Category Archives: Coronavirus

‘I don’t wear trousers unless I leave the house’: lessons from a year of lockdown dressing

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From going braless and wearing black – to therapists in ‘sympathetic necklines’ and politicians in fleeces, readers reflect on a year of getting dressed in the pandemic

It is a white linen suit that Perry Seymour misses the most. “It serves so many purposes, but always reminds me of summer nights,” he says.

Slim-fitting and miraculously stain-free, it is what he wore in the garden to celebrate his 55th birthday last July. Not that anyone saw it. “I never thought I dressed for anyone else, but I’ve found, without occasions or parties, I have no motivation to get dressed at all. These days, I don’t wear trousers unless I leave the house.”

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Coronavirus live news: doorstep vigils take place across UK; Spain to lift curbs on UK arrivals

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‘Beacon of remembrance’ tribute sees public light candles, torches and phones to honour those who have died; Spain to change rules on 30 March after UK vaccination success

Spain’s coronavirus infection rate edged up on Tuesday, highlighting concerns that a long decline that last week carried it to its lowest level since August is in danger of reversing.

When the infection rate, which is measured over the preceding 14 days, stopped its decline last week, the health minister Carolina Darias warned that an uptick in cases in some regions, including Madrid and Catalonia, could mean a trend change, calling for maximum caution “to avoid a fourth wave”.

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‘A letter tells someone they still matter’: the sudden, surprising return of the pen pal

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In the pandemic, many have rediscovered the sheer pleasure of writing to strangers, with new schemes spreading hope and connection around the world

A few months ago, when the rules had been sufficiently relaxed to allow friends to sit together outside, Liz Maguire had coffee with a woman she had never met. The pair had already been communicating for months, and quickly fell into easy conversation. Later on, this woman tweeted about their meeting, to which another woman replied: “You met Liz Maguire? As in the Liz Maguire?”.

The Liz Maguire is a 27-year-old American expat living in Dublin. Though undoubtedly a celebrity in her chosen field, she is not a professional, but that is simply because she is not paid to do what she loves, which is to write letters to strangers.

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Covid-19: what happens next? – podcast

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On 23 March 2020, the UK prime minister, Boris Johnson, announced the first lockdown in response to the growing number of cases of Covid-19. At the same time, countries around the world began to close their schools, restaurants, and offices and ask citizens to physically distance from one another. In the 12 months since, more than 2 million people have died, viral variants have emerged, and we have developed safe and effective vaccines.

One year into the pandemic, Science Weekly is asking: what happens next? Ian Sample talks to the professors Martin Landray, Mike Tildesley, and Deborah Dunn-Walters about Covid treatments, vaccines and what the next 12 months may hold

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‘I’ve lost who I was’: UK pauses to reflect on year of Covid

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Twelve months after the first lockdown, bereaved relatives and long Covid survivors on how things can never be the same

A year to the day since the UK went into a historic lockdown to combat a frightening and deadly new pandemic, the nation looks back in disbelief and horror. One hundred and twenty six thousand dead. A decimated economy. The reckoning will take decades to pick over.

Tuesday’s day of reflection, organised by the cancer charity Marie Curie and backed by over 110 organisations, will be observed across the nation. A minute’s silence at midday is followed by a doorstep vigil at 8pm. Boris Johnson, Keir Starmer, Nicola Sturgeon and Mark Drakeford are expected to mark the occasion. Prominent buildings and national landmarks will be illuminated in yellow, to commemorate the dead.

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Dexamethasone hailed as lifesaver for up to a million Covid patients worldwide

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Results of Recovery drug trial also credited with successful treatment of 22,000 people in the UK, says NHS England

Dexamethasone – the inexpensive steroid that quickly emerged as a highly effective Covid therapy thanks to a large drug testing programme pioneered by UK scientists – has so far saved the lives of an estimated million people globally, including 22,000 in the UK, according to NHS England.

Called Recovery, the world’s largest randomised Covid-19 drug trial commenced in March 2020 to evaluate the suitability of a suite of different drugs to help hospitalised Covid patients. The study has since been carried out by thousands of doctors and nurses on tens of thousands of patients in hospitals across Britain.

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Relaxing US Covid rules could cause ‘another avoidable surge’, warns CDC director – live

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Dr Rochelle Walensky pleads with Americans to remain vigilant about taking precautions to limit spread of coronavirus

Kamala Harris also told reporters that she plans to visit the US-Mexican border at some point, although she will not be doing so today.

“We were left with a very challenging situation. Let’s get these kids out of [Customs and Border Protection] custody and get them into [Health and Human Services] custody,” the vice-president said, per a pool report.

Kamala Harris is visiting a coronavirus vaccination site in Jacksonville, Florida, as part of the “Help is Here” tour to advertise the benefits of the relief bill.

After landing in Jacksonville, the vice-president took a few questions from reporters about the pandemic and the situation at the US-Mexican border.

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More than 1,000 arrests as Miami Beach pushes spring-break curfew into April

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  • Police condemned for use of ‘pepper balls’ to break up crowds
  • Spring-break curfew in place between Thursdays and Sundays

Miami Beach officials have extended a curfew and state of emergency into April, in response to large spring-break crowds of partygoers who have celebrated in the area’s bars and beaches despite the coronavirus.

Related: Relaxing US Covid rules could cause 'another avoidable surge', warns CDC director – live

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Sturgeon welcomes ‘official, definitive, independent’ ruling she did not breach ministerial code – as it happened

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This live blog is now closed. For more on this story, you read the news report here

The army’s increased deployability and technological advantage will mean that greater effect can be delivered by fewer people. I’ve therefore taken the decision to reduce the size of the army from today’s current strength of 76,500 trade trained personnel to 72,500 by 2025.

The army has not been at its established strength of 82,000 since the middle of last decade.

Related: Coronavirus live news: Germany extends partial lockdown; Irish PM speaks out against vaccine export ban

Douglas Ross, the Scottish Conservative leader, has said that Nicola Sturgeon is not “free and clear”, despite being exonerated by the independent adviser on the ministerial code, because the Scottish parliament’s committee has not yet published its report on her. In a statement he said:

The first minister has been given a pass because it has been judged her ‘failure of recollection’ was ‘not deliberate’.

I respect Mr Hamilton and his judgment but we cannot agree with that assessment. Nicola Sturgeon did not suddenly turn forgetful.

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Can the UK avoid a third wave of Covid?

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Analysis: as lockdown restrictions ease, the country now faces a race between vaccination and infection

Britain’s latest lockdown has dramatically reduced cases of coronavirus, and the number of people being admitted to hospital and dying from the disease. What the country faces now is essentially a race between vaccination and infection: can we protect people faster than the virus spreads as restrictions are eased?

This was always going to be a balancing act. The UK vaccination strategy of prioritising the most vulnerable people and moving down the age groups is intended to save lives first and slow transmission second. This means that as the country unlocks, infections are likely to rise, primarily in younger people who have more social contacts and have not yet been vaccinated. Hospitalisations and deaths are expected to rise too, though not as sharply: even though vaccine coverage has been high in vulnerable groups and older people, not everyone has the vaccine and it will not protect all those who do.

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UK considers Covid traffic light system for international travel

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Countries could be rated red, green and amber based on vaccine passport arrangements

A traffic light system is being considered by ministers for when international travel restarts, which could rate countries green, amber and red depending on the state of vaccine passport agreements.

The Guardian has been told the scheme could come into operation from August, with hotel quarantining continuing until at least 21 June for UK nationals and residents returning to England from countries with high prevalence of coronavirus variants of concern.

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Covid ‘may leave 12 million children unable to read’

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UN finds pandemic is widening education inequality with millions of girls unlikely to return to school

More than half of all children who turn 10 this year will reach their milestone birthday without being able to read a simple sentence, according to a new analysis of UN data.

Of those 70 million 10-year-olds, 11.5 million of them could be unable to read as a direct result of the impact on education of the Covid pandemic.

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Covid: AstraZeneca vaccine 79% effective with no increased blood clot risk – US trial

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Study of over 32,000 people included review of risks of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis

The Covid-19 vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca was 79% effective in preventing symptomatic illness in a large trial in the US, Chile and Peru, the company said on Monday, paving the way for it to apply for US approval.

The vaccine was 100% effective against severe or critical disease and hospitalisation and was safe, the drugmaker said on Monday, releasing results of the late-stage human trial study of more than 32,000 volunteers across all age groups.

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Coronavirus live news: Germany extends partial lockdown; Irish PM speaks out against vaccine export ban

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German leaders extend restrictions until 18 April amid rising infections; Micheál Martin says EU restrictions would be ‘retrograde step’

Nigeria has suspended the airline Emirates from flying into or out of its territory last week after the carrier imposed additional Covid-19 test requirements on passengers from the country.

Reuters reports:

Emirates said last week passenger flights to and from Nigeria had been suspended until further notice in line with government directives, but did not give details.

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Miami Beach spring break chaos: more than 1,000 arrests as Covid curfew extended

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Miami Beach officials have warned that the unruly spring break crowd gathering by the thousands, fighting in the streets, destroying restaurant property and refusing to wear masks has become a serious threat to public safety, after 1,000 arrests were made.

At a last-minute meeting, city officials voted to extend a highly unusual 8pm curfew for another week along famed South Beach, with the possibility of extending it well into April if needed, and stressed this wasn’t the typical spring break crowd. They said it’s not college students, but adults looking to let loose in one of the few states fully open during the pandemic.

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Covid cases in Papua New Guinea triple in a month as doctors warn of ‘danger days’ ahead

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Cases of coronavirus reached record highs on the weekend, as more than 120 hospital staff in Port Moresby hospital test positive

Papua New Guinea has reported a record number of Covid-19 cases over the weekend as doctors warn that the hospital system is in the brink of being overwhelmed and more people could die outside emergency rooms.

The news came as a photograph of a woman who died outside the Port Moresby General Hospital went viral on social media causing outrage with fears the woman’s death was due to hospital being overwhelmed due to Covid-19.

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Allowing summer holidays abroad risks another lockdown, Johnson is warned

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Sage experts are worried about overseas breaks leading to rise in vaccine-resistant variants in UK

Lifting the ban on foreign holidays in the coming months could risk another lockdown next winter, Boris Johnson is being warned, amid mounting alarm about a third wave of infections sweeping continental Europe.

Scientific experts and opposition politicians are urging the government to be extremely cautious before loosening travel restrictions, with their concerns about the prevalence of new variants of the virus overseas increasingly shared by Whitehall.

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EU export ban would delay UK Covid vaccine drive by two months

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Exclusive: Halting distribution would hit Britain badly but not significantly help EU, analysis finds

Britain’s Covid vaccine programme faces a two-month delay in the event of an EU export ban, derailing the government’s plans to reopen the economy this summer, an analysis for the Guardian reveals.

A ban, due to be debated by leaders of the 27 EU member states on Thursday, would badly stall the UK vaccination effort, and would be likely to force the government to extend restrictions on people’s lives.

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