Day: January 10, 2022

(Xinhua)10:34, December 01, 2020

LONDON, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) — British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said Monday that coronavirus is back under control in Britain as the month-long national lockdown is due to end on Wednesday.

Weve got this virus back under control, he said during a virtual press briefing at the Downing Street.

According to the latest official figures, Britains coronavirus reproduction number, known as the R number, has fallen to between 0.9 and 1. If the R number is above one, it means the number of cases will increase exponentially.

Hancock said that the lockdown, which is the second of its kind since the COVID-19 outbreak in the country and due to end on Dec. 2, brought coronavirus under control in England. It means people could have greater freedoms in tiers from Wednesday, he said.

However, Hancock warned that continued vigilance is needed as a tougher tiered system is set to replace the lockdown once it ends.

We dont have much headroom. We cant risk letting cases rise again, especially into Christmas and with the flu season around the corner, he said.

Earlier Monday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson defended the new tiered system ahead of a vote in the House of Commons (lower house of parliament) on the measures on Tuesday.

We cant afford to take our foot off the throat of the beast, to take our foot off the gas. We cant afford to let it out of control again, he said.

The tiering system is tough, but its designed to be tough and to keep it under control, he said.

Another 12,330 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 1,629,657, according to official figures released Monday.

The coronavirus-related deaths in Britain rose by 205 to 58,448, the data showed.

To bring life back to normal, countries such as Britain, China, Germany, Russia and the United States are racing against time to develop coronavirus vaccines.

(Xinhua)10:36, December 01, 2020

UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) — United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called for greater inclusion of persons with disabilities in society, including in COVID-19 response and recovery.

The UN chief was addressing countries that are parties to the 2006 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which he stressed can only be fully implemented by tackling the obstacles, injustices and discrimination that this population experiences.

Realizing the rights of persons with disabilities is crucial to fulfilling the core promise of the 2030 Agenda: to leave no one behind, he said, referring to the global action plan to bring about a more just and sustainable world.

In all our actions, our goal is clear: a world in which all persons can enjoy equal opportunities, participate in decision-making and truly benefit from economic, social, political and cultural life. That is a goal worth fighting for.

The 13th session of the Conference of States Parties to the Convention is taking place ahead of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, commemorated annually on Dec. 3.

Like most UN events this year, it is being held in the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic, with participants meeting both in person and online.

The pandemic has deepened pre-existing inequalities affecting the worlds 1 billion persons with disabilities, the secretary-general said. Even under normal circumstances they were already less likely to access education, healthcare and jobs, or to be included in their communities.

The chair of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities echoed this assessment. Danlami Umaru Basharu was concerned that structural barriers, exclusion and discrimination have worsened during the crisis.

While I celebrate that there now 182 parties to the convention, the pandemic has made evident that there is still a long way to go in fully understanding the human rights model of disability enshrined in the convention, and therefore in fully implementing its provisions, Guterres said in a video message.

In May, the UN chief issued a policy brief highlighting the disproportionate impact COVID-19 is having on persons with disabilities.

He has called for pandemic response and recovery to be more disability inclusive, starting with recognizing and protecting the human rights of persons with disabilities.

We must also ensure that the vision and aspirations of persons with disabilities are included and accounted for in a disability-inclusive, accessible and sustainable post COVID-19 world, he said.

The top UN official further emphasized that securing the rights of persons with disabilities is necessary for upholding the values and principles that underlie the UN.

Last year, Guterres launched a UN-wide Disability Inclusion Strategy, aimed at bringing about lasting and transformative change across the organization and its operations.