Warrant issued after state ended orders requiring masks in public places, though many businesses have kept their own rules in place
An arrest warrant was issued for a woman who refused to wear a mask at a Texas bank, saying to a police officer: “What are you going to do, arrest me?”
Related: 'It’s every man for himself': the Texans defying end of mask mandate
Continue reading...French firefighters in southern region won’t get AstraZeneca jab; Dutch watchdog says possible thrombosis among cases
Japan’s Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd has said it has signed an agreement with contract manufacturer IDT Biologika GmbH to manufacture Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose Covid vaccine, according to Reuters.
Reuters reports:
Firemen in France’s southern Bouches-du-Rhone region have suspended the use of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine for their staff after signs of negative side-effects, reported BFM TV and AFP, fuelling concerns related to the product.
France and Germany have decided to continue administering the shot while other European countries, including Ireland, Norway and the Netherlands, have suspended its use on safety grounds.
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A US Capitol police officer was suspended after antisemitic reading material was discovered near his work area on Monday.
A) USCP: Monday, U.S. Capitol Police Acting Chief Yogananda Pittman ordered an officer to be suspended after anti-Semitic reading material was discovered near his work area on Sunday.
B) USCP: The officer will remain suspended pending the outcome of an investigation by the Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility.
C) USCP: “We take all allegations of inappropriate behavior seriously. Once this matter was brought to my attention, I immediately ordered the officer to be suspended until the Office of Professional Responsibility can thoroughly investigate,” said Acting Chief Pittman.
Continue reading...Despite vaccine hesitancy, figures show a big drop in infections – giving hope that, after a brutal year, an end is in sight
Joan Phillips, a certified nursing assistant in a Florida nursing home, loved her job but dreaded the danger of going to work in the pandemic. When vaccines became available in December, she jumped at the chance to get one.
Months later, it appears that danger has faded. After the rollout of Covid vaccines, the number of new Covid cases among nursing home staff fell 83% – from 28,802 for the week ending 20 December to 4,764 for the week ending 14 February, data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services shows.
Continue reading...It’s human nature to spot patterns in data. But we should be careful about finding causal links where none may exist
Stories about people getting blood clots soon after taking the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine have become a source of anxiety among European leaders. After a report on a death and three hospitalisations in Norway, which found serious blood clotting in adults who had received the vaccine, Ireland has temporarily suspended the jab. Some anxiety about a new vaccine is understandable, and any suspected reactions should be investigated. But in the current circumstances we need to think slow as well as fast, and resist drawing causal links between events where none may exist.
As Ireland’s deputy chief medical officer, Ronan Glynn, has stressed, there is no proof that this vaccine causes blood clots. It’s a common human tendency to attribute a causal effect between different events, even when there isn’t one present: we wash the car and the next day a bird relieves itself all over the bonnet. Typical. Or, more seriously, someone is diagnosed with autism after receiving the MMR vaccine, so people assume a causal connection – even when there isn’t one. And now, people get blood clots after having a vaccine, leading to concern over whether the vaccine is what caused the blood clots.
Continue reading...Prof Karina Butler says Irish health authority recommendation after unproven reports of blood clotting is down to ‘an abundance of caution’
Brazil has reported 1,127 further Covid-19 deaths in the past 24 hours and 43,812 new cases of the coronavirus, the health ministry said as the pandemic’s most lethal week for the country comes to an end.
The South American country has now registered a total of 11,483,370 cases, Reuters reports.
France must do everything to avoid another lockdown as pressure on hospitals grows, prime minister Jean Castex has said as the country added more than 26,000 new cases to its tally.
Rather than send the country into a third national lockdown, the French government has implemented a 6pm nationwide curfew and weekend lockdowns in two hotspot regions while shutting shopping centres.
We have to use all weapons available to avoid a lockdown. I’ve never hid it, let’s vaccinate, protect ourselves, get tested,” Castex said on Sunday.
The situation is not getting better, there is a higher and higher number of infections and hospitals are very burdened with many patients, whose average age is getting lower and who don’t always have comorbidities.”
Continue reading...Acclaimed musician celebrated receiving his second vaccine dose by performing for those waiting in line
Internationally acclaimed cellist Yo-Yo Ma celebrated receiving his second dose of the coronavirus vaccine by performing an impromptu concert for those waiting in line after him.
Ma, who has won 18 Grammy Awards and sold millions of records during his career, was filmed performing in a mask at the vaccine site in Berkshire Community College, Massachusetts, on Saturday.
Continue reading...Analysis: the police’s handling of the Sarah Everard vigil raises questions over whether authorities are going too far
Defending the Metropolitan police’s handling of Saturday night’s Sarah Everard vigil, assistant commissioner Helen Ball argued the force had to act “because of the overriding need to protect people’s safety” from the threat of coronavirus. Yet last year’s Black Lives Matter protests in some 300 US cities did not cause a spike in cases there, a July report from the National Bureau of Economic Research found. The outdoor air played a part in dispelling the virus and, in cities with big rallies, infections even fell because those who did not take part stayed home instead of shopping or eating out – activities that carry a greater risk.
While not an exact parallel with the Clapham Common event, it suggests even huge and noisy protests, where thousands of people are shouting and chanting, are not necessarily cauldrons for infection. And they can be done safely, according to the human rights organisation Liberty. For example a socially distanced rally was held in Tel Aviv in April last year against the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, with thousands of people shouting and waving banners each in their own space, two metres apart.
Continue reading...Manx government has run strict regime to keep island virus-free but isolation exemption for ferry workers causes anger
On Friday, the chief minister of the Isle of Man announced some bad news. A patient in the island’s Noble’s hospital had died from coronavirus, he said, the first Manx Covid death since 5 November.
Howard Quayle said he knew the news would “come as a blow” to the Isle of Man’s 85,000 residents. “The death of a member of our island community is a painful reminder of how dangerous this virus is,” he added.
Continue reading...Deployment of Oxford vaccine temporarily deferred after latest reports from Norway
Ireland is suspending use of the Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine as a precautionary measure following further reports of blood clots in people who have received it, this time from Norway.
The deputy chief medical officer, Dr Ronan Glynn, said Ireland’s advisory body on vaccines had recommended that deployment of the AstraZeneca jab should be “temporarily deferred” with immediate effect. He stressed, though, that there was no proof that the vaccine had caused blood clots.
Continue reading...New variants blamed as Italy, France, Germany and Poland see infection rates surge
A third wave of the Covid pandemic is now advancing swiftly across much of Europe. As a result, many nations – bogged down by sluggish vaccination campaigns – are witnessing sharp rises in infection rates and numbers of cases.
The infection rate in the EU is now at its highest level since the beginning of February, with the spread of new variants of the Covid-19 virus being blamed for much of the recent increase.
Continue reading...Germany warns cases could hit Christmas peak by April; Australia records first local Covid case in more than two weeks; Poland reports rise in daily cases
In Australia a person who works in two Sydney quarantine hotels has tested positive to Covid-19.New South Wales health said it was notified of the new infection late last night. Urgent genomic testing is underway to determine the source of the infection, and the person’s close contacts have also been tested. It is the first locally-acquired case in 55 days in NSW. It’s not counted in today’s numbers but will be included in tomorrow’s.
NSW Health was notified late last night of a new case of COVID-19 in a person who works at two Sydney hotels which provide hotel quarantine for returned travellers. This case will be included in tomorrow’s numbers. pic.twitter.com/seNuUfBHBD
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If deal goes ahead Singapore could become a quarantine gateway for vaccinated stranded Australians and other travellers
The Australian government is working on a plan to create a travel bubble with Singapore.
If struck, the deal could also establish Singapore as a quarantine gateway for travellers on their way to Australia, the Age and Sydney Morning Herald report. Deputy prime minister Michael McCormack confirmed the government was working on the plan on the ABC on Sunday morning.
Continue reading...US bought enough doses to vaccinate whole eligible population twice, but continues to resist sharing in effort to ‘over-prepare’
The US is under increasing pressure to share Covid-19 vaccine doses with less wealthy nations, as advocates call for prevention of an emerging “vaccine apartheid” and point to the strategic and diplomatic importance of sharing essential medicines.
Calls to share vaccine doses grew louder this week after the Biden administration announced an additional purchase of 100 million vaccine doses from Johnson & Johnson. The American government has now bought enough doses of vaccines from Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson to vaccinate 500 million people – nearly the entire eligible population twice over.
Continue reading...At least six patients in died due to shortage of oxygen supplies, state media reports
Jordan’s health minister has stepped down after at least six patients in a hospital Covid-19 patient ward died due to a shortage of oxygen supplies, state media reported.
The Jordanian prime minister, Bisher al-Khasawneh, ordered an investigation into the deaths early on Saturday morning at a government hospital in the town of Salt, 13 miles (20km) north of the capital, Amman.
Continue reading...Corinne Masiero criticises coronavirus strategy with words ‘no culture no future’ on her chest
A French actor stripped naked on stage during a scaled-back César Awards ceremony in Paris to protest against the government’s closure of theatres and cinemas during the coronavirus pandemic.
Corinne Masiero had “no culture no future” written on her chest and “give us art back Jean” on her back, in a message to the prime minister, Jean Castex.
Continue reading...Analysis: Biden is riding high in polls and his American Rescue Plan is popular with Americans – he must build momentum to avoid the fate of Obama
In the White House Rose Garden, where for four years Donald Trump raucously celebrated political wins with his allies, it was now the turn of Democrats to take a victory lap – masked and physically distanced, of course.
Kamala Harris, the vice-president, heaped praise on Joe Biden for signing a $1.9tn coronavirus relief bill, the biggest expansion of the American welfare state in decades. “Your empathy has become a trademark of your presidency and can be found on each and every page of the American Rescue Plan,” Harris said.
Continue reading...Last year, Jair Bolsonaro declared Brazil had reached ‘the tail end’ of one of the world’s worst outbreaks. Three months later the country has lost almost 100,000 more lives
It was midway through February when André Machado realized Brazil’s coronavirus catastrophe was racing into a bewildering and remorseless new phase. “The floodgates opened and the water came gushing out,” recalled the infectious disease specialist from the Our Lady of the Conception hospital in Porto Alegre, one of the largest cities in southern Brazil.
Related: Experts warn Brazil facing darkest days of Covid crisis as deaths hit highest level
Continue reading...A psychiatrist advises us not to catastrophise post-Covid life and to be compassionate towards others
First of all, it’s normal to be anxious when there’s such a big change for us as a society. I think the last time there was something similar was post-9/11 when people had to adjust to using transport at a time when people were anxious about that.
The “re-entry” syndrome people might be experiencing as lockdown ends is part of a healthy readjustment and something that people have to deal with when they’ve been off sick or on maternity leave for long periods.
Continue reading...Birx, who was criticised for not standing up to Trump over Covid, takes job with Texas company that says its purifiers clean virus from the air
Dr Deborah Birx, the former Trump White House coronavirus taskforce coordinator, is taking a private sector job, joining a Texas manufacturer that says its purifiers clean Covid-19 from the air within minutes and from surfaces within hours.
Birx will join Dallas-based ActivePure as chief scientific and medical adviser, she and the company said on Friday.
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