Texas drops mask and occupancy restrictions
Texans awoke on Wednesday with a statewide mask mandate and
occupancy restrictions in businesses lifted, a move some heralded as
freedom and others as foolishness.
On paper, the rollback of coronavirus mitigation efforts is the most
sweeping seen in the United States, along with a similar measure in
Mississippi. In practice, vast swaths of Texas have rarely enforced
mask or occupancy mandates in the past year, anyway.
Several major retailers, grocery and restaurant chains in Texas said
they would still require that masks be worn in their stores.
South Korean hospitals extract extra vaccine doses
Nurses in a handful of South Korean hospitals are using specially
designed syringes to squeeze extra doses of coronavirus vaccine out
of each vial in a bid to stretch the still limited number of vials.
The practice has raised debate over medical safety and commercial
concerns from the manufacturers who charge by the dose.
But at Seoul's National Medical Center, healthcare workers say it's
actually a safe and easy process that should be a no-brainer for
countries struggling to provide enough vaccines quickly.
EU rejects accusations of 'vaccine nationalism'
European Council President Charles Michel on Tuesday rejected
charges of "vaccine nationalism" levelled against the EU, saying
that while Britain and the United States have outright bans on
exports of COVID-19 shots, the EU had not stopped exporting.
The EU has found itself under fire at home for a vaccine rollout
much slower than those of former member Britain or the United
States, and abroad for so far doing less than China, Russia or India
to supply vaccines to poor countries.
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Last week it annoyed vaccine
buyers abroad by endorsing an Italian decision
to halt a shipment to Australia.
England's test and trace not making a difference
England's $32 billion test and trace system has not made a clear
impact on the progress of COVID-19, the British parliament's Public
Accounts Committee said on Wednesday, decrying the "unimaginable"
costs of the programme.
The vast amounts spent on England's test and trace system and its
limited impact have drawn criticism, with opposition politicians
calling for it to be run by the state-run health service.
The Public Accounts Committee said that test and trace had not
achieved a key goal of avoiding a cycle of national lockdowns.
Japan to keep foreign spectators away from Olympics
Japan has decided to stage this summer's Tokyo Olympics and
Paralympics without overseas spectators due to public concern about
COVID-19, two government sources with knowledge of the matter told
Reuters on Wednesday.
The Olympics, postponed by a year because of the pandemic, are
scheduled for July 23 to Aug. 8 and the Paralympics from Aug. 24 to
Sept. 5. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has said a decision on
spectators would be made by the end of March.
The government has concluded that welcoming fans from abroad would
not be possible given public concern and the detection of more
contagious variants in many countries, the sources said.
(Compiled by Linda Noakes; Editing by Nick Macfie)
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