Category Archives: Health

Covid Australia live update: Scott Morrison says four-step ‘path out’ still on agenda despite Victoria and NSW outbreaks

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Six new cases in Victoria; Sydney records 97 local cases; WA and Queensland to close border to Victoria

The Western NSW Local Health District has posted on its Facebook page that it has been notified of cases that travelled to Molong, near Orange in the state’s central west, on 16 July.

No venues of concern are currently identified and contacts of the cases are being tested while in isolation. Urgent investigations are underway and contact tracing is continuing.

As a precautionary measure, a drive-through (testing) clinic will be established in Molong and capacity in Orange and Bathurst will be increased.

The prime minister, Scott Morrison, has released a statement following today’s national cabinet meeting:

National Cabinet discussed the outbreak in Greater Sydney and the additional measures introduced by the New South Wales Government to stop the spread of the virus. National Cabinet has agreed to a suppression strategy for COVID-19 with the goal of no community transmission.

All leaders expressed their full support for NSW to get on top of the current outbreak. National Cabinet noted the Commonwealth’s extension of the COVID-19 Disaster Payment support for Greater Sydney and Victoria, based on Commonwealth hotspot declarations.

National Cabinet received an update from the Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet on the four step plan to reopening and the progress of the Covid-19 Risk Analysis and Response Taskforce report and the Doherty modelling for the National Plan to transition Australia’s National Covid Response.

All leaders reiterated the importance of Australians, especially those in vulnerable groups, to get a COVID-19 vaccination.

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WHO chief says push to discount Covid-19 lab leak theory was ‘premature’

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Tedros says ‘accidents happen’ in labs and calls on China to be more transparent

The head of the World Health Organization has acknowledged it was premature to rule out a potential link between the Covid-19 pandemic and a laboratory leak, and said he was asking China to be more transparent as scientists search for the origins of the coronavirus.

In a rare departure from his usual deference to powerful member countries, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said getting access to raw data had been a challenge for the international team that travelled to China earlier this year to investigate the source of Covid-19. The first human cases were identified in the Chinese city of Wuhan.

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Summer chaos predicted as 1.6m in England told to isolate in a week

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Government says its Covid app is unlikely to be adjusted to make it less sensitive for weeks

Up to 1.6 million people in England have been told to isolate in a single week, Guardian analysis has found as the government said the Covid app is unlikely to be changed for weeks.

The number of new UK coronavirus cases climbed to 48,553 on Thursday – the highest since mid-January and the start of the third lockdown – with the upward curve showing no signs of abating, raising fears of a summer of chaos as businesses and households are hit by self-isolation. Sixty-three people were reported on Thursday to have died from the virus.

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Maine bans toxic ‘forever chemicals’ under groundbreaking new law

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State is the first to enact a broad ban of PFAS compounds, which are found in everything from cosmetics to cookware

Maine has enacted a groundbreaking law that will ban the use of toxic PFAS compounds in all products by 2030, except in instances deemed “currently unavoidable”.

Though states and the federal government have passed piecemeal laws regulating the dangerous chemicals’ use, Maine is the nation’s first state and world’s first government to enact a broad prohibition on the class of about 9,000 compounds, which are dubbed “forever chemicals” because they don’t fully break down and accumulate in the environment and humans.

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Huge study supporting ivermectin as Covid treatment withdrawn over ethical concerns

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The preprint endorsing ivermectin as a coronavirus therapy has been widely cited, but independent researchers find glaring discrepancies in the data

The efficacy of a drug being promoted by rightwing figures worldwide for treating Covid-19 is in serious doubt after a major study suggesting the treatment is effective against the virus was withdrawn due to “ethical concerns”.

The preprint study on the efficacy and safety of ivermectin – a drug used against parasites such as worms and headlice – in treating Covid-19, led by Dr Ahmed Elgazzar from Benha University in Egypt, was published on the Research Square website in November.

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Mixed messages mean a face mask muddle when law is lifted in England

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No one knows for sure what will happen when the rules in England change on Monday, say scientists

No wonder people are confused. When England takes the final step in the roadmap out of lockdown on Monday, wearing masks will cease to be compulsory. Yet Boris Johnson expects masks to be worn in crowded places. They will remain mandatory on London transport and some services around the country. Hospitals, GPs and other health providers can also still require patients and visitors to wear masks unless they are exempt.

The muddle of rules and recommendations leaves the question open of what people will actually do. Will mask-wearing continue as caution prevails, or will people decide that dropping the law means there’s no longer a need to do so?

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Victoria Covid update: state enters five-day lockdown as outbreak linked to Sydney grows

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Covid commander Jeroen Weimar reports 18 cases, 75 exposure sites and says more than 6,500 people are isolating

Victoria is entering a five-day lockdown in an effort to contain two growing Covid clusters connected to the larger Sydney outbreak.

Victoria’s fifth lockdown starting on Friday will cover the entire state until 11.59pm on Tuesday 20 July. It was announced by the premier, Daniel Andrews, after four people who were in the MCG members’ stand at a Geelong-Carlton AFL game on the weekend at the same time as a positive case tested positive.

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Long Covid has more than 200 symptoms, study finds

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Calls for national screening programme as symptoms revealed range from brain fog to tinnitus

The largest ever international study of people with long Covid has identified more than 200 symptoms and prompted researchers to call for a national screening programme.

The study found the myriad symptoms of long Covid – from brain fog and hallucinations to tremors and tinnitus – spanned 10 of the body’s organ systems, and a third of the symptoms continued to affect patients for at least six months.

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Burnout eating: how chronic pandemic stress can disrupt and destroy our diet

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Over the past year, many of us have suffered from physical and emotional exhaustion. It is no surprise that people have turned to food for comfort

Naomi Boles hit a wall last October. “I wasn’t sleeping at all and I felt like I couldn’t keep going,” she recalls. “I was so stressed, and even when I was in bed my brain was constantly racing as I was worrying so much about my health, about my income, about my children. When I went to the doctor, it was like I’d reached a point where I couldn’t carry on any more.”

Nine months on, she is still recovering from that burnout. “I am finally getting to the point where I can be a bit easier on myself and not constantly be in this fight-or-flight mode,” she says.

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Sydney hospitals stretched to ‘the brink’ as Covid crisis sidelines medical staff

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Doctors and nurses forced to isolate after being exposed to virus in hospitals, causing delays to surgeries

Sydney’s hospitals are being stretched to “the brink” as healthcare professionals continue to be sidelined by exposure to Covid, with two major hospitals reporting cases, including a fully vaccinated nurse.

NSW Health confirmed the nurse, who tested positive on Tuesday, works at Westmead hospital and the source of the infection was being urgently investigated.

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Nepal sees huge rise in maternal deaths as Covid keeps women at home

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Health workers fear deaths could reach levels not seen this century as up to 90% miss check-ups and many opt for home births

Earlier this month, 21-year-old Lakhu BK decided to have her baby at home in her village in the far west of Nepal. She had feared contracting Covid-19 if she went to a health centre. She lost her life giving birth.

“I thought my daughter-in-law will die from [the] virus but did not think she would die from being unable to give birth,” said her mother-in-law, Pamfi BK, 50.

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Victoria Covid-19 exposure sites: full list of Melbourne and regional Vic coronavirus hotspots and case location alerts

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Here are the current coronavirus hotspots and Covid-19 public exposure sites in Victoria and Melbourne, and what to do if you’ve visited them

Authorities have released a list of public exposure sites in Melbourne and Victoria visited by a confirmed case of Covid-19.

Here are the current coronavirus hotspots, Covid exposure sites, venues and case location alerts and what to do if you’ve visited them

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Australia Covid live update: Victoria reports one local coronavirus case; Sydney lockdown to be extended

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New rules for essential workers cause chaos; Gladys Berejiklians expected to detail plans to lengthen shutdown

Hmmmm, Morrison also seems to be arguing that Australia really isn’t as far behind when it comes to vaccinations as everyone think.

He was asked if the Syndey situation could have been avoided if the vaccine rollout was on track.

But very few countries are talking single digits when we’re talking single digits when we’re talking personals. We’re at 9%.

No, no, we’re above 10%... We’re at about 11%. A third of Australians have already received their first dose.

Well over 70% of over 70s. And well over half of those over 50 and we’re scaling-up now to almost a million doses a week.

Prime minister Scott Morrison has also been out and about this morning, seemingly mostly to slam the Victorian government a little more.

Here is what he had to say on the Today show when asked if the Victorian government’s criticism were fair:

No, it wasn’t because during the Victorian lockdown without request the federal government was providing a billion dollars every week.

In the recent lockdown, which thankfully only went for two weeks, Victoria got exactly the same as what NSW got for those two weeks. NSW is going into week four of a lockdown and that means the challenges are escalating.

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Alcohol caused 740,000 cancer cases globally last year – study

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Researchers behind estimate say more needs to be done to raise public awareness of link

Alcohol is estimated to have caused more than 740,000 cancer cases around the world last year, and experts say more needs to be done to highlight the link.

There is strong evidence that alcohol consumption can cause various cancers including those of the breast, liver, colon, rectum, oropharynx, larynx and oesophagus. Research suggests that even low levels of drinking can increase the risk.

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End to Covid rules for England ‘leaves 3.8m vulnerable people feeling abandoned’

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Charities warn that shift on 19 July to personal choice on virus precautions is instilling fear in many most at risk

Cancer patients, disabled people and other clinically extremely vulnerable groups say they will feel unsafe stepping the house after hearing that mask and social distancing requirements are to be abandoned, charities have warned.

Campaigners estimate that 3.8 million people have been left feeling abandoned by the government’s shift towards promoting “personal responsibility” as the sole means of navigating the surging Covid-19 infection rates in England.

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Guidance to induce minority ethnic pregnancies earlier condemned as racist

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Draft Nice guidelines for England, Wales and Northern Ireland will not solve poorer maternity outcomes for women of colour, say doctors

Proposed guidance that recommends inducing labour at 39 weeks in pregnant women from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds has raised concerns from doctors and midwives and been branded “racist” by activists.

White women with uncomplicated pregnancies should be offered an induction of labour at 41 weeks, according to the draft guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice). The institute’s clinical guidelines such as this apply in England, Wales and Northern Ireland but do not cover Scotland.

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Delta surge ‘could leave hundreds of thousands with long Covid’

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Unvaccinated younger sufferers more at risk of debilitating long-term symptoms, study finds

The decision to lift England’s remaining Covid restrictions next Monday – even as cases of the Delta variant surge around the country – is expected to turbocharge the epidemic and push the nation into what one leading scientist called “uncharted territory” in terms of the numbers of people left suffering from long Covid.

Ministers have been told to expect at least one to two million coronavirus infections in the coming weeks. And while the mass rollout of vaccines – which started with elderly and vulnerable people – will dramatically reduce the proportion who are hospitalised and die, the wave may leave hundreds of thousands of younger people with long-term health problems, researchers have said.

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Covid Australia live updates: Morrison to announce NSW support package after 89 new cases and one death; three cases in Victoria

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A man in his 70s from Sydney’s east has died of coronavirus; Queensland keeps border open for now; support package for NSW to include increased payments for people who have lost work. Follow the latest updates live

It’s a little late today, but pleased to keep up Matilda Boseley’s tradition of highlighting the bizarre graphic design choices of the Queensland premier’s social media team.

Today’s special announces 100 new Tafe scholarships. Someone has spent time etching the bloke’s arm in front of the graphic, for some reason.

100 TAFE scholarships valued at up to $5,000 are up for grabs.

The skills TAFE offers can change lives and set people up for stable and rewarding careers. pic.twitter.com/9TOHAsIbuz

Looks like we’re learning about that Covid relief package at 3.30pm.

Just enough time to take a breath, grab a coffee, watch a couple of episodes of he Office and settle in for the announcement.

Very glad @joshgnosis tweeted these together. pic.twitter.com/yCJ9AWus1o

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‘Mixed advice’ driving Covid vaccine hesitancy in pregnant UK women

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Exclusive: campaign group warns of ‘wildfire’ of negative messaging given by healthcare professionals

Pregnant women are being given dangerously mixed messaging from health professionals, with figures suggesting a “very high” vaccine hesitancy among the vulnerable group, according to campaigners.

Three-quarters of pregnant women in the UK feel anxious about the easing of coronavirus restrictions with many saying the move is like “another lockdown” for expectant mothers, according to a survey of about 9,000 pregnant women by campaigning group Pregnant Then Screwed.

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‘Very pragmatic’: 42% of Australian women are open to egg freezing as a work perk

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Demand for fertility preservation has ballooned in the last decade. New research by Monash suggests many are happy for their employer to pay for it

Last year, while working from home as a result of the Covid pandemic, Emily went through the process of freezing her eggs.

It was something the 26-year-old Australian had been interested in for several years, but she made the decision to undergo the procedure when her company introduced it as an employee benefit.

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