International
Brazil’s Bolsonaro downplays Omicron
AFP
President Jair Bolsonaro on Wednesday downplayed the Omicron coronavirus variant amid a surge in hard-hit Brazil, ruling out new containment measures as he defended the pursuit of herd immunity through widespread infection.
In the country with the world’s second-highest Covid-19 death toll, Bolsonaro said the arrival of the Omicron variant posed little threat, even as experts warn of growing pressure on hospitals.
“Omicron has not killed anyone,” the coronavirus-skeptic president said, after municipal authorities in the state of Goias announced the country’s first death due to the new variant.
“The person who died in Goias already had serious problems, notably with the lungs,” which is what killed them, Bolsonaro told the Gazeta Brazil.
Experts say the variant is already the most widespread in Brazil.
Bolsonaro cited provisional evidence of Omicron being more contagious but less deadly than some earlier variants.
“Some even say it is a vaccinating virus. Some smart and serious people, not aligned to the pharmaceutical industry, say Omicron is welcome and could herald the end of the pandemic,” the far-right president added.
– Herd immunity –
Asked in Geneva about Bolsonaro’s statements, the director of the World Health Organization’s emergency program, Mike Ryan, said, “No virus that kills is welcome, especially if death and suffering can be avoided.”
According to the Brazilian UOL news outlet, Ryan added: “The fact that the virus is less severe does not mean that the disease is mild.”
Bolsonaro insisted that Brazil’s economy could not afford another lockdown, and defended the controversial approach of allowing people to get infected for so-called herd immunity against the virus to take root.
“Herd immunity is a reality. A person immunized with the virus has a lot more antibodies than a vaccinated person,” Bolsonaro insisted.
“Me, for example, I am not vaccinated and I am very well.”
Bolsonaro recovered from a coronavirus infection in July 2020, has said he will not get vaccinated, and has opposed health passes given to vaccinated people to access certain places as a breach of freedom.
In October, a Brazilian Senate commission approved a damning report that recommends criminal charges, including for crimes against humanity, be brought against the president for his Covid policies.
He has had social media posts deleted numerous times for spreading misinformation and inciting people to violate social distancing and mask-wearing policies.
Bolsonaro has suggested vaccines could turn people into “crocodiles,” and has endorsed the use of the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine as a treatment, despite scientific studies showing it does not work.
Covid-19 has claimed more than 620,000 lives in Brazil, a toll second only to the United States.
The health ministry said Tuesday the country had registered more than 70,700 new cases in 24 hours — a rate eight times higher than two weeks earlier.
At the deadliest peak of the pandemic last year, hospitals were pushed to the brink of collapse in many areas, and the daily death toll at one point exceeded 4,000.
The vast country of 213 million people was slow to start its vaccination campaign under a president who had minimized Covid-19 as a “little flu.”
International
Erin brings strong winds and storm surge despite weakening offshore
Hurricane Erin weakened to a Category 2 storm on Tuesday but continues to pose a threat to parts of the U.S. East Coast with potentially dangerous flooding, according to meteorologists.
Although the hurricane’s eye is expected to remain offshore, experts are concerned about Erin’s size, as strong winds extend hundreds of kilometers beyond the storm’s center.
In its 18:00 GMT bulletin, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) lifted tropical storm warnings for the Bahamasand Turks and Caicos Islands, but kept them in effect for parts of North Carolina.
Erin was located several hundred kilometers southeast of North Carolina and was moving northwestward.
“This means there is a risk of potentially life-threatening flooding of 60 to 120 centimeters above ground level,” said NHC Director Michael Brennan.
He also warned of the possibility of destructive waves, combined with storm surge, that could cause severe damage to beaches and coastal areas, making roads impassable.
International
Three U.S. Warships deploy near Venezuela to combat drug trafficking
Three U.S. naval vessels are moving toward the coasts of Venezuela, according to international media reports on Tuesday, after White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt confirmed that President Donald Trump is ready to combat and curb international drug trafficking.
Reports indicate that the ships will reach Venezuelan waters within the next 36 hours as part of a recent U.S. deployment aimed at countering international narcotics operations.
The announcement coincides with Leavitt’s statement that Trump is prepared to “use the full extent of his power” to halt drug flows into the United States. The naval deployment involves approximately 4,000 military personnel.
“The President has been clear and consistent. He is ready to use every element of U.S. power to prevent drugs from flooding our country and to bring those responsible to justice. The Maduro regime is not the legitimate government of Venezuela—it is a narco-terror cartel,” the spokesperson said during a press conference.
International
Cuban authorities free salvadoran convicted in 1997 hotel bombing
Salvadoran national Otto René Rodríguez Llerena was released after serving a 30-year prison sentence for his involvement in a terrorist attack at a hotel in Cuba in 1997, the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported.
During his trial, Rodríguez Llerena admitted to placing an explosive device at the Meliá Cohiba Hotel under the orders of anti-Castro exile leaders. He was arrested the following year when he returned to Havana with another load of explosives that failed to detonate.
“The Cuban government reiterates its commitment to combating terrorism, respecting human rights, and the need for the international community to hold accountable those who promote such acts,” the statement read.
He was released on August 15 and is the second Salvadoran to complete his sentence. In December of last year, another Salvadoran, Ernesto Cruz León, was released after planting bombs at tourist centers, one of which killed an Italian tourist identified as Fabio Di Celmo.
A third Salvadoran, Francisco Chávez Abarca, also received a 30-year sentence from Cuban courts in 2010 after being extradited from Venezuela through Interpol for actions against Cuba.
Rodríguez Llerena had requested conditional release in 2016, arguing that his actions had not caused any direct fatalities, but no further information was released about his situation until now.
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