Category Archives: Infectious Diseases

Coronavirus live news: Lebanon ‘could lose control of outbreak’; Belgium death toll revised down

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Caretaker PM warns over state of pandemic following Beirut blast; Belgium deaths slightly lower than thought; Iran’s death toll exceeds 21,000

The UK prime minister, Boris Johnson, appears to have employed the services of a celebrity personal trainer after admitting he needed to lose weight after contracting Covid-19.

Harry Jameson, who describes himself as an “elite performance coach”, was snapped running alongside Johnson in central London by a photographer from London’s Evening Standard newspaper today.

Germany will end mandatory coronavirus tests for travellers returning from high-risk areas abroad and again focus its testing strategy on people with symptoms or possible exposure to Covid-19 patients, the country’s health minister said today.

Health minister Jens Spahn said that over the summer vacation period the number of virus tests performed in Germany nearly doubled to 900,000 a week in part to identify people who caught the virus during trips abroad, the Associated Press agency reports.

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Obesity increases risk of Covid-19 death by 48%, study finds

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Comprehensive study suggests vaccine may not work as well for overweight people

Obesity increases the risk of death from Covid-19 by nearly 50% and may make vaccines against the disease less effective, according to a comprehensive study using global data.

The research from leading global experts warns that the risks for people with obesity are greater than previously thought.

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EU trade commissioner under pressure to quit over Covid rules breach

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Irish government says it has lost confidence in Phil Hogan after he flouted quarantine regulations

The Irish government wants the embattled European trade commissioner, Phil Hogan, to quit or be sacked after concluding he flouted coronavirus regulations during a golfing break in Ireland.

The Green party leader, Eamon Ryan, part of the ruling coalition, on Wednesday said the government had lost confidence in Hogan.

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Why do Covid fatalities seem steady when infection numbers are rising?

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While some scientists believe the virus has become less deadly, others look at the factors that suggest otherwise

Are Covid-19 death rates decreasing?
Most statistics indicate that although cases of Covid-19 are rising in many parts of Europe and the United States, the number of deaths and cases of severe complications remain relatively low. For example, patients on ventilators have dropped from 3,000 at the epidemic’s peak in Britain to 70. At the same time, the number of cases in the UK have begun to rise in many areas.

What lies behind this trend?
Doctors are unsure exactly what is going on. Some suggest that medical interventions are more successful at treating those who suffer complications from the disease. For example, the drug dexamethasone was recently shown to improve survival rates among patients requiring ventilation. Others argue that different factors are involved. One suggestion is that Covid-19 is now becoming a disease of younger people who are less likely to die or suffer serious complications.

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Coronavirus live news: Turkey infections hit two-month high; India tops global tally of new cases for 18th day

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Turkey records highest number of new cases since mid-June; India worse than US and Brazil in number of daily new cases; European re-infections add to immunity concerns prompted by Hong Kong case

Carnival’s Princess Cruises has said it will cancel early 2021 cruises on two ships, citing travel, border and port restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Cruise lines, hammered by a crisis that has seen some ships turn into infection hotspots, had earlier said they were expecting solid 2021 bookings, mainly as repeat cruisers were eager to book their trips.

Kate Green, Labour’s shadow education secretary, has called the Department of Education change on face coverings a “half baked U-turn”.

Parents and schools needed clarity and leadership, but instead the government have just passed the buck back to them.

Face coverings should be compulsory in communal areas in schools.

It was inevitable that the policy on face coverings would change following guidance from the World Health Organization, and we recognise that the government in Westminster has responded to our call for a quick direction on this matter with the reopening of schools imminent.

The new policy is discretionary, other than in places where coronavirus restrictions apply, and secondary school and college leaders will welcome the flexibility this affords them to decide what best suits their circumstances.

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‘I feel she was abandoned’: The life and terrible death of Belly Mujinga

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A devoted mother and transport worker, Mujinga was confronted by an angry passenger as Covid-19 swept the UK in March. Her death made headlines and raised pressing questions about race, abuse and workers’ rights

It is maybe three metres from the concourse in Victoria station to the ticket office. As Belly Mujinga ran, she would have been scared. It was 21 March, a Saturday, late in the morning. Victoria was a ghost of its former self. Hardly anyone was around to see Belly as she dashed for the ticket office, her breath shaky and uncontrolled, her hand reaching out to wipe the spittle from her face.

There are facts in the story of Belly – and there is a version of events that is disputed. Then there is the symbol that Belly has become to so many people – people who never met her or heard the sound of her voice, but who know her name and the story of what happened to her in those fear-filled days at the start of the coronavirus outbreak in Britain.

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Case of man reinfected with coronavirus stokes immunity fears

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Hong Kong case leads scientists to doubt development of antibodies in previous patients, but other experts say it is no cause for alarm

A young man has been diagnosed with coronavirus more than four months after he recovered from a first episode of the disease, suggesting that immunity to the virus can be short-lived and raising more questions about vaccines against Covid-19.

The case in Hong Kong is the first lab-confirmed reinfection. Genetic sequencing by scientists at the University of Hong Kong established that the second episode, in an otherwise healthy young man, was caused by a slightly different strain. Researchers had hoped that the man’s immune system would still have recognised and fought off the virus at the second encounter.

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Six of the most promising treatments for Covid-19 so far

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While a cure-all drug or therapy is a long way off, there have been some breakthroughs

Many different drugs and therapies are being trialled and used on patients with Covid-19. There are some positive results, which may be beginning to bring the hospital death toll down, but there is still a long way to go towards something that will cure all comers. These are some of the most promising.

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Oxford University Covid-19 vaccine firm says it is not in talks with Trump

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AstraZeneca insists it has not discussed ‘emergency use authorisation’ with the US

The company manufacturing the Oxford University coronavirus vaccine has said it is not in talks with the Trump administration about fast-tracking its vaccine for emergency use ahead of November’s presidential elections.

With both Russia and China pressing ahead with inoculations involving experimental vaccines yet to pass final efficacy and safety trials, the Trump administration has become increasingly frustrated with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which the president has tried to suggest is slowing approval of a vaccine for “political reasons”.

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Jacinda Ardern says 2020 has been ‘frankly terrible’ as Auckland lockdown extended

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Masks made mandatory on public transport across New Zealand as coronavirus cases continue to rise

New Zealand’s biggest city will remain in lockdown until midnight on Sunday, the extra four days necessitated by the rising number of Covid-19 cases, the prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, has said.

A total of 101 people have been infected by the outbreak in south Auckland, making it the largest cluster in New Zealand.

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Coronavirus live update Australia: Victoria records 116 new cases and 15 deaths as NSW reports three new cases

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Brisbane watches hotspots after youth detention centre outbreak, Victoria’s hotel inquiry continues and politicians gather in Canberra for the first time in 10 weeks. Follow today’s latest updates

Virtual parliament has so far gone off without a hitch.

Malcolm Roberts has been spotted on a screen - which means that no, he is not in Canberra. No sighting of Pauline Hanson either.

"I'm very proud to be the first senator to be using our remote facilities as the chamber finally enters the 21st century."

Greens Senator @larissawaters @SBSNews #auspol pic.twitter.com/XSV41x91WQ

The ACT has reported no new cases of Covid in the last 24 hours.

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Coronavirus live news: Hong Kong man’s second Covid-19 infection gives rise to immunity concerns

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Man cleared of virus in April but has now tested positive again; France to impose reciprocal quarantine on travellers returning from UK; ‘Very low evidence’ for plasma therapy authorised by Trump — WHO

The number of new, confirmed cases of Covid-19 in France has risen by 1,955 compared to the previous day, although the increase in new cases was less than in previous days.

The French health ministry said the number of deaths from Covid-19 had risen by 15 from the previous day to stand at 30,528 casualties, while the total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases stands at 244,854.

Hi everyone, this is Jessica Murray taking over the blog for the next few hours.

Please do get in touch with any story tips or personal experiences you would like to share:

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Coronavirus live news: China says it has been vaccinating key workers as Trump approves plasma treatment

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Chinese government has been administering a vaccine candidate to selected groups of key workers since July; Trump authorises plasma treatment for coronavirus amid attacks on FDA; send children to school, UK PM urges. Follow the latest updates

Australian theatres are reopening – nervously and with mandatory masks and temperature checks – Elissa Blake reports for the Guardian.

Sydney Theatre Company has announced it is ready to open the doors of the Roslyn Packer theatre and present its first show since March.

Related: Australian theatres nervously reopen with mandatory masks and temperature checks

The Chinese government has been administering a vaccine candidate to selected groups of key workers since July, a senior health official told state media yesterday.

Zheng Zhongei, head of the national health commission’s science and technology centre, told CCTV the government had authorised “emergency use” and it was in line with the law, the South China Morning Post has reported.

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‘It was an act of principle’: The Covid doctor who quit over Cummings

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Dr Dominic Pimenta resigned from his cardiology post after Boris Johnson’s chief advisor made his controversial car journey. Was it the right decision?

On 24 May, a couple of days after it was revealed that Dominic Cummings had travelled to Durham during the lockdown, a British cardiologist, Dr Dominic Pimenta, published a tweet in which he threatened to resign if Cummings did not. For Pimenta, news of Cummings’s trip had landed like a blow. In March, he had been drafted on to a Covid-19 intensive care unit, where he had witnessed suffering and death, struggle and recovery: “This sheer volume of human capacity that had been devoted to trying to save lives.” His tweet came at the end of a terrible weekend of intensive care shifts, during which he had watched patients die, their loved ones absent, and he had given everything of himself and seen colleagues do the same. And now this? “If we are going to be asked to risk our lives,” he wrote later, “the least we can expect is to be treated like people.”

Pimenta’s tweet was widely shared. By the following morning he’d become a national news story, and he was invited by the media to share more of what he wanted to say: how he hoped that by making a stand he might highlight the recent sacrifices of healthcare workers while reassuring the public that their own sacrifices had not been in vain, that the lockdown was saving lives, that they must maintain faith in it. Catherine Calderwood, Scotland’s former chief medical officer, had recently resigned for a minor lockdown transgression. Pimenta wanted Cummings to do the same, or to at least acknowledge how irresponsible he’d been. “It was an act of principle,” Pimenta says. “And the principle was: this isn’t acceptable, I will not accept it. All I ever wanted was for the government to underline the importance of the lockdown.”

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Why do Covid fatalities remain low when infection numbers are rising?

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While some scientists believe the virus has become less deadly, others look at the factors that suggest otherwise

Are Covid-19 death rates decreasing?
Most statistics indicate that although cases of Covid-19 are rising in many parts of Europe and the United States, the number of deaths and cases of severe complications remain relatively low. For example, patients on ventilators have dropped from 3,000 at the epidemic’s peak in Britain to 70. At the same time, the number of cases in the UK have begun to rise in many areas.

Why lies behind this trend?
Doctors are unsure exactly what is going on. Some suggest that medical interventions are more successful at treating those who suffer complications from the disease. For example, the drug dexamethasone was recently shown to improve survival rates among patients requiring ventilation. Others argue that different factors are involved. One suggestion is that Covid-19 is now becoming a disease of younger people who are less likely to die or suffer serious complications.

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Covid-19 will be around for ever, says former UK chief scientific adviser

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Prof Mark Walport says regular vaccinations are likely to be required to control coronavirus

Coronavirus will be around “for ever” and people are likely to need regular vaccinations against it, a former chief scientific adviser to the UK government has said.

Prof Mark Walport, a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), likened the virus to influenza, as he said repeat inoculations on a global scale would almost certainly be required to control it.

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Coronavirus live news: Italy sees 1,000 new cases for first time since May

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India reports 1m daily tests; global death toll passes 800,000; new restrictions for UK travellers from Croatia

US president Donald Trump on Saturday accused members of an alleged “deep state” at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), without providing evidence, of working to slow testing of Covid-19 vaccines until after the November presidential election.

In a Twitter post, Trump said a deep state “or whoever” at the FDA was making it very difficult for drug companies to enroll people in clinical trials to test vaccines and therapies for coronavirus.

The deep state, or whoever, over at the FDA is making it very difficult for drug companies to get people in order to test the vaccines and therapeutics. Obviously, they are hoping to delay the answer until after November 3rd. Must focus on speed, and saving lives! @SteveFDA

The World Health Organization (WHO) said children aged 12 and over should wear masks to help tackle the corornavirus pandemic under the same conditions as adults, while children between six and 11 should wear them on a risk-based approach.

Children aged 12 and over should particularly wear a mask when a one-metre distance from others cannot be guaranteed and there is widespread transmission in the area, the WHO and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said in a document on the WHO website dated 21 August.

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Coronavirus in Europe: dozens of schools report infections in Berlin

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Cases on rise across Europe with Spain alone registering nearly 70,000 in past fortnight

Coronavirus cases have been reported by at least 41 schools in Berlin, barely two weeks after the German capital’s 825 schools reopened.

Cases are rising across Europe, including in Spain, which registered 66,905 in the past two weeks, resulting in the continent’s highest 14-day infection rate and warnings over the risk of a new wave of deaths.

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UK’s cheap food could fuel Covid-19 spread, says WHO envoy

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Exclusive: Cramped work and home conditions may be behind infections in factories, says expert

Britain’s demand for cheap food could be fuelling the spread of the coronavirus in factories, a leading health expert has warned, as analysis shows nearly 1,500 cases across the UK.

Cramped conditions in some factories and in low-paid workers’ homes, spurred by the UK’s desire for cheaply produced food, may have driven infection rates in the sector, according to David Nabarro, a World Health Organization special envoy on Covid-19.

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Scott Morrison defends aged care minister who didn’t know number of Covid deaths

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Richard Colbeck apologises for federal government’s role in aged care outbreaks but denies it was ‘absent’

  • Melbourne’s stage 4 restrictions; Vic stage 3 rules; NSW hotspots
  • Australian stats interactive; Vic cases map; NSW cases map
  • Sign up for Guardian Australia’s coronavirus email

    • Scott Morrison has declared he still has confidence in his aged care minister after Richard Colbeck came under pressure at a Senate inquiry and was unable to recall how many people had died in aged care during the pandemic.

    Colbeck apologised on Friday for the times when the Morrison government “didn’t get everything right” in dealing with aged care outbreaks – but insisted it had been prepared for what it sincerely believed to be the worst-case scenarios.

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