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EU considers alignment on China passengers as COVID cases surge

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EU considers alignment on China passengers as COVID cases surge

European Union nations will attempt to construct a coordinated method to incoming airline passengers from China because the world’s most populous nation is hit by a wave of COVID-19 infections and as a number of EU member nations introduced particular person efforts over the previous week.

China’s abrupt U-turn on COVID controls in early December and the accuracy of its official COVID information have come beneath scrutiny at house and abroad, prompting a lot of international locations to impose journey curbs on travellers from China out of worry of introducing new variants.

Some worldwide well being specialists have predicted that a couple of million deaths are potential because the virus is now spreading unchecked since Beijing dropped its strict “zero-COVID” insurance policies final month.

Sweden, which holds the rotating EU presidency, stated officers from the member states will maintain an Built-in Political Disaster Response assembly on Wednesday to see if entry necessities all through the bloc are mandatory for guests from China.

“It is necessary that we get the required measures in place shortly,” Swedish Well being Minister Jakob Forssmed stated on Monday.

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Belgium stated late on Monday that it could be checking wastewater from planes arriving in from China to see if assessments revealed new clues about any probably harmful variants amongst incoming passengers. It added that it could urge guests from China who really feel unwell to take a COVID take a look at.

Belgian well being minister Frank Vandenbroucke stated extra wanted to be carried out, however solely in a coordinated method among the many EU’s 27 member states.

“It might be a superb sign towards China if all EU nations would say collectively: ‘Should you come to Europe it’s a must to be examined first,’” he informed VRT community.

France, Spain and Italy have already introduced independently that they are going to be implementing harder COVID measures for passengers from China.

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France’s authorities is requiring damaging assessments, is urging French residents to keep away from nonessential journey to China and is reintroducing masks necessities on flights from China to France.

Spain’s authorities stated it could require all air passengers coming from China to have damaging assessments or proof of vaccination.

Italy was the primary EU member to require COVID assessments for airline passengers coming from China, however a number of others say such measures may not be the easiest way to guard native populations since variants now coming from China have already been round in Europe, usually for months.

The US introduced new COVID testing necessities final week for all travellers from China, becoming a member of some Asian nations that had imposed restrictions due to a surge of infections.

China’s state media slams Europe’s ‘political logic’

The World Well being Group on Friday urged China’s well being officers to recurrently share particular and real-time info on the COVID state of affairs, together with hospitalisations, deaths and vaccinations.

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It invited Chinese language scientists to current detailed information on viral sequencing at a gathering of a technical advisory group scheduled for Tuesday.

China reported three new COVID deaths for Monday, up from one on Sunday. Its official dying toll for the reason that pandemic started now stands at 5,253.

China has rejected criticism of its COVID information and stated that whereas new mutations could also be extra infectious, they’re much less dangerous.

“Based on the political logic of some individuals in Europe and the USA, whether or not China opens or doesn’t open is equally the improper factor to do,” state-run CCTV stated in a commentary late on Monday.

In an article on Tuesday, Folks’s Every day, the official newspaper of the Communist Social gathering, cited a number of Chinese language specialists as saying the sickness attributable to the virus was comparatively delicate for most individuals.

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“Extreme and significant sicknesses account for 3% to 4% of contaminated sufferers at present admitted to designated hospitals in Beijing,” Tong Zhaohui, Vice President of Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, informed the newspaper.

Regardless of the upbeat tone of China’s state media, others have been warning that the worst is but to come back.

“China is getting into probably the most harmful weeks of the pandemic,” warned analysts at Capital Economics.

“The authorities are making nearly no efforts now to sluggish the unfold of infections and, with the migration forward of Lunar New 12 months getting began, any elements of the nation not at present in a serious COVID wave will probably be quickly,” they stated.

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Christmas in Puerto Rico is a 45-day celebration with caroling, festive decorations, family feasts and more

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Christmas in Puerto Rico is a 45-day celebration with caroling, festive decorations, family feasts and more

Christmas, Navidad in Puerto Rico, extends far beyond Dec. 25. 

The island proudly proclaims itself as having the “longest holiday season in the world,” according to the website Discover Puerto Rico. 

On average, the holiday festivities in Puerto Rico last about 45 days, per the source, commencing right after Thanksgiving, and stretching all the way through mid-January. 

The Christmas season in Puerto Rico typically lasts around 45 days. (iStock)

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The holiday season in Puerto Rico is full of rich traditions beloved by families. 

One tradition those who visit Puerto Rico will immediately notice during the holiday season is decorations. 

In Puerto Rico, decorations are typically put up by Thanksgiving, and kept up until the season concludes in mid-January, with opportune picture moments at every corner. 

Parrandas, Christmas caroling, is a holiday staple. 

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Carolers choose houses of family and friends to visit, typically starting around 10 p.m., performing aguinaldos (traditional Christmas songs), with not only their voices, but often with instruments as well, according to Discover Puerto Rico. 

The group you begin caroling with is likely not the same group you end with. 

In Puerto Rico, when carolers visit a house, they’ll often stop inside for conversation, food and drink before moving to the next residence. 

Coquito

Coquito is a popular beverage enjoyed during the holiday season in Puerto Rico. Coconut, vanilla and rum are among the ingredients. (Mayra Beltran/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)

Usually, the residences of the house visited will join the group for the next house, according to Discover Puerto Rico. 

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A night of serenading loved ones can last quite a while, often stretching into the early morning hours of the following day, according to the source. 

The biggest day of the holiday season in Puerto Rico actually isn’t Christmas, but instead, the night before. 

In Puerto Rico, Dec. 24 is Nochebuena. On that day, loved ones gather for the exchange of gifts, caroling and a large feast. 

Many families will also attend a midnight Mass on the day, known as Misa de Gallo. 

FLIGHT ATTENDANTS REVEAL THE SURPRISING DAY TO TRAVEL AHEAD OF THE CHRISTMAS RUSH

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After Christmas passes, the festivities go on in Puerto Rico. 

Another big event in the holiday lineup is Three Kings Day on Jan. 6, a holiday that “commemorates the visit that the Three Wise Men paid to Jesus after his birth,” according to Discover Puerto Rico. 

On the eve of the day, children fill up a shoebox with grass to be left for camels to munch on while the Three Kings leave behind gifts for them, according to PuertoRico.com. 

For a particularly festive Three Kings Day, Juana Díaz is the place to go, as it hosts the largest celebration in Puerto Rico for the holiday. In Juana Díaz, there is an annual festival and parade in honor of Three Kings Day that brings together over 25,000 people every year, according to Discover Puerto Rico. 

Woman Wrapping Christmas Gifts

Gifts are primarily exchanged between loved ones on Christmas Eve in Puerto Rico. (iStock)

 

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Then, eight days later is Octavitas, a post-holiday celebration where families get together and celebrate one last time for the season. 

The end of the holiday season is marked with the San Sebastián Street Festival.

This festival, spanning over multiple days, takes place in Old San Juan, and is filled with live music, dancing, shopping and parades. 

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Small plane crashes into Brazil town popular with tourists, killing 10

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Small plane crashes into Brazil town popular with tourists, killing 10

Twin-engine plane crashed in largely residential neighborhood of Gramado shortly after takeoff, authorities say.

A small plane has crashed into a tourist hotspot in southern Brazil, killing all 10 people on board and injuring more than a dozen people on the ground, officials have said.

The twin-engine Piper PA-42-1000 hit the chimney of a home and the second floor of a different house before crashing into a shop in a largely residential neighbourhood of Gramado shortly after takeoff from Canela, Brazil’s Civil Defense agency said on Sunday.

Rio Grande do Sul Governor Eduardo Leite told a news conference that the aircraft’s owner and pilot, Luiz Claudio Galeazzi, was killed along with nine members of his family.

Leite said that 17 people on the ground were injured, 12 of whom were still receiving treatment in hospital.

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Galeazzi’s company, Galeazzi & Associados, confirmed that its CEO and Galeazzi’s wife and three daughters had died in the crash.

“Luiz Galeazzi will be forever remembered for his dedication to his family and for his remarkable career as a leader of Galeazzi & Associados,” the company said in a post on LinkedIn.

“In this moment of immense pain, Galeazzi & Associados is deeply grateful for the expressions of solidarity and affection received from friends, colleagues and the community. We also sympathize with all those affected by the accident in the region.”

Gramado, located in the Serra Gaucha mountains, is a popular destination for vacationers, especially during the Christmas season.

The crash comes a little more than a year after Brazil suffered its worst air disaster in nearly two decades when a twin-engine plane crashed in the southeastern city of Vinhedo, killing all 62 people on board.

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Memes, Jokes and Cats: South Koreans Use Parody for Political Protest

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Memes, Jokes and Cats: South Koreans Use Parody for Political Protest

As South Koreans took to the streets this month demanding the ousting of their president, some found an unexpected outlet to express their fury: jokes and satire.

They hoisted banners and flags with whimsical messages about cats, sea otters and food. They waved signs joking that President Yoon Suk Yeol’s declaration of martial law had forced them to leave the comfort of their beds. Pictures of the flags spread widely on social media.

The idea was to use humor to build solidarity against Mr. Yoon, who has vowed to fight his impeachment over his ill-fated martial law decree on Dec. 3. Some waved flags for nonexistent groups like the so-called Dumpling Association, a parody of real groups like labor unions, churches or student clubs.

Video by Yu Young Jin/The New York Times

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Photos by Weiyi Cai/The New York Times

“I just wanted to show that we were here as part of the people even if we aren’t actually a part of a civic group,” said Kim Sae-rim, 28, who waved the flag of the dumpling group at a recent protest she went to with friends. Some groups referred to other local favorites like pizza and red bean pastries.

Kwon Oh-hyouck, a veteran protester, said that he had first seen such flags emerge during demonstrations in 2016 and 2017 that ultimately resulted in the removal of President Park Geun-hye. Mr. Kwon said that satire was part of the Korean spirit of protest.

“People satirize serious situations, even when those in power come out with guns and knives,” he said. “They are not intimidated.”

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In the past month, protesters have come up with a wide range of unorthodox groupings. Some were self-proclaimed homebodies. Still others came together as people who suffered from motion sickness.

Video by Chang W. Lee/The New York Times

Photos by Weiyi Cai/The New York Times

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Video by Weiyi Cai/The New York Times

Photo by Chang W. Lee/The New York Times

Lee Kihoon, a professor of modern Korean history at Yonsei University in Seoul, said that he believed the flags at this month’s protests were an expression of the diversity of people galvanized by the president’s attempt to impose military rule.

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“They’re trying to say: ‘Even for those of us who have nothing to do with political groups, this situation is unacceptable,’” he said. “‘I’m not a member of a party or anything, but this is outrageous.’”

Some held signs ridiculing Mr. Yoon, saying that he had separated them from their pets at home and disrupted their routine of watching Korean dramas. One group called itself a union of people running behind schedule, referring to the idea that the need to protest over martial law had forced them to reschedule their appointments.

Photo by Weiyi Cai/The New York Times

Photo by Chang W. Lee/The New York Times

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And of course, there were animals, both real and fake.

Photos by Weiyi Cai/The New York Times

South Koreans have shown that protests for serious causes — like the ousting of a president — can still have an inviting, optimistic and carnival-like atmosphere.

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“I don’t know if the protesters realize it, but even though they’re angry, they haven’t gotten solemn, heavy or moralistic,” Mr. Lee said. “The flags have had an effect of softening and relaxing the tension.”

On the day that lawmakers voted to impeach Mr. Yoon, protesters who were K-pop fans brought lightsticks to rallies and danced to pop songs blasting from speakers. “Even though this is a serious day,” said Lee Jung-min, a 31-year-old fan of the band Big Bang, “we might as well enjoy it and keep spirits up.”

Video by Chang W. Lee/The New York Times

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