Israel, the UK and New Zealand are getting closer to normal

Jonathan Toro – [email protected]

While The third wave of infections has worsened in some economies of Latin America and the world, and many countries are beginning to progress back to normal life. Among the countries that have begun lifting restrictions are Israel, the United Kingdom and New Zealand. In addition, there is a list of small Pacific islands that have not previously been infected with the virus in their territory.

During the first week of March, Israel, which managed to vaccinate 5.34 million people, half of its population, announced the complete opening of bars and restaurants, as well as a return to student ranks.

HoweverIncreasing freedom of movement is accompanied by a series of regulations that still prohibit close contact in schools and mass gatherings. On the other hand, the rule requiring Israelis to wear masks in public has recently been lifted.

Although the outlook is generally positive, the regulations apply only to persons within the national territory. For the rest, the country maintains strong border controls and measures to prevent a new spread of the covid-19 virus within its borders.

In line with this, Dr. Gilly Regev Yochai, a researcher at Sheba Medical Center in Israel, stated that it is very likely that the country has already achieved herd immunity due to the large number of vaccines offered and the population that has contracted the virus. .

However, Regev Yochai, who is also the director of the Infection Prevention and Control Unit at Sheba Medical Center, noted, “Despite the return of the country to routine in many ways, one cannot speak of absolute security. Children are still the weak point because they have not They are vaccinated and it will be a few months until they are vaccinated.”

in northern europe, The United Kingdom has announced, since the beginning of the year, its plan to return life to normal, which aims to lift restrictions completely at the end of May this year.

In Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s country, a four-phase plan has been designed, which began in March with the reopening of schools and has already managed to open bars, hairdressers, non-essential stores and gyms. Likewise, parties with a maximum capacity of 15 people can be held.

The third phase of reopening will begin on May 17 and will expand freedoms for meetings of more than 30 people, outdoor shows for 4,000 attendees and mega shows at 50% capacity. However, the borders will remain closed until the four phases of the plan are completed.

In Europe, Denmark, Finland, Germany and Iceland have relaxed rules and put in place reopening plans. Since then, no new cases have been reported in Iceland.

In the Pacific, Australia and New Zealand They have implemented strict lockdowns and confinement measures abroad. However, they have made international travel between the two countries more flexible, and in the case of Australia, all flights are expected to be enabled in the third quarter of this year.

In New Zealand, where 2,590 infections and 26 deaths have been reported since the pandemic began, it has already been announced that there will be no international travel this year, but schools, bars, restaurants and workplaces are already operating normally, under new biosecurity protocols.

On the same side of the planet is a list of ten islands that have never reported cases of coronavirus. Palau, Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Kiribati, Solomon Islands, Tavalu, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu have closed their borders and isolated themselves from the world to prevent the virus from arriving.

Taiwan was one of the countries that never closed down

According to Domingo Daiming Ja, director of the Taipei Commercial Office in Colombia, the Asian island recorded only 1,070 cases of covid-19 and 11 deaths from the virus in the entire epidemic. For this reason, the state did not deny itself from continuing to lead a normal life. During these months of social distancing in the rest of the world, Taiwanese have continued to study by themselves, go to work in offices, celebrate weddings, fill baseball fields, attend concerts, and enjoy parties.