From the DW:
“Covid:
Italy introduces quarantine for EU travellers”
The Italian
government is to introduce a mandatory five-day quarantine for EU travellers
over the Easter holidays, amid a third wave of infections in a number of
countries. Previously, only arrivals from outside the bloc had to self-isolate.
Tuesday's decision comes as new rules requiring all air passengers to Germany
to provide a negative coronavirus test come into effect. Germany remains under
a partial lockdown but cases continue to rise. Italy's new rules are expected
to last until Monday and will cover the Easter weekend. In Liguria, in the
north-west of the country, people have been banned from visiting their second
homes or boats over the holiday to try to reduce the virus's spread.
How is
Europe dealing with the third wave? On Tuesday, German Interior Minister
Horst Seehofer announced that the country would increase checks on its land borders
to ensure compliance with the new rules. Germany's restrictions on
travellers were first announced on Friday as the head of the country's RKI
public health institute warned that the number of daily cases could rise to
100,000 if the third wave continues.
New
Oxford-AstraZeneca suspensions In a separate development on Tuesday, the
city of Berlin announced it was halting the use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab
for people under 60 as a "precaution" after 31 cases of blood clots
were reported in Germany following vaccinations. According to German
news agency DPA, two hospitals in the capital had already stopped offering the
vaccine to women under 55 because of the risk of blood clots. The news
comes after Canada's vaccine committee announced it would stop the use of
Oxford-AstraZeneca jabs in people aged 55 and under, pending an investigation
into the rare side effects. Earlier this month, however, the European
medicines regulator found that the vaccine was "not associated" with
an increased risk of blood clots after a number of countries temporarily halted
its rollout. The body also confirmed that the benefits of the
Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine outweighed any risks, after reviewing evidence. The
UK medicines regulator MHRA said earlier this month that the available evidence
did not suggest that blood clots in veins were caused by the drug.
On Tuesday,
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and his wife Maria Serenella Cappello
received their first doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, after the country
resumed use of the jab. The EU's rollout of its inoculation programme
initially faced delays because of issues with deliveries and production but
member states are now ramping up vaccinations. Mr Draghi has said vaccinations
in Italy will increase to half a million a day in April. Meanwhile,
Sicily's health chief Ruggero Razza has resigned and several other officials
have been placed under house arrest over allegations that the region doctored
Covid-19 test and infection numbers to avoid a lockdown. Carabinieri
military police are investigating an alleged wiretap involving an official
being told to "spread out a little" Covid-related deaths. A
number of areas of Italy have been designated as red zones and been placed
under lockdown, but the whole country faces a three-day Easter lockdown from
Saturday.
Other
European travel restrictions Since Sunday, passengers entering Germany from
France have had to submit a negative test and remain in quarantine for 10 days,
after German authorities designated the whole of the country a high-risk area.
Germany's new rules have caused a headache for the thousands of German
tourists who travelled to Majorca ahead of the Easter weekend, despite their
government's advice to avoid foreign travel. Spain has also changed its
rules for certain countries, with people arriving from France by land requiring
a negative Covid test. However, the government in Spain has relaxed its
restrictions to allow UK travellers to enter the country from Tuesday -
although UK rules preventing travel abroad for tourism remain in place.
^ The EU has
really messed-up in preventing and dealing with its now Third Wave. ^
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