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    Coronavirus - 25th January

    Kitkat
    Kitkat

    Coronavirus - 25th January Empty Coronavirus - 25th January

    Post by Kitkat Mon 25 Jan 2021, 11:33

    Summary for Monday, 25th January

    • Tory MPs are asking the government to set out a "route map" for the reopening of schools in England
    • Schools will be a priority but nobody would want restrictions lifted so quickly while the rate of infection is still very high, the prime minister says
    • Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer is self-isolating after coming into contact with someone who has tested positive
    • Prof Adam Finn, a member of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, defends the UK's 12-week gap between first and second jabs
    • Riot police in the Netherlands have clashed with protesters angry at new coronavirus restrictions
    • Covid has exposed "tensions" between Westminster and the UK nations and regions, former PM Gordon Brown says
    • A third national lockdown will probably soon be needed in France, the country's top medical adviser says


    Monday morning Covid headlines

    Good morning and thank you for joining us here.
    Here is what has been happening across the UK.

    • Tory MPs are asking the government to set out a “route map” for English schools to reopen amid concerns about coronavirus closures on children’s education
    • Former prime minister Gordon Brown has said Covid has exposed “tensions” between Whitehall and nations and regions as he warned the UK must reform its governance or risk becoming a “failed state”
    • Fashion retailer Boohoo has bought the Debenhams brand and website for £55m - but not its 118 stores or workforce after the High Street firm collapsed amid the pandemic
    • A plan to deliver vaccination appointments to people aged 70-79 in blue envelopes in Scotland has been delayed, with the first tranche of letters arriving in white envelopes instead
    • Demand at Northern Ireland’s regional vaccination centres has started to decline as health workers have received their first dose of a vaccine, the Department of Health has confirmed

    Latest news from around Europe

    Here's what's happening around Europe:

    • In the Netherlands, riot police have clashed with protesters angry at new coronavirus restrictions mainly in the city of Eindhoven after the government introduced its toughest measures - including a new evening curfew - since the start of the pandemic
    • There's increasing talk of tighter restrictions in France with the country's top medical adviser saying on Sunday that a third national lockdown would probably soon be needed to curb coronavirus in the country
    • Germany's health minister says the country has bought 200,000 doses of the experimental antibody treatment given to former US President Donald Trump when he was hospitalised for coronavirus in October. It would help to prevent some high-risk patients from developing severe complications, Jens Spahn told a German newspaper
    • A number of EU countries have expressed frustration at production delays by two of the main vaccine manufacturers, Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca - with Italy saying such delay was unacceptable and warning it would take legal action against the two firms to secure agreed supplies
    • Germany is now demanding negative test certificates (no more than 48 hours old) for thousands of cross-border workers coming from the Czech Republic - after the country was classed as a high-risk area - leading to criticism on the other side of the border for making the life of thousands of cross-border workers more difficult.

    Summary of worldwide events


    • Mexico’s president tested positive for coronavirus. Mexico’s president Andrés Manuel López Obrador has become the latest world leader to contract Covid-19. “I’m sorry to inform you that I’ve been infected,” the 67-year-old politician announced on Twitter on Sunday evening.
    • The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is stepping up efforts to track coronavirus mutations and keep vaccines and treatments effective against new variants until collective immunity is reached, the agency’s chief said on Sunday.
    • Residents in Tonghua, a city of about 2 million in northeastern Jilin province which has been locked down since 18 January, complained on social media that the lockdown had left them short of food and medicines, triggering an apology from local officials.
    • Turkey received 6.5 million further doses of the coronavirus vaccine made by China’s Sinovac Biotech on Monday, CNN Turk and other media reported, allowing its nationwide rollout to continue. An initial consignment of 3 million doses previously arrived in Turkey and it has so far vaccinated 1.245 million people, mostly health workers and elderly people, according to health ministry data.
    • China reported a climb in new Coronavirus cases driven by a spike in infections among previously symptomless patients in northeastern Jilin province, official data showed on Monday. The total number of confirmed cases in the mainland rose to 124 on Jan. 24 from 80 a day earlier, the National Health Commission said in a statement, amid the worst wave of new infections China has seen since March 2020.
    • The Hong Kong government lifted a lockdown in an area of Kowloon district in the early hours of Monday after testing about 7,000 people for coronavirus to curb an outbreak in the densely populated area.
    • New Zealand authorities have said a new case of Covid-19 that emerged outside quarantine appeared to be the South African variant. Health officials said on Monday that they believed the infected woman, aged 56, contracted the virus from an infected person on the same floor of the Pullman hotel in Auckland where they were both quarantining.
    • Travel bubble between Australia and New Zealand suspended for 72 hours. Amid concern the single case of community transmission in New Zealand is of the South African variant, Australia’s federal health minister, Greg Hunt, has announced the Australian government will suspend the travel bubble with New Zealand for 72 hours.
    • Pfizer Covid vaccine approved for Australia rollout. In Australia, the Pfizer vaccine has met strict standards for safety, quality and efficacy, a statement from the prime minister’s office said on Monday, and the vaccine has been approved for rollout in Australia for people age 16 years and older.
    • US president Joe Biden on Monday will formally reinstate Covid travel restrictions on non-US travellers from Brazil, Ireland, the United Kingdom and 26 other European countries that allow travel across open borders, according to two White House officials. The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the order, also confirmed Sunday that South Africa would be added to the restricted list because of concerns about a variant of the virus that has spread beyond that nation.
    • Israel ‘closes skies’ to air travel to prevent virus spread. Israel on Sunday announced a week-long ban on most incoming and outgoing flights in a bid to slow the spread of new coronavirus variants. The measure will begin at midnight from Monday into Tuesday and remain in effect until Sunday, a statement from the prime minister’s office said.
    • World nears 100m cases. The number of coronavirus cases worldwide has passed 99 million, according to Johns Hopkins University, as the total moves rapidly towards a shocking 100 million people infected with Covid-19 in just over a year. The current total is 99,105,389 infections. At least 2,127,206 people have died. On average, around 650,000 coronavirus cases have been reported daily in the last week.
    • Netherlands anti-curfew protests spark clashes with police, looting. Protests against a curfew to curb the spread of Covid-19 in the Netherlands degenerated into clashes with police and looting in cities across the country Sunday, authorities and reports said.





    Russia reported 19,290 new daily cases, including 2,382 in Moscow, taking the national tally to 3,738,690.
    The authorities also reported an additional 456 deaths in the last 24 hours, raising the total count to 69,918.




    Ukraine has reopened schools, restaurants and gyms, after completing a three-week lockdown, Reuters reports.
    The number of new cases of coronavirus infection in Ukraine has significantly decreased from up to 9,000 cases a day at the beginning of January to 2,516 new cases on 25 January, the fewest since early September.
    Speaking at TV briefing, the health minister, Maksym Stepanov, said:
    :Left Quotes: Such statistics, which indicate the stabilisation of the situation, the improvement of the situation could be obtained only thanks to you, Ukrainians.
    We believe that this [lockdown] has significantly improved the situation now and in the future.
    He said Ukraine, which has registered around 1.2 million cases of coronavirus with 21,924 deaths, would retain some restrictions, mainly related to the work of the service sector, restaurants and transport.




    Moderna has cancelled its coronavirus vaccines supply to Poland scheduled for Tuesday, Reuters reports citing a government official.  “Unfortunately tomorrow’s delivery of Moderna vaccines has been cancelled. We will be modifying the vaccination schedule if needed,” the Polish prime minister’s top aide Michal Dworczyk told a news conference. Poland has been receiving coronavirus vaccinations as part of the European Union’s procurement scheme. Warsaw has also ordered vaccines outside the EU agreement, local media reported.
    Poland has vaccinated over 700,000 up to date, mostly medics and some elderly. The country planned to vaccinate 3 million people in the first quarter of 2021.




    Malaysia’s death toll from coronavirus has increased to 689 after 11 new fatalities were reported. The Malaysian government also reported 3,048 new cases, bringing the country’s total number of infections to 186,849.
    Malaysia reported its highest daily infections on Saturday.




    The United Arab Emirates has reported a new daily record for increased infections of 3,591. The previous record was set on Sunday when there were 3,579 new cases.




    Bulgaria is to make everyone coming into the country take Covid tests to stop the spread of the more contagious UK variant, the health minister Kostandin Angelov said on Monday.
    Bulgarian health authorities say they have so far recorded eight cases of the new variant that was first identified in Britain.
    “Today we will undertake actions to make PCR tests compulsory for all travellers that want to enter the country, including from the European Union,” Angelov told a government meeting.
    The country has seen a significant drop in new infections in recent weeks and is planning to ease some restrictions and reopen secondary schools, shopping malls and gyms from 4 February.
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    Post by Kitkat Mon 25 Jan 2021, 11:47

    Biden expected to bar travel from South Africa

    US President Joe Biden is expected to re-impose a travel ban that Donald Trump lifted just days before his term ended.
    The restrictions expected to be reinstated later on Monday would apply to non-US citizens travelling from South Africa and Brazil, which are facing new variants of coronavirus.
    Travellers from the UK, Ireland and 26 other European countries are also expected to be banned.
    The Trump administration's decision to lift the travel ban which had been in place since last March was criticised by President Biden's press secretary Jen Psaki, who had tweeted that the incoming government didn't intend to abide by the change.
    Read:


    Wealthiest 10 men could 'buy vaccines for all'

    The combined wealth of the world's 10 richest men has increased by $540bn (£400bn) during the coronavirus pandemic, according to Oxfam.
    The charity says that's enough to pay for every single person in the world to be vaccinated.
    A report by Oxfam, the Inequality Virus, found the total wealth of all the world's billionaires was equivalent to the entire spending by all G20 governments on recovering from the virus.
    The charity is urging governments to consider taxes on the super-rich.
    Unprecedented support from governments for their economies saw the stock market boom, driving up billionaire wealth while the real economy faces the deepest recession in a century, it says.
    The 10 richest people include Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Tesla founder Elon Musk and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.
    Oxfam estimates that as many as 500 million more people were living in poverty as a result of the pandemic.

    Johnson confirms government 'looking at' hotel quarantine

    Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said the government is "definitely looking at" the possibility of travellers being required to quarantine in hotels on arrival in the UK.
    "We have to realise there is, at least, the theoretical risk of a new variant that is a vaccine-busting variant coming in - we've got to be able to keep that under control," Mr Johnson said, while visiting a vaccination hub in north London.
    He said the UK vaccination programme was "on target - just" to vaccinate the four most vulnerable groups by the middle of February, with roughly 6.4 million people vaccinated so far.
    The ongoing vaccination rollout made it imperative that "we protect our population, protect this country, against re-infection from abroad", he added.
    "Looking at hotels is certainly one thing we're actively now working on.
    "We need a solution that gives us the maximum possible protection against reinfection from abroad."
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    Post by Kitkat Mon 25 Jan 2021, 11:58

    Zimbabwe's deaths from Covid surpass 1,000

    Zimbabwe’s Covid deaths have passed 1,000 as the country scrambles to contain a spike in infections that has claimed the lives of three government ministers in the last 10 days, Reuters reports.
    There are fears the more infectious South African variant of the virus came to the country when thousands of Zimbabweans living in the neighbouring countries returned home for the December holiday.
    Zimbabwe has recorded a total 31,320 coronavirus cases and 1,005 deaths. More than half of these have been reported since the beginning of this year, data released late on Sunday showed.
    The recovery rate has fallen to 71% from 82% on 1 January.
    Even before the outbreak of the pandemic, Zimbabwe’s healthcare system was facing collapse with workers frequently going on strike to demand better salaries and hospitals facing shortages of medicines and equipment.
    Doctors’ groups say that hospitals are quickly filling up with Covid patients and that there is an increase in the number of infected people dying at home, unable to afford the steep fees charged by hospitals.
    Seeking to re-assure anxious citizens, President Emmerson Mnangagwa said in a national address on Saturday that health experts were assessing different vaccines and would “quite soon” recommend to the government which shots to purchase.
    Frontline health workers, who complain that they lack adequate protective clothing, would be the first to receive the vaccine, Mnangagwa said.
    Early this month, Zimbabwe extended a nationwide curfew, banned gatherings, closed its land borders and ordered non-essential businesses closed for a month in an effort to curb the surge in coronavirus infections.
    The government said it was ready to introduce stronger measures if necessary.
    Tweet  263Chat.com:

    Zimbabwe COVID-19 Update (24 January 2021)

    Confirmed cases - 31 320

    New cases - 313

    Active cases - 8 065

    Recoveries - 22 250

    Deaths - 1 005

    #StaySafe #MaskUpZim


    Coronavirus - 25th January Esjrd210
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    Post by Kitkat Mon 25 Jan 2021, 12:08

    'The lockdown was political': Chad under strain ahead of election

    Zeinab Mohammed Salih - The Guardian
    Opposition parties in Chad have accused the government of using lockdown to interfere with election campaigning ahead of the presidential vote scheduled for April.
    President Idriss Déby, who seized power in 1990, began his campaign rallies before the measures were introduced, visiting most of the main cities outside N’Djamena.
    “He did his rallies and locked the city down to prevent us from doing the same thing,” says Yacine Sakin, a member of the Reformist party, part of an opposition coalition that aims to put forward a candidate in the election.
    Read more here


    Dutch PM condemns Covid riots

    Mark Rutte, the prime minister of the Netherlands, has condemned anti-lockdown riots over the weekend as criminal actions not protests.

    Coronavirus - 25th January 5500_w10
    A car was set on fire in front of the train station in Eindhoven after a rally by several hundreds of people against lockdown measures Photograph: Rob Engelaar/ANP/AFP/Getty Images

    “This has nothing to do with protest, this is criminal violence and we will treat it as such,” Rutte told reporters outside his office in The Hague.
    He said the riots underlined the need for a night-time curfew.
    Rioters in the the Dutch city of Eindhoven started fires and pelted rocks at police on Sunday at a banned protest against lockdown measures.
    Police arrested at least 30 people in Eindhoven and used teargas and water cannon to disperse crowds.
    In Amsterdam, police also used a water cannon at a major protest at a city square.
    It was the worst violence to hit the Netherlands since the pandemic began, coming a day after anti-curfew rioters torched a coronavirus testing facility in the Dutch fishing village of Urk.
    Dutch police said on Monday hundreds had been detained after the incidents.
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    Post by Kitkat Mon 25 Jan 2021, 12:18

    Texas governor's hands-off approach to Covid-19 has allowed the virus to thrive

    Alexandra Villarreal - The Guardian
    Hospitals in Texas are overwhelmed with more than 13,500 coronavirus patients after the Republican governor rejected lockdowns.
    Read more here.

    Four Palmas football players and club president killed in Brazil plane crash

    Four players and the president from the Brazilian football club Palmas, who were travelling separately after testing positive for Covid, have died in a plane crash.
    The private plane carrying the group plunged to the ground at the end of the runway shortly after takeoff at an airport in the northern state of Tocantins. The pilot also died in the accident, with the cause of the crash not immediately clear.

    Coronavirus - 25th January 1280_w10
    Firefighters at the crash site in the northern state of Tocantins. The plane was consumed by fire.
    (Photograph: Tocantins State Firefighters Handout/EPA)


    The team were on their way to the central region of Goiânia to play a Copa Verde match against Vila Nova. The victims were identified as the club president, Lucas Meira, and players Lucas Praxedes, Guilherme Noé, Ranule and Marcus Molinari, in addition the unnamed pilot. There were no survivors on board.
    Read more here
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    Post by Kitkat Mon 25 Jan 2021, 12:24

    Labour leader self-isolating after contact with positive case

    Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer tweets that he is self-isolating, after learning he has been in contact with someone who has tested positive for coronavirus.
    He says he has no symptoms and will be working from home.
    Read more here.

    Tweet  Keir Starmer:

    This morning I was notified that I must self isolate after coming into contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. I have no symptoms and will be working from home until next Monday.


    Austria makes FFP2 masks compulsory

    Bethany Bell -BBC News, Vienna

    Coronavirus - 25th January De7d2a11
    Shoppers now have to wear high-grade masks in Austria

    In Austria people must now wear air-filtering FFP2 masks in shops and on public transport.
    The high-grade masks are also required in workplaces where social distancing can’t be maintained, and for visits to doctors or to government offices.
    The move comes amid concerns about the spread of more infectious strains of coronavirus. Unlike fabric and surgical masks, which chiefly protect other people from droplets, FFP2 masks also provide more protection for the wearer.
    Initially, a number of supermarkets are handing them out for free. Over the long term, the masks will be sold at cost, with plans to price them at about 59 cents.
    People who fail to wear an FFP2 mask face a €25 (£22) fine. Those who are unable to wear them for medical reasons will have to carry a doctor’s note. The masks have been obligatory in ski lifts since 24 December.
    It comes as the required social distance in Austria has been doubled from one metre to two.
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    Post by Kitkat Mon 25 Jan 2021, 13:03

    Dutch police unions warns of more anti-lockdown riots

    The Netherlands police union, NPB, has warned there could be more anti-lockdown riots after hundreds were arrested over the weekend in several cities.

    Coronavirus - 25th January 5500_w11
    Dozens of arrests after riots in Eindhoven, Netherlands. Photograph: Rob Engelaar/ANP/AFP/Getty Images

    “We haven’t seen so much violence in 40 years,” the union board member Koen Simmers said on the television programme Nieuwsuur.
    Police used water cannon, dogs and officers on horseback to disperse a protest in central Amsterdam on Sunday afternoon. Nearly 200 people, some of them throwing stones and fireworks, were detained in the city.
    In the southern city of Eindhoven, looters plundered stores at the train station and set cars and bikes on fire.
    When police said the demonstrators were violating the country’s current lockdown rules “they took weapons out of their pockets and immediately attacked the police”, Eindhoven’s mayor, John Jorritsma, said.
    The Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, on Monday condemned riots as “criminal violence”.

    Tweet  Darren McCaffrey:
    Riot police in Netherlands clashed with protesters angry at new #coronavirus restrictions Officers used water cannon and tear gas to clear demonstrators in Eindhoven, who gathered in defiance of new 21:00 curfew More than 100 people have been arrested

    Coronavirus - 25th January Click_14
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    Post by Kitkat Mon 25 Jan 2021, 13:11

    Daily Covid-19 infections in UAE has tripled in the past month

    The ruler of Dubai has replaced the head of the emirate’s health authority without explanation, amid a spike in Covid-19 infections in the United Arab Emirates.
    Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum appointed Awad Saghir al-Ketbi as the new director general of the Dubai Health Authority, replacing Humaid al-Qutami, according to a statement issued on Sunday.
    No reason for the change was given, Reuters reports.
    The number of daily coronavirus cases in the UAE, a federation of seven emirates, has tripled in the past month.
    On Monday authorities registered 3,579 new infections and nine deaths.

    Coronavirus - 25th January 8192_w10
    A picture taken on 22 January, 2021 shows Atlantis The Palm hotel from La Mer Beach in Dubai. Photograph: Giuseppe Cacace/AFP/Getty Images

    The UAE has largely removed coronavirus restrictions with the exception of face masks in public and social distancing.
    Dubai, the region’s business and tourism hub, branded itself as an open and quarantine-free escape for international travellers.
    But after a surge in cases, Dubai has clamped down on its entertainment scene, further restricting the number of people allowed to gather at social events and restaurants, and suspended non-essential surgery in hospitals.
    Last week Denmark announced it was suspending flights from the UAE for five days after doubts emerged that the results of coronavirus tests taken before departure from the country were not reliable.
    The UAE has ramped up its immunisation campaign with the aim of vaccinating more than 50% of its roughly 9 million population before the end of March.
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    Post by Kitkat Mon 25 Jan 2021, 13:17

    Russian social media star kicked out of Bali

    A Russian social media star with millions of followers has been kicked out of Bali for holding a party on the Indonesian holiday island that broke virus rules, authorities said Monday.
    Sergey Kosenko’s, 33, was put on a plane bound for Moscow on Sunday and would be banned from returning for at least six months, AFP reports.
    “We took administrative action against Sergey in the form of deportation,” said Bali justice official Jamaruli Manihuruk.
    Kosenko, who has nearly five million followers on Instagram, made headlines in December after he posted a video of himself and a woman driving a motorbike off a dock.
    Immigration officials moved against him after he posted another video of a party he held this month at a local hotel which breached health protocols banning large gatherings, authorities said.
    More than 50 people were in attendance despite the restrictions.
    Kosenko also had misused his visitor visa by doing business while on the island, they added.
    Kosenko is from Smolensk, a city west of the Russian capital, according to his social media, where he blasted his deportation as “outrageous”.
    “If in Russia the law doesn’t work as it should, here there is no law at all,” Kosenko wrote.
    “There’s no presumption of innocence - they just deport you.”

    Thailand to start vaccination programme next month

    Thailand said on Monday it would start its coronavirus vaccination programme next month, amid accusations that the government is too slow in its efforts to procure vaccines.
    Thailand’s food and drug administration last week approved AstraZeneca’s vaccine for emergency use but has yet to grant authorisation for that of Sinovac Biotech, of which the country has ordered 2 million doses, Reuters reports.
    Health workers in Samut Sakhon province, the epicentre of the latest outbreak, would be the first to be inoculated with the initial delivery of 50,000 doses, as well as the elderly and people with chronic diseases, officials said.
    But health minister Anutin Charnvirakul on Monday said AstraZeneca would be supplying 50,000 fewer doses of the vaccine than the 200,000 Thailand had ordered, adding Thailand had initially requested 1 million doses.

    Coronavirus - 25th January 4449_w10
    Migrant workers clean after disinfection at the shrimp market area of Samut Sakhon, South of Bangkok, Thailand, on 25 January 2021. The shrimp market, considered to be the epicenter of the recent Covid-19 outbreak in Thailand, is set to reopen soon, after shutting down at the end of 2020. Photograph: Narong Sangnak/EPA


    The government has rejected criticism for taking too long to secure vaccines while neighbours in Southeast Asia start vaccinations or have ordered supplies from multiple companies.
    On Monday morning, Thailand reported 187 new cases, taking the overall number of recorded infections to 13,687.
    The total death toll stands at 75 after two new deaths were recorded,
    One of the two people who died was a British man, 61, who arrived in Bangkok on 25 December and tested positive on 29 December, the Bangkok Post reports.
    Later on Monday, Samut Sakhon province reported 914 new cases there alone, the majority of which were found as a result of a new province-wide mass testing effort that authorities said would take place for a week.
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    Post by Kitkat Mon 25 Jan 2021, 13:21

    Health secretary to lead No10 briefing later

    Health Secretary Matt Hancock will lead a Downing Street coronavirus press conference later today, Number 10 has said.



    'Less than 60% isolate when advised to'


    Coronavirus - 25th January 788e9410

    Less than 60% of people advised to isolate because of Covid-19 are doing so, according to the head of NHS Test and Trace.
    Baroness Dido Harding says people tend not to follow the rules because of practical, financial and mental health concerns.
    But she adds all surveys on isolation data are "imperfect" because they rely on people reporting on their own behaviour.
    Speaking on a Confederation of British Industry webinar, Baroness Harding says: "Of course everyone's definition of what following the advice is is slightly different - and it is really hard to stay inside and not have contact with anybody for 10 days.”
    She says one person’s interpretation of isolating might be that they’ve had no contact within two metres with anyone – but went outside for some fresh air late at night, or to get a prescription.
    Baroness Harding says practical reasons for breaking the rules include needing to get food or medicine, but local councils have services to support people to isolate.
    She also says businesses should provide financial support so staff can afford to take days off work.
    The Baroness says another reason people do not isolate is mental health, with people "really struggling with the consequences of having to stay at home".

    Mexican president tests positive


    Coronavirus - 25th January 9efb3810

    Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has become the latest world leader to test positive for Covid-19.
    The 67-year-old said he has mild symptoms and that he is working from home.
    He has been accused of not taking the pandemic seriously enough and failing to wear a mask, as the country battles another surge in infections.
    Almost 150,000 people have died from coronavirus in Mexico - the fourth highest death toll in the world.
    On Monday Mr López Obrador is expected to speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin about buying a Russian-made vaccine. The government is trying to source vaccines for its 128 million people after delivery delays from Pfizer-BioNTech.
    The president joins a growing list of leaders who've contracted Covid-19, including Britain's Boris Johnson, President Donald Trump in the US, Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro and Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei.
    Read more here.
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    Post by Kitkat Mon 25 Jan 2021, 15:13

    Merck ends Covid-19 vaccine development

    Michelle Roberts - Health editor, BBC News online
    Merck is ending development of its two Covid-19 vaccines.
    There are more than a hundred Covid vaccines being investigated. Only some of them, like the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, will prove successful and be offered to the wider public.
    Merck was relatively late to the game with its two candidates. News that it is now abandoning the exercise due to disappointing trial results doesn’t mean the science was bad, or that similar vaccines will not necessarily work.
    Merck were investigating a shot based on an existing, successful measles vaccine, modified to prime the body to fight coronavirus instead. The other it was testing used a technology that has already been shown to work for fighting Ebola.
    Experts say it is important to pursue a range of Covid vaccines that work in slightly different ways to find out what approach is best. It’s likely that at least a few different ones will be needed to protect the world.
    In the meantime, Merck is focusing its efforts on drugs that might help Covid patients recover from the virus.

    What's been happening today?

    If you're just joining us, here is a round-up of the main coronavirus news from the UK and across the world:
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    Post by Kitkat Mon 25 Jan 2021, 15:27

    Travel restrictions from Ireland to US will continue under Biden administration

    Irish Post
    The administration of US President Joe Biden has confirmed that travel restrictions between Ireland and the United States will continue[/h3]
    For months, travel between Ireland and the US has been hit with restrictions in an effort to slow the spread of Covid-19 from abroad, as the world struggled to contain the coronavirus pandemic.
    One of Donald Trump's last actions while serving as the 45th US President was to attempt to lift the travel restrictions from Ireland, the UK, Brazil and 26 other European countries; these restrictions would have been lifted on Monday.
    However the Biden administration, who campaigned on promises to properly tackle the pandemic, have confirmed that Trump's efforts will be reversed and the travel restrictions will remain in place.
    According to The Irish Times, a White House official said that the planned relaxation of restrictions will not happen, and the US will also ban entry to non-citizens who have recently been in South Africa, where a new strain of the virus has been identified.
    The source requested to remain anonymous as the plans have not yet been made public, the outlet reports.

    Coronavirus - 25th January Borowi10
    Joe Biden signed a number of executive orders overturning Trump policies on his first day in office (Getty)

    While the plans have not been announced in any official capacity, they are unlikely to be met with much surprise: White House press secretary Jen Psaki tweeted last week that "this is not the time to be lifting restrictions on international travel".
    The news comes as multiple countries have reported new strains of Covid-19, including in Norway, South Africa and Japan.
    The UK variant of the disease, believed to be much more transmissible and possibly-- Prime Minister Boris Johnson recently told a press briefing, more deadly-- has made its way to Ireland and is fast becoming the dominant strain in the country.
    For months, Ireland had one of the lowest incidence rates of the virus in Europe, however a surge in cases around Christmas time resulted in the Republic having the highest incidence rate in the world.
    Cases are now beginning to drop again, with just over 1,300 new cases reported yesterday, down from a high of almost 9,000 in early January, but restrictions are expected to remain in place for up to six months.

    Gardaí to be placed on Irish border to enforce new quarantine requirement for arrivals

    Irish Post
    The Irish Cabinet is set to sign off on a number of new restrictions in an attempt to curb the spread of Covid-19 in Ireland which will see, among other things, gardaí patrolling the border.
    The controversial decision - which is yet to be officially announced - is being considered in order to combat non-essential travel and to ensure new quarantine requirements are being followed by anyone entering the country from the UK - including Northern Ireland.
    Gardaí are to be given increased powers to question and to fine anyone deemed to be potentially in breach of the rules.
    Among the new measures being considered by Cabinet are:

    • Garda checkpoints outside airports to stop non-essential travel.
    • Mandatory quarantine requirement for those arriving in Ireland without a negative PCR test.
    • Introduction of much stricter sanctions in terms of the 5km rule - to prevent people from travelling long distances - or even leaving the country - for non-essential reasons.
    • A ban on holiday visas and short-term visas for anyone arriving from certain countries in South America.
    • Strengthening the passenger locator form, with more questions being asked and more follow-up checks being carried out after a person arrives in the country.

    Green Party leader Eamon Ryan said: "Because of the risk of this new variant we're going to take a much tougher, much stricter, much more wary approach, while still allowing emergency essential people to come in.
    "There isn't a silver bullet here, but what there are is a whole series of layers."
    Speaking about an increase of sanctions with regards to the 5km rule, Ryan added: "If a road south of the border, five kilometres from the border, someone is on that road and doesn't have a valid explanation as to why they're travelling, they will be subject to prosecution and a fine and the guards have those powers."
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    Coronavirus - 25th January Empty Re: Coronavirus - 25th January

    Post by Kitkat Mon 25 Jan 2021, 15:36

    Breaking News

    Moderna vaccine appears to work against variants, scientists say

    Moderna's Covid vaccine appears to work against new, more infectious variants of the virus found in the UK and South Africa, according to scientists from the pharmaceutical company.
    Early laboratory tests suggest antibodies triggered by the vaccine can recognise and fight the new variants.
    More studies are needed to confirm this is true for people that have been vaccinated with the Moderna jab.
    The new variants have been spreading fast in a number of nations over recent weeks.
    Read more here.

    Beijing testing finds only one in two million with Covid

    Kerry Allen - BBC Monitoring, China Media Analyst
    China’s capital city has announced that only a single person has tested positive in a two-day drive to test some two million residents.
    A mass-testing drive for residents of the Dongcheng and Xicheng districts of Beijing began on Friday.
    According to the official People’s Daily, 668,346 people were tested in Dongcheng, and 1.13 million were tested in Xicheng. All residents in Dongcheng tested negative, but one person in Xicheng tested positive.
    No information has been released on this latest patient, and in fact, the Global Times newspaper notes that the city has begun “only mentioning the location” of new patients, and not their personal details, to protect their privacy.
    The national Global Times newspaper says the testing drive may be a “possible prelude for city-wide screenings”, given there have been growing fears of a citywide outbreak.
    Beijing has a permanent resident population of 21 million people. The capital has confirmed three new symptomatic cases of Covid-19 in the last 24 hours. All of these are in the southern Daxing district, a part of the city that went into full lockdown on Thursday after reporting a dozen cases.

    Scotland's over-70s invited for jabs

    One of the main areas Nicola Sturgeon was talking about in her briefing today was vaccination.
    The first minister said 46% of over-80s in the community have now received the first of their two vaccines.
    And as of this morning, 415,402 in Scotland have been vaccinated, with 95% of care home residents having received a jab. In addition, 95% of health workers have now been vaccinated.
    Ministers have faced criticism over the pace of the immunisation programme, But the Scottish Government says it is on track for over-80s to have received their first dose by the end of the first week in February.
    From today, Scots aged between 70 and 79 will receive letters inviting them for their inoculation.
    "Today therefore marks a further important milestone in a vaccination programme," Sturgeon said. "We remain on track to vaccinate everyone over the age of 70 by the middle of February."
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    Coronavirus - 25th January Empty Re: Coronavirus - 25th January

    Post by Kitkat Mon 25 Jan 2021, 18:44

    Breaking News 

    Further 592 Covid deaths announced in the UK

    A further 592 people have died in the UK within 28 days of testing positive for coronavirus, according to the latest government data.
    There were 22,195 positive cases recorded in the past 24 hours.

    Covid deaths in UK up by nearly 10% over past week

    The latest data shows there have been 98,531 deaths in the UK within 28 days of a positive Covid test.
    Between 19 January and 25 January, there were 8,671 deaths within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test - an increase of 9.8% compared to the previous seven days.
    More than 6.5 million people have so far received their first dose of vaccine and 470,478 have received both jabs.


    What did we learn from today's briefing?

    The daily press conference was given by Health Secretary Matt Hancock.
    He was joined by Dr Jenny Harries, the deputy chief medical officer, and Dr Susan Hopkins from Public Health England.
    Here's what they told us:

    • 78.7% of people over 80 have now been vaccinated, with one in nine of all adults having had their first doses
    • Although many people may have Covid antibodies, it's not clear how they will work against new variants or how long protection will last
    • Public Health England is working with organisations across the world to predict how the vaccine might need to be adapted to new variants
    • But the current vaccine works well against the new UK variant, as do existing treatments like dexamethasone
    • There has been high uptake of the vaccine


    California may have its own virus strain

    As a winter Covid surge batters California, scientists wondered if the contagious UK variant had landed in their state.
    Two independent research groups - in Los Angeles and San Francisco - are now confirming the existence of a homegrown variant of the virus.
    Data suggests it appears to be spreading faster than any other variant in the state.
    Both sets of researchers confirmed they had been looking for the UK strain when they stumbled upon the new mutation.
    A single instance of the strain was detected back in July but it lay dormant for months.
    It has since exploded across the state, likely contributing to a brutal holiday season that has strained hospital capacity to its limits and doubled the state's death toll.
    California has now recorded over three million total cases and more than 37,000 deaths.
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    Coronavirus - 25th January Empty Re: Coronavirus - 25th January

    Post by Kitkat Mon 25 Jan 2021, 18:49

    Couple fined for 130-mile 'Sunday lunch' trip

    A couple have been fined for making a 130-mile (209km) round trip from Derbyshire to York for a roast dinner.
    North Yorkshire Police said the couple, who were in their 20s, told officers one of their mothers was going to cook lunch on Sunday, but "let them down".
    They decided to make the trip to York in search of a takeaway lunch instead.
    The pair were given Covid fixed penalty notices, with police saying: "We know nobody does Yorkshire puddings better than us here in Yorkshire... but they're really not worth getting into trouble for."
    Read the full story here.

    How long before the vaccine impacts on hospital numbers?

    Nick Triggle - Health Correspondent
    The falling numbers of infections being reported and rising rate of vaccination are incredibly promising - even if the drop in infections reported on Monday may have been partly an artefact of fewer people coming forward for a test because of the snow.
    But that does not offer any guarantees of a rapid lifting of lockdown.
    What is concerning ministers though are the high numbers in hospital.
    The number of new admissions seems to have plateaued - but at a very high rate.
    Close to 4,000 patients a day are being admitted to hospital.
    To put that in context, that is four times the total number of all types of respiratory admissions the NHS would normally see in winter.
    It means the numbers in hospital are at nearly twice the level they were at the peak in the spring during the first wave.
    With better treatments available, patients are spending longer in hospital.
    So come mid February the pressures in hospital are likely to be very high, leaving ministers little wriggle-room to relax restrictions.
    The big unknown, however, is what impact and how quickly vaccination will have an effect on admissions.
    There is encouraging early news from Israel that hospitalisation really start to drop three weeks after the first dose.
    If that is repeated here, the picture could quickly change.
    But until that happens the government - in the words of Health Secretary Matt Hancock - is urging the country to hold its nerve
    Kitkat
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    Coronavirus - 25th January Empty Re: Coronavirus - 25th January

    Post by Kitkat Mon 25 Jan 2021, 18:54

    Covid infections in the US top 25 million

    Barely one year after its first coronavirus case was detected, the US has now surpassed 25 million total infections.
    It passed the devastating milestone on Sunday morning, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
    The US has had well over twice as many overall cases as the next highest country, India, which has over 10 million cases.
    Nearly 420,000 Americans have died from the virus, almost double that of Brazil, the second highest.
    On Friday, US president Joe Biden warned the worst could be yet to come: "The virus is surging. We're 400,000 dead, expected to reach well over 600,000."
    It is now a race between the virus and the vaccine, as the new administration aims for 100 million jabs in its first 100 days.

    UK Covid cases at a glance


    Coronavirus - 25th January Da39d510

    Coronavirus - 25th January 26996010

    Coronavirus - 25th January 6b651910
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    Coronavirus - 25th January Empty Re: Coronavirus - 25th January

    Post by Kitkat Mon 25 Jan 2021, 19:32

    Who is still allowed to travel abroad?

    Reality Check
    At the daily briefing, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that, “under this lockdown, it is illegal to travel abroad unless you have a reasonable excuse”.
    Under England’s lockdown rules, people must only go abroad for “essential reasons”. These are the same as the "reasonable excuses" for domestic travel, including:

    • Work that cannot be done from home
    • Medical appointments
    • Educational reasons
    • To attend a funeral

    The police can stop people to ask if they have a “reasonable excuse” to travel, but it is not the responsibility of airlines to check.
    A handful of jobs and professions are also exempt from some of the travel restrictions, if they are making the journey for work reasons - including pilots and coach drivers.
    Read more here: What are the UK travel rules?

    Living under one of the world's strictest lockdowns


    Coronavirus - 25th January 4a6fcc10

    People in Lebanon are living under one of the world's strictest lockdowns. Under the round-the-clock curfew, citizens who are not "essential workers" have been barred from leaving their homes since 14 January.
    Laila, 12, is in Beirut trying to study while her family works from home.
    "We all have our own work to do and when we have meetings we hear each other. It can be a real distraction and stop you from finishing your work on time," she says.
    "Sometimes I can't study well because I get stressed with all the work they're giving us. It is definitely not the same studying online as it is in the physical world."

    Coronavirus - 25th January 2eecc310

    For hairdresser Walid Kanaan this year has been "extremely difficult psychologically and economically".
    "I own my shop but still I cannot afford it. I pay the workers' salary so I am really broke," says the 45-year-old.
    "It is hitting hard. You can't go out at all or do anything. My wife works in a bank and she is also collapsing. She doesn't know if she will still have her job or not.
    "We don't trust the government that if they bring a vaccine it will be safe to take it. We can only pray for God to protect us."
    Read more stories from people in lockdown in Lebanon here.
    Kitkat
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    Coronavirus - 25th January Empty Re: Coronavirus - 25th January

    Post by Kitkat Mon 25 Jan 2021, 20:28

    Today's coronavirus headlines

    Thanks for joining us today. We'll be wrapping up our live coverage shortly. Here are some of the main stories we've been covering this Monday:

    • It is "difficult to put a timeline" on when England's lockdown could be lifted, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said. While there are "early signs" measures are working, it is "not a moment to ease up", he told a Downing Street briefing
    • A further 592 people have died in the UK within 28 days of a positive Covid test and another 22,195 cases have been recorded, according to Monday's government figures
    • The government will tell teachers and parents when schools in England can reopen "as soon as we can", Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said. MPs want the government to set out a "route map" for reopening schools
    • Heathrow Airport has warned that requiring all international arrivals to enter quarantine hotels would have "huge ramifications" for the aviation sector. Ministers are due to discuss the idea
    • The Scottish government is "looking at all sorts of ways" to accelerate its Covid-19 vaccine programme, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said. There has been some criticism of the speed of the rollout in Scotland, with a greater proportion of over-80s having already received a jab in England
    • Moderna's Covid vaccine appears to work against new, more infectious variants of the pandemic virus found in the UK and South Africa, say scientists from the US pharmaceutical company
    • Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has condemned weekend riots against newly imposed coronavirus restrictions as "criminal violence". It comes after a curfew was introduced on Saturday

    We'll be back tomorrow.
    Today's live page has been brought to you by James Clarke, Alex Kleiderman, Victoria Lindrea, Cherry Wilson, Jennifer Meierhans, Lauren Turner, Justin Parkinson and Sam Cabral.

      Current date/time is Thu 28 Mar 2024, 13:28