Coronavirus - 5th November 2021

• Europe is once again at centre of the Covid pandemic, the World Health Organization has said. Cases are at near-record levels and 500,000 more deaths are forecast by February. Uneven vaccine coverage and a relaxation of preventive measures have brought Europe to a “critical point” in the pandemic, WHO says.
  
  
• Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said on Friday she expects the mainland China border to reopen in February next year as the two governments stick to their zero Covid-19 policies, public broadcaster RTHK reports.
  
  
• The Chinese journalist jailed over Covid reporting last year is “close to death”, her family say.
  
  
• The UK has become the first country to approval an oral antiviral pill to treat Covid. Nearly half a million doses of molnupiravir, a pill that can be taken twice daily at home, are due for delivery from mid-November and will be given as a priority to elderly Covid patients and those with particular vulnerabilities, such as weakened immune systems. The drug will initially be given to patients through a national study run by the NHS.
  
  
• Central and Eastern Europe are grappling with spiralling coronavirus cases with several countries hitting new daily records in the regions, which have lower vaccination rates than the rest of the continent. Ukraine, Croatia, Slovenia and Slovakia reported their highest ever numbers of daily cases, while other countries registered the most infections in months.Most Central and Eastern European countries have vaccinated about half of their populations or less, which is lower than the European Union average of some 75%.
  
  
• Understanding the origins of Covid-19 remains a key focus of the Biden administration and that they will continue pushing for answers, The White House said.
  
  
• A study suggests UK Covid cases may have peaked for this year. The study, which estimates the number of Covid cases in the community from the information that users log on an app, found a clear decline in cases in under-18s since mid-October, with infection rates levelling off in most other age groups though still climbing in 55- to 75-year-olds.
  
  
• Latvia will allow businesses to fire workers who refuse to either get a Covid vaccine or transfer to remote work, from 15 November as the country battles one of the worst Covid waves in the EU.
  
  
• US vaccine mandates for private sector workers are set to begin on 4 January. President Joe Biden will begin enforcing the mandate that private-sector workers in the US be vaccinated against Covid or be tested weekly.
  
  
• As China and Hong Kong continue to pursue strict zero Covid policies, it doesn’t appear that the border between the two will open any time soon.
  Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said on Friday she expected a reopening would begin in February next year, public broadcaster RTHK reported.
  Despite barely recording any local coronavirus cases in recent months, authorities in the global financial hub have tightened up quarantine and patient discharge rules to convince Beijing to allow cross-border travel.
  
  
• In New Zealand a second person infected with Covid-19 has died while isolating at home alone, as the country recorded 163 new cases in the community – its highest ever daily number.
  The man, who was in his 50s, was recently treated in hospital and discharged himself on 3 November. Ambulance medics found him in his home in Mt Eden, a central Auckland suburb, on Friday morning.
  It is the second death of a Covid-19 positive man self-isolating at home this week, and the fourth death during the August outbreak. Thirty people with Covid-19 have died in New Zealand since the start of the pandemic.
  

Hong Kong expects border with mainland China to reopen in February

Chinese journalist jailed over Covid reporting is ‘close to death’, family say

Slovakia sets a new daily record for Covid cases

Today so far

• Germany recorded its second consecutive daily record for new coronavirus cases on Friday as infections pick up across Europe, and its disease control centre said unvaccinated people face a “very high” risk of infection.
  
• German state leaders said that hospitals could soon soon become swamped by Covid-19 patients and a new lockdown might be needed unless urgent action is taken to reverse a surge in cases.
  
• Europe is once again at centre of the Covid pandemic, the World Health Organization has said. Cases are at near-record levels and 500,000 more deaths are forecast by February. Uneven vaccine coverage and a relaxation of preventive measures have brought Europe to a “critical point” in the pandemic, WHO says.
  
• Slovakia reported 6,805 new Covid-19 cases for the past day, the Health Ministry said today, a new daily record.
  
• Russia reported 40,735 new Covid-19 cases and 1,192 deaths related to the virus. That is up from 40,217 cases yesterday.
  
• Children in the UK ate fewer vegetables, took less exercise and experienced worsening emotional difficulties following the Covid outbreak, according to a research study.
  
• Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said she expected the border with mainland China to largely reopen in February next year as the two governments stick to their zero Covid-19 policies.
  
• A citizen journalist jailed for her coverage of China’s initial response to Covid in Wuhan is close to death after going on hunger strike, her family said, prompting renewed calls from rights groups for her immediate release.
  
• In New Zealand a second person infected with Covid-19 has died while isolating at home alone, as the country recorded 163 new cases in the community – its highest ever daily number.
  
• The US federal government has canceled a deal worth $628 million with Emergent BioSolutions, a Maryland-based vaccine manufacturer that was a vanguard of the Donald Trump administration’s programme to rapidly produce vaccines. In March the company contaminated 15m doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
  
• Republican governors are expected to sue today to stop the Biden administration’s requirement that nearly 2 million US employers get workers tested or vaccinated for Covid-19, saying it trampled civil liberties.
  
• A trial of Pfizer’s experimental antiviral pill was shown to cut by 89% the chances of hospitalisation or death for adults at risk of developing severe disease, the company said this morning.
  

French MPs vote to extend health pass regime

 
Protesters wearing Guy Fawkes-style masks clashed with police in central London

Twelve people have been arrested after hundreds of anti-establishment protesters gathered in Parliament Square in London on Bonfire Night, before scuffles broke out with police.
Demonstrators wearing Guy Fawkes-style masks gathered at Trafalgar Square and burned an effigy of Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

The protesters then moved to Parliament Square where fireworks appeared to be thrown towards police.


Police and protesters during the Million Mask March  


Fireworks were let off during the protest  


An effigy of Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set alight in Trafalgar Square. Pic: AP  

Many of the members of the movement, known as the Million Mask March, held signs protesting against coronavirus restrictions.
The Metropolitan Police said eight officers had been injured.
"A total of 12 arrests were made while policing tonight's demonstrations across London," the force tweeted.
"Those arrests were for a variety of offences.

A summary of today's developments

• Austria said only those vaccinated or recovered from coronavirus would be allowed to frequent restaurants, hotels and cultural venues. The new rule takes effect on Monday with a four-week transition phase to incentivise people to get jabbed, chancellor Alexander Schallenberg said.
  
  
• There have been a further 193 deaths within 28 days of a positive test for coronavirus in the UK, according to the latest official data. The government’s coronavirus dashboard also reported 34,029 more people testing positive for coronavirus on Friday, and 1,072 patients admitted to hospital.
  
  
• The US has secured millions of doses of Pfizer’s experimental antiviral pill, in case it turns out to be an effective treatment for Covid-19, the president, Joe Biden, said on Friday.
  
  
• Every single person in Germany should have a Covid-19 vaccine booster jab, the country’s regional health ministers have agreed, as the a fourth wave of pandemic appeared to be swelling in the country.
  
  
• The German state of Saxony has announced sweeping new curbs for people who have not been vaccinated against Covid-19 or recovered from the disease, AFP reports. From Monday, access to indoor dining and other indoor events will be limited to those who are fully vaccinated or can show proof of recovery, local government minister Petra Koepping told a news conference in Dresden.
  
  
• The Covid death toll in Romania passed 50,000 on Friday, after a further 483 deaths from the disease were reported as a fourth wave of pandemic sweeps the country.
  
  
• French president Emmanuel Macron is to speak to the nation on Tuesday evening about the resurgence of Covid-19 infections as well as other issues including economic reforms, government spokesman Gabriel Attal said.
  
  
• Every person in Malta will be offered Covid-19 vaccine booster doses, after a recent increase in cases, the health minister said on Friday.
  
  
• Eleven US states have launched legal actions to challenge a new federal vaccine requirement for workers at companies with more than 100 employees, a key component of Joe Biden’s Covid response plan.
  
  
• Japan will ease border controls for fully vaccinated travellers, excluding tourists, from Monday, responding to lobbying by businesses that followed a rapid decline in infections.
  
  
• Authorities in Croatia are to limit gatherings and widen the use of Covid passports after the numbers of infected people hit new records again on Friday.