Pandemic kaleidoscope: Europe eases curbs, new Omicron subvariant, authoritarians tighten grip

In the US, the number of recorded cases and the number of patients with Covid-19 in hospitals slipped further, while the number of recorded Covid-19 deaths rose to its highest since early last year.

Denmark said it would lift most mandatory restrictions on February 1. Premier Mette Frederiksen said on January 26 that measures ranging from mask mandates, to mandatory vaccinations for access to some public spaces and shortened opening times for some businesses, would all end, with some traveling restrictions remaining in place until the end of February.

Omicron subvariant

The decision comes as a subvariant of Omicron — known as BA.2 — appeared to be gaining ground in Denmark. The version is under observation in several countries, including the UK and India, and has been identified in about 40 countries worldwide, including the US. There are signs that BA.2 may be gaining ground in Denmark over the original Omicron strain, known as BA.1, but there is no evidence that it causes more serious disease, scientists say.

Austria said Wednesday it would end its lockdown for unvaccinated residents on Monday. Some restrictions, including mask mandates, will remain and while unvaccinated people will be allowed to leave their homes, they will be barred from most of public life.

In the Netherlands, which had one of Europe’s strictest lockdowns in the Omicron wave, cafes and restaurants have been allowed to reopen in the evening since Wednesday. The Swedish government said this week current restrictions would continue for now but could be lifted on February 9, and France has announced limited relaxations of its strict anti-Covid-19 measures.

In England, almost all remaining Covid-19 restrictions were lifted on Thursday. Face coverings will no longer be required for indoor venues, but shops and transport companies may continue to require them. A legal requirement for people with Covid-19 to self-isolate for at least five days remains in place.

This gradual normalization, whose extent still varies greatly from country to country, is taking place even though Covid-19 infections show little sign of decelerating on the continent.

Welcoming the life we knew before

Denmark’s prime minister said the country would be throwing out most of the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions it placed, including mask mandates.

Restrictions currently in place are for the public to wear masks on public transportation, in restaurants, in shops, and people entering health care facilities and retirement homes, according to the Associated Press. However, following the February 1 change of restrictions, masks will only be required in hospitals, health care facilities and homes for the elderly.

“We say goodbye to the restrictions and welcome the life we knew before,” Premier Frederiksen said. “As of February 1, Denmark will be open.”

Despite the lifting of restrictions, Frederiksen warned there could be a rise in infections, which may lead to a fourth vaccination shot being necessary.

“It may seem strange that we want to remove restrictions given the high infection rates,” Frederiksen said. “But fewer people become seriously ill.”

Covid less severewith Omicron

Reuters reported on January 26 that a US study shows Omicron as less severe than Delta.

Despite the steep spike in Covid cases, the percentage of hospitalized patients admitted to intensive care units (ICU) during the current Omicron wave was about 29 percent lower than during last winter’s surge and some 26 percent lower than during the Delta wave, the study published on Tuesday in the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report found.

The Omicron variant appears to result in less severe Covid-19 than seen during previous periods of high coronavirus transmission including the Delta wave, with shorter hospital stays, less need for intensive care and fewer deaths, according to a new US study.

However, the fast-spreading Omicron variant has led to record numbers of infections and hospitalizations, straining the US health care system.

Despite the steep spike in Covid cases, the percentage of hospitalized patients admitted to intensive care units (ICU) during the current Omicron wave was about 29 percent lower than during last winter’s surge and some 26 percent lower than during the Delta wave, the study published on Tuesday in the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report found.

The lower Covid-19 disease severity during the Omicron period is likely related to higher vaccination coverage, booster use among those eligible for the extra shots, as well as prior infections providing some immune protection, the study said.

Deaths in the period from December 19 to January 15, when Omicron infections were at a peak, averaged 9 per 1,000 Covid cases, compared to 16 per 1,000 in the previous winter peak and 13 during the Delta wave, the study showed.

The findings were consistent with previous data analyses from South Africa, England and Scotland, where infections from Omicron peaked earlier than in the United States, the CDC said.

Relatively high hospitalizations among children during the Omicron period may be related to lower vaccination rates compared with adults, the agency said. Children under age 5 are not yet eligible for vaccines in the United States and the rate of vaccination among older children lags that of adults.

The study involved analysis of data from a large health care database and three surveillance systems to assess US Covid-19 characteristics from Dec. 1, 2020 to Jan. 15, 2022.

Authoritarians tighten grip

Newsweek reported on how authoritarian rulers are increasingly squeezing civil society.

Across the globe, authoritarian rulers are targeting civil society more and more. In Russia, the government has stigmatized dozens of NGOs as “foreign agents,” while India has sought to cut off funding to groups, including Greenpeace and Mother Teresa’s children’s charity. In Hong Kong, activists face the choice of exile or self-censorship as a Beijing-led crackdown intensifies.

And now, Thailand looks like the next country to join this race to the bottom.

In January this year, the Thai cabinet approved the draft of a wildly new repressive law on civil society. If, as is expected, the law is soon approved by parliament, it is no exaggeration to say it could mean the death of Thailand’s vibrant civil society scene. The consequences for human rights in Thailand, and the wider region, would be severe.

The government’s push for a new NGO law has not come in a vacuum.

The new law, the Operation of Not-forProfit Organizations Act (the “NGO Law”), has been in the works since at least 2015. The very first draft was actually developed with good intentions and in collaboration with civil society, but in June it was effectively “hijacked” by the regime and turned into a tool purely to control and criminalize NGOs.

The draft that was approved by the cabinet a few weeks ago is hugely problematic. It would impose sweeping restrictions on the nonprofit sector, with far-reaching consequences for the fundamental freedoms of speech, assembly and association.

For one, the law takes a cue from Russia and India by placing broad restrictions on organizations receiving foreign funding…. There are at least 85 foreign organizations in Thailand that would be directly affected by this as well as many national ones — including even small, community-based groups — that rely on foreign funding. This threatens to cut off much-needed development aid, including through UN agencies.