Coronavirus Update – Feb. 23: Biden Calls 500,000 Death Toll a ‘Heartbreaking Milestone’

County Clare, Ireland

“Today we mark a truly grim, heartbreaking milestone,” said President Joseph Bide, marking the shocking death toll in the United States with a moment of silence Monday.

The World Health Organization found that Chinese officials did “little” in terms of epidemiological investigations into the causes of the initial outbreak of Covid-19 in Wuhan in the first eight months following the onset of the virus, according to an internal document.  The news, first reported by the Guardian, stemmed from a WHO report that was issued in August of last year.  WHO officials were not given any written data or documents in the course of extensive meetings with Chinese officials.

Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel told the German parliament that the country is now in a third wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

England’s chief medical officer, Chris Witty, said that the coronavirus is likely to remain a problem in the country for the next few winters, despite the ongoing vaccination program.

Meanwhile, Ireland extended its current lockdown to April 5, the government there said in astatement “It is critically important that we do not let our guard down,” said Taoiseach Micheál Martin in an address to the nation on Tuesday.  “We are carefully and gradually reopening schools because we need to get our children back into education. This will represent a major relief for both pupils and hard-pressed parents. When we open things, we want them to stay open.”

Finally, Scotland will begin a phased lifting of its current lockdown. The current stay-at-home order will be lifted on April 5 and the country will then return to a “levels system,” said First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. Travel restrictions, however, are likely to remain in place.

(Photo: Accura Media Group)