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In a press conference on Thursday morning, the Swedish government announced plans to remove the majority of restrictions against Covid-19 on February 9th, the Local.se reported.Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, Health Minister Lena Hallengren and the Director General of the Public Health Agency, Karin Tegmark Wisell, announced that almost all restrictions will be removed on February 9th, and that those working from home should prepare to return to work.Health Minister Lena Hallengren, Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson and Director General of the Public Health Agency Karin Tegmark Wisell at Thursday's press conference. Photo: Marko Säävälä/TT“The pandemic is not over, but is entering...

Regional governments in Canada have begun announcing plans to drop onerous civil rights restrictions on their citizens meant to contain the Chinese coronavirus this week following mounting pressure from national protests, most prominently the “Freedom Convoy” in Ottawa.

JUST IN - Switzerland eases Covid restrictions "as we are about to enter the endemic phase," says Health Minister Berset. No more contact quarantine or home office requirements. Further steps (mask mandates, vaccine pass) are to follow in 2 weeks, pending further consultations. https://twitter.com/disclosetv/status/1488875889207263235

Can’t believe I agree with Megyn Kelly, a self-confessed “Never Trumper,” but, will giver her credit when she does the right thing.Megyn nails it on the never ending emergency of covid. https://youtu.be/lUMN6xFng6M

The Dutch government has said it will ease its Covid-19 restrictions, among Europe's toughest, from Wednesday. Dutch hospitality settings, including bars, restaurants and museums, have been shut since 18 December in a bid to curb the spread of the Omicron variant, reports BBC. But despite the restrictions, Covid-19 cases have continued to increase, with some 60,000 now recorded per day. Prime Minister Mark Rutte told a news conference that the country was "taking a risk" in easing the restrictions. Mr Rutte, who has faced growing calls for a relaxation of restrictions in recent weeks amid falling deaths and admissions to...

Leftists on “The View” took offense Monday to comedian Bill Maher, who dared to criticize the use of masks and other “silly” Covid-19 restrictions at this point in the pandemic. "It’s just gone on too long. Nobody cares anymore. I don’t want to live in your paranoid world anymore, your masked paranoid world,” he said on “Real Time With Bill Maher.” "You know, you go out, it’s silly now. You know, you have your mask, you have to have a card, you have to have a booster, they scan your head like you’re a cashier and I’m a bunch of...

New Zealand is rolling out new COVID-19 restrictions as the country works to prevent an outbreak in cases driven by the omicron variant. Just before midnight on Sunday, New Zealand will move into its Red setting, triggering a number of mitigation measures to tame the spread of the virus, according to a statement from the government.

<p>Ireland is set to scrap almost all its COVID-19 restrictions after coming though the storm of the Omicron variant that led to a massive surge in infections, Prime Minister Micheal Martin says.</p><p>Ireland had the second highest incidence rate of COVID-19 in Europe just last week but also one of the continent's highest uptake of booster vaccines, which has helped keep the number of seriously ill people well below the previous peak.</p>

A recent study from South Africa (currently in preprint) attempts to explain why the omicron wave of the COVID-19 pandemic caused less severe illness and death than prior waves of other variants. To complete the study, researchers compared the outcomes of 5,144 patients from the fourth wave, where omicron was prevalent, to the outcomes of 11,609 patients from prior waves. They looked at deaths, severe hospitalizations, and all hospitalizations in the 14 days after diagnosis for people aged 20 and older.The study controlled for vaccination, prior infection, comorbidities, age, and sex. The team concluded:In the Omicron-driven wave, severe COVID-19 outcomes...

In response to plummeting approval ratings, Democrats are now moving away from lockdown policies they previously vehemently advocated over fears about being wiped out politically.That’s according to a new report by Politico, which notes how, “Omicron is surging — and Democrats aren’t shutting things down this time.”“From New York to California, Democratic mayors and governors are fighting to keep schools and businesses open with an urgency they haven’t flexed before in the pandemic,” writes Lisa Kashinsky.That sea change likely has a lot to do with Republicans securing a November clean sweep of the House, as well as the offices of...

With an increase of more than 80% in new COVID cases over the past week and traces of Omicron found in the wastewater of 19 localities throughout Israel, there was no room for doubt on Monday that the new variant had hit the country. According to the estimates of some experts, including Weizmann Institute of Science computational biologist Prof. Eran Segal, the number of daily cases could increase from the current 1,800 to more than 10,000 within a few days. Even so, the authorities on Monday were also discussing easing up some of the strictest measures passed to fight Omicron,...

The South African government has lifted most restrictions in the country as officials declare the country “may have passed the peak of the fourth wave.”Restrictions are being removed “[b]ased on the trajectory of the pandemic, the levels of vaccination in the country and the available capacity within the health sector,” according to a government statement from Mondli Gungubele, South Africa’s minister in the presidency.“All indicators suggest the country may have passed the peak of the fourth wave at a national level,” the statement reads, citing a decrease in new cases and hospitalizations in most provinces.The country’s Department of Health reported...

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will meet Monday with top advisers to determine if he will impose new restrictions in the UK amid a COVID-19 surge driven by the Omicron variant, according to reports. After pledging not imposing restrictions ahead of Christmas, Johnson will speak with Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty and Chief Scientific Adviser Patrick Vallance regarding hospitalizations and infection numbers to see if a post-holiday lockdown is warranted, The Sun reported Sunday.

President Joe Biden announced Friday he will lift travel restrictions on eight African countries on December 31, attributing the decision to the fact that restricting international travel will not greatly affect the Wuhan coronavirus Omicron variant’s spread in the United States. While Biden imposed the omicron-related travel restrictions in late November after criticizing former President Trump as racist for doing so in 2020, Biden will reportedly retract the flight restrictions nearly one month later.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) on Monday flagged the possibility of a series of harsh restrictions to be imposed on revelers heading to Times Square to welcome in the New Year. The crackdown threat follows an announcement last month from de Blasio that prohibited unvaccinated individuals from attending the annual mass public event. “Right now, it is on, fully vaccinated, outdoors of course,” de Blasio told ABC on Monday. “That’s the plan. And if we need to make any more modifications, we will decide that within the course of this week.” De Blasio is an avid supporter...

For a variant that came to light less than a month ago, the evidence for Omicron’s potential to wreak havoc has mounted at breakneck speed. What studies have emerged are rapid first takes, but the message they convey is now loud and clear: the scientific case for more restrictions is overwhelming. Without hard and swift action to curb transmission, the NHS faces a battering.

Have you heard a better summary of our current insanity? https://twitter.com/SebGorka/status/1470218510269878273

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday enhanced COVID-19 restrictions in an effort to slow the spread of the new omicron variant and prevent hospitalizations and deaths. As part of the new policies, Johnson encouraged people in England to work from home starting Monday. He also announced that, beginning next week, the government would require passes showing full vaccination to enter nightclubs and large events and mandate face masks in most indoor public spaces, according to The Associated Press. Johnson noted that the U.K. currently has 568 confirmed cases of the omicron variant but added that "the true number is...

Smoke signals from health and political officials point to closings and lockdowns in the coming weeks and months over fear of the new Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that was (unsurprisingly) detected in Los Angeles County on Thursday. Our local Health and Fear Czar, Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health, stated in a press release yesterday that "we have always known there would be more mutations, resulting in the possibility of a more dangerous variant than the Delta variant."

The majority of Republicans in Washington are thoroughly confused about their own party and their own voters. Some have lost faith in Republican voters completely and written them off as racists or crazies. Others don't know what to think. They are essentially biding time and hoping things go back to the way they were. They won't, of course. America is changing quickly. Voting patterns and the two-party norm that lasted for decades are under strain. Amazingly, Democrats are on the verge of handing back power to a Republican Party that's in a state of total chaos. All Republicans need to...