News Updates From CLG on 2/4/22:

All links are here:
https://www.legitgov.org

12 Countries Roll Back COVID Restrictions, Israel Scraps 'Green Pass' --Sweden and Switzerland joined Denmark, Norway, Finland, Ireland, The Netherlands, Italy, Lithuania, France and the UK in announcing they will lift COVID restrictions and open up their countries. | 3 Feb 2022 | Europe is accelerating steps to roll back COVID restrictions as efforts to control the spread of the virus have failed and countries downgrade the threat posed by SARS-CoV-2. Sweden and Switzerland joined Denmark, Norway, Finland, Ireland, The Netherlands, Italy, Lithuania, France and the UK in announcing they will lift COVID restrictions and open up their countries. Top Israeli officials also announced this week they are abolishing the country's "Green Pass" COVID vaccine passport for restaurants, hotels, gyms and theaters.

Canada province vows to end Covid restrictions 'very soon' | 4 Feb 2022 | Canada’s Saskatchewan province will soon lift all of its Covid-19 measures, the regional government said, arguing that residents are tired of intrusions into their lives and a perpetual state of panic triggered by the pandemic. "Covid is not ending, but government restrictions on your rights and freedoms - those will be ending, and ending very soon," Moe said in a video posted to Twitter on Wednesday night. "What's necessary is your freedom. What's necessary is getting your life back to normal, and it's time." The public health order which created Saskatchewan's Covid rules is set to expire later this month, but currently requires masking at indoor public spaces, proof of vaccination or a negative test result for government employees, as well as mandatory self-isolation for anyone who screens positive for the virus.

COVID lockdowns had 'little to no effect' on mortality rate, study says | 2 Feb 2022 | Lockdowns had "little to no effect" on saving lives during the pandemic -- and "should be rejected out of hand as a pandemic policy," according to economists in a new meta-analysis of dozens of studies. A group led by the head of Johns Hopkins Institute for Applied Economics analyzed studies from the first surge of the pandemic to investigate widely pushed claims that stringent restrictions would limit deaths. Instead, the meta-analysis concluded that lockdowns across the US and Europe had only "reduced COVID-19 mortality by 0.2% on average." Worse, some of the studies even suggested that limiting gatherings in safe outdoor spots may have been "counterproductive and increased" the death rate, the authors noted. "While this meta-analysis concludes that lockdowns have had little to no public health effects, they have imposed enormous economic and social costs where they have been adopted," the professors wrote in the journal Studies in Applied Economics.

Army to 'immediately' start kicking out soldiers who refuse COVID shot | 2 Feb 2022 | The US Army said Wednesday it will "immediately" begin booting soldiers who refuse to comply with the Pentagon's COVID-19 vaccine mandate.​ The so-called "involuntary separation" directive, announced by Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth, ​would apply to the regular Army, the Army National Guard, and members of the US Army Reserve serving on active duty for more than 30 days. The order also applies to cadets at the US Military Academy at West Point and the Senior Reserve Officers' Training Corps. It does not apply to soldiers who have approved exemptions on medical, administrative or religious grounds -- nor does it apply to those whose exemption claims are under review.

Hershey Fires Unvaccinated Employees | 1 Feb 2022 | The Hershey Co. has begun firing office workers who have declined to be vaccinated against COVID-19. On the way out the door, the candy manufacturer is asking the fired employees to sign a nine-page confidentiality and release agreement that would remove their rights to sue the company or talk about their experience. While their signature comes with a "special separation payment," many haven't signed the agreement and won't get the m-ney. By most accounts, working at Hershey was a great job. Employees at the company's headquarters in Hershey, Pennsylvania, and at offices in other states report higher than average wages and bowls of candy placed around the offices for snacking... But it stopped being fun after months of human resources department meetings that employees say included education about the vaccines, asking if the employee had changed their mind about getting the shots, as well as uncomfortably invasive questions.

Washington Orders Restaurant That Defied Mask, Vaccine Mandates to Close | 2 Feb 2022 | Washington health authorities on Tuesday ordered a restaurant that openly defied the city's mask and COVID-19 vaccine mandates to close. A notice from the D.C. Health Department's Division of Food was posted on a window at The Big Board, citing violations of District of Columbia food code regulations. The closure is in effect "until further notice." A report from an inspection done on Jan. 19 says multiple violations were found, including a lack of soap and towels at a hand-washing sink in the kitchen and mold in a refrigerator under a counter... The District of Columbia Alcoholic Beverage Control Board said the restaurant's refusal to adhere to orders from Mayor Muriel Bowser to make sure all customers over 5 have received a COVID-19 vaccine and that customers wear masks in certain situations led to the suspension.

290 Fully Vaccinated Massachusetts Residents Died of COVID-19 Over One Week | 2 Feb 2022 | Nearly 300 fully vaccinated residents in Massachusetts died of breakthrough COVID-19 over the past week even as case numbers have dropped statewide. Between Jan. 22 and 29, Massachusetts health officials reported 290 additional breakthrough COVID-19 deaths, bringing the state's total death toll among the fully vaccinated to 1,789. The figure represents 0.03% of the state's inoculated population. During the same period, health officials also recorded 27,530 new breakthrough infections and 555 additional hospitalizations. The state has now reported a total of 422,132 cases and 6,440 admissions among the fully vaccinated. The numbers represent 8.1% and 0.12% of the state's inoculated population, respectively, according to the latest COVID-19 Vaccine Data from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

Center for COVID Control Faked COVID-19 Test Results - Lawsuit | 2 Feb 2022 | A COVID-19 testing company faked test results and didn’t have licenses to operate testing sites, according to a new lawsuit. The Center for COVID Control claimed to provide free COVID-19 tests throughout Washington state and promised to provide results within 48 hours. But in reality, the company gathered patient insurance information and provided "invalid COVID-19 test results or no results at all," according to the 14-page suit, filed in King County Superior Court by state Attorney General Robert Ferguson. Former employees told prosecutors that the company, which lacked licenses to operate in much of the state, wasn't able to process all of the tests it received; the owners are accused of refusing to hire more workers. Instead, the company allegedly stored tests in garbage bags for more than a week rather than refrigerating them, and backdated collection dates so the samples could still be processed.

 

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