Europe’s largest economies are experiencing a surge in Covid-19 cases as concerns mount over tourists returning from abroad spreading the virus at home.
Germany recorded 1,000 daily infections for three days straight as infections hit a three-month high and Spain deployed its military to set up a field hospital in the hard hit Aragon region.
In England, the much-maligned tracing app is finally to begin public trials after months of false starts. Britons on holiday in France are expected to find out on Thursday if they need to self-isolate on return as more than 2,500 new cases were reported in the latter.
The imposition of a quarantine in France would follow the measure taken against Spain at the end of July.
French prime minister Jean Castex warned that any rebound of Covid-19 could become hard to control if the country failed to act collectively.
Since lifting its strict lockdown around six weeks ago Spain has struggled to keep a lid on new infections, with average daily cases rising from less than 150 in June to more than 1,500 in the first 12 days of August.
TV footage showed air force personnel setting up dark green tents to serve as a field hospital in Zaragoza, Aragon's regional capital in north-eastern Spain. With 571 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, Aragon has the highest prevalence of the virus in Spain.
In Germany, There were 1,319 new cases in the 24 hours through Thursday morning, the most since May 1 and bringing the country’s case total to 220,859.
Health minister Jens Spahn told ZDF television on Thursday: “My biggest concerns are people returning from trips abroad and that there are certain events such as celebrations and parties where infections can happen,” German Health Minister Jens Spahn said in an interview with Thursday.
“What’s important for me is that nurseries and schools can reopen as normal and that industry and trade can continue. That’s important to secure jobs.”
Chancellor Angela Merkel is due to hold talks with regional education ministers later on Thursday as students return to school in some regions this week after the pandemic disrupted the summer vacation season.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Company profile
Company: Eighty6
Date started: October 2021
Founders: Abdul Kader Saadi and Anwar Nusseibeh
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Hospitality
Size: 25 employees
Funding stage: Pre-series A
Investment: $1 million
Investors: Seed funding, angel investors
Without Remorse
Directed by: Stefano Sollima
Starring: Michael B Jordan
4/5
Stormy seas
Weather warnings show that Storm Eunice is soon to make landfall. The videographer and I are scrambling to return to the other side of the Channel before it does. As we race to the port of Calais, I see miles of wire fencing topped with barbed wire all around it, a silent ‘Keep Out’ sign for those who, unlike us, aren’t lucky enough to have the right to move freely and safely across borders.
We set sail on a giant ferry whose length dwarfs the dinghies migrants use by nearly a 100 times. Despite the windy rain lashing at the portholes, we arrive safely in Dover; grateful but acutely aware of the miserable conditions the people we’ve left behind are in and of the privilege of choice.
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Your rights as an employee
The government has taken an increasingly tough line against companies that fail to pay employees on time. Three years ago, the Cabinet passed a decree allowing the government to halt the granting of work permits to companies with wage backlogs.
The new measures passed by the Cabinet in 2016 were an update to the Wage Protection System, which is in place to track whether a company pays its employees on time or not.
If wages are 10 days late, the new measures kick in and the company is alerted it is in breach of labour rules. If wages remain unpaid for a total of 16 days, the authorities can cancel work permits, effectively shutting off operations. Fines of up to Dh5,000 per unpaid employee follow after 60 days.
Despite those measures, late payments remain an issue, particularly in the construction sector. Smaller contractors, such as electrical, plumbing and fit-out businesses, often blame the bigger companies that hire them for wages being late.
The authorities have urged employees to report their companies at the labour ministry or Tawafuq service centres — there are 15 in Abu Dhabi.
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