Cannes, Monekypox, ‘Pride’ and though: Links 1, May 22, 2022

The Gran Canarian pride festival attended by 80,000 from Britain and across Europe is being investigated after being linked to numerous monkeypox cases in Madrid, Italy and Tenerife.

Held between May 5 and May 15, Maspalomas Pride attracts visitors from across the continent.

It was attended by people who have tested positive for the monekypox virus afterwards, with public health services from the Canary Islands now investigating the any links between the cases and the LGBT+ celebrations.

‘Among the 30 or so diagnosed in Madrid, there are several who attended the event, although it is not yet possible to know if one of them is patient zero of this outbreak or if they all got infected there,’ a health source told El País.

Meanwhile, in Monkeypox disinformation town:

Here we go again.. pic.twitter.com/7acjiHhV5T

— AG ? (@Yolo304741) May 21, 2022

(The good news is, I didn’t copy over the photos)

4. Multiple governments commit to signing WHO pandemic treaty

Who is supporting the WHO’s pandemic treaty?

UPDATE: India has joined the list of countries that support giving the WHO more powers.

At the second Global COVID Summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “It is clear that a coordinated global response is required to combat future health emergencies. We must build a resilient global supply chain and enable equitable access to vaccines and medicines… We also call for streamlining WHO’s approval process for vaccines and therapeutics to keep supply chains stable and predictable. As a responsible member of the global community, India is ready to play a key role in these efforts.”

On March 30, the World Health Organization published the following list of 25 world leaders who have committed to working together “towards a new international treaty for pandemic preparedness and response”:

Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom;Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine; Erna Solberg, Prime Minister of Norway; António Luís Santos da Costa, Prime Minister of Portugal; Mario Draghi, Prime Minister of Italy; Klaus Iohannis, President of Romania; Emmanuel Macron, President of France; Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany; Charles Michel, President of the European Council; Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Prime Minister of Greece; Pedro Sánchez, Prime Minister of Spain; Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of the Netherlands; Sebastián Piñera, President of Chile; Aleksandar Vu?i?, President of Serbia; Andrej Plenkovi?, Prime Minister of Croatia; Moon Jae-in, President of the Republic of Korea; J. V. Bainimarama, Prime Minister of Fiji; Prayut Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister of Thailand; Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda; Uhuru Kenyatta, President of Kenya; Carlos Alvarado Quesada, President of Costa Rica; Edi Rama,Prime Minister of Albania; Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa; Keith Rowley, Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago; Kais Saied, President of Tunisia; Macky Sall, President of Senegal; Joko Widodo, President of Indonesia; and, of course, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization. [Emphasis added and order altered]

Canada, the US, Australia, and New Zealand can be added to this list.

5. US Military Chief Says Taiwan Must Strengthen Its Defenses

(Bloomberg) — Taiwan must gird itself against potential Chinese aggression through military deterrence that includes acquiring the right weapons and proper training, the top US naval officer said on Tuesday.   

“That is a big lesson learned and a wakeup call, particularly with respect to not only having the right kit but are people trained to use it the right way,” Admiral Michael Gilday, the chief of naval operations, said at an event hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations that focused on knowledge gleaned from the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “That shouldn’t be lost on us with respect to Taiwan.”

Gilday spoke on a panel of all six military service chiefs, including generals from the Army, Marine Corps, Air Force and Space Force and admirals from the Navy and Coast Guard. 

China has said it has no intention of attacking Taiwan, a self-governing island that Beijing views as its territory. It has regularly protested US arms sales to the island as provocative. 

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