U.S. Cases Ease Further With Stimulus on the Way: Virus Update Bloomberg 3/6/2021 Bloomberg News © Photographer: Amir Hamja/Bloomberg Pedestrians pass in front of an AMC movie theater in the Times Square neighborhood of New York, on Oct. 15, 2020.
(Bloomberg)
U.S. Covid-19 cases increased by about 65,000 Friday, in a week in which new infections declined by 12%. Many states are pressing ahead with reopening and Senate passage of President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus bill sets the stage for added support to the economy.
But cases and hospitalizations remain high, falling just recently to the levels of the surge last summer. Deaths remain well above that level. Hospitalizations in New York, the state with the highest levels in the U.S., fell to less than 5,000 for the first time since early December. Protesters in Idaho burned masks.
Finland postpones municipal elections as coronavirus cases surge
reuters.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from reuters.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Finland postpones election until June due to worsening pandemic
yle.fi - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from yle.fi Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Finland will go into a partial three-week shutdown from 8 March as the country’s coronavirus situation has been deteriorating since Christmas, the Finnish government has announced. According to Interior Minister Maria Ohisalo, this will be the “final spurt to accelerate toward brighter times.”
While attempts to prevent the spread of the UK COVID-strain, which accounts for about 30% of the new coronavirus cases, have failed, infection rates, especially emanating from construction sites, have been alarming. For now, only 10% of Finns have been vaccinated.
The partial shutdown will come into force in the seven areas currently in the “spreading” stage of the pandemic. Bars, pubs, restaurants, and nightclubs will close, while daycare and early education facilities will remain open. Though gatherings of more than six people will not be allowed, businesses suffering from the measures have been promised compensation.