Category Archives: Coronavirus

Myanmar could become Covid ‘super-spreader’ state, says UN expert

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Special rapporteur urges security council to call for ceasefire amid fears Covid will spread across wider region

Myanmar is at risk of becoming a super-spreader Covid state that fuels outbreaks across the region, the UN special rapporteur for the country has warned as he urged the security council to call for a ceasefire.

The south-east Asian country is facing its most severe outbreak yet, on top of a deep political and economic crisis brought about by the military coup in February. Its vaccination programme has ground to a standstill, testing has collapsed, and government hospitals are barely functioning.

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Coronavirus live news: Pfizer jab efficacy drops to 84% over six months; France to bring in health pass on 9 August

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Efficacy of Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine falls from 96%; French health pass to be compulsory for cafe visits and some travel

An interesting story from Cuba - five mostly elderly and retired Cuban military generals have died in recent days in mysterious circumstances. Cuba’s government has not given an explanation for the deaths but it is thought Covid may be to blame, as the rate has risen almost eight-fold since the start of July.

Related: Five Cuban generals dead in recent days – is the Covid spike to blame?

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met the head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, in Kuwait on Wednesday where he pledged his support to the UN agency’s investigation in China into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, according to Agence France-Presse.

“The U.S. supports the @WHO plans for additional studies into Covid-19 origins, including in (the People’s Republic of China), to better understand this pandemic and prevent future ones,” Blinken tweeted after arriving in the Gulf Arab state.

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Australia Covid live news update: Scott Morrison announces increase to support payments as NSW records 11th death of outbreak

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NSW records 177 local cases, lockdown extended four weeks; single bubbles now allowed in greater Sydney; those on welfare support now eligible for federal disaster payments, NSW premier says; Victoria records eight local cases overnight, and a new local, non-quarantined case today. Follow all the day’s news

And here’s the video of Scott Morrison comparing the vaccine take-up to a gold medal run at the Olympics earlier today:

Reviews of rapid Covid-19 tests in Australia have found markedly different results in their effectiveness, but experts say the New South Wales government’s decision to employ them in schools and essential workplaces will help to control the virus.

Michael McGowan has this story after NSW announced that rapid tests would be used during Sydney’s continuing lockdown.

Related: Cautious welcome for rapid antigen tests to control Sydney Covid outbreak, despite reliability concerns

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Thailand puts Covid patients on sleeper trains home to ease crisis in Bangkok

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More than 100 patients have already been sent home as country faces its third and deadliest wave of coronavirus

Thailand has begun using sleeper trains to transport Covid patients out of Bangkok, where hospitals have been overwhelmed by a recent surge in cases.

The first train left the capital on Tuesday, transporting 137 patients who were asymptomatic or had mild symptoms to their home towns in the north-east of the country.

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UK poised to end amber list quarantine for people vaccinated in US and EU

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Ministers to discuss plans, with talks also to determine if they will apply to England only or all UK nations

Plans to significantly open up international travel are expected to be announced on Wednesday, with UK ministers poised to let people who have been fully vaccinated in the US and EU avoid quarantine if arriving from amber list countries.

The move would benefit millions of people by finally letting them be reunited with family and friends based in the UK, as well as businesses in the aviation and tourism sectors that have been hit hard by the pandemic.

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Teens getting the AstraZeneca vaccine: ‘They want a light at the end of the tunnel’

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When I heard my 18-year-old nephews had received their first jab, it was like sunshine slicing through the clouds

Even by pandemic standards, Saturday was a rattling day. As Covid cases in Sydney reached their highest tally to date, anti-lockdown protests turned violent in the CBD.

The day before, New South Wales had begged both the federal government and other Australian states for more Pfizer vaccines. The proposed approach gave me new hope, which by afternoon was extinguished. No solution appeared to be in sight.

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Coronavirus live: UK reports 23,511 cases in seventh daily drop in a row; Ireland to vaccinate children over 12

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Latest updates: reported UK deaths reach 131; Ireland’s national immunisation advisory committee recommended vaccinating children against Covid

Almost 99% people who have died of Covid-19 in Italy since February this year were not fully vaccinated, the National Health Institute (ISS) has said.

The study, contained in a regular report on Covid-19 deaths released by the public health body, added that the few fully vaccinated people who died of Covid were also significantly older than those who died without full vaccination, at 88.6 years of age versus 80.

The US’ top health agency is expected to backpedal on its masking guidelines today and recommend that even vaccinated people wear masks indoors in parts of the US where the coronavirus is surging, according to media reports.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is expected to make an announcement later in the day revising guidance issued on 13 May, which said vaccinated individuals did not need to wear masks in most indoor settings.

Related: CDC expected to backpedal some mask guidelines for vaccinated people

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Boris Johnson cautious despite six-day fall in Covid infections – video

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The prime minister, Boris Johnson, said it was important that people did not draw premature conclusions about several days of better Covid case data and urged the public to remain cautious.

'I've noticed that obviously that we're six days into some better figures, but it is very, very important that we don't allow ourselves to run away with premature conclusions about this,' Johnson said.

'People have got to remain very cautious and that remains the approach of the government.'

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Failure to help poor countries fight Covid ‘could cost global economy $4.5tn’, says IMF

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Fund calls on rich nations to help halt spread of infectious variants through countries with low vaccination rates

The world economy risks losing $4.5tn (£3.3tn) from highly infectious variants of Covid-19 spreading through poor countries where vaccination rates are lower, the International Monetary Fund has warned.

Calling on rich countries to take urgent action to share at least 1bn doses with developing nations, or risk severe economic consequences, the Washington-based fund said the gap between rich and poor economies had widened during the pandemic and risked worsening further next year.

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Sydney Covid lockdown restrictions: update to Orange and regional NSW coronavirus rules explained

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Covid restrictions for greater Sydney, including residents in the Fairfield, Canterbury-Bankstown, Liverpool, Cumberland and Blacktown LGAs, the Central Coast, Blue Mountains and Wollongong to be extended, with lockdown set to lift for Orange, Blayney and Cabonne local government areas in the state’s central west. Here’s the full list of what you can and can’t do in NSW

Sydney’s lockdown is expected to continue beyond 30 July, but there will be some changes to the rules.

The NSW premier, Gladys Berejiklian, is expected to announce a four-week extension to the lockdown on Wednesday, where it is understood she will also outline eased restrictions for the construction industry.

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Peru’s new president to take charge of divided country ravaged by Covid

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Pedro Castillo saw off an ugly, Trump-style revolt against his victory and must now try to unite the country

After nearly two months of waiting, amid baseless claims of fraud and even rumblings of a military coup, Pedro Castillo will on Wednesday become Peru’s president. The son of illiterate peasant farmers, Castillo’s rise to the top on Peru’s 200th anniversary of independence is hugely symbolic, but he will face huge challenges to unite the country.

Castillo’s razor-thin win has split the country between those who back his pledge to overhaul politics and the economic system to tackle poverty and inequality, and others who fear his presidency will upturn Peru’s market-friendly economy and even threaten its democracy.

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Sydney covid lockdown could last months as daily cases reach record high

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More than 170 daily cases reported, with block of flats sealed off by police, outbreaks affecting two hospitals and further delays to Novavax vaccine

New South Wales reported a record high number of covid cases on Tuesday despite more than four weeks of lockdown for the Sydney region, with signs tough measures could extend until September.

“Vaccination is the key to our freedom. Getting jabs in arms is a key part of our strategy,” said state premier Gladys Berejiklian. “I want August to be the month where everyone comes forward to get the jab. That is key to us being able to see what September looks like. I don’t think anyone can deny that the vaccination rate is absolutely key to how we live life in NSW.”

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New Zealand pandemic policies pushed 18,000 children into poverty, study shows

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Report says 10% increase in child poverty hit Māori and Pasifika children hardest

An additional 18,000 New Zealand children were pushed into poverty in the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to new research, despite child welfare being one of prime minister Jacinda Ardern’s main concerns.

The Child Poverty Action Group – a group focused on eliminating poverty – put much of the increased poverty, inequity, homelessness and food insecurity down to government neglect as it created its policies during the pandemic.

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Australia Covid live update: Victoria premier Dan Andrews eases lockdown after 10 new cases; Gladys Berejiklian confirms 172 local cases in NSW

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SA to exit lockdown at midnight; NSW records 172 local Covid-19 cases overnight; Victoria lockdown to ease from midnight after state records 10 cases; Queensland records no new cases overnight. Follow all the day’s news

NSW press conference:

Inevitable Berejiklian is now being grill over Victoria’s sucsess which many are viewing as proof that NSW’s lockdown was too little, too late.

Victoria is now coming out of lockdown. Have they now shown us up? Should we have gone down harder and faster? They’ve done two weeks, we’re here in week five, and with no sign of things slowing down.

Oh look, I think it’s important to note that every state has had its own course during the pandemic.

Victoria is emerging out of its fifth lockdown, and I appreciate appreciate people want to make comparisons, but it’s also important to note that every state has had its own course. Every state has its own history of how they’re built with the pandemic.

Melbourne: schools, restaurants and bars open.
Sydney: 172 cases. Highest case number since the borders were shut and edging towards the 200 record.

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Covid vaccines mandated for employees of a US federal agency for the first time – as it happened

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In a survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation vaccine monitor, 23% of Republicans said they definitely won’t get vaccinated, while 16% of independents and 2% of Democrats said the same.

White House chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci said local leaders, particularly in areas with low rates of vaccination, needed to lead outreach efforts to get people vaccinated.

Related: Fauci says health officials considering mask guidance revision for vaccinated

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Thailand’s hospitals under pressure as Covid crisis deepens

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Doctors forced to treat patients in car parks while others turned away as no beds available

Thailand’s worsening Covid outbreak is placing intense pressure on hospitals, forcing doctors to treat patients in parking lots and turn away people who are severely ill.

The country was widely praised for its Covid response last year, when it maintained one of the lowest caseloads in the world. However, there is growing public anger over the government’s recent handling of the pandemic, including its slow and chaotic vaccination campaign.

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Covid cases in US may have been undercounted by 60%, study shows

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Number of reported cases ‘represents only a fraction of the estimated total number of infections’

The number of Covid-19 cases across the US may have been undercounted by as much as 60%, researchers at the University of Washington have found.

Related: Florida urged to ramp up vaccination effort amid ‘alarming’ Covid rise

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Covid tests being flown interstate for diagnosis as Sydney is swamped

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With daily tests in NSW hovering around 100,000, pathology turnaround times are being pushed back as residents wait in isolation

Tens of thousands of Covid nasal test swabs are being put on planes and flown from hotspots in New South Wales to be processed in Brisbane and other cities, with labs in Sydney still “drowning” from record testing turnouts that have led to result wait times of up to 10 days.

As daily testing numbers hover around 100,000 in NSW, a backlog in processing swabs in Sydney continues to force people into isolation, with Guardian Australia aware of an essential worker abandoning their vaccine appointment as they await a negative result.

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‘I advise everyone to get it’: UK Covid patients tell of regrets over refusing jab

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Doctors say most patients now arriving in intensive care are unvaccinated, and deeply regret their decision

For some people, the moment the ambulance arrives is the time they start expressing regrets about not receiving a coronavirus vaccine. For others, it’s the death of a loved one.

Healthcare workers and Covid patients have spoken out about growing numbers who, once faced with the serious reality of catching the virus, realise that they made a huge mistake.

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Covid: more EU states to restrict venue access for unvaccinated people

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Ireland and Italy among those joining France in requiring vaccine passes to enter bars and restaurants

An increasing number of European governments are planning to prevent unvaccinated people from being able to attend hospitality venues such as bars and restaurants this summer, as Emmanuel Macron celebrates the fruits of the recent announcement of the policy in France.

France on Monday passed the threshold of 40 million people having received at least one vaccine dose – close to 60% of the population. Macron tweeted: “Together we will defeat the virus. We continue!”

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