FILE PHOTO. ©  Getty Images / Courtney K

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.

In addition to dropping the remaining restrictions, beginning February 7, the province will limit access to PCR testing to “priority populations,” including healthcare workers, international travelers and residents currently showing symptoms, according to interim Health Authority chief Derek Miller. Walk-in and drive-through test sites previously open to the general public will also be shuttered at that time, and the government will stop providing weekly updates on new Covid cases, deaths, testing and vaccinations.

The premier went on to state that the measures would be halted not because “Covid has ended” – saying it is impossible to eliminate the virus for good – but rather because “people understand it better.”

“They understand what they need to do. They understand the risk and they are prepared to live with that risk, more than they are prepared to live with the ongoing government intrusion into their lives,” he continued, adding that a “perpetual state of crisis” has had a “harmful impact on everyone” over the last two years.

Though Saskatchewan has seen a spike in coronavirus infections in recent months, said to be fueled by the Omicron variant, deaths in the province remain well below previous stages of the pandemic. It has tallied just over 1,000 fatalities since the global outbreak kicked off in late 2019.

Other Canadian provinces have also hinted at dropping some of their restrictions, with the country’s most populous region of Ontario unveiling plans to gradually scale back its measures late last month. Alberta’s chief health officer, Deena Hinshaw, also recently argued that such restrictions cannot be used “in the long-term,” suggesting it, too, could look to drop them soon. 

Covid-19 measures and associated mandates have become a hot topic of debate across Canada as of late. Major protests over vaccination requirements for long-haul truck drivers have erupted in its capital city of Ottawa and at multiple locations near the border with the United States, creating a blockade of trucks that effectively shut down a border crossing in Alberta.

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.

By Megan Redshaw via Children’s Health Defense

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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.

The policy update will take effect Feb. 6, Prime Minister Naftali Bennet’s government said, pending approval by a parliamentary committee. Israel’s proof-of-vaccination policy will remain in effect for events such as parties or weddings.

“To continue the green pass in the same way can create false assurances,” said Nadav Davidovitch, an epidemiologist and public health physician advising Prime Minister Naftali Bennet’s government. “It’s not reducing infections in closed spaces like theatres. It needs to be used mainly for high-risk places like hospitals, elderly care homes, or events when you are eating and singing and dancing.”

Sweden will lift all COVID restrictions by Feb. 9, the Swedish government said today.

According to Politico, the Swedish Public Health Agency said it reassessed COVID as “not being socially critical” due to a better understanding of the Omicron variant, which is milder and associated with fewer hospitalizations.

“It’s time to open up Sweden,” said Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson. “The pandemic isn’t over, but it is moving into a new phase.”

The decision to open Sweden came a day after Switzerland, citing high immunity levels and the milder Omicron variant, announced it will abolish mandatory work-from-home and the quarantine rules beginning today.

The government also will lift health measures at the borders and tourists will no longer need to receive Swiss COVID certificates.

The Swiss government said it planned to phase out other restrictions after consulting with 26 cantons, employers, trade unions and parliamentary committees.

In two weeks, the government will determine the next steps to relax pandemic measures depending on the health situation, according to an official statement.

Options include a staggered exit strategy or an abrupt end to all COVID measures on Feb. 17.

Denmarks to classify COVID as endemic disease

Just days before Sweden and Switzerland’s announcements, Denmark became the first country in the European Union to lift all COVID restrictions, reclassifying COVID as an endemic disease.

Danish Health Minister Magnus Heunicke on Feb. 1 wrote a letter to the parliament’s epidemiology committee stating COVID was no longer a “socially critical disease.”

Based on the recommendations of the committee, the government decided to scrap COVID restrictions.

The “rules will lapse when the illness will no longer be categorized as ‘socially critical’ on 1 February 2022,” Heunicke wrote.

The classification of a disease as “socially critical” gave the government authority to implement broad restrictive measures such as shutting businesses and making mask-wearing mandatory.

An endemic disease circulates freely but is recognized as posing less of a threat to societies.

“No one can know what will happen next December,” Heunicke told CNN on Monday. “But we promised the citizens of Denmark that we will only have restrictions if they are truly necessary and we’ll lift them as soon as we can. That’s what’s happening right now.”

When asked about vaccine mandates, Heunicke said:

“Luckily we don’t need that in Denmark … I’m really happy that we don’t need it because it’s a very troubling path to move that way.”

Søren Brostrøm, director-general of Denmark’s Health Authority agreed:

“I do not believe in imposed vaccine mandates. It’s a pharmaceutical intervention with possible side effects. You need as an authority, to recognize that. I think if you push too much, you will have a reaction — action generates reaction, especially with vaccines.”

Danish authorities will still recommend taking at-home tests when coming into contact with large groups of people and will make PCR tests available to the public. Travelers entering the country will still be tested upon entry.

Other European Companies drop COVID restrictions

Italy, France, Norway, Lithuania, England and Finland also relaxed restrictions, Bloomberg reported.

“We should discuss whether it’s time for us to take a different viewpoint and start unwinding restrictions even with a high number of infections,” Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin told reporters. “I hope that we can be rid of restrictions during February.”

At a meeting in Helsinki to discuss the pace of removing restrictions, the government decided to lift all limits on gatherings and ease restrictions on restaurants and bars on Feb.14. Night clubs will remain closed until March 1. Cultural venues, events and sports will be free from restrictions.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s administration met Wednesday to discuss how to curb restrictions. The government will initially focus on quarantine rules for children and plans to cut the 10-day isolation requirement down to five.

France on Wednesday ended mandatory work-from-home rules, eliminated requirements on face masks outdoors and lifted attendance restrictions at stadiums and theaters.

The Lithuanian government is dropping its requirement to present a vaccination certificate in public areas, such as restaurants and sporting events, and unvaccinated workers will no longer be required to undergo weekly testing.

France’s looser rules went into effect on Wednesday, ending mandatory work-from-home rules, eliminating requirements on face masks outdoors and lifting attendance limits in stadiums and theaters.

Norway followed suit and lifted restrictions on private gatherings, bars and restaurants and will not require border testing.

England last week announced it was lifting its COVID restrictions. Beginning Jan. 27, face coverings were no longer required by law anywhere in England and the legal requirement for COVID passes to enter large venues and clubs were scrapped.

The government also dropped guidance for face-covering in classrooms, advice for people working from home and restrictions for nursing home visitors.

On Jan. 26, the Netherlands reopened restaurants, bars, museums and theaters as part of a broader easing of restrictions.

Lockdowns had little-to-no benefit on public health, analysis shows

Few studies, if any, have been carried out to determine whether vaccine passports and COVID restrictions actually lowered COVID cases, hospitalizations and deaths.

However, a recent analysis published by researchers at John Hopkins found COVID lockdown measures implemented in the U.S. and Europe had almost no effect on public health.

“We find little-to-no evidence that mandated lockdowns in Europe and the United States had a noticeable effect on COVID-19 mortality rates,” the researchers wrote.

The researchers also examined shelter-in-place orders, finding they reduced COVID mortality only by 2.9%.

Studies assessing only shelter-in-place orders found a mortality reduction of 5.1%, but when combined with other lockdown measures, shelter-in-place orders actually increased COVID mortality by 2.8%.

Researchers found limits on gatherings may have actually increased COVID mortality. They wrote:

“[Shelter-in-place orders] may isolate an infected person at home with his/her family where he/she risks infecting family members with a higher viral load, causing more severe illness. But often, lockdowns have limited people’s access to safe (outdoor) places such as beaches, parks and zoos, or included outdoor mask mandates or strict outdoor gathering restrictions, pushing people to meet at less safe (indoor) places.”

COVID lockdown measures also contributed to “reducing economic activity, rising unemployment, reducing schooling, causing political unrest, contributing to domestic violence and undermining liberal democracy,” the report said.

via Daily Expose

The Office for National Statistics has revealed without realising it that children are up to 52 times more likely to die following Covid-19 vaccination than children who have not had the Covid-19 vaccine.

Back on 20th Dec 21, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) published a dataset containing details on ‘deaths by vaccination status in England’ between 1st Jan and 31st Oct 21.

The dataset contains various tables showing details such as, ‘Monthly age-standardised mortality rates by vaccination status for deaths involving COVID-19’, and ‘Monthly age-standardised mortality rates by vaccination status for non-COVID-19 deaths’.

What the dataset also includes is ‘age-standardised mortality rates by age-group and vaccination status for all deaths’, however they have conveniently left out the data for children, and only included data on age groups over the age of 18.

What they also did in the data they included is bunch all young adults together meaning the rates of death are calculated for 18-39 year-olds, a total of 22 years. But for every other age group the rates of death are calculated for a total of 10 years, with 40-49, 50-59 etc.

However, on table 9 of the ‘Deaths by Vaccination Status’ dataset, the ONS have inadvertently provided enough details on deaths among children and teenagers by vaccination status for us to calculate the mortality rates ourselves, and to put it bluntly, they are horrifying, and make it obvious as to why the ONS chose to exclude children from the mortality rates dataset.

What the ONS have done, as can be seen in the above table, is provide an age standardised mortality rate per 100,000 person-years, rather than per 100,000 population.

The reason for this is that the size of each vaccination status population has been changing all the time, due to the unvaccinated moving into the one-dose category, and the one-dose vaccinated moving into the two-dose vaccinated category throughout the year.

So by doing it this way it provides a much more accurate picture of the mortality rates because it accounts both the number of people and the amount of time a person has spent in each vaccination status.

And on table 9, the ONS have provided us with the number of deaths by vaccination status among children and teenagers, and have kindly also provided us with the person-years, meaning we can calculate the mortality rate per 100,000 person years for 10-14 year olds, and 15-19 year olds by vaccination status.

According to the ONS, between 2nd January and 31st October 2021 there were 96 deaths recorded among 10-14-year-olds who had not been vaccinated, and 160 deaths recorded among 15-19-year-olds who had not been vaccinated.

The ONS have calculated the person-years among unvaccinated 10-14 year-olds during this period to be 2,094,711, whilst they’ve calculated person-years among unvaccinated 15-19 year-olds during this period to be 1,587,072.

To work out the mortality-rate per 100,000 person years all we need to now do is divide the person-years by 100,000, and then divide the number of deaths by the answer to that equation.

So for 10-14 year-olds we perform the following calculation –

2,094,711 (person-years) / 100,000 = 20.94711

96 (deaths) / 20.94711 = 4.58

Therefore, the mortality rate per 100,000 person-years among unvaccinated 10-14-year-olds is 4.58 deaths per 100,000 person-years between 1st Jan and 31st Oct 21.

By using the same formula we find that the the mortality rate among unvaccinated 15-19-year-olds is 10.08 deaths per 100,000 person-years.

Now all we have to do is use the same formula to calculate the mortality rate among one-dose vaccinated and two dose vaccinated 10-14, and 15-19 year-olds, by using the person-years and number of deaths provided by the ONS in table 9 of their ‘Deaths by Vaccination Status’ report, which are as follows –

Source Data

Source Data

Here are the calculated mortality rates by vaccination status among 15-19-year-olds based on the ONS calculated person-years –

Source Data

And here are the calculated mortality rates by vaccination status among 10-14-year-olds based on the ONS calculated person-years –

Source Data

These figures are horrifying. The ONS data shows that between 1st Jan and 31st Oct 21, children aged 10-14 were statistically 10 times more likely to die than unvaccinated children, and teenagers aged 15-19 were statistically 2 times more likely to die than unvaccinated teenagers.

But it’s the double vaccinated figures that are truly frightening.

The ONS data shows that between 1st Jan and 31st Oct 21, teenagers aged 15-19 were statistically 3 times more likely to die than unvaccinated teenagers, but children aged 10-14 were statistically 52 times more likely to die than unvaccinated children, recording a death rate of 238.37 per 100,000 person years.

Source Data

But these figures are in fact even worse than they first appear, as if they weren’t already bad enough. This is because the unvaccinated mortality rate among 10-14-year-olds includes children aged 10 and 11 who are not eligible for vaccination.

Whereas the vaccinated mortality rates do not include 10 and 11 year olds because they were not eligible for vaccination at the time, with the JCVI only recently recommending on 22nd Dec 21 that 5 to 11-year-old children deemed to be high risk should be offered a Covid-19 vaccination.

Therefore, if the Covid-19 injections were not causing the untimely deaths of children then we would actually expect to see a mortality rate that is lower among the vaccinated population than the mortality rate among the unvaccinated population, not a mortality rate that is similar, and certainly not a mortality rate 52 times higher.

This jaw dropping and horrifying data should be national headline news, and we dread to think what the numbers will be in the next update from the ONS which will include data on millions of more children who received their 1st and 2nd dose of a Covid-19 vaccine after October 31st 2021.

Italy was first European country to have a major outbreak of COVID-19.
Image: REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane

via World Economic Forum

• COVID-19 was circulating in Italy from September 2019, according to a study by the Italian National Cancer Institute.
• Italy’s first official COVID-19 case was detected on February 21st.
• The new study which re-examined samples from a lung cancer screening trial between September 2019 and March 2020, suggests otherwise.
• It showed that of the 959 healthy volunteers enrolled in the trial, 11% had developed coronavirus antibodies well before February.
• A study by the University of Siena also supports this theory.

The new coronavirus was circulating in Italy since September 2019, a study by the National Cancer Institute (INT) of the Italian city of Milan shows, signaling that COVID-19 might have spread beyond China earlier than previously thought.

The World Health Organization has said the new coronavirus and COVID-19, the respiratory disease it causes, were unknown before the outbreak was first reported in Wuhan, in central China, in December.

Italy’s first COVID-19 patient was detected on Feb. 21 in a little town near Milan, in the northern region of Lombardy.

But the Italian researchers’ findings, published by the INT’s scientific magazine Tumori Journal, show that 11,6% of 959 healthy volunteers enrolled in a lung cancer screening trial between September 2019 and March 2020, had developed coronavirus antibodies well before February.

A further specific SARS-CoV-2 antibodies test was carried out by the University of Siena for the same research titled “Unexpected detection of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in the pre-pandemic period in Italy”.

It showed that four cases dated back to the first week of October were also positive for antibodies neutralizing the virus, meaning they had got infected in September, Giovanni Apolone, a co-author of the study, told Reuters.

“This is the main finding: people with no symptoms not only were positive after the serological tests but had also antibodies able to kill the virus,” Apolone said.

“It means that the new coronavirus can circulate among the population for long and with a low rate of lethality not because it is disappearing but only to surge again,” he added.

Italian researchers told Reuters in March that they reported a higher than usual number of cases of severe pneumonia and flu in Lombardy in the last quarter of 2019 in a sign that the new coronavirus might have circulated earlier than previously thought.

Reporting by Giselda Vagnoni; editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise

In a press conference on Thursday morning, the Swedish government announced plans to remove the majority of restrictions against Covid-19 on February 9th, the Local.se reported.

Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, Health Minister Lena Hallengren and the Director General of the Public Health Agency, Karin Tegmark Wisell, announced that almost all restrictions will be removed on February 9th, and that those working from home should prepare to return to work.

Health Minister Lena Hallengren, Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson and Director General of the Public Health Agency Karin Tegmark Wisell at Thursday’s press conference. Photo: Marko Säävälä/TT

“The pandemic is not over, but is entering a completely new phase,” said Andersson. “We are nearing the point for Sweden to open up again.”

The government explained that the decision to open up was based on a number of factors, partly that Omicron appears to be a milder variant of the virus, and partly that the percentage of Sweden’s population who are fully vaccinated or have taken a booster dose continues to increase.

“There are multiple international studies of a milder illness, and the data we have from Sweden paints the same picture,” Andersson explained. “The rate of vaccination in Sweden has been high in recent weeks,” she continued, stating that this means that “we can open up society, at least for all who have been vaccinated”.

Almost 50 percent of over-18s in Sweden have received their third dose of the vaccine, and more than 86 percent of over-12s have received their first dose. Sweden does not recommend the Covid vaccines to children under the age of 12, unless they are particularly at risk.

Health Minister Lena Hallengren also stated that “the government is planning on removing travel restrictions introduced on December 21st for the Nordic countries”, stating that they would provide more information as soon as it was possible.

She didn’t say anything about travel restrictions for other countries. Sweden’s current entry rules for EU/EEA arrivals are currently in place until February 28th, and March 31st for people travelling from other countries.

In terms of returning to work and higher education, Hallengren stated that “in order to prevent a new wave, the return to work and school should occur successively”.

Which restrictions will be removed?

The following restrictions will be removed next week:

• Indoor events of 20-50 people must be seated, with max 8 per group and one metre between groups
• Vaccination pass needed for indoor events with more than 50 attendees
• Trade shows and markets indoors must require a vaccine pass if they have more than 50 guests, and number of guests is capped at 500, with 10 square metres per person
• Restaurants must close at 11pm, with alcohol serving ending at 10.30pm
• Groups at restaurants may consist of a maximum of eight people, with a minimum of one metre between groups
• Restaurants with conserts or other entertainment may only have seated guests
• Maximum of 20 people at private parties in hired venues
• Shops must have a maximum number of guests permitted, calculated on area with 10 square metres per person – this also applies to gyms, museums, art galleries, theme parks and swimming pools
• Long-distance public transport: all travellers must have a seat, if possible

In addition to this, special recommendations for those who have not yet been vaccinated will remain, as well as recommendations to stay home when sick, or if you suspect you may have Covid-19.

Covid-19 ‘no longer a danger to society’

The Public Health Agency also believes that Covid-19 should no longer be classified as an illness presenting a danger to society. Therefore, the agency has sent a request to the government in order to reclassify the illness.

“The government will process this request in a swift manner and will also put forward a law proposal to reclassify Covid-19,” Hallengren said, indicating that this could happen by the end of March. After the government has submitted these proposals, parliament will make the final decision on whether to approve them or not.

Sweden confirmed its highest number of daily new cases of Covid-19 last week, the highest level yet during the pandemic. There was also a clear rise in the number of Covid-linked deaths and intensive care admissions last month, albeit not as much as during previous waves.

With over 16,000 fatalities so far, Sweden’s death toll is in line with the European average, but is far higher than those of neighbouring Norway, Finland and Denmark.

Denmark on Tuesday became the first European Union country to lift most of its domestic Covid-19 restrictions, followed later in the day by Norway.

via ZeroHedge

Europe can hope for a “long period of tranquility,” Dr. Hans Kluge says

During a virtual press briefing conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday, Dr. Hans Kluge, regional director for Europe, announced that the continent could be entering a “long period of tranquility” and security in the global Covid-19 pandemic.

Talking to the reporters, he said Europe had the “unique opportunity to take control of transmission” due to three factors: high vaccination and natural immunity rates among European citizens, favorable seasonal conditions as winter approaches its end, and the lower severity of the Omicron variant.

“This period of higher protection should be seen as a ‘ceasefire’ that could bring us enduring peace,” he said in the video.

Despite the fact that Covid-19 cases have reached their highest since the start of the pandemic due to the more contagious nature of the Omicron variant, Covid death rates and intensive care admissions are starting to stabilize, according to Dr. Kluge.

He urged the European authorities to continue their vaccination policies, focus on protecting the most vulnerable groups, promote self-defensive behavior, and increase surveillance to detect new variants of Covid-19.

“I believe that it is possible to respond to new variants that will inevitably emerge without reinstalling the kind of disruptive measures we needed before,” he noted.

The regional director also addressed the necessity of increasing “vaccine sharing across borders” in order to fight the pandemic worldwide.

The WHO virtual press conference was conducted amid multiple European nations deciding to end or significantly soften their Covid-19 restrictions. Denmark, Ireland, Norway, France, and Sweden have already decided to relax restrictive measures in the coming weeks, with Finland, Italy and Switzerland expecting to conduct government discussions on the matter in the coming days.

According to WHO statistics, Europe has seen more than 11,800,000 Covid-19 cases and more than 22,000 deaths in the last seven days.