Coronavirus - 6th March 2021

• There are concerns pupils could be forced to isolate unnecessarily due to inaccurate Covid test results when schools reopen in England on Monday
  
• Mass testing using lateral flow devices is to be carried out in secondary schools
  
• Research suggests they can offer a false positive result between 1 and 3 times for every thousand carried out
  
• More unions have put pressure on the government to reconsider its planned 1% pay rise for NHS staff in England
  
• Hospital leaders in England back the demands, saying ministers previously budgeted for a pay rise of 2.1%
  
• Staff feel undervalued and many could leave nursing when the pandemic is over, the Royal College of Nursing warns
  
• The government has defended its proposal, saying public finances are under unprecedented strain
  
• A mystery person in the UK infected with the Covid variant of concern first found in Brazil is traced
  
• Rapid Covid testing is now available to all workplaces in England
  

• The government is coming under further pressure to reconsider its proposed 1% pay rise for NHS staff in England, with unions including the British Medical Association joining the backlash
  
• A mystery person in the UK infected with the Covid variant of concern first found in Brazil has now been traced
  
• Rapid Covid testing is now available to all workplaces in England, including those with fewer than 50 employees, the government has announced
  
• England's pubs have been deluged by people eager to book space from when beer gardens reopen on 12 April, industry group UKHospitality has said
  
• Pope Francis holds a symbolic meeting with one of the most powerful figures in Shia Islam in Iraq, as part of his first international trip since the start of the pandemic
  
• Disneyland and other theme parks and stadiums in the US state of California can accept visitors next month under plans to relax some Covid restrictions
  
• Police in Paraguay have used tear gas and rubber bullets against protesters who gathered in the capital of Asuncion to condemn the government's response to the pandemic, following a rise in coronavirus cases which has left hospitals close to collapse
  

• France reported 23,507 new confirmed coronavirus cases on Friday, down from 25,205 a week ago, but the number of people in intensive care with the disease reached its highest level so far this year, health ministry data showed.
  
• The arrival of Covid vaccines should not tempt countries to relax efforts to fight the pandemic, top World Health Organization officials said on Friday, citing particular concern about the situation in Brazil.
  
• A variant of Covid-19 first identified in Britain now accounts for 25% of the reported cases in Poland, according to the country’s health minister.
  
• Italy will further tighten coronavirus restrictions in three of its 20 regions after health officials warned of the growing spread of new variants.
  
• Germany has expressed concerns over the EU’s vaccine export ban, as Australia asked for a review of Italy’s decision to “tear up the rulebook” and block export of 250,000 doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine to its shores.
  
• The Belgian prime minister, Alexander De Croo, set out a roadmap for easing lockdown restrictions on Friday, even as Covid-19 infections rose, with restaurants, bars, gyms and cinemas set to reopen on 1 May.
  
• Saudi Arabia said it would ease coronavirus-related restrictions on entertainment and events and reopen cinemas, gyms and sports centres starting 7 March.
  
• Paraguay’s minister of public health, Julio Mazzoleni, resigned on Friday as a record-breaking surge in coronavirus cases left medication in short supply and the country’s hospitals near collapse.
  

The papers: Easter 'travel permits' and 'slap for carers'

Saudi Arabia to end most restrictions on Sunday

Ireland to reach 500,000 first doses

:Left Quotes: Over the coming days, we will have administered half a million doses since the first vaccination was given to Dubliner Annie Lynch 63 days ago. Next week we will begin to vaccinate those with underlying health conditions as well as continuing to vaccinate the over-70s and healthcare workers.

:Left Quotes: This can be seen in the reduced levels of infection in our nursing homes and amongst our frontline healthcare workers. This brings hope, along with the continued fall in Covid numbers thanks to the sacrifices you have been making.
The 14-day incidence level fell below 200 this week for the first time since Christmas. While our health services are still under pressure, the number of patients in our hospitals and ICUs is reducing significantly.

California plans reopening of Disneyland and other venues

How is NHS pay decided?

'Claps and calling us heroes does not feed me or my child'

Will Europe be open for tourists this summer?

Huge demand for beer garden slots from 12 April

'We've been doing crazy hours - and we've been left with nothing'

Now is the wrong time for NHS pay restraint - Tory MP

Government defends proposed 1% NHS pay rise for staff

Cyprus and Portugal to welcome vaccinated Brits

Over-55s now able to book Covid vaccine in England

Portugal to increase restrictions on travellers from UK and Brazil

Rangers fans in Scotland break coronavirus rules

:Left Quotes: We have advice against gatherings and every day I stand up here and say avoid crowded places. 
We have a limit on people coming together outside ... so it stands to reason any group of people that are gathering together in a crowd are putting themselves and others at risk.
Whether it’s football fans, rugby fans, any other kind of sport fans or just people in general, please don’t do it because right now, in the middle of this pandemic, it is a risky thing to do that puts you and other people at risk.

Protests in Sweden

Police blocked a bridge in the centre of the city and said on their website they were in dialogue with organisers to persuade demonstrators to disperse.
TV images showed police shoving some protesters, while the police said one officer had been slightly injured and taken to hospital.
“Police have taken the decision to break up the non- authorised gathering which is ongoing,” Stockholm police said on their website on Saturday.
Earlier this week, the protest organiser Filip Sjöström told local media that he was expecting around 2,000 people to join the demonstration, which had been announced on Facebook.
TV images showed hundreds of people had gathered. According to Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter, demonstrators had travelled from several parts of Sweden, which has a ban on public gatherings of more than eight people.
Sweden, which has 10 million inhabitants, registered 4,831 new cases on Friday, and 26 new deaths, taking the death toll to 13,003.
The government said last month that it would cut opening hours for restaurants, bars and cafes and tighten limits on the number of people allowed in shops, in a bid to ward off a third wave of the pandemic.
The centre-left government has gradually tightened restrictions since late last year after keeping most schools, restaurants and businesses open, relying primarily on voluntary measures.

France reintroduces lockdown measures in north of country

The residents of Pas-de-Calais on the north coast joined those in the region’s port of Dunkirk – and the Mediterranean resort of Nice – already shut down on Saturdays and Sundays.
That puts more than 2 million people across France under the weekend restrictions, required to stay at home unless they can provide a written exemption.
With hospital capacity at 90% in Pas-de-Calais, the region’s prefect insisted the new restrictions were necessary to prevent local health services from being overwhelmed.
Two thirds of the cases recorded there recently have been the more contagious variant first detected in England, said local officials.
But with a 6pm-6am curfew already in place and non-essential shops closed there, the new restrictions will hurt already hard-pressed businesses.

When will I get the vaccine?

Brazil President tells public to ‘stop whining’ about Covid-19 amid surge in deaths

A further 158 people have died in the UK

Analysis: Growing sympathy for NHS workers amid unprecedented pressures

China make Covid-19 anal swabs mandatory for all international arrivals

Summary

• Ireland reached the milestone of half a million coronavirus jabs administered. The taoiseach, Micheál Martin, hailed progress made fighting the pandemic. He said he was inspired by recent visits to vaccination centres where thousands of frontline healthcare workers are receiving the vaccine doses.
  
• The Dalia Lama had a Covid-19 vaccine administered. The Tibetan spiritual leader said: “In order to prevent some serious problems, this injection is very, very helpful.”
  
• Passengers flying indirectly to Portugal from the UK or Brazil were told they would have to present a negative test taken 72 hours before departure and quarantine for two weeks upon arrival. Reuters reported that the move was designed to close a loophole that allowed travellers from Britain and Brazil to reach Portugal by stopping over in a country from which travel was authorised.
  
• The Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari received a first Covid vaccine dose, the day after the distribution of the shots began in the west African nation. According to AFP, Buhari said he wanted to encourage all Nigerians to have the jab, although the country faces massive security and logistical challenges in delivering the vaccines.
  
• England and Wales passed the 20m mark in respect of vaccine doses administered. NHS England said about 19.25m vaccinations – whether first or second dose – had been given, while Public Health Wales reported nearly 1m more.
  
• The UK government came under increasing pressure to reverse a plan to offer health workers only a 1% pay rise. Workers representatives, the Tory party’s own and MPs and the opposition offered severe criticism of the proposal.
  
• Hundreds of thousands of people in northern France went back into lockdown. The residents of Pas-de-Calais on the north coast joined those in the region’s port of Dunkirk – and the Mediterranean resort of Nice – already shut down on Saturdays and Sundays.
  
• The UK was told the next few weeks would crucial for keeping infections down. An infectious disease expert said that, as schools reopen, there would be a rise in the reproductive number.
  
• Businesses in England will now be able to sign up to receive free rapid coronavirus tests under the UK government’s workplace testing programme. From Saturday, businesses of all sizes, including those with fewer than 50 employees, can register to order lateral flow tests for their workers, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said.
  

UK reports more than 6,000 new cases but trends down

Italy reports 307 more deaths

UK cases and deaths down by a third week-on-week

Saturday's developments in brief

• The UK reports 6,040 new cases of coronavirus and a further 158 deaths - both figures are well down on a week ago
  
• The row over the below-inflation 1% pay rise for NHS staff rumbles on, with the government defending the move and the Royal College of Nursing warning it could lead to large numbers of staff leaving
  
• Workplace Covid testing is now available to all businesses in England, which can register from Saturday to order lateral flow tests for their workers
  
• Ahead of children returning to school in England on Monday, there's concern that the lateral flow testing system in place could lead to inaccurate test results and many young people having to isolate unnecessarily
  
• A compromise in the US Senate means America's third major spending package to deal with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic - this one costing $1.9tn (£1.4tn) - can move forward
  
• In Australia, some 36,000 people have gathered inside Sydney Cricket Ground for a scaled-down version of the city's annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras celebration
  

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