(Children’s Health Defense) – 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 U.K. 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 Thursday.
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.
Denmark 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 countries 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.
UPDATE (2/7/2022):
Since launching our petition in support of the Freedom Convoy truckers less than one week ago, we've managed to obtain more than 65,000 signatures from freedom-loving people in every corner of the world!
This is an excellent show of support for the international cause of freedom from intrusive medical mandates, but Canada's truckers still find themselves a foremost target of their government, at both the federal and, now, local levels.
In fact, Mayor Jim Watson has even instituted an entirely unnecessary and politically-motivated "state of emergency" in Ottawa simply due to the truckers' presence there.
So if you haven't already, please SIGN this important petition, which calls on Prime Minister Trudeau and his pro-mandate allies to acknowledge the medical autonomy of working people by reversing course in the federal strategy to combat Covid.
If you have already signed this petition, please consider SHARING it on any of the following social media platforms by clicking on their respective links:
Click here to share on Gab
Click here to share on MeWe
Click here to share on Telegram
Click here to share on Twitter
Click here to share on Facebook
Thank you for being a voice for freedom and medical autonomy!
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Canadian truckers are fighting back against Justin Trudeau's Covid overreach and medical tyranny, and are giving people across the country -- and the world -- a new voice for freedom!
These truckers, like millions of other Canadians, have been subjected to unprecedented medical coercion, manipulation, and intimidation on behalf of Trudeau's liberal government, and, with their livelihoods on the line, they have risen to meet the moment by bringing their cause directly to Ottawa in the form of a massive Freedom Convoy!
But, unsurprisingly, they are still being met with resistance by extreme politicians who wish to exercise complete control over these truckers' -- and all Canadians' -- medical autonomy, which is why we're asking you to show your support for these brave, hardworking men and women by adding your name and your voice to their cause.
Please SIGN and SHARE this petition to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau asking him to back off these truckers, change course in his approach to Covid, and support the medical autonomy of the truckers and all working Canadians going forward.
Like millions of Canadian workers across the country, truckers are being required by Justin Trudeau's Liberal government to get the experimental Covid-19 vaccine, or face a 14-day quarantine period if and when they cross the border into the United States to make their deliveries.
These truckers were categorized as "essential workers" (which they most certainly are) during the worst days of the Covid crisis, when lockdowns were the universal norm and millions of people were forced out of their jobs and offices. Even so, they remained on the job through it all, ensuring that essentials were available to people in every corner of the country, even when some businesses were shut down and strict rules were in place that made something as simple as grocery shopping a challenge for millions.
In fact, Prime Minister Trudeau went out of his way to compliment these men and women back in March of 2020, tweeting the following:
While many of us are working from home, there are others who aren’t able to do that - like the truck drivers who are working day and night to make sure our shelves are stocked. So when you can, please #ThankATrucker for everything they’re doing and help them however you can.
In fact, But just yesterday, Trudeau went on the record at a press conference labeling these truckers everything from "racists" to "Nazis" in a simply stunning reversal from his earlier comments.
So why the sudden change in attitude from the Prime Minister?
Because, as it turns out, these truckers are refusing to sit idly by while their rights -- and the rights of millions of working Canadians -- remain under attack like never before, and they are standing up to Trudeau and challenging his government's radical medical tyranny head-on.
With their livelihoods on the line, these truckers decided it was time to take action.
This past weekend, the #FreedomConvoy led a 50-mile-long caravan of what's estimated to be thousands of truckers from across Canada to Parliament Hill in Ottawa, where they staged a monumental demonstration to protest Trudeau's vaccination mandate.
In addition, truckers from across the United States (who are similarly fighting to preserve their own medical freedoms against a power-hungry federal government) also joined the Freedom Convoy to stand in solidarity with their neighbors to the north.
This massive, now-international movement to restore the individual rights of these truckers and all working people after nearly two years' worth of lockdowns, mandates, and vast government overreach and infringement is taking Ottawa -- and all of Canada -- by storm.
Look no further than the trucker's GoFundMe, which has raised $10 million in support of their cause -- more than what was raised by either of Canada's two major political parties during the last financial quarter of 2021.
The grassroots are clearly on their side (and the side of freedom), but even so, Trudeau remains unmoved...
He has dismissed the truckers and their supporters as a "small fringe," and has even accused the organizers of the Freedom Convoy and its participants of holding "unacceptable views."
But Justin Trudeau is wrong: These hardworking men and women are not racists or Nazis, and they are certainly not a fringe group -- they are patriotic, freedom-loving Canadians who refuse to stand down when being faced with egregious medical tyranny on the federal government's part, and who are using their constitutional right(s) to freedom of speech and expression to be a unified voice for millions of others faced with similar medical mandates.
And they need our support.
So please, take a few minutes now to SIGN and SHARE this important petition asking Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to reverse course by supporting these truckers (and all working Canadians) by abandoning intrusive, unconstitutional vaccination mandates for working people going forward.
This petition will be delivered, in person, to both Prime Minister Trudeau and the leaders of the Freedom Convoy.
Let's show Justin Trudeau, once and for all, that the desire to live and work freely is not just limited to a "small fringe," but rather the inherent right of ALL Canadians and their millions of backers from across the globe -- including YOU!
Thank you!
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
'Canada’s trucker convoy has shown the world it’s possible to push back against COVID tyranny': https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/canadas-trucker-convoy-has-shown-the-world-its-possible-to-push-back-against-covid-tyranny/
**Photo Credit: YouTube (screenshot)
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.
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.
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