Coronavirus digest: France bans travelers from outside EU

France on Friday banned all travelers coming from outside the European Union, due to a continuously high infection rate and new mutations of the coronavirus. 

Travel between France and countries outside the European Union will be banned from Sunday, said Prime Minister Jean Castex. 

Exceptions would only be made for a good reason, he added. There had been discussion in recent days of a potential third lockdown in the country. Castex called the border closure "a last chance" to avoid that.

The premier also said that large shopping centers, with the exception of grocery stores, are to close from Sunday. In addition, working from home is to be increased. 

The decision to close its borders to countries outside the European Union will not, however, apply to hauliers traveling between the United Kingdom and France, British Transport Minister Grant Shapps said. 

"French PM Jean Castex has announced that France is to close its borders to all countries outside the EU from Sunday. However, I can confirm that this does NOT apply to hauliers, so trade will continue to flow smoothly," Shapps said on Twitter.

Europe

French President Emmanuel Macron said that AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine appeared not to be effective for people over 65 years old.

"Today we think that it is quasi-ineffective for people over 65," he said. "What I can tell you officially today is that the early results we have are not encouraging for 60 to 65-year-old people concerning AstraZeneca," he added.

The Czech Republic is banning foreigners from entering the country for non-essential reasons. The Foreign Ministry says the ban, which takes effect on Saturday, applies to foreigners from all countries. The country of just over 10.6 million people, has recorded over 972,000 cases and 16,000 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

Germany said pharmaceutical firms will deliver at least 5 million doses of vaccines to the country over the next three weeks.

The Health Ministry tweeted that Germany had already received 3.5 million doses and administered 2.2 million shots.

Health Minister Jens Spahn said the new figures from Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca were "good news after a difficult start." 

Germany has administered the first jab to about 2.2% of its 83 million population. Nearly half a million people had received both shots by Saturday. It's recommended the second jab be given 21 to 28 days after the first.

Meanwhile, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany has increased by 12,321 in a day, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Saturday. The death toll rose by 794 to 56,546, the tally showed.

Norway is planning to gradually relax a lockdown in and around Oslo by allowing some shops and recreational activities to reopen from February 3.

The country imposed strict measures in the capital last week after an outbreak of the more infectious COVID strain first detected in Britain. Health Minister Bent Hoeie told reporters those restrictions can start to ease because "infections are going down continuously."

Norway, one of Europe's least-affected countries, has reported 62,276 cases of the virus and 563 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

The Vatican Museums, including the Sistine Chapel, have announced they will reopen on Monday after being closed for 88 days due to restrictions — the longest closure since World War II.

Asia

Vietnam has formally approved the AstraZeneca COVID vaccine for use on its citizens. The greenlight comes as the country battles its biggest coronavirus outbreak since the pandemic began. 

Vietnam has reported 208 new infections since two locally transmitted cases were detected Thursday in the northern province of Hai Duong, where hundreds of factory workers have been isolated. New cases have since been detected in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. 

A World Health Organization team investigating the origins of the pandemic has visited the Wuhan hospital in central China which received the first confirmed COVID-19 cases. 

Team member Peter Daszak hailed the visit to the Jinyintan Hospital on day two of the mission as an "Important opportunity to talk directly w/ medics who were on the ground at that critical time fighting COVID!"

Taiwan has reported its first fatality from the coronavirus since May, bringing the island's total death toll to eight. The deceased patient was in her 80s and was one of four new cases related to a hospital cluster detected earlier this month in northern Taoyuan City. Taiwan has reported 909 coronavirus infections since the start of the pandemic.

Indonesia reported a record daily increase of 14,518 new COVID cases on Saturday, bringing its total number of infections to just over 1.06 million.

Malaysia too reported its highest rise in cases for the second straight day, with 5,728 new infections logged on Saturday. 

Americas

Colombia plans to begin a mass vaccination drive on February 20 after sealing deals to receive doses of the vaccines developed Moderna and Sinovac Biotech. President Ivan Duque said the government aimed to inoculate at least 1 million people by the end of March.

The South American country has reported more than 53,000 COVID deaths and more than 2 million cases.

People in the United States will have to wear masks on interstate transportation and at transit hubs starting Monday, according to an order issued by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The rule applies to airplanes, mass transit, taxis, trains, ride-share vehicles and subways. The directive follows an order issued by President Joe Biden on January 21 for agencies to make masks mandatory on transport. 

Canada has tightened restrictions on travelers to curb the spread of more infectious COVID variants. Under the changes announced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday, travelers will have to undergo PCR testing at their airport and quarantine in a hotel at their own expense until they receive their results.

All airline services from Canada to Mexico and the Caribbean will also be suspended until April 30.

Brazil registered 1,119 new deaths and 59,826 new cases within just 24 hours, the Health Ministry said on Friday. That brings the total of confirmed cases in the country to over 9.12 million, and deaths to 222,666.

jsi, nm, lc/sri (Reuters, AP, AFP)