Eighteen months after its appearance, the Covid-19 pandemic gave rise to new concerns on Friday June 25: a giant cluster was spotted in Spain, Israel reinstated the obligation to wear a mask in closed public places and Australia has decided to confine certain districts of Sydney.
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In Spain, a giant outbreak of Covid-19 detected after a student trip to the Balearics
A trip by Spanish students to the Balearic archipelago resulted in an infectious focus of several hundred cases of Covid-19 and the placement of several thousand young people in quarantine in seven regions of the country.
In the region of Madrid alone, 320 young people have tested positive and more than 2,000 others put in solitary confinement after a week of partying on the island of Mallorca. “Everything indicates, according to PCR tests, that it is the British variant”, named Alpha, said Friday the director of the regional health authority of Madrid, Elena Andradas.
In total, seven Spanish regions have detected cases linked to this source of contamination among their young people. Aged 17 to 19, the students from Madrid who took part in this trip “Confirm the generalized non-compliance with the compulsory wearing of a mask” during their stay in eight hotels on the Mediterranean island, said Mr.me Andradas. The employees of these hotels are being tested by the Balearic region.
This giant epidemic focus, which is making headlines in Spain, is emerging as the health situation has improved markedly in recent weeks in the country thanks to the progress of the vaccination campaign. Due to this improvement, the country has decided to lift the obligation to wear a mask outdoors from Saturday.
According to the latest government figures, a third (32.9%) of the estimated 47 million Spaniards are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, while half (50.7%) have received at least one dose of a vaccine.
Israel reinstates the obligation to wear masks in closed public places
Faced with the active circulation of the coronavirus in the country, where more than half of the population has yet received two doses of the vaccine, Israel on Friday reinstated the obligation to wear a mask in closed public places.
“Masks will be required in all places that are not outdoors, except the home”, said the Ministry of Health. Children under 7, disabled people and those practicing sports are exempt from the obligation to wear a mask indoors. Israelis are also advised to wear a sanitary mask during large outdoor gatherings.
Since Monday, the health authorities have recorded more than one hundred new Covid-19 patients every day. On Thursday, 227 new patients were identified by health authorities, according to the latest figures available. For now, 48 patients are hospitalized and 26 of them are considered severe cases, according to the Ministry of Health.
The country announced on Wednesday the postponement of the reopening of its territory to tourists “Due to concerns about the possible spread of the Delta variant”, first identified in India. In total, more than five of 9.3 million Israelis (55% of the population) have since received two doses of the vaccine.
Moscow reintroduces mandatory teleworking measures
Moscow announced on Friday the return of compulsory teleworking for at least 30% of company employees. Remote work will also be compulsory for employees over 65 and those at risk. This measure, in force during the first and second waves of the epidemic in the capital, was lifted at the end of January, but a new outbreak of cases has been recorded in the past two weeks, driven by the spread of the Delta variant and a laborious vaccination campaign.
A week earlier, Moscow had made vaccination compulsory for employees in the service sector, reintroduced restrictions and introduced a health pass. General containment, as in spring 2020, is not however envisaged. Several regions have also reintroduced restrictions.
In Australia, localized containment in districts of Sydney
In Australia, a country which has so far managed to contain the spread of Covid-19, authorities on Friday ordered the containment of four neighborhoods in central Sydney from Friday at midnight in an attempt to curb the spread of the Delta variant.
Sixty-five people have tested positive this week, all of whom had been in contact with a driver who was driving airline crews from Sydney Airport to quarantine hotels.
The Premier of New South Wales, where Sydney is located, Gladys Berejiklian, has ordered anyone living or working in areas where cases have been recorded in the past two weeks to stay confined to her home.
