Category Archives: Coronavirus

US logs a record 3,157 coronavirus deaths in one day

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The US recorded its highest daily number of coronavirus deaths on Wednesday, as the number of people admitted to hospital with Covid exceeded 100,000 for the first time since the pandemic began.

According to the Johns Hopkins University tracker, 3,157 new deaths were recorded on Wednesday, more than the number of people killed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The previous high was the 2,607 deaths recorded on 15 April, at the beginning of the pandemic.

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European and US experts question UK’s fast-track of Covid vaccine

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Some criticise jingoistic tone of announcement and say longer process may prove preferable

Politicians, health professionals and commentators in Europe and the US have questioned Britain’s decision to fast-track approval of a coronavirus vaccine and criticised what some saw as the jingoistic tone of its announcement.

The UK on Wednesday became the first country in the world to approve a Covid-19 vaccine when the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority (MHRA) granted the Pfizer/BioNTech shot emergency authorisation for clinical use.

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Obama, Clinton and Bush pledge to take Covid vaccine on TV to show its safety

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  • Trio’s pledge comes as FDA works towards vaccine approval
  • Obama: ‘If Fauci tells me this is safe … I’m going to take it’

Former US presidents Barack Obama, George W Bush and Bill Clinton have pledged to get vaccinated for coronavirus on television to promote the safety of the vaccine.

Related: US sets records for Covid deaths and hospitalizations as it nears 14m cases – live updates

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Williamson on vaccine approval: Britain is ‘a much better country than all of them’ – video

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Gavin Williamson told LBC's Nick Ferrari that the UK was the first country to approve a Covid-19 vaccine, ahead of the EU and the US, because, "we're much better".

"I just think we have the very best people in this country and we've got the best medical regulators. Much better than the French have, much better than the Belgians have, much better than the Americans have," he added when pushed on whether Brexit played a part

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Gavin Williamson: UK is ‘a much better country than every single one of them’

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Education secretary lauds vaccine rollout saying scientists in UK better than in France, Belgium or US

The education secretary, Gavin Williamson, has claimed the UK was the first country in the world to clinically approve a coronavirus vaccine because the country has “much better” scientists than France, Belgium or the US.

Williamson said he was not surprised the UK was the first to roll out the immunisation because “we’re a much better country than every single one of them”.

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Coronavirus live news: Global death toll passes 1.5m

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World passes grim tally with a death reported every nine seconds on average; Italy registers 993 new deaths and 23,255 new cases; Iran goes past 1m cases

More than 1.5 million people have lost their lives due to Covid-19 with one death reported every nine seconds on a weekly average, as vaccinations are set to begin in December in a handful of developed nations.

Reuters reports that half a million deaths occurred in just the last two months, indicating that the severity of the pandemic is far from over. Nearly 65 million people globally have been infected by the disease and the worst affected country, United States, is currently battling a third wave of coronavirus infections.

I actually believe they’re going to be the most difficult time in the public health history of this nation.

A partial lockdown will begin this weekend in the Gaza Strip after Covid-19 infections surged in the densely populated territory, Gaza’s interior ministry declared on Thursday.

Mosques, schools, universities and kindergartens - excluding high schools and nurseries - will be closed during the day, although many businesses will be allowed to remain open until a night-time curfew from 6pm to 8am forces Gazans to stay at home. There will be a full closure at weekends.

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Coronavirus live news: US records highest daily deaths since April; Obama, Bush and Clinton offer to get vaccines on TV

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French ex-president Valéry Giscard d’Estaing has died of Covid-related complications; US suffers highest daily deaths since April; Former US presidents hope to inspire public confidence in vaccine

Hi there - this is Archie Bland picking up the global coronavirus liveblog, and beginning in Russia, where 28,145 new cases, a record high, and 554 deaths have been recorded in the last 24 hours.

Those figures compare with 25,345 new cases and 589 deaths, the latter figure also a record, the previous day.

Hundreds of thousands of masked students in South Korea, including 35 confirmed Covid-19 patients, took the highly competitive university entrance exam today despite the viral resurgence that has forced authorities to toughen social distancing rules.

About 493,430 students were taking the one-day exam at about 1,380 sites across the nation, including hospitals and other medical facilities where the 35 virus patients and hundreds of other test-takers in self-quarantine sat separately from others, according to the education ministry.

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Australia on track for March 2021 Covid-19 vaccine distribution – video

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Australia has targeted March 2021 to begin the rollout of a Covid vaccine after the UK became the first western country to license a vaccine against the coronavirus. 

While British prime minister Boris Johnson says vaccinations will begin there next week, Australian prime minister Scott Morrison and health minister Greg Hunt say that won't impact Australia's timeline.

'In Australia, we're in a very strong position,' Morrison says. 

'That enables us to get this right, to get the balance right, to ensure first and foremost the safety, which enables us to roll out the vaccine across the country successfully.' 

Hunt has reaffirmed the country is on track to vaccinate healthcare workers and aged-care residents in March

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Covid and California’s farmworkers: study lays bare disproportionate risks

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Primarily Latino workforce has contracted Covid-19 at nearly three times the rate of other residents

California’s agricultural workers have contracted Covid-19 at nearly three times the rate of other residents in the state, a new study has found, laying bare the risks facing those who keep a $50bn industry afloat.

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Joe Biden warns of 250,000 further Covid deaths ‘between now and January’ – video

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President-elect Joe Biden has warned there may be 250,000 further deaths due to Covid-19 between 'now and January'. 

The warning came in a virtual event on the economic impact of Covid-19, with Biden stressing the importance of remaining vigilant during the holidays.

'We're likely to lose another 250,000 people dead between now and January,' Biden said. 'You hear me? Because people aren't paying attention'

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‘The scientists have done it’: Boris Johnson hails Covid vaccine

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PM says news brings ‘sure and certain knowledge’ that people can reclaim their lives

Boris Johnson has declared that the nation is no longer resting on the hope of a return to normality by spring but instead has the “certain knowledge” that people can reclaim their lives, as he hailed the arrival of the newly approved Covid-19 vaccine.

The prime minister told a Downing Street press conference on Wednesday that “the scientists have done it”, although he stressed that people should not get carried away with “over-optimism”, insisting that they continue to abide by the rules.

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UK coronavirus live: Boris Johnson leads Downing Street briefing after vaccine approved for use

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Latest updates: PM holds press conference after earlier warning people not to ‘get hopes up too soon’ about early vaccination

Stevens is talking about the vaccination guidelines. (See 11.23am.)

The roll-out will be phased, he says.

Johnson urges people in tier 3 areas to take part in community testing.

And people should follow the restrictions, he says.

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Covid deaths at highest level since April as Biden pledges to ‘fight like hell’ for US investment – live

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Several properties owned by the Trump Organization, and by Kushner Companies, owned by the family of Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, received millions of dollars in Paycheck Protection Program loans, NBC News reports.

Data from the program were released last night after several news organizations sued the federal government to release the data from the PPP and Economist Injury Disaster Loans.

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger stood by comments one of his officials made to Donald Trump yesterday, saying that the president is “inspiring people to commit potential acts of violence” by continuing to call the results of the election into question despite multiple recounts.

Gabriel Sterling, a Republican who helped to oversee the implementation of the state’s new voting system, pleaded with Trump during a press conference yesterday that the president stop his rhetoric for fear of violence.

"It's about time more people are out there speaking with truth," Brad Raffensperger says.

Also:

"Our investigators have seen no widespread fraud, either." pic.twitter.com/uLT1u4BK6E

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Dozens test positive for Covid after swingers convention in New Orleans

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Forty one people test positive after ‘Naughty in N’awlins’ event which saw about 250 people congregate in mid-November

Forty-one people have tested positive for coronavirus after attending a swingers convention in New Orleans, in what officials have called a “super-spreader event”.

The gathering, called “Naughty in N’awlins” saw about 250 people congregate in the city in mid-November. It went ahead despite cases rising in Louisiana at the time.

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France will carry out border checks to stop skiers from spreading Covid

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Coronavirus clusters in Alpine resorts played key role in early spread of virus in Europe

France will carry out random border checks over the holiday season targeting French skiers on their way to and from foreign resorts – particularly Switzerland and Spain – where slopes stay open, the prime minister, Jean Castex, has said.

“The goal is to avoid French citizens getting contaminated. That will be done by performing random checks at the borders,” Castex told French television, adding that returning holidaymakers would be ordered to quarantine for seven days.

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‘Day to remember in a year to forget’: Hancock says first 800,000 doses of vaccine tested – video

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Matt Hancock has reiterated that the UK is the first country in the world to have a clinically approved coronavirus vaccine for supply, and the government was prepared for it to be 'ready to go' once approval came through.

Batch testing has been completed for the first 800,000 doses of the vaccine that will be available for the whole of the UK, Hancock said. Britain has ordered stocks of seven different vaccines, comprising 350m doses in total. The NHS will start vaccinating from 'early next week'

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No corners have been cut in Pfizer vaccine approval, says UK regulator chief – video

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People should be confident in the safety of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid vaccine, the chief executive of the UK regulator said. Dr June Raine, head of the Medical and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), said the vaccine had been subjected to rigorous testing and had met strict standards of safety and quality

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UK approves Pfizer/BioNTech Covid vaccine for rollout next week

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‘Historic moment’ allows mass immunisation, with 800,000 doses expected to be available next week

The UK has become the first western country to license a vaccine against Covid, opening the way for mass immunisation with the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine to begin next week for those most at risk.

The vaccine has been authorised for emergency use by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority (MHRA), before decisions by the US and Europe. The MHRA was given power to approve the vaccine by the government under special regulations before 1 January, when it will become fully responsible for medicines authorisation in the UK after Brexit.

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US braces for post-Thanksgiving Covid surge as 100,000 are hospitalized

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Hospitalizations are at twice as many as in April and July spikes, while more than 150,000 test positive nearly every day

Americans are bracing for a surge in Covid-19 cases following the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, as the number of people hospitalized hit an all-time high on Wednesday.

More than 100,000 people are hospitalized, according to data from the Covid Tracking Project, the highest number yet recorded, and nearly twice as many people as were hospitalized at the peak of earlier coronavirus waves in April and July.

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RoboDoc: how India’s robots are taking on Covid patient care

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The pandemic has spurred on robotics companies building machines to perform tasks in hospitals and other industries

Standing just 5ft tall, Mitra navigates around the hospital wards, guided by facial recognition technology and with a chest-mounted tablet that allows patients and their loved ones to see each other.

Developed in recent years by the Bengaluru startup Invento Robotics, Mitra costs around $13,600 (£10,000) and – due to the reduced risk of infection to doctors – has become hugely popular in Indian hospitals during the pandemic.

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