France eases COVID-19 curbs, including outdoor mask-wearing

PARIS — France began lifting coronavirus restrictions including mandatory outdoor mask-wearing Wednesday in a bid to ease citizens' daily lives, dividing opinion as the country only last month reported record COVID-19 infections.

Audience capacity limits for concert halls, sporting matches and other events were also removed, and although home working will no longer be mandated, it is still recommended.

The move begins a 2-part relaxation of curbs announced at the end of January -- despite the country hitting record levels of daily cases last month -- and comes as England and Denmark also eased their restrictions.

France "will be able to lift most of the restrictions taken to curb the epidemic in February" thanks to the new vaccination pass, which replaced the health pass, Prime Minister Jean Castex said in January.

Since last month proof of inoculation records have been required for the new passes -- needed to access everything from bars and restaurants to long-distance public transport.

Previously, the health pass could also be obtained with a recent negative COVID-19 test, a possibility the government ended in its bid to convince more people to get COVID jabs. 

The second stage of the curb-lifting will see nightclubs, shut since December, reopen on Feb. 16 and standing areas will again be allowed at concerts, sporting events and bars.

Eating and drinking will also be permitted in stadiums, cinemas and public transport from then.

Paris has not made the easing of restrictions conditional on the progress of the health situation.

Authorities view the threat of the Omicron variant as limited and less dangerous than previous strains of the virus, even though it is more contagious.

"We have seen a weak reversal of the trend over the past few days, with fewer cases declared each day than 7 days earlier," government spokesman Gabriel Attal told France Info radio Tuesday.

An average of 322,256 cases were recorded over the previous 7 days, according to latest figures, compared with 366,179 a week ago.

Attal called it a "very encouraging signal" but said officials "remain cautious" because of a "very contagious" sub-variant of Omicron that appears to have delayed the peak of infections in other countries.

Agence France-Presse

Does a face mask protect me, or just the people around me?

Does a face mask protect me, or just the people around me?

It likely provides protection for both.

Studies on the new coronavirus and other germs show wearing a mask helps stop infected people from spreading disease to others. Evidence also suggests that masks may offer some protection for the people wearing them.

The virus spreads from droplets people spray when they cough, sneeze or talk. Surgical or cloth face masks can block most of those particles from spreading.

While some droplets may still spread out, wearing a mask could reduce the amount, providing a benefit to others. Research shows people don’t get as sick when exposed to smaller amounts of virus, said Dr. Monica Gandhi, a virus expert at University of California, San Francisco.

And masks may protect the people wearing them by reducing the amount of droplets from others that might make contact with them.

In two U.S. food processing plants where masks were required and infection clusters occurred, Gandhi noted that most workers who developed COVID-19 had mild illness or no symptoms.

Research on a different coronavirus has also found low infection rates among people who frequently wore masks in public.

Experts say masks are particularly important with the new coronavirus because infected people can be contagious even if they don’t have symptoms.

Associated Press

Soccer: Dortmund's Sancho, Akanji fined for getting haircuts without face masks

BERLIN - Borussia Dortmund's Jadon Sancho and Manuel Akanji were fined an unspecified amount by the German Football League (DFL) on Friday for failing to wear face masks during a visit from a hair dresser.

The DFL said both players had broken the health guidelines that have governed Bundesliga clubs and players since the league restarted amid the COVID-19 pandemic on May 16.

Six Dortmund players, including England international Sancho and Akanji, got their hair cut by the hairdresser who then asked some of them to take pictures with him.

"It is clear that pro players also need to get their hair cut. But that has to happen in line with the medical and hygiene concept," the DFL said in a statement.

"The fines are not against the club which is not seen as having a responsibility in this case."

Sancho, 20, responded on Twitter https://twitter.com/Sanchooo10/status/1268937366254825473, describing the decision as an "absolute joke".

Bundesliga matches are played without fans and teams must adhere to strict health guidelines that regulate the process and operation of training sessions and games. The league, with five rounds of matches left in the season, plans to finish by the end of the month.

Sancho also hit the headlines last weekend when after scoring he revealed an undershirt with the message "Justice for George Floyd" — an unarmed black man who died in Minneapolis after a white U.S. police officer knelt on his neck.

Sancho escaped any sanction after the German Football Association said players were free to show their support for protests over Floyd's death. (Reporting by Karolos Grohmann, Editing by Toby Davis and Ed Osmond)

-reuters-

Taytay taps local garment sector to make face masks

MANILA -- Taytay, known as the “garments capital of the Philippines” has taken an economic hit amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis. 

Once crowded by local and tourist shoppers, the famous Taytay Tiangge, which spans for over 5,000 square meters, is a ghost town after it was shut down. 

“We closed the tiangge to implement the social distancing policy,” Mark Jay Valdez, Taytay municipal public information office chief, said. 

“Unang-una na naapektuhan ang mga dressmakers, manufacturers, and mananahi namin. Nawalan sila ng trabaho at puhunan,” he added. 

To help ease the financial blow on the town’s dressmakers, the local government asked them to produce washable face masks in lieu of the usual garments they manufacture. 

“The municipality reached out to them, para may kita sila kahit papano, during the community quarantine,” Valdez said.

According to Valdez, each face mask is sold for P8. 

On top of providing temporary jobs, according to Valdez, the initiative also mitigates the insatiable demand for face masks, which, like elsewhere in the country, is sold out in every pharmacy. 

“We gave our residents masks, along with other essentials. We have also started providing masks in other neighboring communities. We have also begun supplying washable masks in some Metro Manila hospitals,” he added. 

As of this writing, the LGU has distributed at least 52,000 masks. 

Dr. Edsel Salvana, director of the National Institutes of Health’s Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, however, warned that cloth masks do not offer the same protection as surgical masks as they lack the filters found in surgical masks. 

“Ang cloth mask hindi gumagana dahil walang filter. Akala niyo protektado kayo, hindi pala,” Salvana said in a press conference. 

Valdez, however, explained that the Taytay garment manufacturers insert sterile tissue papers as a “disposable lining in between the cloth to make it effective.” 

“Meron siyang sterile tissue or wet wipes na tuyo. Napapalitan 'yung sterile tissue, and nalalabhan 'yung mask mismo,” he added. 

In a Facebook post that went viral, Dr. Chen Xiaoting, a Taiwanese anesthesiologist, advocated the use of cloth masks (and making one), as long as they are used correctly and washed often. 

According to Xiaoting, cloth masks must be structured similarly to the the three-layer structure of surgical mask which consists of a waterproof non-woven layer, a microfiber non-woven fabric in the middle, and another layer of ordinary non-woven fabric at the back to be effective. 

The Taiwanese doctor used wet tissues that have been dried and inserted it into a specially-made slot in his cloth mask. He also noted that the wet tissues should always be new and should never be reused. 

Xiaoting stressed that this type of a mask is merely to “prevent someone else's saliva from touching your own.” 

Similarly, in Thailand, the shortage of surgical masks prompted health authorities to encouraged their citizens to use — and make their own cloth masks — in lieu of surgical masks and respirators. 

In a public health ministry video, Panpimon Wipulakorn, director-general for Thailand’s Department of Health, demonstrated how to make cloth masks at home, and encouraged citizens to follow as well. 

While masks may provide a sense of comfort, the World Health Organization (WHO), however, reminded citizens that frequent washing of hands with soap is a more effective way to avoid contracting the virus. 

"Just because you wear a mask, you should not neglect keeping your hands clean. Because if you touch the mask and you have droplets on the outer surface of the mask that somebody else cough on, you could still get infected,” WHO Philippines representative Rabindra Abeyasinghe said during a Senate hearing. 

WHO also reiterated the importance of keeping a distance of at least 1 meter (or 3 feet), especially from those exhibiting symptoms. 

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Indonesia to ban face mask exports to ensure domestic supply

JAKARTA - Indonesia will temporarily ban the export of face masks to safeguard domestic supply amid the coronavirus outbreak, Trade Minister Agus Suparmanto said on Friday.

"We will issue a temporary export ban for mask products to meet demand from domestic industries and consumers," Suparmanto told reporters. The ban will be kept in place until the government is satisfied local supply is adequate, he said.

Prices for face masks have jumped in some parts of Indonesia as buyers stock up on protective supplies such as masks and hand sanitizers due to worries about the coronavirus.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

1 million products banned on Amazon over false coronavirus claims

Amazon.com Inc has barred more than 1 million products from sale in recent weeks that had inaccurately claimed to cure or defend against the coronavirus, the company told Reuters on Thursday.

Amazon also removed tens of thousands of deals from merchants that it said attempted to price-gouge customers. The world's largest online retailer has faced scrutiny over the health-related offers on its platform, and earlier this week Italy launched a probe into surging prices around the internet for sanitizing gels and hygiene masks while it battled the biggest outbreak in Europe.

The coronavirus has caused at least 2,797 deaths globally. New reported infections around the world now exceed those from mainland China, where the flu-like disease arose two months ago out of an illegal wildlife market. Governments from Australia to Iran have closed schools, scrapped events and stockpiled medical supplies to contain the virus's spread.

One offer comparison site showed recent examples of higher-than-usual prices for masks on Amazon made by US industrial conglomerate 3M Co.

A merchant Thursday offered a 10-pack of N95 masks for $128, a Reuters reporter saw when clicking through the buying options on Amazon. That was up from a recent seller average price of $41.24, according to the tracking website camelcamelcamel.com. The item was no longer available in a check later in the day.

A two-pack respirator was offered new at $24.99 earlier this week by a third-party seller, up from a recent average of $6.65 when sold by Amazon, the price-following site showed.

"There is no place for price gouging on Amazon," a spokeswoman said in a statement, citing the company's policy that product information must be accurate and that Amazon can take down offers that hurt customer trust, including when pricing "is significantly higher than recent prices offered on or off Amazon."

It declined to specify the exact threshold at which an item is considered unfairly priced.

The company said it has monitored for price spikes and false claims through a mix of automated and manual review of listings.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Mercury Drug replenishing face mask supply, says to keep price unchanged

MANILA -- Mercury Drug said Monday it was working with suppliers to replenish its stock of face masks after demand from those seeking to protect themselves from Taal Volcano ash fall depleted inventory.

Areas affected by the volcanic eruption will be prioritized when distributing face mask supply, the country's largest drug store chain said.

Mercury Drug said face mask prices would remain steady and it would not hoard supply.

Vice Mayor Honey Lacuna-Pangan earlier said she received reports that face masks had sold for P200 from P25 to P30 apiece before the eruption.

source: news.abs-cbn.com