[ad_1]
PARIS – French churches, mosques and synagogues can reopen their doors to the faithful, but only a few of them, as France cautiously begins to reopen after a second block of the virus.
Some churches may challenge the 30-person limit which they deem too unreasonable and other sites may remain closed until they can fully reopen.
Farid Kachour, general secretary of the association that runs the mosque in Montermeil, a heavily immigrant suburb north-east of Paris, says his mosque simply won’t open as long as there is a limit of 30 people.
“We cannot choose the people” authorized to enter for prayer. “We don’t want to create discontent among the faithful,” he said.
Kachour noted that Muslims pray five times a day and that the mosque would need 40 services a day to allow all the faithful to pray.
———
HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT VIRUS EFFECTIVENESS:
– With no action from Washington, states rush to offer help for viruses
– North Korea strengthens sea entry rules to fight viruses
———
Follow AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
———
HERE’S WHAT HAPPENS:
BAGHDAD – Iraq has reopened its schools amid a violent pandemic that claimed more than 12,000 lives across the country, with children returning to socially distant classrooms on Sunday and other security measures.
Students will only attend school one day a week under a rotation system intended to prevent crowding and the spread of the novel coronavirus, according to the education ministry.
Iraq, like much of the rest of the world, has resorted to distance learning after schools closed in February due to the virus outbreak. But online education is out of reach for many in a country with poor infrastructure that has endured decades of war.
Iraq has the second highest outbreak and death toll in the Middle East region after Iran, with more than 500,000 confirmed cases, according to data from the Ministry of Health.
Daily infection rates average 2,400 cases per day – a slower rate than in previous weeks – but health care workers say the number may be higher as many Iraqis with symptoms choose to stay home and avoid hospitals for do the tests.
———
ISLAMABAD – Pakistan has recorded another 43 deaths and 2,829 new cases of COVID-19.
With the new figures, the death toll from COVID-19 in Pakistan is now 7,985.
———
HONG KONG – Hong Kong has reported 115 new coronavirus infections, the first time it has seen triple-digit cases since August 2.
The government also announced Sunday that kindergarten, primary and secondary school classes will be closed for the rest of the year in light of the worsening coronavirus situation in the city.
Of the 115 infections reported on Sunday, 24 were undetectable. Another 62 have been linked to recent outbreaks in dance studios across the city, bringing the total number of infections in that group to 479, health officials said.
Employees and recent guests of three restaurants in the city were also sentenced to undergo mandatory testing after multiple positive cases had been linked to the premises.
Hong Kong has reported 6,239 coronavirus infections since the start of the pandemic, with 109 deaths.
———
PRAGUE – The Czech government has announced that it is easing measures imposed to contain coronavirus infections.
The move on Sunday was made possible by the drop in the number of new confirmed cases.
Health Minister Jan Blatny says all shops, restaurants and bars can reopen on Thursday, while the Sunday sales ban is lifted.
Restaurants can be open from 6:00 to 22:00 with a capacity limited to 50%. Shops and shopping canters have yet to limit the number of shoppers.
The night curfew and the ban on drinking alcohol in public are also lifted.
Services like hairdressers, fitness centers and gyms may reopen along with zoo parks, museums and galleries.
The daily increase in new cases reached 2,667 on Saturday.
The country of nearly 10.7 million has had 518,649 confirmed cases since the start of the pandemic, with 8,054 deaths.
———
SEOUL, South Korea – South Korea is closing indoor gyms offering intense training classes and banning end-of-year parties at hotels in the greater Seoul area to fight the virus.
Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said on Sunday the authorities will also ban the operation of private music institutes that teach singing and wind instruments and saunas in public baths in the capital area. He said the fitness centers, cafes and libraries operating within the apartment complexes will also be closed. The new steps will take effect from Tuesday.
The country reported 450 new cases on Sunday. South Korea recorded more than 500 new cases of the virus on Thursday for the first time in eight months.
—-
PHOENIX – University of Arizona researchers say the current rise in the coronavirus epidemic will present the state with a hospital crisis that could become a disaster unless the state takes steps like ordering a three-week shutdown and the implementation of a statewide mask mandate.
Members of the university’s COVID Modeling Team said failing to take such measures would be like tackling a major bushfire without evacuation orders. It also recommends providing economic aid to affected small businesses and families and preventing evictions and foreclosures.
The team has been monitoring the outbreak since last spring and made its recommendations in a letter Friday to the state Department of Health Services.
Many local governments have imposed mask mandates since Governor Doug Ducey lifted a ban on such orders last summer. Local mandates cover about 90% of the state’s population, but in some places enforcement is lax or non-existent.
A further 4,136 known cases of COVID-19 and another 36 deaths were reported in Arizona on Saturday.
———
SALEM, Oregon – The Oregon health authority on Saturday reported 1,669 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, the state’s highest daily tally since the pandemic began.
The total number of coronavirus cases in Oregon has now passed 72,000 and the death toll is 896.
The number of COVID-19-related hospitalizations also continues to grow with 529 people hospitalized, a 209% increase since the beginning of the month.
In an effort to slow the spread of the virus, Governor Kate Brown implemented a two-week “freeze” across the state. Until December 3, restaurants are limited to take-away food only, social gatherings cannot be more than six people, and gyms, among other facilities, are closed.
———
CARSON CITY, Nevada – Nevada on Saturday reported nearly 3,000 additional known cases of COVID-19 as related hospitalizations continued in large numbers.
The state coronavirus dashboard reported 2,912 additional cases and 24 more deaths, elevating the state total to more than 146,000 cases and nearly 2,100 deaths.
As of Friday, 1,338 people confirmed or suspected of having COVID-19 have been hospitalized in Nevada. The state set a record Wednesday with 1,414 COVID-19 patients. Concerned about the continuing spread of the virus, Governor Steve Sisolak announced on November 22 the state’s largest masking mandate to date and reduced the capacity of casinos, restaurants, bars and many other businesses from 50% to 25%.
———
OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma health officials reported a one-day record of more than 6,000 confirmed coronavirus cases recently Saturday as experts warned Thanksgiving could make test numbers erratic.
The Oklahoma Department of Health reported 6,257 new cases of COVID-19 and an additional 13 deaths linked to the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
The record number of cases per day comes as the pandemic has worsened statewide.
Infectious disease experts have warned that the holiday could cause test spikes and processing delays that could make the resulting figures difficult to interpret.
———
PHOENIX – Arizona reported 4,136 additional known cases of COVID-19 and another 36 deaths on Saturday.
This raises the state total to 322,774 cases and 6,624 deaths.
The Department of Health Services’ coronavirus dashboard also reports that COVID-19-related hospitalizations reached 2,383 on Friday, including 553 patients in intensive care unit beds.
Continuous seven-day averages of new daily cases, daily deaths, and COVID-19 test positivity in Arizona have increased over the past two weeks. This is according to data from the COVID Tracking Project and Johns Hopkins University.
.
[ad_2]
Source link
