Russia will close workplaces for 7 days, Latvia is locked down again, and Romanian funeral homes are running out of coffins, while vaccine-skeptic Eastern European countries record record numbers of infections and deaths.
Russia, which boasted one of the earliest produced vaccines against covid-19, failed to convince a huge number of citizens to receive it, and now records the highest daily number of victims of the pandemic.
President Vladimir Putin announced yesterday that there will be non-working days from October 30 to November 7, although wages will be paid. Some areas may have extended closures depending on local conditions.
Reuters reports that public resistance to vaccines has gripped Eastern European states that were within Moscow's orbit during the Cold War. The EU members with the lowest vaccination rates all belong to the former communist Eastern bloc, including Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Poland, Latvia and Estonia.
Romania, where one person dies from Covid-19 every five minutes, had the highest death rate per capita this week, with Bulgaria close behind. Only 36 percent of Romanian adults are vaccinated, compared to 74 percent across the EU as a whole.
"Some families have buried up to four people in two weeks, which is not easy," Sebastian Kokos, owner of a funeral home in the eastern city of Ploesti, told Reuters. He complained that they were struggling to get enough coffins.
"I recommend everyone to get vaccinated, or they will end up in our hands".
Andi Nodit, manager of Bagdasar-Arseni Hospital in Bucharest, said: "The scale and severity of the situation in the emergency unit and in the hospital cannot be expressed in words."
The Prime Minister of Serbia, Ana Brnabić, said yesterday that in order to suppress the coronavirus epidemic, from Saturday only those who have valid covid certificates will be able to enter catering establishments after 22.00:XNUMX p.m.
"The epidemic situation is still catastrophic and is not calming down," said Brnabić and added that non-compliance with anti-epidemic measures, as well as a weak response to vaccinations, contribute to this.
A XNUMX-year-old high school student in Kruševac, who tested positive for the coronavirus, died on Tuesday.
In Serbia, which is struggling with about six thousand cases of infection per day, so far only about 50 percent of citizens have received two doses of the vaccine.
On Tuesday, Slovakia reported the highest number of new infections since March 9, and the Czech Republic reported that the number of new cases exceeded three thousand for the first time since the end of April.
The first new lockdown in the EU
Latvia imposed a month-long lockdown this Sunday, becoming the first EU member to lock down again since the bloc began reopening this year as vaccines became widely available.
The Baltic state has one of the highest rates of new infections per capita in the world, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, after successfully containing the virus for months.
"Our health system is in danger... The only way to get out of this crisis is to get vaccinated," said Prime Minister Krišjanis Karinš on Monday evening.
"I have to apologize to the citizens who were vaccinated," said Karinš.
Latvia has long been considered one of Europe's best coronavirus success stories, and has recorded fewer than three thousand deaths since the pandemic began. Critics say the slow and uneven rate of vaccination has led to an increase in the number of infected people.
Iljze Vinkele, the former minister of health who oversaw the first two waves of the coronavirus in the country, told The Guardian: "We knew that certain groups, especially older citizens as well as those from poorer socioeconomic categories, were suspicious of vaccines. However, unfortunately, we have not been able to successfully address that divide”. 57 percent of 1,9 million Latvians were fully vaccinated.
Disinformation increased suspicion
Reuters reports that about a third of Latvia's population speaks Russian and that the SKDS study showed that only 46 percent of them were vaccinated. Health Minister Daniel Pavluts earlier blamed "disinformation" about vaccines in Russian-language media for skepticism among Latvia's Russian-speaking population.
Bulgaria, where only a quarter of the population has received the first dose of the vaccine, this Sunday banned entry into closed public spaces to anyone without proof of vaccination, a negative test or having recovered from Covid-19. Schools in areas with high infection rates will have to switch to online classes. The new measures aimed at curbing the contagion have met with disapproval from businesses and some politicians who are focused on the third parliamentary elections in Bulgaria this year, on November 14.
Hundreds of vaccination opponents joined some political leaders yesterday in protests in Sofia against the mandatory "green pass" to enter restaurants, theaters and shopping centers.
Poles are considering drastic measures
Poland's health minister said yesterday that "drastic measures" may be needed in response to the sudden rise in the number of infections, although a new lockdown is not being considered.
"In the past two days, we had an explosion of the pandemic," said Adam Neđelski at a press conference. "From Sunday to Sunday, we have an increase of 85 percent and over 100 percent.
Yesterday, Poland reported more than five thousand daily cases of infection for the first time since May. The vaccination program has slowed considerably in recent months, and the lower number of new infections has led many people to ignore the few restrictions that are still in place. In Poland, 61 percent of adult citizens are fully vaccinated.
Prime Minister Mateusz Moravjecki said yesterday that the authorities plan to make the third dose of the vaccine available to all adult citizens in the next few weeks.
Moscow's mayor announced Tuesday that people over 60 who have not been vaccinated will be required to stay at home for four months. The mayor's office is trying to force shopping malls to connect security cameras with a centralized facial recognition system, which would allow the authorities to enforce the wearing of masks in public, the "Komersant" daily reported.
Britain is faltering in its efforts to beat the coronavirus with vaccination, said Health Minister Sajid Javid yesterday and called on citizens to get vaccinated and receive booster doses if they meet the requirements.
"We are participating in the race between the vaccine and the virus. And, although we have an advantage, it is decreasing," Javid said, adding that five million people over the age of 16 are still unvaccinated.
The US plans to vaccinate children aged five to 11
President Joe Biden's administration yesterday unveiled a plan to vaccinate millions of children between the ages of five and 11 as soon as a vaccine is approved for them, preparing doses and locations ahead of the holiday season.
Unlike the vaccination centers used in the initial phase of immunization, the White House said it is working to train the centers in more than 100 children's hospital systems across the country, as well as clinics, pharmacies and possibly schools.
If the Pfizer/Biontek vaccine receives broader approval from the US Food and Drug Administration, the plan aims to ensure rapid and equitable immunization, the statement added.
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