European countries lifted COVID-19 restrictions "too brutally": WHO
WHO "영.프.독 등 유럽국가, 제한조처 너무 급격히 해제" The World Health Organization says numerous European countries have lifted their COVID-19 restrictions "too brutally"... from excessively strict to overly careless,... leading to the latest spread of the virus. This comes as the region reported over 5 million new infections during the past week. Kim Hyo-sun reports. The WHO says several European countries, including Germany, France, and Britain,... have eased their COVID-19 restrictions too brutally. These countries are now witnessing a rise in new cases,... most likely caused by the more transmissible BA2 variant, nicknamed "Stealth Omicron." Speaking during a press briefing Tuesday,... the WHO Europe director said the virus is on the rise in many countries in the region,... namely the UK, France, Italy, and Germany. The number of COVID-19 cases in Europe fell sharply after peaking in late January,... but the region has been witnessing a virus resurgence since early March. Just last week alone,... the WHO reported over 5-point-1 million new COVID-19 cases within the European region. South Africa is also easing anti-virus measures,... with masks no longer required when people are outdoors. The decision comes as the government prepares to lift the state of disaster,... and move onto the next chapter of the pandemic. Over in Asia,... Japan has decided to end a COVID-19 quasi-state of emergency in all 18 affected prefectures,... amid a declining trend in the number of new cases. This is the first time since early January for the country to have no emergency measures in place. The move comes as the country's daily COVID-19 tally has hovered around the 20-thousand mark for two straight days. Residents in the country's capital welcomed the move. "I had a part-time job at a restaurant, and the revenue decreased because of the COVID-19 quasi-emergency measures. So I'm glad it's over because now profits will increase." Meanwhile,... China has reported over 4-thousand new cases for the second straight day,... as its "zero-COVID" strategy is confronted by an Omicron wave. With a large majority of the new cases reported in the country's north-eastern province of Jilin,... Chinese authorities ordered late Monday a lockdown of the city of Shenyang in neighboring Liaoning province. The industrial city of 9 million is preventing residents from leaving their homes without a 48-hour negative test result. Shanghai Disneyland resort is closed again until further notice,... as the city is witnessing a rise in new cases. The country's financial hub has reported a fifth consecutive daily record for locally transmitted COVID-19 cases,... with over 860 cases reported Monday,... up from some 730 a day earlier. Kim Hyo-sun, Arirang News. #WorldHealthOrganization #COVID19 #too_brutally 📣 Arirang News(Facebook) : / arirangtvnews 📣 Arirang News(Twitter) : / arirangtvnews 📣 News Center(YouTube) : / newscenter_arirangtv 2022-03-23, 08:00 (KST)
