More than 292 million people have tested positive for the virus worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University. More than 5.4 million infected people have died. More than 9.2 billion vaccine doses have been administered so far.
Thailand will not relax entry rules tightened before Christmas until at least the end of the month. That’s what Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said Tuesday (Jan. 4), according to the Bangkok Post. The government had decided on Dec. 21 to initially suspend until Jan. 4 the quarantine-free “Test&Go” model, under which fully vaccinated tourists since November had only to take a PCR test upon entry and then wait one night at their hotel for the result. Holidaymakers who had already registered for entry were allowed to travel to Thailand as planned. They are still allowed to do so, but only until January 10. New registrations are currently no longer accepted. Those who still want to come must spend seven or ten days in quarantine – depending on their country of origin and vaccination status. The sandbox model on the largest island of Phuket, which has been in operation since July and allows fully vaccinated tourists to take a quarantine-free vacation under certain conditions, continues to run.
In view of numerous Corona cases on ships, cruise operations in Brazil will be suspended until January 21. The Brazilian offshoot of industry association Clia announced the decision Monday (Jan. 3), stressing it was voluntary. It would apply immediately to new sailings – ships already underway would complete their voyages as planned. Because of corona cases on board, the health monitoring agency Anvisa had ordered the cancellation of two cruises and recommended the Ministry of Health to temporarily end the cruise season, according to its own information. Anvisa also announced investigations into the two cruise companies operating in Brazil – MSC Cruises of Switzerland and Costa Crociere of Italy – for possible non-compliance with health regulations. Between Dec. 26 and Jan. 3, a total of 798 people had tested positive among passengers and crews of the five cruise ships in Brazil.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted emergency approval for Pfizer/Biontech’s booster for adolescents between the ages of 12 and 15. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also reduced the recommended interval between the second and third doses of the mRNA vaccine against coronavirus to five months. The FDA said Monday (Jan. 3) that immunocompromised children aged 5 to 11 years could also receive a third vaccination 28 days after the second dose.
- source: nzz.ch/picture: pixabay.com
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