The Global Pandemic: COVID-19 situation update worldwide, as of 12 October 2020

Since 31 December 2019 and as of 12 October 2020, 37 568 843 cases of COVID-19 (in accordance with the applied case definitions and testing strategies in the affected countries) have been reported, including 1 077 508 deaths.

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COVID-19 situation update worldwide, as of 12 October 2020

The Netherlands: Dutch coronavirus figures are 'very bad', Rutte says. Weekend will be crucial

New coronavirus measures cannot be avoided in the Netherlands if there is no improvement in the number of new infections in the coming 24 to 72 hours, prime minister Mark Rutte told reporters after the weekly cabinet
conference on Friday.

The number of new coronavirus infections in the Netherlands continues to rise, with a further 5,983 cases registered with public health institute RIVM in the 24 hours to Friday morning.

Although the increase on Thursday’s total is 154, well down on the shock 800 increase between Wednesday and Thursday, Rutte said that officials need to see something ‘positive’ in the coming period. ‘I will want to know from experts what the weekend figures say.

The Netherlands now has one of the worst infection rates in Europe, and this has received widespread coverage in the foreign press.

The figures, Rutte said, are ‘very bad.’ ‘People are faced with not having the operation they expected, more people will die, are worried about jobs and loneliness… and that is because we are not taking the basic rules seriously,’ he said.

By Friday a further 69 people had been admitted to hospital, taking the total to 1,139, of whom 239 are in intensive care.

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Dutch coronavirus figures are 'very bad', Rutte says. Weekend will be crucial - DutchNews.nl

EU-Saudi Relations: European Parliament urges EU to snub Saudi G20 Summit

The European Parliament on Thursday voted to downgrade its attendance at the November G20 summit in Saudi Arabia over human rights concerns, and to urge for sanctions.

The bill is one of the strongest political messages the institution has ever issued on Saudi Arabia and comes on the two-year anniversary of the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

MEPs approved a wide-ranging resolution that condemns Saudi human rights abuses and urges the European Union to downgrade its representation at the upcoming G20 Leaders' Summit to avoid legitimizing human rights violations.

Belgian MEP and vice chair of the delegation for the relations with Arab Peninsula Marc Tarabella said: "We are all aware of the importance of Saudi Arabia as a partner of the European Union and for the stability of the Middle East. However, this must not be an alibi for violating human rights."

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European Parliament urges EU to snub Saudi G20 Summit | News | DW | 08.10.2020

EU: Coronavirus -Remdesivir: Commission signs a joint procurement contract with Gilead for the supply of Remdesivir

 The Commission has signed a joint procurement framework contract with the pharmaceutical company Gilead for the supply of up to 500,000 treatment courses of Veklury, the brand name for Remdesivir, and the opportunity to increase supply beyond the 500,000 treatment courses. There are  36 signatories of the Joint Procurement Agreement participating in this joint procurement, including all EU countries, the EEA countries of Norway and Iceland*, the UK, as well as six candidate countries and potential candidates (Albania, the Republic of North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Kosovo** and Bosnia and Herzegovina). All participating countries can now place their orders to procure Veklury directly. Veklury is at this stage the only medicine with a conditional marketing authorisation in the EU for the treatment of COVID-19 patients needing oxygen supply.

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The Netherlands: brief overview of the Dutch governmental budget for 2021 - by Rachel Deloughry

The big question for anyone working in the Netherlands is how, when and to what extent the economic downturn due to the coronavirus will affect public finances in the long term. According to CBP, the Dutch economy will grow by 3,5 percent next year. Thanks, in part, to the support package for companies, unemployment is at the rate of 5,9 percent as opposed to the previously feared rate of 6,5 percent.

Here are the main points regarding the Dutch economy:

• The economy will contract by 5 percent in 2020 but will grow by 3,5 percent in 2021 provided there is no second lockdown
• National debt will reach 60 percent of GDP
• Unemployment will be at 5,9 percent
• Higher spending on unemployment benefits will reach an overspend of 230 million euros

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A brief overview of the Dutch governmental budget for 2021

Coronavirus - The Netherlands: Dutch run out of anti-viral drug Remdesivir to treat coronavirus patients

Dutch hospitals can no longer order supplies of the anti-viral drug Remdesivir to treat coronavirus patients because central supplies have run out, the Financieele Dagblad reported on Tuesday.



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Dutch run out of anti-viral drug Remdesivir to treat coronavirus patients - DutchNews.nl

Denmark: Government seeking to tap mobile phones of rejected asylum-seekers "program should also be adopted in the Netherlands and other EU countries"

The government is aiming to obtain data from the mobile phones of rejected asylum-seekers in a bid to hasten their repatriation.

The measure is one of seven proposals that are part of a new repatriation law,

According to the immigration minister, Mattias Tesfaye, many asylum seekers in Denmark have used YouTube and Snapchat to discuss routes and destination countries.

The new law aims to provide clear direction on the treatment of asylum seekers – from the moment they are rejected residence until the time they are sent home.

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Government seeking to tap mobile phones of rejected asylum-seekers - The Post