LJUBLJANA, Slovenia – A group of virus deniers and anti-vaccine protesters have broken into the building of the Slovenian public broadcaster, prompting a police intervention.
The clash took place on Friday night in the Slovenian capital, Ljubljana. Local media claim that about 20 people broke into the RTV Slovenia building and managed to break into a news studio before police arrived and expelled them.
The study was not on the air when protesters stormed in to demand that they be allowed to spread their views. Opponents of the vaccines have been gathering outside the building for months, and often upset journalists who come or sell from work, the STA news agency reported.
RTVS chief Andrej Grah Whatmough described Friday’s incident as “a serious attack on our home media and public media, which we condemn in the strongest terms”. Whatmough says RTVS management will bolster security.
In recent weeks, Slovenia has seen an increase in reported daily cases and hospitalizations of COVID-19.
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MORE ON PANDEMIC:
– Brazil starts firing while many are still waiting for a second shot
– The virus hits French Polynesia, tightening ties with Paris
– The US reinforcement plan faces complications, some may be missing Beginning of September 20th
– American hospitals receive nursing staff crisis; some travel to pay more
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– Find more AP coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic and https://apnews.com/hub/coronvirus-vaccine
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HERE IS WHAT HAPPENS MOST:
PARIS – New Caledonia, a French archipelago in the South Pacific, voted to make vaccination mandatory on the islands.
According to the New Caledonian government, the archipelago has had no new COVID-19 cases since August 18 and only a total of 136 since the start of the pandemic. However, only 1 in 4 people is completely vaccinated.
The New Caledonia measure was passed by the local legislature overnight Thursday through Friday. Penalties for infringements will be established from 2022.
The territory is drafting a list of front-line workers, jobs related to seaports, airports, “sensitive sectors” or people at risk who will have to be vaccinated.
New Caledonia fears experiencing the devastating outbreak in French Polynesia after more than a year with limited cases and deaths.
Although France has required the use of COVID-19 health certificates in most of its territory since early August, the requirement did not apply to New Caledonia.
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WELLINGTON, New Zealand – New Zealand reported its first coronavirus death in more than six months on Saturday, while the number of new cases continued to decline.
Health officials said the woman who died was about 90 years old and had underlying health problems.
Authorities reported 20 new community cases, all in Auckland’s largest city.
New Zealand remains blocked in trying to eliminate an outbreak of the delta variant that began last month.
New cases of the outbreak have been steadily falling from a high of over 80 every day. So far, New Zealand has escaped the worst of the pandemic and has reported only 27 coronavirus deaths since it began.
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SAO PAULO – Some cities in Brazil offer booster shots of the COVID-19 vaccine, although most people have not yet received the second shot.
The move reflects the country’s concern about the highly contagious delta variant. Rio de Janeiro, currently Brazil’s epicenter for the variant and home to one of its largest elderly populations, began administering the boosters on Wednesday.
The northeastern cities of Salvador and Sao Luis began on Monday and the most populous city in Sao Paulo will begin on September 6th. The rest of the nation will follow next week.
France, Italy, China and Chile are among the countries that offer drivers, but much larger proportions of their populations are fully inoculated than 30% in Brazil.
A U.S. plan to begin delivery of booster shots on Sept. 20 for most Americans faces complications that could delay third doses for those who received the Modern vaccine, officials said Friday. the administration.
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PAPEETE, Tahiti: France’s worst coronavirus outbreak is developing in 12 areas of Paris, devastating Tahiti and other idyllic islands in French Polynesia.
There are not enough oxygen, ICU beds and morgue space in the South Pacific archipelagos, and their vaccination rate is barely half the national average. Simultaneous outbreaks on remote islands and atolls are tightening the capacity of local authorities to evacuate patients to the few hospitals in the territory.
“The problem is that there are a lot of deaths before we get there,” lamented Vincent Simon, the head of the regional emergency service.
French Polynesia is France’s latest challenge in juggling resources to combat the pandemic of the former colonies that are spreading around the world. With more than 2,800 cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 population, it holds the national record for the highest infection rate.
And that’s just an estimate: things are so bad that the multiethnic territory of some 300,000 residents stopped counting new infections while local health authorities reassigned medical staff to focus on patient care and vaccination. instead of testing.
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MADRID – Spain modifies travel entry rules from next week to require vaccination certificates for US tourists, adapting to recent European Union advice on stricter rules due to growing anxiety for coronavirus infection in the US
The European Council’s decision earlier this week to remove the United States from a safe list of countries for non-essential travel also came amid unanswered calls from European officials for “reciprocity” in travel rules. . Despite the EU’s move to open its borders to US citizens in June, the United States did not allow EU tourists to enter.
Spain, one of the main tourist destinations, is among a handful of EU countries that have announced measures to adjust their entry rules to the Council’s recommendation.
The country published the new guidelines in its official bulletin on Friday, also removing Israel, Kosovo, Lebanon, Montenegro and northern Macedonia from the safe list.
According to the rules, American tourists will stop entering from Monday, September 6, unless they can prove that they are fully vaccinated at least 14 days before the trip.
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ATLANTA – A crisis in the nursing staff is forcing many U.S. hospitals to pay the best dollars to get reinforcements to deal with COVID-19 patients falling in love this summer.
The problem, according to health leaders, is twofold: nurses quit smoking or retire, exhausted or demoralized by the crisis. Many go to lucrative temporary jobs with travel nursing agencies that can pay $ 5,000 or more a week.
In Texas, more than 6,000 travel nurses have flooded the state to help through a state-supported program. But at the same time that 19 travel nurses began working at a hospital in the northern part of the state, another 20 nurses warned they would leave on a travel contract, said Carrie Kroll, vice president of the Texas Hospital Association.
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WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden’s plan to begin delivery of booster shots before Sept. 20 for most Americans who received COVID-19 vaccines faces complications that could delay the availability of those who received them the Modern vaccine, administration officials said Friday.
Biden announced last month that his administration was preparing to administer reinforcements to provide more lasting protection against coronavirus, pending approvals from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration. He recommended boosters eight months after the second shot.
However, these agencies are waiting for critical data before signing the third doses, with Moderna’s vaccine increasingly unlikely to arrive on September 20th.
According to an official, Moderna produced inadequate data for the FDA and CDC to approve the third dose of their vaccine. The FDA has requested additional data that will likely delay these boosters in October. Pfizer is continuing the review process, with a review of the FDA panel on impellers on Sept. 17.
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MADISON, Russia. – The $ 100 Wisconsin Reward Program for those receiving the COVID-19 vaccine will be extended for two weeks through Sept. 19.
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers says expanding the incentive will give more people a chance to get vaccinated. The program began on August 20 and was initially scheduled to end on Monday.
Between August 20 and September 1, more than 65,000 people received their first dose. Evers launched the program amid an increase in cases across the state caused by the most infectious delta variant. The level of new cases and hospitalizations is at a level not seen since January.
On August 22, the day before Evers announced the program, the average seven-day vaccination in Wisconsin was 8,360. That grew to 9,712 as of Wednesday. More than 3 million people are completely vaccinated in Wisconsin, about 52% of the total population. Among adults over the age of 18, more than 62% are fully vaccinated.
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NEW YORK: There will be celebrations and gloomy reflections as American Jews observe the coming holy days. There will also be disappointments, as rabbis again cancel or limit worship in person due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The main culprit is the rapidly spreading delta variant of the coronavirus. Its increase has dropped general hopes that this year’s celebrations, unlike those of 2020, could once again fill the synagogues of congregants who worshiped side by side. A Florida rabbi has decided to hold only virtual services during holy days.
Other synagogues offer a combination of virtual and face-to-face offerings. Beth El Temple in Augusta, Maine, will need masks inside the synagogue. Workers also erected a large tent in the courtyard for an outdoor service on Sept. 7.