The islands, 800km east of New Zealand, had been among several other isolated nations and territories that had so far evaded the virus
After nearly two years of dodging Covid-19, one of the most remote inhabited places in the world has recorded its first ever cases of the virus.
Rēkohu, or the Chatham Islands, are just over 800km east of New Zealand’s mainland and are home to roughly 600 permanent residents.
Continue reading...The ‘people’s convoy’ of around 1,000 vehicles threaten a week of traffic disruptions around US capital
A long line of huge semi-articulated trucks, recreational vehicles and cars was circling Washington DC, on Sunday, in preparation for what their protesting drivers have pledged will be a week of traffic disruption around the US capital aligned around a loose collection of demands, including the end to all coronavirus pandemic-related restrictions.
From its temporary base at a speedway vehicle racing site in Hagerstown, 80 miles north-west in Maryland, organizers of what they term the “People’s Convoy” of around 1,000 vehicles have said they plan to welcome the new work week by driving slowly around Washington on the already notoriously-congested Beltway, or ring road, at the minimum legal speed in an attempt to get their message across to national politicians.
Continue reading...The actor, best known for her role as Lavender Brown, says her symptoms have lasted for weeks
Harry Potter star Jessie Cave has been admitted to hospital after testing positive for Covid-19 while pregnant with her fourth child.
The actor, best known for her role as Lavender Brown in the film adaptations of the hit books, said the virus had hit her hard and her symptoms have lasted weeks.
Continue reading...Many welcome the change as a ‘return to normalcy’ that will support restaurants and bars, but others worry it’s too soon
Tyler Hollinger, owner of Festivál Cafe, a “farm-to-bar cocktail cafe” in New York City, said he recently started learning Brazilian jiu-jitsu because of physical altercations with visitors who are unvaccinated against Covid-19.
The reason for the fights isn’t that Hollinger is a crusader for the city’s requirement that people show proof of vaccination to sit inside at bars and restaurants.
Continue reading...Scientists identify impact of sudden cleaning of skies and drop in greenhouse emissions in 2020
China’s record-breaking rainfall during summer 2020 was linked to Covid lockdowns, research suggests.
Hundreds of people died and millions were evacuated as unprecedented rains fell over heavily populated regions of eastern China during June and July of 2020.
Continue reading...‘To be running around like a 65-year-old when you’re 95 catches up with you,’ says author Penny Junor
When the Queen tested positive for Covid at the age of 95, it made headlines around the world.
Buckingham Palace initially said she would carry on working but was soon forced to concede she needed rest and cancelled a series of virtual engagements.
Continue reading...The usual deluge of invective prompted by coronavirus and vaccine issues is absent – Russia’s invasion may be a factor
When David Fisman tweets, he often receives a deluge of hate within moments of posting. Fisman, an epidemiologist and physician, has been outspoken about Covid and public health.
Even when he tweets something innocuous – once, to test his theory, he wrote the banal statement “kids are remarkable” – he still receives a flood of angry pushback.
Continue reading...More than half of women in South Africa projected to have condition, with no country expected to meet WHO target of halting rise, according to World Obesity Atlas figures
More than a billion people around the world will be obese by 2030 – double the number there was in 2010, according to new global estimates.
No country is on track to meet the World Health Organization’s (WHO) target to halt obesity by 2025, with one in five women and one in seven men predicted to have the condition by 2030.
Continue reading...Government is planning to test entire population for virus but insists it will not impose ‘complete lockdown’
Soaring Covid-19 cases in Hong Kong have led to court services being suspended for a month as the two largest consumer retail chains ration certain items.
The Asian financial hub has recorded more than 50,000 new coronavirus cases for the third consecutive day in what the authorities called a “fifth wave”, overwhelming hospitals and shattering the city’s zero-Covid strategy.
Continue reading...Disagreement is a sign of healthy democratic debate not of dysfunction – and hard-core conspiracists remain marginal
The occupation of New Zealand’s parliament was fractured from the outset: fascists vied for control with controversial pastors, conspiracy theorists and more moderate anti-mandate protesters. And even as the occupation violently collapsed with rioters lobbing cobblestones at police, the divisions remained. Some shouted “burn it down”, while others tried to restrain them.
As New Zealand reacts to some of its darkest days in recent memory, these internal rivalries are, obscurely, a hopeful sign – a reminder there was far more division inside the protest than between the protesters and the wider nation.
Continue reading...Hundreds of thousands of NSW residents are still under evacuation warnings or orders as Hawkesbury-Nepean region remains a major concern; Victoria records 26 Covid deaths, NSW records two. Follow all the day’s news
Resilience NSW commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons has told ABC radio that flooding across the state was worst than predicted:
Unprecedented levels [of flooding] experienced up in northern NSW, flood levels that came in well above what was forecasted … And at the same time we’ve still got serious flooding concerns in Hawkesbury and Nepean ...
We’ve also formed up a significant taskforce, comprising of firefighters … the Australian defence force. So working shoulder to shoulder with business owners, with property owners, homeowners ...
Continue reading...Rheumatoid arthritis drug baricitinib can reduce risk of death from severe Covid by about a fifth
A drug used to treat rheumatoid arthritis could help to save the lives of patients with severe Covid, researchers have found, and they say its benefits can be seen even when it is used on top of other medications.
Experts involved in the Randomised Evaluation of Covid-19 Therapy (Recovery) trial say baricitinib, an anti-inflammatory drug taken as a tablet, can reduce the risk of death from severe Covid by about a fifth.
Continue reading...Ron DeSantis had strong words for a group of students at the University of South Florida who were wearing face masks before a press conference. The Republican governor for Florida asked them to take their masks off, saying it was 'Covid theater'
Continue reading...Were the protesters motivated by valid concerns, radicalisation or was this simply the fist-shaking of a fringe minority?
The protest outside parliament in Wellington has prompted fears of a mass radicalisation of militant actors prepared to use violence to achieve their aims. Although people may dismiss the idea that it could cause real damage to society in New Zealand, where support for the government’s pandemic response is still high, anger has spilt over into explicit hate messaging and actions, both online and in real-life.
Now that the protesters have been dispersed, we need to examine what was behind their loose coalition of grievances: was it the transitory fist-shaking of a fringe minority, a valid concern, or actual radicalisation? If so, what can we do about it? The answer is complex and incomplete, but there are some clues about what caused this impasse and what can be done.
Continue reading...Some reunions were also tempered by grief, as for many New Zealanders the reopening came too late
Tears, hugs, laughter and the shouts of children echoed through the arrivals halls of New Zealand, as the country opened its borders and lifted isolation requirements.
“I’ve been waiting six months for this moment,” says Steve, 72, who was waiting for his fiancee, Karin, to arrive from Australia. “I’m over the moon,” he said. “I feel a bit shaky.”
Continue reading...‘Australia is now finally back together’ as final jurisdiction welcomes vaccinated travellers
The arrivals hall at Perth airport was filled with joy and hugs when the first planes to take advantage of Western Australia’s border reopening landed on Thursday.
After spending almost 700 days behind a hard border during the coronavirus pandemic, the “hermit” state of WA has finally welcomed vaccinated travellers.
Continue reading...Researchers find women hit harder by negative social and economic impacts of the pandemic than men
The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic threatens to reverse decades of progress made towards gender equality, according to a global study that reveals women have been hit much harder socially and economically than men.
Previously, coronavirus-related gender disparity studies have focused on the direct health impacts of the crisis. It is well known, for example, that across the globe men have experienced higher rates of Covid cases, hospitalisation and death. However, until now, few studies have examined how gender inequalities have been affected by the many indirect social and economic effects of the pandemic worldwide.
Continue reading...‘Test to treat’ model will offer free anti-viral pills after a positive test as part of four-pronged approach
The White House released a 96-page plan on Wednesday to shift the fight against Covid-19 and “help move America forward safely”, past a crisis footing to a new “normal”.
Announcement of the plan follows promises made in Joe Biden’s State of the Union speech late on Tuesday, which emphasized rapid rollout of a new “test to treat” model with free anti-viral pills after a positive test.
Continue reading...The Australian Bureau of Statistics has released data on Covid deaths. For many, the information highlights the unequal way this pandemic has affected some communities. For some radio hosts and columnists, however, it represents something different – proof lockdowns and other interventions were an “overreaction” or the result of a “scare campaign”.
Guardian Australia’s data and interactive editor Nick Evershed breaks down what the data shows, how it has been misinterpreted by rightwing media, and how this has helped feed conspiracy theories
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Continue reading...Experts hope research can lead to development of drugs that stop people catching Covid or passing it on
Phoebe Garrett has attended university lectures without catching Covid; she even hosted a party where everyone subsequently tested positive except her. “I think I’ve knowingly been exposed about four times,” the 22-year-old from High Wycombe said.
In March 2021, she participated in the world’s first Covid-19 challenge trial, which involved dripping live virus into her nose and pegging her nostrils shut for several hours, in a deliberate effort to infect her. Still her body resisted.
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