Category Archives: Coronavirus

‘This is a public health issue’: can Covid-era music festivals ever be safe?

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After backlash over the 100,000-plus crowd of mostly unmasked faces at Chicago’s Lollapalooza, festival organisers reckon with a safe way forward

It could have been an image from 2019 – a sea of mostly unmasked faces, shoulder to shoulder, singing to live music in Chicago’s Grant Park. The mass gathering of about 100,000 people daily for Lollapalooza 2021, one of the country’s most prominent music festivals, featuring Foo Fighters and Post Malone, on the last weekend of July was a welcome sight to music lovers – and a worrisome event for public health officials as cases of the Delta variant of Covid-19 surge in the US.

The photos now appear like the last naive gasp of pandemic-free fantasy; in the two weeks since Lollapalooza, which required either proof of vaccination or a negative Covid test to attend, the rapid spread of the Delta variant has forced a slate of upcoming music festivals to reassess health and safety plans at a pivotal moment for handling of the pandemic in the US.

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When Covid came to the anti-vax capital of Australia

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A noisy minority in NSW’s northern rivers are pushing back against Covid-19 restrictions

Benny Zable has lived in Nimbin on and off since 1973, when he arrived in town for the Aquarius festival – the event that seeded counterculture and escapist lifestyles into the northern rivers of New South Wales.

The 75-year-old artist and activist is a storied figure in this part of Australia, now a heartland for alternative health and wellness advocates, and notorious for low immunisation rates. He was also the first person from Nimbin to show up for a Covid-19 vaccine.

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Covid live news: England’s R number between 0.8 and 1.0; Thailand predicts daily cases to double by next month

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England’s Covid reproduction could be below one in some areas; Thai officials believe daily cases could rise to 45,000 within weeks

Some reaction to the developments.

WHO being hit from all sides- now Chinese govt unhappy. Dr Tedros right to push for an investigation into origins of COVID. We need to know where virus came from so we can learn & try to stop spillover events. https://t.co/O8YQavbTX4

.⁦@Peterfoodsafety⁩, who put his own professional reputation & the credibility of the @WHO & int’l process on the line asserting in the Feb Wuhan presser that a #COVID19 lab incident origin was “extremely unlikely” was actually lying. Game-changer. https://t.co/SPggpkn4H0

2/ This is recent Chinese propaganda (which is also anti-semitic) showing @drtedros doing @SecBlinken's bidding on tracing the origins of covid-19

I was talking to @MMKavanagh about China, the US and @WHO recently for a piece I'm working on. pic.twitter.com/VSXXn4m5JT

The Wall Street Journal reports that Ben Embarek’s remarks represent the most significant departure by a member of the WHO’s team from the conclusions expressed in their initial report (some of which he said to camera as linked to below in comments that may well now cause him some embarrassment).

In the interview with Danish TV for “the Virus Mystery” documentary, Ben Embarek said that a lab run by the Wuhan Center for Disease Control and Prevention – not the Wuhan Institute of Virology which has hitherto been the focus – relocated on 2 December 2019.

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Booster jabs for rich countries will cause more deaths worldwide, say experts

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Oxford Vaccine Group and Gavi say western leaders must not ‘reject their responsibility to the rest of humanity’

Many more people around the world will die of Covid if western political leaders “reject their responsibility to the rest of humanity” by prioritising booster shots for their own populations instead of sharing doses, the head of the Oxford vaccine group has warned.

Writing for the Guardian, Prof Sir Andrew Pollard, and Seth Berkley, the chief executive of Gavi, the vaccine alliance, say that the scientific and public health case for large-scale boosting has not been made and could have far-reaching consequences in other countries.

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‘An economic calamity’: Africa faces years of post-Covid instability

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Damage from pandemic could quash ambitions, exacerbate tensions and deepen repression in parts of continent

Analysts and experts are warning of many years of instability across Africa, possibly leading to wars and political upheavals, as the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic deepens across the continent.

Though many of the likely consequences are yet to become evident, recent unrest in southern Africa, increased extremist violence in the Sahel and growing instability in parts of west Africa can all be attributed in part to the outbreak, observers say.

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Common myths about Covid – debunked

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Read on for the facts about Sars-CoV-2, backed up by science

Wrong. People who never get symptoms from Covid are less infectious than people who get symptoms, but they can still have high viral loads and can pass on the virus. And the peak infectiousness in those who do develop symptoms is actually the day or two before they start feeling ill.

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‘I knew supply was coming’: how Canada’s push for Covid vaccines paid off

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Anita Anand’s determination to get doses for Canadians means the country now has world’s highest global vaccination rate

For many Canadians, spring was a dark period marked by surging coronavirus infections, lockdowns – and the envy of watching their American neighbours get vaccinated en masse.

But for Anita Anand, the country’s public services and procurement minister, the mounting frustration that Canada was being left behind in the global vaccine race didn’t make her lose focus.

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Sticking to a Covid-19 elimination strategy keeps New Zealand’s options open | Michael Baker, Amanda Kvalsvig and Nick Wilson

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The approach buys the country time to get a better understanding of the virus’ impact on people’s long-term health and on children

Aotearoa New Zealand’s new national strategy for loosening border restrictions closely follows scientific advice from an expert panel that was specifically asked to advise on the future of New Zealand’s elimination strategy and phased loosening of border controls.

Covid-19 elimination has been the dominant strategy for a number of jurisdictions across the Asia-Pacific region, including New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Australia. This approach contrasts with the suppression and mitigation strategies of Europe and North America.

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Australia Covid live news update: NSW confirms record 390 cases and two deaths; ACT reports two new cases, Victoria 15, Qld seven

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Two new Covid cases in ACT; NSW records 390 cases, two deaths; Queensland records seven cases, Victoria records 15 new cases; son of Sydney man who travelled to Byron Bay also charged. Follow all the day’s news

Barr has acknowledged the long waiting times at testing sites throughout the state, and has asked people who have been contacted by ACT Health as close or casual contacts to come forward as priority for testing:

We will be expanding testing capacity, hours of operations and the number of people at each existing testing centre can manage in a day but yesterday was our all-time record number of tests. We expect today will be even busier and we have stood additional testing capacity.

So please, if you do not have symptoms and you are not an identified close contact, you do not need to be tested today. Please, stay-at-home. There will be an opportunity to be tested in the days ahead but the priority right now is to test those people who ACT health have contacted.

The ACT has recorded two new Covid-19 cases, bringing the total to six. It has identified 1,862 close contacts and that number will grow.

There are more casual contacts. There were more than 2,000 tests yesterday and results have been received on about 1,330 of them.

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‘We’re going to see a lot of deaths’: Covid leaves Mississippi hospitals at brink of failure

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Only 35.6% of residents are fully vaccinated in the state, which is opening a field hospital as officials brace for climbing death toll

Health officials in Mississippi have warned the state’s hospital system is on the brink of failure due to a surge in Covid-19 hospitalizations in the US south as the Delta variant rips through the country.

The deep south state, where only 35.6% of residents are fully vaccinated, is opening a 50-bed field hospital at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) car park with the assistance of the federal government as officials brace for a climbing death toll and ICU units reach capacity.

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Tax on billionaires’ Covid windfall could vaccinate every adult on Earth

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Analysis finds 99% levy on pandemic wealth rise could also pay all unemployed $20,000 – and still leave super-rich $55bn richer

Every adult in the world could get a Covid-19 vaccine if the wealth billionaires collected during the pandemic was taxed 99% once, according to an analysis published on Thursday by several groups that advocate for economic equity.

This one-time tax on the world’s 2,690 billionaires could also cover $20,000 in cash paid to all unemployed workers, according to the analysis by Oxfam, the Fight Inequality Alliance, the Institute for Policy Studies and the Patriotic Millionaires.

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French police on alert after Covid testing centre attacks

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Vandals damage 22 health sites, often leaving graffiti comparing vaccination drive to Holocaust

French police have been urged to step up security around Covid vaccination and testing centres after a spate of attacks and vandalism in the last month.

As France prepares for a fifth weekend of demonstrations against the health pass, the interior minister, Gérald Darmanin, has written to police chiefs calling for greater vigilance. French media reported that the request had come directly from Emmanuel Macron.

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Coronavirus live news: ‘mix and match’ jabs a good idea, says UK expert; New Zealand details plans to reopen border

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UK adviser says he is in favour of mixing and matching for booster jabs; New Zealand to let in vaccinated travellers from low-risk countries next year

UK chancellor Rishi Sunak says latest figures show that the economy is undergoing a “very strong recovery” but admitted that the shock from the pandemic was “significant”.

It comes after it was this morning announced that the UK economy grew by 4.8% in the second quarter of 2021 and rose by 1% in June as lockdown restrictions were eased (see 7:31).

"It's right that we do these things in a measured way."

Chancellor Rishi Sunak says the Govt was right to be cautious when it came to lifting travel restrictions.

Meanwhile latest figures show that the economy grew by 4.8% in Q2 of 2021. Read more: https://t.co/H8J2sNlFiC pic.twitter.com/j93LcUZD4j

A Vietnamese businessman has been arrested for making and selling hundreds of fraudulent negative Covid-19 test certificates.

Tran Tuan Duong, who runs a printing business in Bac Ninh province, was arrested on Wednesday while selling certificates, reports Reuters.

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Australia Covid live news updates: ACT enters lockdown as three more cases confirmed; NSW records 345 cases and two deaths

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ACT begins seven-day lockdown; more restrictions for NSW as state confirms 345 new local cases and two deaths; high court declines to hear Murugappan family case; Queensland reports 10 new cases; Victoria records 21 new cases. Follow all the day’s news

Chief Executive of Western NSW Local Health District, Scott McLachlan, tells @PatsKarvelas that the majority of COVID cases in regional NSW outbreaks at the moment - including Dubbo and Walgett - are Aboriginal people.

Staying with the Walgett outbreak, my colleague Nino Bucci has been digging into this story.

Related: NSW inmate released on bail before prison received positive Covid test result

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Lesotho’s PM isolating with Covid as cases ‘go unrecorded’

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Medics fear government is failing to gather data as ‘social media conspiracies’ slow vaccination take-up

Lesotho’s prime minister, Moeketsi Majoro, has said he is isolating after testing positive for Covid-19, as doctors warned that the true tally of cases in the country was going unrecorded.

Majoro tweeted that he had taken a travel-related test that came back positive.

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New Zealand borders to remain closed until new year – video

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New Zealand, which has stamped out coronavirus, plans to cautiously reopen its borders to international travellers early next year. The prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, said the government planned to follow the advice of experts and maintain the elimination strategy. She said borders would not reopen until after New Zealand's vaccine rollout was completed at the end of the year. About 29% of New Zealanders have received one dose of the vaccine and 17% are fully vaccinated

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‘Light at the end of the tunnel’: New Zealand welcomes border reopening plans

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Health experts warn that reopening hinges on Covid vaccine programme reaching vulnerable communities

New Zealand’s much-awaited, albeit cautious, roadmap for reopening its borders has given businesses and families a taste of hope for the future, though health experts warn that it is dependent on improving the country’s vaccination strategy to reach vulnerable communities.

The prime minister Jacinda Ardern laid out the reopening plans at a forum in Wellington on Thursday, 17 months after borders closed in March 2020.

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ACT to enter lockdown after Canberra records first locally acquired Covid case in more than a year

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Health authorities yet to identify the source of the new case, who spent several days in the community while infectious

The Australian Capital Territory will go into lockdown after recording a locally acquired Covid-19 case for the first time in more than a year.

The chief minister, Andrew Barr, announced a seven-day lockdown from 5pm Thursday after a man in his 20s tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday morning.

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Google staff could see pay cut if they opt to work from home

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Pay calculator suggests workers who commute long-distance could see salary drop if they shun the office in wake of pandemic

Google employees could see their pay cut if they switched to working from home permanently in the wake of the pandemic, according to a company pay calculator seen by Reuters.

It is an experiment taking place across Silicon Valley, which often sets trends for other large employers. Facebook and Twitter cut pay for remote employees who moved to less expensive areas. However, Google’s pay calculator tool – which allows staff to see the effects of a move – suggests remote employees, especially long-distance commuters, could experience pay cuts without moving.

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Australian conspiracy theorists and anti-lockdown groups share fake Covid check-in apps

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Exclusive: Spoof software likely to cause difficulties for contact tracers in the event of outbreaks

A fake check-in app is being used by Covid-19 conspiracy theorists and anti-lockdown groups to dupe business owners and keep location data out of the hands of contact tracers in at least three states.

Guardian Australia can reveal that conspiratorial websites and Telegram groups with at least 15,000 followers are sharing links that allow users to generate fake check-in confirmations on their phones.

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