Category Archives: Coronavirus

Covid live: Germany to impose ‘lockdown’ on unvaccinated and could make jabs obligatory from February

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Germany is seeking to break a surge in coronavirus infections; India detects two cases of new Omicron variant in Karnataka; Greece and Finland detect first Omicron cases

Some Covid numbers from Germany are now in.

The European nation reported another 73,209 new Covid cases for Wednesday and 388 deaths, according to data from the Robert Koch Institute.

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Biden responds to claim Trump tested positive for Covid days before their debate – video

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Biden was questioned by a reporter over a claim in a book by Trump's last chief of staff that the ex-president had tested positive for Covid-19 three days before the first 2020 presidential debate. When asked whether he thought Trump had put him at risk, Biden said: 'I don’t think about the former president'

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‘Matter of time’: Fauci confirms first US case of Omicron – video

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The first confirmed case of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 in the US has been identified in California. In a White House news briefing, Anthony Fauci, the director of the national institute of allergies and infectious diseases and chief medical adviser to the US president, said the case was in an individual who had travelled from South Africa on 22 November and tested positive for Covid on 29 November. 'We knew it was just a matter of time,' he said

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Omicron variant found around world as more nations tighten travel rules

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US among more than 50 nations bringing in stricter border controls as variant is identified in 24 countries

The Omicron variant of Covid-19 has been identified in new countries around the globe, including the US, west Africa, the Gulf and Asia, as American authorities indicated they would further tighten border controls over concerns that the new strain may be more transmissible.

Underscoring the fast spread of the variant, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases in South Africa – where Omicron was first detected – said it had now been found in five out of nine provinces, and accounted for 74% of the virus genomes sequenced in November.

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Time to think about mandatory Covid vaccination, says EU chief – video

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The EU must consider mandatory vaccination in response to the spread of the 'highly contagious' Omicron Covid variant across Europe, the European Commission president has said. Ursula von der Leyen said one-third of Europe's 150-million population were not vaccinated and it was 'appropriate' to discuss the issue

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Prince Harry compares Covid vaccine inequity to HIV struggle

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Duke of Sussex says on World Aids Day that vaccinating the world against Covid is ‘test of our moral character’

The Duke of Sussex has warned of “corporate greed and political failure” prolonging the Covid pandemic, comparing a “spectacular failure” of global vaccine equity to the struggle by millions to access HIV medicines.

In a letter read out at a World Health Organization (WHO) and UNAIDS event on World Aids Day, Prince Harry said lessons must be learned from the HIV/Aids pandemic.

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Covid limits migration despite more people displaced by war and disasters

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IOM report finds 9m more people displaced globally but mobility restricted due to pandemic, with vaccination proving a key factor


The coronavirus pandemic had a radical effect on migration, limiting movement despite increasing levels of internal displacement from conflict and climate disasters, the UN’s International Organization for Migration said in a report on Wednesday.

Though the number of people who migrated internationally increased to 281 million in 2020 – 9 million more than before Covid-19 – the number was 2 million lower than expected without a pandemic, according to the report.

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Covid-19 variants may not evolve to be less dangerous, says Neil Ferguson

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Senior UK scientist says extent of threat posed by Omicron will not be clear until end of year

People should not assume that Covid will evolve to become a milder disease, a senior scientist has warned, adding that the threat posed by the Omicron coronavirus variant will not be clear until the end of December.

Prof Neil Ferguson, head of the disease outbreak analysis and modelling group at Imperial College London, told MPs on Wednesday that while evolution would drive Covid to spread more easily the virus might not become less dangerous.

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Israeli doctor believes he caught Omicron variant of Covid in London

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Exclusive: Cardiologist Elad Maor suspects he caught virus at conference attended by more than 1,200 people

A doctor who was one of the first people in the world to become infected with the Omicron variant says he believes he caught the virus when he was in London for a major medical conference attended by more than 1,200 health professionals.

The disclosure from Elad Maor will raise fears that the variant may have been in the UK much earlier than previously realised – and that other medics could have been exposed to it too.

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Covid news: Omicron detected in US; UK reports 48,374 new cases and 171 deaths – as it happened

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Case identified in California; UK infections on rise amid fears over Omicron variant; non-EU travellers to France must have negative Covid test regardless of vaccination status

Three people who escaped an Australian Covid quarantine facility have been arrested.

Our reporter Cait Kelly from Melbourne, Australia, has the story.

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Johnson does not deny Christmas party held at No 10 during lockdown last year

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PM says all guidance was followed but Keir Starmer says Johnson ‘taking British public for fools’

Boris Johnson has not denied that parties were held in Downing Street last winter despite the lockdown at the time, saying only that no Covid rules were broken.

Johnson was challenged during prime minister’s questions about the allegations, first reported by the Mirror. Keir Starmer told MPs that Johnson was “taking the British public for fools for following the rules”.

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EU must consider mandatory Covid jabs, says Von der Leyen

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European Commission president says EU states need to discuss idea in response to spread of Omicron variant

The EU must consider mandatory vaccination in response to the spread of the “highly contagious” Omicron Covid variant across Europe, the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, has said.

In a call to arms, Von der Leyen said the EU’s 27 member states should rapidly deploy booster doses and a commission communique backed countries that opted to temporarily enforce pre-travel PCR tests even within the bloc’s borders.

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Republicans boost benefits for workers who quit over vaccine mandates

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Critics say decision from legislatures in four states in effect pays people for not getting vaccinated

Some Republican states are expanding unemployment benefits for employees who have been fired or quit over vaccine mandates, a move critics say in effect pays people for not getting vaccinated.

Four states – Iowa, Tennessee, Florida, and Kansas – have changed their rules on unemployment to include people who have been terminated or who have chosen to leave their jobs because of their employers’ vaccine policies.

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When did Omicron Covid variant arrive in UK and is it spreading?

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Analysis: scientists are working full tilt to answer these vital questions that may give clues as to what is to come

As new cases of Omicron continue to emerge in the UK, scientists are working full tilt to answer two vital questions: when did the variant arrive and is it spreading?

While at first glance those queries may seem less important than those around vaccine effectiveness or disease severity, the answers may give important clues as to what is to come.

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Severe Covid infection doubles chances of dying in following year, study finds

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Research suggests serious bouts of illness with coronavirus may significantly damage long-term health

Patients who survive severe Covid are more than twice as likely to die over the following year than those who remain uninfected or experience milder virus symptoms, a study says.

The research, published in Frontiers in Medicine, suggests that serious coronavirus infections may significantly damage long-term health, showing the importance of vaccination.

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Trump chief of staff Meadows to cooperate with Capitol attack panel – live

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Mark Meadows, formerly Donald Trump’s chief of staff, has reached an agreement to cooperate, at least initially, with the bipartisan House committee investigating the insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6 this year by extremist supporters of the-then president, according to CNN.

Meadows is providing records and agreeing to appear for an initial interview, the cable news company is reporting in an exclusive published moments ago.

Meadows’ lawyer George Terwilliger said in a statement to CNN that there is now an understanding between the two parties on how information can be exchanged moving forward, stating that his client and the committee are open to engaging on a certain set of topics as they work out how to deal with information that the committee is seeking that could fall under executive privilege.

But the agreement could be fragile if the two sides do not agree on what is privileged information. News of the understanding comes as Trump’s lawyers argued in front of a federal appeals court in Washington that the former President should be able to assert executive privilege over records from the committee.

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Omicron Covid variant ‘present in Europe at least 10 days ago’

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Two cases of new Covid variant found in Netherlands predate last week’s alert from South Africa

The Omicron variant of Covid-19 was present in Europe at least 10 days ago and already appears to be spreading in the Netherlands and elsewhere.

“We have found the Omicron coronavirus variant in two test samples that were taken on November 19 and 23,” the Dutch health ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. “It is not yet clear whether these people had also visited southern Africa,” the ministry added.

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Outrage as Fox News commentator likens Anthony Fauci to Nazi doctor

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Lara Logan compares top US infectious diseases expert to Dr Josef Mengele who experimented on Jews in concentration camps

A Fox News commentator stoked outrage by comparing Dr Anthony Fauci, Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, to Josef Mengele, the Nazi “Angel of Death”.

Lara Logan, a host on the Fox Nation streaming service, was discussing Omicron on Fox News Prime Time on Monday night, amid fears that the new variant will trigger a new wave of Covid cases and further deepen political divisions over how to respond. Fox News has consistently broadcast misinformation about Covid and measures to contain it.

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Boris Johnson says people shouldn’t cancel Christmas parties over Omicron – video

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The prime minister has said the government does not want people to cancel events such as Christmas parties and nativity plays because of the Omicron coronavirus variant. Speaking at a Downing Street press briefing, he also said all adults would be offered vaccine booster shots by the end of January

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All adults to be offered third Covid jab by end of January, says Boris Johnson

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PM tells Downing Street press conference temporary vaccine centres will be ‘popping up like Christmas trees’

Every eligible adult in the UK should be offered a Covid booster by the end of January as ministers race to increase protection against the Omicron variant, Boris Johnson has announced.

“We’re going to be throwing everything at it, to ensure everyone eligible is offered a booster in just over two months,” the prime minister said, adding that he would be getting his own third vaccine on Thursday.

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