 | | | What you need to know about the coronavirus today | | | | | | U.S. ready for domestic shipment of vaccines
The U.S. Transportation Department said Tuesday it had made preparations to enable the “immediate mass shipment” of COVID-19 vaccines and completed all necessary regulatory measures.
U.S. agencies have been coordinating with private sector companies that will carry vaccines from manufacturing facilities to distribution centers and inoculation points.
The department is preparing to ensure deliveries of vaccine doses for about 40 million U.S. residents through January, or about 20 million a month, officials told Reuters.
WHO tightens guidelines on mask-wearing
People living in areas with where COVID-19 is spreading should always wear masks in shops, workplaces and schools that lack adequate ventilation, the World Health Organization said.
If they cannot maintain physical distancing of at least one meter (3 ft), people in those indoor locations - including children and students aged 12 or over - should wear a mask even if the spaces are well ventilated, it said in a tightening of its guidelines.
They should also wear masks outdoors if physical distancing cannot be maintained, it said.
Swiss plough ahead with skiing despite neighbors’ fears
Swiss ski resorts are ploughing ahead with preparations for the year-end holiday season despite pressure from neighboring Italy, France and Germany to stay shut until the latest coronavirus wave passes.
Health Minister Alain Berset has proposed limits on the capacity of ski lifts at Christmas and the New Year, but lift operators and mountain regions who already expect many foreign visitors to stay away during the festive period bristle at the added restrictions.
Verbier Mayor Eloi Rossier acknowledged feeling the heat from other countries, but said his town’s ski economy was too important to simply call off the season.
Australian state dances again
Australia’s most populous state said that it would remove limits on the number of people at weddings, bars and religious services and end a ban on public venue dancing as a run of coronavirus-free days prompted a broad downgrade of social distancing rules.
The changes announced by New South Wales come in time for Australia’s summer holidays, and mark the biggest lifting of precautionary measures since a nationwide lockdowns began in March.
People in the state, where a third of Australia’s 25 million population lives, would also be allowed to drink standing up at pubs, while seated outdoor events could host up to 5,000 people.
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