Despite record COVID surge, Europeans ease rules for key services

MADRID/KAYUNGA, Uganda, Jan 10 (Reuters) – European governments are relaxing COVID-19 rules to keep hospitals, schools and emergency services going as the much more contagious but less lethal Omicron variant changes their approach to the pandemic.

Even though a rapid surge in infections has yet to peak in Europe, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said the time was right to start evaluating the disease’s evolution “with different parameters”. read more

The mass return of children to school after the Christmas holidays is evidence that few wish to see a return to the days of online-only learning that marked some of the early waves of infection.

In Uganda, students returned to institutions shut nearly two years ago. The lockout helped to control the pandemic – with only 3,300 deaths recorded – but the government estimates about a third of pupils will never return.

“We faced temptations,” said 16-year-old Rachael Nalwanga, happily returning to classes while many of her former schoolmates worked in new jobs or cared for new babies. “It has not been easy for me to keep safe at home for this long but I thank God,” she told Reuters in the town of Kayunga. read more

Governments in Europe also imposed severe lockdowns in the first phases of the pandemic – with enormous damage to economies – but now want to avoid that, knowing that Omicron is putting far fewer people in hospital, not least because many or most are vaccinated.

STAFFING CRISES

They are also suffering immediate staff shortages in essential services as Omicron drives a steep surge in positive tests.

Britain began using military personnel to support healthcare and alerted its biggest private health company that it might be required to deliver treatments including cancer surgery should matters worsen. read more

Spain was bringing back retired medics. In Italy, the challenge of nearly 13,000 health workers being absent with positive COVID-19 tests was compounded by suspensions for non-vaccination.

Britain, Switzerland, Spain and Belgium have all slashed quarantine periods and eased some conditions for staff to return to work.

The Czech Republic followed suit on Monday, saying critical staff including teachers, social workers and doctors could keep working even after testing positive.

Since before Christmas, Spain has let staff return to work without taking a test.

The Health Ministry has also set a viral load threshold below which an infected person who takes a PCR test can be considered non-infectious, and so fit to work – enabling medics, social workers and some police to report for duty even if they test positive.

As school classes resumed in Spain, Italy, Portugal, the Netherlands and parts of Germany, youngsters faced an array of measures from masks and fans in classrooms to parents not being allowed past the gates and the prospect of a return to home learning if the number of cases exceeded certain limits.

‘PART OF OUR LIVES’

Some parents fretted that their children might be exposed, but others were relieved.

“I think this (pandemic) will always be part of our lives so it’s important for them to socialise,” said Ana Amado, 33, dropping off her 11-year-old, Miguel, at a school in Lisbon.

And increasingly, there is hope of an end to the nightmare.

The variant is waning in southern Africa, where it was first detected in November.

One former senior World Health Organization (WHO) official predicted that Omicron would be the pandemic’s last big kick.

“Pandemics don’t end with a huge boom but with small waves because so many have been infected or vaccinated,” Rafael Bengoa, also co-founder of Bilbao’s Institute for Health and Strategy, told Reuters. “After Omicron we shouldn’t have to be concerned with anything more than small waves.”

Passions over vaccines have been stoked by the saga of Serbia’s world tennis No.1 Djokovic. He was freed from immigration detention after winning a legal case to stay in Australia where he is chasing a record-breaking 21st Grand Slam.

Djokovic, an opponent of mandatory vaccination, had been held in a row over a medical exemption to let him play in the upcoming Australian Open. read more

There were political frictions in France, too, where ruling party member Stephane Claireaux said he had been attacked by protesters demonstrating against COVID health passes. read more

Pope Francis weighed into the debate, backing immunisation and warning against ideological stances bolstered by “baseless information” and “poorly documented facts”. read more

Australia, which had been relatively shielded, surpassed 1 million cases, with more than half in the past week.

India, too, has seen an eight-fold rise in daily infections over the past 10 days, though hospitalisations are far lower than in the previous wave, driven by the Delta variant. read more

Reporting by Clara-Laeila Laudette, Nathan Allen and Inti Landauro in Madrid; Elias Biryabarema in Kayunga; Alistair Smout in London; Emilio Parodi in Milan; Phil Pullella in Rome; Anthony Deutsch in Amsterdam; Krishna N. Das in New Delhi; Catarina Demony in Lisbon; Jason Hovet in Prague; Writing by Andrew Cawthorne; Editing by Catherine Evans and Kevin Liffey

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