Category Archives: Coronavirus

Dorries claims vast majority of Tories behind Johnson

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Culture secretary dismisses resignation calls over ‘partygate’ after another Tory says PM should go

The culture secretary, Nadine Dorries, has rejected calls for Boris Johnson to resign in order to restore trust after the “partygate” scandal, claiming that the “vast majority” of the party were behind the prime minister.

It comes after the former schools minister, Nick Gibb, became the latest Conservative MP to publicly call for Johnson to go, citing constituents “furious about the double standards” and the prime minster’s “inaccurate” statements in the Commons.

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Victoria reports 41 Covid deaths, Qld 21 and NSW 18; anti-vaxxers protest in Canberra – as it happened

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Firefighters in Western Australia battle two emergency-level bushfires. This blog is now closed

NSW case numbers are in, and there have been 8,389 new Covid-19 cases detected over night from PCR and rapid antigen tests.

Sadly, 18 more lives have been lost overnight.

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‘Trump is not my God’: how the former president’s only vaccine victory turned sour

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A rigid anti-vaccine stance among Trump’s supporters means Republicans can’t reap the benefits of Operation Warp Speed

She is fiercely loyal to Donald Trump. But when the former US president came to her home city and praised coronavirus vaccines, Flora Moore did something she never thought possible. She booed him.

“He said take the vaccine but we all booed and said no,” she recalled of Trump’s event with broadcaster Bill O’Reilly in Orlando, Florida. “He heard us loud and clear because the Amway Center was packed. We let him know ‘no’ and a couple of us even hollered out, ‘It’s killing people!’”

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US Covid death toll surpasses 900,000

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The two-year total compiled by Johns Hopkins University comes less than two months after eclipsing 800,000 deaths

Propelled in part by the wildly contagious Omicron variant, the US death toll from Covid-19 hit 900,000 on Friday, less than two months after eclipsing 800,000.

The two-year total, as compiled by Johns Hopkins University, is greater than the population of Indianapolis, San Francisco, or Charlotte, North Carolina.

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Covid live news: England’s R number rises to between 0.8 and 1.1; Spain to scrap outdoor mask mandate

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UK health agency says number of cases each day could be rising; Spain introduced mandate in December to combat Omicron

Bulgaria reported 8,142 new Covid infections yesterday, public broadcaster BNT reports, taking the country’s 7-day average to 8,134 cases a day.

That’s near last week’s peak of over 12,000, as Omicron has jolted infections up to record levels recently. There are 6,124 Covid patients in hospital.

In Missouri, the second worst state in the country for hospitalizations, 79% of the hospitals are under extreme stress. At Mercy hospital in Springfield, in the south-western part of the state, about 28% of their hospitalizations are Covid-19 patients, according to Erik Frederick, the hospital’s chief administrative office. ...

“It creates a lot of stress on the healthcare system,” Frederick said.

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‘Lawlessness must end’: Canada police pledge tougher action on truck protests

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Ottawa police announce 150 more officers will be deployed as 400 more trucks and 2,000 protesters expected to arrive

Police in Canada have promised tougher action against the “unlawful and unacceptably dangerous” protests paralyzing the nation’s capital, but admitted the situation was increasingly out of their control.

With 400 more trucks and 2,000 protesters expected to arrive in the city this weekend, Ottawa police on Friday announced that 150 additional officers will be deployed and concrete barricades set up to prevent more vehicles from reaching the city’s downtown core. Illegally parked vehicles will be towed and highways and bridges could be closed.

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‘The case for masks became hugely stronger’: scientists admit their Covid mistakes

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Being proved wrong lies at the heart of scientific progress. Here, experts reveal what they got wrong during the pandemic

Einstein once observed that “a scientist is a mimosa when he himself has made a mistake, and a roaring lion when he discovers a mistake of others”. Aside from the “he”, the statement accurately sums up the tone of some of the current scientific discourse on Covid-19.

Views on lockdowns, vaccinating children and mask mandates have become increasingly polarised, and social media is unforgiving towards those who voice a change of heart. Yet being proved wrong lies at the heart of scientific progress. In science, an unwillingness to revise your position is normally viewed as an intellectual weakness rather than a sign of moral strength. With this in mind, we asked leading scientists what they got wrong during the pandemic.

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Record Covid cases in Russia and Ukraine complicate military plans

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Spread of Omicron variant cited as another factor that could determine whether Moscow launches offensive

The Omicron variant is causing record numbers of new Covid infections in Russia and Ukraine, threatening to impact military calculations over Russia’s continued troop buildup.

Analysts have cited various factors as possible contributors to whether and how Russia will launch an assault on Ukraine, ranging from Vladimir Putin’s psychological state to the strength of the western response and even the firmness of the ground during a mild winter in the region.

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Australia live news updates: inside Victoria’s $1.4bn Covid package; at least 81 coronavirus deaths recorded

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Australia records at least 81 deaths from Covid-19; Victoria announces $1.4bn health package; government sought Labor support to wave religious bill through unamended; police attempt to clear ACT anti-vaccine protest camp – follow the day’s news

Albanese also called for the federal minister who sent the “psycho” texts to just come forward already. (He would love that, wouldn’t he!)

Well, it’s time for someone just to come forward and fess up as to who sent that text message. We know that one-half of the exchanges was Gladys Berejiklian.

And, for me, it wasn’t the personal abuse that is there and the character assessments. The most damning indictment of the prime minister was the premier of New South Wales at the time who was doing a job each and every day on the bushfire crisis, saying that the prime minister was more concerned about politics than he was about people at that time.

I’ve been asked this and I give the same answer I gave yesterday. The government should put in a submission supporting a wage increase. That’s what we did when we were in government for social and community service workers. And that led to a substantial pay increase, which has led to retention in that workforce. If we don’t deal with the issue of wages, then we won’t be able to retain a workforce in the aged care sector. The other thing we need, of course, is we need more workers and more carers, but we need a nurse in every nursing home, 24/7. We used to call them nursing homes for a reason – because nurses were there. It’s extraordinary that we have these aged care facilities that can go for considerable periods of time without having a nurse right there when they’re needed.

But not putting a figure on a proposed wage increase – isn’t the prime minister right when he says nobody knows how much it will cost the government, and therefore taxpayers?

No, the prime minister is not right. The prime minister is wrong. The prime minister is wrong by not supporting a nurse being in every nursing home.

The prime minister is wrong by not saying to the Fair Work Commission that he supports a wage increase for the aged care workforce.

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World faces ‘bumpy, difficult’ Covid transition, says senior scientist

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‘I just don’t think you wake up on Tuesday and it’s finished,’ says former Sage adviser Sir Jeremy Farrar

Tensions in societies around the world over the current Covid situation are going to be very difficult to handle, one of Britain’s most senior scientific figures has warned.

Sir Jeremy Farrar, the director of the Wellcome Trust, who stepped down as a government scientific adviser in November last year, warned the idea of simply “exiting” a pandemic is not realistic.

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Novavax Covid vaccine approved for use in over-18s in UK

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Nuvaxovid is similar to flu jab and may have reduced side-effects, which could persuade vaccine holdouts

The Covid-19 vaccine developed by Novavax has been approved by the UK regulator for use in people over the age of 18.

The vaccine will not be immediately widely available as its use as part of the UK’s vaccination programme will be considered by the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.

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Covid: Europe set for ‘long period of tranquillity’ in pandemic, says WHO

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Vaccinations, milder Omicron and arrival of spring should keep death rate low as cases rise to all time high

Europe could soon enter a “long period of tranquillity” that amounts to a “ceasefire” in the pandemic thanks to the less severe Omicron variant, high levels of immunity and the arrival of warmer spring weather, the World Health Organization has said.

In an upbeat assessment, Hans Kluge, the WHO’s Europe director, said the region was in a position of “higher protection” that could “bring us enduring peace”, even if a new, more virulent variant than Omicron should emerge.

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Covid live news: NZ to begin reopening border this month; Czech Republic to end Covid passes next week

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Vaccinated New Zealanders in Australia will be able to return home from the end of the month; Czech move comes despite country breaking its daily Covid record on Wednesday

India reported 172,433 new Covid cases in the past 24 hours, the Times of India reports, a 50% drop on the 347,254 new infections detected on Thursday two weeks ago.

India experienced surging cases last month but there are signs infections have spiked.

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Firms handed £1.3bn in Covid contracts claimed £1m in furlough grants

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Dozen UK companies given VIP fast-track contracts to supply PPE to NHS paid idled staff at taxpayers’ expense

Companies handed a combined £1.3bn in controversial fast-track Covid contracts with minimal scrutiny also claimed at least £1m in furlough grants, it can be revealed.

Analysis of the accounts of companies that won lucrative emergency contracts to supply personal protective equipment (PPE) to the NHS during the height of the pandemic shows 12 also claimed funds to put staff on furlough at taxpayers’ expense.

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Albanese demands Colbeck ‘resign today’ as nation records 82 Covid deaths – as it happened

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Albanese says aged care services minister ‘must resign today’; CMO says ‘we are past the peak’ of Omicron as nation records at least 82 Covid-19 deaths, with dozens of cases in ICU; bushfire emergency warning issued for East Rockingham. This blog is now closed

Speaking of the ongoing Covid aged care crisis, health and aged care minister Greg Hunt is defending the government’s handling of the situation, telling ABC radio that 99% of aged care workers are now double-vaccinated:

We have over 99% vaccination rate amongst aged care workers, one of the highest rates in the world; 91% vaccination rate for residents. We’ve been able to have one of the lowest rates of loss of life in aged care in the world ...

But it is immensely hard for so many. The mental health impacts of people being locked down in aged care, which is a protective mechanism for them, but at the same time it has a huge impact on their quality of life.

If they can’t endorse [federal environment minister Sussan Ley] they should get out of the way and let the federal executive ensure we can get things done.

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South Korea’s nose-only ‘kosk’ mask for Covid-safe eating raises eyebrows

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The unusual masks designed to protect wearers while they eat have attracted criticism online

An anti-virus mask that only covers the nose and can continue to be worn while eating and drinking is on sale in South Korea.

The “kosk”, a combination of ko, the Korean word for nose, and mask, has been released by a company called Atman and sells for 9,800 won ($8.13; £5.99) for a box of 10 on online retailer Coupang. It consists of two pieces, one of which can be removed to leave the mouth uncovered.

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Are we getting any closer to understanding long Covid?

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Extreme fatigue, brain fog, sleep disturbances, chest pain and skin rashes. These are just a few of the on-going symptoms of long Covid, a disorder that can persist for many months after an initial Covid infection. With such a vast range of symptoms, and health organisations stretched to capacity by the acute stage of the disease, long Covid has continued to remain something of a mystery.

But with numerous studies trying to understand what exactly people are suffering from, progress is being made. Ian Sample speaks to Prof Akiko Iwasaki about what we do and don’t know about long Covid, and how the vaccine could reveal clues about what’s behind the disorder

Archive: Channel 4 News, Sky News

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New Zealand to end quarantine and reopen borders – video

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New Zealand's government has said it will end its quarantine requirements and reopen its borders, a change sought by thousands of citizens abroad who have endured long waits to return home.

Prime minister Jacinda Ardern said she knows many people associate the border controls with heartache but they have undeniably saved lives. 

'There is no question that for New Zealand, it has been one of the hardest parts of the pandemic," she said. "But the reason that it is right up there as one of the toughest things we have experienced is, in part, because large-scale loss of life is not.'

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Ottawa police considering military intervention to end ‘unlawful’ blockade

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Authorities also warned brining in the military carried a ‘massive risk’ as they believed the protesters are armed

Police in Ottawa warned they may have to call in the military to disband “unlawful” protests in the nation’s capital and a town near the US border, amid mounting tensions between protesters opposing Covid restrictions and local residents.

The Ottawa police chief, Peter Sloly, warned on Wednesday that the officers did not have the resources to remove a fleet of trucks parked by the protesters in the national capital, adding the city was considering requesting help from Canadian armed forces.

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