Editor Brian Harrod Provides Comprehensive up-to-date news coverage, with aggregated news from sources all over the world from the Roundup Newswires Network
The potential arrival of a highly transmissable variant could overwhelm health systems already struggling after military coup
Doctors in Myanmar have warned the country would be unable to cope with a major outbreak of Covid-19 as hospitals and medical facilities struggle to function in the aftermath of February’s military coup.
Fears are growing about the potential impact of a highly transmissible variant as neighbouring countries, chiefly India but also Thailand and Laos, battle record numbers of Covid cases.
Pressure growing for UK and others to follow Biden’s lead at WTO to avoid ‘moral and public health failure’
The UK government is in talks about a plan to waive Covid-19 vaccine patents to boost the production of shots in low and middle-income countries, the Guardian can reveal.
The discussions come amid growing calls for Britain and other European countries to follow the US in supporting the proposal put before the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Tunisia has ended its one-week lockdown, despite having the highest reported deaths per capita of any country in Africa.
Covid-19 cases in Tunisia were initially low last year, with a sweeping six-week lockdown involving the closure of borders and shutting down all but essential commercial activity appearing to halt the spread of the virus. However, since easing that original lockdown cases have increased, with daily reported infections and deaths now the highest in Africa, according to Our World in Data.
Local lockdowns remain a possibility in some parts of England, as “intensive surveillance” continues in areas with high coronavirus rates, a cabinet minister has said.
The environment secretary, George Eustice, told Times Radio there was a “clear roadmap out of lockdown” with a decision due within weeks on whether the last stage of lifting of restrictions can go ahead on 21 June.
Covid-19 vaccines tend to alleviate the symptoms of long Covid, according to a large survey of more than 800 people that suggests mRNA vaccines, in particular, are beneficial.
Though Covid-19 was initially understood to be a largely respiratory illness from which most would recover within a few weeks, as the pandemic wore on increasing numbers of people reported experiencing symptoms for months on end. There is no consensus definition of the condition of these people who have symptoms ranging from chronic fatigue to organ damage, let alone a standardised treatment plan.
The Covid variant first detected in India is set to be the dominant strain in the UK within days, experts have said, with the government and health teams struggling to contain cases, which have risen by more than 75% since Thursday.
With the rapid spread of the more transmissible B.1.617.2 variant threatening to reverse moves to ease lockdown, the government faced intense pressure to more fully explain the delay in adding India to the so-called red list of countries.
The majority of people in hospital with Covid in Bolton were eligible for the vaccine but have not had it, Matt Hancock has said, saying that health authorities would go “door-to-door” offering jabs.
His comments came as concern mounted over increased cases of the B.1.617.2 variant first detected in India, particularly in the north-west and parts of London, which could affect the future easing of lockdown restrictions.
Boris Johnson was under mounting pressure on Saturday to reconsider Monday’s relaxation of Covid rules in England because of the threat posed by the India variant. His own advisers and independent health experts raised fears that it could lead to a surge in hospital admissions, especially among young adults.
From Monday people will be able to meet in groups of up to 30 outdoors, while six people or two households will be permitted to meet indoors. Pubs, bars, cafes and restaurants will be allowed to serve customers indoors. Indoor entertainment such as museums, cinemas and children’s play areas can also open along with theatres, concert halls, conference centres and sports stadiums.
The government is acting “coolly” and “calmly” to tackle the coronavirus variant first found in India as social distancing measures are further eased on Monday, the health minister Edward Argar has said.
At a press conference on Friday, Boris Johnson said he would press ahead with allowing indoor gatherings of six people or two households in England from next week, though the final stage of lifting restrictions in June could face “serious disruption”.
Across Poland, bars and restaurants have opened their outdoor terraces for the first time in over six months, with masks not being required outdoors where social distancing can be observed.
On Friday, Poland had 3,288 new coronavirus cases compared with a high of 35,251 on 1 April. Some 35.7% of adult Poles have received at least one dose of vaccine and 13.6% are fully vaccinated, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
Bars and restaurants can now offer outdoor service, with indoor service due to reopen with limited capacity on May 28. Since October, they have been able to serve only take-away food.
“We’ve been closed for so long, over 200 days, and it was very stressful and exhausting for different reasons, we didn’t know if we could survive at all,” said Zuzia Mockallo, 34, co-owner of Bar Studio, located in the capital’s landmark building, the Palace of Culture and Science.
Thailand has planned to allow restaurants to resume dine-in services in its capital, Bangkok, a senior official has said, but opening hours and the number of diners will be limited as the country faces a third wave of infections.
Since April, Thailand has faced its deadliest coronavirus outbreak. Thailand reported 3,095 new coronavirus cases and 17 deaths today, bringing total cases to 99,145 and 565 deaths. Of the new cases, 1,163 were in Bangkok.
Restaurants in dark red zones like Bangkok will be allowed to reopen for dine-in services but at a limited capacity of 25% and will have to close at 9pm (1400 GMT), said Taweesin Wisanuyothin, a coronavirus taskforce spokesman.
Restaurants in dark red zones, which have the highest risk of infection and the strictest restrictions, could previously only open for delivery.
Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth has accused Boris Johnson of a “reckless failure to protect our borders” as the Indian variant threatened to derail progress to ending coronavirus restrictions in June.
The Labour MP said: “People across the country will be deeply concerned and tonight’s news brings into sharp focus Boris Johnson’s reckless failure to protect our borders in this crisis.
There is a “realistic possibility” that the Indian coronavirus variant could be as much as “50% more transmissible” than the Kent strain, the Scientific Advisory Group for emergencies (Sage) has said.
The minutes of the meeting between the government’s scientific advisers on Thursday said that it is “highly likely that this variant is more transmissible than B.1.1.7 (high confidence), and it is a realistic possibility that it is as much as 50% more transmissible”, PA reports.
The B.1.617.2 variant first found in India will, over time, surpass the variant first discovered in Kent and become dominant in the UK, Britain’s Chief Medical Officer, Prof Chris Whitty, said on Friday.
“This is more transmissible than the B.1.1.7 (Kent variant), and we expect over time this variant will overtake and come to dominate in the UK, in the way that B.1.1.7 took over,” Prof Whitty told a news conference.
Sage documents just published say variant that emerged in India could be up to 50% more transmissible pic.twitter.com/AYC8jxZXmG
And the reason that matters is anything over 40% is expected to lead to a "substantial" spike in people needing hospital treatment. Vaccines are doing a brilliant job, but they are not perfect. pic.twitter.com/J7ODZ0lSJr
My colleagues Tobi Thomas and Ashley Kirk have reported which countries have the highest infection rates from the variant discovered in India.
Outside India, the UK has recorded the highest number of cases of the Indian variant, at 1,587 cases to date. The US, Singapore and Germany are the only other countries to have sequenced more than 100 cases of the B.1.617+ variant, according to the Gisaid Initiative.
The possible spread of the highly transmissible B.1.617.2 variant of Covid, first identified in India, threatens to hamper the timetable for removing lockdown restrictions, since a series of localised outbreaks have been detected.
Here are some possible actions that could be used to limit the spread of the variant:
It was all looking so good. After a brutal second wave in the winter, the lockdown combined with the swift rollout of vaccines forced infections, hospitalisations and deaths down to levels not seen since last summer. The vaccines performed better than expected, not only in preventing deaths, but in hampering the spread of the virus. Scientific advisers were confident about England’s cautious roadmap back to a life more normal: the worst, it seemed, was over.
Now, those same advisers are deeply worried that the new variant of concern from India, B.1.617.2, could undermine the hard-won achievement. The government strategy has been to ease restrictions as vaccines reach more people, aiming for a delicate balance that opens up society while preventing another wave that overwhelms the NHS.
The World Health Organization said on Tuesday the Indian Covid-19 variant was a global concern, with some data suggesting the variant has “increased transmissibility” compared with other strains.
Outside India, the UK has recorded the highest number of cases of the Indian variant, at 1,587 cases to date. The US, Singapore and Germany are the only other countries to have sequenced more than 100 cases of the B.1.617+ variant, according to the Gisaid Initiative.
Are you hankering for a hug, or horrified at the prospect of physical closeness? From Monday, people in England will officially be allowed to touch each other again. After a year of fist bumps, elbow rubs and hails across garden walls, it feels like a symbolic step back towards normality.
Yet with the spread of new variants, increasing coronavirus cases in some parts of the country, and much of the population still not fully vaccinated, some may be questioning whether they actually want to hug their neighbours, or shake hands with strangers again. Besides, there are so many other forms of social greeting to choose from now, from Boris bumps to spoon hugs. So which one should you choose?
The Bereaved Families for Justice group say the fight for a public inquiry has left a legacy of mistrust
For families whose loved ones died due to Covid-19, and who have been calling on the government to hold a public inquiry for over a year, Boris Johnson’s announcement of a statutory inquiry to start next year came as a bittersweet landmark. Jo Goodman, whose father, Stuart, 72, died last April, and who co-founded the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group almost exactly a year ago, said their campaign had been vindicated, but the battle with the government has caused them “trauma upon trauma” and left a legacy of mistrust.
While the announcement was “a huge relief”, the group warned that the inquiry was starting too late, and called on the government to involve bereaved families in key decision-making, including the choice of chair and terms of reference for the inquiry. Elkan Abrahamson, a Liverpool-based solicitor who has worked for free on the group’s behalf, first wrote to Johnson on 11 June last year, calling for a rapid public inquiry, naming 56 bereaved families. The group emphasised the need for an immediate, “rapid review” inquiry, so that lessons could be learned to avoid a second wave of the virus. Goodman said it was devastating for families to see thousands more people die in the winter, and the group still believes the inquiry should be set up immediately.
Administering one dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine followed by one of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine (or vice versa) induces a higher frequency of mild to moderate side-effects compared with standard two doses of either vaccine, initial data from a key UK trial suggests.
The Oxford-led Com-Cov study is exploring the safety and efficacy of mixed-dose schedules given that they are being considered in several countries – including the UK – to fortify vaccine rollout programmes that are dependent on unstable vaccine supplies.
Death and illness from Covid-19 is steadily rising once again. In the last week of April, more than 93,000 people died – approaching the worst of the global second wave. How can this still be happening? How can some countries still be experiencing wave after wave of infection when we know how to prevent them?
For the past eight months, the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response has been rigorously reviewing the evidence of what happened to allow Covid-19 to take a firm grip – and why. The panel spoke to hundreds of experts and people on the frontline of the response, and conducted extensive original research and numerous literature reviews.
The Covid pandemic was a preventable disaster that need not have cost millions of lives if the world had reacted more quickly, according to an independent high-level panel, which castigates global leaders and calls for major changes to bring it to an end and ensure it cannot happen again.
The report of the panel, chaired by the former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a former president of Liberia, found “weak links at every point in the chain”.