Category Archives: Coronavirus

Australian ad showing Covid patient gasping for air ‘could increase vaccine hesitancy’

Posted on by

Scare campaigns can make people more fearful of jab side-effects, expert says

A new Australian government Covid awareness advertisement featuring a young woman gasping for air in a hospital bed has been criticised for leaning into scare tactics and for urging vaccination among a group who are still not eligible for the recommended vaccine.

The federal government released two ads at the weekend, one featuring the young woman, which also carries a message for people to stay at home and get tested, and the other showing a parade of arms bearing Band-Aids after vaccination with the tagline: “Arm yourself against Covid-19.”

Continue reading...

Australia Covid news live: NSW expecting more than 100 coronavirus cases; government ads spark backlash

Posted on by

Sydney braces for spike in cases of Delta variant as Victoria closes border to NSW. Follow the latest updates, live

We are expecting to hear from the Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk in about five minutes.

Don’t think Adelaide is safe from the soccer celebrations!

pic.twitter.com/UB97AZ0A7W

Continue reading...

Covid unlocking on 19 July must come with a warning, says Johnson

Posted on by

Ministers are told easing of restrictions could be accompanied by 2m new cases in coming weeks

Boris Johnson has said caution is “absolutely vital” before the abandonment of virtually all formal Covid restrictions as ministers toughen their language amid expectations of soaring infection rates.

The Guardian understands that ministers have been told to brace for at least one to two million new cases of coronavirus in the coming weeks, though the vaccination programme means far smaller proportions of those infected will be hospitalised and die than in previous waves.

Continue reading...

Fauci says no immediate need for Covid booster for fully vaccinated Americans

Posted on by

Biden chief medical adviser says guidance may change in future as Pfizer suggests booster ‘may be beneficial’ after six months

Dr Anthony Fauci has said there is no immediate need for a Covid-19 booster for fully vaccinated Americans but remained open to the possibility in the future, as reports suggest that one major pharmaceutical company plans to lobby government officials to approve booster shots next week.

Pharmaceutical company Pfizer announced last week that it had observed that its vaccine, while effective against the virus, had “a decline in efficacy against symptomatic disease over time”. The company suggested that as new variants continue to emerge a booster shot after six months “may be beneficial”.

Continue reading...

‘Inadequate’: Covid breaches on the rise in Australia’s hotel quarantine

Posted on by

Experts say the current system is bound to leak and might be unsustainable in the face of more transmissible strains such as Delta

Breaches of Australia’s quarantine system have substantially increased this year, with data showing there have been as many leaks recorded in the past three months as there were last year.

There have been up to 30 breaches – where a community case of Covid has been traced back to an infection in quarantine – since the system was established in March last year for Australian citizens and permanent residents returning home. Twenty of those occurred this year.

Continue reading...

Ugandan minister blames west for Covid vaccine shortage

Posted on by

Chris Baryomunsi says Uganda unable to obtain more shots because ‘western world has focused on its population’

A Ugandan government minister has blamed the west for his country’s inability to secure more Covid-19 vaccines, as the World Health Organization warned Africa urgently needed hundreds millions more jabs to fend off a surging third wave of infections.

Chris Baryomunsi said Uganda had been able to vaccinate more than a million people but was unable to obtain further shots.

Continue reading...

UK food worker shortages push prices up and risk Christmas turkey supplies

Posted on by

Dearth of delivery drivers, abattoir staff and fruit pickers caused by Covid and Brexit are fuelling wage rises with 5% hike in prices forecast

Food prices could rise by about 5% by the autumn – and turkeys and pigs in blankets could be in short supply this Christmas – as shortages of delivery drivers, abattoir staff and other workers drive up pay and other costs.

Industry insiders say that pay for lorry drivers and other supply chain workers, including abbatoir workers, plus vegetable and fruit pickers and packers have all risen because of difficulties in finding sufficient staff.

Continue reading...

Covid live: public in England expected to wear masks when measures lift; Indonesia reports 1,007 daily deaths

Posted on by

UK minister says mask guidance indoors is set to stay in England; Indonesian death toll rises to total of 66,464 after deadly day

The Press Association have written up warnings expressed by Sir David Spiegelhalter on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show today that life is likely to be “massively disrupted” by people being told to self-isolate as the number of coronavirus cases rises over the summer.

The statistician said it would make sense to get the rules “in proportion” today as vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi confirmed the Government was looking at ways to tweak the NHS Covid app.

Few people told to self-isolate actually have an infection, and especially if they’re vaxxed, and so I do think it makes sense to get this in proportion to actually ‘what are the benefits of this massive disruption

The team are looking at how we use that app in terms of alerting people to those around them who test positive.

It’s important to look at that in a new context of this massive vaccination programme and make sure that it is fit for purpose for this new world including, for example, being able to take maybe five days, as we have piloted, of lateral flow tests and upload them to the system rather than having to self-isolate.

In Libya, Al-Wasat news is reporting that the country has recorded a record number of coronavirus cases.

The National Center for Disease Control announced the registration of 2,854 new cases of the “emerging corona virus”, in addition to 376 cases of recovery, and 8 deaths, in the highest number of infections since March 2020.

Continue reading...

Israel offers Covid vaccine booster shots to at-risk adults

Posted on by

Third Pfizer jabs made available to those with weak immune systems as Delta variant fuels rise in infections

Israel said on Sunday that it would begin to offer a booster shot of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine to adults with weak immune systems, but that it was still weighing up whether they should be given to the general public.

The rapid spread of the Delta variant has fuelled a rise in the number of new infections from single digits a month ago to around 450 a day, and the country has moved to fast-track its next Pfizer shipment.

Continue reading...

Irish people in Britain to get green light to visit friends and family

Posted on by

Europe’s strictest border controls to be relaxed as Ireland prepares to allow visits for essential reasons

Up to 400,000 Irish people in Britain are to be given the green light to visit family and friends at home for the first time in six months as Ireland prepares to lift the strictest border controls in Europe.

Only those with essential reasons such as haulage, health or funeral attendance have been allowed to enter the country since the border restrictions were imposed in January.

Continue reading...

My year in Taiwan shows the virus will exploit any hint of complacency

Posted on by

I’ve had an almost pandemic-free existence reporting from the island, but it hasn’t all been a smooth ride

For much of this year, I’ve lived a mostly Covid-free life. Taiwan wasn’t just lucky. It had been traumatised by Sars, which it didn’t handle well, and established comprehensive epidemic plans for the next time. There was no talk of herd immunity or accepting mass deaths as inevitable. As far as Taiwan was concerned, Covid-19 wasn’t getting in, and if it tried they were ready.

Taiwan took full advantage of being an island to quarantine itself from the world. It funnelled entrants through a tightly controlled system defined by extreme caution.

Continue reading...

Freedom day? Boris Johnson faces a tough call as Covid cases soar

Posted on by

The prime minister seems intent on lifting England’s remaining Covid restrictions on 19 July. But many in the NHS fear it could be overwhelmed – and tourist hotspots are fearful too

With foreign holidays still in doubt and Cornwall filling up by the day, Jessica Webb has a unique perspective on “freedom day”. With her sister, Naomi, and her father, Spence, she helps run Falmouth Surf School and Watersports on Maenporth beach. Bookings for surf lessons are strong, and Jessica, 38, has started running yoga classes on paddleboards anchored in the cove to cope with excess demand.

She is also a part-time healthcare assistant in the A&E department at Cornwall’s only major hospital, in Treliske. “Even now, before the summer holidays have started, we don’t have enough staff in the hospital, people are waiting hours at A&E, the ambulances are all parked up outside,” she says. “There’s just so little capacity and so few beds – even for the people that live here all the time, let alone all the holidaymakers.

Continue reading...

NSW records 77 new cases and one death as new mask and travel rules issued – as it happened

Posted on by

Masks must be worn in all indoor construction sites across NSW and from 13 July in residential common areas as new restrictions placed on people entering greater Sydney. This blog is now closed

That’s where we’ll end today’s live coverage of Covid news.

Here are the key developments:

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners and the Australian Medical Association have both backed NSW Health’s call for Sydney residents to bring their second shot of AstraZeneca forward to six weeks after the first dose.

Both the RACGP and the AMA said that the six week window made sense, as it would provide quicker protection against catching, spreading and also potentially dying from Covid-19.

We will definitely will be looking at giving boosters for those who get it early.

You will actually have a benefit from coming in early, because we’ll keep you on that list.”

Related: NSW urges people to bring forward second AstraZeneca dose to six weeks from first

Continue reading...

More sex. Fewer fights. Has the pandemic actually been good for relationships?

Posted on by

A poll finds American adults are happy with their partnerships, perhaps because lockdown has pushed couples to grow

From the earliest days of the pandemic, experts anticipated that the stress of Covid-19 would wreak havoc on romantic relationships (and in some cases, they were right). But one recent survey suggests what few people could have predicted: for many of the couples that persevered, the pandemic may have actually improved the relationship.

According to a national poll released in February by Monmouth University, a whopping 70% of romantically committed American adults are “extremely satisfied” in their relationships. This figure marks a more than 11-point increase over previous installations of the survey, which the university has conducted for more than six years.

Continue reading...

Is it wise to lift England’s Covid restrictions fully?

Posted on by

The cases for and against the final easing of rules on ‘freedom day’ of 19 July

At the start of this pandemic, one key ethical justification for restrictions was to protect the NHS from being overwhelmed. Yet, despite rapidly rising cases, the number of patients in hospital with Covid has remained relatively low (similar to the start of October). It is clear that the vaccination programme is reducing deaths and hospital admissions from Covid-19. The benefit of continuing restrictions is now far smaller than it was.

Continue reading...

Woman, 90, infected with Alpha and Beta Covid variants at the same time

Posted on by

Researchers warn ‘phenomenon is probably underestimated’ after the death of woman in Belgium

A 90-year-old Belgian woman who died after falling ill with Covid-19 was infected with both the Alpha and Beta variants of the coronavirus at the same time, researchers have said.

The unvaccinated woman was admitted to the OLV hospital in the city of Aalst after a spate of falls in March and tested positive for Covid-19 the same day.

Continue reading...

Coronavirus live: police urge ticketless England fans not to travel to London; Fukushima to ban spectators from Olympic events

Posted on by

Met urges England fans not to gather in large numbers in capital for the Euro 2020 final on Sunday due to ‘ongoing public health crisis’

Seven people have died and 2,190 new people have been infected with coronavirus in Scotland in the past 24 hours.

The latest figures from the Scottish government show the daily test positivity rate is at 9% with 435 people are in hospital.

A fifth of staff could be absent from one NHS trust in England within three weeks from now, a representative organisation has warned, due in part to staff having to self-isolate amid rising coronavirus infections.

NHS Providers, a membership organisation of NHS trusts in England, said the staff shortage, also caused by people taking annual leave delayed by the pandemic, could lead to 900 operations being cancelled. It declined to name the trust.

Continue reading...

G20 backs crackdown on multinationals’ use of tax havens

Posted on by

Finance chiefs endorse landmark move to prevent profits being shifted to low-tax countries

Finance chiefs of the G20 economies have endorsed a landmark move to stop multinationals shifting profits to tax havens and will also warn that Covid variants threaten the global economic recovery.

At talks on Saturday, they also acknowledged the need to ensure fair access to vaccines in poorer countries. But a draft communique to be rubber-stamped at the meeting in Venice did not contain specific proposals on how to achieve that.

Continue reading...

Ursula von der Leyen says EU has reached Covid vaccine target

Posted on by

Commission president says EU has delivered enough vaccine to inoculate 70% of adults in the bloc

The EU has delivered enough coronavirus vaccine doses to member states to reach a target to fully vaccinate at least 70% of adults in the bloc, the European Commission chief, Ursula von der Leyen, said in a statement on Saturday.

Von der Leyen, who had tweeted on 9 May that the EU was on track to meet its goal of inoculating 70% of adults by summer, urged EU countries to increase vaccinations and said about 500m doses would be distributed across the union by Sunday.

Continue reading...

Meals by wheels: UK drive-through booms as brands invest in new sites

Posted on by

Social distancing is feeding an appetite for a new generation of US-style drive-through restaurants

Drive-through restaurants used to be a US-inspired novelty but a big increase in custom during the pandemic means money is pouring into new UK sites, with even upmarket names looking to serve food through car windows for the first time.

New property research suggests that demand for drive-throughs has increased by 25% post-Covid with restaurant chains looking to open a total of 200 sites a year. The clamour comes as established names such as McDonald’s and Burger King face competition from North American brands such as Tim Hortons, famous for its coffee and doughnuts, and burger chain Wendy’s.

Continue reading...