The coronavirus epidemic is on the rise in Europe, due to the relaxation of barrier gestures, low temperatures, insufficient vaccination coverage and the presence of the Delta variant. Some cities in countries like Austria are reconfining themselves and in France 6,000 classes are closed in schools for cases of Covid-19. The WHO announced Tuesday, November 23 that it fears 700,000 additional deaths on the continent, bringing the total number of deaths to 2.2 million by the spring. Globally, the pandemic has killed more than 5 million people since the WHO office in China reported the onset of the disease at the end of December 2019. As the virus takes hold, some countries are radically changing their strategy to try to overcome it.
In Kenya, the introduction of the health pass
Kenya is in line with the strategy of many European countries and now requires a health pass. From December 21, it will no longer be possible to access public services, public transport or public places without proof of vaccination. The current health situation is however rather good in the country with the rate of contamination between 0.8 and 2%. There is no saturation of hospitals. However, the government is tightening the screws as the end of the year holidays approach because it wants to avoid a new boom in contaminations after the large gatherings on the occasion of Christmas and the New Year.
The Kenyan executive has an ambitious goal: to vaccinate 10 million people by the end of December. This therefore seems difficult to achieve because to date, only 6 million Kenyans, or 10% of the population, are vaccinated. About 4 million doses remain available and the government expects an additional 8 million soon, which is not enough to immunize the remaining over 20 million Kenyans. In a city like Nairobi, it is quite easy to find a health center, but as soon as you leave the capital it gets complicated. It sometimes takes a whole day for Kenyans to find a hospital. We do not see how, in a month, all of this will be unlocked.
Faced with this situation, it is consternation and anger that prevail among the population. The health pass is considered far too restrictive. It prohibits access to hospitals, education, administration offices, public transport, not to mention bars, restaurants, and other public places. The NGO Amnesty International has therefore stepped up to the plate and calls on the Kenyan government to abandon these coercive measures and to work more on raising awareness among the population, while rumors and other misinformation around the vaccine are circulating happily in the country.
In New Zealand, end of the zero Covid strategy
In New Zealand, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced that she is abandoning the zero Covid strategy and that the lockdown on the people of Auckland will be lifted next month. This turnaround is explained primarily by the presence of the delta variant, which has been circulating in New Zealand for three and a half months. Despite the containment measures, he failed to be contained. This variant is known to spread much faster than the original strain and the New Zealand government has finally accepted it. Another element of explanation: the acceleration of the vaccination campaign. New Zealand was, like Australia, very late just a few months ago, but in recent weeks things have gone very quickly, with more than 83% of the adult population now being vaccinated.
Jacinda Ardern therefore believes today that first, rather than trying to eliminate the virus, we must accept to live with it, and then that we can afford it because a very large part of the population is vaccinated, and therefore protected against possible serious forms.
Concretely, this new health strategy will be articulated through a system of traffic lights. A green light equates to almost no more restrictions. At an amber light, wearing a mask is compulsory in certain places, such as closed or crowded places. And red light, that means that only vaccinated people can frequent the businesses, and these businesses must strictly adhere to social distancing measures.
This new system is to come into effect from December 3. Auckland, the country’s largest city which has been confined for three months, will initially be placed in the red zone. However, unlike Australia which will reopen its borders to vaccinated foreigners as early as next month, New Zealand will continue to impose a strict quarantine on foreign travelers. However, these measures could be relaxed early next year. At least that’s the commitment Jacinda Ardern made.