Explosion at Dutch test center, Italy tightens: COVID-19 bulletin

TOP HEADLINES

• New hospitalizations in Ukraine have reached a record number in the past 24 hours, with 3,486 people taken to hospital with the virus, the highest since the start of the pandemic, Health Minister Maksym Stepanov said.

• An explosion has hit a virus testing center in the Dutch town of Bovenkarspel, north of the capital Amsterdam on Wednesday morning . The explosive **that broke windows but caused no injuries, ** "must have been placed" there, a police spokesman has said. Protesters have recently taken to the streets across the Netherlands to march against the restrictions currently in place, with some of the protests leading to clashes between police and members of the public.

• Northern Ireland has unveiled a cautious five-step plan to ease the country's lockdown restrictions . The plan has no set dates and will be reviewed on March 16, April 15, May 13 and June 10.

• Italy's government has tightened measures in regions hardest hit by the virus amid a surge in infections. Schools in 'red zones' are to be closed, while curbs already in place on movement and businesses have been extended until after Easter.

• Thousands of hospital workers in Hungary have quit after refusing to sign new state contracts because they did not agree with some of the terms offered , such as the law restricting extra pay on top of their normal salary.

• Sex workers in the Netherlands have taken to the streets in The Hague to protest against restrictions banning them from working , despite other close-contact professionssuch as hairdressers, being allowed to reopen from Wednesday. "Sex workers have to deal with the special nature of that profession; namely that you are very close to each other, with all the risks of transmission of the virus," Prime Minister Mark Rutte said.

• Greece has announced plans to expand its public health system's capacity to admit more virus patients amid a shortage of bed space left in some intensive care units.The decision, which was made during an emergency meeting chaired by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, means the government will take control of private sector clinics in order to boost capacity.

• Russia has reported a further 10,535 new cases in the past 24 hours, while fatalities also rose, by 452, bringing the nationwide death toll to 87,348.

• More than 168 million children across the world have had their schools completely shut for almost a year due to virus restrictions, according to children's charity UNICEF, while one in seven children has missed more than 75 percent of their in-person learning.

• China's Sinovac vaccine has an efficacy of 83.5 percent, according to a final Phase 3 trial carried out in Turkey by Hacettepe University. The hospital also said the jab prevented hospitalizations in 100 percent of cases.

An explosion that broke windows but caused no injuries, has hit a virus testing center in the Dutch town of Bovenkarspel on Wednesday morning. /Reuters

ACROSS EUROPE

Stefan de Vries in Amsterdam

On Wednesday morning, an explosive device went off at a COVID-19 test site in Bovenkarspel. Five windows were destroyed but no one was injured. Police are continuing to investigate the area.

The protests against the government's restrictions are increasing, yet this explosion comes after some measures have been loosened. As of Wednesday, shops and contact professions such as barbers can reopen again but only to customers who have made an appointment at least four hours in advance.

On Tuesday, there were more than 3,826 new cases in the Netherlands, fewer than the weekly average of 4,545. Yet, the weekly figures from the health authority RIVM showed the decline that started in recent weeks has ended. The institute spoke of a "third wave" and fears the number of infections will increase in the following weeks.

Julia Chapman in Budapest

Some 5,500 Hungarian health workers have quit after refusing to sign new contracts, which change their wages and working conditions. A law setting out the new terms was adopted by parliament in October, criminalizing bribes to doctors and including a salary increase.

Many healthcare workers, however, objected to the law restricting overtime pay, which they say could leave them worse off. It comes as Hungary's COVID-19 cases have been rising amid a third wave of infections. Officials say 95 percent of the country's medical workers have signed the new contracts and said the standard of care would not be affected by the walkouts.

01:23

Ross Cullen in Paris

On Wednesday, France's President Emmanuel Macron is chairing the latest meeting of the special health defense council with the prime minister and senior cabinet ministers.

They are expected to decide whether to impose weekend lockdowns in more regions of the country. The northern port of Dunkirk and the southern city of Nice are already under the Saturday-Sunday confinement measure.

There are 20 regions under "increased surveillance," including Paris and a weekend lockdown decision is expected to be taken today and could be announced tomorrow at the prime minister's weekly COVID-19 news conference.

The first evacuations are going to start of COVID-19 patients to the French mainland from saturated hospitals on the island of Reunion. The French Indian Ocean territory will also impose a 6 p.m. curfew starting from March 5.

Toni Waterman in Brussels

The Oxford University-AstraZeneca vaccine can now be used in people aged over 55, in what the Belgian Federal Health Minister called a "game-changer."

Last month, the Superior Health Council said the jab shouldn't be used in older age groups due to a lack of evidence on its efficacy. The council has now reversed course, citing studies in the UK and Israel that show the vaccine significantly reduces hospitalizations in older people. Belgian health experts also said that when necessary, the gap between the first and second Pfizer-BioNTech shot can be extended to 35 days.

The changes come amid a vaccine shortfall in the country, which has left vaccination centers administering a fraction of their daily capacity. Just 5.54 percent of the population aged 18 and older has received the first dose of a vaccine.

More than 168 million children across the world have had their schools completely shut for almost a year due to virus restrictions, according to children's charity UNICEF. /AP

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