Sweden's inquiry into its handling of the pandemic is a mixed bag. On the one hand, it comes out against lockdowns, but on the other hand, it criticises the Government for not being quicker to impose restrictions.
All remaining domestic Covid restrictions, including the requirement to isolate when testing positive for the virus, are to be removed on Thursday, February 24th, Boris Johnson has announced in the House of Commons.
New Zealand will lift COVID-19 vaccine mandates and restrictions after the Omicron peak has passed, Jacinda Ardern has said, as protesters occupying the parliament grounds again clashed with police.
In a last-ditch effort to force Boris to reconsider his plans to lift all remaining Covid restrictions within weeks, SAGE has conjured up yet another apocalyptic scenario out of thin air.
The NHS Confederation, which represents NHS bosses, has called for free Covid testing to remain and said 75% of senior staff in England did not want self-isolation rules to end.
In March 2020, Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty said people should not wear face masks because they don't work. Then he said they might work a bit. Then, with no new evidence, he supported making them compulsory. Why?
Canadian PM Justin Trudeau has invoked the Emergencies Act to crack down on Freedom Convoy protests, which includes empowering banks to freeze the personal accounts of protestors.
The New Zealand Government has said the protest outside Parliament is a police matter. But the police tried and failed to remove it this week as clips of the violence went viral. It needs a political solution.
Freedom Convoy protests continue in Canada, France and New Zealand – three countries where extreme responses to Covid have persisted for two years and where the unvaccinated are targeted with harsh restrictions.
Norway scrapped almost all remaining restrictions today, doing away with its self-isolation and face mask requirements and ending social distancing, despite being in the middle of its Omicron surge.
