- Trump lifts travel ban to some countries
- Moderna allergy outbreak in California: vaccine banned
- Samsung CEO sentenced to 30 months in prison for corruption
Trump Lifts Travel Ban to Some Countries
Trump Lifts Travel Ban to Some Countries
US President Donald Trump lifted the travel ban to the Schengen region, England, Ireland, and Brazil due to Covid-19, effective January 26. New president Joe Biden disapproves of the decision to lift the travel ban
In March 2020, Trump signed a new ruling on travel bans on foreign nationals traveling to the USA from European countries in the Schengen region, as well as from the UK, Ireland and Brazil.
In the document released by the White House two days before Trump departs the presidential mansion, the outgoing president said that unrestricted entry of persons from these countries is “no longer detrimental” to US interests.
Trump said the US will maintain a travel ban on China and Iran.
In the circular he signed to lift the ban, Trump reminded that the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will request a “negative” Covid-19 test result from all passengers traveling from international lines as of January 26.
Stating that this application of the CDC is sufficient to ensure safety in terms of health, Trump noted that the bans on these countries will be lifted from this date.
As of late Monday, the US had more than 24 million coronavirus cases and nearly 400,000 deaths, according to a running tally by Johns Hopkins University.
After the announcement, Jen Psaki, the incoming White House press secretary for President-elect Joe Biden, said now is not the time to lift restrictions on international travel, citing the worsening pandemic and more contagious variants of the virus.
“On the advice of our medical team, the Administration does not intend to lift these restrictions on 1/26. In fact, we plan to strengthen public health measures around international travel in order to further mitigate the spread of Covid-19,” Psaki said on Twitter.
Moderna Allergy Outbreak in California: Vaccine Banned
Moderna Allergy Outbreak in California: Vaccine Banned
California authorities are officially recommending that Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine be temporarily phased out after an outbreak of allergic reactions in those injected with the drug.
The corresponding recommendation was made by the chief epidemiologist of the state, Erica Pan. She noted that all the victims received the vaccine from the same batch.
Dr. Erica Pan, the state epidemiologist, said Sunday that “out of an extreme abundance of caution,” providers should stop using the doses until federal, state and company officials finish an investigation.
“A higher than usual number of possible allergic reactions was recorded from a particular batch of Moderna vaccine in one of the vaccination clinics. Less than 10 patients required medical attention within 24 hours,” Pan said.
What type of allergic reaction was caused, the doctor did not elaborate. However, it is known that there were more than 330 thousand doses in the batch, which were distributed among 287 vaccination points.
Regulators – the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the FDA – and Moderna are already investigating.
California is the most affected state of the United States by the coronavirus, with nearly 3 million cases of Covid-19 reported here, of which 33,600 were fatal.
We will remind, earlier a sharp allergic reaction to the drug for coronavirus was recorded in New York. But then it was the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine.
The CDC has said Covid-19 vaccines can cause side effects for a few days that include fever, chills, headache, swelling or tiredness, “which are normal signs that your body is building protection.”
However, severe reactions are extremely rare. Pan said in a vaccine similar to Moderna, the rate of anaphylaxis — in which an immune system reaction can block breathing and cause blood pressure to drop — was about 1 in 100,000.
Samsung CEO Sentenced to 30 Months in Prison for Corruption
Samsung CEO Sentenced to 30 Months in Prison for Corruption
The Seoul High Court has found Lee Jae Young guilty of bribery, embezzlement, and concealment of proceeds of crime worth approximately 8.6 billion won ($ 7.8 million).
A South Korean court has sentenced Samsung Electronics Vice President Lee Jae Young to two years and six months in prison, Reuters reported.
In 2017, Lee was found guilty of bribing former president Park Geun-hye’s partner for not interfering with the merger of the holding with a construction company. The head of Samsung Electronics was jailed for five years. He denied his guilt, the sentence was commuted upon appeal, and Li was released a year later. The Supreme Court later sent the case back to the Seoul High Court. The new charges were brought against Li despite the fact that the public commission had previously recommended that the prosecutor’s office drop all charges against him and stop investigating the circumstances of the transfer of power to Samsung Group.
After Lee Jae Young’s return to prison, it is expected that the year he had already served in prison before that will count towards the new sentence, leaving him to serve 18 months.
Lee will be temporarily suspended from making important decisions at Samsung Electronics. He also won’t be able to control the process of inheritance from his father, who died last October.
Lee Jae Young actually took over the leadership of Samsung Group in 2014 after his father Lee Gong Hee retired for health reasons.
The elder Lee died last year, leading to speculation that there would be a shake-up at Samsung as his heirs could be forced into asset sales or dividend payments to cover a massive inheritance tax bill.
With Lee’s sentencing today, it is unclear who will take over his responsibilities at Samsung.
Experts say the sentence could create a leadership vacuum and hamper Samsung’s decision-making on future large-scale investments.
“It’s really a huge blow and a big crisis for Samsung,” Kim Dae-jong, a business professor at Sejong University, told news agency AFP.
Samsung Electronics shares lost 4% after the announcement of the court ruling.
