アメリカ民主主義さんの おぼえた日記 - 2020年6月30日(火)

＜BBCニュース6月30日＞
Coronavirus: EU to allow in visitors from 14 'safe' countries
コロナウイルス　EUが14の安全な国からの訪問者を認定

◎要旨
EUは7月1日から来訪を認める14か国を指名した。ここには、日本の他、アルジェリア・オーストラリア・カナダ・ジョージア・モンテネグロ・モロッコ・ニュージーランド・ルワンダ・セルビア・韓国・タイ・チュニジア・ウルグアイである。
このリストも妥協の産物だ。ポルトガルやギリシャのように観光に依存し、コロナの被害が軽微であった国は、多くの国を含めたかったが、スペインのようにコロナで痛い目にあった国は、安全性の高い国に限定したがった。
このリストは定期的に更新される。
The EU has named 14 countries whose citizens are deemed "safe" to be let in from 1 July, despite the pandemic - but the US, Brazil and China are excluded.
Those named include Australia, Canada, Japan, Morocco and South Korea.
The EU is ready to add China if the Chinese government offers a reciprocal deal for EU travellers, diplomats say.
Many border controls have been lifted for EU citizens travelling inside the bloc. Rules for UK travellers are part of the current Brexit negotiations.
But UK nationals are still to be treated in the same way as EU citizens until the end of the Brexit transition period on 31 December, the EU Commission says.
So during this period UK nationals and their family members are exempt from the EU's temporary travel restriction.
On the current "safe" list, still likely to be amended, are Algeria, Australia, Canada, Georgia, Japan, Montenegro, Morocco, New Zealand, Rwanda, Serbia, South Korea, Thailand, Tunisia and Uruguay.
EU nations in the 26-member Schengen zone normally allow passport-free border crossings for EU citizens, but national authorities have reimposed restrictions in this crisis.
The UK is currently negotiating temporary "air bridges" with several EU member states, so that coronavirus does not totally block summer holidays - the busiest season in Europe for tourism, which employs millions of people.

The EU procedure to formalise the list, and criteria by which countries are judged safe or not, are to be finalised by midday on Tuesday.
A qualified majority of EU countries - at least 55% of the EU countries, representing 65% of the EU population - have signed off on list.
There were splits between those such as Spain - wanting the boost of tourism, but preferring to play safe because they have been hit so hard by Covid-19 - and others like Greece and Portugal, which depend on tourism but are less scarred by the virus.

You'd think it'd be quite straightforward, deciding which non-EU countries to consider "safe". But it's been a tortuous, divisive process, mixing politics and economics, as well as public health.
Countries like Germany and Spain, horrified by the devastation of Covid-19, wanted to play it safe.
They pushed to have a short list of countries with low infection rates, a good health service and reliable health data.
But Greece and Portugal had other ideas. Anxious to boost their post-lockdown, flagging economies with tourism, and less scarred by widespread infection at the height of the pandemic, they wanted as long a list as possible.
Then came France, insisting on reciprocity. If a non-EU country was barring flights from the bloc, argued Paris, they shouldn't appear on the list.
And finally: diplomatic considerations. How awkward for the EU to include some countries but not others. Thumbs up to visitors from Canada, Japan and China from 1 July - if Beijing allows EU visitors entry - but not travellers from the US.
After days of haggling, the final list is an attempted compromise. Much metaphorical sweat, blood and tears for a list that is advisory only, open to exceptions and will be regularly tweaked and updated.

Last week reports said member states were assessing two different lists. The Politico website said one covered countries with fewer than 16 Covid-19 cases per 100,000 people and the other with up to 20 cases, which would include Canada and Turkey. The list is expected to be revised every two weeks, so the US could be added later.
Earlier this month the European Commission also stressed that reopening borders with non-EU states in the Western Balkans was a priority from 1 July. However, EU member Croatia said last week that travellers from Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia and North Macedonia would all face 14-day self-isolation, because of an increase in infections.

★語句
flagging　弱まる
thumb up 賛成
haggle やりあう
tweak　少しずつ変更する

◎私見
日本の医療制度が新型コロナに存亡の危機にある。といっても、院内感染の話でも、病床が満床になったり医療器具が枯渇するといった医療崩壊ではない。コロナで受診者が減って、赤字になる病因が続出しているのだ。
確かに、以前は病院が高齢者の語りの場になっているということもあったようだ。受診すれば、深刻な病気か否かは判別してもらえるが、単なる風邪などの場合、病院へ行っても市販薬を飲むのと大差がない場合もままある。だから、コロナの蔓延前から、健康保険財政面からは風邪などの軽微な症状の通院を避けるような政策が必要だと感じていた。
だが、コロナを移されるのを恐れて患者が自主的に来院を避けると病院の経営も苦境に陥ることも明らかになってしまった。この問題をどのように切り抜けるのか。
シンゾー君べったりの医師会会長が選挙で落選し、医師会は今までと異なる要求をし始めるだろう。日本の医療制度はコロナでどのように変わっていくのだろうか。