In view of declining cases, Finland has decided to move up the easing of Covid curbs. Meanwhile, Pfizer’s Covid pill has received the approval of the EU drug regulator for the treatment of high-risk patients.
Finland will begin gradually easing Covid-19 restrictions from February 1 instead of mid-February as initially planned as the burden on its hospitals eases, the government said late on Thursday.
Finland will begin gradually easing Covid-19 restrictions from February 1 instead of mid-February as initially planned as the burden on its hospitals eases, the government said late on Thursday.
BURDEN ON INTENSIVE CARE UNITS HAS TAKEN A TURN IN A BETTER DIRECTION
On January 18, Prime Minister Sanna Marin said Finland would begin scaling back restrictions from mid-February, but signs of stabilization in the infection rate caused by the Omicron variant of the virus led the government to alter its plan.
“The burden on intensive care units has taken a turn in a better direction,” Finland’s minister for health and social affairs Hanna Sarkkinen told reporters.
The government decided to start the cautious easing by loosening restrictions on the hours restaurants can remain open to 9 pm from a mandatory 6 pm closure currently in place, Sarkkinen said.
It also recommended local authorities allow reopening of cultural and sports venues such as gyms, swimming pools and theaters from the beginning of February.
EU DRUG REGULATOR OK PFIZER COVID PILL FOR HIGH-RISK PATIENTS
The European Union’s drug regulator on Thursday gave the green light to Pfizer Inc’s antiviral Covid-19 pill for treating adults at risk of severe illness, as the region scrambles to boost its arsenal to fight the Omicron variant.
The endorsement by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for a conditional approval, if followed as usual by the European Commission, allows EU member states to deploy the drug after the regulator gave guidance for its emergency use late last year.
Italy, Germany and Belgium are among a handful of EU countries that have bought the drug, branded as Paxlovid. The United States in December authorized Paxlovid and Merck’s similar drug molnupiravir.
US HEALTH AGENCY HAS ‘PERSISTENT DEFICIENCIES’: WATCHDOG
The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has “persistent deficiencies” in its ability to prepare for and respond to public health emergencies, the US congressional watchdog warned in a report released on Thursday, citing concerns raised by the Covid-19 pandemic .
HHS is at “high risk” of mismanaging a future crisis, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the Congressional auditing agency, said, noting that the department failed to implement some previously made recommendations to improve its pandemic response.
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