After two years with a small-scale event, limited by health regulations due to COVID 19, the Carnival of Venice 2023 returned to Venice in all its unfading splendor for inhabitants and guests of the most romantic city in Italy, giving journalists reason to compare it to the mythical phoenix bird rising from the ashes.
Therefore, the color and sound performance of the opening in February on the canals of this eternal holiday had not only a special charm, but also a clear symbolic meaning that life wins. And Venetians make no secret of their joy that the carnival is once again taking place in its traditional form.
“It is a moment of self-identification for the people of Venice and for Venetians all over the world,” says Giovanni Gusta, municipal councilor in charge of Venice’s traditions.
The city on the water is dressed in bright colors, and its inhabitants in fantastic costumes that make you think everything happens in a fairy tale. And everywhere there are masks and masks. In public, in shop windows, on souvenir piles for tourists. Masks in the form of wall decorations, brooches, hairpins, bracelets and magnets.
A resident of Milan, Massimo Candelora, who came to Venice especially for the Carnival, claims that the masks evoke memories and nostalgia of the Venetians. After all, they have been worn in Venice since ancient times. “Today I’m in Venice, and I’m wearing a costume and a ‘bauta’ mask, a typical Venetian mask. It is a simple mask, but it could be worn even when other masks could not be worn. That’s why it is a unique and typically Venetian mask,” the Milanese explains.
A bauta is a papier-mache mask, usually white in color. It has a quadrangular shape, and its half, which covers the lower part of the face, is clearly protruding forward, leaving enough space to be able to drink and eat without removing the mask. In addition, this shape also changes the speaker’s voice, further enhancing his anonymity.
Over time, masks became an attribute of carnival. And before that, in economically prosperous Venice, hiding a person’s identity was commonplace in everyday life. It played a pragmatic role as people hid from competitors, envious people and stooges their deals, which were not necessarily in accordance with the laws of the time.
The carnival festivities will last until February 21, and until then, people in colorful costumes and the most unimaginable masks will be seen in Venice as a natural part of the cityscape, the local order and traditions.
Venice has regained its soul with the revival of carnival, say the Venetians.
In China, more than 31 thousand cases of infection with the coronavirus COVID-19 were detected per day, the authorities continue to tighten measures to combat the disease, the Associated Press reported on Thursday.
Over the past 24 hours, 31,444 cases of coronavirus have been detected in the country – the highest number of infections in a day since the virus was discovered in Wuhan at the end of 2019.
In the center of Henan province, the city of Zhengzhou, authorities announced tightening measures to combat the virus. In eight districts of the city, starting Thursday, for five days, people will be able to leave their homes only to buy food or receive medical care. About 6.6 million people live in these areas. The entire city will be tested daily for the virus.
In Beijing, a hospital for patients with COVID-19 opened in the exhibition center. It was also denied access to Peking University of International Studies after a case of the virus was identified there. Some shopping malls and office buildings were closed in the city.
On Monday, the city of Guangzhou imposed a lockdown on the Baiyun District, which has a population of about 3.7 million, and asked residents in parts of Shijiazhuang City not to leave their homes while mass tests for the virus were carried out in the city. About 11 million people live in Shijiazhuang.
China has a “zero tolerance” policy for COVID-19. This means that in order to limit the spread of the virus, measures such as lockdowns and mandatory quarantine for those who have come into contact with infected people are being implemented. At the same time, earlier in November, the country’s authorities announced some easing of measures, in particular, a reduction in the period of self-isolation for those arriving in the country.
3,893 new cases of COVID-19 were registered in Ukraine last week, which is 40% more than a week earlier, Interfax-Ukraine was told at the Ministry of Health, citing head of department Viktor Lyashko
“Over the past week, 3,893 new cases of the disease were detected, which is 40% more than a week earlier,” the Ministry of Health said.
The Minister said that as a result of COVID-19 over the past week, 16 people died from complications, a week earlier – 14 people
At the same time, 1,763 patients were hospitalized in hospitals with COVID-19 over the past week, while 1,682 people recovered.
Currently, about 5% of the beds allocated for patients with COVID-19 are occupied in Ukrainian clinics.
Some 5-7% of people who came through COVID-19 could have a post-COVID syndrome, this opinion was expressed by the head of the department of nephrology at the Shupyk National Healthcare University of Ukraine, Dmytro Ivanov, at a press conference at the Interfax-Ukraine agency.
“When we analyzed the mortality of people from COVID-19 and compared what concomitant diseases they had, it turned out that there were mainly five diseases. Three of them are kidney diseases. People with kidney transplants die first, and those with kidney failure second,” Ivanov said.
In turn, the head of the direction of rehabilitation of the network of Adonis medical clinics, Vadym Kerestey, noted that the main consequences of COVID-19 are expressed in the form of shortness of breath, decreased physical activity, decreased exercise tolerance, dizziness, loss of coordination and apathy.
“All these consequences require the help of a physical therapist,” Kerestey said.
Natalya Yaschenko, the Associate Professor of the Department of Cardiac Surgery at the National Healthcare University of Ukraine, the cardiologist of the highest category, emphasized the need for a mandatory medical examination after suffering COVID-19.
“If the COVID was symptom-free, then all patients should at least in two to four weeks undergo the blood counts, check the function of the kidneys, the liver, possibly the coagulation system. In addition, you should definitely do an electrocardiogram,” Yaschenko said.
In turn, obstetrician-gynecologist of the highest category Volodymyr Terekhov noted the need for vaccination against COVID-19.
“It is better to be vaccinated prematurely and be prepared for the virus to enter the body. Therefore, before pregnancy, you should definitely be vaccinated. You need to be vaccinated as early as possible,” Terekhov said.
At the same time, according to the psychologist, psychoanalyst Olena Buts, if a person has any fears after the illness, then he needs the help of a psychologist and psychoanalyst, since the person comes into a state of nervousness, phobia, fear. At the same time, she added that the presence of some kind of mental illness significantly worsens his condition.
BUTS, COVID-19, KERESTEY, SHUPYK, TEREKHOV, YASCHENKO, ИВАНОВ
Experts from various fields of medicine made recommendations to patients with COVID-19 during a press conference at the Interfax-Ukraine agency on Monday.
“First, try to be outdoors as much as possible, but on condition that the air temperature is not lower than -4 or -5 degrees. Second, try to do physical exercises, but mostly of an aerobic nature,” the head of the rehabilitation department of the Adonis network of medical clinics, Vadym Kerestey, recommends.
In addition, he commented on the currently popular recommendation for patients after COVID-19 to “inflate balloons.”
“It is categorically not recommended to inflate balloons. Training should be aimed not at exhalation, but at inhalation, in order to increase the vital capacity of the lungs and use as much lung tissue as possible to improve gas exchange,” Kerestey said.
In turn, the head of the department of nephrology of the Shupyk National Healthcare University of Ukraine, Dmytro Ivanov, recommended that patients after COVID-19 do basic diagnostic tests.
“Do a blood test, urine test, measure blood pressure after COVID-19. Assess whether you need a doctor at all in this situation, whether you feel comfortable, whether you need any help,” he said.
Natalya Yaschenko, the Associate Professor of the Department of Cardiac Surgery of the National Healthcare University of Ukraine, a cardiologist of the highest category, recommended physical, metered loads, control of blood pressure and eating behavior to those who had undergone COVID-19. At the same time, she emphasized that the reason for timely medical assistance can be an acute deterioration in the form of an increase or decrease in blood pressure, an increase or decrease in heart rate, progressive chest pain that does not decrease for several hours.
The obstetrician-gynecologist of the highest category, Volodymyr Terekhov, in turn, drew attention to the fact that “one of the signs of recovery for married couples is the desire to have a child.”
“If a married couple wants to fulfill their duty and give birth to a child, then this is an indicator that speaks of their recovery. To realize a basic function or reproduce – it is very important to do this after rehabilitation,” Terekhov said.
At the same time, the psychologist, psychoanalyst Olena Buts recommends dietology to patients: minerals, vitamins, coenzymes – what, according to her, increases immunity and brings happiness.
BUTS, COVID, COVID-19, INFLATE BALLOONS, KERESTEY, TEREKHOV, YASCHENKO, ИВАНОВ
The number of newly registered cases of COVID-19 and the number of admissions to “covid” hospitals in Ukraine decreased over the past week amid rising incidence in Europe, Health Minister Viktor Liashko has said.“In Ukraine, we are seeing a 6% decrease in cases of coronavirus disease this week compared to the previous one. Over the past week, the number of admissions to covid hospitals has also decreased by 13%,” he said at a briefing on Monday.Liashko also noted that “for the first time in the past three months, the average daily number of discharges from “covid” hospitals prevails over the number of hospitalized.”“On average, 7% fewer patients are admitted to hospitals than discharged,” he said.Liashko believes that “the stabilization of the level of hospitalizations is the first positive signal that the peak of morbidity has passed and the beginning of unloading the medical system of Ukraine.”At the same time, he stressed the need to further increase the pace of vaccination against COVID-19 and comply with quarantine restrictions.According to Liashko, more than 16 million vaccinations against COVID-19 have been made in Ukraine over the past week. The first dose of the vaccine has already been received by 39.4% of Ukrainians, 28% have completed the course in full.
