"COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis" 4th Nov 2021
China suffering its most widespread Covid-19 outbreak since Wuhan with 19 provinces seeing new cases - More than 600 locally-transmitted cases have been found in 19 of China's 31 provinces amid what the government called a 'serious' new outbreak of the infectious Delta variant.
COVID: Face masks compulsory again in some French schools next week - Face masks will again become compulsory from next week for French school kids in 39 regional departments where the COVID-19 virus has been ramping up, government spokesman Gabriel Attal said on Wednesday. French health authorities reported 7,360 daily new COVID-19 infections on October 30, the first time the tally has topped 7,000 since Sept 21
Unvaccinated Greeks will need a negative COVID test to access services - Unvaccinated Greeks will need to show a negative COVID-19 test to access state services, banks, restaurants and retail shops as cases hit a new daily record on Tuesday, health authorities said. Greece reported 6,700 new coronavirus infections in the preceding 24 hours on Tuesday, breaking a previous single-day record of 5,449 that was recorded on Monday. This took the total infections to 754,451 since the pandemic broke out last year. Some 16,050 people have died of the COVID-19 disease so far in Greece.
Philippines' Duterte threatens to punish officials for slow pace of COVID-19 vaccinations - Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte said on Wednesday that local government officials will be punished for falling behind their targets for COVID-19 vaccinations as the country seeks to open up the economy. The Philippines, which has one of Asia's worst coronavirus epidemics, has so far fully immunised a little over a third of 77 million people eligible for shots.
Covid-19: Jonathan Van-Tam defends speed of booster rollout despite his concern over rising Covid death toll - England’s deputy chief medical officer, Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, has defended the Government’s Covid booster programme after i analysis found the scheme is running so late it may not be completed until February. He said the booster scheme is picking up “considerable momentum” and suggested limited NHS capacity is preventing a more rapid roll-out of the third doses. But the leading scientific expert warned the Christmas period could be “potentially problematic”.
Research confirms impact of Covid-19 on doctors’ mental health - The Covid-19 crisis triggered high levels of anxiety and depression among doctors in the UK, Italy and Spain, a new study has found. The research of 5,000 survey responses, across the three countries, found Italian doctors were most likely to have suffered during the crisis last year. The study, published in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS ONE, measured the mental wellbeing of doctors in Catalonia (Spain), Italy and the UK during June, November and December 2020.
Covid-19: Researcher blows the whistle on data integrity issues in Pfizer's vaccine trial - Revelations of poor practices at a contract research company helping to carry out Pfizer’s pivotal covid-19 vaccine trial raise questions about data integrity and regulatory oversight. Paul D Thacker reports. In autumn 2020 Pfizer’s chairman and chief executive, Albert Bourla, released an open letter to the billions of people around the world who were investing their hopes in a safe and effective covid-19 vaccine to end the pandemic. “As I’ve said before, we are operating at the speed of science,” Bourla wrote, explaining to the public when they could expect a Pfizer vaccine to be authorised in the United States.
Saudi approves Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for age group 5-11 - The Saudi Food and Drug Authority said on Wednesday it had given its approval to use Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for those between five and eleven years of age. The authority added in a statement its decision was 'based on data provided by the company, which showed the vaccine met the special regulatory requirements'.
Indian home-grown COVID-19 shot wins WHO emergency use approval - The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday that it has granted approval for Indian drugmaker Bharat Biotech's home-grown COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use listing, paving the way for it to be accepted as a valid vaccine in many poor countries. The WHO tweeted that its technical advisory group had ruled that benefits of the shot, known as Covaxin, significantly outweighed the risks and that it met WHO standards for protection against COVID-19.
France reports more than 10000 new COVID cases for 1st time in two months - French health authorities reported 10,050 daily new COVID-19 infections on Wednesday, the first time the tally has topped 10,000 since Sept 14. In another sign the virus is ramping up again, hospitalisations for the disease are up by 84, at 6,764, a rise unseen since Sept 6. The cumulative total of new cases now stands at 7.18 million. The number of COVID-19 patients in intensive care rose by 5 in 24 hours to 1,096 and by 58 over a week.
World Economic Forum postpones China event due to COVID-19 - The World Economic Forum said on Wednesday that it is postponing its event planned for later this month in the Chinese city of Tianjin due to the outbreak of COVID-19 cases in the country, where new locally transmitted cases hit a near three-month high. 'Regretfully, due to the circumstances around the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and recent cases in major cities and provinces in China, the Annual Meeting of the New Champions will be rescheduled,' the WEF said in an email to participants.
Czech daily COVID-19 cases near 10000, highest since March - The number of daily COVID-19 cases reported in the Czech Republic neared 10,000 for the first time since March, health ministry data showed on Wednesday.
The country recorded 9,902 new infections on Tuesday, up from 6,284 on the same day a week ago. Hospitalisations reached more than 2,000 for the first time since May, including 288 people in intensive care. The country like others in central Europe has seen a renewed jump in COVID-19 cases.
Lockdown Exit
Some Parents Rush to Get Covid-19 Vaccines for Young Kids
Younger children began to get vaccinated against Covid-19, adding to the nation’s defenses against a pandemic that has upended learning and life for kids across three school years. Some hospitals and pediatrician’s offices started giving shots to children between the ages of 5 and 11 on Wednesday, a day after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended use of Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE’s vaccine for that age group. The Food and Drug Administration on Friday authorized a two-dose regimen of the vaccine, in a smaller dosage and different packaging than that used on adults.
China’s Vaccine Diplomacy Could Have a Big Payoff Beyond Covid
Studies have found the Chinese Covid shots to be less effective than some Western ones, such as the mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna Inc., and there have been repeated questions about the transparency and data standards of its vaccine makers. Even so, developing nations that have had little access to other coronavirus vaccines are poised to grow more dependent on Chinese companies for shots against other ailments.
Canadian employers shed unvaccinated workers, labor lawyers in demand
Canadian employers are firing or putting on unpaid leave thousands of workers who refused to get COVID-19 shots, squeezing an already tight labor market and raising prospects of potentially disruptive legal challenges. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised vaccine mandates as a central part of his successful campaign for re-election in September, setting a precedent that has spread from the public to the private sector.
Netherlands reintroduces face masks to curb spike in COVID-19 cases
The Dutch government on Tuesday decided to re-impose measures aimed at slowing the latest spike in COVID-19 infections, including the wearing of face masks, Prime Minister Mark Rutte said. The use of a "corona pass", showing proof of a COVID-19 vaccination or recent negative coronavirus test, will be broadened as of Nov. 6 to public places including museums, gyms and outdoor terraces.
COVID: Face masks compulsory again in some French schools next week
Face masks will again become compulsory from next week for French school kids in 39 regional departments where the COVID-19 virus has been ramping up, government spokesman Gabriel Attal said on Wednesday. French health authorities reported 7,360 daily new COVID-19 infections on October 30, the first time the tally has topped 7,000 since Sept 21
China suffering its most widespread Covid-19 outbreak since Wuhan with 19 provinces seeing new cases
More than 600 locally-transmitted cases have been found in 19 of China's 31 provinces amid what the government called a 'serious' new outbreak of the infectious Delta variant.
Exit Strategies
COVID-19 has retreated across the Americas, regional health agency says
COVID-19 deaths and infections have declined across the Americas for the 8th consecutive week, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said on Wednesday, warning that a very high percentage of hospitalized cases now are unvaccinated people. In North America, all three countries reported drops in weekly cases and deaths, and there has been a notable decline in hospitalizations in the United States and Canada, PAHO said, with similar declines in South and Central America.
Biden says vaccines for children will be available at about 20000 locations
U.S. President Joe Biden said on Wednesday there will be enough COVID-19 vaccines by next week for children and these shots will be available at about 20,000 locations around the country. The United States has started administering the COVID-19 vaccine to children ages 5 to 11, the latest group to become eligible for the shots that provide protection against the illness.
New Zealand gang leaders unite to urge community to get Covid shots
Seven New Zealand gang leaders, representing four of the country’s most well-known street gangs, have joined forces in a video urging their communities to get vaccinated, in a concept that was conjured up by a government minister. The video was commissioned by the minister for Maori development, Willie Jackson, after a discussion with gang leaders, who then provided footage that was edited by Jackson’s son, Hikurangi, the Herald reported. In the four-minute video, Denis O’Reilly, who joined the Black Power gang aged 19, says he had “taken a few shots” in his time, including the two shots against Covid-19, and he is asking his community “to do the same”
Taiwanese Entrepreneur Angelo Koo Spreads the Love to Help Fight COVID-19
In September 2021, a guard warmly greeted and thanked Angelo Koo, Chairman of CDIB Capital Group, as he returned to his home in New Jersey. The guard said that his neighbors had all received surgical masks donated by Koo last year and that the residents of New Jersey were able to have the most basic protection when the pandemic first came to New Jersey in 2020. China Development Foundation Chairman and CDIB Capital Group Chairman Angelo Koo
COVID-19 vaccine campaign expands to elementary-age children
The U.S. enters a new phase Wednesday in its COVID-19 vaccination campaign, with shots now available to millions of elementary-age children in what health officials hailed as a major breakthrough after more than 18 months of illness, hospitalizations, deaths and disrupted education. With the federal government promising enough vaccine to protect the nation’s 28 million kids ages 5-11, pediatricians’ offices, pharmacies, hospitals, schools and health clinics were poised to begin the shots after the final OK late Tuesday. “This is not going to be ‘The Hunger Games,’” said Dr. Allison Arwady, Chicago’s public health commissioner, referring to the chaotic early national rollout of adult vaccines nearly a year ago. Chicago expected to have nearly enough vaccine in just the first week for nearly half of its 210,000 school-aged children, and many more doses later on.
Covid-19: Jonathan Van-Tam defends speed of booster rollout despite his concern over rising Covid death toll
England’s deputy chief medical officer, Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, has defended the Government’s Covid booster programme after i analysis found the scheme is running so late it may not be completed until February. He said the booster scheme is picking up “considerable momentum” and suggested limited NHS capacity is preventing a more rapid roll-out of the third doses. But the leading scientific expert warned the Christmas period could be “potentially problematic”.
Philippines' Duterte threatens to punish officials for slow pace of COVID-19 vaccinations
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte said on Wednesday that local government officials will be punished for falling behind their targets for COVID-19 vaccinations as the country seeks to open up the economy. The Philippines, which has one of Asia's worst coronavirus epidemics, has so far fully immunised a little over a third of 77 million people eligible for shots.
Unvaccinated Greeks will need a negative COVID test to access services
Unvaccinated Greeks will need to show a negative COVID-19 test to access state services, banks, restaurants and retail shops as cases hit a new daily record on Tuesday, health authorities said. Greece reported 6,700 new coronavirus infections in the preceding 24 hours on Tuesday, breaking a previous single-day record of 5,449 that was recorded on Monday. This took the total infections to 754,451 since the pandemic broke out last year. Some 16,050 people have died of the COVID-19 disease so far in Greece.
Hong Kong to launch COVID-19 booster campaign from next week
Hong Kong will roll out booster doses of COVID-19 vaccines from next week, Health Secretary Sophia Chan said on Wednesday, as authorities ramp up efforts to convince Beijing to allow crossborder travel to mainland China. The vaccination campaign in the global financial hub has lagged many other developed economies, with about 65% of the eligible population fully vaccinated with shots from either China's Sinovac, or Germany's BioNTech
U.S. begins effort to vaccinate young children against COVID-19
Seven-year-old Gael Coreas stuck out his left arm fearlessly to receive his first COVID-19 shot at a health clinic in the nation's capital on Wednesday, wincing briefly as cameras flashed to capture the moment. Coreas was in the first cohort of young children to be inoculated as the United States on Wednesday began administering the COVID-19 vaccine to children ages 5 to 11, the latest group to become eligible for the shots that provide protection against the illness to recipients and those around them.
In vaccine-sceptic Ukraine, one spa town bucks trend
Ukraine is battling record COVID-19 deaths and low vaccine uptake but the spa town of Morshyn is an exception. In Morshyn, 74% of 3,439 adult residents are double vaccinated, more than triple the national average, and currently only three people have been hospitalised with COVID-19. The town, which gives its name to a popular mineral water brand, has come to national attention at a time when hospitals in Ukrainian cities are filling up with COVID-19 patients and the country had to import medical oxygen from Poland.
Roll up your sleeves: Kids’ turn arrives for COVID-19 shots
Hugs with friends. Birthday parties indoors. Pillow fights. Schoolchildren who got their first COVID-19 shots Wednesday said these are the pleasures they look forward to as the U.S. enters a major new phase in fighting the pandemic. Health officials hailed shots for kids ages 5 to 11 as a major breakthrough after more than 18 months of illness, hospitalizations, deaths and disrupted education. Kid-sized doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine cleared two final hurdles Tuesday — a recommendation from CDC advisers, followed by a green light from Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At a Decatur, Georgia, pediatrician’s office, 10-year-old Mackenzie Olson took off her black leather jacket and rolled up her sleeve as her mother looked on.
Mandates. A well-organized campaign. No politics. How Puerto Rico’s vaccine drive turned into a success
The leader of the Puerto Rico National Guard was still dealing with the aftermath of a 6.4-magnitude earthquake that displaced thousands of residents in January 2020 when island officials began hearing reports of people falling ill from the new coronavirus. Once again, they turned to Guard Adjutant General José J. Reyes. Much of Reyes’ 37-year career has been in emergency response mode — from 9/11 to the devastation of Hurricane Maria in 2017 to the earthquake — but he sees all of those events as preparation for this one: helping to plan the island’s Covid-19 vaccination strategy and oversee its rollout.
Partisan Exits
Ukrainians protest vaccine mandate as COVID-19 cases soar
More than a thousand people blocked several streets in the center of the Ukrainian capital Wednesday, protesting against COVID-19 vaccine certificates and state-imposed restrictions aimed at halting the spread of the coronavirus. The protesters, mostly women and young people, didn’t wear masks and held up signs reading “Say No to COVID Passports”, “Say No to COVID Genocide” in front of the Ukrainian parliament building in Kyiv. The rally comes in response to restrictions that require teachers, government employees and other workers to get fully vaccinated by Nov. 8 or have their salaries suspended.
Top Sage expert Jeremy Farrar quits amid ‘concerning’ Covid-19 rates
Sir Jeremy Farrar has revealed he quit the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) last month, warning of “concerning high levels of transmission” in Britain and vowing to focus on his role as a clinical scientist. The director of the Wellcome Trust was a leading member of the government’s Covid-19 advisory body during the pandemic. He was reportedly pushing for ministers to enforce a so-called “vaccine plus” strategy that includes measures such as mask wearing, ventilation and continued testing, according to Sky News. However, the government has so far declined to enforce stricter measures – which it refers to as plan B – and is sticking with its current, more relaxed guidance.
Scientific Viewpoint
Court Rules Against Religious Exemption for New York Healthcare Workers’ Vaccine Mandate
A federal appellate court sided with New York officials Friday and removed a temporary injunction that had allowed healthcare workers to seek religious exemptions to the state’s Covid-19 vaccination mandate. Three judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled against plaintiffs in two cases brought by healthcare workers who said New York’s mandate violated their Christian beliefs. The state required all workers in hospitals and nursing homes to receive at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine by Sept. 27 or face termination. Similar cases have been brought challenging vaccination mandates in other states, and legal experts have said the questions they raise could end up before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Analysis: Wide array of opponents prepare to fight Biden vaccine mandate
The country's first national COVID-19 vaccine mandate, expected to be unveiled by the Biden administration this week, is likely to unleash a frenzied legal battle that will hinge on a rarely used law and questions over federal power and authority over healthcare. States, companies, trade groups, civil liberty advocates and religious organizations are expected to rush to court with demands to stop the mandate in its tracks. Two dozen Republican state attorneys general have already vowed to use "every legal option" to fight the mandate and 40 Republican lawmakers said on Wednesday they were preparing their own challenge.
Antibodies in breast milk provide extra benefit to babies; vaccine protection varies among immunocompromised
The following is a summary of some recent studies on COVID-19. They include research that warrants further study to corroborate the findings and that have yet to be certified by peer review. Mothers' COVID-19 antibodies provide unexpected benefit. COVID-19 antibodies passed from infected mothers to their breastfeeding newborns provide more benefit to the baby than researchers expected to see, according to a report published on Wednesday in JAMA Network Open.
U.S. rolls out COVID-19 vaccine for young children, ending long wait for some parents
Seven-year-old Gael Coreas stuck out his left arm fearlessly to receive his first COVID-19 shot at a health clinic in the nation's capital on Wednesday, wincing briefly as cameras flashed to capture the moment. Coreas was in the first cohort of young children to be inoculated as the United States on Wednesday began administering the COVID-19 vaccine to children ages 5 to 11, the latest group to become eligible for the shots that provide protection against the illness to recipients and those around them.
Saudi approves Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for age group 5-11
The Saudi Food and Drug Authority said on Wednesday it had given its approval to use Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for those between five and eleven years of age. The authority added in a statement its decision was "based on data provided by the company, which showed the vaccine met the special regulatory requirements".
JCVI failed to back youth Covid jabs despite favourable modelling
The government’s independent vaccine advisers recommended against Covid shots for healthy teenagers despite considering evidence that the jabs would reduce infections, hospitalisations and some deaths in the age group. Modelling reviewed by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) in June showed that fully vaccinating 80% of 12- to 17-year-olds would lead to “large reductions” in infections and a “substantial reduction” in hospitalisations in the age group. The modelling from the University of Warwick was considered alongside calculations from Public Health England that found vaccinating healthy young people in an overlapping age group – those aged 15 to 19 – could reduce intensive care admissions and prevent two deaths per million in the teenagers receiving the shots.
Covid-19: Researcher blows the whistle on data integrity issues in Pfizer's vaccine trial
Revelations of poor practices at a contract research company helping to carry out Pfizer’s pivotal covid-19 vaccine trial raise questions about data integrity and regulatory oversight. Paul D Thacker reports. In autumn 2020 Pfizer’s chairman and chief executive, Albert Bourla, released an open letter to the billions of people around the world who were investing their hopes in a safe and effective covid-19 vaccine to end the pandemic. “As I’ve said before, we are operating at the speed of science,” Bourla wrote, explaining to the public when they could expect a Pfizer vaccine to be authorised in the United States.
Research confirms impact of Covid-19 on doctors’ mental health
The Covid-19 crisis triggered high levels of anxiety and depression among doctors in the UK, Italy and Spain, a new study has found. The research of 5,000 survey responses, across the three countries, found Italian doctors were most likely to have suffered during the crisis last year. The study, published in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS ONE, measured the mental wellbeing of doctors in Catalonia (Spain), Italy and the UK during June, November and December 2020.
Covid-19 virus does not infect human brain cells, new study suggests
The virus that causes Covid-19 does not infect human brain cells, according to a study published in the journal Cell. The findings will raise hopes that the damage caused by Sars-CoV-2 might be more superficial and reversible than previously feared. The study contradicts earlier research that suggested the virus infects neurons in the membrane that lines the upper recesses of the nose. This membrane, called the olfactory mucosa, is where the virus first lands when it is inhaled. Within it are olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs), which are responsible for initiating smell sensations. They are tightly entwined with a kind of support cell called sustentacular cells.
Sputnik Light produces strong level of antibodies against COVID-19 - early-stage trial
Russia's one-dose Sputnik Light vaccine had a good safety profile and induced strong immune responses especially in people who had already encountered COVID-19, according to the results of phase I and II trials published in The Lancet medical journal. The vaccine, a single-dose version of the two-dose Sputnik V vaccine unveiled last year, has already entered later phases of studies and is widely used in Russia, but the publication of the early research in a top Western journal is a milestone as Russia moves towards making Sputnik Light its main vaccine for export.
Lilly pulls COVID-19 treatment from EU review while U.S. stocks up
Eli Lilly has retracted a request for European Union approval of its antibody-based treatment for COVID-19, citing a lack of demand from EU member states as the bloc focuses on other suppliers. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said on Tuesday it had ended its rolling review of a cocktail of two monoclonal antibodies known as etesevimab and bamlanivimab after the U.S.-based drugmaker withdrew from the process.
Indian home-grown COVID-19 shot wins WHO emergency use approval
The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday that it has granted approval for Indian drugmaker Bharat Biotech's home-grown COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use listing, paving the way for it to be accepted as a valid vaccine in many poor countries. The WHO tweeted that its technical advisory group had ruled that benefits of the shot, known as Covaxin, significantly outweighed the risks and that it met WHO standards for protection against COVID-19.
Factbox: Countries rush to buy Merck experimental COVID-19 pill
Merck has signed eight deals to sell more than a total of 2 million courses of its experimental COVID-19 pill molnupiravir to governments around the world as countries scramble to tame the virus. It has applied for approval in the United States and said it can make 10 million courses in 2021. Last week the company reached a deal with the United Nations-backed Medicines Patent Pool that will allow more companies to manufacture generic versions of the pill with a royalty-free license applying to 105 low- and middle-income countries. So far Merck has agreed to license the drug to several India-based generic drugmakers.
Analysis: Country by country, scientists eye beginning of an end to the COVID-19 pandemic
As the devastating Delta variant surge eases in many regions of the world, scientists are charting when, and where, COVID-19 will transition to an endemic disease in 2022 and beyond, according to Reuters interviews with over a dozen leading disease experts. They expect that the first countries to emerge from the pandemic will have had some combination of high rates of vaccination and natural immunity among people who were infected with the coronavirus, such as the United States, the UK, Portugal and India. But they warn that SARS-CoV-2 remains an unpredictable virus that is mutating as it spreads through unvaccinated populations.
College football didn't fuel COVID-19 spread among players, study suggests
COVID-19 didn't appear to spread efficiently within and among teams competing in the fall 2020 Southeastern Conference (SEC) college football season, finds an observational study published late last week in JAMA Network Open. The study, led by a Texas A&M University researcher, analyzed close contacts (within 6 feet) among opposing players during official games and COVID-19 athlete testing data from Sep 26 to Dec 19, 2020. At that time, cases were surging, but the more transmissible Delta (B1617.2) SARS-CoV-2 variant had not yet been identified in the United States. This may limit the findings' generalizability to pandemic phases since the emergence of Delta.
Molnupiravir: another Covid-19 treatment, another opportunity to recognize inequity
The Covid-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected communities of color and those with lower socioeconomic means, two groups that overlap to a significant extent in the U.S. Merck’s submission of molnupiravir, its oral antiviral drug, to the Food and Drug Administration for emergency use authorization will only heighten inequities wrought by the pandemic. Merck and others have touted this drug as a game-changer. Although the data from randomized controlled trials have not been made available for review, the press release claims that a five day course of molnupiravir is associated with a 6.8% absolute reduction in hospitalization or death in patients with moderate Covid-19 not requiring hospitalization when the drug is taken within five days of the onset of symptoms.
Coronavirus Resurgence
France reports more than 10000 new COVID cases for 1st time in two months
French health authorities reported 10,050 daily new COVID-19 infections on Wednesday, the first time the tally has topped 10,000 since Sept 14. In another sign the virus is ramping up again, hospitalisations for the disease are up by 84, at 6,764, a rise unseen since Sept 6. The cumulative total of new cases now stands at 7.18 million. The number of COVID-19 patients in intensive care rose by 5 in 24 hours to 1,096 and by 58 over a week.
COVID-19 hospitalizations spike in Colorado
Colorado’s COVID-19 hospitalizations are at their highest peak since last December, according to state data. As of Wednesday, the state had nearly 1,254 hospitalizations, with 80% made up of unvaccinated COVID-19 patients, according to the Colorado health department’s data dashboard. That state data indicates that 30% of state hospital facilities are anticipating ICU bed shortages in the next week.
Democratic Gov. Jared Polis issued two executive orders on Sunday in response to the state’s hospitalization increase — one calling for additional National Guard resources and another ordering hospitals and emergency departments to transfer or stop admitting new patients due to the lack of hospital beds.
COVID-19 cases rise in Europe for 5th consecutive week
The number of coronavirus cases has risen in Europe for the fifth consecutive week, making it the only world region where COVID-19 is still increasing, the World Health Organization reported Wednesday. In its weekly report on the pandemic, the U.N. health agency said new cases jumped by 6%, or 3 million, in Europe compared to an 18% increase the previous week. The weekly number of new infections in other regions either fell or remained about the same, according to the report. The sharpest drops were seen in the Middle East where new cases decreased by 12%, and in Southeast Asia and Africa, where they fell by 9%.
In Russia, COVID-19 surge shows no signs of abating
Daily coronavirus cases and deaths in Russia remained at all-time highs Wednesday as more regions announced extending existing restrictions in an effort to tame the country's unrelenting surge of infections. Russia's state coronavirus task force reported over 40,000 new confirmed cases from a day earlier, the most since the start of the pandemic. It was the fifth time in seven days that the country set a daily case record. The task force also reported 1,189 deaths, another daily record. Russia is five days into a nationwide non-working period that the government introduced to curb the spread of the virus. Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered many Russians to stay off work between Oct. 30 and Nov. 7. He authorized regional governments to extend the number of non-working days, if necessary.
Covid cases are surging in countries such as Romania and China – and scientists say the UK can learn from them
Countries around the world are reintroducing measures such as mask-wearing and work-from-home orders to curb a surge in Covid cases, which experts say the UK should also be doing instead of relying on vaccines alone. The Netherlands became one of the first countries in western Europe to bring back masks, while Russia said an order for people not to go to work for a week from 30 October could be extended after it reported a record 1,178 Covid daily deaths on Tuesday. China’s zero-Covid policy has allowed it to quickly quell local outbreaks but not stop them entirely, while increased cases in Romania and Ireland has seen authorities reimpose or extend measures for several weeks.
S.Korean teens drive up COVID-19 cases ahead of full school reopening
South Korea said on Wednesday it would ramp up COVID-19 testing at schools after a sharp rise of infections among children, weeks ahead of a plan to fully reopen schools nationwide. The surge comes as new social distancing rules aimed at a phased return to normal came into effect on Monday as a part of the country's plan to gradually move toward living with COVID-19 on the back of high vaccination rates.
Slovenia records highest daily number of COVID cases
Slovenia registered a record high 3,456 COVID-19 infections on Tuesday, or 44.7% of the number of people tested, the state health institute said, as medical experts suggest tighter restrictions to rein in the pandemic. Currently there are 29,354 active COVID-19 cases in the small Alpine state of some two million people. There are 1.12 million fully vaccinated people, or 53% of the overall population. Medical experts this week proposed tightening curbs on gatherings, including shorter opening hours for bars and restaurants and work from home for public sector employees, national television reported.
COVID-19 has declined across the Americas, regional health agency says
COVID-19 deaths and infections have declined across the Americas for the 8th consecutive week, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said on Wednesday, warning that a very high percentage of hospitalized cases now are unvaccinated people. In North America, all three countries reported drops in weekly cases and deaths, and there has been a notable decline in hospitalizations in the United States and Canada, PAHO said, with similar declines in South and Central America. The regional health branch of the World Health Organization said 46% of the Latin American and Caribbean population have been fully vaccinated, and a majority of countries have already reached the WHO's 40% vaccination coverage target set for the end of the year.
China's COVID-19 cases spike ahead of Communist Party conclave
China's new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases spiked to a near three-month high and tighter curbs to contain the spread are expected in the capital Beijing ahead of a key gathering of the highest-ranking members of the Communist Party next week.
The National Health Commission confirmed on Wednesday 93 new local symptomatic cases for Nov. 2, up from 54 a day earlier and the highest daily count since Aug. 9 at the peak of China's last major outbreak. Beijing reported nine new local infections, the biggest one-day increase in the capital this year.
Czech daily COVID-19 cases near 10000, highest since March
The number of daily COVID-19 cases reported in the Czech Republic neared 10,000 for the first time since March, health ministry data showed on Wednesday.
The country recorded 9,902 new infections on Tuesday, up from 6,284 on the same day a week ago. Hospitalisations reached more than 2,000 for the first time since May, including 288 people in intensive care. The country like others in central Europe has seen a renewed jump in COVID-19 cases.
UK records 41299 new COVID cases, 217 deaths
Britain reported 41,299 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday and 217 more deaths within 28 days of a positive test, official data showed.The figures compared to 33,865 cases on Tuesday and 293 deaths.
World Economic Forum postpones China event due to COVID-19
The World Economic Forum said on Wednesday that it is postponing its event planned for later this month in the Chinese city of Tianjin due to the outbreak of COVID-19 cases in the country, where new locally transmitted cases hit a near three-month high. "Regretfully, due to the circumstances around the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and recent cases in major cities and provinces in China, the Annual Meeting of the New Champions will be rescheduled," the WEF said in an email to participants.
Christmas may be tough as COVID not over, England's deputy medical officer says
Christmas may be difficult as the COVID-19 pandemic is not over, England's deputy chief medical officer warned on Wednesday, urging people to behave with caution and come forward for booster shots. Britain reported 293 deaths from COVID-19 on Tuesday, the highest daily figure since March, and there have been an average of around 40,000 new cases each day in recent weeks. Prime Minister Boris Johnson lifted restrictions in England in July, and has said he plans to cope with COVID over the winter by relying on vaccinations rather than mandating masks or lockdowns.
S.Korean teens drive up COVID-19 cases ahead of full school reopening
South Korea said on Wednesday it would ramp up COVID-19 testing at schools after a sharp rise of infections among children, weeks ahead of a plan to fully reopen schools nationwide.The surge comes as new social distancing rules aimed at a phased return to normal came into effect on Monday as a part of the country's plan to gradually move toward living with COVID-19 on the back of high vaccination rates. South Korea has fully vaccinated nearly 90% of its adult population but only began inoculating children aged between 12 and 17 in recent weeks, administering just 0.6% of the age group with both doses so far.