Tuesday, January 5, 2020

PM Johnsonsays over 1 million people infected

UK PM Boris Johnson has said over 1 million people are infected in England, over 2 percent of the total population. 

He also said that the government would soon demand Covid-19 tests for passengers arriving from overseas to stop the spread of the virus.

The move would mean following a policy used in many other countries.

"We will be bringing in measures to ensure that we test people coming into this country and prevent the virus from being re-admitted," Johnson told a press conference

WHO investigators head for China

The head of the World Health Organization said he is "very disappointed" that China has still not authorised the entry of a team of international experts to examine the origins of the coronavirus.

"Today, we learned that Chinese officials have not yet finalised the necessary permissions for the team's arrival in China," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference in Geneva.

Germany extends lockdown to end-January

Germany is extending its nationwide lockdown until the end of the month and is introducing new tougher restrictions in a bid to get control of surging coronavirus infections, Chancellor Angela Merkel has said.

"We need to restrict contact more strictly... We ask all citizens to restrict contact to the absolute minimum," she told journalists following a meeting with the leaders of Germany's 16 federal states. 

Italy reports 649 new deaths

Italy has reported 649 coronavirus-related deaths against 348 the day before, the Health Ministry said, while the daily tally of new infections rose to 15,378 from 10,800.

Some 135,106 swab tests were carried out in the past day, the ministry said, against a previous 77,993.

Italy has registered 76,329 Covid-19 deaths since its outbreak came to light on February 21, the highest toll in Europe and the fifth-highest in the world. 

The country has also reported 2.182 million cases to date, the ministry said.

Turkey reports 14,494 new case

Turkey has reported 14,494 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, Health Ministry data showed on Monday, bringing the total number of cases to 2,270,101.

It reported 194 related deaths over the same period, raising the total toll to 21,879.

Japan's daily cases hit record

Daily coronavirus cases in Japan has reached a record 4,670, commercial broadcaster NTV reported.

The Japanese government is considering declaring a state of emergency in and around Tokyo as coronavirus cases climb.

France promises to speed up vaccination process

Amid public outcry, France’s health minister has promised an “exponential” acceleration of his country’s slow coronavirus vaccination process.

After barely 500 people in France were vaccinated in the first six days, Health Minister Olivier Veran defended the government’s strategy of giving the vaccines first to residents of nursing homes. 

He vowed to simplify a bureaucratic consent process blamed in part for France’s lagging vaccinations.

Veran said the government will expand the number of vaccination centers and categories of people eligible for early vaccines, and allow people to sign up for vaccinations on an app or by phone.

Moderna says Israel approved its virus vaccine

American biotech company Moderna has said Israel has approved its vaccine, but the announcement comes as the country faces a rapidly growing outbreak of the disease.

Moderna said in a statement that the Israeli Health Ministry authorised use of the company’s vaccine and that it would begin delivering this month the 6 million doses secured by Israel.

Israel has recorded over 450,000 cases of coronavirus and 3,445 deaths.

China makes parts of province high danger zones

China has designated parts of Hebei province near Beijing as a coronavirus high danger zone after 14 new cases of Covid-19 were found.

Eleven of those cases were in Shijiazhuang city, where some events for the 2022 Winter Olympics will be held. 

An additional 30 people tested positive for the virus without showing any symptoms, the provincial health authority said.

China has recorded a total of 87,183 cases, with 4,634 deaths. People who have tested positive but not shown symptoms have been counted separately from its official tally.

Australia vows not to rush vaccine rollout

Under mounting pressure to speed up coronavirus vaccinations, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said he would not take "unnecessary risks" and emulate Britain's emergency drug approval.

While vaccinations are already well under way in many countries, Australia's pharmaceutical authority is not expected to rule on candidate drugs for around another month, and is aiming to administer the first doses by the end of March.

Pressed about that seemingly sluggish timetable, Morrison – who early in the pandemic boasted Australia would be "at the front of the queue" for any vaccine – suggested virus-ravaged countries like Britain had been forced to take risks with emergency approvals.

Thailand confirms 527 new cases

Thailand has confirmed 527 new virus infections  and ramped up restrictions in five provinces deemed high-risk in an effort to curb the spread of the virus.

The new cases include 439 in a known cluster of migrant workers in the southwestern province of Samut Sakhon near Bangkok, Taweesin Wisanuyothin, spokesman for Thailand's Covid-19 taskforce, told a news conference.

Restrictions will be intensified in Samut Sakhon and four other provinces, he said. Thailand has reported a total of 8,966 cases since early last year. 

Mexico approves AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine

Mexico has authorised the coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford for emergency use in the country, which has one of the world's highest Covid-19 death tolls.

Deputy Health Minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell announced on Twitter that Mexican regulators had approved the vaccine, which has also been authorised by Britain, India and Argentina.

Lopez-Gastell said the vaccine could be available in March.

California hospital says costume may have spread virus

A Kaiser Permanente employee has died and dozens of workers were infected with the coronavirus after a staffer appeared at one of its Northern California medical centers wearing an inflatable holiday costume on Christmas Day.

Irene Chavez, senior vice president and area manager at San Jose Medical Center, said in a written statement that 44 staff members of the emergency department have tested positive for the virus since December 27.

The Oakland-based hospital chain is investigating the outbreak and says the source could be a blow-up, holiday costume worn by a staffer who "briefly" visited the department December.

Germany's virus cases rise by 11,897

The number of confirmed virus cases in Germany has increased by 11,897 to 1,787,410. 

The reported death toll rose by 944 to 35,518, the data from the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases showed. 

Vacations abroad cost Canadian politicians' jobs amid travel curbs

Eight Canadian politicians have resigned or were demoted after travelling internationally over the Christmas holidays despite urgings from government officials to avoid non-essential trips during the pandemic.

Conservative member of parliament David Sweet resigned as chair of the House of Commons' ethics committee after he travelled to the United States to deal with a "property issue" but stayed on for leisure, federal opposition Conservative Party leader Erin O'Toole's office said in a statement.

In the western province of Alberta, Premier Jason Kenney said on social media he accepted the resignation of Municipal Affairs Minister Tracy Allard and asked his chief of staff Jamie Huckabay to step down after they travelled to Hawaii and the United Kingdom respectively.

Five other legislative assembly members of Alberta's ruling United Conservative Party have been demoted for travelling abroad over the holidays, violating travel warnings issued by federal and provincial governments.

Brazil on the back foot as pandemic surges

Brazil has registered 20,006 new cases and 543 fresh Covid-19-related deaths, the health ministry said.

Premier League to continue during new English lockdown

Premier League football and other forms of elite professional sport in England will be allowed to continue despite new national lockdown restrictions announced by the British government on Monday.

Nearly 56 million people in England will return to a full coronavirus lockdown, possibly until mid-February, to try to cut spiralling infection rates, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a televised address.

The measures, which include the closure of primary and secondary schools, will come into effect Wednesday, he said after Scotland announced similar measures to come into force from midnight (0000GMT) on Tuesday.

But a list of exemptions published by the UK government allowed "elite sportspeople (and their coaches if necessary, or parents/guardians if they are under 18) - or those on an official elite sports pathway – to compete and train".

England imposes six-week lockdown after Covid surge

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Monday a new national lockdown for England until at least mid-February to combat a fast-spreading new variant of the virus, even as Britain ramped up its vaccination programme by becoming the first nation to start using the shot developed by Oxford University and drugmaker AstraZeneca.

Johnson said people must stay at home again, as they were ordered to do so in the first wave of the pandemic in March, this time because the new virus variant was spreading in a "frustrating and alarming” way.

From Tuesday, primary and secondary schools and colleges will be closed for face to face learning except for the children of key workers and vulnerable pupils. University students will not be returning until at least mid-February. People were told to work from home unless it's impossible to do so, and leave home only for essential trips.

All nonessential shops and personal care services like hairdressers will be closed, and restaurants can only operate takeout services.