Category Archives: Infectious Diseases

‘Covid has magnified every existing inequality’ – Melinda Gates

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Pandemic could result in a ‘lost decade’ for developing countries says co-chair of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in stark report


The world’s poorest countries risk a lost decade of development unless leaders move quickly to help them recover from the fallout of Covid-19, Melinda Gates told the Guardian.

The co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which has committed $350m (£270m) to support the global response to the pandemic, said it was in the hands of the global community to decide the long-term impact.

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New antibody drug added to Oxford University trial of Covid-19 treatments

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Regeneron’s experimental drug REGN-COV2 to be added to UK’s Recovery trial

The Oxford-based Recovery trial which proved that steroids saved the lives of some Covid patients will now take on a promising but far more expensive new antibody combination treatment, it has been announced.

A cohort of patients joining the trial in most NHS acute hospitals will be randomly allocated to Regeneron’s experimental drug, called REGN-COV2. The drug is a combination of two human neutralising antibodies against the virus. The company previously developed a similar antibody drug against Ebola.

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Covid-19: Marseille and Bordeaux announce new restrictions

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New measures to limit public gatherings come as number of cases surges

Authorities in Bordeaux and Marseille have announced strict new measures to limit public gatherings in an effort to rein in a rapid surge in Covid-19 cases that risks overwhelming the two French cities’ hospitals.

“The virus has accelerated despite the obligation to wear a mask introduced earlier this summer,” Christophe Mirmand, the government’s top official in greater Marseille area, said on Monday. “We need to take action to ensure health services can cope.”

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Hunting in England exempt from ‘rule of six’ Covid-19 restrictions

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List of exempt physical activities includes football, rugby, cricket and hockey among others

Grouse shooting and hunting with guns in England are among outdoor activities exempted from the government’s “rule of six” coronavirus regulations.

Confirmation that the latest health protection regulations permit groups of up to 30 to take part in any “sports gathering” was published only minutes before coming into force.

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Guam boy, 10, dies as Covid outbreak threatens country’s health system

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Of island’s nearly 1,900 cases, 70% were diagnosed in August and September, with one in 10 tests positive

A 10-year-old boy has become Covid-19’s latest fatality on Guam, as the island struggles to rein in an outbreak that threatens to overwhelm its public health system.

The boy, who had underlying health conditions, died on Sunday night at the US Naval Hospital, 10 days after contracting the virus. He is the 26th person to die from Covid on Guam.

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Just $5 per person a year could prevent future pandemic, says ex-WHO head

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Cost would be billions, but represents a huge saving on $11tn response to Covid-19, estimates show

Spending $5 (£3.90) per person annually on global health security over the next five years could prevent a future “catastrophic” pandemic, according to a former head of the World Health Organization (WHO).

It would cost the world billions of dollars, but that amount would be a huge saving on the $11tn response to Covid-19, said Gro Harlem Brundtland, who, with other prominent international experts, sounded the alarm over the threat of a fast-spreading deadly pandemic last September.

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Coronavirus Australia live update: Daniel Andrews holds Covid press conference as Victoria reports 35 new cases and NSW four

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Victoria to turn roads and footpaths into dining spaces to help hospitality industry as Queensland border row deepens. Follow all today’s news

When will regional Victoria learn more about its restrictions being eased?

Daniel Andrews:

We will be here tomorrow and hopefully there will be no mystery cases in the data I report tomorrow and hopefully we can have more to say.

No doubt, there will be criticism that we haven’t been given any notice but this is nature of these things.

Professor Brett Sutton is then asked about some of the restrictions being eased today (very small easings).

They are baby steps. We all recognise that it is not an absolute sea change in terms of what is opening up.

That is what we’re trying to manage here. We are managing expectations and we’re being clear that outdoor activities are the low-risk activities.

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Coronavirus live news: UK reports 2,621 new infections as global cases hit one-day record high

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Public Health England also records nine further deaths; 14 refugees test positive after Lesbos fire; Silvio Berlusconi leaves hospital after treatment

French health authorities on Monday reported 6,158 new Covid-19 infections over the past 24 hours, sharply down from Saturday’s record high since large-scale testing began of 10,561 and Sunday’s tally of 7,183.

The Monday figure always tends to dip as there are fewer tests conducted on Sundays.

Related: Covid-19: Marseille and Bordeaux announce new restrictions

The Chinese city of Ruili will test all people there after authorities reported two new coronavirus cases imported from neighbouring Myanmar, state media reported late on Monday.

Ruili is part of Dehong Prefecture in China’s southwestern province of Yunnan. The city asked residents to quarantine at home, according to state television CCTV.

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Coronavirus: is this the start of a second wave and is the UK prepared?

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Cases are increasing here and across Europe as universities plan to reopen. What is the outlook for autumn?

Is this the start of a second wave, and if so will it be as bad as the first?
The number of Covid-19 infections has almost doubled in a week, with 3,497 cases announced yesterday. Admissions to hospital have also risen. We’ll find out soon if this is a second wave but there are some indicators of what is coming.

Cases are rising quickly…
Researchers at Imperial College London said on Friday that the number of cases had been doubling roughly every 7.7 days in England, and that the reproduction rate was as high as 1.7. If the virus continues to spread at that rate, the UK would see about 10,000 new cases a day in the next two weeks, with 300 to 400 hospital admissions a day.

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‘We’ve learned how we need to act’: Spain braces for second wave of Covid

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Despite a big rise in infections, particularly among younger people, there is no sense of panic on the streets around Madrid

An hour or so before lunch on Thursday, Ángela Falcón stepped out of the church of Our Lady of the Assumption and on to the hot and busy streets of Parla.

“I’m scared and I very seldom come out but when I do, I stop by the church to pray,” said the 71-year-old.

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I was infected with coronavirus in March, six months on I’m still unwell

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Charlie Russell, 27, is one of an estimated 600,000 people with post-Covid illness, a condition that may give an insight into ME

It’s day 182 after being infected by Covid-19, and Charlie Russell is not doing the things that other 27-year-olds are doing.

He’s not running 5km three times a week like he used to. He’s not going to the pub. He’s not working. And he’s not getting better.

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Coronavirus: France hits daily record of over 10,000 cases; protests in Germany against restrictions – live updates

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Number of new cases in California falls; Cuba restricts internal travel; English hospitals stress test for a second wave. Follow all the developments

Brazil registered 814 coronavirus deaths over the last 24 hours and 33,523 additional cases, the nation’s health ministry said on Saturday evening.

The South American country has now reported 131,210 total deaths and 4,315,687 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus.

El Salvador’s government said on Saturday it plans to reopen airports for international flights starting on 19 September, but with a twist: incoming passengers will be required to show a negative PCR coronavirus test no more than three days old.

Anyone lacking the test would be denied entry, according to the Associated Press.

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Victoria police arrest 14 people at illegal anti-lockdown protests in Melbourne

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About 100 people attended the protests, with 51 fines issued for breaching stay-at-home orders

Victoria police have arrested 14 people at illegal anti-lockdown protests in Melbourne, with 51 fines issued for breaching stay-at-home orders.

About 100 people attended the protests at various locations in the city, with a large police presence outnumbering those taking part in the so-called “freedom walk” at the popular running track the Tan and Fitzroy Gardens.

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The Covid-19 vaccine gamble: where bets have been placed and why

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Wealthy nations have ordered millions of doses of unproven candidates, but equal access is the key to beating virus

The UK has ordered a total of 340m doses of potential coronavirus vaccines from six manufacturers.

The EU has done a deal said to be worth €2.4bn (£2.2bn) with one developer, while the US has orders with six companies for 800m doses under Operation Warp Speed, with options on a further 1.6bn.

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UK coronavirus live: England to launch Covid-19 app this month, Scotland and Wales bring in ‘rule of six’

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Stricter regulations across the UK come as a study reports that mask wearing and lockdown rules are causing deeper social divides than Brexit

The Covid-19 app will be launched across England and Wales on September 24, the Department of Health and Social Care said.

Ahead of the roll-out businesses including pubs, restaurants, hairdressers and cinemas are being urged to ensure they have NHS QR code posters visible on entry so customers who have downloaded the new app can use their smartphones to check-in.

QR codes provide an easy and simple way to collect contact details to support the NHS Test and Trace system.

“Hospitality businesses can now download posters for their premises ahead of the launch of the NHS Covid-19 app. This will allow the public to seamlessly check in to venues using the app when it launches.

Grassroots campaigners for EU nationals in the UK and Britons in Europe have expressed fears that they too could be hit by a government U-turn on the Brexit deal.

They say that Boris Johnson’s willingness to backtrack on the Northern Ireland protocol he agreed in January undermines trust that he will stick with the other core parts of the deal in the future including the section on citizens’ rights.

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Coronavirus Australia live update: NSW Coalition in crisis as Covid-19 border row intensifies – latest news

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NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian gave Nationals leader John Barilaro ultimatum after stoush over future of koala population. Follow live

We will get additional details, like test numbers, very soon

#COVID19VicData for 11 September, 2020.
Yesterday there were 43 new cases reported. Sadly, 9 lives were lost and our thoughts are with those affected. More information will be available later today. pic.twitter.com/Y5dxX1ixEK

It is just one week short of a year since this photo was taken – which was the last time Gladys Berejiklian’s colleagues tested her leadership over legislation. When the Ched debate happened, Tanya Davies, Matthew Mason-Cox and Lou Amato had announced they were calling a spill motion over the state’s abortion laws.

Berejiklian stared them down as well. There was no spill motion. But what there was, was a debate over whether she was carrying Saladas (as reported in the Tele) or Cheds for breakfast.

big day in NSW politics and you know what that means - the Cheds are back pic.twitter.com/rjdUatDGgV

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Coronavirus live news: record daily rise in cases in France and Greece

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French cases near 10,000 in a day; single biggest rise in Greece; Portugal limits gatherings to 10 people; Mexico signs agreement for Sputnik V vaccine

Here’s a quick summary of the biggest developments before we head over to a new blog. Thanks for following along.

Brazil recorded 40,557 additional confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the past 24 hours, and 983 deaths from the disease, the health ministry said on Thursday.

The country has registered more than 4.2 million cases of the virus since the pandemic began, while the official death toll has risen to 129,522, according to ministry data.

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Boris Johnson pinning hopes on £100bn ‘moonshot’ to avoid second lockdown

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PM believes huge rapid testing programme is ‘only hope’ before a vaccine, leaked document says

Boris Johnson believes a mass testing programme is “our only hope for avoiding a second national lockdown before a vaccine”, according to leaked official documents setting out plans for “Operation Moonshot”.

The prime minister is said to be pinning his hopes on a project that would deliver up to 10m tests a day – even though the current testing regime is struggling to deliver a fraction of that number and is beset by problems.

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Coronavirus live news: Oxford vaccine trial on hold; Czech Republic reports 1,000 new cases a day for first time

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AstraZeneca Plc and Oxford pause vaccine trial again; Czech Republic battles surging spread; China stages celebration of beating virus

In the US, Iowa’s governor, Kim Reynolds, is refusing to enforce a White House coronavirus taskforce recommendation to close bars and require people to wear masks after Covid-19 infections in some of the state’s cities surged.

Related: Iowa refuses to close bars and require masks as Covid-19 cases surge in cities

Russia’s sovereign wealth fund will sell 32m doses of the potential Covid-19 vaccine ‘Sputnik-V’ to a top pharmaceutical company in Mexico, Russia’s second vaccine export deal, a source close to the deal said on Wednesday.

Russia registered its first vaccine candidate, developed by Moscow’s Gamaleya Institute, in August. Late-stage trials of Sputnik-V, due to involve 40,000 participants, were launched on 26 August.

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‘Hands. Face. Space’: UK government to relaunch Covid-19 slogan

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Ad campaign promoting hygiene and social distancing will run across TV, radio, print and more

A new government campaign is being launched to remind people to wash their hands, cover their faces and keep their distance, in a bid to keep infections down as the winter months approach.

With the slogan “Hands. Face. Space”, advertising will run across TV, radio, print, social and digital display advertising, as well as on community media channels, the Department of Health and Social Care has said.

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