Don’t squander sacrifices

The sacrifices made to protect people during the coronavirus pandemic must not be squandered over the festive period, the World Health Organization's chief said in a Christmas message.

Millions were making "heart-wrenching sacrifices" by staying away from loved ones on Christmas Day, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a video clip posted to Twitter late Thursday, while others will have a missing face at the family table.

He said vaccines, now beginning to be deployed in countries around the world, were starting to offer a way out of the crisis that has engulfed the planet this year.

"As 2020 draws to an end, a pandemic of historic proportions is preventing many of us from celebrating in the ways we would like," Tedros said.

"Instead, hundreds of millions of people are today making great, heart-wrenching sacrifices by staying apart to stay safe.

"But in doing so, they are giving the most precious gifts: the gifts of life and health."

The coronavirus has killed at least 1.74 million people since the outbreak emerged in China last December, while almost 79.5 million cases have been registered, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP.

"All around the world, throughout this most trying of years, we have seen over and over again the sacrifices of so many people to protect and preserve life," said Tedros.

"We must not squander their sacrifices, nor those made by so many families who, this holiday season, will sit at family tables missing a familiar face.

"Despite so much loss, we have built so much hope. Vaccines are offering the world a way out of this tragedy. But it will take time for the whole world to be vaccinated."

According to the WHO's overview of different candidate vaccines, 61 have entered human trials, 16 of which have reached final-stage mass testing.

A further 172 candidate vaccines are being developed in laboratories with a view to eventual human testing.

Tedros said: "We must continue taking comfort in the fact that by caring for others, through acts of solidarity and safety, we can share the greatest gift of all: the gift of life."

SHARE VACCINES

Pope Francis said in his Christmas message that fraternity was a watchword for these unusually troubled times exacerbated by the pandemic.

"At this moment in history, marked by the ecological crisis and grave economic and social imbalances only worsened by the coronavirus pandemic, it is all the more important for us to acknowledge one another as brothers and sisters," he said in his "Urbi et Orbi" message.

He said this call for solidarity was especially aimed at "people who are the most fragile, the sick and all who at this period find themselves without work or in grave difficulty due to the economic consequences of the pandemic and to women who have been subjected to domestic violence during these months of confinement."

The pontiff also called for nations to share Covid-19 vaccines, saying walls of nationalism could not be built to stop a pandemic that knows no borders.

Christmas festivities began yesterday, with hundreds of millions across the world under coronavirus restrictions celebrating a pared-down version of a holiday typically marked by travel and large gatherings.

The battle to halt the pandemic is far from over despite the launching of mass vaccine campaigns that offer the promise of an eventual return to normalcy.

Churches across South Korea stood largely empty, with worshippers congregating online as the country reported a new daily caseload record.

"It really is heartbreaking to see," said Park Jae-woo, a member of the Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul which would usually expect up to 10,000 worshippers, but was only able to welcome 15 staff and choir members yesterday.

And in Catholic-majority Philippines, services were rocked when a 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck the country, capping off a troubled yuletide already muted by bans on parties and carol singing.

"Sad, very sad. Seeing everyone in masks, even the priest and altar servers, reminded me that the world as I know it is not the same," said Manila resident Kyen Quimpo Mallonga after watching Christmas Eve mass on television instead of attending her local church for fear of catching the virus.

"It's Christmas time and people are supposed to be shaking hands, kissing or hugging," she said after missing Christmas midnight mass for the first time in her life.

Despite warm weather, the usual picnicking crowds also avoided the sands of Sydney's Bondi Beach, while the waves were empty of surfing Santas and patrolling police officers enforced social distancing rules.

Germany has been forced to cancel its famous Christmas markets, while in Kuwait, churches were closed until January 10 despite being home to a large Christian community.

For many, the isolation that has defined the past year will continue into Christmas Day and beyond -- such as in Belgium, where residents are largely limited to welcoming a single visitor.

Britons, meanwhile, were cut off from swathes of the world due to the emergence of a new Covid-19 strain.