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Federal News

Archives for June 2021

EU to keep pandemic economic safety net in place next year

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union countries will continue to benefit from an economic safety net through next year to help their economies recover from the damage inflicted by coronavirus restrictions, the EU’s executive branch said Wednesday.

As COVID-19 spread throughout Europe and sent the EU spiraling toward its deepest recession, the European Commission activated a “general escape clause” in March 2020 that allowed member nations to deviate from normal budgetary rules.

But with vaccination programs now taking hold and the number of new coronavirus cases dropping, the commission predicts the EU economy will expand by 4.2% in 2021 and by 4.4% in 2022.

Given the positive trend, Commission Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said that “we are prolonging the general escape clause in 2022, with a view to deactivating it in 2023.”

Dombrovskis said the decision comes “with our recovery around the corner but with the road ahead still paved with unknowns. We will therefore continue to use all tools to get our economies back on track.”

He said that of all the 27 EU countries, only Denmark and Luxembourg will stand below the deficit limit of 3% of gross domestic product set out in the bloc’s fiscal rule book. But no debt action will be taken against countries such as Cyprus, Greece and Italy, which have “excessive imbalances,” Dombrovskis said.

The EU extended the deadline for Romania to correct its debt ratio to 2024.

Dombrovskis urged EU members to take advantages of the loans available under the bloc’s 750 billion-euro ($914 billion) coronavirus recovery plan to help stimulate their economies further.

The EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility is made up of grants and loans, and benchmarks must be met for the money to be paid out. Loan conditions are more onerous.

Copyright © 2021 . All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

Can virtual reality help seniors? Study hopes to find out

POMPANO BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Terry Colli and three other residents of the John Knox Village senior community got a trip via computer to the International Space Station in the kickoff to a Stanford University study on whether virtual reality can improve the emotional well-being of older people.

Donning 1-pound (470-gram) headsets with video and sound, the four could imagine floating weightless with astronauts and get a 360-degree tour of the station. In other programs, residents can take virtual visits to Paris, Venice, Egypt or elsewhere around the globe; attend a car rally, skydive or go on a hike.

“I feel great. It is amazing. It is like you are really there,” said Colli, 73, and a former spokesman for the Canadian embassy in Washington.

Stanford’s Virtual Human Interaction Lab will be working with John Knox’s 1,200 residents, who will have ready access to the equipment under the supervision of staff members. The goal is to see whether virtual reality can improve their mood, strengthen their relationships with staff and make them more receptive to technology. Other senior communities in the United States and elsewhere will soon be added by the California university.

Virtual reality works by making what the person sees and hears track with what they are doing. In a VR trip to Paris, for example, a participant might turn to the left and see the Eiffel Tower with a musician playing in the foreground, and then turn right and find two people conversing. If the participant moves toward one, that sound increases while the other diminishes.

“There is a fair amount of previously published research by academic labs around the world that shows VR, when administered properly, can help reduce anxiety, improve mood, and reduce pain,” said Jeremy Bailenson, the Stanford lab’s founding director. “This particular study is focused on how using VR might reduce the residents’ feelings of isolation from the outside world — all the more important after the isolation we all faced during the pandemic.”

During Tuesday’s demonstration at the suburban Fort Lauderdale community, Colli, Anne Selby, 77; Mark Levey, 64; and Hugh Root, 92, moved their heads from left to right and up and down as they got individual tours of the space station.

“It really felt like you were traveling — and not alone either. In some of the video, there are people,” said Levey, a former federal government worker.

Selby, an artist, said that she felt a bit nauseated as she moved through the space station because it was so realistic, but that she was able to cope by taking deep breaths.

“Regardless of my age, I was right in the middle of it,” she said.

Root, a retired insurance salesman, was blunt: “It blows my mind.”

Chris Brickler, CEO of MyndVR, the Dallas company that provided the equipment, said volunteers will be screened to assure they are mentally suitable for using virtual reality and each attendant has an abort button if the person becomes overwhelmed by the experience. John Knox’s residents include people and couples who live alone, in assisted living and with full-time nursing.

“As we age, we feel there is a disconnect sometimes that can happen when there is a lack of mobility,” Brickler said. “We can’t travel as much as we want, we can’t connect with nature as much as we want, can’t have connections with animals. All sorts of connections get lost and our four walls start shrinking in. What we have tried to do is create a platform where we can bring the world back.”

Monica McAfee, John Knox’s chief marketing and innovation officer, said the community’s administrators believe VR helps residents — it’s been used on a limited basis there for three years — but Stanford’s study “will provide the empirical data.” For example, she said, they want to know if VR can help residents with dementia who suffer from “sundowning” — severe mood downswings that begin at dusk.

“Is this a way to redirect them to enjoy something?” she said.

Northern Ohio University associate philosophy professor Erica Neely, who studies the ethics of technology, said it’s important that Stanford is getting fully informed consent, screening participants and making sure they aren’t using VR alone, especially at first. She is not involved in the study.

“We definitely don’t want anyone to get stuck in the experience if they become distressed and can’t figure out how to turn it off,” she said. “The fact that there is a companion/caretaker who can go with (the participant) is utter genius. … The idea of ‘Well, we don’t necessarily have people with diminished capacities wandering around by themselves through physical space — maybe we can do the same for virtual space’ was a really good one.”

Copyright © 2021 . All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

The Latest: Biden’s ‘month of action’ for more shots in arms

WASHINGTON — Free beer is the latest White House-backed incentive for Americans to get vaccinated for COVID-19. President Joe Biden is expected to announce a “month of action” on Wednesday to get more shots into arms before the July 4 holiday.

Biden is set to update the nation the vaccination roll-out and his plans to get 70% of adults partially vaccinated by Independence Day. That’s key to his goal of returning the nation to a pre-pandemic sense of normalcy this summer.

The latest vaccine incentive, provided by Anheuser-Busch, builds on others such as cash giveaways and sports tickets to keep up the pace of Americans getting shots.

To date 62.8% of the adult U.S. population have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 133.6 million are full vaccinated. The rate of new vaccinations has slowed again to an average below 600,000 per day.

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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:

— Japan gives $800M to UN-backed COVID-19 vaccine program

— AstraZeneca starts deliveries of Thailand-made vaccines

— EU eyes revamp of ID check-free zone to improve travel flow

— Sinovac vaccine restores one Brazilian city to near normal

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— Follow more of AP’s pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic and https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine

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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

NICOSIA, Cyprus — Cyprus has confirmed two samples of the Indian COVID-19 variant have been found among the population.

The Cypriot Health Ministry says the Indian variant was found in two of 170 samples taken from infected individuals living in Cyprus. The samples underwent testing at the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control.

Of the samples, 166 identified as the U.K. variant of the virus, while another two were the C.36 variant, which the Health Ministry says doesn’t pose a concern. The samples were taken between April 30-May 21.

The Ministry says the possibility of new variants entering the country remains high, despite the strict measures at Cyprus’ two international airports.

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CAIRO — Egypt’s prime minister says his government is seeking to vaccinate at least 40% of the country’s population against the coronavirus by the end of this year.

Mustafa Madbouly says only 2.5 million people have received vaccines out of 6 million registered to be vaccinated.

Egypt has launched its vaccination campaign in January, but many have been reluctant to received vaccines.

The nation of 100 million people has received several millions of doses from China and the COVAX initiative that distributes vaccines to middle- and low-income countries.

Egypt has reported more than 263,600 confirmed coronavirus cases and 15,136 confirmed deaths.

The actual number of cases, like elsewhere in the world, is considered far higher because of limited testing.

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GENEVA — Japan’s prime minister announced another $800 million to the U.N.-backed program to deploy COVID-19 vaccines for poor countries, a four-fold increase of Japanese funding to the COVAX program.

Yoshihide Suga spoke as Japan co-sponsored a fundraising event for COVAX with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, which helps run the program. The program managers are seeking about $2 billion more to reach a target of $8.3 billion for its effort to fund free vaccines for low- and middle-income countries around the world.

“Now is the time for us to act,” said Suga through a translator, leading a parade of world and humanitarian leaders who announced pledges and commitments on Wednesday. He says the additional $800 million will bring Japan’s contribution to $1 billion.

Leaders from Australia, Austria, South Korea, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland were among those citing their efforts to build momentum for greater equity in access to vaccines that the World Health Organization — another key COVAX partner — says is badly lacking.

Among those facing vaccine shortfalls are many of the 92 low- and middle-income countries and territories in the Advanced Market Commitment part of the COVAX program.

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BRUSSELS — The European Union wants to revamp Europe’s ID check-free travel area after coronavirus restrictions placed new strains on tourism, travel and business throughout the bloc.

The travel zone is made up of 26 countries: 22 EU nations plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. Normally, people and goods move freely between these countries without border checks.

But government-imposed coronavirus restrictions have hampered free movement. That’s on top of other measures put in place by some countries to restrict migration and counter extremist attacks.

The EU plan is to boost external border controls, and police and security cooperation. The EU Commission says better monitoring of the way countries manage their borders would help build trust.

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BANGKOK, Thailand — AstraZeneca’s partner in Thailand has started its first deliveries of COVID-19 vaccines after concerns they were behind on their production schedules for the country and parts of Southeast Asia.

Siam Bioscience says the first locally produced AstraZeneca doses were delivered Wednesday to Thailand’s Ministry of Health ahead of the June 7 start of the country’s official mass vaccination program.

It didn’t say how many doses were delivered. AstraZeneca signed with Siam Bioscience last year to be its vaccine production and distribution center in Southeast Asia. It says the vaccines would be ready for export to other Southeast Asian countries in July.

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COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Officials in the Norwegian capital of Oslo have decided to temporarily suspend the traditional celebrations for high school seniors who drive around in buses and drink, after at least 540 people are quarantined because of a coronavirus outbreak tied to the festivities.

Oslo and Norway’s top medical authority have “made an urgent decision to stop all celebrations for a week,” the city said, according to Norwegian news agency NTB.

The celebrations, known as russ in Norwegian, are a major cultural phenomenon across the Scandinavian country. Participants wear colored overalls and matching caps, with some buying a used vehicle — a bus, a van or a car — which they scribble on with paint and drive around in. Drunkenness and public disturbances are often linked to the celebration.

Jorunn Thaulow, responsible for the infection tracing team in the western part of Oslo, told the Avisa Oslo newspaper that most of the cases are related to five buses used by the partying students. She says it’s affecting almost all high schools in the western part of Oslo, which has nearly 700,000 residents.

Norway soon will begin to vaccinate people between 18 and 44.

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WARSAW, Poland – Poland’s plummeting numbers of COVID-19 infections and deaths have allowed the government to ease more restrictions and allow for conferences and exhibitions, indoor playgrounds and higher attendance at family events like weddings.

Health Minister Adam Niedzielski said Wednesday latest figures show that the pandemic is “easing off,” allowing for the new rules to take effect Sunday for a two-week trial period.

Conferences, fairs and trade exhibitions can be organized, and indoor playgrounds can open, provided there are no more than one person per 15 sq. meters (160 sq. feet.) The limit of people allowed at entertainment and family events was raised to 150, from previous 50, with fully vaccinated people not counting in that limit. However, discos remain closed.

Also, public transport can now fill to 75% of capacity, up from the previous 50% of capacity, but masks remain obligatory.

Poland’s average daily number of infections has gone under 1,000 and of deaths is under 100, compared to almost 30,000 new daily infections and over 700 deaths in April. Some 7.3 million Poles are fully vaccinated, and another 13 million have received the first jab.

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MELBOURNE, Australia — A pandemic lockdown in Australia’s second largest city will be extended for a second week due to concerns over a growing cluster of coronavirus infections.

Victoria state acting Premier James Merlino on Wednesday confirmed that Melbourne will remain in lockdown for seven more days from Friday, but pandemic restrictions will be eased elsewhere in the state.

Merlino says that “if we let this thing run its course, it will explode.”

Victoria officials said Wednesday that the state recorded six new locally acquired coronavirus cases, bringing the latest outbreak to 60 active infections. The lockdown is the fourth for Melbourne, which has 5 million residents.

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MEXICO CITY — Mexico says a clinical review of past deaths has led officials to raise the country’s confirmed COVID-19 death toll by 4,272, to a total of 227,840.

The adjustment announced Tuesday is largely one of record keeping, because even government officials acknowledge the true death toll is far higher.

Because the country of 126 million people does so little testing, many Mexicans have died at home or never got a test. So the government searches death certificates for mentions of symptoms related to COVID-19.

Those analyses of excess deaths related to COVID-19 now stand at over 348,750, which gives Mexico one of the highest per capita rates in the world.

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JUNEAU, Alaska — Alaska has begun offering coronavirus vaccinations at airports in a move that had been expected for the start of the summer travel season.

The state health department said as of Tuesday, vaccine eligibility has been expanded to include anyone in Alaska who is at least 12 years old, including visitors from other states or countries. Prior eligibility was for those who live or work in Alaska.

Vaccines will be offered outside the areas secured by the federal Transportation Security Administration at airports in Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau.

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INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana University modified its COVID-19 vaccination requirement, making it optional that students and employees provide proof of getting the shots as school officials changed a policy that had drawn protests from many state officials.

Indiana University said under the revised requirement students and employees would be able to attest to their vaccination without having to provide immunization documentation as was required under the previous policy.

The university also said a form would be available Wednesday for those requesting vaccine exemptions for medical or religious reasons.

President Michael McRobbie said the university’s primary concern has been ensuring the health and safety of its students and staff. He added: “This requirement will make a ‘return to normal’ a reality for the fall semester.”

The changes come after the state attorney general issued last week a non-binding opinion that the policy was illegal under a new state law banning state or local governments from requiring vaccine passports.

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TORONTO — Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization says people who got the AstraZeneca vaccine for the first dose can be offered either Pfizer or Moderna for the second.

The advice affects more than two million Canadians who received the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine before provinces stopped using it for first doses last month.

The vaccine is potentially linked to a very rare but serious blood clotting syndrome. In Canada, 41 confirmed or suspected cases of vaccine-induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia have been diagnosed and five people have died.

Several European countries are giving Pfizer or Moderna as second doses to AstraZeneca recipients, including Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Sweden, Norway and Spain.

NACI’s published report says AstraZeneca recipients can be offered the same vaccine if they want it, or can be given either Pfizer or Moderna. The guidance is not binding but most provincial governments have indicated they were waiting for the information before setting their policies.

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Copyright © 2021 . All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

Amazon to hold Prime Day over 2 days in June

NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon said Wednesday that it will hold its annual Prime Day over two days in June this year, the earliest it has ever held the sales event.

Typically, Amazon holds Prime Day in July. Amazon has said it was holding it earlier due to the Olympics, which starts next month and take people’s attention away. Last year, Amazon postponed Prime Day to October because of the pandemic and used the sales event to kickoff holiday shopping early.

This year, Prime Day will be held from June 21 to June 22 in 20 countries, including the U.S., the United Kingdom, Brazil, Italy and Japan.

Amazon started the sales event in 2015 as its answer to Singles’ Day, a shopping holiday in China popularized by Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba. It’s a way for Amazon to get people to sign up for its $119 a year Prime membership, which gets shoppers faster shipping and access to the deals. Prime Day has become one of Amazon’s biggest shopping days.

In past years, Walmart, Best Buy, Target and other retailers have offered their own online discounts during Prime Day, trying to grab the attention of shoppers looking for deals online.

Copyright © 2021 . All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

Business groups support proposed postal reforms under some conditions

Best listening experience is on Chrome, Firefox or Safari. Subscribe to Federal Drive’s daily audio interviews on Apple Podcasts or PodcastOne.

Now that a serious effort at Postal Service reform seems to be making traction in Congress, business groups are lining up to support it — but with some caveats. Federal Drive with Tom Temin got one view from the executive director of the Coalition for a 21st Century Postal Service, Art Sackler.