Cyprus is bringing back compulsory mask-wearing in indoor areas for everyone age 12 and over amid a surge of COVID-19 infections.
The government said Wednesday the infection spike is in line with a global trend that’s mainly owed to the BA.4 and BA.5 variants of the coronavirus.
According to Health Ministry figures, 19,503 people tested positive from a total of 147,623 samples between June 25 to July 5 out of a population of approximately 916,000. The numbers don’t include the approximately 250,000 people in the breakaway Turkish Cypriot north of the ethically divided island nation.
The measures take effect on Friday. The government said mask wearing isn’t compulsory at home, for family members inside a vehicle, during meals, athletes, cooks during grilling and for people with ailments and deformities that make it difficult for them to wear a face mask.
The government warned that compliance checks will be in effect and any individual or business violating the order could face a fine of 300 euros ($305).
Health officials have said the high infection rate hasn’t so far resulted in an parallel surge of serious symptoms requiring intensive hospital treatment.
Residents of parts of Shanghai and Beijing have been ordered to undergo further rounds of COVID-19 testing following the discovery of new cases in the two cities, while tight restrictions remain in place in Hong Kong, Macao and other Chinese cities.
Shanghai has only just emerged from a strict lockdown that confined most of its 24 million residents to their homes for weeks and the new requirements have stirred concerns of a return of such harsh measures.
The latest outbreak in China’s largest city, a key international business center, has been linked to a karaoke parlor that failed to enforce prevention measures among employees and customers, including the tracing of others they came into contact with, according to the city health commission. All such outlets have been ordered to temporarily suspend business, the city’s department of culture and tourism said.
Shanghai’s lockdown prompted unusual protests both in person and online against the government’s harsh enforcement, which left many residents struggling to access food and medical services and sent thousands to quarantine centers.
Beijing has also seen a recent outbreak linked to a nightlife spot. It has been conducting regular testing for weeks and at least one residential compound in the suburb of Shunyi, which is home to many foreign residents, has been locked down with a steel fence installed over its entrance to prevent residents from leaving.
Enforcement in China’s capital has been far milder than in Shanghai, although officials continue to require regular testing and prevention measures.
In the northern city of Xi’an, whose 13 million residents endured one of China’s strictest lockdowns over the winter, restaurants have been restricted to takeout only and public entertainment spots closed for a week starting Wednesday.
A notice on the city government’s website said the measures were only temporary and intended to prevent the chance of a renewed outbreak. It said supermarkets, offices, public transport and other facilities are continuing to operate as normal, with routine screening including temperature checks and people being required to show an app proving they are free of infection.
The gambling hub of Macao has meanwhile locked down the famed Grand Lisboa Hotel after cases were discovered there. More than a dozen residential and commercial centers in the Chinese special autonomous region of about 650,000 people have been designated as “red zones,” with access restricted almost exclusively to emergency workers.
Authorities have ordered most establishments to close with the exception of casinos, which are Macao’s main revenue generator and among the city’s largest employers.
City residents will have to undergo three citywide COVID-19 tests this week. The local outbreak is Macao’s largest since the pandemic began, with more than 900 infections reported since mid-June.
Neighboring Hong Kong has also seen a rising trend of coronavirus infections since mid-June. In the past seven days, daily infections reported averaged about 2,000 a day.
The city’s new leader, John Lee, said Wednesday that Hong Kong must not “lie flat” when it comes to COVID-19, rejecting the “living with the coronavirus” mentality that most of the world has adopted.
His comments echo the sentiments of Chinese authorities, who have stuck with their “zero-COVID” policy that has become closely identified with President and head of the ruling Communist Party Xi Jinping.
However, Lee has said that Hong Kong authorities are exploring options, including shortening the duration of mandatory quarantine for incoming travelers. Currently, travelers must test negative for COVID-19 before flying and quarantine for seven days in designated hotels upon arrival.
The city, once known as a bustling business hub and international financial center, has seen tourism and business travel crippled by its tough entry restrictions.
The strict measures have remained in place despite relatively low numbers of cases and the serious negative effects on China’s economy and global supply chains.
The World Health Organization recently called the policy unsustainable, a view Chinese officials rejected outright even while they say they hope to minimize the impact.
While China’s borders remain largely closed, cutting off both visitors from abroad and outbound tourism, officials have cautiously increased flights from some foreign countries, most recently Russia.
Mainland China reported 353 cases of domestic transmission on Wednesday, 241 of them asymptomatic.
Shanghai announced just 24 cases over the past 24 hours, and Beijing five. Anhui announced 222 cases in what appears to be the latest cluster, prompting the inland province to order mass testing and travel restrictions in Si county, where the bulk of cases have been reported.
Many Americans don’t expect to rely on the digital services that became commonplace during the pandemic after COVID-19 subsides, according to a new poll, even as many think it’s a good thing if those options remain available in the future.
Close to half or more of U.S. adults say they are not likely to attend virtual activities, receive virtual health care, have groceries delivered or use curbside pickup after the coronavirus pandemic is over, according to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Less than 3 in 10 say they’re very likely to use any of those options at least some of the time.
Still, close to half also say it would be a good thing if virtual options for health care, for community events and for activities like fitness classes or religious services continue after the pandemic.
“Rather than this either-or, I think we’re more likely to be facing a hybrid future,” said Donna Hoffman, director of the Center for the Connected Consumer at the George Washington School of Business. “People have found convenience in some of these virtual options that just makes sense, and they don’t necessarily have anything to do with like keeping you safe or the pandemic even though they came of age during the pandemic.”
Digital daily routines became the default in 2020 as the nation reacted to the rapidly spreading virus, which prompted lockdowns, closed schools and shuttered businesses. Some substitutions, like online shopping and video conference calling, already existed. Others were reimagined or popularized during the pandemic.
Either way, Hoffman said, there was “rapid” deployment and adoption of virtual services. It was a question of “how are we going to make this work?” she said.
Cornelius Hairston said his family took precautions throughout the pandemic because his wife is a first responder in the health care field.
“We tried to stay in as much as we could and only come out for essentials,” said Hairston, 40, who recently moved to Roanoke, Virginia.
Hairston joked that his twin 4-year-old boys are “COVID babies” who didn’t even go to a grocery store for much of their young lives. The family used delivery services almost exclusively to avoid venturing out to crowded stores. But going forward, he only expects to use them “from time to time.”
For Angie Lowe, the convenience of telemedicine and time saved was reason enough to do it again even though she and her husband returned to doing things in public more than a year ago.
Lowe had her first telemedicine appointment early in the pandemic when feeling “lonely” and “stuck at home” kept her from sleeping well. She was able to talk with the doctor without having to take extra time off of work to drive to and wait in a medical center.
“It was my first telemedicine appointment, but it won’t be my last,” said Lowe, 48, of Sterling, Illinois. “If I can do it, I’m going to do it.”
For many, though, drawbacks outweigh the benefits of relying on digital services in the future. Adults age 50 or older are especially likely to say they are not planning to use the virtual options asked about on the poll going forward, even though many were introduced during the pandemic to protect the at-risk population.
Despite feeling antsy about COVID-19 and infection rates in Phoenix, Tony DiGiovane, 71, said he found curbside pickup at grocery stores and restaurants to be more hassle than they’re worth.
“By the time I picked up the stuff, I needed more stuff,” he said of his grocery orders, and “something’s always missing or wrong” on takeout orders.
Karen Stewart, 63, recognizes the benefits of video calls, but she’s also found them to be limiting. That’s the case in her job organizing after school programming for kids. She also now sees some of her doctors online, one who provides virtual care almost exclusively and another who uses virtual care in between office visits.
She likes that she doesn’t have to drive, but it means a doctor or nurse can’t take her vitals or be “hands on” in her care. It was “scary,” for example, when all of her appointments in the lead-up to a surgery were online, she said.
“When I do that they they can’t take my blood pressure, my pulse. There’s things that a doctor might pick up on that they can’t see online,” said Stewart of Perris, California.
The pandemic created an opportunity to balance in-person and virtual services to support the physical and mental health of older adults, said Alycia Bayne, a principal research scientist at NORC. That “could be particularly beneficial to older adults with different health issues, mobility limitations, people who lack transportation options, people who do not have or live near a robust social networks like family and friends to lean on,” she said.
Still, there remain limitations with technology access, broadband access and digital literacy, which Bayne said may help explain why the poll finds older adults less likely to use digital services after the pandemic.
Despite the age gap on use of services, similar percentages of adults across ages say it’s a good thing for virtual options for health care, for community events and meetings and for activities to continue after the pandemic.
“They recognize the benefits of virtual services, but they’re also ready to start getting back to their pre-pandemic routines,” she said. “The silver lining, of course, is that these services are now available.”
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The poll of 1,001 adults was conducted May 12-16 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4 percentage points.
Tourism is booming again in France — and so is COVID-19. French officials have “invited” or “recommended” people to go back to using face masks but stopped short of renewing restrictions that would scare visitors away or revive antigovernment protests.
From Paris commuters to tourists on the French Riviera, many people seem to welcome the government’s light touch, while some worry that required prevention measures may be needed.
French government spokesperson Olivia Gregoire has said there are no plans to reintroduce national regulations that limit or set conditions for gathering indoors and other activities.
“The French people are sick of restrictions,” she said Wednesday on channel BFMTV. “We are confident that people will behave responsibly.”
France’s parliamentary elections last month resulted in President Emmanuel Macron losing his majority in the national legislature, while parties on the far right and the far left that had protested his government’s earlier vaccine and mask rules gained seats.
After the prime minister this week recommended that people resume wearing masks on public transportation, commuter Raphaelle Vertaldi said, “We need to deal with the virus, but we can’t stop living because of it.”
Vertaldi, who was boarding a train in Boussy-Saint-Antoine south of Paris, said she opposed mandatory mask use but would cover her mouth and nose again, if the government requires it.
Hassani Mohammed, a postal worker in Paris, didn’t wait for the government to decide. He masks up before his daily commute. With his wife recovering from surgery and two children at home, he does not want to risk contracting the coronavirus a third time.
“I realized that the pandemic does not belong to the past,” Mohammed said.
Masks have been contentious in France. Early in the pandemic, the French government suggested masks weren’t helpful. It ultimately introduced some of Europe’s toughest restrictions, including an indoors and outside mask mandate that lasted more than a year, along with strict lockdowns.
A Paris court ruled Tuesday that the French government failed to sufficiently stock up on surgical masks at the start of the pandemic and to prevent the virus from spreading. The administrative court in Paris also ruled that the government was wrong to suggest early on that that masks did not protect people from becoming infected.
The government lifted most virus rules by April, and foreign tourists have returned by land, sea and air to French Mediterranean beaches, restaurants and bars.
In the meantime, French hospitals are struggling with long-running staff and funding shortages. Local officials are contemplating new measures, including an indoor mask mandate in some cities, but nothing that would curb economic activity.
French tourism professionals expect a booming summer season despite the virus, with numbers that may even surpass pre-pandemic levels as Americans benefit from the weaker euro and others rediscover foreign travel after more than two years of a more circumscribed existence.
On the French Riviera, a slow economic recovery began last summer. But with attendance at gatherings still capped, social distancing rules and travel restrictions in place a year ago, most visitors to the area were French.
A tour guide and electric bicycle taxi driver in Nice described her joy at seeing foreign visitors again. During France’s repeated lockdowns, she transported essential workers, and took people to hospitals, to care for elderly relatives or for PCR tests.
Now, passengers on her bike from the U.S., Australia, Germany, Italy or beyond reach for the hand disinfectant taped to the barrier between the passenger and driver’s seats. She said she still diligently disinfects the bike before each ride, “like it’s 2020.”
A retired couple from the U.K. visited France this week on their first trip abroad since pandemic travel restrictions were lifted. They started with a cruise down the River Rhône – face masks were mandatory on the ship – and ended with a few days on the Mediterranean.
“It’s been delightful from start to finish,” said Ros Runcie, who was in Nice with her husband, Gordon. “Everyone is so pleased to see you, everyone is really polite and nice to visitors.”
Sue Baker, who was traveling with her husband, Phil, and the Runcies, observed: “It feels very much like pre-2020.”
Asked about the possible return of French mask rules, Phil Baker said, “Masks are a bit uncomfortable, especially in the heat.”
But his wife added, “If it means we can still go on a holiday, we’ll put them back on without hesitation.”
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Le Deley reported from Boussy-Saint-Antoine, France.
The jurors chosen this past week to decide whether Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz is executed will visit a bloodstained crime scene, view graphic photos and videos and listen to intense emotional testimony — an experience that they will have to manage entirely on their own.
Throughout what is expected to be a monthslong penalty trial, Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer will order jurors not to talk to anyone about what they have seen, heard or thought. Not their spouse. Not their best friend. Not their clergy or therapist. Not even each other until deliberations begin. The order is not unusual; it is issued at all trials to ensure jurors’ opinions aren’t influenced by outsiders.
Once the trial ends, the 12 jurors and 10 alternates can unload to others — but they won’t receive any assistance from the judicial system. As is the case in most of the United States, neither Florida nor Broward County courts provide juries with post-trial counseling.
The only state to do so is Massachusetts, which has only offered the service since December. Since 2005, federal courts have offered assistance after about 20 trials annually, usually those involving the death penalty, child pornography and child abuse cases, said federal court system spokesman Charles Hall.
“Judges and jurors alike appreciate” the program, Hall said, “viewing it as an acknowledgment of the extraordinary stresses that jury service in certain types of trials can entail.”
“That said, the program is not well-used,” Hall added.
The Cruz jurors will tour the now-abandoned three-story building at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland where Cruz, 23, fatally shot 14 students and three staff members and wounded 17. Its bullet-pocked halls remain unchanged since shortly after the Feb. 14, 2018, massacre, with Valentine’s Day gifts still strewn about.
They will view graphic security video of terrified teens and teachers being shot point-blank or running for their lives, examine autopsy and crime scene photos and hear heartrending testimony from wounded survivors and family members of the murder victims. When it is over, the jurors will grapple with the weighty decision of whether a young adult — even someone responsible for one of the worst slaughters in the nation’s history — should live or die.
“It’s going to be horrible,” Cruz’s lead attorney, Melisa McNeill, recently warned one potential juror in court.
Jim Wolfcale was foreman of the Virginia jury that convicted Lee Boyd Malvo for his role in one of the multiple deaths that resulted in 2002 from a series of sniper shootings in Washington, D.C.
Wolfcale said he sometimes found it difficult not to talk to other jurors, particularly after Malvo appeared “disrespectful or arrogant” during testimony.
“I would be like, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me,’ so it would be hard not to talk about. I would wonder, ‘Am I thinking right? Are the other guys and girls on the jury thinking what I am thinking?'” said Wolfcale, a minister. But outside court, his wife and friends never asked about the case, knowing he couldn’t talk. “My friends would just say, ‘We’re praying for you.’”
Malvo, in his teens like Cruz, admitted in court to killing 17 people. Unlike Cruz, he committed the slayings over nine months in multiple states.
For all or most of Cruz’s jurors, this will undoubtedly be their first exposure to graphic gun violence and they will be dealing with the deadliest mass shooting that has ever gone to trial in the U.S. Nine other people in the U.S. who fatally shot at least 17 people died during or immediately after their attacks. The suspect in the 2019 massacre of 23 at an El Paso, Texas, Walmart is awaiting trial.
Wolfcale said that during the Malvo trial, other jurors sometimes broke down in the jury room after seeing graphic evidence or hearing emotional testimony. They would hug, and divert themselves by talking about the upcoming Christmas holidays. Malvo ultimately received a life sentence instead of the death penalty because the jury was split, partly because of the defendant’s young age.
Wolfcale — who voted to execute Malvo — said he didn’t feel stress until late on the trial’s final day. Then, he said, “It hit me” — and stayed with him for months.
“Even today, 20 years later, when your adrenaline is high, you can recall a lot, but that first six months it was on my mind constantly,” he said.
Responding to a survey conducted by the Center for Jury Studies, 70% of questioned jurors said they experienced stress during routine trials, according to center director Paula Hannaford-Agor. She said 10% reported severe stress, though that usually abated quickly.
In contrast, about 10% of jurors who served on high-profile, graphic trials reported long-term stress, Hannaford-Agor said. They displayed post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms similar to those exhibited by some police officers, firefighters and emergency room doctors, she said. The difference is that the first-responders can talk to colleagues, friends and counselors in real time, while the stress is building.
“Jurors, of course, are told they are not allowed to talk about any of it” until the trial is over, Hannaford-Agor said.
Studies also show many jurors who imposed a death sentence question themselves long after the trial.
“None of those said this was something that had completely derailed their lives, but … years later they were still thinking about it and wondering if they made the right decision, and remember how difficult that decision was,” Hannaford-Agor said.
On their own, jurors 65 and older can get mental health services through Medicare. Younger jurors may have coverage through jobs or private insurance, but that sometimes requires co-pays and deductibles running into thousands of dollars. That could deter many.
In addition to the cost factor, courts don’t offer programs because judges and other officials have experience processing graphic evidence and can talk to others during the trial, Hannaford-Agor said. They might not fully appreciate jurors’ stress levels.
Judges “aren’t feeling it quite as intensely,” she said. ___
Associated Press researcher Jennifer Farrar in New York contributed to this report.
The number of new coronavirus cases across Britain has surged by more than 30% in the last week, new data showed Friday, with cases largely driven by the super infectious omicron variants.
Data released by Britain’s Office for National Statistics showed that more than 3 million people in the U.K. had COVID-19 last week, although there has not been an equivalent spike in hospitalizations. The number of COVID-19 deaths also fell slightly in the last week.
“COVID-19 has not gone away,” said Dr. Mary Ramsay, of the Health Security Agency. “It is also sensible to wear a face covering in crowded, enclosed spaces,” she said. Britain dropped nearly all its coronavirus measures, including mask-wearing and social distancing months ago and masks are rarely seen on public transport.
The latest jump in coronavirus cases comes after an earlier increase of about 40% last month, following the large street parties, concerts and festivities held to mark the platinum jubilee celebrations marking 70 years of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign.
British officials said the latest wave of COVID-19 infections were likely caused by omicron subvariants BA.4. and BA.5. Omicron has tended to cause a milder disease than previous variants like alpha or delta, but scientists warn its ability to evade the immune system means that people may be more susceptible to being reinfected, including after vaccination.
“The constant bombardment of waves we are seeing does cause clinical impact that is not to be underestimated,” said Dr. Stephen Griffin, an associate professor of medicine at the University of Leeds, explaining that any infection can lead to long COVID.
Despite widespread immunization across Britain, the protection from vaccines is likely fading and omicron and its subvariants have evolved to become more infectious. Britain’s Health Security Agency said they were seeing more outbreaks in care homes for older people and a rise in admissions to intensive care units of people over 65.
Dr. Jonathan Van-Tam, a former deputy chief medical officer for the U.K., told the BBC that COVID-19 is now “much, much, much closer to seasonal flu” than when it first emerged. Still, he said experts should be vigilant for any signs the virus was causing more severe illness.
Germany’s Robert Koch Institute also reported a similar rise in the coronavirus, with cases increasing especially among older people, children and teenagers. France has seen a jump in the COVID-19 hospitalization rate and officials recently recommended that people begin wearing masks again on public transport.
Globally, the World Health Organization said this week that COVID-19 is increasing in more than 100 countries worldwide. The U.N. health agency warned that relaxed testing and surveillance measures mean it may be more difficult to catch emerging variants before they spread more widely.
