Billie Eilish stops concert to get one of her struggling fans an inhaler

Feb 7 2022

20-year-old pop star Billie Eilish stopped her Atlanta gig this weekend to make sure that one of her fans got the inhaler they needed. The fan allegedly got caught in a pit close to the front of the stage and appeared to need medical assistance. Eilish stopped the gig to ask the fan and then the rest of the audience to get an inhaler.

As venue security convened on the spot to assist, Billie directed the rest of the audience, telling them not to crowd around the fan and give her some time to recuperate. The gesture earned the young star massive praise, but comments which followed raised some controversy. Eilish said, after the whole ordeal was accounted for, that she waits for people to be OK before she keeps going.

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Many attributed this to be a jab towards the recent AstroWorld tragedy, which ended with several being crushed to death during the Travis Scott concert. Some however said that Eilish has been doing this for years and it was not meant as a jab at Scott. Others in turn defended Scott, comparing audience sizes and saying that the rapper couldn’t possibly know what was happening in his far larger crowd.

But, whatever the truth of the case may be, many still asked not to turn the kind gesture into a polemical issue and simply praise the 20-year-old for her consideration and awareness shown towards her fans.

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Man grievously injured in Luqa after being hit by car

Feb 7 2022

Police were informed yesterday evening at around 1900hrs of a traffic incident which happened in Triq Ħal Qormi, Ħal Luqa.

Police convened immediately on site, with preliminary investigations showing how a 55-year-old Ħal Balzan resident was hit by a Toyota Starlet driven by a 20-year-old Żejtun resident.

The victim was given aid by a medical team and taken to Mater Dei hospital via ambulance. He was certified as having suffered grievous injuries. Police investigations are still ongoing.

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Austria officially first EU country to make COVID vaccination mandatory

Feb 7 2022

Austrians over the age of 18 will have to be vaccinated against COVID-19 as of Saturday or face the possibility of a heavy fine. The new measure was adopted on January 20th by parliament and came into force last Saturday, a culmination of a process which began in November despite the heavy protest and resistance.

Despite the measure, vaccination in Austria has failed to rise, stagnating at levels below those of even France or Spain. Still, a small uptick in vaccination accumulating to 9% over the previous week was noted by a humanitarian association in Vienna. Almost all parties, except for some far-right parties, supported the measures. The new legislation passed with 137 votes in favour and 33 against it.

To date, 72% of Austrian residents have been fully vaccinated against the virus. This is in line with the European Union-wide average of just more than 70%. Under new law, after an initial ‘introductory’ phase, those holding against the jab can face fines of up to €3,600 from mid-March.

The measure applies to everyone over 18 except for pregnant women and those with medical exemptions. Government wants to cover everyone aged over 14, but this was voted against. Austria has seen almost 14,000 COVID related deaths so far, with 1.5 million cases in a population of around nine million.

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Here are the COVID measures easing today

Feb 7 2022

As of today Monday 7th February 2022, vaccine certificates will no longer be mandatory for:

Restaurants
Snack Bars
Band Clubs

Also as of today;

Measure limiting 4 households in homes and private residences will be removed.
Mater Dei visitations will be extended with more details being issued.
Vaccine certificates from Maldives and Jordan will be recognised for travel.

This was announced by Health Minister Chris Fearne late last month. This measure easing will be followed by more removal of restrictions on the 14th of February. This will see vaccine certificates not remaining mandatory for bars, gyms and pools.

14th of February will also allow people with valid certificates coming from dark red countries to quarantine at a reduced period of 10 days.

More measures will be amended, with Fearne outlining a roadmap going well into April. This, however, highly depends on the epidemiological situation – increases in active cases, or more importantly, hospitalisations and deaths, could see a reversal of the measure easing.

Today’s measure easing was also met with considerable critique. After the restrictions came into effect on the 17th of January, the ‘quick’ reversal resulted in many critiquing the health authorities’ decisions, but Fearne defended the easing, saying the cases decreased due to the booster.

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