Category Archives: Coronavirus

UK scraps Covid testing after arrival for double-vaccinated travellers

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Requirement to take lateral flow test will end from 4am on 11 February, cheered by airlines as a ‘landmark’

Coronavirus testing for double-vaccinated travellers arriving in the UK will be scrapped from 4am on 11 February.

In a boost for travel firms and families planning trips abroad, eligible passengers will no longer have to take a post-arrival lateral flow test (LFT). The change will save families about £100 a trip. The industry body Airlines UK said it was a “landmark day”.

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Trudeau says Conservatives stoking fear over Canada’s trucker vaccine mandate

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Prime minister says claims that Covid-19 measure will disrupt supply chain and boost inflation are ‘fearmongering’

Justin Trudeau has accused Canada’s conservative politicians of stoking fear that Covid-19 vaccine mandates for cross-border truck drivers are exacerbating supply chain disruptions and fueling inflation.

The United States imposed a mandate, meant to aid the fight against the fast-spreading Omicron variant of the coronavirus, on 22 January, while Canada’s started on 15 January. The trucking industry has warned that the measure will take thousands of drivers off the roads during what is already a dire labor shortage in the industry.

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‘Paradigm shift’ needed in way WHO is funded, says director general

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Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says Covid pandemic has proven that health is ‘an international issue’

The head of the World Health Organization has warned member countries that the UN’s global health body is being “set up to fail” without a “paradigm shift” in the way that it is funded and supported.

In stark language delivered to the WHO’s executive board, the organisation’s director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said that the coronavirus pandemic, which has claimed more than 5.5 million lives, had underlined the need to strengthen health systems as well as pandemic preparedness plans.

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Testing for fully vaccinated travellers to UK to be scrapped; new vaccine pass rules in France – as it happened

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UK transport secretary says testing rules for travellers into country will change from 4am on 11 February; new France rules come into force

That’s it from me, Helen Livingstone, for today. I’m handing you over to my colleague Martin Belam.

Before I go, here’s a roundup of what’s been happening over the past 24 hours:

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Police use water cannon at Brussels protest against Covid rules – video

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Violent clashes broke out between police and people protesting against Covid-19 restrictions in Brussels on Sunday. Police used teargas and fired water cannon in an effort to disperse protesters. Authorities said about 50,000 people took part in the demonstration in the Belgium capital, which coincided with similar protests in other European cities.

Protesters hurled projectiles outside the European Union's diplomatic service and metal barriers were thrown at officers in a metro station

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Rising Covid cases in US nursing homes prompts hospital warnings

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Omicron wave has led to staff shortages, meaning hospitals that would normally release patients into care homes are backed up

Covid cases are rising rapidly among US nursing home residents and staff, causing shortages in admissions, exacerbating bed shortages at hospitals in turn, and in some cases requiring the national guard to be called in.

The Omicron wave has sent many staff home sick at care facilities and rehabilitation centers that offer round-the-clock medical care. As a result, hospitals that would normally release patients into such stepped-down care are now holding off, creating a backlog of patients stuck in hospital.

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Elderly woman forced to isolate under a tree in remote community due to lack of facilities

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Quarantine facilities desperately needed in Yuendumu where Covid has ripped through community, relative says

A resident of the remote community of Yuendumu, who is caring for a toddler and a partner on dialysis, is pleading with the Northern Territory government to provide a local quarantine facility, after her Covid-positive elderly relative was forced to sleep outside on the veranda and spend three days under a tree in order to safely isolate from the rest of the family.

The Warlpiri woman, who has asked not to be named, says she is “stressed and worried” that her child and partner remain exposed to the virus while the relative remains in their care. She says communication with health officials has left her confused about whether her relative will be sent to quarantine elsewhere or asked stay at home.

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Long Covid: nearly 2m days lost in NHS staff absences in England

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MPs urge support for workers after data shows extent of ongoing illness in first 18 months of pandemic

NHS trusts in England lost nearly 2m days in staff absences due to long Covid in the first 18 months of the pandemic, according to figures that reveal the hidden burden of ongoing illness in the health service.

MPs on the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on coronavirus estimate that more than 1.82m days were lost to healthcare workers with long Covid from March 2020 to September 2021 across England’s 219 NHS trusts.

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Covid live: 74,799 more cases reported in UK; Russia breaks daily infection record

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Latest updates: follow all the news and politics developments resulting from the coronavirus pandemic in the UK and around the world

Sturgeon talks about the impact on business. She said she realises that hospitality has been badly affected by the pandemic.

“It’s not about having protective measures and businesses are damaged, or having no measures and everything is fine. It’s having measures than stem transmission, or allowing things to be controlled.”

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Fauci: US ‘confident’ Omicron will soon peak even as hospitals struggle

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US authorities are confident most states will soon reach and pass a peak in coronavirus Omicron variant cases, even as hospitals struggle to cope with the current surge, Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser said on Sunday.

“I think [we’re] as confident as you can be,” Anthony Fauci told ABC’s This Week. “You never want to be overconfident when you’re dealing with this virus, because it has certainly surprised us in the past.

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‘Such is life’: Jacinda Ardern cancels wedding amid Omicron wave – video

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The Omicron outbreak in New Zealand has forced Jacinda Ardern and partner Clarke Gayford to cancel their wedding, which was due to take place in the coming weeks at Gisborne on the North Island’s eastern coast. The prime minister said on Sunday the country would be placed on the highest level of restrictions to try to slow the spread of the variant

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Mandatory Covid jabs policy divides NHS leaders in England as deadline nears

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Trust chiefs hold conflicting views over compulsory vaccinations, which look set to put staffing of health service under even more pressure

NHS trust leaders are divided about whether the government should press ahead with mandatory jabs for healthcare workers in England after the prime minister told MPs he was considering relaxing the policy.

About 80,000 frontline NHS workers have still not had a Covid vaccination and have less than two weeks to have their first dose in time to be able to complete the course before the 1 April deadline.

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Africa’s health boss seeks to tempt expat medics to come back home

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Head of the continent’s disease control centre says doctors and nurses are needed to bolster the local pandemic response

During the pandemic, the UK and other rich nations have relied on African doctors and nurses to shore up their health services.

Now the continent’s chief health leader is hoping to put the brain drain into reverse with a plan to persuade African expats to return.

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Australia live news update: nearly identical return-to-school plans for NSW and Victoria; no rapid tests for Qld students; 58 Covid deaths recorded

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Students and teachers in NSW will be required to take rapid Covid tests twice a week when school resumes; Victoria mandates third vaccine dose for teachers and staff, masks for year three and above; NSW records 34 Covid deaths, Victoria 14 and Queensland 10; ACT reports 694 cases and no deaths, SA 2,062 cases. Follow live

A search and rescue operation will resume for a fisherman missing since the early hours of Saturday after he was thrown from a boat along with another man and a dog on Sydney’s North Harbour, AAP reports.

The men, aged 25 and 49, launched their 3.5-metre runabout from Northbridge about 9pm on Friday before running into rough seas and capsizing about 3am on Saturday.

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Red alert: PM cancels wedding as New Zealand prepares for thousands of Omicron cases a day

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Prime minister Jacinda Ardern says Omicron is now circulating in the community but ‘we’ll do everything that we can to slow the spread’

Omicron has breached New Zealand’s borders and started spreading in the community, Jacinda Ardern has said, meaning the entire country will be placed on the highest level of restrictions.

The outbreak has also forced the prime minister to cancel her wedding to Clarke Gayford, which was due to take place in the coming weeks at Gisborne on the North Island’s eastern coast.

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Adele shares grief with fans by video call over postponed Vegas shows

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Singer extends apologies and tears by FaceTime and social media after Covid delays to her residency dates

Adele has personally apologised to fans after cancelling a series of highly anticipated shows in Las Vegas because of Covid production issues.

The singer addressed disappointed concert-goers, some of who had travelled in from around the world, via FaceTime after her residency was postponed at the last minute.

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Kebabs ’n’ jabs: the Punjabi grill in Gravesend offering a side of Covid shots

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Kentish pharmacist-restauranteurs Rav and Raj Chopra joined the NHS vaccine rollout after their father’s hospitalisation

When customers walk through the doors of V’s Punjabi Grill, a family-run restaurant in Gravesend in Kent, the sign above their heads says in gold-letters: cocktails, grills, events.

Now, the family may need to paint a fourth bullet point: vaccinations.

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Daily Covid infections in UK less than half recorded two weeks ago

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UK detects 76,807 new cases in the past 24 hours, suggesting Omicron wave has spiked

The UK detected 76,807 new Covid infections in the past 24 hours, a 54% drop on the 176,191 cases detected two weeks ago as the record-breaking Omicron wave appears to have spiked.

The UK reported a further 297 people died within 28 days of a positive Covid test on Saturday, 3% up on the 287 deaths reported last Saturday. Over 177,000 people in the UK have Covid on their death certificate, according to the Office for National Statistics, the seventh highest tally in the world.

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Coronavirus live: Japan and Poland report record cases; Germany seven-day rate at new high

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Concerns about new Omicron offshoot in England; France to bring in strict restrictions for unvaccinated people

Germany’s seven-day incidence rate has risen to a high of 772.7 infections per 100,000 people, up from 706.3.

The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) reported 135,461 new infections on Saturday, an increase of 57,439 on the same day a week ago, when 78,022 positive tests were reported.

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