A winter unlike any other throughout Britain's contemporary history. The blizzard coming from the frozen Arctic and heavy rains combined with a series of strikes in vital sectors. The winter of strikes began yesterday (Wednesday) with the nurses going on strike. They were joined by thousands of ambulance drivers and staff in the counties of England and Wales. And the National Health Service acknowledged that it is subject to unprecedented pressure, warning that the strike threatens the lives of thousands of inpatients in British hospitals. It is true that the strike was caused by a dispute over demands for an increase in wages at the level of the inflation rate, which reached 11% in October 2022; This led to a sharp rise in the cost of living. However, the main cause is the novel coronavirus, which causes the COVID-19 disease. The British Health Personnel Union says that the wages of workers in the health service sector have decreased by 17% since 2010, while the same period witnessed an increase in the demand for ambulance service by 77%. The British government, which is dominated by the Conservative Party, led by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, says that a wage review body has recommended that salaries for workers in the National Health Service be increased to at least 1,400 pounds (6,329 Saudi riyals). However, the labor unions insist that any increase must exceed the inflation rate, which reached 10.7% last November. The government quickly sought the help of British army forces to drive ambulances in emergency cases. However, the military does not have the legal powers to allow civilian ambulance drivers and crews to enter a bed to treat patients. The British are suffering this winter from scheduled strikes by railway and metro trains. With the dawn of the New Year (2023), it is expected that education unions, airport employees, and doctors will vote on the strike.
And in the meantime; The Covid-19 virus continued to increase the speed of its spread in the countries of the world, to nearly 600 thousand new infections per day, accompanied by an increasing number of deaths from Covid-19. On Tuesday, the countries of the world recorded 563,984 new cases, accompanied by 1,741 additional deaths. It seemed that the ordeal in Japan exceeded that of all other countries. Japan announced yesterday (Wednesday) that it had recorded 206,943 new infections during the past 24 hours. Next came South Korea, which said on Wednesday that it had recorded 88,172 new infections during the past 24 hours. The United States – the first in the world in terms of the number of infections and deaths since the outbreak of the Corona virus in 2019 – ranked third, with 67,368 new injuries recorded on Tuesday, accompanied by the registration of 407 additional deaths, representing an increase of 41% from what was recorded in deaths 14 days ago. Yesterday, the London newspaper, The Guardian, quoted eminent scientists and advisers to the World Health Organization as saying that it is still too early to announce the end of the state of health emergency that has prevailed throughout the world since the emergence of the new Corona virus. They attributed this to their belief that a large virus wave sweeping China is the reason for those expectations. It is ironic that Western scientists have been denouncing China over the past years, criticizing its adoption of the “zero Covid” strategy to eliminate the spread of the virus infection. And when China carried out what they wanted, they went out to denounce the Chinese decision! Experts told the British newspaper that the “zero Covid” policy succeeded in keeping Covid-19 infections at their lowest levels in the country, which has a population of about 1.4 billion. But they said China's decision to ease strict preventive restrictions had brought about a change in the global landscape of the health crisis. And the Director of the World Health Organization, Dr. Tadros Gebresius, said in September 2022 that the end of the global health emergency resulting from the outbreak of the Covid-19 epidemic is within sight. He told a group of journalists in Geneva last week that he hopes for an end to the health emergency during the year 2023. The decline in virus attacks during the second half of 2022 prompted a large number of countries to ease their preventive measures. It is expected that the scientists who advise the World Health Organization will hold a meeting in Geneva at the end of next January to determine whether the organization should reduce the level of health alert announced globally. Yesterday, the intensive efforts made by the government of Chinese President Xi Jinping to confront the increasing viral infection continued. And the Chinese health authorities have been active in providing hospitals with hundreds of additional beds. It also opened more "fever clinics". And scientists warned – according to the "Guardian" yesterday – that allowing the virus to run rampant in China without any restrictions threatens the emergence of genetically mutated strains that may completely change the viral equation for the worse. However, information provided by China to the World Health Organization and the Global Virus Database (GISAID) indicates that it is the Omicron strain and its variants that are dominating the health crisis there.
Reuters reported, in a report yesterday from Beijing, that dozens of corpse transport vehicles lined up in front of crematoriums, where smoke rose from their ovens. However, she acknowledged that there is no official confirmation that these bodies are of the victims of Covid-19 disease.
India is tightening control with the increase in injuries
The Indian federal government has directed the country's states to intensify monitoring of the outbreak of the new Corona virus, to discover any new viral strain that may arise there; Noting the high number of new infections in countries; including China. India ranks second in the world in terms of the number of injuries, after the United States. The number of new infections has decreased significantly over the past few months. Indian Union Health Minister Rajesh Bhushan said, in a message to the governors of India's states, that in light of the sudden increase in the number of new cases in Japan, the United States, South Korea, Brazil and China, "it is necessary to intensify genetic sequencing of confirmed cases of Covid-19". 19». He added that this would allow immediate detection of any new strain that might emerge. The letter asked health sector officials in Indian states to send each sample confirmed to be infected with the virus to any of the genetic sequencing laboratories of viral strains, of which the state has established 54 laboratories across the country. And the Indian Ministry of Health announced that the Minister of Health met with senior officials of the health sector in the states yesterday (Wednesday); To study the health situation in India. India says the number of new confirmed cases is estimated at 1,200 new infections per week. The number of new infections worldwide currently reaches about 3.5 million new infections per week.
Yassin Ahmed (London) @OKAZ_online