people in England now have Covid antibodies thanks to huge vaccination drive and natural immunity – with PM facing more calls to lift restrictions NOW as lockdown-weary Brits head to beaches and parks to sizzle on hottest day of the year

One Tory MP told MailOnline the PM must bring forward the arbitrary dates in order to ‚maintain public confidence that we are getting our freedom as soon as possible‘. Steve Baker, of the Covid Recovery Group, called on No10 to ask SAGE to see whether the relaxation of restrictions could be safely brought forward.

30.03.2021 - 05:04 [ DailyMail.co.uk ]

‚No one recovers until everyone recovers‘: World needs a post-Covid treaty to put nationalism aside and ensure virus stays defeated, 23 heads of state including Johnson, Merkel and Macron declare in open letter

Writing for newspapers across the world – including The Daily Telegraph – the leaders also urged a new era of solidarity in the face of ‚the biggest challenge to the global community since the 1940s‘.

The group of 24 world leaders – and the head of the World Health Organisation Dr Tedros Adhanom – called for a new international accord similar to those agreed after the war which saw countries work together for the common good.

30.03.2021 - 04:16 [ Aaron Sibarium / Twitter ]

Mask off.

30.03.2021 - 04:11 [ New York Times ]

Biden Pushes Mask Mandate as C.D.C. Director Warns of ‘Impending Doom’

The president’s comments came only hours after the C.D.C. director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, appeared to fight back tears as she pleaded with Americans to “hold on a little while longer” and continue following public health advice, like wearing masks and social distancing, to curb the virus’s spread.

30.03.2021 - 04:09 [ fox8.com ]

Biden administration reportedly working on national ‘vaccine passport’ program, raising concerns from some

Now, President Joe Biden’s administration is reportedly working with federal agencies as well as private entities to create such a thing for Americans, the Washington Post and CNN found.

According to reports, the passport would come as a scannable code that users could easily bring up on their smartphone.

28.03.2021 - 23:21 [ The Guardian ]

Give pause before you raise a glass to the prospect of a vaccine passport

… The bad news is that Johnson’s “papers for pints” plan is essentially a national ID card by stealth, one that would link our identity to our Covid status – whether we’ve been vaccinated, had a recent negative test or have antibodies.

The UK has already toyed with national ID cards. It rejected them in 2010. As Theresa May, then home secretary, explained in 2010: “This isn’t just about cost savings, it’s actually about the principle, it’s about getting the balance right between national security and civil liberties, and that’s what the new coalition government is doing.”

28.03.2021 - 16:55 [ Jerusalem Post ]

Protesters demonstrate against vaccine coercion, green passports in Tel Aviv

Israelis protest the government’s COVID-19 vaccination campaign near HaBima Theater in Tel Aviv, Feb. 24, 2021.

28.03.2021 - 16:09 [ FRANCE 24 English / Youtube ]

Left behind? As Israel reopens, what now for those who refuse vaccines?

(26.02.2021)

#Israel​ is leading the world in #Covid​-19 #vaccination​ rates. But, as the country reopens, it now faces a new problem and one likely to soon be encountered by governments across the world: How to balance the civil liberties of those or refuse the jab with the need to protect public health?

28.03.2021 - 16:05 [ i24NEWS English / Youtube ]

Tel Aviv Residents Protest ‚Green Passport‘ Program

(24.02.2021)

28.03.2021 - 15:33 [ Russia Insight / Youtube ]

Lavrov: Russia Is Against Vaccine Passports For Traveling, It’s Contrary to Voluntary Inoculation

(02.03.2021)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov: Moscow expects that the European Union’s plans to introduce vaccine passports won’t discriminate against Russian nationals.

28.03.2021 - 15:23 [ Nikkei.com ]

Japan to join EU and China in issuing digital vaccine passport

Japan will issue digital health certificates to citizens who have been inoculated against coronavirus, joining China, the European Union and other countries that have embraced vaccine passports aimed at opening up overseas travel, Nikkei has learned.

The certificate can be managed on a mobile app and will be in line with international standards, allowing the carrier to present the proof of vaccination when boarding a plane or checking in to a hotel.

28.03.2021 - 15:19 [ Forbes ]

Hawaii: An Update On Its ‘Vaccine Passport’ Program

(24.03.2021)

There’s no official timetable, but the “hope” is for it to be launched mid-May.

But without a sense of urgency, some are beginning to question the economic feasibility of creating vaccinated programs at all.

So long as we stay the course, President Biden says most Americans will have access to the vaccine by May

27.03.2021 - 18:53 [ ORF ]

Künstler besetzen Piccolo Teatro in Mailand

Die Kulturschaffenden wollen im Piccolo Teatro ein „ständiges Kulturparlament“ als Treffpunkt für Versammlungen und Diskussionen einrichten, betonten die Initiatoren des Protests.

27.03.2021 - 15:30 [ Matthew Dresch, Journalist @DailyMirror / Twitter ]

Police assaulted me at the Bristol protest even though I told them I was from the press. I was respectfully observing what was happening and posed no threat to any of the officers. I have muted the latter part of the video to spare you all the pain of hearing my shrill voice.

27.03.2021 - 15:28 [ theGuardian.com ]

Police under fire for ‚assault‘ of journalist at Bristol protest

Police have come under fire for their treatment of a reporter at demonstrations in Bristol on Friday night, during violent clashes between officers and protesters.

Daily Mirror journalist Matthew Dresch shared video footage that appeared to show police pushing him and hitting him with a baton as he shouted that he was a member of the press.

27.03.2021 - 14:34 [ Independent.co.uk ]

No holidaymakers arrested at airports in England despite Priti Patel’s coronavirus crackdown

On 27 January, the home secretary said going on holiday was “not a valid reason” to leave home during England’s coronavirus lockdown and added: “Anyone who does not have a valid reason for travel will be directed to return home or they will face a fine.”

The Home Office claimed that police could arrest people who remained intent on going on holiday after being stopped at an airport, saying: “Holiday travel is not allowed and police can fine anyone trying to do so, direct them to go home and, if necessary, use powers of arrest.”

27.03.2021 - 14:31 [ BBC ]

Kill the Bill: Violent protest ‚disgraceful‘, says prime minister

Home Secretary Priti Patel also criticised the disorder and the „violence being directed towards the police“.

„I’m in no doubt the silent, law-abiding majority will be appalled by the actions of this criminal minority,“ she said.

„Despite repeated warnings to disperse, it’s clear these thugs were only intent on causing trouble.

27.03.2021 - 14:12 [ Guardian News / Youtube ]

‚Kill the bill‘: hundreds take part in Bristol protest

A crowd of people gathered in Bristol on Friday evening for a third ‚kill the bill‘ demonstration within a week.
Protesters met at two parks, Castle Park and College Green, and marched through the city centre and along Park Street towards Bristol University’s buildings
Hundreds sit down outside Bristol police station in ‚kill the bill‘ protest

27.03.2021 - 14:00 [ Express.co.uk ]

What’s the point of a BRILLIANT vaccine if we remain prisoners in our homes? JUDY FINNIGAN

I’m getting very tired of various scientific oddbods turning up on the news and telling us our future. This is invariably gloomy, speculating about how new variants will not allow us to have holidays abroad this summer.

The latest – unbelievably – is Professor Neil Ferguson, who was so publicly caught flouting his own lockdown advice last year by inviting his mistress over for a spot of nooky.

Shamed for a bit, he’s now back on his high horse, saying summer holidays are not for the rest of us.

26.03.2021 - 12:00 [ DailyMail.co.uk ]

Covid laws are extended until SEPTEMBER: Boris sees off Tory rebellion as MPs vote 484 to 76 to KEEP draconian measures in place – despite deaths falling 33% in a week and hospitalisations plummeting

– Boris Johnson and the Government today won a crunch vote on extending coronavirus powers to September
– But the PM suffered a considerable Tory rebellion as 35 of his MPs voted against and a further 20 abstained
– Emergency powers will now be kept in place to September despite lockdown being due to end on June 21
– Rebels questioned need for ’significant draconian powers‘ after life is supposed to be back to normal

25.03.2021 - 18:33 [ BBC ]

‚Greed‘ and ‚capitalism‘ helped UK’s vaccines success, says PM

(26.03.2021)

The prime minister’s full remarks, which first appeared in the Sun newspaper, were reported to be: „The reason we have the vaccine success is because of capitalism, because of greed, my friends.“

Wales Office Minister David TC Davies, who attended the meeting, said Mr Johnson „made it absolutely clear it was a joke – a reference to the film Wall Street“.

23.03.2021 - 17:16 [ Tagesschau ]

Verzicht auf Präsenzgottesdienste: Kirchen „überrascht“ von Bitte der Politik

Die Politik bittet darum, Gottesdienste an Ostern nur virtuell abzuhalten – das stößt bei den beiden großen Kirchen auf Befremden. Die katholischen Bischöfe kündigten an, nicht auf Präsenzgottesdienste verzichten zu wollen.

22.03.2021 - 08:48 [ DailyMail.co.uk ]

Boris Johnson is urged to lift Covid lockdown a month early as MPs warn we risk ’squandering the advantages‘ of vaccines rollout by delaying moves to reopen economy

Britain risks ‘squandering the advantages of our vaccination programme’ by moving too slowly to lift the lockdown, Conservative MPs warned yesterday.

Amid signs of a gathering rebellion, a string of MPs said they were ready to vote against the Government this week when it seeks to extend Covid laws to the end of September.

22.03.2021 - 08:42 [ ITV.com ]

Three arrested after hundreds turned out to protest in Newcastle

The nationwide campaign for women’s safety follows the death of Sarah Everard. The 33-year-old marketing executive went missing while walking home from a friend’s flat in London on 3 March.

People are also protesting against the Police, Crime and Sentencing Bill. It would change how protests are policed and making some aspects of the Coronavirus Act permanent.

It comes as the UK remains in a national lockdown, which bans gatherings

22.03.2021 - 08:10 [ The Tab Bristol / Facebook ]

Bristol Bridewell police station under siege

(livestream)

22.03.2021 - 07:46 [ BBC ]

What is the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill and how will it change protests?

(16.03.2021)

It will also become a crime to fail to follow restrictions the protesters „ought“ to have known about, even if they have not received a direct order from an officer.

At present, police need to prove protesters knew they had been told to move on, before they can be said to have broken the law.

The proposed law includes an offence of „intentionally or recklessly causing public nuisance“.

22.03.2021 - 07:45 [ Martin Booth / Twitter ]

Police lines have been pushed back almost to the door of the station

22.03.2021 - 07:40 [ DailyStar.co.uk ]

Bristol police station ‚under siege‘ as ‚Kill the Bill‘ rioters set fire to van

The event was dubbed „Kill the Bill“, in reference to the attempts to stop the Government’s proposed law which would give police and the Home Secretary increased powers to stop protests.

The Bill also makes a special new law to protect monuments and statues, in the wake of the toppling of the statue of Edward Colston, with the crime of damaging them punishable by up to ten years in prison.

22.03.2021 - 07:01 [ WPTV News - FL Palm Beaches and Treasure Coast / Youtube ]

Crowds pack Ocean Drive in Miami Beach after curfew

Police try to enforce a curfew in Miami Beach after crowds linger, leading to a stampede.

22.03.2021 - 06:56 [ ABC News / Youtube ]

Hundreds of people defy Miami Beach curfew orders

The city has now extended the restrictions for at least 3 weeks.

22.03.2021 - 06:52 [ Global News / Youtube ]

COVID-19: Miami Beach in Florida declares state of emergency over crowds

Miami Beach police are taking drastic measures to impose a new curfew as spring breakers overwhelmed the city …

21.03.2021 - 19:04 [ Jerry Hicks / Twitter ]

Bristol this afternoon #PoliceCrackdownBill #PoliceCrimeSentencingCourtsBill #KillTheBill #Bristol

21.03.2021 - 18:57 [ Express.co.uk ]

Bristol protests: Huge crowds gather despite lockdown rules – fury at Policing Bill

Demonstrators began gathering at Bristol’s College Green around 2pm before marching through the city.

According to Bristol Live police initially encouraged them to disperse but moved to the crowd’s edges as numbers increased.

Protestors waved ‘Kill The Bill’ placards whilst a small number had black and red anarchist flags.

21.03.2021 - 18:31 [ BBC ]

Covid-19: Record-breaking day with 873,784 vaccine doses given in UK

Meanwhile, a leading epidemiologist has predicted that people may need to wear face coverings and socially distance for several years before a return to normality.

Mary Ramsay, the head of immunisation at Public Health England, said basic measures could be in place until other countries successfully roll-out jabs.

She said people „have got used to those lower-level restrictions now, and people can live with them, and the economy can still go on with those less severe restrictions in place“.

21.03.2021 - 13:44 [ IndiaToday.in ]

UK to slow Covid vaccine rollout, PM Johnson says delay due to shipment from India’s Serum Institute

(19.03.2021)

The United Kingdom (UK) will have to slow its Covid-19 vaccine rollout in April due to a supply crunch caused by a delay in a shipment of millions of AstraZeneca vaccines from the Serum Institute of India.

21.03.2021 - 13:43 [ DailyMail.co.uk ]

MAIL ON SUNDAY COMMENT: The EU elite’s seething resentment at Britain’s success hurts them more than us and does no one any good

The grotesque behaviour of EU governments and leaders over the Oxford vaccine has gone beyond all limits of reason and civilised action.

First, they attacked its usefulness. Then they cast doubts on its safety. Now they seek to grab hold of supplies, and so slow down its distribution in one of the few countries that has welcomed and used it widely and effectively.

21.03.2021 - 12:45 [ DailyMail.co.uk ]

Tory rebels accuse Boris Johnson of following ‚dates, not data‘ on lockdown easing as they argue ‚increasingly positive‘ vaccination numbers mean ‚we should be able to get back to normal more quickly‘

Mark Harper, the chairman of the Covid Recovery Group, said ‚reasonable people‘ will now be questioning why Mr Johnson does not speed up the easing of restrictions.

Meanwhile, the CRG’s Steve Baker echoed a similar sentiment as he said ‚the time has come for this dark chapter in our history to come to an end‘ amid fears of extending the Government’s draconian Covid powers.

20.03.2021 - 22:33 [ Subject Access / Youtube ]

Massive Anti Lockdown Protest – London

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20.03.2021 - 18:09 [ DutchNews.nl ]

Riot police break up banned coronavirus demonstration in Amsterdam

Riot police have ended a demonstration by up to 1,000 people on the Museumplein in Amsterdam, who were protesting about the government’s coronavirus regulations.
20.03.2021 - 17:43 [ BBC ]

Covid: Anti-lockdown protests as MPs call for law change

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor told the BBC more people than previously expected were at Saturday’s protests, but the Met has not given a formal estimate of the number in attendance.

19.03.2021 - 06:32 [ The Sun / Youtube ]

Boris Johnson vows ‘roadmap to freedom’ will NOT be delayed despite AstraZeneca jab supply fears

BORIS Johnson has reassured Brits that the AstraZeneca jab is safe and effective – as he calmed nerves about the country’s vaccine rollout.

19.03.2021 - 06:14 [ DailyMail.co.uk ]

‚We over-promised again‘: Matt Hancock faces Tory backlash as he FINALLY admits that India IS behind jabs delay with four million AstraZeneca doses held back by Delhi in ‚act of vaccine nationalism‘ – dealing serious blow to UK’s rollout

– Matt Hancock under fire for raising hopes of huge ramp up in vaccines only for supplies setback to emerge
– Serum Institute of India has been told it must hand jabs to its own citizens before exporting vaccine stocks
– One batch of five million doses of the AstraZeneca jab bound for the UK has been delayed by a month
. Confusingly Boris Johnson insisted Indian government has not blocked any exports, as he prepares to visit

18.03.2021 - 12:35 [ EU Kommission / EU Commission ]

ROADMAP FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ACTIONS BY THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION BASED ON THE COMMISSION COMMUNICATION AND THE COUNCIL RECOMMENDATION ON STRENGTHENING COOPERATION AGAINST VACCINE PREVENTABLE DISEASES

(March 2019)

Examine the feasibility of developing a common vaccination card/passport for EU citizens (that takes into account potentially different national vaccination schedules and), that is compatible with electronic immunisation information systems and recognised for use across borders, without duplicating work at national level.

18.03.2021 - 12:04 [ Express.co.uk ]

‘Is VDL being pressured by Germany?!’ Macron aide speechless at C4 Covid vaccine probe

Channel 4 News presenter Matt Frei asked: „Is this all very political and does Ursula von der Leyen, as a German politician and member of Angela Merkel’s ruling CDU, is she now under pressure?

„Especially after the results of the regional elections on Sunday that she has to come out and take the gloves off.

„Is that what this is? Is it political?“

Ms Trillet-Lenoir replied: „I wouldn’t say so. I would say it’s a complicated explanation.

18.03.2021 - 12:00 [ Express.co.uk ]

BBC’s Katya Adler exposes why Italy ‚under pressure‘ to suspend AstraZeneca vaccine

BBC’s Katya Adler insisted that Italy felt under pressure to suspend the rollout of the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine. While speaking on Newscast, she said despite its own advisors saying not to suspend the use of the vaccine, the Italian Government decided to plough ahead with the temporary ban. She claimed this was due to mounting pressure from their citizens with concerns due to bigger European nations Germany and France suspending the vaccine.

18.03.2021 - 11:55 [ Wall Street Journal ]

Germany, France, Italy Suspend Use of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 Vaccine

(15.03.2021)

Germany, Italy, France and Spain joined the ranks of European countries that have temporarily halted use of the Covid-19 shot made by AstraZeneca PLC over blood-clot concerns, dealing another blow to the continent’s sluggish vaccination rollout and threatening the credibility of the vaccine itself.

17.03.2021 - 20:54 [ Haaretz ]

Top Court Strikes Down COVID Restrictions on Citizens‘ Entry and Departure From Israel

In a damning verdict, the judges noted that „Israel is the only democratic country in the world where the right of citizens to enter their country has been so sweepingly restricted.“

On the figure of 3,000, the judges stated that this was set by the government before they had gathered data on the number of nationals who were stuck abroad, and ordered any future restrictions to be based on updated and comprehensive facts.

16.03.2021 - 12:14 [ Spiked ]

The free-speech crisis is not a right-wing myth

Too many on what passes for the left today are keen to dismiss the free-speech crisis in universities as a ‘right-wing myth’. They brush off the countless examples of censorship as overhyped. And they ignore concerns about the moral policing of dissenting views.

In short, they effectively deny that a free-speech crisis exists. And they do so by attacking those who are sounding the alarm. As far as these deniers are concerned, the problem is not cancel culture; it is those dishonest myth-makers who are drawing attention to it.

16.03.2021 - 12:10 [ BBC ]

What is the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill and how will it change protests?

It will also become a crime to fail to follow restrictions the protesters „ought“ to have known about, even if they have not received a direct order from an officer.

At present, police need to prove protesters knew they had been told to move on, before they can be said to have broken the law.

The proposed law includes an offence of „intentionally or recklessly causing public nuisance“.

16.03.2021 - 12:08 [ theGuardian.com ]

Civil liberties groups call police plans for demos an ‚assault‘ on right to protest

Among other things, the police, crime, sentencing and courts bill will give Priti Patel powers to create laws to define “serious disruption” to communities and organisations, which police can then rely on to impose conditions on protests.

The HMICFRS report, ordered by Patel following Extinction Rebellion (XR) and Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests, outlines a “need to develop” covert intelligence gathering methods and an expectation of increased use of facial recognition technology, despite a court of appeal ruling last year that its use in south Wales breached privacy rights and broke equalities law.

16.03.2021 - 11:44 [ Boris Johnson - Gov.uk ]

PM Boris Johnson: The Oxford vaccine shows why we and the world need Britain to be global

The objective of Global Britain is not to swagger or strike attitudes on the world stage. It is to use the full spectrum of our abilities, now amplified by record spending on both defence and science, to engage with and help the rest of the world. That is how we serve the British interest, and I mean the economic interest of people up and down the country. And as the vaccine programme begins to inspire a new global hope, we want to use this moment to heal, both literally and figuratively.

16.03.2021 - 11:18 [ DailyMail.co.uk ]

‚Your Brexit sulk will cost lives‘: MPs from all parties and the WHO plead with Britons to keep taking ’safe‘ AstraZeneca vaccine amid fury that EU’s ‚fake news‘ has fuelled anti-vax campaign as Sweden joins 12 countries suspending jab

As Sweden became the latest European country to suspend the Oxford vaccine over unproven fears it causes blood clots, politicians, medics and scientists have launched a concerted effort to reassure the public about safety.

France, Germany, Spain and Italy are also among the states to act despite the European Medicines Agency dismissing the link, with warnings that the pausing of inoculations is ‚reckless‘ and will cost lives on the continent.

15.03.2021 - 08:31 [ Ruptly / Youtube ]

Netherlands: Police use water cannon as tensions rise at The Hague anti-govt. demo

A demonstrator could be seen screaming in pain as he was bitten by a police dog. Officers made several arrests and beat one attendee with truncheons.

Protesters defied repeated requests from the police to leave the field the maximum number of allowed participants under COVID restrictions was reached.

15.03.2021 - 08:29 [ USA Journalist / Youtube ]

#Netherlands​ — About 2,000 people gathered in The Hague on Sunday to protest

About 2,000 people gathered in The Hague on Sunday to protest against the government and its tough coronavirus lockdown on the eve of the Netherlands’ general election.

14.03.2021 - 22:06 [ The Hill ]

Dutch police break up thousands of anti-lockdown protesters

Police in the Netherlands dispersed thousands of anti-lockdown protesters outside the Hague on Sunday, one day before national elections begin in the country.

14.03.2021 - 13:08 [ DailyMail.co.uk ]

Boris Johnson faces a new Tory rebellion threat over pre-Easter vote to extend lockdown laws for another SIX MONTHS despite plans to end most restrictions in June

The legislation governing the current shutdown has to be approved again by MPs on or before March 25.

But it can only be extended for six months at a time, meaning a pre-Easter vote would extend the law until September, despite plans to come out of most lockdown rules by late June.

14.03.2021 - 12:20 [ Men In Black, Denmark / Facebook ]

Men In Black, Denmark was live.

(video)

14.03.2021 - 12:17 [ Inez023 / Twitter ]

Big protests in Copenhagen by Men in Black. Fight against restrictions and covid laws. Every Saturday night. Find the live stream on their facebook page.

14.03.2021 - 11:14 [ inventnews9.blogspot.com ]

Black-clad anti-lockdown demonstrators march through Copenhagen after activist receives 2-yr jail term (VIDEO)

The demonstration followed the sentencing of a woman who was found guilty of inciting violence during an anti-lockdown protest in January. Speakers who addressed the crowd during Saturday’s march expressed solidarity with the woman, who received two years behind bars due to a controversial provision that allows Danish courts to double sentences if the crime is related to the Covid-19 pandemic.

14.03.2021 - 10:20 [ DailyMail.co.uk ]

‚Shame on you!‘: Calls mount for Met police chief Cressida Dick to RESIGN after officers made arrests and manhandled screaming women at Sarah Everard vigil after Kate Middleton paid her respects

– Vigil turned violent amid clashes with police in Clapham Common in south London on Saturday evening
– Hundreds of people defied lockdown to gather in tribute to Sarah Everard before shocking scenes of violence
– The 33-year-old marketing executive was last seen near the common’s band stand on Wednesday, March 3
– Calls are now mounting for Met Police Commissioner Cressida Dick to resign following the clashes

14.03.2021 - 00:23 [ theGuardian.com ]

Police in England ‚using Covid lockdown rules to halt any protests‘

Analysis by Netpol, the Network for Police Monitoring, reveals there have been at least nine high-profile instances of police using Covid regulations against demonstrators, including two asylum seekers protesting outside Napier barracks in Folkestone, Kent and a woman fined £500 for organising a protest after the death of a man released from police custody in Cardiff.

The human rights group Liberty said the police were too often indiscriminately using Covid rules to disperse responsible, low-risk protests, arrest people and issue extortionate fixed penalty notices to organisers regardless of the risk to public health.

14.03.2021 - 00:10 [ Deborah Hermanns / Twitter ]

Tonight in Clapham we witnessed the Met police arresting and pushing to the ground women who had come to grieve and protest the murder of our sister by one of their officers. I am shaking and furious. #ReclaimTheseStreets

14.03.2021 - 00:01 [ Charlie Haynes / Twitter ]

Several thousand people have gathered at the band stand in Clapham despite the vigil for Sarah Everard being cancelled.

13.03.2021 - 23:41 [ Zol Neveri / Twitter ]

Dresden anti-lockdown protest Some people have had enough and they are fighting back

11.03.2021 - 19:28 [ Haaretz.com / Twitter ]

With rise in infections, health officials weigh slowing down Israel’s COVID lockdown exit plan

(01.03.2021)

11.03.2021 - 17:48 [ France24 ]

Protesters occupy Paris theatres to protest against Covid-19 shutdowns

University students spent Monday night protesting at Pau theatre in southern France. Similar actions were seen on Tuesday at two other theatres, the Colline in eastern Paris and the National Theatre of Strasbourg.

11.03.2021 - 15:57 [ theHill.com ]

House approves $1.9T COVID-19 relief in partisan vote

The House on Wednesday approved President Biden’s sweeping $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package in a starkly partisan 220-211 vote, sending the legislation to the White House and clinching Democrats‘ first big legislative victory in the Bide

09.03.2021 - 11:30 [ Haaretz ]

Unvaccinated Israeli Medical Students Barred From Clinical Training Programs

Israeli medical students and students in other health-care professions will be banned from participating in clinical training at hospitals and clinics unless they have been vaccinated against the coronavirus, the Israeli Medical School Deans Forum announced on Sunday.

Unvaccinated students will also be prohibited from doing rounds in hospitals.

07.03.2021 - 15:12 [ Amy Franks / Twitter ]

10 weeks until my wedding day and still none the wiser what we can actually do. Feeling let down is a massive understatement. Pensive face We have suppliers that need support and guidance too, so I’m asking AGAIN, where’s the guidance? @scullyp @BorisJohnson #whataboutweddings

07.03.2021 - 15:03 [ DailyMail.co.uk ]

MARY ELLEN SYNON: Why the roots of the EU’s vaccine catastrophe lie in Merkel’s shadowy past in Communist East Germany

As a young woman, Merkel was taught to believe in a Soviet system that folded 15 republics into a single state, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. In the past few months, she has sacrificed all prospects of rapid vaccination – and the lives it would save – for her own population because of her dogmatic belief in folding 27 countries into a single state called the European Union.

As Filipp Piatov, head of opinion at the German newspaper Bild, wrote last week, even in such a vital matter Merkel preferred ideology to good politics – because she was ‘so eager to demonstrate the superiority of Brussels bureaucracy to the nation state’.

07.03.2021 - 13:44 [ UsForThem.co.uk ]

#NoMasksInClass : Dear Education Secretary…

By 15 February, the NHS had vaccinated the top four most at risk groups – groups that have accounted for around 88% of COVID-19 deaths and about 55% of hospitalisations. The UK’s four Chief Medical Officers say that you get “substantial protection within 2-3 weeks of vaccination”, which takes us to 8 March. So upon what evidence is your department relying in order to recommend that masks in classrooms are today necessary – rather than “nonsensical” – now that the four most vulnerable groups have “substantial ­protection”?

07.03.2021 - 13:38 [ UsforThemUK / Twitter ]

In January the Prime Minister said schools are safe. Then why are our children expected to wear masks in school all day, every day, from tomorrow ⁉️ This has to stop. Masks can harm children’s health and learning #NOMASKSINCLASS

07.03.2021 - 13:33 [ London School of Economics (LSE) ]

Shaping the post-Covid World: Moving towards wellbeing over the lifetime as the unit of analysis in policy

Professor Paul Dolan, Professor of Behavioural Science, LSE

Professor Lord Richard Layard, Emeritus Professor of Economics, LSE

Lord Gus O’Donnell, Chair of Frontier Economics and Visiting Professor, LSE

Professor Liam Delaney, Professor of Behavioural Science, LSE

Dr ChristianKrekel, Assistant professor of Behavioural Science, LSE

Dr Jet Sanders, Assistant Professorof Behavioural Science, LSE

Dr Celia Blanco-Jimenez. Fellow in Behavioural Science, LSE

Dr Kate Laffan, Fellow in Behavioural Science,University College Dublin

Dr Georgios Kavetsos,Associate Professor in Behavioural Science, QMC London

Dr Laura Kudrna, Fellow in Behavioural Science, University of Birmingh

(…)

4.5. The foregoing discussion highlighted the importance of processes as well as outcomes, and so a separate wellbeing commission should be established …

07.03.2021 - 11:28 [ Newsletter.co.uk ]

Dr Anne McCloskey: It is an alarmist distortion of the facts to say 100,000 people in the UK have died of Covid

(05.03.2021)

A new directive from the WHO to every doctor changed fundamentally how deaths were attributed. Any death, within 28 days of a positive PCR test (which Kary Mullis, the test’s inventor, and Nobel Laureate was clear should not be used as a diagnostic tool) was to be included in the Covid fatality total, regardless of the context.

Where there was no positive test, but clinical symptoms compatible with Covid 19 that is fever, shortness of breath, loss of taste and so on, likewise, attribution to the virus on the death certificate was encouraged. Autopsies ceased.

07.03.2021 - 10:43 [ Telegraph.co.uk ]

Vaccine passports make no sense if the Covid jabs don’t stop you spreading the virus

(12.12.2020)

If, however, a vaccine does stop you carrying the virus, then we need to ask whether we’re comfortable with the soft coercion of vaccine certificates. No one complains about needing a yellow fever certificate to travel to many countries. On the other hand, displaying one in order to visit your local pub would feel a bit Stasi.

07.03.2021 - 10:37 [ Times of Israel ]

Tel Aviv hosts its first ‘Green Pass’ concert for the vaccinated

500 people allowed into 30,000-seat capacity Bloomfield Stadium to attend a performance by Israeli pop star Ivri Lider

07.03.2021 - 10:31 [ Haaretz ]

Israel’s COVID Infection Rates Are Rising – but It May Not Matter That Much Now

(02.03.2021)

Health experts say most at-risk Israelis are now vaccinated, and they expect the number of seriously ill coronavirus patients to drop

28.02.2021 - 08:22 [ DailyMail.co.uk ]

What IS the truth about Covid deaths? Grieving relatives along with MPs and top medics demand inquiry as families reveal MORE loved ones they believe were wrongly certified as virus victims

Grieving families last night said deaths had been wrongly certified as Covid-19.

Demanding an inquiry, top medical experts and MPs also insisted they were ‘certain’ that too many fatalities were being blamed on the virus.

One funeral director said it was ‘a national scandal’. The claims are part of a Daily Mail investigation that raises serious questions over the spiralling death toll.

27.02.2021 - 09:19 [ Radio Prague ]

Government declares new state of emergency

The lower house on Friday rejected a proposal to extend the ongoing state of emergency due to the fact that it had been called at the request of regional governors and was thereby legally questionable.

27.02.2021 - 09:01 [ USA Today ]

House passes Joe Biden’s COVID relief bill with $1,400 stimulus checks, legislation heads to Senate

The bill, known as the American Rescue Plan, passed 219-212. No Republicans voted for it, and two Democrats voted against it: Rep. Kurt Schrader, D-Ore., and Jared Golden, D-Maine.

The measure now heads to the Senate where it faces a rocky path in the evenly divided chamber.

27.02.2021 - 07:58 [ NPR.org ]

Senate Can’t Vote On $15 Minimum Wage, Parliamentarian Rules

The decision is a disappointment for progressives but relieves immediate pressure on Democratic Party leaders who are attempting to rally support for the overall bill despite concerns from at least two Democrats who say $15 is too high.

26.02.2021 - 03:40 [ ec.europa.eu ]

ROADMAP FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ACTIONS BY THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION BASED ON THE COMMISSION COMMUNICATION AND THE COUNCIL RECOMMENDATION ON STRENGTHENING COOPERATION AGAINST VACCINE PREVENTABLE DISEASES

(March 2019)

Examine the feasibility of developing a common vaccination card/passport for EU citizens (that takes into account potentially different national vaccination schedules and), that is compatible with electronic immunisation information systems and recognised for use across borders, without duplicating work at national level.

25.02.2021 - 08:07 [ New York Times ]

As Israel Reopens, ‘Whoever Does Not Get Vaccinated Will Be Left Behind’

(18.02.2021)

New government and business initiatives are moving in the direction of a two-tier system for the vaccinated and unvaccinated, raising legal, moral and ethical questions.

24.02.2021 - 21:36 [ Haaretz ]

What Angela Merkel’s Retirement This Year Means for Israel

Laschet is committed to Chancellor Merkel’s famous sentence, which she uttered when addressing the Knesset in Jerusalem in 2008, that Israel’s security is part of Germany’s raison d’être. According to Speich, “it is Laschet’s fundamental foreign policy conviction that Germany must commit itself to the security of Israel. It is a political obligation.”

24.02.2021 - 13:04 [ Haaretz ]

Coronavirus Live: Knesset Passes Law Allowing Disclosing Identities of Unvaccinated to Authorities

The Knesset approved in a third and final vote a law allowing disclosing personal details of Israelis who have not been vaccinated.

The information will be given to local authorities, the Education Ministry and officials in the Welfare Ministr

23.02.2021 - 11:19 [ Reuters ]

Israeli studies find Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine reduces transmission

(19.02.2021)

Findings of the pre-published study, not yet peer-reviewed, but based on a national database that is one of the world’s most advanced, were first reported by the Israeli news site Ynet late on Thursday and were obtained by Reuters on Friday.

Pfizer declined to comment and the Israeli Health Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

23.02.2021 - 11:15 [ theGuardian.com ]

Covid: vaccinated Israelis to enjoy bars and hotels with ‘green pass’

(19.02.2021)

Israel is preparing itself to be split in half from next week, with the government creating a new privileged tier in society: the vaccinated.

23.02.2021 - 10:43 [ Haaretz ]

Israel Reopens, With More COVID Rules Relaxed: Here’s Everything You Need to Know

Green Pass venues include houses of worship, cultural events, gyms, hotels and swimming pools. To enter, those eligible to do so will be required to present valid ID and a so-called Green Pass, vaccination certificate, or official document stating they had the virus and recovered, as relevant.

23.02.2021 - 10:10 [ Telegraph.co.uk ]

We surrendered our freedom to lockdown – the state must never hold such control over our lives again

We know that the trajectory of the virus has been indistinguishable between North Dakota (with masks and distancing in restaurants) and South Dakota (without restrictions). We know that California, which locked down and closed schools, seems to have fared worse than Florida, which did not. We can see that the picture in Belgium with its hard lockdowns has now converged with that in Sweden which famously took a voluntary approach. Similarly, the ‘second wave’ trajectory in Japan is remarkably similar to that of the UK.

I know, I know, fascinating stuff…. but let’s leave all that for the public inquiry.

23.02.2021 - 10:03 [ theSun.co.uk ]

DEADLY DATA: Plan to lift lockdown by Easter ‘was canned after Sage scientists warned it would cause 91,000 more deaths

Models predicted it would lead to nearly 60,000 Covid patients in hospital by June, compared to last month’s high of 39,000.

Chief Scientific Adviser Sir Patrick Vallance spoke of his support for the gradual approach taken by PM Boris Johnson, saying: „The sooner you open up everything, the higher the risk of a bigger resurgence.

„The slower you do it, the better.“

23.02.2021 - 06:05 [ DailyMail.co.uk ]

Covid cases are UP for first time in SIX WEEKS with 10,641 new infections while deaths tumble to 178 in lowest toll since December 13 – and Britain dishes out just 150,000 vaccines in worst performance since inoculation drive started

– Department of Health figures show infections are 9 per cent up on last Monday, when 9,765 were declared
– But laboratory-confirmed coronavirus fatalities have dropped by almost a quarter, from 230 last Monday
– Britain dished out 150,000 vaccines yesterday, in worst daily toll since roll-out began to speed up last month

23.02.2021 - 06:03 [ DailyMail.co.uk ]

Boris, Whitty and Vallance dismiss Tory and business fury at ultra-cautious lockdown ‚roadmap‘ saying the country wants ‚certainty not urgency‘ – with shops, salons and drinks outside from April 12 but no foreign travel before mid-MAY or hugs until June

Social distancing rules will stay in force until June 21 at the minimum, with a government review to decide their future after that. The decision means that grandparents face months of waiting before they can hug their grandchildren – even though millions have already been vaccinated.

22.02.2021 - 15:37 [ DailyMail.co.uk ]

Tories demand ‚irreversible‘ lockdown easing and slam Boris for moving too slowly as he prepares to unveil ‚roadmap‘ with ALL schools to return on March 8 and Rule of Six back by April – but shops, salons and pubs face waiting MONTHS

The PM is set to reveal his ‚roadmap‘ in a statement to the Commons this afternoon once it is rubber-stamped by Cabinet, after scientists seemingly won the battle for a slow approach regardless of the surging vaccination drive.

17.02.2021 - 16:45 [ Jasmine the European Cat / Twitter ]

But the Oxford/AstraZeneca team, which uses more traditional viral vector technology, says that while it can make a new formulation in days, it takes much longer to produce.

(09.02.2021)

It expects to have a vaccine designed to address the variant discovered in South Africa ready by autumn.

17.02.2021 - 16:35 [ usatodaysun.com ]

AstraZeneca expects updated COVID-19 vaccine by autumn

(14.02.2021)

The Anglo-Swedish company, which makes a vaccine developed by the University of Oxford, said it is working with the university’s scientists to adapt the shot to combat new variants.

17.02.2021 - 16:31 [ MSN.com ]

Masks and social distancing could stay until AUTUMN at earliest – sources

(12.02.2021)

SAGE member Professor John Edmunds painted a darker picture and suggested the measures could last even longer.

He told ITV’s Peston face masks could be required „probably forever“ if COVID-19 becomes endemic in the UK.

17.02.2021 - 16:22 [ DailyMail.co.uk ]

New Covid vaccines could be made in 40 DAYS if they need updating to tackle mutated variants, taskforce chief says

Dr Dix added: ‚I think 40 days would be a real stretch but we would aim for something as good as that.

‚But certainly within 60 days and then, after that, we would start the manufacturing.‘

Manufacturing vaccines takes different amounts of time depending on the type of jab.

17.02.2021 - 09:58 [ DailyMail.co.uk ]

Bosses begin drafting ’no jab, no job‘ contracts to force staff to get vaccine despite lawyers warning they will likely be challenged in court – as ministers urge PM to bring in certificates to help open cinemas, theatres and clubs

– ‚No jab no job‘ contracts are being drafted by companies in the care home sector
– The move may mean prospective and current workers need to have jab for work
– Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi said yesterday that it was ‚up to businesses‘
– The Government has so far said it has no plans to introduce a passport scheme
– Ministers have also reportedly urged Boris Johnson to consider jab certificates

17.02.2021 - 09:56 [ DailyMail.co.uk ]

What WAS the point of vaccine triumph if we are doomed to endless curbs, asks Dr JOHN LEE

Despite the success of the vaccine programme, which will see all vulnerable people protected against Covid-19 in a month, it seems lockdown will largely continue until July.

Restaurants and churches possibly still closed. Travel impossible. Families forbidden to mingle indoors. The Treasury still borrowing billions to keep people on furlough. This is draining the health of our population and our economy.

16.02.2021 - 13:08 [ France24 ]

Dutch court orders government to lift Covid curfew

The government wrongly used emergency powers to bring in the first curfew since the Nazi occupation in World War II, a judge at The Hague district court ruled.

15.02.2021 - 20:52 [ theGuardian.com ]

UK Covid: ‚we want this lockdown to be the last,‘ says Boris Johnson, as he calls for ‚optimism and patience‘ – as it happened

The level of coronavirus infections is still high and the number of hospitalisations higher than they were during the first peak, Chris Whitty said.

15.02.2021 - 20:48 [ Independent.co.uk ]

Boris Johnson is desperate to avoid a rebellion by Tory MPs – hence talk of ‘irreversible’ lockdown easing

However, the PM cannot ignore 63 of his own MPs. He knows how strongly they feel about lockdown easing. Some 53 Tories voted against his tiered system in December. He will probably want to renew some of the current restrictions when they expire on 31 March.

15.02.2021 - 13:46 [ BBC ]

Coronavirus: Plan to exit lockdown ‚cautious but irreversible‘, says Boris Johnson

It comes as a group of Tory MPs call for a commitment to a „free life“ and ending of lockdown measures before May.

Senior backbencher Steve Baker said he wants the prime minister to „let us reclaim our lives, once and for all“.

15.02.2021 - 13:42 [ Express.co.uk ]

Boris Johnson press conference: PM to address nation from No10 with major vaccine update

The Prime Minister is expected to hold a televised Downing Street coronavirus briefing at 5pm.

15.02.2021 - 10:52 [ .i24news.tv ]

Israel advances bill to compel unvaccinated workers to test for COVID-19 every two days

Israel’s Health Ministry is formulating a legislation that will provide workplaces that receive customers the legal framework to compel employees who refuse to vaccinate against COVID-19 to test for the disease every two days, Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said Monday, according to outlet Ynet.

15.02.2021 - 10:35 [ Haaretz ]

Netanyahu Labels Unvaccinated Israelis as the New Enemy

Netanyahu has tied his fate in the election to COVID vaccinations, and suspicion arises that his proposals are influenced by personal considerations. Meanwhile, disclosing names of Israelis who have yet to get vaccinated paves way for severe infringement of privacy.

15.02.2021 - 06:09 [ Telegraph.co.uk ]

Ministers must never again be free to impose crippling restrictions without proper scrutiny

Drawing on the Civil Contingencies Act, measures would also need Parliamentary approval before coming into effect (unless too urgent – in which case validity would be provisional) and they would expire after no more than 30 days unless renewed, so that in the event of another pandemic, restrictions could not be imposed for months on end without proper scrutiny.

15.02.2021 - 05:53 [ DailyMail.co.uk ]

Single jabs of Covid vaccine are providing 67% protection against infections, data reveals as experts say delaying second dose is ‚paying off‘

Prof Spector said that he no longer watched the Government’s daily briefings as he felt the statistics were not presented in context, particularly the death rates.

He said: ‚It’s very sad people die of anything. Yesterday around 600 people died of Covid but on a normal day in February 1,500 people die of heart disease, strokes, cancer etc or the flu.

‚This has got a lot of people extremely anxious and are petrified to leave their homes and may have problems coming out if we do not put those statistics into context.

‚People are dying of Covid but people die of other things. I would like to see less fear-mongering.‘

14.02.2021 - 23:23 [ Radio Prague ]

Government declares new state of emergency

Although the lower house refused to extend the state of emergency it in a vote on Thursday, the government acted in response to a request from the governors of the country’s 14 regions who argued that a state of danger would not give them adequate powers to enforce the necessary restrictions needed to keep the coronavirus epidemic in check.

14.02.2021 - 13:22 [ Telegraph.co.uk ]

Picnics and coffee in the park as lockdown to lift from March 8, Government confirms

Meeting a friend for a coffee on a park bench and outdoor picnics will be the first activities to get the green light on March 8, The Telegraph can reveal, with golf and tennis following shortly after.

13.02.2021 - 19:21 [ DailyMail.co.uk ]

Boris says he’s ‚optimistic‘ about easing lockdown starting with schools in March and we will ‚learn to live with‘ Covid – as leaked data shows hospitalisations falling much FASTER than expected

Modelling by Sage presented to Downing Street and leaked to The Times predicts hospital admissions and deaths will more than halve over the next month.

Patients battling coronavirus in hospital currently number around 24,000, but this figure is expected to be slashed to around 9,000 by mid-March.

Yesterday 1,908 patients were taken to hospital in the UK, a massive drop in admission rates since the peak in January when around 4,500 were admitted on a single day.

13.02.2021 - 19:18 [ ABC News ]

COVID-19 could become a seasonal illness like the flu, experts say

Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center and professor of pediatrics in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, concurred, adding that he is also „not sure we’re ever going to really eliminate this virus. … It’s not like measles, where you get life-long sterilizing immunity.“

But even if the virus sticks around, new vaccines and new drugs to fight the virus mean it’s unlikely to cause severe illness in the future. Offit predicts „that eventually, it will cause fewer deaths than influenza.“

12.02.2021 - 02:24 [ Telegraph.co.uk ]

School return date must be ’signed in blood‘, Boris Johnson told

Rob Halfon, the Tory chairman of the Education Select Committee, told The Telegraph: „We just need to make sure March 8 is signed in blood, not just a line in the sand.“ Mark Harper, the chairman of the Covid Recovery Group, said: „It’s crucial we don’t backslide on this.“

12.02.2021 - 02:14 [ DailyMail.co.uk ]

Furious Tory MPs say Covid vaccine roll-out is pointless unless UK goes back to normal life soon after SAGE doomsters push back on easing lockdown within weeks and warn we could be wearing masks FOREVER

The Prime Minister has promised to get children back in classrooms by March 8 as part of his ‚route map‘ out of lockdown, which he plans to reveal on Monday, February 22.

12.02.2021 - 02:11 [ DailyMail.co.uk ]

Powerful ‚Covid O‘ Cabinet committee is set to consider plans for ‚vaccine passports‘ tomorrow amid hopes they could save summer holidays

The critical ‚Covid O‘ Cabinet sub-committee is expected to look at proposals for assembling a system that could loosen restrictions on international travel.

However, there are not expected to be any final decisions – and no date has been mooted for when the arrangements might come into force.

09.02.2021 - 20:53 [ CNN ]

Why bad news for AstraZeneca’s vaccine is a roadblock on the way out of the pandemic

The study from South Africa suggested that two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine provided „substantially reduced“ protection against mild to moderate Covid-19 disease from the new virus variant first identified there, known as B.1.351.

The study has not yet been peer reviewed or published in full, so many unknowns remain. What we do know is that it included a relatively small number of volunteers who were predominantly young and healthy and therefore not likely to suffer from severe Covid-19 disease.

09.02.2021 - 20:42 [ DailyMail.co.uk ]

Tories savage Matt Hancock over ’never-ending lockdown‘ as UK’s Covid second wave continues to shrink: Cases and deaths drop 27% with 12,364 infections and 1,052 victims – but Health Secretary warns border restrictions may still be in place until AUTUMN

But hopes the world-beating vaccine roll-out will mean lockdown curbs can be significantly eased any time soon were shot down today by Mr Hancock, who unveiled the latest suite of border curbs and warned they could last until the Autumn when booster vaccines will be available.

09.02.2021 - 20:35 [ Telegraph.co.uk ]

The state is making a huge power grab, and it won’t be giving it up

Is there no end to the current misery? Seemingly not. Yet it is also a statement of fact that, as Colonel Bill Kilgore says in Apocalypse Now, “someday this war’s gonna end”.

09.02.2021 - 12:34 [ DailyMail.co.uk ]

Britain could be trapped in lockdown cycles for several YEARS in fight with Covid variants – but staying in tougher measures for longer now will prevent new vaccine-resistant strains, SAGE scientists warn

Evidence suggests the Oxford University vaccine – the main weapon in Britain’s arsenal to combat the virus – does not stop people falling ill with the South African variant, which is feared to be spreading in the community already.

08.02.2021 - 16:34 [ Reuters ]

New COVID-19 variant defeats plasma treatment, may reduce vaccine efficacy

(20.01.2021)

“This lineage exhibits complete escape from three classes of therapeutically relevant monoclonal antibodies,” the team of scientists from three South African universities working with the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) wrote in a paper in bioRxiv, a website that publishes scientific research prior to its being peer-reviewed and submitted to journals.

08.02.2021 - 16:22 [ DailyMail.co.uk ]

AstraZeneca is working on Covid vaccine booster ‚that will be ready by autumn‘ to beat South African strain after research showed its current version had ‚minimal‘ effect on stopping it

Professor Gilbert earlier told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show that her team currently has ‚a version with the South African spike sequence in the works‘ with hopes it will be ready to administer by the autumn.

‚It’s not quite ready to vaccinate people with yet, but, as all of the developers are using platform technologies, these are ways of making a vaccine that are very quick to adapt,‘ she added.

08.02.2021 - 16:20 [ Telegraph.co.uk ]

Exclusive: Alarming new evidence on coronavirus mutation could bring tougher restrictions

(18.12.2020)

Government scientists at the Porton Down laboratory in Wiltshire have been conducting experiments on the new strain, and have confirmed ministers‘ fears about it being far more infectious than the original strain of the virus.

08.02.2021 - 16:16 [ DailyMaverick.co.za ]

South Africa switches to J&J’s ‘silver bullet’ as AstraZeneca vaccine falters against local variant of coronavirus

“Unfortunately, viruses mutate. Sometimes this is by accident. But often the reason is that the virus wants to become more adept to infect the host.”

This, Madhi explained, was what had happened with the South African variant as well as another variant that was first identified in the United Kingdom.

08.02.2021 - 16:14 [ New York Times ]

The Coronavirus Is a Master of Mixing Its Genome, Worrying Scientists

(05.02.2021)

In recent weeks, scientists have sounded the alarm about new variants of the coronavirus that carry a handful of tiny mutations, some of which seem to make vaccines less effective.

But it is not just these small genetic changes that are raising concerns. The novel coronavirus has a propensity to mix large chunks of its genome when it makes copies of itself. Unlike small mutations, which are like typos in the sequence, a phenomenon called recombination resembles a major copy-and-paste error in which the second half of a sentence is completely overwritten with a slightly different version.

07.02.2021 - 16:59 [ Spiked ]

We must never surrender to the New Normal

This time, dreams of normality are treated as ‘dysfunction’, as a species of ‘denial’. What makes this concerted erasure of expectancy even more striking is that we are in the middle of the most impressive rollout of vaccination in human history. In the UK, thanks to an army of health workers and volunteers, we have vaccinated more than 10million people. The early evidence suggests vaccination protects against serious illness and very likely stems the spread of Covid-19, too. And yet even in this moment, even during this extraordinary campaign of human ingenuity against nature’s whimsical, destructive viruses, much commentary has turned against the aspiration to normality, against the dream of restored liberty.

07.02.2021 - 16:01 [ Dr. Simon, PhD in Biotech / Twitter ]

The statements that German virologist @BrinkmannLab makes are an utter disgrace. She said that a delay in measured in November 2020 cost 30,000 lives in Germany and that the same will happen again with the new „mutants“. Isn’t there any lawyer out there to legally stop her?

07.02.2021 - 15:44 [ Groo The Wonderer / Twitter ]

The left has become very authoritarian; the idea that the govt shouldn’t shut down businesses or tell people when they can leave their homes is now “ libertarian”

07.02.2021 - 15:30 [ theSun.co.uk ]

LOCKED IN: Restrictions can’t ease until NEXT YEAR due to aggressive mutant Covid strains, warns Sage

They came to their conclusions by modelling what could happen in the next few months under the vaccine rollout, presenting their findings to Sage on January 14.

Researchers at Warwick University wrote in the document, published today: “With the new aggressive covid strain, likely transmission efficacies prove insufficient to prevent further infection outbreaks across the population.

07.02.2021 - 14:54 [ Telegraph.co.uk ]

Coronavirus latest news: Restrictions on large gatherings likely to be in place ‚for next few years‘

Prof Spector also suggested that basic infection control measures – including physical distancing, face masks and handwashing – should remain in place as they „don’t cost really anything to do“.

„I think we need to get used to that and that will allow us to do the things we really want to do more easily and more readily,“ he said.

07.02.2021 - 14:22 [ DailyMail.co.uk ]

Covid ‚is a gift that keeps on giving‘: Labour shadow attorney general is caught on tape saying pandemic is GOOD for rich City lawyers – leaving Keir Starmer facing furious backlash

In a recording obtained by The Mail on Sunday, Lord Falconer can be heard introducing a Gibson Dunn ‚webinar‘ on ‚how the law has been changed by Covid‘ by saying: ‚This is a gift that keeps on giving, the law keeps on changing, keeps on getting more complicated, and is always interesting.‘

06.02.2021 - 21:31 [ Express.co.uk ]

Tory leadership POLL: Who do you think should replace Boris Johnson? VOTE HERE

BORIS JOHNSON has come under scrutiny for how he has handled the coronavirus pandemic with some backbench MPs warning he must end the lockdown or face a party revolt.

06.02.2021 - 21:25 [ Telegraph.co.uk ]

Boris Johnson under pressure after eighteen Tory MPs back call to open schools in England by Feb 22

Among the 18 Tories who signed the pledge that „All schools should open full-time to all pupils from Feb 22 to March 8 are former Cabinet minister Esther McVey, ex-ministers Steve Baker, Tim Loughton and Harriet Baldwin, and chairman of the 1922 committee of backbench Conservative MPs Sir Graham Brady.

05.02.2021 - 21:32 [ Clarity / Twitter ]

The flu abruptly disappeared in March of 2020. It disappeared at about the exact same time covid-19 testing and detection ramped up. See the timing overlay below

04.02.2021 - 21:49 [ Daily Mail U.K. / Twitter ]

70 Tory MPs demand a route out of lockdown amid fears Boris is being ‚beaten up by the scientists‘

04.02.2021 - 21:48 [ Standard.co.uk ]

Boris Johnson hit by Tory revolt on reopening schools sparked by Scottish return and falling Covid cases

(03.02.2021)

The new rebellion mushroomed after Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon set the pace by announcing a phased return of Scottish schools from February 22.

Tory MPs also pointed to falling case rates and evidence to Parliament from the Deputy Chief Medical Officer Jenny Harries that schools are not considered one of the major vectors of infection transmission.

02.02.2021 - 09:32 [ Telegraph.co.uk ]

Exclusive: Boris Johnson pushes to reopen schools as Covid cases fall

(today)

Boris Johnson has ordered ministers to ramp up preparations for reopening schools after being told the UK is now past the peak of the current wave of coronavirus.

The Prime Minister has made it clear that the Government’s immediate focus must be on education and is expected to announce further measures to help children catch up after almost a year of disruption.

02.02.2021 - 09:28 [ talkRADIO / Twitter ]

„We’ve got the four horsemen of the education apocalypse riding towards our pupils.“ Robert Halfon, Education Select Committee chairman, says the impact of children not being at school is huge.

(01.02.2021)

02.02.2021 - 09:24 [ Steve Baker, Member of UK Parliament / Twitter ]

700 million days of schooling were lost in 2020. And every day schools stay shut, the attainment gap widens. We must act now. Govt must #REOPENSCHOOLS or set out the harms and benefits justifying the decision to keep them closed. Join @UsforThemUK

(26.01.2021)

https://usforthem.co.uk/

01.02.2021 - 20:30 [ Washington Post ]

Why Vaccines Might Not Be Able to Eliminate Covid-19

There’s good evidence that the shots made by Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE and Moderna Inc. are very effective — as much as 95% — at preventing recipients from developing Covid-19 itself. However, data haven’t been released on their ability to prevent people from developing asymptomatic infections or transmitting the virus to others. The gold standard in vaccinology is to stop infection as well as disease, providing so-called sterilizing immunity.

01.02.2021 - 20:17 [ Glasgow Girl, Writer & published author ]

You’ll have noticed that flu has been „almost wiped out“ with cases plunging by 95% to levels not seen in more than 130 yrs. Looks like intelligence levels have dropped to levels not seen in 130 yrs. This claim is farcical. Flu has simply been rebranded.

01.02.2021 - 20:08 [ alison williams / Twitter ]

Friend works for Young’s and they got told today that Young’s pubs have heard the earliest they could possibly open would be may ! Fucking May !!!!it’s not even guaranteed that they will open then !!!

01.02.2021 - 20:04 [ Gareth Icke, Singer. Guitarist. Writer / Twitter ]

Britain has gone without a whimper. It’s citizens content to exist without existing, to live without living, and to allow the most untrustworthy among us, to determine every fine detail of their lives. All in less than 52 weeks.

01.02.2021 - 19:57 [ Bernie's Tweets / Twitter ]

BREAKING: looks like lockdown will be extended again. The country is at breaking point. This is a dreadful decision if true.

31.01.2021 - 21:07 [ Spiked ]

Lockdown has ravaged the working class

From the moment this disastrous policy was instigated, it became immediately apparent that we were not all in it together. In every single aspect of life, the working class has suffered most during lockdown. Worse still, over the course of the past year, class inequalities have grown wider and have become more entrenched. And yet, at each turn, left-wing lockdown lovers have demanded ever-more severe restrictions on people’s lives.

31.01.2021 - 20:14 [ DailyBeast.com ]

Rep. Stephen Lynch Contracts COVID After Two Pfizer Vaccine Doses

Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) announced late Friday that he had tested positive for COVID-19 more than a week after receiving his second dose of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine.

31.01.2021 - 20:06 [ Spectator.co.uk ]

The way ‘Covid deaths’ are being counted is a national scandal

(May 30, 2020)

Normally, two doctors are needed to certify a death, one of whom has been treating the patient or who knows them and has seen them recently. That has changed. For Covid-19 only, the certification can be made by a single doctor, and there is no requirement for them to have examined, or even met, the patient. A video-link consultation in the four weeks prior to death is now felt to be sufficient for death to be attributed to Covid-19.

31.01.2021 - 20:04 [ DailyMail.co.uk ]

Social distancing may remain in place ALL YEAR: Graphs show how UK could see huge spike in deaths if restrictions are lifted too early as vaccine would have to be 85% effective to stop a surge in fatalities

Grim new graphs lay bare the dilemma facing Boris Johnson’s government as officials try to work out how to reopen the country without causing a third wave of coronavirus infections, as SAGE recommends keeping social distancing measures in place until 2022.

31.01.2021 - 19:57 [ Youtube ]

Manifestation contre les restrictions sanitaires à Amsterdam après une semaine d’émeutes aux PaysBas

31.01.2021 - 19:48 [ NLtimes.nl ]

Police put an end to illegal parties in Gelderland and Flevoland

After a report about the party, officers went to the shed where the gathering took place. There the atmosphere changed and those present behaved aggressively towards the police. The guests were between 15 and 78 years old.

31.01.2021 - 05:54 [ theSun.co.uk ]

HEADS ON THE BLOC: Angela Merkel & Emmanuel Macron under fire over EU’s disastrous Covid vaccine rollout

Tory MP Peter Bone last night said: “The EU has long-term problems partly due to its its undemocratic nature.

“It’s clear that they are not serving the nations.

“It’s breakdown will depend on Germany and France and what the people in those countries think.

31.01.2021 - 04:46 [ theGuardian.com ]

Tens of thousands protest against new French security bill

Tens of thousands of protesters turned out in dozens of French cities on Saturday to oppose a security bill they say will restrict the filming and publicising of images of police brutality.

Demonstrators also protested against the restrictions imposed to halt the spread of coronavirus and to stand up for the cultural sector, which has been especially hard-hit by the measures.