The Latest: Brazil's wealthy could jump vaccine line

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador gives his daily morning press conference following a two-week absence after he tested positive for coronavirus, at the presidential palace, Palacio Nacional, in Mexico City, Monday, Feb. 8, 2021. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

Aficionados vitorean durante el primet tiempo del Super Bowl entre los Buccaneers de Tampa Bay y los Chiefs de Kansas City, el domingo 7 de febrero de 2021, en Tampa, Florida. (AP Foto/Mark Humphrey)

Kindergarten children sit in a classroom as local administration officials check the conditions, on the opening day of schools and kindergartens in Bucharest, Romania, Monday, Feb. 8, 2021. Romania re-opened schools after one of the longest periods of interruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic among European Union countries with up to 2.1 million children going back into schools on Monday and 780 thousand continuing the online education. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

A member of the medical staff administrates the AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 vaccine to a colleague at the South Ile-de-France Hospital Group in Melun, in the outskirts of Paris, Monday Feb. 8, 2021. French health facilities were taking in their first batches of AstraZenica vaccines on Saturday. (Thomas Samson / Pool via AP)

People wearing face masks to help curb the spread of the coronavirus under red lanterns hang ing along on a hutong alley in Beijing, Monday, Feb. 8, 2021. China appears to have stamped out its latest coronavirus outbreaks centered on the northeast, reporting no new cases of local infection in its latest daily report. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

A woman and a child, both wearing face masks to help curb the spread of the coronavirus, ride a bike-sharing company bicycle through Beijing, Monday, Feb. 8, 2021. China appears to have stamped out its latest coronavirus outbreaks centered on the northeast, reporting no new cases of local infection in its latest daily report. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

A medical worker prepares a shot of COVID-19 vaccine for Erri Suprijadi, 70, left, at a community health center in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, Feb. 8, 2021. Indonesia has started to give COVID-19 vaccine produced by China's Sinovac Biotech Ltd. to health workers above the age of 60 after the country's Food and Drug Authority announced an emergency use authorization to give the shots to elderlies. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

People sit in waiting area at the opening of the vaccination for the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccination against COVID-19 disease in Cologne, Germany, Monday, Feb. 8, 2021. Vaccination against the coronavirus started for senior citizens outside care homes today in Germany's most populated province North Rhine-Westphalia. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Olivia Smart, advanced practioner vaccinates Mewa Singh Khela, 72, with his first dose of the Oxford AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine at the Elland Road vaccination centre in Leeds, England, Monday, Feb. 8, 2021. (Danny Lawson/PA via AP)

Members of staff speak to residents as they carry out mobile door-to-door virus testing to assess the prevalence of the South African Covid-19 variant in the Ealing district of London, Monday Feb. 8, 2021. The AstraZeneca vaccine is being used widely in Britain although South Africa has suspended plans to use it for their front-line health care workers after a small clinical trial suggested it may not be effective against the South Africa coronavirus variant.(Kirsty O'Connor/PA via AP)

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, right, speaks to staff operating mobile door-to-door testing of local residents, as they assess the prevalence of the South African Covid-19 variant in the Ealing district of London, Monday Feb. 8, 2021. The AstraZeneca vaccine is being used widely in Britain although South Africa has suspended plans to use it for their front-line health care workers after a small clinical trial suggested it may not be effective against the South Africa coronavirus variant.(Kirsty O'Connor/PA via AP)

65-yer-old doctor Zulfikar Lubis receives a shot of COVID-19 vaccine from a colleague at Adam Malik Hospital in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia, Monday, Feb. 8, 2021. Indonesia has started to give COVID-19 vaccine produced by China's Sinovac Biotech Ltd. to health workers above the age of 60 after the country's Food and Drug Authority announced an emergency use authorization to give the shots to elderlies. (AP Photo/Binsar Bakkara)

An NHS employee looks over the vaccination bays at the Elland Road mass vaccination centre in Leeds, England, Monday Feb. 8, 2021. The AstraZeneca vaccine is being used in Leeds and widely in Britain although South Africa has suspended plans to use it for its front-line health care workers after a small clinical trial suggested it may not be effective against the South Africa coronavirus variant. (Danny Lawson/PA via AP)

Vials of the Iranian-made Razi Cov Pars Covid-19 vaccine are displayed during an unveiling ceremony at the Razi Vaccine Research Institute, in the city of Karaj, Iran, Monday, Feb. 8, 2021. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

A woman with a mask is at a hairdresser after lock down in Vienna, Austria, Monday, Feb. 8, 2021. Photographed through a pane of glass. The Austrian government has moved to restrict freedom of movement for people, in an effort to slow the onset of the COVID-19 coronavirus. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak)

A medical staff member administers a dose of the Pfizer-Biotech vaccine to an over eighty-year-old, in the Santa Maria della Pieta hospital in Rome, Monday, Feb. 8, 2021. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pupils at Allerslev Skole speak to Denmark'sPrime Minister Mette Frederiksen, left, on their first day back at school, in Lejre, on the island of Sealand, Denmark, Monday, Feb. 8, 2021. Students in the lower grades returned to the classrooms after schools were closed in an effort to control the spread of coronavirus. Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Monday it was uncertain when older students would return to school. (Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzaus Scanpix via AP)

A boy washes his hands, on arrival at Tved School, in Svendborg, on the island of Funen, Denmark, Monday, Feb. 8, 2021. Students in the lower grades returned to the classrooms after schools were closed in an effort to control the spread of coronavirus. Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Monday it was uncertain when older students would return to school. (Tim Kildeborg Jensen/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)

Third grade students arrive at Tved School, in Svendborg, on the island of Funen, Denmark, Monday, Feb. 8, 2021. Students in the lower grades returned to the classrooms after schools were closed in an effort to control the spread of coronavirus. Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Monday it was uncertain when older students would return to school. (Tim Kildeborg Jensen/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)

In this Feb. 6, 2021, file photo, people watch the sun set over Tampa Bay in Tampa, Fla. Amid fears of new variants of the virus, new restrictions on movement have hit just as people start to look ahead to what is usually a busy time of year for travel. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

SAO PAULO — A minority of Brazilians will be able to pay for a COVID-19 vaccine if an association of private clinics can close a deal to bring 5 million shots to Latin America’s most unequal country.

President Jair Bolsonaro, under fire for his government’s handling of the pandemic, has promised not to interfere.

Amid the government’s stumbling vaccine rollout, many moneyed Brazilians want to find a swift path to vaccination, sparking backlash from some public health experts and igniting debate on social media, editorial pages and talk shows.

There has been concern globally that the privileged could game the system to get themselves vaccinated before others. When the connected have been caught leapfrogging ahead, in countries like Turkey, Morocco and Spain, they have faced criticism, investigations or forced resignations.

Brazil has had its reports of line-jumpers, too, but the nation stands apart because maneuvering isn’t only done in the shadows.

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THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:

— Virus variants are prompting new travel restrictions, dashing hopes of an industry recovery

__Poultry workers in Delaware are now prioritized as essential employees under the state’s Phase 1B of vaccine distribution

—The prosecutor investigating last year’s massive explosion at the port of Beirut has summoned several people for questioning as Lebanon began easing a strict 25-day nationwide lockdown

— South Africa seeks a new virus vaccination plan after deciding not to use AstraZeneca jab, fearing it's not effective enough against the country's dominant variant

— Tom Brady and Tampa Bay win Super Bowl, capping NFL season that had no cancellations despite pandemic

— Follow all of AP’s pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic, https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak

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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

MEXICO CITY — Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador returned to his daily morning news conferences following a two-week absence after catching the coronavirus, but vowed not to wear a mask or require them.

López Obrador revealed Monday that he received experimental treatments, which he described as an “antiviral” medication and an anti-inflammatory drug. The president revealed he twice tested negative in rapid tests widely used in Mexico, before a more thorough test — apparently PCR — came back positive.

López Obrador has held the news conferences almost every working day for more than two years, and this was the longest he has been absent from them.

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ATHENS, Greece — Greece’s left-wing opposition leader has accused the country’s prime minister of showing contempt for lockdown rules after attending a large outdoor lunch gathering.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on a weekend visit to the Greek island of Ikaria attended an outdoor lunch hosted by a local lawmaker. A video of the event posted on social media showed at least 25 people in attendance, while traditional island music, with drums and bagpipes, could be heard in the background.

The government toughened lockdown measures at the weekend, expanding curfew hours to start at 6 p.m. in greater Athens and Greece’s second-largest city, Thessaloniki, in response to a surge in COVID-19 infections that started in late January.

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TAMPA, Fla. — So much for the mayor’s order requiring masks at Super Bowl parties. Throngs of mostly maskless fans took to the streets and packed sports bars as the clock inside Raymond James Stadium ticked down on a hometown Super Bowl win for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

To meet coronavirus protocols, the NFL capped the crowd at under 25,000 in a stadium that normally holds some 66,000 fans.

But outside the stadium, crowds of fans who weren’t wearing masks or practicing social distancing could be seen celebrating the Buccaneers’ 31-9 win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night.

In hopes of curbing so-called super-spreader events, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor had signed an executive order requiring people wear face coverings during the Super Bowl festivities, even while they’re outdoors.

“As I’ve told everybody we all know how to avoid COVID-19 and that’s by simply wearing a mask,” Castor told WFLA. “I’ve been yelling for the Bucs all night long, you can do it with a mask on.”

Across Tampa Bay in St. Petersburg, Mayor Rick Kriseman was already unhappy about a maskless party hosted by Rapper Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson in a hanger at Albert Whitted Airport on Friday night. Pictures from the party posted on social media showed a densely packed event with few people wearing masks to protect against spread of the coronavirus.

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BERLIN — The Austrian federal government is warning against travel to the country’s Tyrol province amid concern over cases there of the more contagious coronavirus variant first detected in South Africa.

The move by the government in Vienna came after Tyrol earlier Monday drew up a list of measures that included calls for people to avoid nonessential travel and a proposal to require negative antigen tests before people can use ski lifts.

Some 165 infections with the South African variant have already been confirmed in Tyrol and politicians have been discussing for several days whether extra restrictions are required in the region. Tyrol, which borders Germany, Italy and Switzerland, is usually a popular skiing destination — though hotels and restaurants are closed at present, meaning that’s not practical for anyone except locals.

Broadcaster ORF reported that Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said everything must be done “to prevent these (virus) mutations spreading ever further.”

Austria was opening schools, shops, museums and hairdressing salons on Monday after its third lockdown.

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BERLIN — The German government is giving its official blessing to allowing some people to jump the vaccination queue if it’s a choice between that and letting vaccines go to waste.

Health Minister Jens Spahn said new vaccination regulations that took effect Monday specifically envision limited departures from the set order of vaccinations if, for example, doses left over in the evening would go to waste.

He suggested that local authorities draw up systems allowing individuals such as health and emergency service officials, and perhaps firefighters and police, to be prioritized for such jabs.

Spahn added that he can “only recommend those who have political responsibility to set a good example” and wait their turn, given that politicians are expecting people to be patient amid a slow start to vaccinations.

According to the German government’s priority list, coronavirus vaccines were initially reserved for those over age 80, people living or working in nursing homes and hospital staff treating particularly vulnerable patients. But there have been cases of hospital managers and others getting vaccinations.

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NEW YORK — New York City’s public middle school buildings will open this month after being closed since COVID-19 cases began to surge in November.

City officials said Monday that the 62,000 students in grades 6 through 8 whose families have chosen in-person learning will be back in their classrooms on Feb. 25.

Families in New York City’s massive public school system were given the choice of all-remote learning or a hybrid system with students in their classrooms part time when when the school year started in September, but rising coronavirus cases prompted Mayor Bill de Blasio to close all school buildings on Nov. 19.

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WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. — Navajo Nation health officials have reported 23 new COVID-19 cases and one death.

The latest numbers released Sunday raised the totals to 28,897 cases and 1,057 known deaths since the pandemic began.

U.S. President Joe Biden recently signed a long-awaited major disaster declaration for the Navajo Nation.

It will provide more federal resources and prompts the release of federal funds for the reimbursement of emergency funds expended to address the COVID-19 pandemic on the Navajo Nation which covers parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.

The tribe has extended its stay-at-home order with a revised nightly curfew to limit the spread of COVID-19.

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NICOSIA, Cyprus — Greece’s prime minister says Cyprus backs his government’s proposal for the European Union to adopt a vaccination certificate procedure by summer so that prospective vacationers inoculated against the coronavirus can freely travel to the tourism-dependent countries.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said after talks with Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades on Monday that he’s asking the EU to “standardize and simplify” the procedure so that vacationers can present the certificate as proof of their COVID-19 vaccination to ease their travel and re-introduce a “normality” to the tourism industries of Greece and Cyprus.

Visitor arrivals to Greece in between Jan-Nov 2020 dropped by 76.3% over the previous year. In Cyprus, where tourism revenue directly accounts for 13% of the country’s economy, holidaymaker arrivals last year slumped by 84% relative to 2019.

Last month, the International Air Transport Association which represents the world’s airlines threw its support behind the Greek proposal. In a letter to top EU officials, the Association said a vaccination certificate would boost confidence among governments to open their borders and encourage passengers to travel without the quarantine hurdle.

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TIRANA, Albania - The Albanian government warned of imposing harsher lockdown measures on Monday following a recent significant rise of the newly virus infected cases.

Prime Minister Edi Rama blamed businesses and new virus mutations for the recent increase.

During the last week Albania, with a 2.8 million population, noted more than 1,000 new cases a day and deaths higher than a dozen a day.

Health Minister Ogerta Manastirliu reported the two-week trend to 459 per 100,000 people, adding however that it has not threatened virus-related hospital beds coverage.

One-fifth of the beds in the four virus-related hospital remain free and two-thirds of the ICUs too.

The Health Ministry reported 1,460 deaths, 85,336 positive cases from the start and 32,432 remaining active cases as of Sunday.

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COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — The Sri Lanka health ministry said Monday it would receive the first part of the COVID-19 vaccines provided under the U.N.-backed COVAX program this month.

Dr. Hemantha Herath said under COVAX, Sri Lanka is expected to get 8 million doses, enough to cover 4 million people, 20% of the Indian ocean island nation’s population. He did not name which vaccine Sri Lanka was getting.

Led by the World Health Organization, a coalition for epidemic preparedness known as CEPI and a vaccine alliance called GAVI, COVAX was created to distribute COVID-19 vaccines fairly. Countries can join either to buy vaccines or to get donated shots.

On Sunday, Sri Lanka announced they would begin inoculating the public against the COVID-19 beginning next month. At present, the ministry is conducting a vaccination drive to inoculate about 250,000 frontline health workers and selected military and police officers.

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ZAGREB, Croatia - Croatia has launched its vaccination campaign with AstraZeneca shots, imposing none of the age limits that have been put in place by some other European Union countries.

Many EU states have been cautious with the AstraZeneca jab, recommending it for those under 65 because there was little data on how effective it is on older people.

“No vaccine gives 100% protection,” epidemiologist Bernard Kaic said. “If someone wants to take some other vaccines, no one will force them to take this one.”

Two Croatian retiree unions have asked the national coronavirus response team to delay the vaccination of older people with the AstraZeneca vaccine, citing the decisions made in Germany, France, Poland and several other EU states.

Croatia has recently seen a drop in new COVID-19 cases that has been attributed to partial lockdown measures, leading to the reopening of some schools for students on Monday.

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BRUSSELS — Belgium’s strategy to counter the coronavirus pandemic continues to bear fruit as the number of patients in intensive care units has dropped below 300 for the first time since October.

The number of new infections has reached a plateau, with new daily cases between 2,000 and 2,500, while coronavirus-related deaths are decreasing.

The country with 11.5 million inhabitants has been severely hit by the virus, which has killed more than 21,352 people in Belgium. But it has coped well with a surge of new virus variants despite keeping schools and many stores open.

Bars and restaurants have been closed since October and traveling abroad for holidays is currently banned. As of Monday, there were 1,676 coronavirus patients in Belgian hospitals, including 299 in ICUs.

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