A number of Latvian municipalities, companies, institutions and organizations have participated in the Jerusalem dance challenge, gathering a large number of dancers. At the same time, there are those who believe that Latvians have enough beautiful folk dances so that they do not have to borrow foreign traditions. The popularity of this positive challenge lies in the lack of “good news”, which is particularly important in the fatigue of a pandemic in society.
Dance challenge for a tired society
The challenge of dancing in Jerusalem is basically nothing extremely unique. The world has danced to sticky melodies before – the oldest of us will know the hit “Macarena” of the Spanish duo “Los Del Rio”, whose steps some good ones still remember today. At the beginning of the past decade, many parties were unimaginable without the Spanish band Las Ketchup’s Ketchup Song. Similar examples can be mentioned over and over again.
The challenge of dancing in Jerusalem has simply come at the right time. If we open social networks, we see that most of the content consists of information about Covid-19, war, unrest, taxes and depression. Also looking at the design of various publications, it can be seen that darker and darker tones are becoming more and more common.
Positive emotions in spite of what is happening around you
People are psychologically depressed, but very united, because Covid-19 affects all of humanity. It has served as a breeding ground for such a dance challenge. Given that many countries are experiencing a recurrent and even greater pandemic outbreak than before, there is public fatigue. There are more and more skeptics and pessimists, as well as those who are trying to bring positive emotions to life, despite what is happening around them.
We replace cultural events and travel
People are characterized by their thoughts, emotions and actions. When a person is tired of thinking, all that is left is emotions and action. Given that the sticky melody and simple dance steps evoke positive emotions, in many cases the action is not missed and people repeat this dance. This initiative clearly shows that society has longed for a carefree and carefree life, that there is currently a lack of the usual good and positive emotions that cultural events and travel have given us.
A society tired of negations, viruses and scandals
The song itself is nothing extraordinary, it is not a unique musical masterpiece. A clear example is the international song contest “Eurovision”, where extraordinary songs or compositions with a very sticky melody win – this song is clearly the second case. A society tired of negations, viruses and scandals resonates with positive emotions.
Latvian agreement in dance
The fact that several groups or local governments have preferred Latvian folk dances instead of this dance is also to be welcomed. The most important thing is that positive emotions are encouraged. The Latvian people have long had a tradition of gathering together in dance or song in both light and heavy moments, in this case it has simply manifested itself in dance that has traveled to us from abroad.
Of course, it is possible to discuss how much such a dance corresponds to the basic values of the Latvian people, but I would urge you to look more broadly – how many people this dance improved their mood and provided pleasant emotions?
GLSMed Trade, belonging to the Luz Saúde group, was the company that most invoiced for contracts made by the Public Administration to respond to the pandemic. The group’s main customer was the Directorate-General for Health (DGS), which spent 32.7 million euros on purchases from the distribution company of products, equipment and medical devices of the Luz Saúde group, owned by Fosun and the insurance company Fidelidade, which is in the hands of the same Chinese group.
During the week, the increase in the incidence of Covid-19 in Latvia is 14%, while in Europe as a whole it is 42%, according to the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention, announced at a press conference Yuri Perevoshchikov.
Latvia’s data looks better than before, Perevoshchikov said.
In Lithuania, the number of cases has increased by 54%. In Estonia, on the other hand, the incidence is declining in percentage terms, which can be seen as a positive example that the disease can still be stopped, an SPKC official said.
It has already been reported that 115 new cases of Covi-19 infection were discovered on Monday, while three people with confirmed Covid-19 disease died, according to data compiled by the SPKC.
Three is by far the largest number of Covid-19 patients dying in one day in Latvia. The deceased was in the age group of 65 to 85 years.
Last day, 4171 Covid-19 tests were performed, while a total of 397 357 Covid-19 tests have been performed in Latvia so far. The proportion of positive cases against those tested last day was 2.8%. The SPKC has previously explained that this figure is considered important in the European Union, as above 3%, the spread of the disease is considered to be rapid and uncontrolled.
FIFA announced on Monday the launch of its executive anti-doping program, “which provides an in-depth analysis of the main regulatory, institutional and scientific aspects of the fight against doping in sport”.
“Since the creation of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in 1999, the fight against doping in sport has evolved significantly. The interconnections between the WADA World Anti-Doping Code, the regulations of sport governing bodies and the laws national governments have made this area particularly complex “, recalls FIFA in a press release.
To deal with a doping case, whether at the results management stage or before the judicial bodies of a national or international federation, or even before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), it is necessary to adopt a global, considers the international body.
“While FIFA’s anti-doping executive program focuses primarily on legal and institutional aspects, it also provides an overview of key scientific aspects of this complex phenomenon,” the statement continued.
The first edition of the program, implemented in cooperation with the Center International d’Étude du Sport (CIES), will run from February to July 2021. The registration procedure, open from Monday, will end on December 19, 2020 .
South Korea paid special attention to infection prevention, took a course towards digitalization and launched socio-economic support for vulnerable groups of the population
Photo: Ahn Young-joon / AP
South Korean Prime Minister Jong Se Kyung named three key strategies to combat the virus and economic recovery that are being implemented in his country. The Prime Minister said this during his speech at the Open Innovations Forum, broadcast runs the RBK channel.
The first strategy is the successful implementation of sanitary and epidemiological measures. According to Jung Se Kyun, it is a direct path to economic recovery. “Both the fight against coronavirus and the economy are two imperative goals, and a wise approach is needed in order to maintain a balance between them,” the Prime Minister said.
“The so-called three-T strategy has shown its effectiveness, which includes: mass testing (test), tracing of contacts of infected (trace) and treatment of cases at an early stage (treatment),” added the Prime Minister. He noted that the Koreans actively participated in all anti-epidemic measures, which made it possible to prevent the further spread of the infection without introducing large-scale restrictions in society.
The second strategy is to prepare for large-scale changes in the structure of the economy and society, according to Jung Se Kyun. “Due to the global pandemic, we are entering an era of new normalcy, when global production chains are being rebuilt and a new world order is required. Our government has announced a new national development strategy, the so-called Korean New Deal. The essence of the strategy is digitalization in all areas based on a reliable employment protection system, ”the Prime Minister explained. When implementing the new course, the authorities intend to create 900 thousand jobs, and the volume of investments will amount to 58 trillion Korean won (3.96 trillion rubles) by 2025.
Moroccan international Hakim Ziyech made his first official appearance in the Premier League on Saturday under the colors of Chelsea, held in check at Stamford Bridge by Southampton (3-3).
Entered into play in the 72nd minute to replace Mason Mount, the Moroccan striker took his first steps in the English championship after several weeks of absence due to a knee injury. Injured in a friendly match against Brighton in the pre-season, the former Ajax Amsterdam player had signed his return to competition during the friendly match between the Atlas Lions and the Teranga Lions. The striker had delivered an assist on a stopped ball to Youssef El Arabi.
In his first official match with the London club, the Moroccan star could not help his teammates to preserve the advantage of the Blues who led thanks to goals from Timo Werner (15th, 28th) and Kai Havertz (59th).
The Saints came back to score in the very last minutes thanks to a goal from Jannik Vestergaard taking advantage of the defensive mistakes of Frank Lampard players. With only one point at home, the Blues occupy sixth place in the standings with a total of 8 points, 5 units behind leaders Everton.
Sometimes presented as a cause for hope at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic and a way to avoid generalized lockdowns, the idea of letting the virus circulate to achieve collective immunity appears more and more clearly as a dangerous mirage , explain many scientists.
The idea is that once a certain proportion of the population has been affected, the epidemic would stop on its own, for lack of victims to strike. But after months of pandemic, “we are very far from the account”, notes to AFP Frédéric Altare, specialist in immunity at Inserm. The World Health Organization (WHO) has stated it bluntly: “Never, in the history of public health, has collective immunity been used as a strategy to respond to an epidemic, and even less to a pandemic. It is scientifically and ethically problematic “, declared its managing director, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “Giving free rein to a dangerous virus, which we do not understand everything about, is simply unethical. It is not an option,” he insisted, recalling that about 10% of the population could have been infected with the virus in most countries.
Billions of people therefore remain in theory at the mercy of a virus more dangerous, more lethal and more contagious than the seasonal flu. And for which there is no vaccine. As early as May, the WHO warned that countries relying on collective immunity were engaged in “a really dangerous calculation”. Regularly, and even very recently, US President Donald Trump has defended this idea. At the beginning of October, scientists defended it in a call – “The Great Barrington Declaration” – to let the virus circulate in young and healthy populations while protecting the most vulnerable. A call supported – according to the American press – by the White House. For its defenders, the main benefit of this “strategy” would be to avoid the economic, social, health damage, generalized confinements even though some countries, like Spain, had to reintroduce local containment measures, or like the France, curfew.
It is “a mistake”, answered Thursday 80 scientists in an open letter published by the medical journal The Lancet. “Uncontrolled transmission among the youngest would run significant risks in terms of health and mortality for the entire population”, they note, also noting the risk of saturation of health systems.
Sweden, which has refused to confine its population and close schools, bars and restaurants, now seems to be caught up in the pandemic. Compared to its population, Covid-19 mortality is among the 15 highest in the world, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Another problem: it is not known how long the immunity against Covid lasts and cases of re-infections, although very rare, have been reported. “It is possible that the antibodies weaken over time,” said WHO official Maria Van Kerkhove last week. “Reinfections show us that we cannot rely on the immunity acquired through natural infection to achieve group immunity,” wrote Prof. Akiko Iwasaki, immunity specialist at Yale University (States -United).
Some supporters of natural collective immunity also argue that its threshold – usually estimated at around 60 to 70% – would in fact be lower, in particular because not everyone is equally susceptible to catching the virus (between and city dwellers for example or young and old).
What we have also discovered over time is that some people are protected from Sars-CoV-2 even though they have not encountered it, explains Frédéric Altare (Inserm). Rather than antibodies (those sought with serological tests) specifically directed against this virus, they have developed another immunity, called “cellular”, thanks to a certain type of white blood cell. No doubt because they have already encountered infectious agents resembling Sars-CoV-2, these blood cells identify it as a danger and attack it, he says. “Which means that the figures that we announce (5 to 10% of possible immunity), it is probably a little underestimated but we do not know to what extent”, notes Frédéric Altare.
But even “pushing the statistics, taking into account (this) other immunity, the fact that people do not all get infected the same, that the elderly populations are less likely to become infected because they protect themselves more “, we manage” to bring the percentages down to 50%, not below, “he said. While noting that reaching this threshold would result in a considerable number of deaths. Collective immunity must therefore go through “safe and effective vaccines,” says Prof. Iwazaki.
A girl of eight who attends primary school in Santa Margarida is the most recent case of Covid-19 infection in Constância. Illustrative photo: (Reinaldo Rodrigues / Global Imagens)
The Grouping of Health Centers (ACES) of the Middle Tejo registered 13 new cases of infection with the new coronavirus in the last 24 hours, 4 of which in Torres Novas, 3 in Ourém, 2 in Abrantes, and 1 in Tomar, Alcanena, Constância and Entroncamento. One of the cases occurred at a school in Santa Margarida da Coutada, Constância, in an 8-year-old girl. With a total of 858 confirmed cases since the beginning of the pandemic, the region still has 515 people recovered from the disease (+13) and 22 deaths. Portugal now registers 13 more deaths and 2,153 infection cases related to the covid-19 pandemic.
PUB
One of the cases reported today concerns an 8-year-old girl who attends the 1st cycle at the Centro Escolar de Santa Margarida, in the municipality of Constância, with the director of the School Group, Olga Antunes, reporting to mediotejo.net that the school, which has a total of 130 students from preschool to the 2nd cycle, immediately triggered the contingency plan and that the class, with 14 students, will stay at home next week until carrying out and knowing the results of the tests at the new coronavirus. Also two teachers and an assistant will stay at home until they have the test results.
Maria dos Anjos Esperança, Public Health Delegate of ACES Médio Tejo, in turn, reported an outbreak in a factory in the industrial area of Abrantes, with five confirmed cases in the company Momsteel in three men and two women, with the data on the map not yet reflect these data. The contingency plan at the factory, which is working normally, has been activated, the official said yesterday. The professionals close to the infected have all been tested and the results will have been negative.
In the 11 counties of ACES Médio Tejo, with a total of 858 confirmed cases (+13), Ourém has 209 positive cases (+3), Tomar has 183 (+1), Entroncamento 170 (+1), Torres Novas 103 (+ 4), Abrantes 83 (+2), Mação 44, Alcanena 30 (+1), Vila Nova da Barquinha now has 15, Ferreira do Zêzere 9 and Constância 8 (+1). Sardoal has 4 confirmed cases.
At ACES Médio Tejo, Entroncamento today has 47 people under active surveillance, followed by Torres Novas (41), Ourém (37), Abrantes and Tomar (29), Alcanena (13), Constância (10), Vila Nova da Barquinha and Ferreira do Zêzere (4), Mação and Sardoal (2).
Today, this ACES registers an accumulated total of 858 infected people (+13), 515 recovered (+13), 218 people under active surveillance (+3) and 22 deaths (-).
At ACES in Pinhal Interior Sul, Vila de Rei has had a case of infection since the beginning of the pandemic. Sertã has an accumulated total of 36 confirmed cases, of which 19 people are recovered from the disease and 17 cases remain active.
With about 250 thousand inhabitants, the 13 municipalities of the Middle Tejo today add up to a total of 895 confirmed cases of infection by the new coronavirus (858 in ACES Médio Tejo and 37 in ACES Pinhal Interior Sul), 534 people recovered (515 in ACES Médio Tejo , 18 in Sertã and 1 in Vila de Rei) and 22 deaths.
In all 13 municipalities of the Middle Tejo, there are 729 cases of infection registered in the post-confinement period, 580 more than those reported in the initial phase of containment of the disease.
In Alto Alentejo, Gavião registered in August the only nine cases of covid-19. Ponte de Sor has a cumulative total of 25 positive cases. At least five of the cases relate to people who do not reside in the municipality and who have not updated their tax residency, so the municipality only refers to the occurrence of 20 cases.
Lezíria do Tejo, in turn, has an accumulated total of 1264 patients, of which 489 cases in the municipality of Santarém, according to data from the Regional Network. Chamusca has a total of 37 confirmed cases, including one death, and Golegã records 37 infections. The Lezíria region has 39 deaths, 24 of them in Santarém.
The Santarém district has an accumulated total of 2102 cases (1264 in Lezíria do Tejo and 858 in ACES Médio Tejo), and a total of 61 deaths (39 in Lezíria and 22 in ACES Médio Tejo). Lezíria do Tejo has a total of 960 recovered patients and ACES Médio Tejo has 515, which gives a total of 1475 people recovered from the virus.
Covid-19 | Portugal registers 13 more dead and 2,153 infected
Portugal registers 13 more deaths and 2,153 cases of infection related to the pandemic of covid-19, said today the Directorate-General for Health (DGS). According to the latest bulletin, released today, since the beginning of the pandemic Portugal has accounted for 98,055 confirmed cases and 2,162 deaths.
In surveillance, 52,543 contacts remain, 759 more than in the data revealed on Friday. The data released today reveal even more 1,853 recovered cases, making a total of 57,919. Portugal has 37,974 active cases, 287 more than on Friday.
By region, the North has 38,281 confirmed cases, an increase of 1,124 cases compared to Friday, and 950 deaths, six more than the previous day. Lisbon and Vale do Tejo, in turn, have 47,027 confirmed cases, 781 more than the previous day, and five more deaths, totaling 871.
The Center has 149 more confirmed cases to 7,983 and deaths remain unchanged at 277. Alentejo accounts for 1,956 confirmed cases, equivalent to an increase of 42 cases compared to Friday, and 27 deaths, plus one.
The Algarve region has now reported 2,171 cases, which translates into an increase of 47 cases, and 22 deaths, one more than the previous day. Madeira remains without registering deaths and has three more confirmed cases, totaling 320, while the Azores added seven more cases, accounting for 317, and the number of deaths has not changed, thus continuing at 15.
In turn, 1,014 people are in hospital, one less than on Friday. 148 patients are admitted to intensive care units, four more than the previous day. Of the total confirmed cases, 53,433 are women and 44,622 men. The new coronavirus has already killed 1,087 men and 1,075 women in Portugal.
The covid-19 pandemic has already claimed more than 1.1 million deaths and over 39.3 million cases of infection worldwide, according to a report by the French agency AFP.
The disease is transmitted by a new coronavirus detected in late December 2019 in Wuhan, a city in central China.
After Europe succeeded China as the center of the pandemic in February, the American continent is now the one with the most confirmed cases and the most deaths.
c / LUSA
SUPPORT OUR NEWSPAPER, BECOME A BENEFITING READER
If you regularly read our news, become a worthy reader by making contributions starting at € 10 / month, or donating amounts equal to or greater than € 100. These readers are now included in the technical file as supporters of this independent journalism project. You can also make a one-time contribution (€ 5, € 10, € 20, whatever you can and want).
Mondel z International, the world leader in Snacking, announces the appointment of Othmane Nadifi as General Manager of its Moroccan subsidiary, Mondelez Maroc
With this appointment, Mondel z International reflects its desire to promote Moroccan talents to continue the development and management of its activities in the Kingdom. “Othmane has a solid experience in sales, distribution and operations management and is distinguished by a strong knowledge of the Moroccan agri-food products market”, specifies Kate Goodman, president of MENAP (Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan ) at Mondel z International.
“With his experience acquired over more than two decades, in strategy and management as well as in the field, Othmane Nadifi is well placed to make the most of the success of our Moroccan company and develop its brands on the local market”, continues Kate Goodman.
A few weeks ago, deputy general manager in charge of operations within Varun Beverages Morocco (bottler of Pepsico products in Morocco), Mr. Nadifi is now, since October 1st, the general manager of Mondelez Maroc. He has a wealth of expertise and more than 20 years of experience in the distribution and sale of FMCG products with major international and local operators such as Procter & Gamble, Pepsico International, Reckitt Benckiser Group or even Les Eaux Minerales d. ‘Oulmes
Mr. Nadifi, whose mission is to continue the development of Mondelez Maroc through its Bimo and Oreo biscuits, its Milka chocolates, its Clorets and Tridents chewing gum and its Halls sweets, declared when taking up his duties: “ I am very happy to join the Moroccan leader in biscuits, a company rich in its talents and its teams as well as its emblematic brands, both local and international ”. And to add: “My objective is to accelerate the growth of Mondelez Maroc, while best meeting the needs of Moroccan consumers.”
Pavilion of the Casal Vistoso Complex, one of the accommodation centers created by the Lisbon City Council in response to the pandemic Nuno Ferreira Santos
In Lisbon and Porto, support centers for homeless people are arriving who were not unemployed at the beginning of the pandemic. Now, without work, they seek food aid or income support because they can no longer afford it. There are also those looking for both or looking for accommodation, even if temporary.
