Category Archives: Coronavirus

How latest update to England’s travel red list will affect planned trips

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Six southern African countries added to list and temporary flight ban in place owing to new Covid-19 variant

The UK government has added six countries to the travel red list after the emergence of a new coronavirus variant. As of midday on Friday, South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Namibia are subject to restrictions and a temporary flight ban. Non-UK and Irish residents who have been in any of those countries in the previous 10 days will be refused entry into England. And the move will have an impact on anyone who has a trip planned.

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Failure to share Covid vaccines ‘coming back to haunt us’, says Gordon Brown

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Ex-PM says world was ‘forewarned’ of dangers of failing to vaccinate poorer countries amid rise of new variant

The failure of the world to get vaccines to the developing world is “coming back to haunt us”, Gordon Brown has warned, as experts said the emergence of variants such as B.1.1.529 could have been avoided if jabs had been more fairly distributed.

Writing in the Guardian, the Labour former prime minister said the world had been “forewarned” that a lack of vaccines in poorer countries could have serious consequences for the pandemic.

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Germany ‘at crossroads’ as Covid cases surge across Europe

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Urgent measures needed to avoid ‘chaos’, warns expert, as Spain, Portugal and Netherlands tighten rules

Germany’s top health officials have raised the prospect of a national lockdown, warning that a rapidly rising number of coronavirus cases and a dramatic increase in the number of patients in intensive care meant contact reduction was the only way of tackling the crisis and avoiding “the road to chaos”.

“We need a massive contact reduction immediately,” said Prof Lothar Wieler, the head of the Robert Koch Institute, Germany’s federal disease control agency.

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Sajid Javid on latest Covid variant: ‘Our scientists are deeply concerned’ – video

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The health secretary, Sajid Javid, has announced the UK will temporarily ban flights from several African countries, after the discovery of the B.1.1.529 Covid variant in the region against which vaccines might be less effective.

Officials characterise the variant, which has double the number of mutations as the currently dominant Delta variant, as the 'worst one yet'.

Flights from South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Lesotho and Eswatini will be banned from Friday afternoon, and returning British travellers from those destinations will have to quarantine

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Shanghai cancels hundreds of flights, shuts schools over three Covid cases

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Over 500 flights from Shanghai’s two major airports were cancelled and six hospitals suspended outpatient services

Hundreds of flights have been cancelled while some schools were shuttered and tour groups suspended on Friday after three Covid cases were reported in Shanghai, as China continues its strict zero-Covid policy.

Beijing has largely succeeded in controlling the spread of the coronavirus within its borders through travel restrictions and snap lockdowns, but frequent domestic flare-ups have tested its no-tolerance strategy in recent months.

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WHO to assess new highly mutated Covid-19 variant as countries ramp up health checks

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Meeting will determine if B.1.1.529 variant warrants a designation as one of ‘interest’ or of ‘concern’

The World Health Organization will meet on Friday to assess a new variant detected in South Africa that is feared to be the worst Covid-19 variant yet identified.

The meeting will determine if the B.1.1.529 variant should be designated a variant of “interest” or of “concern”. The variant, which was identified on Tuesday, initially attracted attention because it carries an “extremely high number” of mutations.

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Cornflakes, fruit cups and drinking: life stuck in a locked-off Byron hostel

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Anxiety and desperation are setting in for 84 people forced to isolate inside Aquarius Backpackers because of a Covid case

Day three of lockdown at the Aquarius Backpackers, and all Nina D’Angelo craves is a decent coffee.

“I saw a cop drinking one and asked, ‘sir, could I have an almond latte please?’ But really it’s the lack of information that’s getting to me,” she said from her hostel dorm.

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Amnesty UK accused of ‘spreading false information’ about Northern Territory Covid outbreak

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NT Aboriginal health organisation and Amnesty’s Australian arm ‘extremely disappointed’ by UK office’s statement

Amnesty UK has been accused of “spreading false information” about the Northern Territory’s Covid outbreak in an extraordinary joint statement from the territory’s peak Aboriginal health organisation and Amnesty’s own Australian operation.

Disinformation about the Covid outbreak in Aboriginal communities near Katherine, spread by third parties online, was on Thursday described by the NT chief minister as “conspiracy theories” pushed by “tinfoil hat wearing tossers”.

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Action over variant shows government keen to avoid Christmas calamity of 2020

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Analysis: variant provides test of whether relaxation of rules and booster push is effective policy

Last Christmas, as ministers rashly promised five days of festive family gatherings while a new variant gathered pace, Boris Johnson held out until the final hours until he bowed to the inevitable and cancelled Christmas.

Despite rising cases in Europe and new restrictions on the continent, ministers had been bullish about going ahead with Christmas gatherings this year. Cabinet ministers have already sent invites for the Christmas drinks dos.

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‘We pray for them’: Biden pays tribute to Covid victims in Thanksgiving message

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President wishes Americans a closer-to-normal holiday amid rise in coronavirus infections

President Joe Biden on Thursday wished Americans a happy and closer-to-normal Thanksgiving, the second celebrated in the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic, in remarks welcoming the resumption of holiday traditions in many homes.

In his first holiday message as president, Biden and the first lady, Jill Biden, said this year’s celebrations were especially meaningful after last year’s family separations due to the pandemic.

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Covid live: France announces boosters for all adults and stricter mask rules; EU approves Pfizer jab for children aged five to 11

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French health minister holds press conference to announce new measures; EU regulator approves vaccine for younger children

Alberto Nardelli (formerly of this parish) and John Follain have a story leading the Bloomberg site at the moment, claiming that the EU is to propose a nine-month limit on Covid vaccine validity for travel. They write:

The European Union will recommend a nine-month time limit for the validity of Covid-19 vaccinations for travel into the bloc and also propose prioritising vaccinated travellers.

The European Commission will propose that member states should continue welcoming all travelers inoculated with shots approved by the bloc, according to a document seen by Bloomberg. It also calls for countries to reopen as of 10 January to all those who have used vaccines approved by the World Health Organization.

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What is driving Europe’s surge in Covid cases? – video explainer

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The continent is now the centre of the global coronavirus pandemic – again. As countries from the Baltic to the Med brace for harsher winter measures, the Guardian's Jon Henley looks at the reasons behind the fourth wave

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No apparent disruption from Biden’s federal vaccine mandate, says White House

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One day after the deadline for compliance, 92% of workers covered by the mandate reported they were at least partially vaccinated

The Biden administration’s vaccine mandate for millions of federal workers seems to be working, with no apparent disruption to law enforcement, intelligence-gathering or holiday travel.

One day after the deadline for compliance, 92% of the 3.5 million federal workers covered by Biden’s mandate on Tuesday reported to the government that they were at least partially vaccinated, according to White House officials.

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UK public urged to get Covid booster by 11 December if eligible to avoid waning immunity

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New research shows the risk of infection increases significantly six months after a second dose of the Pfizer vaccine

Ministers are urging millions of Britons to get their Covid booster jab by 11 December to ensure they have “very high protection against Covid by Christmas Day” as new evidence shows the risk of infection increases with the time since the second dose.

The fresh warning comes after cases broke records in parts of Europe on Wednesday, with the continent once again the centre of a pandemic that has prompted new restrictions.

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Australia politics live update: Scott Morrison to introduce religious discrimination bill to parliament

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Legislation which contains a controversial statement of belief clause is expected to pass the lower house before being examined by a Senate committee. Follow live updates

AAP has a bit more on the Byron Bay hostel lockdown:

More than 80 backpackers at a Byron Bay hostel on the NSW north coast have been placed into a week-long lockdown after a guest tested positive to COVID-19.

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Scientists warn of new Covid variant with high number of mutations

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The B.1.1.529 variant was first spotted in Botswana and six cases have been found in South Africa

Scientists have said a new Covid variant that carries an “extremely high number” of mutations may drive further waves of disease by evading the body’s defences.

Only 10 cases in three countries have been confirmed by genomic sequencing, but the variant has sparked serious concern among some researchers because a number of the mutations may help the virus evade immunity.

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Novavax expected to be approved as fourth Covid vaccine in UK

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Trials show the protein-based jab causes fewer side-effects – and hundreds of British jobs depend on it

Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderna. Britons have become so accustomed to the three Covid vaccines available in the UK that most have forgotten about another jab, Novavax – even though the government has ordered 60m doses and hundreds of British jobs depend on it.

Late last month the US company, with a factory on Teesside primed to manufacture doses, submitted final data to UK regulators and a positive decision is anticipated within days or weeks. It will bring to an end what feels like a long wait compared with the speedy development and approval of the other jabs, including for those who took part in trials.

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Boris Johnson accused of flouting request to wear mask at theatre

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Exclusive: Audience member at Almeida theatre says PM was not wearing mask during Macbeth performance

Boris Johnson once again flouted official requests to wear a mask as he watched a performance of Macbeth at a busy theatre in north London on Tuesday night, witnesses say.

The prime minister was in the audience to see the Shakespearean tragedy at the Almeida theatre in Islington, after a torrid few days in which backbench Tories have accused him of losing the plot.

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Australia politics live news: Coalition and Labor test new Speaker’s limits in question time; NT records 11 new Covid cases

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Lorraine Finlay also says she doesn’t believe her past political aspirations with the Liberal party will impact her job.

Certainly my past political involvement doesn’t qualify me for the role, but it also isn’t a disqualification from the role.

Now the human rights commission is an independent, apolitical statutory agency. And as the human rights commissioner, let me be very clear, I am not a politician. It is not a political role. And I fully intend to operate within the established framework of the commission.

What I can say is my personal views, haven’t changed, but my role has, and I’m very aware that as human rights commissioner I do need to take a broader perspective and there are a variety of views and opinions that need to be taken into account.

So again, I don’t see this role as my personal soapbox. I’m not a politician by default, I am here to do a very specific job. And I intend to operate very squarely within the framework of the commission to perform these duties.

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Covid live: Italy bans unvaccinated from numerous venues and extends compulsory vaccination

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Italy unveils new Covid measures, to come into force on 6 December, that will ban unvaccinated people from entering venues

The health service in the UK is considering “radical ideas” to help tackle the backlog of care that has built-up over the last few years and been exacerbated by the Covid pandemic. That includes the idea of sending patients to different regions for treatment, the chief executive of NHS Providers has said.

But Chris Hopson told Times Radio it is more likely that people will be asked to go to neighbouring hospitals rather than different parts of the country. PA Media quote him saying:

Everybody across the NHS recognises that having patients wait for their care is not an acceptable situation. There is a moral obligation on trusts and their leaders to make sure that they do everything they can, no stone unturned, to get through those care backlogs as quickly as possible.

What we’re working on at the moment is a really comprehensive plan to get through those backlogs as fast as possible. And some of it will be all the traditional things that we do, which is: we will expand temporary capacity; we will ensure that we use overtime as much as possible; we will ensure that we use the capacity that sits in the independent sector.

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