My turn for an AstraZeneca dose has come up, so I need to decide whether to drop out of Novavax tests
I had two excellent pieces of news this week. They left me feeling utterly wretched.
First, my turn came up for the AstraZeneca vaccine against Covid. I was told I could have my first jab on Thursday.
Continue reading...Daniel Craig’s final outing as 007 hit by coronavirus disruption, along with Ghostbusters sequel and Cinderella
James Bond film No Time To Die has been delayed again as Hollywood grapples with the continued disruption caused by the pandemic.
Daniel Craig’s final outing as 007 will now arrive on 8 October, the official Bond Twitter account announced. It had been set to be released in April following multiple pandemic-enforced delays.
Continue reading...Airline will fly to Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane from Monday; Spanish star Paula Badosa has coronavirus. Follow all the latest news and updates, live
Daniel Andrews frustrated by the decision to award an Australia Day honour to Margaret Court:
Do we really have to do this every single summer? But apparently we do. I thought we might not have had to have this debate this summer.
But anyway, others have saw fit to honour her in that way. They’re not decisions that I make; you’ve asked me if I support it, I’ve indicated no, and I’ve also given a sense of why.
More from Andrews on Margaret Court receiving an Australia Day honour. He invokes the recent debate in Victorian parliament about outlawing gay conversion therapy in the state:
I think calling out bigotry is always important. We have just had a debate in the parliament of Victoria to outlaw the bigoted quackery that costs lives.
My position on this has been consistent. I don’t seek to quarrel with people but I’ve been asked a question and I’ve answered it.
Continue reading...Germany says first case of Brazilian version of virus discovered in Hesse; AstraZeneca blames production glitch for delivery shortfall
Belgium is banning all leisure travel abroad for its citizens as of next week and until March in an effort to contain the spread of Covid-19, AP reports.
Prime minister Alexander De Croo said that “when people travel, the virus travels with them.”
Public outrage is growing in Spain as cases of politicians and well-connected opportunists jumping the queue in the coronavirus vaccination campaign come to light, even as delivery delays have forced some regions to stop new inoculations, AP reports.
Spain’s defence ministry has been the latest governmental department to launch an internal inquiry to find out if the military top brass dodged coronavirus vaccine protocols by receiving a jab before their turn.
Continue reading...Dr Anthony Fauci made not-so-veiled critiques of the Trump administration during a White House press briefing on Thursday. He said the new administration meant he did not need to ‘guess’ when he didn’t know the answer to questions.
The health expert said the new administration felt ‘liberating’ and he did not take pleasure correcting the president and facing consequences for doing so.
But Fauci pushed back against the characterization from some Biden officials that the new administration has to start ‘from scratch’ on coronavirus vaccine distribution
Continue reading...Joe Biden has urged Americans to wear face masks for 99 days as part of a challenge for his first 100 days in office during a speech on Thursday in which he unveiled his administrations’s national Covid strategy.
Biden signed an executive order to mandate face coverings during interstate travel and within federal buildings as he noted the US coronavirus death toll is higher than that from the second world war.
Continue reading...Administration’s strategy is based on seven major goals, including restoring public trust in government efforts
Joe Biden signed another set of executive actions on Thursday, his first full day in the White House, aimed at making good on his plans to use the might of the federal government to end the coronavirus pandemic.
Continue reading...No 10 wary of talking about easing restrictions as infection rate remains high
Boris Johnson raised fears that tough Covid restrictions could continue well into the spring and beyond on Thursday as ministers refused to be drawn on plans for any potential easing of lockdown.
While the vast majority of Tory MPs have toed the line since the new variant of the virus sent cases soaring, Downing Street’s reticence is already causing anxiety among a few backbenchers, who are urging an easing of the restrictions if vaccination rates stay on target.
Continue reading...Joe Biden wasted no time as the newly elected president of the United States by signing a flurry of executive orders on issues including Covid-19, immigration and the environment.
Some of the executive actions undo policies from Donald Trump’s administration, including halting the travel ban from Muslim-majority countries, and ending the national emergency declaration used to justify funding construction of a wall on the US-Mexico border
Continue reading...Government says restrictions likely to remain in place through vital half-term period
French ski resorts have been warned they are unlikely to be allowed to fully reopen in time for the half-term school holidays, normally one of the busiest times of the year.
The government has announced that lifts and cable cars must remain closed due to the continuing Covid-19 spread. Ski resorts had been hoping to restart the lifts on 1 February in time for what are known as the winter sports holidays, when they are usually packed.
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The American Medical Association has welcomed the Biden administration’s moves to boost the production of PPE and vaccines.
“Since March, the AMA has called on the federal government to implement a coordinated national strategy and pull every lever to ramp up PPE production for N95 masks, gowns, gloves, as well as testing supplies - and coordinate distribution,” said the organization’s president, Susan R. Bailey.
Thank goodness pic.twitter.com/mDZdR9FVIR
McConnell said in a statement that he has sent a timeline for the impeachment trial to Schumer, implying that rushing a trial would be unfair.
“Senate Republicans are strongly united behind the principle that the institution of the Senate, the office of the presidency, and former President Trump himself all deserve a full and fair process that respects his rights and the serious factual, legal, and constitutional questions at stake,” he said.
Move aimed at tackling spread of new variant; Cloth masks ‘fail to provide enough protection’; Rio carnival cannot be held even in middle of year, warns city mayor
Japan’s government has privately concluded the Tokyo Olympics will have to be cancelled because of the coronavirus, The Times has reported, citing an unnamed senior member of the ruling coalition.
The government’s focus is now on securing the games for Tokyo in the next available year, 2032, the newspaper said.
French president Emmanuel Macron said France will make PCR tests compulsory for all travellers into France from Sunday, including from fellow EU countries, Reuters reports.
Cross-border workers and land transportation will be exempt from that obligation, the French presidency added. The test will have to be carried out no later than 72 hours before departure.
Continue reading...Six healthcare workers share how they are coping after nearly a year on the UK’s Covid frontline
With the UK reaching record levels of coronavirus cases in January, pressure on those working in frontline health services has never been greater.
From paramedics to intensive care nurses, the Guardian speaks to six healthcare workers about how they’re coping during the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, and how it compares with the first.
Continue reading...Movement restrictions at EU internal borders will also dominate debate between 27 chiefs
The European Union could ban travellers from Britain and restrict movement at the bloc’s own internal borders under proposals to be debated by leaders at a videoconference summit.
The need to clamp down on the spread of the new variants of coronavirus will dominate discussions between the 27 heads of state and government on Thursday evening.
Continue reading...As new Covid variants emerge, scientists advise use of FFP masks that filter inflow and outflow of air
Scientists have urged Britons to wear medical-grade masks when they cannot physically distance, amid growing concerns of faster-spreading Covid-19 variants – but said that any face covering is better than none at all.
This week French health officials advised people to wear surgical masks rather than homemade fabric ones as these afford greater protection against highly contagious new variants.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Adapted single-deckers with seats removed and oxygen onboard will transfer patients
NHS staff are preparing to transport patients using two London buses that have been converted into makeshift ambulances, in another sign of the strain Covid is putting on the capital’s health services.
Most of the seats on the single-decker buses have been removed so that each can carry four patients, in an attempt to relieve the intense pressure on hospitals and the London ambulance service.
Continue reading...Hollywood star and former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger shared a video of himself receiving his first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. The 73-year-old visited a vaccination clinic at Dodger stadium in Los Angeles after residents aged 65 and over were able to receive dosages. The star of the Terminator franchise encouraged others to receive the vaccine, using one of the series' famous catchphrases: 'Come with me if you want to live'
Continue reading...Britain records biggest ever daily increase for second day in a row, as new cases rise sharply
The daily number of coronavirus deaths has reached 1,820, the highest since the pandemic began.
The number of new cases rose sharply to 38,905, after initially falling earlier in the week, which prompted hopes that lockdown restrictions were working.
Continue reading...Low uptake fuelled by fears over safety of vaccine and spread of misinformation
India’s Covid-19 vaccine drive has been hampered by turnout as low as 22% in some states, as fears over the safety of the vaccine and the spread of misinformation has fuelled widespread hesitancy.
On Saturday, India launched the world’s largest vaccination programme as it began the massive task of vaccinating its 1.3 billion citizens against coronavirus.
Continue reading...Unemployment – especially among the young – falling living standards and lockdowns have sparked riots across the country
Ettadhamen, a marginalised district on the outskirts of Tunis, wears unrest well. Over the weekend and into this week, violent protests have dominated life in this overlooked and restive place.
The district is not unique. Over the past few days, protests have erupted in working-class neighbourhoods in at least 15 locations across Tunisia, in response to declining living conditions, poverty and endemic unemployment, especially among the country’s young people.
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