Category: Uncategorized

Millions told to stay home while mass Covid testing underway

The Chinese government is testing around 14 million people to avoid another coronavirus outbreak

All residents in Tianjin, China have been advised to not leave their homes until they receive a negative result in the latest city-wide testing for Covid. The decision comes after 20 cases were detected.

China’s ‘zero tolerance’ approach to Covid-19 is now being applied in the northern city of Tianjin, which borders Beijing. On Sunday, its entire population of nearly 14 million was told to stay home while the authorities conduct mass testing for the virus.

Until a ‘green health code’ (for negative tests) is received, no one is allowed to travel or go about their daily routine. The code is used on Covid-tracing smartphone apps, which is required in many places, as well as public transportation. The government said it aims to test all residents within a couple of days.


READ MORE: Millions of people sent into Covid lockdown in China

Dozens of residential communities were sealed off on Saturday evening, and the entire city became a new area of concern after two cases were detected. The cases were caused by the Omicron variant and the patients had mild symptoms, state media reported on Sunday.

The first two confirmed patients are a 10-year-old girl and a woman who works in childcare. A cluster of 18 more people, mainly children from 8 to 13 years old, was then detected. Nearly 800 potential contacts tested negative.

At the moment, over 14 million people in two other Chinese cities, Xian and Yuzhou, are under lockdown. China’s coronavirus situation is attracting a lot of media attention as the country prepares to host the Winter Olympics in less than a month.

NHS staff’s purple ribbon revolt grows over compulsory vaccinations: Twitter account posts photos of nurses wearing bows in defiance of the Health Secretary after doctors warned ‘no jab, no job’ rule will make health service shortages worse

NHS medics have started wearing purple ribbons to signal their opposition to Sajid Javid’s order that all healthcare staff must have a Covid jab.

A Twitter account called NHS100k, which has 16,000 followers, has posted pictures of nurses, radiologists and vascular scientists all wearing purple bows in defiance of the Health Secretary in the past week.

The account says: ‘So many wonderful healthcare staff are showing solidarity and uniting together in support of stopping these mandates.’

It retweeted a picture of nurse Hannah Gardner, who said: ‘Good enough through the pandemic on the front line for two years, but soon to be sacked for not wanting the Covid jabs just yet. My body, my choice. Wearing my purple ribbon with pride.’

The account was co-founded by Jay Weston, 30, an emergency medical technician from Cheshire. He told The Mail on Sunday that he and group of paramedics chose purple as a neutral colour to ‘encourage discussion between staff who feel isolated for choosing not to receive a vaccine’.

From April, NHS medics will need to have had at least two Covid jabs to go to work if their role involves ‘direct contact with patients’, unless they have an exemption. The requirement will also apply to those working in general practice, private hospitals, community services, and any other health or care organisation regulated by the Care Quality Commission.

Read more: NHS staff’s purple ribbon revolt grows over compulsory vaccinations: Twitter account posts photos of nurses wearing bows in defiance of the Health Secretary after doctors warned ‘no jab, no job’ rule will make health service shortages worse

Thousands rally against vaccination of children (VIDEOS)

A huge crowd marched through Melbourne to protest the vaccination of 5 to 11-year-olds

Thousands of maskless demonstrators took to the streets of Melbourne on Saturday to decry the Australian government’s decision to greenlight Covid-19 vaccines for children as young as five.

Despite the rainy weather, the ‘Save Our Children’ protest attracted a huge crowd in the central business district in the capital of the state of Victoria.

People arrived outside the heavily guarded Parliament House to express their outrage over the vaccination of children, which kicks off across Australia on Monday.

🇦🇺 Australia – Melbourne [Jan 8, 2022]

Protest in #Melbourne against vax mandates & passports!#NoVaccinePassports #NoGreenPass #NoAlPaseSanitario #Freedomrally #DoNotComply #NonAuPassSanitaire #PassaporteSanitarioNao #Freiheit #nejtillvaccinpass #GeenQR pic.twitter.com/69rBHUqhuY

— 🏛️ BMedia 🇳🇱📵 (@BananaMediaQ) January 8, 2022

Demonstrators carried signs reading: “Leave our children alone,” “Hands off our kids,” and “Stop poisoning our children.”

The Crowd singing I am Australian, a song that’s come to be an anthem for the protests Down Under.#melbourneprotest #Melbourne #theseekers pic.twitter.com/WRkcZ1CjrG

— Nathan Livingstone (@NathanLivOnline) January 8, 2022

They then marched from the parliament building to Alexandra Gardens, chanting: “Save our children” and “No more mandates” to the sound of drums.  

Today Despite heavy rain in Melbourne, Australia, people still go out to protest against the tyranny of Covid, flags of many countries in the same fight against the government pic.twitter.com/OzFBDc777q

— Nguyen Ken (@NguyenK37230640) January 8, 2022

Almost no one in the crowd was wearing a mask; some protesters even offered free hugs to others.

Emotional scenes on the streets of Melbourne as fed up bystanders accept hugs and join the protest.#melbourneprotest #freehugarmy pic.twitter.com/LBRcnP34cf

— Nathan Livingstone (@NathanLivOnline) January 8, 2022

The rally went on peacefully. Law enforcement said the “highly visible police presence” caused the protesters to refrain from any provocative actions.

The Australian authorities approved Covid shots for those aged five to 11 years old last month, saying the immunization drive will begin on January 10. The children will receive two shots eight weeks apart, and the doses will be one-third of what those over 12 receive.


READ MORE: Dozens of children mistakenly given Covid jabs for adults

Health Minister Greg Hunt said Australia has enough vaccines for the 2.3 million children in the age group, despite earlier concerns that there would not be enough. “Three million doses [will be] available over January and two million over the course of the next two weeks,” he said.