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Associated Press World View: Chinese Vaccines, New York Governor, US Min.Wage, Saudis Get Pass from Biden

March 02, 2021

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AP Morning Wire

Beginning next week, we offer something new: As dawn approaches in the United States, some of The Associated Press’ top journalists across Europe will be alternating each weekday to create your Morning Wire. They’ll scour our global news report for the most significant and most relevant stories and imagery – and a few unexpected things as well.

Until then, please enjoy this selection of stories from the AP’s global news report. And thank you for reading.

Ted Anthony

Director of Digital Innovation

The Rundown

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TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — The plane laden with vaccines had just rolled to a stop at Santiago’s airport in late January, and Chile’s president, Sebastián Piñera, was beaming. “Today,” he said, “is a……Read More

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WASHINGTON (AP) — FBI Director Chris Wray is set to testify for the first time since the deadly Jan. 6 deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol, with lawmakers likely to press him on whether the bureau… …Read More

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PHILADELPHIA (AP) — When she first arrived in Albany to work as a legislative aide in 2013, New York Assembly Member Yuh-Line Niou had lawmakers grab her buttocks, suggest she and her boss were “a….Read More

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats’ hopes of including a minimum wage increase in their $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill seemed all but dead as the Senate prepared to debate its own version of the… …Read More

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As a presidential candidate, Joe Biden promised to make a pariah out of Saudi Arabia over the 2018 killing of dissident Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi. But when it came time to actually punish Saudi….Read More

OTHER TOP STORIES

Nearly a year after they were almost stabbed to death inside a Midland, Texas, Sam’s Club, Bawi Cung and his two sons all have visible scars. It’s the unseen ones though …Read More

Two Nigerian nurses were attacked by the family of a deceased COVID-19 patient. One nurse had her hair ripped out and suffered a fracture. The second was beaten into a co…Read More

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — When frantic messages started trickling in that a tornado had hit a beloved music venue in Nashville, Mike Grimes told himself it couldn’t possibl…Read More

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The Medical Board of California said it would investigate a plastic surgeon who appeared in a videoconference for his traffic violation trial wh…Read More

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US: New Variants Could Create Fourth Virus Surge

The US could see a “fourth surge” of coronavirus cases fuelled by the spread of variants, a top health official has warned.

Dr Rochelle Walensky, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said variants are a “real threat to our people and progress”, and that there was real concern of a possible fourth wave based on some concerning CDC data.

New COVID-19 cases in the States have plateaued, following some steep drops, and have started to increase again over the last few days.

Declines in hospitalisations and deaths are also “potentially levelling off at still a very high number”, Dr Walensky said.

What threat do new variants pose?

There are currently around 70,000 coronavirus cases a day and 2,000 daily deaths, Dr Walensky added.

As a result, Dr Walensky said she was “really worried” about reports of US states “rolling back the exact public health measures we have recommended to protect people from COVID-19”. These include mask-wearing and social distancing.

“We stand to completely lose the hard-earned ground we have gained,” she said.

Woman who lost six family members to COVID

“We have the ability to stop a potential fourth surge of cases in this country. Please stay strong in your conviction.”

Twenty-nine out of 50 states reported more new coronavirus infections last week compared to the previous seven days. Only seven states in the prior week reported weekly increases, according analysis by Reuters.

Three variants first identified in the UK, South Africa and Brazil have given researchers concern as they appear to be more contagious.

A CDC study published in January warned that the variant found in the UK, known as B.1.1.7, will likely to become the dominant strain circulating in the country by March.

“Please hear me clearly: at this level of cases, with variants spreading, we stand to completely lose the hard-earned ground we have gained,” Dr Walensky said. “These variants are a very real threat to our people and our progress.”

Last month Dr Walensky said the country needed to rapidly ramp up its vaccination programme and step up surveillance of the virus to counteract variants.

As of Sunday, 15% of the US population has received at least one dose of a vaccine and 7.5% has received two doses, according to the CDC.

The country administered an average of 1.6 million shots per day last week.

The post US: New Variants Could Create Fourth Virus Surge appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

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WHO: Covid Won’t Be Over This Year; China to Vaccinate 40% of Population by June

A street art mural entitled ‘Angels On Earth’, depicts nurse Sofia hitting the coronavirus with a baseball bat on 24 February 2021 in Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal. Photograph: Octavio Passos/Getty Images

Germany to extend lockdown – report

Germany plans to extend its coronavirus lockdown until 28 March 28 but some restrictions will be eased starting from 8 March, Focus Online reported, citing a draft agreement for talks between Chancellor Angela Merkel and leaders of the 16 federal states.

Merkel is due to discuss lockdown options with the states’ heads tomorrow, as coronavirus cases in Germany reached more than 2.4 million.

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Restaurants in Turkey reopened and many children returned to school today after the government announced steps to ease Covid-19 curbs even as cases edged higher, raising concerns in the top medical association, Reuters reports:

On Monday evening, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan lifted weekend lockdowns in low- and medium-risk cities and limited lockdowns to Sundays in those deemed higher risk under what he called a “controlled normalisation”.

Cafe and restaurant owners, limited to takeaway service for much of last year, have long urged a reopening of in-house dining after sector revenues dropped 65%. They also want relief from growing debt, and from social security and tax payments.
“We were serving 4,000-5,000 people a week. Now with takeaway services we are serving only 500 people,” Istanbul-based Pideban restaurant owner Yusuf Kaptanoglu said before the easing measures were announced. “I did not benefit from any support including loan support,” he said.
Across Turkey, pre- and primary schools as well as grades eight to 12 resumed partial in-person education. Yet the moves come as new daily coronavirus cases rose to 9,891 on Monday, the highest since 11 January and up from 8,424 a day earlier, according to official data. Cases were around 6,000 in late January.
“The number of mutant virus cases is increasingly rising. We do not see conditions to return to an old ‘normal’,” the Turkish Medics’ Association said on Twitter, calling for higher rates of testing and inoculation.
“Political and economic interests must not take precedence over human life and science,” it added.
Turkey, with a population of 83 million, has administered 8.96 million vaccines in a campaign that began in mid-January. More than 7 million people have received a first shot and 1.89 million have received a second.
A waiter carries chairs and tables at a cafe in Kuzguncuk district of Istanbul, Turkey
A waiter carries chairs and tables at a cafe in Kuzguncuk district of Istanbul, Turkey. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Indonesia has detected two cases of the more infectious Covid-19 variant first discovered in Britain, officials said today, Reuters reports.Dante Saksono Harbuwono, the deputy health minister, said the discovery of the variant represented a new challenge.“We’ll be facing this pandemic with a higher degree of difficulty,” he told a streamed conference.

Indonesia’s Covid-19 taskforce also confirmed cases of the variant, known as B117, had been found but declined further comment.Since Indonesia announced its first cases of Covid-19 a year ago it has reported more than 1.3 million infections and 36,000 deaths, though daily infections have been falling recently after peaking in January and early February.

The British variant has also been found in other countries in south-east Asia including Vietnam and the Philippines.Riza Putranto, a genomics researcher in Jakarta, called for increased genomic surveillance in Indonesia and adherence of health protocols in order to combat the variant.“We would need a comprehensive collaboration from many stakeholders to minimise the impact of this new variant in Indonesia,” he said.

While daily cases have been falling, the positivity rate – or the percentage of people tested who are found to have the virus – in the past week has still been hovering around 20%. The World Health Organization has said a positivity rate of less than 5% is required to indicate that an epidemic is under control.

The world’s fourth most populous country aims to vaccinate more than 181 million people in a bid to reach herd immunity. It launched a mass inoculation programme in January starting with medical workers, civil servants and the elderly

Jon Henley

France has eased restrictions on giving the AstraZeneca vaccine to people aged over 65 after new trial data proved the shot was effective, health minister Olivier Véran has said.

While the EMA, the bloc’s drug regulator, approved the AstraZeneca jab for use by all adults, health agencies in many EU countries, including France and Germany, advised against its use for the over-65s pending more trial data from older age groups.

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, sparked consternation by telling journalists it was “quasi-ineffective” for the over-65s, but last week said more data had since become available and he would take the jab if offered.

Véran told French TV that “anybody aged 50 or over who is affected by co-morbidities can get the AstraZeneca vaccine, including those between 65 and 74.” Those over 75 would continue to be given only the Pfizer and Moderna shots only, he said.

The decision means another 1.5 million people are eligible from today for AstraZeneca vaccines from family doctors, with France’s slow rollout soon also to be extended to pharmacies. Véran said France should deliver a further 6m first jabs this month.

Meanwhile, the French government spokesman, Gabriel Attal, said today all options remained open to rein in rising infection numbers in some areas, including a new national lockdown and regional weekend lockdowns. Le Monde reported that the Paris area could be placed in weekend lockdown from next weekend.

Iraq today received 50,000 Sinopharm vaccines donated by China, the health ministry announced, launching a long-awaited vaccination campaign, AFP reports.

Health ministry spokesman Seif al-Badr told reporters that the first delivery in the early hours meant inoculations could begin.

“The doses will be delivered to Baghdad’s three main hospitals, and maybe to some provinces,” said Badr, who confirmed the jabs were donations.

“We will start vaccinations today, Tuesday,” he said.
The health ministry simultaneously announced it had agreed with the Chinese ambassador in Baghdad to purchase a further 2m doses, with no details on payment or timing.
Sinopharm affiliate Wuhan Institute Of Biological Products says its vaccine has an efficacy rate of 72.51%, behind rival jabs by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, which have 95% and 94.5% rates respectively.
Hours earlier, on Monday afternoon, the health ministry launched an online platform for citizens to register for vaccinations, but the page was not functional on Tuesday.
It has said health workers, security forces and the elderly would be prioritised and that the vaccine would be administered free of charge, but has given few other details.
The first jabs arrived as the Iraqi government faces growing criticism of its handling of the pandemic.
The country has been hit by a second wave of Covid-19 infections, with more than 3,000 new cases reported daily, a few months after they had dropped to around 700 a day, and deaths also tripling to around 25 a day in recent weeks.
To stop the spread, Iraq has imposed overnight curfews during weekdays and full lockdowns on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, with obligatory mask-wearing in public.
But there is little commitment by either the public or security forces deployed to enforce the measures, in a country whose health sector has been ravaged by decades of war, corruption and slim investment.
Some Iraqi officials have already been vaccinated. Two current and one former Iraqi official told AFP in January they had already received doses of “the Chinese vaccine”.
They said 1,000 vaccine doses had been gifted to a senior Iraqi politician through contacts in China and had been distributed to top politicians and government officials.
Air freight workers unload the first batch of doses of the Sinopharm vaccine against the coronavirus disease after it arrived at Baghdad international airport, in Baghdad, Iraq, early today
Air freight workers unload the first batch of doses of the Sinopharm vaccine against the coronavirus disease after it arrived at Baghdad international airport, in Baghdad, Iraq, on Tuesday. Photograph: Hadi Mizban/AP

New York governor Andrew Cuomo has retained a prominent white-collar criminal defence lawyer to represent his office in a federal investigation into the state’s misreporting of Covid-19 deaths among nursing home residents, Reuters reports, citing a spokesma

Cuomo has come under fire in recent weeks over his office’s role in reporting the official count of coronavirus fatalities among patients of nursing and extended-care facilities, as well as for allegations of sexual harassment levelled against him.

Elkan Abramowitz, a former federal prosecutor working in private practice in New York City, was hired to represent Cuomo’s “executive chamber” – consisting of the governor and his immediate staff – in the US Justice Department inquiry into the Covid-19 nursing home deaths, senior adviser Rich Azzopardi told Reuters in a text message.

Cuomo rose to national prominence for his daily televised briefings last spring, when New York was at the heart of the Covid-19 epidemic in the US.

In January, the attorney general’s office issued a report that cast doubt on the Cuomo administration’s handling of the coronavirus crisis, saying the state health department significantly undercounted the death toll in nursing homes and implemented policies that may have contributed to it.

Summary

Here are the key developments from the last few hours:

  • China said it aims to vaccinate 40% of population by June. Health experts in China say their country is lagging in its coronavirus vaccination rollout because it has the disease largely under control, but plans to inoculate 40% of its population by June.
  • France, Germany are struggling to sell AstraZeneca vaccine safety. Already facing a daunting Covid vaccination challenge, French and German authorities are fighting to convince more people that a jab from the pharma giant AstraZeneca is just as effective as others.
  • World won’t be done with Covid-19 this year, the WHO warned. It is unrealistic to think the world will be done with the Covid-19 pandemic by the end of the year, the World Health Organization warned on Monday.
  • Donald and Melania Trump received the coronavirus vaccine before leaving the White House, according to multiple news reports on Monday. Citing unnamed advisers, the New York Times, CNN and other outlets reported that while other officials, including Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and the former vice-president Mike Pence, chose to get their shots publicly to encourage confidence in the vaccines, the Trumps opted to quietly get vaccinated in January. There was no detail on which shot they received or how many doses they had been given.
  • Fauci said the US must stick with two-dose strategy for Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines. The United States must stick to a two-dose strategy for the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna Covid vaccines, top US infectious disease official Anthony Fauci told the Washington Post newspaper. Fauci said that delaying a second dose to inoculate more Americans creates risks.
  • Mexico’s coronavirus chief came home from hospital. Mexico’s coronavirus czar is back home after being hospitalized for Covid last Wednesday, but will still be monitored and receive treatment, a health official said on Monday, as the country’s coronavirus death toll passed 186,000.
  • New infections rose last week for first time in seven weeks. More from the World Health Organization: The WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said new case numbers rose last week in Europe, the Americas, southeast Asia and the eastern Mediterranean. The number of new coronavirus infections globally rose last week for the first time in seven weeks.
  • Philippines confirmed its first cases of South African variant. The Philippines has documented six cases of the South African coronavirus variant, its health ministry said on Tuesday, raising concern among its experts that the current vaccines might be less effective.
  • The US downplayed the possibility of sharing Covid vaccines with Mexico. The Biden administration on Monday downplayed the prospect of sharing coronavirus vaccines with Mexico, saying it is focused first on getting its own population protected against a pandemic that has killed more than 500,000 Americans.
  • Stop doing anal Covid tests on our citizens, Japan told China. Tokyo has requested Beijing to stop taking anal swab tests for Covid-19 on Japanese citizens because the procedure causes psychological pain, a government spokesperson has said.
  • Data on long Covid in UK children is cause for concern. Scientists have warned that emerging data on long Covid in children should not be ignored given the lack of a vaccine for this age group, but cautioned that the evidence describing these enduring symptoms in the young is so far uncertain.
  • Fossil fuel emissions in danger of surpassing pre-Covid levels. The world has only a few months to prevent the energy industry’s carbon emissions from surpassing pre-pademic levels this year as economies begin to rebound from Covid-19 restrictions, according to the International Energy Agency.

Tokyo governor says fall in cases may not be enough to lift emergency state – report

Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike said on Tuesday that the pace of the fall in coronavirus cases had eased, expressing concern that it may not be enough to lift a state of emergency remaining in the greater metropolitan area, Kyodo News reported.

“We may not make it in time,” she said, referring to the scheduled end to the emergency state on 7 March for the Japanese capital and three neighbouring prefectures, according to Kyodo.

Fossil fuel emissions in danger of surpassing pre-Covid levels

Jillian Ambrose

The world has only a few months to prevent the energy industry’s carbon emissions from surpassing pre-pandemic levels this year as economies begin to rebound from Covid-19 restrictions, according to the International Energy Agency.

New figures from the global energy watchdog found that fossil fuel emissions climbed steadily over the second half of the year as major economies began to recover. By December 2020, carbon emissions were 2% higher than in the same month the year before:

Data on long Covid in UK children is cause for concern, scientists say

Natalie Grover

Scientists have warned that emerging data on long Covid in children should not be ignored given the lack of a vaccine for this age group, but cautioned that the evidence describing these enduring symptoms in the young is so far uncertain.

Recently published data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has caused worry. The data suggest that 13% of under 11s and about 15% of 12- to 16-year-olds reported at least one symptom five weeks after a confirmed Covid-19 infection. ONS samples households randomly, therefore positive cases do not depend on having had symptoms and being tested:

Two Nigerian nurses were attacked by the family of a deceased Covid patient, the Associated Press reports. One nurse had her hair ripped out and suffered a fracture. The second was beaten into a coma.

Following the assaults, nurses at Federal Medical Centre in the Southwestern city of Owo stopped treating patients, demanding the hospital improve security. Almost two weeks passed before they returned to work with armed guards posted around the clock.

“We don’t give life. It is God that gives life. We only care or we manage,” said Francis Ajibola, a local leader with the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives.

The attack in Nigeria early last month was just one of many on health workers globally during the Covid pandemic. A new report by the Geneva-based Insecurity Insight and the University of California, Berkeley’s Human Rights Center identified more than 1,100 threats or acts of violence against health care workers and facilities last year.

Researchers found that about 400 of those attacks were related to Covid, many motivated by fear or frustration, underscoring the dangers surrounding health care workers at a time when they are needed most.

Insecurity Insight defines a health care attack as any physical violence against or intimidation of health care workers or settings, and uses online news agencies, humanitarian groups and social media posts to track incidents around the world.

Mexico’s coronavirus chief home from hospital

Mexico’s coronavirus czar is back home after being hospitalized for Covid last Wednesday, but will still be monitored and receive treatment, a health official said on Monday, as the country’s coronavirus death toll passed 186,000.

Reuters: Deputy Health Minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell, the face of Mexico’s response to the pandemic, has drawn criticism for downplaying the need for face masks and spearheading a strategy of limited testing.

Lopez-Gatell “is practically asymptomatic … he will remain at home over the coming days under medical supervision,” said Jose Luis Alomia, head of epidemiology for the national Health Ministry.

Undersecretary of Health Hugo Lopez-Gatell on 19 February 2021.
Undersecretary of Health Hugo Lopez-Gatell on 19 February 2021. Photograph: Mexico presidency/EPA

Lopez-Gatell, 52, was admitted to a hospital after his medical team determined he required supplemental oxygen and following his 20 February announcement that he tested positive for the disease.

Mexico registered 437 coronavirus fatalities on Monday, bringing its overall death toll to 186,152, according to Health Ministry data.

The data also showed an additional 2,343 confirmed cases, for a total of 2,089,281 cases. The government says the real number of infected people is likely significantly higher than the confirmed cases.

Fauci says US must stick with two-dose strategy for Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines

The United States must stick to a two-dose strategy for the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna Covid vaccines, top US infectious disease official Anthony Fauci told the Washington Post newspaper.

Fauci said that delaying a second dose to inoculate more Americans creates risks.

He warned that shifting to a single-dose strategy for the vaccines could leave people less protected, enable variants to spread and possibly boost skepticism among Americans already hesitant to get the shots.

“There’s risks on either side,” Fauci was quoted as saying by the Washington Post in a report published late on Monday.

“We’re telling people (two shots) is what you should do and then we say, ‘Oops, we changed our mind’?” Fauci said. “I think that would be a messaging challenge, to say the least.”

White House Chief Medical Adviser on Covid-19 Dr Anthony Fauci.
White House Chief Medical Adviser on Covid-19 Dr Anthony Fauci. Photograph: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

He added that he spoke with UK health officials on Monday who have opted to delay second doses to maximise giving more people shots more quickly. Fauci said that strategy would not make sense in the United States.

He said the science does not support delaying a second dose for those vaccines, citing research that a two-shot regimen creates enough protection to help fend off variants of the coronavirus that are more transmissible, whereas a single shot could leave Americans at risk from variants such as the one first detected in South Africa.

“You don’t know how durable that protection is,” he said.

Fauci said on Sunday he was encouraging Americans to accept any of the three available Covid vaccines, including the newly approved Johnson & Johnson shot.

The US government authorized Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose Covid vaccine on Saturday, making it the third to be available in the country following the ones from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna that require two doses.

Covid has claimed more than half a million lives in the United States, and states are clamouring for more doses to stem cases, hospitalisations and deaths.

Japan said Tuesday an investigation would be launched after more than 1,000 coronavirus vaccine doses had to be thrown out when a freezer storing them malfunctioned, AFP reports.

A medical institution reported that 172 vials of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, which must be kept between -80 and -60 degrees centigrade, were rendered useless after the freezer breakdown over the weekend, Japan’s health ministry said, wasting up to 1,032 doses.

Japan began its inoculation programme on February 17 – just over five months before the Tokyo Olympics – and has so far only approved the Pfizer/BioNTech drug.

Japanese government spokesman Katsunobu Kato said Tuesday that the cause of the malfunction was not yet clear, but the firm that installed the freezer would investigate and report back.

Kato said Japan had installed around 100 vaccine freezers nationwide by the end of February.

“We would like to respond quickly to whatever is necessary, based on what the results of the investigation carried out by the company that installed it,” Kato said.

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Biden Pressured as Migrant Numbers Swell

President Biden is facing pressure from all sides as migration swells at the southern border — posing one of the first major policy tests for his administration.

Progressives have hit Biden officials over reopening a housing facility for young migrants used briefly during the Trump administration. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and others argue the facilities are inhumane and represent a step backward for the new administration, which has made a point to distance itself from the Trump era on immigration in particular.

Conservatives, meanwhile, say Biden’s approach has encouraged increased migration to the southern border, with former President Trump joining the chorus of critics in a speech on Sunday at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).

But Biden officials and immigration advocates are urging patience, arguing the new administration will need time to make meaningful changes to a system that was upended over the last four years.

“Putting in place policies to manage the situation in an orderly way is absolutely the correct approach, and I think they’ve done everything they can to communicate clearly and unambiguously about the direction they’re headed and what it’s going to take to get there,” said Tom Jawetz, vice president of immigration policy at the left-leaning Center for American Progress.

Biden met virtually with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Monday, and the two discussed the situation at the border. At a White House press briefing that same day, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas asked for patience, saying the Biden administration inherited a deep well of problems.

“It takes time to build out of the depths of cruelty that the administration before us established,” Mayorkas said. “What we are seeing now at the border is the immediate result of the dismantlement of the system and the time that it takes to rebuild it virtually from scratch.”

Biden campaigned against Trump’s immigration policies, and he moved swiftly to halt construction of the border wall and rescind policies that prevented many migrants from entering or remaining in the United States. But the new president is quickly finding that immigration remains a difficult issue to solve, particularly amid a global pandemic.

Customs and Border Protection reported an increase in individuals attempting to cross the southern border in January, averaging about 3,000 arrests per day, compared with almost 30,000 for the whole month last year. Hundreds of unaccompanied children have crossed the border daily in February, straining the government’s resources.

Mayorkas, however, disputed that there was a “crisis,” even as the administration has urged asylum-seekers not to come to the border right now and has been forced to reopen a Texas facility for young migrants to avoid crowding during the pandemic.

“We are not saying don’t come. We are saying don’t come now,” Mayorkas said at Monday’s press briefing.

Mayorkas also said the administration would retain a Trump-era policy that cited public health laws to turn away or deport asylum-seekers amid the pandemic.

“The fact of the matter is that families and single adults are indeed being returned under the COVID-19 restrictions,” he said, calling the move an obligation “in the service of public health.”

Allies of the Biden administration have echoed the Homeland Security secretary’s rhetoric calling for patience, saying it will take time to get the necessary infrastructure in place domestically to handle the flow of migrants and to make planned investments in the Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras to address root causes of migration.

Officials have pointed to comprehensive immigration legislation that is percolating in Congress as a way to make significant changes, though they acknowledged finding Republican support in a 50-50 Senate could be difficult.

“I think a lot of the focal point is going to be on legislation but so much to do on the administrative side,” said Sergio Gonzales, executive director of the Immigration Hub, an advocacy group.

Mayorkas on Monday pledged to allow those separated under Trump’s “zero tolerance” policy to reunite and remain in the U.S. if they so choose.

“Our overarching goal is, of course, to be as humane as the law provides, to be as restorative as the law enables us to be to bring justice to these families,” he said.

Trump spent four years reshaping the immigration system to limit the flow of both legal and illegal immigrants. The former president changed asylum rules, restricted travel from certain countries, implemented a “zero tolerance” policy that separated families amid heightened enforcement at the border and diverted funds to construct a border wall. During the pandemic, Trump imposed restrictions on the issuance of green cards and temporary work visas.

Biden has lifted the green card restrictions, and he scrapped Trump’s “remain in Mexico” policy, replacing it with a system that has now opened three ports of entry where asylum-seekers can enter to the U.S. to await their hearing date.

“As more migrants catch wind of the reimplementation of ‘catch-and-release,’ the surge on our border will be unimaginable,” House Homeland Security Committee ranking member John Katko (R-N.Y.) said when Biden implemented those changes.

Biden’s decision to unwind many of Trump’s policies immediately upon taking office won him plaudits from his own party, but he now faces calls from some progressives to go further and completely overhaul the immigration system by dissolving Immigration and Customs Enforcement and ending the use of private detention facilities.

The Biden administration drew fire last week from progressives for reopening a government facility in Carrizo Springs, Texas, to house up to 700 migrants ages 13 to 17. The facility was open for roughly one month during the Trump administration.

The White House was quick to point out that it was not separating children from their parents as had been done during the previous administration, but the use of migrant facilities for teenagers still prompted criticism from Ocasio-Cortez and others who pointed to Biden’s repeated criticism on the campaign trail of Trump’s treatment of young migrants.

Biden’s initial steps have also provided a reliable line of attack for Republicans, who have been quick to argue that the president’s swift reversal of Trump’s hard-line policies has all but invited migrants to try and enter the United States illegally.

Trump used his CPAC speech to blast Biden’s immigration views in particular, echoing his rhetoric of the 2016 campaign by claiming the new administration’s policies were encouraging “some of the most evil people on the planet.”

“We can’t afford the problems of the world, as much as we’d love to. We’d love to help. But we can’t do that,” Trump said. “So they’re all coming because of promises and foolish words.”

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Authoritarian Bukele Wins Control of El Salvador

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — Populist President Nayib Bukele appeared Monday to have won control of El Salvador’s unicameral congress, ending a two-year standoff with legislators of the old parties that have dominated politics in the Central American country since the end of the 1980-1992 civil war.

Bukele, 39, celebrated, writing, “Our people have waited 40 years for this.”

A preliminary count of about 80% of votes from Sunday’s elections showed Bukele’s New Ideas party and a coalition partner won several times as many votes as the established political parties, the conservative National Republican Alliance and the leftist Farabundo Marti Liberation Front. Exit polls suggested his party could win 53 of the 84 seats in the Legislative Assembly.

“His (Bukele’s) victory reflects how much anger most Salvadorans feel towards the country’s two discredited and moribund political parties, which had their chance to govern but failed,” wrote Michael Shifter, president of the Washington-based think tank Inter-American Dialogue.

Bukele has blamed congress for blocking his efforts in everything from controlling crime to managing the coronavirus pandemic. But he has also shown an authoritarian streak. Two years ago, Bukele sent heavily armed soldiers to surround the congress building during a standoff over security funding, earning rebukes internationally.

“Although Bukele is a legiitmate, democratically president with solid majority backing, his authoritarian tendencies and weakening of any checks on his power is of great concern,” Shifter wrote. “The story is not unique to El Salvador — Democratic elections have yielded antidemocratic leaders and governments, of the right and the left elsewhere in Latin America. Experience tells us that such stories often have unhappy endings.”

About 51% of El Salvador’s 5.3 million registered voters turned out for Sunday’s election, will which also decide 262 municipal councils.

“This is what the people, the downtrodden, were waiting for,” said construction worker Salvador Torres. “We are tired of promises. They took all the money,” he said, referring to leaders of the two old-guard parties.

The leader of the Farabundo Marti Liberation Front, Oscar Ortiz, told journalists the party recognized the setback, which could reduce it to as few as eight seats in congress; the National Republican Alliance might win as few as a dozen.

Oscar Picardo, a researcher at the Francisco Gavidia University, said that Bukele’s party and its coalition ally might may have won enough seats for a two-thirds majority in congress, which would give the president even more power.

With that kind of majority, Bukele’s party would not only be able to advance the president’s agenda, but also name justices to the Supreme Court — another Bukele obstacle — as well as magistrates to the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, the attorney general, the prosecutor for the defense of human rights and others. Essentially his party could replace his loudest critics.

Eduardo Escobar, executive director of the nongovernmental organization Citizen Action, said that if New Ideas wins a congressional majority, El Salvador would lose “that brake on the exercise of power from the legislature when legality or constitutionality is exceeded, (and) that brakes any attempted abuse, any arbitrary act that the executive wants to commit.”

“It would deepen the authoritarianism of the government Bukele leads,” Escobar said, though he acknowledged that Bukele’s popularity remains at stratospheric levels and the rejection of the traditional parties is nearly as high.

New Ideas’ popularity is because “in the 30 years of government under these parties, the people have not seen improvements in their lives,” said Escobar.

In statements before polls closed, Bukele upped the stakes by calling on those who hadn’t voted yet to participate in “Operation Remate,” literally, “Operation finish them off.”

“Ï like to call it ”Operation Remate,” the country has decided to end the postwar era, but there is more to do,” Bukele said. “Let’s make this an overwhelming victory.”

Because campaigning is supposed to be suspended before and on election day, the country’s Supreme Electoral Tribunal said it would open an investigation into Bukele for making political statements on Sunday.

The tribunal noted that president is supposed to avoid using his office to influence election

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Colombia 1st in Americas With COVAX Supplied Vaccine

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombia on Monday became the first country in the Americas to receive a shipment of coronavirus vaccines from the United Nations-backed COVAX initiative, a program meant to ensure that the world’s most vulnerable people are inoculated but that has so far struggled to assist nations around the globe.

The arrival of 117,000 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine to the South American country’s capital, Bogota, came a few days after the anniversary of the first case of COVID-19 found in the region.

The Pan American Health Organization said it expects to increase vaccine access in the region through the COVAX effort each month, with plans to bring about 280 million vaccines to the Americas and the Caribbean by the end of the year.

But the initiative, formed to ensure fair access to vaccines by low- and middle-income countries, has been hampered by the severely limited global supply of doses and logistical problems. Although it aims to deliver 2 billion shots this year, it currently has legally binding agreements only for several hundred million shots.

The organization said in a news release Monday that 36 countries in the region will receive vaccines through the initiative. Of those, 26 will do so through their own funds while 10 will receive the vaccines for free.

“The arrival means that more health workers and high-risk populations can begin to be vaccinated,” World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement. “The COVID-19 pandemic can only end if vaccination occurs in an equitable way, and I am truly delighted to see vaccine doses in South America and other regions begin to be rolled out this week through COVAX.”

COVAX is only planning to provide enough vaccine for 20% to 30% of the people in poorer countries — a figure that will still leave those nations vulnerable to coronavirus outbreaks. Experts estimate that at least 70% of a population needs to be protected against COVID-19 to prevent future epidemics.

Colombia, the third largest country in Latin America by population, had already begun COVID-19 inoculations, receiving its first shipment of vaccines Feb. 15. The government has said it aims to vaccinate 35 million people this year, including hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan migrants and refugees who are currently living in the country.

The country of 50 million people has recorded more than 2.25 million cases and over 59,700 deaths of COVID-19. Its government expects to get 20 million doses of vaccines through the COVAX initiative this year.

“Today marks a very important milestone, today COVAX makes its first delivery in the Western Hemisphere, and the first country to receive it is Colombia,” President Iván Duque said during an event to announce the vaccine arrival. He added that the delivery makes clear “COVAX is active and works,” and called on “all of us to accelerate the distribution of vaccines through COVAX in the Americas.”

The Pan American Health Organization on Monday said all countries in the region are expected to receive initial doses of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccines starting this month if they meet all conditions. In addition, Peru, El Salvador and Bolivia will also receive Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines soon once administrative, legal and regulatory requirements are met.

Last week, Ghana was the first country in the world to receive vaccines through the COVAX initiative. The West African country received 600,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines

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WHO panel strongly advises against use of hydroxychloroquine to prevent COVID -19

GENEVA, Switzerland — The anti-inflammatory drug hydroxychloroquine should not be used to prevent infection in people who do not have COVID-19, say at the World Health Organisation’s Guideline Development Group panel of international experts in The BMJ today.

Their strong recommendation is based on high certainty evidence from six randomised controlled trials involving over 6,000 participants with and without known exposure to a person with the COVID-19 infection.

High certainty evidence showed that hydroxychloroquine had no meaningful effect on death and admission to hospital, while moderate certainty evidence showed that hydroxychloroquine had no meaningful effect on laboratory confirmed COVID-19 infection and it probably increases the risk of adverse effects.

The panel considers that this drug is no longer a research priority and that resources should be used to evaluate other more promising drugs to prevent COVID-19.
This guideline applies to all individuals who do not have COVID-19, regardless of their exposure to a person with COVID-19 infection.

The panel judged that almost all people would not consider this drug worthwhile, and also decided that factors such as resources, feasibility, acceptability, and equity for countries and healthcare systems were unlikely to alter the recommendation.

Today’s recommendation is the first version of a living guideline for drugs to prevent COVID-19, developed by the World Health Organization with the methodological support of MAGIC Evidence Ecosystem Foundation. Its aim is to provide trustworthy guidance on the management of COVID-19 and help doctors make better decisions with their patients.

Living guidelines are useful in fast moving research areas like COVID-19 because they allow researchers to update previously vetted and peer reviewed evidence summaries.

New recommendations for other preventive drugs for COVID-19 will be added to this guideline as more evidence becomes available.

More information is available at https://www.bmj.com/content/372/bmj.n526

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Health Minister Byron-Nisbett defends Indian company making COVID-19 vaccines

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts — Federal Minister of Health the Hon. Akilah Byron-Nisbett is assuring the nation that the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine being rolled out in the country is safe and that the Indian company making it is a world-leader in vaccine production.

“The vaccine is safe,” said Health Minister Byron-Nisbett. “We wouldn’t tell you that it is safe if it wasn’t so. I want to encourage everyone to go out and get vaccinated.”

The tent on the Ottley’s hardcourts where persons were encouraged to book an appointment to take the vaccine. Prime Minister Harris is standing on the right.

The Hon. Byron-Nisbett, who is also the Minister of ICT, Entertainment, Entrepreneurship and Talent Development, made the remarks on February 27, when she addressed participants in the Prime Minister’s Monthly Health Walk assembled at the Ottley’s hardcourts at the end of the walk.

“Serum Institute of India is producing the most AstraZeneca Oxford vaccinations that are being distributed throughout the world,” said Hon. Byron-Nisbett. “The AstraZeneca Oxford brand would not have asked Serum Institute to make the vaccine for them if they did not believe that they were capable of doing so. So there is no need to fear that the vaccines are from India. That has nothing to do with whether or not the vaccine would do what is expected to do.”

According to the Hon. Byron-Nisbett, roughly 90 percent of the vaccines made in the world are from the Serum Institute of India. She advised the audience that many of the vaccines they received as children, and those now being received by their children are made from the Serum Institute of India.

The information session on the vaccine rollout, which was held at the end of the walk, was also addressed by Prime Minister Dr the Hon Timothy Harris; Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Dr. Delores Stapleton-Harris; National HIV/AIDS Programme Coordinator and Health Educator, Dr. Mathias Afortu-Ofre; medical practitioners Dr. Dail Crawford, and Dr. Leroy Richardson; and District Medical Officer Dr. Bernicia Nisbett, who is also the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly.

“I had my shot, everybody saw that on Monday. and I am still feeling good,” commented the Hon. Byron-Nisbett. “There is no reason not to take the vaccine – we have more reasons to take it than not to take it.”

Members of the audience at the Ottley’s hardcourts were told they have an option, not to take the vaccine and get COVID-19 and risk having severe COVID-19 and possible death, or to take the vaccine and would not have severe COVID-19, nor would they die from COVID-19. She advised them to register under the tent that had been set up on the hardcourts and make an appointment to take the vaccine.

“The Ministry of Health will never tell anyone to take it if we do not believe it to be safe,” Byron-Nisbett pointed out. “The Prime Minister would not have taken it if he did not think it would be safe. We would not have allowed the Prime Minister take it if we did not believe that it was safe. So the fact that the Prime Minister took the vaccine the Ministry of Health endorsed that it is safe for our Prime Minister, the leader of this country to take the vaccine. That means you too can take the vaccine.”

Two members of the public Eldon ‘Big T’ Harris, and Damien Weekes, who already took the vaccine, said that it did not have any notable effect on them.

Health centres on St. Kitts offering the vaccine, according to Byron-Nisbett, are Basseterre, New Town, Sandy Point, Tabernacle, Cayon, and Molineux, while St. Peter’s Health Centre would be added to the list in the week starting March 1.

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Don’t wait, vaccinate: 20,000 more COVID-19 doses arrive in the Federation

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts — Now that the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis has secured an additional 20,000 doses of the AstraZeneca-Oxford University COVID-19 vaccine from the Government of the Republic of India, Prime Minister Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris is urging even more citizens and residents to step forward and accept the vaccination jab.

The vaccines arrived via the RSS aircraft earlier on March 1, and were handed over to the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis by His Excellency Dr. K. J. Srinivasa, High Commissioner of the Republic of India accredited to the Federation.

“To my fellow citizens and residents, I say it is now up to you to play your part in striking the final blows against COVID-19,” said Hon. Harris. “You can play an effective part by being vaccinated. Already, more than 600 plus of our citizens and residents have had their first vaccination shots, including Government and key frontline workers. This is a good start to be sure, but we need many more people to come forward,” Prime Minister Harris said during the handing over ceremony held at the Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport.

Monday’s ceremony was attended by Cabinet ministers, members of the National COVID-19 Task Force, health and tourism officials, and representatives of the media.

Prime Minister Harris said that through this generous donation, St. Kitts and Nevis now has a chance to put the COVID-19 pandemic in the rear view mirror.

“Let us not wait any longer for we now have 20,000 doses available,” said Dr. Harris. “The message then is quite simple, ‘Don’t wait, vaccinate.’ Don’t wait to protect your loved ones, vaccinate. Don’t wait to get our economy fully operational again, vaccinate. Don’t wait to get back to your way of life. vaccinate. Don’t wait to protect your family. vaccinate. Don’t wait to protect your health, vaccinate. Don’t wait any longer for COVID-19 to go away, the answer is to vaccinate.”

Prime Minister Harris used his own personal experience, as one of the first persons in St. Kitts and Nevis to take the vaccine jab, to dismiss the concerns of some members of society.

“I had the vaccine last Monday, February 22, so have several other members of the Cabinet of St. Kitts and Nevis and I feel fine,” said Dr. Harris. “So fine that last Monday and everyday thereafter I worked late every night after taking the vaccine and I continued my very busy schedule of activities.”

Vaccinations are now being administered at the Newtown, Basseterre, Sandy Point, and Tabernacle Health Centres in St. Kitts; and the Charlestown, Gingerland, and Combermere Health Centres in Nevis.

According to Prime Minister Harris, with the arrival of the 20,000 doses of vaccine, the Government intends to expand the number of centres to which persons can go to get vaccinated.

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Destiny Intl. Church service held on Feb. 28 at its new St. Johnson Village location

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts — Sunday February 28 was a historic day for the leadership and membership of Destiny International Church as they congregated for the morning worship at a new location. In their midst was Prime Minister Dr the Hon Timothy Harris.

Destiny International Church was established in 2010. A congregation met and worshipped for the first time on Sunday, October 10, 2010 in Sandy Point.

The church relocated to Manhattan Gardens in Lime Kiln in June 2020. On Sunday February 28 the church met for the first time at a new location on Infirmary Road in St. Johnson Village. The service was in the same building that was formerly occupied by Antioch Baptist Church before it relocated to its new location in Lime Kiln.

Prime Minister Dr the Hon. Timothy Harris, right, with Pastor Steve Huggins after the worship service at the Destiny International Church.

“Today was our very first service at the old Antioch Baptist Church,” said Pastor Steve Huggins. “I personally want to take this time out to thank Prime Minister, Dr. the Hon Timothy Harris, for fellowshipping with us, taking his time out to be part of our first service at our new location here on Infirmary Road, St. Johnson Village in West Basseterre.”

Joining Prime Minister Harris for the worship service were Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Senator the Hon. Dr. Bernicia Nisbett; leadership and membership of Peoples Labour Party (PLP) Constituency Number Five Executive Branch led by Chairman Glenville Mills; and Deputy Chairperson Ms Marsha Lewis.

Pastor Steve Huggins holds Baby Kahmara Syder during the dedication, as the baby’s parents and godparents look on.

“I also want to thank those that took their time out as well and came out with the Prime Minister and to worship with us at our new location, and we appreciate having them,” said Pastor Huggins. “We got feedback from some of them after the service, hoping finally that in the future we will have them back again to worship and fellowship with us as a church going forward.”

While giving remarks at the church, Prime Minister Harris thanked Deputy Speaker, Senator the Hon Dr. Bernicia Nisbett and other supporters who come out to worship in the church.

“This church, before you were here, was a place of very vibrant worship where people made loud noises in praise and honour of God. I know the Destiny Church will be just as good or even better in making noises to the Lord,” said Dr. Harris. “We ask that God continues to bless the efforts of the leadership of the church and to bless the membership of the church.”

Dr. Harris said he was impressed to see young people participating in leading the worship and thanked the church for investing in the youth. He pointed out that the Praise Team, led by Sister Thyer Mills, rendered a beautiful song, ‘the Mountains We Have to Climb.’ He said that as Christians, the people in St. Kitts and Nevis are fortunate as they are able to overcome obstacles and receive the blessing of God. He reminded that a nation that continues to extol God is a nation that will prosper.

“I want to thank all the churches in our country for the work that you have been doing,” said Dr Harris in conclusion. “It is because of your work in society that all of us can sing the song and acknowledge the goodness of God – the goodness of God still running after us. Blessings to all of you, blessings to all of the people in this country that I love. I thank everyone in the church for support the leaders, who hold up the Prime Minister in prayer.”

During the service, Pastor Huggins received and dedicated two babies who were brought by their parents and godparents. Parents Bernard Benjamin and Ms. Latisha Caesar brought baby Amelia Benjamin; while parents Ms. Shamara Syder and Colanjae Charles brought Baby Kahmara Syder.

“I believe in impacting lives,” said Pastor Huggins. “My passion is always towards young people seeing their lives being changed, seeing people’s lives transformed and today we had an example of that as some babies were dedicated. We keep investing in our youth and we have some really major plans in the future for our young people and the people in the community that we are part of.”

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