WORLD’S LONGEST SCHOOL SHUTDOWN
In Uganda, students were returning on Monday to institutions shut nearly two years ago in the world’s longest educational disruption caused by the coronavirus.
That helped control the pandemic – with only 153,000 cases and 3,300 deaths recorded in the east African nation – but the government estimates about a third of pupils will now never return for a range of reasons, from poverty to pregnancies.
“We faced temptations,” said 16-year-old Rachael Nalwanga, happily returning to classes while others of her generation had taken jobs to help their families or had babies.
“I am excited that I am going back to school. It has not been easy for me to keep safe at home for this long but I thank God,” she told Reuters in the town of Kayunga.
After the Christmas and New Year break, classes were also set to begin on Monday in Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and parts of Germany. Youngsters faced an array of measures from mask-wearing and parents not allowed past the gates.
Italy’s new rules state that if there are two cases in a class, only recently-vaccinated or boosted pupils can stay, and that if there are three or more, they switch to remote learning.
Experts say the Omicron peak is yet to come in Europe, whose well-funded health systems were nevertheless creaking as record numbers of COVID-19 infections brought staff shortages and more patients.
Britain, where deaths have surpassed 150,000, began using military personnel to support the National Health Service and put its biggest private health company on alert to deliver key treatments including cancer surgery should matters worsen.
Spain was bringing back retired medics, while the Netherlands was mulling a change to let infected but asymptomatic staff keep working. In Italy, the challenge of nearly 13,000 infected health workers was compounded by suspensions for non-vaccination.
ANTI-VAXX HERO DJOKOVIC
Anti-vaccination campaigners cheered the case of Serbia’s world tennis No 1 Djokovic, who was freed from an immigration detention hotel on Monday after winning a legal case to stay in Australia where he is chasing a record-breaking 21st Grand Slam.
Djokovic, a vocal anti-vaxxer, had been stopped at the airport in a row over a medical exemption that would allow him to play in the upcoming Australian Open. But a judge said that was unreasonable and ordered him released.
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