Category Archives: Coronavirus

Balearic Islands to be added to England’s Covid amber list

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Change means some people will have to quarantine when arriving in England from Monday, as red and green lists also updated

Ministers have performed a U-turn on the Balearic Islands by removing the Spanish holiday destination from the UK’s quarantine-free “green list” after only two weeks, in a move which will force holidaymakers to cancel plans or self-isolate for up to 10 days upon return.

However, summer holidays to budget holiday destination Bulgaria looked more likely after it was upgraded to the green list alongside Hong Kong. Croatia and Taiwan will be placed on the green watchlist – designed to give people some notice a country might be downgraded.

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Thomas Bach promises ‘safe and secure’ Olympics as Tokyo Covid cases soar

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Thomas Bach, the International Olympic Committee president, has said a “safe and secure” Tokyo Olympics will be a show of global solidarity during the pandemic – on the same day as infections in the host city reached their highest level for almost six months.

The discovery of a coronavirus cluster at a hotel where dozens of Brazilian team members are staying has increased concerns about infections spreading over the summer.

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Battle for oxygen as coup-hit Myanmar faces its most severe Covid outbreak

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Outbreak could not have come at a worse time, after military coup caused hospitals to collapse and threw vaccination campaign into chaos

Khin Nwe Soe* went in a taxi, from factory to factory across Myanmar’s main city of Yangon, desperately searching for oxygen tanks for her 21-year-old son. A home test had shown he had Covid-19. He was in pain, able only to lie down, and his oxygen levels had dropped as low as 90%.

“She tried very hard, queuing at every place she could find, because her child needed it,” said Aye Myat Noe*, her daughter, who lives abroad but had called oxygen suppliers to help her mother. “She has a lot of health issues too, including diabetes and heart problems. She is very scared herself … She was seriously risking her life to find oxygen.”

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Hunger sweeps India in Covid’s shadow as millions miss out on rations

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Desperation grows for those unable to access subsidised food, as worst hunger in two decades reported

When India’s devastating second wave of Covid-19 struck in April, Nazia Habib Khan’s second marriage abruptly came to an end after a year of beatings and abuse. The 28-year-old daughter of migrants from the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh returned to live with her mother, brothers and a sister-in-law in Mumbai.

Their 40 sq metre (400 sq ft) home in Kurla East stands huddled among the 800 or so brick, tin sheet and tarpaulin houses of Qureshi Nagar, the entire shanty town trembling when a train roars past on a nearby railway line.

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Australia Covid live update: Victoria reports one local coronavirus case; Sydney lockdown to be extended

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New rules for essential workers cause chaos; Gladys Berejiklians expected to detail plans to lengthen shutdown

Hmmmm, Morrison also seems to be arguing that Australia really isn’t as far behind when it comes to vaccinations as everyone think.

He was asked if the Syndey situation could have been avoided if the vaccine rollout was on track.

But very few countries are talking single digits when we’re talking single digits when we’re talking personals. We’re at 9%.

No, no, we’re above 10%... We’re at about 11%. A third of Australians have already received their first dose.

Well over 70% of over 70s. And well over half of those over 50 and we’re scaling-up now to almost a million doses a week.

Prime minister Scott Morrison has also been out and about this morning, seemingly mostly to slam the Victorian government a little more.

Here is what he had to say on the Today show when asked if the Victorian government’s criticism were fair:

No, it wasn’t because during the Victorian lockdown without request the federal government was providing a billion dollars every week.

In the recent lockdown, which thankfully only went for two weeks, Victoria got exactly the same as what NSW got for those two weeks. NSW is going into week four of a lockdown and that means the challenges are escalating.

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‘It’s just like flu’: misinformation and fear hamper Papua New Guinea’s Covid vaccine rollout

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More than three months after the first vaccine was administered, less than 0.6% of the population have received their first dose

Three months since Papua New Guinea launched its Covid vaccine rollout, just 60,000 people – or 0.6% of the population – have received their first dose, with many people hesitant due to misinformation and fears around the vaccine.

Despite a recent surge in cases that has overwhelmed the already rickety health system, just over 2,800 people have received their second dose.

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End to Covid rules for England ‘leaves 3.8m vulnerable people feeling abandoned’

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Charities warn that shift on 19 July to personal choice on virus precautions is instilling fear in many most at risk

Cancer patients, disabled people and other clinically extremely vulnerable groups say they will feel unsafe stepping the house after hearing that mask and social distancing requirements are to be abandoned, charities have warned.

Campaigners estimate that 3.8 million people have been left feeling abandoned by the government’s shift towards promoting “personal responsibility” as the sole means of navigating the surging Covid-19 infection rates in England.

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Dozens killed after fire rips through Iraqi Covid-19 hospital – video

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Dozens of people have been killed and scores more injured in a fire probably caused by an oxygen tank explosion at a coronavirus hospital in the southern Iraqi city of Nassiriya. One health worker told Reuters that many patients were trapped in the coronavirus ward, with rescue crews struggling to reach them. The hospital fire was a blow to Iraq’s healthcare system, already struggling with an influx of patients and short supplies in the midst of the global health crisis

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‘We can do anything’: the Indian girls’ movement fighting child marriage

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At 17, Priyanka Bairwa refused her arranged marriage. Instead, she started Rajasthan Rising to help thousands of others and call for free education

Priyanka Bairwa was 15 when her family began to look for a husband for her. The pandemic sped up the process, as schools shut and work dried up. By October 2020, her parents had settled on a suitable boy from their village of Ramathra in the district of Karauli, Rajasthan.

But Bairwa, now 18, wouldn’t hear of it. “During the pandemic, every family in the village was eager to marry off their girls. You’d have to invite less people, there were fewer expenses,” says Bairwa. “But I refused to be caught in a child marriage. There was a major backlash – constant fights. I finally threatened to run away and, fearing I would do something drastic, my family called it off. My mother convinced them to let me study and I joined a college.”

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Delta surge ‘could leave hundreds of thousands with long Covid’

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Unvaccinated younger sufferers more at risk of debilitating long-term symptoms, study finds

The decision to lift England’s remaining Covid restrictions next Monday – even as cases of the Delta variant surge around the country – is expected to turbocharge the epidemic and push the nation into what one leading scientist called “uncharted territory” in terms of the numbers of people left suffering from long Covid.

Ministers have been told to expect at least one to two million coronavirus infections in the coming weeks. And while the mass rollout of vaccines – which started with elderly and vulnerable people – will dramatically reduce the proportion who are hospitalised and die, the wave may leave hundreds of thousands of younger people with long-term health problems, researchers have said.

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Covid Australia live updates: Morrison to announce NSW support package after 89 new cases and one death; three cases in Victoria

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A man in his 70s from Sydney’s east has died of coronavirus; Queensland keeps border open for now; support package for NSW to include increased payments for people who have lost work. Follow the latest updates live

It’s a little late today, but pleased to keep up Matilda Boseley’s tradition of highlighting the bizarre graphic design choices of the Queensland premier’s social media team.

Today’s special announces 100 new Tafe scholarships. Someone has spent time etching the bloke’s arm in front of the graphic, for some reason.

100 TAFE scholarships valued at up to $5,000 are up for grabs.

The skills TAFE offers can change lives and set people up for stable and rewarding careers. pic.twitter.com/9TOHAsIbuz

Looks like we’re learning about that Covid relief package at 3.30pm.

Just enough time to take a breath, grab a coffee, watch a couple of episodes of he Office and settle in for the announcement.

Very glad @joshgnosis tweeted these together. pic.twitter.com/yCJ9AWus1o

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Coronavirus live news: WHO appeals for rich countries to donate vaccines rather than using boosters

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Not enough evidence to show that third vaccine doses are needed, says WHO; Germany to re-evaluate basing restrictions on case numbers; South Korea cases top 1,000 for seventh day

Top officials at the World Health Organization say there’s not enough evidence to show that third doses of coronavirus vaccines are needed, the Associated press reports, as they appealed Monday for the scarce shots to be shared with poor countries who have yet to immunise their people instead of being used by rich countries as boosters.

At a press briefing, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the world’s grotesque vaccine disparity was driven by “greed,” as he called on drugmakers to prioritize supplying their COVID-19 vaccines to poor countries instead of lobbying rich countries to use even more doses. His plea comes just as pharmaceutical companies are seeking authorization for third doses to be used as boosters in some Western countries, including the US.

“We are making conscious choices right now not to protect those in need,” Tedros said, adding the immediate priority must be to vaccinate people who have yet to receive a single dose.

He called on Pfizer and Moderna to “go all out to supply Covax, the Africa Vaccine Acquisition Task Team and low and middle-income countries with very little coverage,” referring to the UN-backed initiative to distribute vaccines globally.

After a 10-week drop in global coronavirus deaths, Tedros said the number of Covid patients dying daily is again beginning to climb and that the extremely infectious delta variant is “driving catastrophic waves of cases.”

Both Pfizer and Moderna have agreed to supply small amounts of their vaccines to Covax, but the vast majority of their doses have been reserved by rich countries.

Hello and welcome to today’s live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.

Top officials at the World Health Organization say there’s not enough evidence to show that third doses of coronavirus vaccines are needed and appealed Monday for the scarce shots to be shared with poor countries who have yet to immunise their people instead of being used by rich countries as boosters.

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‘Mixed advice’ driving Covid vaccine hesitancy in pregnant UK women

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Exclusive: campaign group warns of ‘wildfire’ of negative messaging given by healthcare professionals

Pregnant women are being given dangerously mixed messaging from health professionals, with figures suggesting a “very high” vaccine hesitancy among the vulnerable group, according to campaigners.

Three-quarters of pregnant women in the UK feel anxious about the easing of coronavirus restrictions with many saying the move is like “another lockdown” for expectant mothers, according to a survey of about 9,000 pregnant women by campaigning group Pregnant Then Screwed.

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Two apartment blocks in hard lockdown in Sydney and Melbourne to contain Covid outbreak

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Residents in Bondi Junction under police guard after eight cases in block, while residents in Maribyrnong building ordered to isolate after an infected removalist worked there

Concerns about the spread of the Delta variant in apartment buildings has prompted a hard lockdown of two residential complexes in Sydney and Melbourne.

An apartment building in Bondi Junction in Sydney’s east remains under police guard after eight cases of Covid-19 were detected across five of the 29 apartments, while residents of an apartment building in Maribyrnong in Melbourne’s north-western suburbs, have been ordered to isolate after a removalist with Covid worked there last week.

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Dozens die after fire in Covid isolation ward at hospital in southern Iraq

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Death toll expected to rise as search operations at al-Hussain coronavirus hospital in Nasiriyah continue

At least 50 people have died after a fire tore through the Covid isolation ward at a hospital in the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah.

The death toll is expected to rise, as search operations at al-Hussain coronavirus hospital continued after the fire was brought under control. Sixteen people were rescued from the burning building.

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France mandates Covid health pass for restaurants and cafés

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The permits will also be required for entry to hospitals, shopping centres and to board long-distance trains

Anyone entering a restaurant, café, shopping centre, hospital or taking a long-distance train in France will have to show a special Covid health pass from August, Emmanuel Macron has announced, as France tightens restrictions to contain the surging Delta variant.

The same Covid health pass – which shows that a person has been vaccinated or had a recent negative Covid test – will be similarly required for anyone over the age of 12 to enter a cinema, theatre, museum, theme park or cultural centre from as early as 21 July, the president said, in a bid to pressure more French people to take up vaccines.

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Almost one in three globally go hungry during pandemic – UN

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Big leap in malnutrition during Covid, with fifth of children now believed to be stunted, report warns

The number of people who did not have enough food to eat rose steeply during the Covid-19 pandemic to include almost a third of the world, according to a new UN report published on Monday.

Five UN agencies said the number of people without access to healthy diets grew by 320 million last year to nearly 2.37 billion people– more than the increases in the previous five years combined.

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No Gangnam Style: South Korea Covid rules enforce slower music in gyms

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Authorities add requirement that workout tunes must not exceed 120 beats per minute in group exercises

Plenty of gymgoers rely on a good tune to get themselves through that workout, but in South Korea their musical options have just reduced significantly under new Covid-19 rules.

To the standard restrictions such as social distancing and travel curbs, South Korea has added a requirement that gyms do not play music with higher than 120 beats per minute (bpm) during group exercises such as aerobics and spinning.

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Hygiene theatre: how excessive cleaning gives us a false sense of security

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Covid-19 is a mainly airborne disease. So does our endless disinfecting and hand sanitising serve any purpose – or could it be worse than useless?

Claudia, a 26-year-old beauty worker, dreads it when her clients ask to go to the toilet. “It’s a whole other thing to clean,” she says. “They could have touched anything in there. I have to wipe down the whole thing with antibacterial spray and wipes.”

It is her job to maintain stringent cleaning protocols at the London skincare clinic where she works. When clients arrive for their appointments, Claudia checks them in, offers them a drink – the clinic only uses disposable cups or plastic water bottles – and takes them through to the treatment room.

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Taiwan tech companies buy 10m Covid vaccine doses in deal that sidesteps China

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Beijing had offered Taiwan the vaccines, amid a major shortage on the island, but Taiwan’s ruling party did not want to deal with China directly

Major Taiwanese tech companies have inked a deal to buy 10m vaccine doses for Taiwan, sidestepping months of complicated geopolitical wrangling between Beijing and Taipei.

The US$350m purchase from German manufacturer BioNTech, is split between TSMC, the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturer, and Foxconn, one of the world’s largest contract electronics makers, and its charity foundation. The two companies will donate the vaccines to Taiwan’s central epidemic command centre for distribution.

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