Category Archives: Coronavirus

Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine results face growing scrutiny

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Share price drops as critics question claim vaccine could protect up to 90% of people

The Oxford University/AstraZeneca vaccine is coming under increasing scrutiny, with critics questioning the claim that trials showed it could protect up to 90% of people against coronavirus.

On Thursday Sir John Bell, Oxford’s regius professor of medicine and the UK government’s life sciences adviser, dismissed suggestions the trial had not been properly set up or reported. “We weren’t cooking this up as we went along,” he said, adding that he hoped the full, peer-reviewed data would be published in the Lancet medical journal at the weekend.

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Denver mayor apologises after flying for Thanksgiving against his own advice

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Michael Hancock urged people on Twitter to ‘avoid travel’, then flew to Mississippi

The mayor of Denver was forced to apologise after flying to Mississippi to spend Thanksgiving with his family – shortly after urging residents to follow official advice and remain at home because of the coronavirus.

Related: US Covid cases, hospitalisations and deaths rise amid Thanksgiving rush

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US Covid cases, hospitalisations and deaths rise amid Thanksgiving rush

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US reported 181,490 new cases on Wednesday as millions defied official advice to travel and gather for Thanksgiving

The US reported 181,490 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, a third daily rise in a row, as hospitalisations hit a record for a 16th day in succession, at 89,959.

Related: Supreme court bars Covid attendance limits at New York houses of worship

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Europe at odds over plan to ban Christmas ski holidays amid pandemic

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Germany, Italy and France in favour of resort closures but Austria and Switzerland fear economic damage

Governments are at odds over a Europe-wide plan to bar ski holidays over Christmas and new year, with Germany, Italy and France in favour but Austria and Switzerland reluctant to damage a sector worth billions to their economies.

The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, on Thursday joined Italy’s prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, and the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in calling for a Europe-wide shutdown of winter sports until 10 January to avert a fresh coronavirus wave.

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Surge of Aids-related deaths feared as Covid pandemic puts gains at risk

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UN calls for urgent focus on HIV/Aids as coronavirus blocks access to drugs and missed targets threaten to derail progress

Global progress on ending the Aids epidemic by 2030 could be blown off course by coronavirus, a senior UN director has warned.

Just a six-month disruption to medical supplies induced by Covid-19 could result in an extra 500,000 Aids-related deaths in sub-Saharan Africa by the end of 2021, according to data modelling in the annual report from UNAids. The agency’s executive director, Winnie Byanyima, said the world is already way off target on combating Aids, and the pandemic “has the potential to blow us even further off course”.

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Coronavirus live news: virus spread in France showing signs of slowing; fears Africa may be at back of vaccine queue

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Daily cases continue to fall in France; health campaigners fear Africa will have to wait until mid-2021 for vaccine; weddings banned and cafes closed in Croatia

The head of British drug manufacturer AstraZeneca said further research was needed on its Covid-19 vaccine after questions emerged over the protection it offers, but the additional testing is unlikely to affect regulatory approval in Europe.

AstraZeneca and its partner, the University of Oxford, announced on Monday that it was seeking regulatory approval for the vaccine after it showed an average 70% effectiveness.

Related: Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine results face growing scrutiny

Spain’s capital Madrid turned on its Christmas lights on Thursday, spending more than last year to illuminate 30 additional streets and squares despite a sharp economic downturn driven by the coronavirus pandemic.

Banners of LED lights in the red and yellow of the Spanish flag appeared in parts of the city, including stretches of over a kilometre alongside the central boulevard that runs past the world-famous Prado museum.

Así ha encendido Madrid la Navidad

#MD964
DIRECTO https://t.co/Cnw7Ol5lQX@MadridDirecto pic.twitter.com/LkccoTnpkx

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Dfat reveals 36,875 Australians are stranded overseas, including 8,070 vulnerable people – live news

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Scott Morrison says Kylie Moore-Gilbert’s release from Iranian prison a ‘miracle’; Labor and Greens accuse Berejiklian over council grants; an Adelaide high school is closed after Covid case – follow updates

I’ll be passing over the blog to my colleague Michael McGowan, who will take you through the next part of the afternoon.

I’ve been Elias Visontay. Have a great afternoon.

The high court has granted special leave to appeal in a landmark case on casual employment.

In the Workpac v Rosatto decision the federal court found employees described as casuals could be owed further entitlements if they performed regular, permanent work.

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Most of England to enter two toughest tiers when lockdown is lifted

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Signs of growing parliamentary rebellion amid fears measures could stay in place until spring

The majority of England will enter the two toughest tiers of Covid restrictions from next week, ministers are set to announce, amid signs of a growing parliamentary rebellion and fears that the measures could remain unchanged until spring.

On Thursday Matt Hancock, the health secretary, is expected to say that most of the country will be placed into tiers 2 or 3, which imply significant restrictions on hospitality, after the national lockdown ends on 2 December.

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Fauci urges Americans to sacrifice traditional Thanksgiving to save lives

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Top public health official makes ‘final plea’ on Covid threat as expert warns of potential ‘mother of all super-spreader events’

The top US public health official urged Americans today make a “sacrifice now to save lives and illness” by resisting the urge to gather together for Thanksgiving, as the US witnessed more than 2,000 deaths from coronavirus on Tuesday – the first time that grim mark has been surpassed since the spring.

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‘Our democracy was tested this year’: Joe Biden’s Thanksgiving address – video

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Joe Biden urged Americans to put aside their political differences as he called for unity in his Thanksgiving address to the nation.

'We need to remember, we are at war with the virus, not one another,' said the president-elect. 'Our democracy was tested this year, and what we learned was this: the people of this nation were up to the task.'

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Deadly frost and war with the French: Britain’s recession of the 1700s

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Economic distress caused by pandemic is the first in a very long time to have been brought about by the natural world

The chancellor has said the government will borrow a peacetime record of almost £400bn this year in the face of the worst recession the UK has experienced in more than 300 years. But how many of us know what happened at the time of that distant milestone?

Three centuries ago, Britain looked very different. The country was still largely agricultural and as such was completely at the mercy of nature – though 2020 has shown that perhaps, in a way, it still is. Nonetheless, in the early 18th century it was the success or failure of the harvest, which depended on the weather, that had a profound impact on the rate of economic growth.

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Christmas and Covid: is mixing households a good idea?

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The UK says three households can get together for festivities. Four Britons react – with relief, caution and despair

The UK government’s announcement to allow three households to meet together over five days at Christmas has attracted differing opinions. Many people fear that relaxing lockdown poses too great a risk to life, others are pleased they can see their family after being apart so long. One in four, according to a poll last weekend, would probably treat Christmas as they do normally, despite any restrictions.

The Guardian spoke to four people about their response to the news.

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Coronavirus live news: Germany reports record daily deaths; Sicily asks Cuba to send doctors and nurses

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Germany reports 410 Covid-related deaths in 24 hours; Sicilian hospitals struggling with shortage of medical personnel; global cases near 60m cases

The regional government of Madrid is proposing allowing groups of up to 10 people to gather on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day and the feast of the Epiphany (6 January). The number of different households allowed to mix would be capped at three.

Under the plans, which have been submitted to the central government, the current midnight to 6am curfew would be replaced on those days by one running from 1.30am to 6am.

Authorities in Sicily have asked Cuba’s government to send to the region about 60 health operators, including doctors and nurses, as hospitals are struggling with a shortage of medical personnel during the second wave.

The request was filed this week to the Italian embassy in Cuba and consists of intensive care specialists, nurses, anaesthetists, resuscitators, virologists and pneumologists, the Italian newspaper la Repubblica has reported.

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Biden to address nation as Covid deaths rise sharply before Thanksgiving – live

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Brian Slodysko and Richard Larner at the Associated Press have this morning written up the nuts and bolts of an issue that looks like it will dog Sen. David Perdue in the build-up to January’s critical Georgia Senate run-off races.

They remind us that back in March as the coronavirus pandemic impacted the economy the crisis signalled something else for him: a stock buying opportunity.

Here’s a (very) little more detail on what we might expect from the Trump legal team and local lawmakers in Gettysburg today.

It’s still not officially confirmed that Trump is going – asked for comment about his plans, White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere told CNN, “I’d refer you to the public schedule. I have no additional updates at this time.”

State and local election officials have said there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud, and both a federal court and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court have dismissed lawsuits seeking to prevent the state from certifying the results of the election. Pennsylvania officially certified the results on Tuesday, sealing Biden’s win in the key battleground state.

The meeting is being organized by the Pennsylvania state Senate GOP, which is holding it at a hotel – not at the state Capitol.

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Donald Trump pardons former national security adviser Michael Flynn – as it happened

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That’s all for today!

Here’s a recap:

Barack Obama said part of the reason 73 million Americans voted to re-elect Donald Trump in the election was because of messaging from Republicans that the country, particularly white men, are under attack.

In an interview with the radio show the Breakfast Club on Wednesday to promote his new memoir A Promised Land, Obama said Trump’s administration, which he did not name directly, “objectively has failed, miserably, in handling just basic looking after the American people and keeping them safe”, and yet he still secured millions of votes.

Related: Obama: Republicans portraying white men as 'victims' helped Trump win votes

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When you’re not working you don’t feel like a man | Modern Masculinity – video

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Iman Amrani is back with Modern Masculinity, looking at the issues affecting men which relate to mental health in the shadow of Covid-19. In this episode, she returns to Leeds to speak to Neil, a barber who she met in series one, to find out how his business is coping with lockdown, what pressures his employees are facing and how they feel about the future 

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UK scientists warn of third wave of Covid after Christmas

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Fears easing restrictions over festive period will lead to rise in cases and overwhelm NHS

Government scientists have warned the relaxation of coronavirus restrictions over Christmas could lead to a third wave of the pandemic, with increased transmission and unnecessary deaths.

Families across the UK will be able to gather in three-household groups of any size over Christmas, the government has announced, prompting warnings from scientists that the plan will almost inevitably result in a rise in the number of coronavirus cases.

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Millions of Americans to travel and gather for Thanksgiving despite expert warnings

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Recent surveys show a meaningful minority of Americans intend to go ahead with travel and gatherings for the holiday

Millions of Americans are traveling and gathering for the Thanksgiving holiday, in spite of dire and urgent warnings from US doctors, nurses, health authorities and hospitals not to do so.

The travel raises the possibility of a “surge superimposed on a surge,” in the words of Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, and of a wave of deaths as Christmas arrives.

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Families bereaved by Covid say UK plan to allow Christmas mixing is ‘sheer madness’

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Support group warns that large gatherings are too risky and calls for low-key festive period

People bereaved by Covid-19 have warned that allowing families in the UK to get together over Christmas is “sheer madness” and urged the public to have a low-key festive period rather than risk the grief they have endured.

Members of the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group told the Guardian that large family gatherings were too high-risk, with one grieving husband saying anyone prepared to mix family groups should also “prepare for a funeral”.

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Zambia’s default fuels fears of African ‘debt tsunami’ as Covid impact bites

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Aid agencies say debts should be restructured or cancelled due to the pandemic and warn other countries could follow

Zambia has become the first African country to default on its debts since the pandemic, leading to fears that a “debt tsunami” could engulf the continent’s most heavily indebted nations as the financial impact of coronavirus hits.

A hastily-arranged G20 finance minister meeting in Saudi Arabia failed to sort out Zambia’s debt, after the southern African country missed a $42.5m (£32m) coupon payment on its bonds in October. Missing another payment on 14 November meant a technical default.

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