Daily roundupFriday's key coronavirus developments from Luxembourg and abroad
RTL Today
Today's most important coronavirus stories from around the world in one place.
Update: 12.03.2021 19:21
Traditional Thai dancers wearing protective face shields against the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus perform at the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok on March 12, 2021.
[block type="summary”]The latest figures from the Ministry of Health show that 182 new cases of coronavirus were discovered yesterday. Six more deaths were also recorded.
Compared to France, Luxembourg’s hospital staff are much less reluctant to be vaccinated against Covid-19. According to the Federation of Luxembourg Hospitals, the vaccination rate will rise from the current 68% to over 90% after the second vaccination phase.
Luxembourg’s cleaners are seeking better working conditions amid continued strain from the pandemic. Their demands? A one-off €500 premium and guarantees of two days off a week.
France concurred, with health minister Olivier Veran confirming they will continue to use the AstraZeneca vaccine. Also in France, pharmaceutical firm Sanofi announced the launch of human trials for a new Covid-19 vaccine on Friday as it looks to recover from early failures and restore dented French pride.
The Italian government announced a partial lockdown of most of Italy from Monday. The populous northern regions including Lombardy, which surrounds Milan, as well as others including Lazio, which surrounds Rome, will be designated “red zones” from Monday, the health ministry said.
US biotech firm Novavax’s Covid-19 vaccine was shown to be 100 percent protective against severe cases of the disease, including hospitalization and death, the company said Thursday following trials. The good news came as President Biden offered his Covid-weary nation a tantalizing glimpse of an almost normal July 4th, outlining in a speech how the United States can defeat the coronavirus if people stay united on prevention measures and get vaccinated.
Wimbledon chiefs ruled on Friday that players at this year’s tournament must stay in official hotels as part of strict coronavirus control measures. The All England Club is determined to minimise the risks to the event, which was cancelled last year for the first time since World War Two.
Finally, their highly superior sense of smell has long been used to sniff out drugs, weapons and dead bodies. Now Latin America’s crime-fighting police dogs are being trained to detect Covid-19.