Category Archives: Coronavirus

Coronavirus live news: UK reports 32,253 new cases as Ho Chi Minh City prepares for lockdown

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Panic buying as Vietnamese city prepares for lockdown; UK also reports 49 further deaths

More children are being hospitalised with Covid in the US south and midwest than ever before, as the highly contagious Delta variant spreads among unvaccinated people.

One hospital in New Orleans has reported as many as 20 children hospitalised for Covid at a time in the past three weeks, the Wall Street Journal reports. In 2020, that number never topped seven, the hospital’s physician-in-chief told the paper.

Doctors and staff working in GP surgeries across England are reporting a torrent of physical and verbal abuse from patients, the Independent reports.

Some GPs have told the newspaper they fear coming to work and say staff have quit over the threats they are receiving on a near-daily basis.

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Trump booed after telling supporters to get Covid vaccine

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Former president held rally in Cullman, Alabama, a city struggling to cope with cases and hospitalisations

At his rally in Alabama on Saturday night, Donald Trump heard the unusual sound of booing and jeering aimed his way, after he told supporters: “I recommend taking the vaccines.”

Related: Tennessee radio host who criticised vaccine efforts dies of Covid-19

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Full FDA approval of Pfizer Covid shot will enable vaccine requirements

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Full federal approval of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine will empower businesses and universities to require vaccinations and tip hesitant Americans toward getting the jab, the surgeon general, Vivek Murthy, said on Sunday.

Related: Breakthrough infections and booster shots: what you need to know

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UK scientists look at reducing boosters to save vaccine for rest of the world

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JCVI considers lower third jab dosage to release stocks for poorer nations

Scientists in Britain are examining whether smaller doses of Covid vaccine could be used as part of booster programmes, amid hopes that the approach could also increase the supply of jabs across the world.

The use of so-called “fractional doses” has been proposed as a way of ensuring that precious supplies can immunise as many people as possible in parts of the world where there are shortages, while still providing high levels of protection from the virus.

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Cuba’s health system buckles under strain of overwhelming Covid surge

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A lack of medical supplies is crippling the Covid response, amid an economic crisis sparked by the pandemic and US sanctions

Julia, a community doctor in Havana, was drafted to the intensive care unit soon after Covid-19 first reached Cuba.

Last week, her cousin died from the virus. This week, she also tested positive amid a surge in cases which has pushed the island’s vaunted health service to its limits and prompted rare public criticism from Cuban doctors.

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The Wuhan lab leak theory is more about politics than science

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Whatever this week’s Biden review finds, the cause of the pandemic lies in the destruction of animal habitats

If Joe Biden’s security staff are up to the mark, a new report on the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic will be placed on the president’s desk this week. His team was given 90 days in May to review the virus’s origins after several US scientists indicated they were no longer certain about the source of Sars-CoV-2.

It will be intriguing to learn how Biden’s team answers the critically important questions that still surround the origins of Sars-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19. Did it emerge because of natural viral spillovers from bats to another animal and then into humans? Or did it leak from the Wuhan Institute of Virology? And, if so, had it been enhanced to make it especially virulent?

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Police say Melbourne anti-lockdown protest ‘most violent in nearly 20 years’

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Saturday’s rally was the first time police used non-lethal weapons during a lockdown protest, with at least nine officers ending up in hospital

An anti-lockdown protest held in Melbourne on Saturday was one of the most violent the city has seen in 20 years, Victoria’s top police officer says.

Chief commissioner Shane Patton said his officers had no choice but to use non-lethal weapons to defend themselves from an angry mob that came armed and appeared intent on attacking them.

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Coronavirus live: UK death toll rises by 104; fears of ‘super-spreader’ Trump rally

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Latest updates: panic-buying in Vietnam amid record Covid infections; riot police use pepper spray to break up crowds in Melbourne

France’s interior ministry said around 175,500 people in total demonstrated on Saturday - down from roughly 215,000 last weekend although numbers could increase as people return from summer holidays.
They demonstrated across France for a sixth consecutive weekend on Saturday against a Covid-19 health pass required for daily activities, Reuters reports. “This health pass divides French people. I think that is clear. And unfortunately, I believe we should abolish it,” said civil servant Sophie Soulas at the Paris protest.

Here is more on the story that a high-ranking Roman Catholic cardinal and vaccine skeptic hospitalised after contracting Covid-19 was off a ventilator and being moved out of intensive care in the US.

Related: Vaccine-skeptic US cardinal off ventilator after contracting Covid-19

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Springsteen and LL Cool J to play New York comeback concert – as Covid surges

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Thousands will show proof of vaccination to attend star-studded Central Park extravaganza as city averages nearly 1,900 cases a day

As coronavirus cases continued to rise across the US, thousands were expected nonetheless to attend a concert in Central Park on Saturday night, staged to celebrate New York City’s recovery amid the pandemic.

Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, Jennifer Hudson, Carlos Santana, LL Cool J and Andrea Bocelli were included in the lineup for We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert. Most tickets distributed by the city were free, with attendees required to show proof of vaccination.

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Raging Delta variant takes its toll as Philippines runs out of nurses

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Bad pay and conditions at home and demand for Filipino nursing skills overseas have left the country with a soaring death rate

The Covid Delta variant has swept across south-east Asia over recent months, prompting lockdowns and overwhelming hospitals – from Malaysia to Thailand and Indonesia. Now the impact is being felt in the Philippines, just as the country’s chronic lack of health workers reaches a crisis point.

“The disease has become very aggressive,” said Michael Bilan, who works on a Covid ward in Manila. This time, patients tend to require a higher amount of oxygen, for longer, he said. The number of Covid patients is also at a record high: last week, 277 were receiving treatment. New wards have been opened to meet demand.

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Trump to stage Alabama rally as state struggles with Covid surge

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Ex-president to support of Mo Brooks, who is running for Senate and sympathised with man who threatened to blow up US Capitol

Donald Trump was due to stage a rally in Alabama on Saturday night, in a city that has declared a Covid emergency and in support of a congressman who both backed Trump’s attempt to overturn the election and this week sympathised with a man who threatened to blow up the US Capitol.

Related: Capitol bomb claim suspect charged with weapon of mass destruction threat

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‘Racist and flat out wrong’: Texas Republican blames Black Americans for Covid surge

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Dan Patrick refuses to apologise for false claim while Texas experiences highest hospitalisation rates since January

Dan Patrick, the Republican lieutenant governor of Texas, has refused to apologise for blaming rising Covid-19 hospitalisations and deaths on unvaccinated African Americans, comments one Black Houston official called “racist and flat out wrong”.

Related: Texas school district requires masks after finding dress code loophole to bypass ban

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Disinfection robots and thermal body cameras: welcome to the Covid-free office

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A workplace in Bucharest filled with anti-virus innovations could become the new normal in office design, its creators hope

Not so long ago it may have seemed more like a futuristic vision of the workplace – or a hospital.

But the hands-free door handles, self-cleaning surfaces, antimicrobial paint, air-monitoring display tools, UV light disinfection robots, and 135 other measures at an office block in Bucharest are here to stay, say the creators behind what they are touting as one of the world’s most virus-resilient workplaces, which they hope will become the new normal in office design.

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Breakthrough infections and booster shots: what you need to know

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Vaccine efficacy against infection is waning slightly with time – but efficacy against severe symptoms remains strong

Federal health authorities have recommended booster shots for all adults who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 with either the the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, citing evidence that suggests breakthrough infections could become more common over time.

The plan has faced scrutiny. Some US scientists have said data was insufficient to support the decision, and vaccines remain highly effective against severe disease requiring hospitalization and death. The World Health Organization harshly criticized US leaders for using vaccines to provide a third shot to people, even as most around the world haven’t had one.

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Australia records highest number of new cases in a day – as it happened

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Gladys Berejiklian reports record high case numbers and Victoria extends lockdown statewide. This blog is now closed

We’re going to close off this blog for today, thanks very much for your company.

Here’s a helpful summary from Graham Readfearn – who did most of the hard slog today – and myself:

“Freedom” appears not to be free.

That's more than $1.2 million in fines pic.twitter.com/lfQJmbIPrb

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‘This isn’t surprising’: Jacinda Ardern warns New Zealanders to remain calm as Covid cases rise

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Country records 21 new cases, its worst single day for transmission since April last year

Jacinda Ardern has warned New Zealanders the worst of the Delta outbreak of Covid-19 is yet to come after another jump in cases.

New Zealand recorded 21 fresh community cases on Saturday, the country’s worst single day for transmission since April last year.

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Australia anti-lockdown rallies: protesters violently clash with police in Melbourne

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Thousands march through streets of Melbourne and Brisbane, as police try to prevent Sydney rally

Anti-lockdown protesters clashed violently with police as thousands of unmasked people marched through the streets of Melbourne on Saturday.

Victoria police said they had made 218 arrests and that six officers were hospitalised during a series of altercations. Police said in a statement the majority of the estimated 4,000 demonstrators “came with violence in mind”.

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In New Zealand, it has been easy to forget Covid – now we are too complacent | Brian Ng

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The country has been lulled into a false sense of security but the only way we’ll get through this is if we are constantly vigilant

My Kiwi friends ask, somewhat jokingly, how I’m finding my first New Zealand level 4. I answer, also somewhat jokingly, that I’m a veteran at this, having lived in London and Dublin for most of the pandemic, and had gone through several hard lockdowns.

That’s why it was unfortunate, the day before New Zealand went into one, it felt like Groundhog Day to me.

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‘No second chances’: Can New Zealand beat Delta?

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Jacinda Ardern has led a global Covid success story, but other countries have come unstuck when facing the Delta variant

As epidemiologist Michael Baker scrolled through a growing list of New Zealand’s Covid-exposed locations, “my heart just sank,” he says.

Bars, nightclubs, churches, schools, restaurants and hospitals – the bullet points were an infectious disease expert’s nightmare. “Virtually every high risk, indoor environment was on that list.”

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‘No one wanted to come near us’: what it’s like being pregnant amid Fiji’s Covid outbreak

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As Fiji battles to contain the coronavirus, pregnant women are having to give birth in isolation

For 34-year-old Jane, being told she had tested positive for Covid-19 just a few days before giving birth was an experience she would never forget.

“There were some minor complications during the final trimester of my pregnancy. On 18 July, I was taken to the Colonial War Memorial Hospital in Suva but I had to wait outside with other pregnant mothers who were about to deliver,” said Jane, not her real name.

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