Up to 70% of 10-year-olds in low- and middle-income countries lack basic reading skills, with learning losses seen from US to Ethiopia
The scale of the number of children who have lost out on their schooling during the pandemic is “nearly insurmountable”, according to UN data.
Up to 70% of 10-year-olds in low- and middle-income countries cannot read or understand a simple text, up from 53% pre-Covid, the research suggested.
Continue reading...Labor leader outlines election priorities; nation records 76 Covid deaths; Peter Dutton warns against Russia invasion of Ukraine; giant ram survives 4.7 magnitude earthquake in WA. Follow all the latest news
The benchmark ASX200 is set to fall 1.7% this morning, according to futures data, following further losses on overseas markets overnight.
In the US, the S&P500 fell 0.72% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq index dropped 0.43%, while London’s FTSE100 shed a whopping 2.63%.
Continue reading...Furious response from MPs and bereaved after revelation of celebration held indoors in contravention of Covid restrictions
Boris Johnson was facing renewed anger from MPs and bereaved families on Monday after the disclosure that his fiancee threw him a surprise lockdown birthday party, as sources said an official inquiry had uncovered “appalling evidence of mismanagement” at the heart of Downing Street.
Sue Gray, the senior civil servant leading the inquiry into Downing Street parties, is expected to make deeply critical recommendations on overhauling No 10’s operation after hearing of repeated failures of leadership, according to a Whitehall source who spoke to the inquiry.
Continue reading...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”.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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:
Continue reading...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
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.”
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...All summer we’ve seen the highly contagious Omicron variant rip through most of Australia, as a record number of people continue to get sick and die from the virus.
Laura Murphy-Oates speaks to a paramedic and a senior ICU nurse, who say the health system is being pushed to the limit
Read more:
Continue reading...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
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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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Continue reading...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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