Direct | America’s Corona expert: The epidemic may end in April | Interior

Follow the latest Corona news in this live blog.

7:00 pm – Americans can “resume their normal lives” in April

The Coronavirus could have largely disappeared by April. This says Professor and Surgeon Marty McCurry, affiliated with Johns Hopkins University, reports The New York Post.

McCurry, who teaches at the University’s School of Medicine and Bloomberg School of Public Health, wrote in an opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal on Friday that the number of daily infections in America has fallen 77 percent since January.

“There is reason to believe that the country is heading towards a very low infection rate,” McCurry said. “Because there are more and more infected people who have only mild or no symptoms, there are fewer Americans who could become infected. If this trend continues, I expect Covid-19 to be largely gone by April, allowing Americans to resume. Their normal life. “

“Vaccinations and the large number of people who have already been infected in the United States – more than 28 million – could contribute to herd immunity this spring,” says McCurry.

According to McCurry, this happens when enough people become immune to a virus that stops its spread. McCurry also said it would protect against the spread of new strains of coronavirus. “If the chain of transmission of the virus is interrupted in several places, the spread of the virus will be more difficult.” According to McCurry, this also applies to the new variants.

9:41 a.m. Russia approves a third coronavirus vaccine

Russia approved a third coronavirus vaccine under the brand name CoviVac for domestic use on Saturday, although there have been no extensive testing yet. Prime Minister Mikhail Michushin announced the third vaccine – after Sputnik V and EpiVacCorona, which were introduced last month – on national television. The Prime Minister said: “Russia today is the only country that already has three vaccines against Covid-19.”

The vaccine was approved, like the previous one, before the intensive testing phase was completed. This has led to suspicion among Western scientists, but the first two vaccines have been shown to be successful despite the lack of an intense third phase testing and control.

Russia announced 12,953 new cases of infection in the past 24 hours, Saturday. Moreover, 480 people have died from Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 82,876. 4.1 million cases of corona have been diagnosed in Russia so far.

5:56 a.m. Again, more than 9,000 injuries in Germany

In Germany, 9,164 new cases of coronavirus were recorded during the past 24 hours. There have been 490 deaths from the virus, according to reports by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the German equivalent of RIVM.

The number of infections is slightly higher than it was on Friday, when it comes to 913 new infections. On Thursday, the number of new infections reached 10,207, compared to 7,556 cases of corona on Wednesday. In total, 2378883 injuries were recorded in Germany. The death toll has reached 67,696. Health Minister Jens Spahn recently warned that the UK’s most contagious coronavirus variant is progressing.

Germany is currently under lockdown to prevent the spread of the lung virus and will continue until at least March 7. The authorities also extended the entry ban this week from countries with many cases of the Corona mutations. These include the United Kingdom and South Africa.

03:48 am Bonaire extends Corona procedures by two weeks

On Friday, the Bonaire government announced an extension of the current Corona measures for two weeks. During the Corona procedures, private meetings with more than ten people are not allowed, and people should work from home as much as possible, and people who have a communication profession are required to wear a mouth mask. There have been 18 cases of corona recorded on the island, of which no person has been hospitalized.

First Lieutenant Governor Edison Regna stressed that the number of casualties has increased this week and that the island must therefore be careful and not take any risks. Last week, seven injuries were recorded, a week before the eighth.

The first Corona vaccines arrived in Bonaire last Tuesday. The vaccination will start on Monday. First, people over the age of 60 and people who work in the healthcare sector are discussed. More than 20 thousand people live in Bonaire.

01:52 am Argentine minister resigns after vaccination clash

The Argentine health minister resigned on Friday (local time) after it emerged that some of his friends had received priority vaccinations. President Alberto Fernandez is said to have requested his resignation. So far, only health workers have been vaccinated in Argentina, and vaccinations for those over 70 began only Wednesday in the province of Buenos Aires.

The scandal erupted after 71-year-old journalist Horacio Verbitsky announced on the radio that thanks to his long friendship with Health Minister Gines Gonzalez Garcia, he was already vaccinated in the minister’s office. Local media reported that other people with links to the government were also vaccinated at the Ministry of Health.

Officials said Fernandez ordered his chief of staff to request the minister’s resignation. The minister announced later that he would resign.

Argentina, which has a population of 44 million, has recorded nearly 2 million cases of Covid-19 and has suffered more than 50,000 deaths.

12:57 a.m. The pollen has reached all of the Caribbean islands

Coronavirus vaccines sent from the Netherlands to Saint Martin, Saint Eustatius and Saba were also delivered on Friday afternoon (local time). Earlier this week, Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao had already received the first shipments. Vaccination began immediately in Aruba. Bonaire and Saint Martin start on Monday, and the program begins on Wednesday in Curaçao.

In Aruba, Curaçao, Bonaire and Saint Martin, health care workers and people over the age of 60 are vaccinated. Pfizer vaccines are delivered to those islands. Saba and Saint Eustatius received a total of 3,100 Moderna vaccines. In Sapa, a private helicopter arrived on the island from Saint Martin, while a small plane carrying vaccines landed at Saint Eustatius. Both islands want to give an injection to all adults starting Monday.

A large portion of the population in Saba is already registered for this purpose, over 1,200 adults out of around 2,000 people. There are many people waiting in Saint Eustatius. Of the more than 3,000 residents, a little over four hundred were registered. The government hopes more people will register before vaccination actually begins.

On both islands, it was stressed that it is very important for many people to be vaccinated, as they do not have the medical facilities in the event of an outbreak. Once a large portion of the population is vaccinated, tourism can return again. Saba and Saint Eustatius have had very few injuries since last March. But for a long time, there were very strict rules for visitors from abroad on both islands.

You’ll find the live blog here on Friday, February 19

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