11th Jan 2021 https://nfind.uk/lockdown_exit/index.php/newsletter=174 lockdown_exit

Lockdown Exit

CNBC The coronavirus will continue to thrive if there isnt a more equitable distribution of vaccines across the globe the head of the World Health Organization said on Friday. There are 42 countries that are now rolling out their initial doses of Covid19 vaccines and a majority of them are highincome nations WHO DirectorGeneral Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. No lowincome countries have started their vaccine programs he said which is a clear problem. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/08/who-warns-inequitable-vaccine-distribution-helps-covid-thrive.html 9th Jan 2021

Lockdown Exit

POLITICO.eu When it comes to EU vaccine solidarity Germany is looking to have its cake and eat it too. While Berlin championed the blocs joint purchasing of coronavirus vaccines while holding the European Unions rotating presidency in the second half of 2020 it simultaneously made additional agreements with vaccine producers including BioNTechPfizer and CureVac for extra doses. And its now purchasing additional vaccines other EU countries didnt want. Germany a country of 83 million people said its getting 94 million doses of the BioNTechPfizer vaccine 64 million from the EU and 30 million from a separate bilateral deal. On top of that Berlin will buy doses that other countries dont buy securing 50 million of 160 million Moderna doses far more than its prorata allocation. https://www.politico.eu/article/germany-buys-extra-coronavirus-vaccine-doses-from-eu-countries/ 7th Jan 2021

Lockdown Exit

The BMJ As we embark on what may be the very early stages of Lockdown 3.0 our fears for the future are made darker both by a real uncertainty about the course of the next few months and by the knowledge that it did not have to be like this. It is tempting to attribute such comment to hindsight but in fact we have been led by a government which has egregiously disregarded what is actually little more than common sense. A health emergency of this potential scale required a strategic and systemsbased approach from the start. This approach should have led early on to the production of a coherent plan with clear purpose. It should throughout have shown itself nimble to adapt in real time to new circumstances and to new knowledge. https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2021/01/08/lockdown-3-0-an-opportunity-to-join-up-thinking/ 9th Jan 2021

Lockdown Exit

Deeside.com A North Wales Police Federation rep has said officers should get the Covid vaccine as a priority. More than 9000 people have signed a petition calling on the Welsh Government to change the fact that police are not on the priority list to be immunised for Covid19. Police forces across the UK are currently experiencing high sickness rates as officers face a greater risk of contracting the virus due to the public facing nature of their jobs. Mark Jones general secretary of the North Wales Police Federation said his colleagues had even been spat at by offenders raising the potential for them to catch the coronavirus even further. http://www.deeside.com/north-wales-police-federation-rep-says-officers-should-get-covid-vaccine-as-a-priority/ 8th Jan 2021

Lockdown Exit

Belfast Telegraph US presidentelect Joe Biden will rapidly release most available coronavirus vaccine doses to protect more people his office has said in a reversal of Trump administration policies. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/biden-to-reverse-trump-policy-by-speeding-release-of-covid-19-vaccines-39949772.html 8th Jan 2021

Lockdown Exit

USA Today Bidens transition team said Friday that it doesnt make sense to hold back vaccine at a time when more Americans are dying than at any point in the pandemic. Instead they want to get shots into more arms then follow up with second doses later. The presidentelect believes we must accelerate distribution of the vaccine while continuing to ensure the Americans who need it most get it as soon as possible spokesman T.J. Ducklo said in a statement sent to USA TODAY. Biden supports releasing available doses immediately and believes the government should stop holding back vaccine supply so we can get more shots in Americans arms now. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2021/01/08/covid-biden-plans-release-all-vaccines-not-hold-second-dose/6596334002/ 8th Jan 2021

Exit Strategies

The Guardian Rapid testing to find symptomless carriers of Covid19 is to be launched in England this week. The aim of the programme is to identify some of the tens of thousands of infected people who are unwittingly spreading the virus across the country. The dramatic escalation of the programme which uses detectors known as lateral flow devices comes as Covid death rates have continued to soar and hospitals have reported alarming numbers of patients needing intensive care. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/10/rapid-covid-testing-across-england-will-help-identify-symptomless-carriers?utm_term=Autofeed&ampCMP=twt_gu&amputm_medium&amputm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1610261462 10th Jan 2021

Exit Strategies

Herald Scotland The UK has no clear strategy to alleviate pressure on hospitals battling coronavirus beyond reactive lockdowns a public health expert has said. The country has seen some form of restrictions placed on the population for almost a year said Professor Devi Sridhar adding that it is unrealistic to expect people to adhere to rules for months on end. The chairwoman of public health at Edinburgh University told Times Radio I think the larger issue here is the UK has no clear strategy beyond reactive lockdowns whenever hospitals are under pressure. https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/19000273.coronavirus-uk-no-clear-strategy-alleviate-covid-pressure-hospitals-beyond-lockdowns-says-expert/ 10th Jan 2021

Exit Strategies

The New York Times In a sharp break with the Trump administration Presidentelect Joseph R. Biden Jr. intends to release nearly all available doses of the coronavirus vaccine soon after he is inaugurated rather than hold back millions of vials to guarantee second doses will be available. The decision is part of an aggressive effort to to ensure the Americans who need it most get it as soon as possible the Biden transition team said on Friday. The vaccination plan to be formally unveiled next week also will include federally run vaccination sites in places like high school gyms and sports stadiums and mobile units to reach highrisk populations. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/08/us/politics/biden-coronavirus-vaccinations.html 9th Jan 2021

Exit Strategies

Metro.co.uk A nurse in Wales caught Covid three weeks after getting the vaccine prompting warnings from experts that it takes time for immunity to build up. The nurse who has been working for the Hywel Dda University Health Board area said that she contracted the virus while waiting for the second dose of the PfizerBioNtech jab. Deputy Chief Executive of Hywel Dda health board Dr Philip Kloer said that while a Covid vaccine reduces your chance of suffering from the virus no vaccine is ever 100 effective. https://metro.co.uk/2021/01/09/nurse-catches-covid-three-weeks-after-getting-pfizer-vaccine-13875410/ 9th Jan 2021

Exit Strategies

NPR As states try to broaden the reach of their coronavirus vaccination campaigns and navigate uncertain supply chains many of the first people to receive their shots are just now completing the final act of immunity the second dose which boosts the efficacy of both available US vaccines to about 95 percent. Many health care workers and others at high risk who had the Pfizer shots in mid December lined up for their booster shot this week due to be given 21 days after the initial dose. https://www.npr.org/2021/01/09/954970455/injections-of-second-coronavirus-vaccine-doses-have-begun 9th Jan 2021

Exit Strategies

BBC News In England a property investment company has offered GP surgeries 5000 for unused coronavirus vaccine doses. The Hacking Trusts medical division approached surgeries in Bristol and Worthing offering to pay the money to charity or the staff member directly. Robyn Clark from the Institute of General Practice Management said it was just appalling. The company based in London has apologised saying its good intentions were misinterpreted. NHS England said people will rightly take a dim view of anyone who tries to jump the queue. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-55593210 9th Jan 2021

Exit Strategies

Sky News The Moderna vaccine has become the third coronavirus jab to be approved for use in the UK with an additional 10 million doses ordered. The USbased companys vaccine was shown to have 94 efficacy against COVID19 in final trials. Seven million doses had already been ordered by the UK government with a further 10 million expected to follow but it will likely not become available until March. https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-uk-approves-use-of-modernas-coronavirus-vaccine-12150649 9th Jan 2021

Exit Strategies

CIDRAP The World Health Organizations WHOs directorgeneral today called on vaccine makers and countries to take steps to ensure that low and middleincome countries arent shut out of receiving vaccine supply. The move comes amid news of a European Union deal with Pfizer announced by the European Commission today that would give countries in the region nearly half of the companys COVID19 vaccine output for 2021. At a WHO briefing Tedros Adhanom Gheybreyesus PhD the agencys directorgeneral said the WHOled COVAX initiative has contracts to secure 2 billion doses and the right of first refusal for 1 billion more. https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2021/01/who-director-calls-easing-vaccine-hurdles-developing-nations 8th Jan 2021

Exit Strategies

Evening Standard In England the Queen and Prince Philip have both received the first dose of Covid19 vaccinations Buckingham Palace has confirmed. The royal couple were given the jab by a doctor from the Royal Household at Windsor Castle where they are both isolating. The Queen 94 and the Duke of Edinburgh 99 both meet the Government age guidelines for those who should be given the vaccine. Some 1.3 million people in the UK have now received their first dose of a Covid vaccine according to the government. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/queen-prince-philip-covid-coronavirus-vaccine-b784541.html 9th Jan 2021

Exit Strategies

Reuters NHS England said on Friday it had made plans to vaccinate all frontline staff against COVID19 in the next few weeks following the rollout of the OxfordAstraZeneca vaccine. Nikita Kanani the Nation Health Service medical director for primary care said the vaccine will be administered to all health and social care staff by midFebruary. https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-britain-nhs/nhs-england-plans-to-vaccinate-all-frontline-staff-against-covid-19-in-next-few-weeks-idUSL4N2JK032 9th Jan 2021

Exit Strategies

Quartz The US set a new daily record for Covid19 deaths on Jan. 6 reporting the loss of 3963 lives. So where are the vaccines Thus far the rollout of doses from Pfizer and Moderna has been underwhelming. The US set a goal of vaccinating 20 million people in December 2020 but by Jan. 7 the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC reported that only 5.3 million first doses had been injected and only about 17 million doses have been sent to states. The slow pace means it will take longer to bring the pandemic under control increasing both the human and economic toll of this crisis. The problem appears to be government dysfunctionspecifically an unfulfilled need for support from the federal government to the state agencies and local healthcare providers tasked with distributing the vaccine. To reach safe levels of immunity in the US by May would require providing 1.8 million doses every single day after Jan. 15 according to a letter pdf the American Hospital Association AHA sent to Health and Human Services secretary Alex Azar today. https://qz.com/1954226/what-the-us-can-do-to-speed-up-vaccine-distribution/ 9th Jan 2021

Exit Strategies

China Daily China has administered over 9 million shots of COVID19 vaccine since Dec 15 to people deemed at high risk of contracting the disease senior health officials said on Saturday. As vaccine production ramps up http://global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202101/09/WS5ff92b67a31024ad0baa1846.html 9th Jan 2021

Exit Strategies

DD News Indias civil aviation regulator the Directorate General of Civil Aviation DGCA has issued guidelines to airlines and other aircraft operators for transportation of Covid19 vaccines. All scheduled operators who have been currently authorized to carry dangerous goods may carry COVID19 vaccine packed in dry ice meeting the regulatory requirements DGCA said in a circular. Nonscheduled operators including aircraft engaged in general aviation that are required to participate in the carriage of COVID 19 vaccines packed in dry ice shall seek specific approval before commencing such operations it added. Covid19 vaccination in India is expected to start in the next few days Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said yesterday adding that the union government has requested the stakeholders in the process to help in its smooth rollout. http://www.ddinews.gov.in/national/dgca-issues-guidelines-airlines-transport-covid-19-vaccines 9th Jan 2021

Exit Strategies

CNBC While the U.S. and Europe attempt to ramp up their own Covid vaccination drives Israel is outpacing them all. Israels vaccination drive began on Dec. 19 with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the first person to be vaccinated in the country. Priority has been given to people aged over 60 health care workers and anyone clinically vulnerable reported to make up around a quarter of its 9 million population. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/07/israels-covid-vaccine-rollout-is-the-fastest-in-the-world.html 9th Jan 2021

Exit Strategies

LeaderLive The coronavirus vaccine rollout is well under way right across the UK which offers a brighter futuer for 2021. However the UK finds itself under lockdown rules with First Minister Mark Drakeford extending restrictions in Wales for a further threeweeks. At the Welsh Government press conference on January 8 he told the nation that the vaccine rollout is under way and he shares the Prime Ministers ambitions of vaccinating the top four priority groups by midFebruary. However stressed this is dependant on the programme and vaccine supplies. https://www.leaderlive.co.uk/news/18997681.first-minister-advices-people-cautious-even-covid-vaccine/ 9th Jan 2021

Exit Strategies

Wales Online Special school staff an those working in colleges providing intimate care as well as at risk staff will be prioritised for the coronavirus vaccine along with care workers. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation JCVI which advises UK health departments on immunisation agreed certain special school staff should be classed as care workers and that at risk school and college staff should also be prioritised. Headteachers including Chris Britten head of Ysgol y Deri special school in Penarth have been pressing for school staff to be prioritised after health workers and vulnerable groups. https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/education/vaccine-coronavirus-schools-wales-teachers-19591422 9th Jan 2021

Exit Strategies

STAT News The transition team of Presidentelect Biden has taken its first step to reexamine the distribution of Covid19 vaccines put in place by the Trump administration. Instead of keeping half the doses in reserve to make sure that every person who received their first dose can receive their second dose the transition said Friday that it would release the vast majority of available doses of authorized vaccines at once. Its a great start. But it is also only a start. The argument to hold back the second dose was not without merit at a time of limited supply of the vaccines developed by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech as well as Moderna. The fear has been that without sufficient doses in reserve there would be mayhem with some sites keeping doses in reserve themselves and recipients becoming upset if their second dose was not available. https://www.statnews.com/2021/01/08/bidens-plan-to-end-policy-of-keeping-covid-vaccine-doses-in-reserve-is-the-first-step-in-a-more-difficult-journey/ 8th Jan 2021

Partisan Exits

The Associated Press The crisis facing Britain this winter is depressingly familiar Stayathome orders and empty streets. Hospitals overflowing. A daily toll of many hundreds of coronavirus deaths. The U.K. is the epicenter of Europes COVID19 outbreak once more and Prime Minister Boris Johnsons Conservative government is facing questions and anger as people demand to know how the country has ended up here again. Many countries are enduring new waves of the virus but Britains is among the worst and it comes after a horrendous 2020. More than 3 million people in the U.K. have tested positive for the coronavirus and 81000 have died 30000 in just the last 30 days. The economy has shrunk by 8 more than 800000 jobs have been lost and hundreds of thousands more furloughed workers are in limbo. https://apnews.com/article/europe-coronavirus-pandemic-sadiq-khan-london-boris-johnson-9f45538038d470952d70bcc093193384 11th Jan 2021

Partisan Exits

The BMJ Cases of covid19 have continued to surge in the US as only five million people were vaccinated by the end of 2020 against the 20 million promised by President Donald Trump. President Elect Joe Biden has promised to deliver 100 million doses of the vaccine in his first 100 days in office which will begin on 20 January. There is no national plan for distributing vaccines. Each state is allotted doses based on their populations and leaders must then decide how to get the vaccines to its people. Francis Collins head of the National Institutes of Health said in a live streamed interview with the Washington Post on 6 January that it had been a rocky beginning but that he hoped to see a million people being vaccinated every day.1 Collins is the boss of Anthony Fauci head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a frequently quoted expert on covid19. Collins was asked about suggestions that only the first dose of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine be given or that half doses of the Moderna vaccine be used. He said that the two dose regimen of both vaccines was 94 to 95 effective which he called a breath taking success and that was what should be used. https://www.bmj.com/content/372/bmj.n42 9th Jan 2021

Partisan Exits

Reuters Saudi King Salman received a first dose of a coronavirus vaccine on Friday in the NEOM economic zone the state news agency SPA said. The agency posted two pictures and a short video that showed a medical staff injecting the king with the vaccine. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-saudi-king/saudi-king-receives-first-dose-of-a-coronavirus-vaccine-spa-idUSKBN29D2PM 9th Jan 2021

Partisan Exits

Daily Record Frontline community nurses have claimed homeworking bosses are being vaccinated for coronavirus while they continue to wait for their jabs. One East Dunbartonshire nurse said she was furious that superiors in non patient facing roles had jumped the queue while she works in fear visiting several patients a day. The whistleblower who did not want to be named said staff had raised concern with management over the length of time they were waiting to be vaccinated only to find out bosses at the Kirkintilloch Health and Care Centre had already been seen. https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/frontline-community-nurses-claim-theyve-23287124 9th Jan 2021

Partisan Exits

BBC News France has said that everyone over 75 will be able to have the coronavirus vaccine from 18 January as part of a plan to speed up vaccinations. The French Prime Minister Jean Castex said the government had been right to prioritise the most vulnerable but admitted that France had lagged behind other countries in rolling out its vaccination programme. The first vaccines were restricted to elderly care home residents and required a signed consent form and a doctors consultation before they could be administered. But the government has faced a storm of criticism after it emerged that only 500 people had been vaccinated in the first week of the rollout compared to 200000 in Germany. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-55547518 9th Jan 2021

Partisan Exits

Mirror Online Despite positive news on the Pfizer jab Grant Shapps warned the 501Y.V2 variant was the reason for him finally introducing preflight tests and itll be a tragedy if it gets to the UK. https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/scientists-not-sure-covid-vaccine-23282862 8th Jan 2021

Partisan Exits

CNBC Richard Pollack CEO of the American Hospital Association said in a letter to HHS Secretary Alex Azar that the slow initial rollout of the vaccine has cast doubt on the nations vaccination goals. Unforeseen issues have emerged in the first weeks of the rollout he added calling on Azar to provide more help. As this rollout rapidly evolves it is absolutely critical that effective situational realtime leadership is provided nationally he wrote in the letter. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/07/hospital-group-presses-hhs-to-ership-in-covid-vaccine-rollout.html 7th Jan 2021

Continued Lockdown

Reuters Health authorities reported 721 new COVID19 cases on Friday and 49 related deaths bringing the respective totals since the first coronavirus case was detected in February last year to 143494 and 5195. Greece earlier extended restrictions on international travellers arriving in Greece by two weeks. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-greece/greece-extends-some-covid-lockdown-curbs-until-jan-18-idUSKBN29D1GK 9th Jan 2021

Continued Lockdown

CBS Pittsburgh This is the fourth version of the COVID19 vaccine distribution plan in Pennsylvania. While things change local health systems are rolling with the punches. Many people are ready many people perceive their risk. Theyve been riding this out for a long time and have been careful for a long time said Dr. David Rottinghaus the chief medical officer at Butler Health System. Dr. Rottinghaus said Butler Health System was tasked with vaccinating the countys 1A Phase. We distributed almost 1000 in the last 3 days. We are pretty far down the road in tier 1A Rottinghaus said. https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2021/01/08/hospitals-adjusting-on-fly-after-state-announces-new-vaccine-distribution-plan/ 9th Jan 2021

Continued Lockdown

DW (English) In Britain London mayor Sadiq Khan has declared a major incident warning that hospitals across the capital could struggle to cope with new infections linked to a new strain. The stark reality is that we will run out of beds for patients in the next couple of weeks unless the spread of the virus slows down drastically Khan said in a statement calling for more support and action from the central UK government. We are declaring a major incident because the threat this virus poses to our city is at crisis point. The number of patients in the capitals hospitals has grown by 27 in the last week and the number on ventilators has increased by 42. Britain on Friday reported 1325 news deaths from the coronavirus its highest daily tally since the pandemic began. The last record of 1224 was reported in April. https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-digest-london-declares-major-incident-over-soaring-cases/a-56166343 9th Jan 2021

Continued Lockdown

Nine News Australia A nationwide hotel quarantine overhaul is underway after confirmation the new more contagious variants of COVID19 have made their way into our communities. Saturday January 9 Victoria has recorded one new COVID19 case in hotel quarantine overnight https://www.9news.com.au/videos/health/hotel-quarantine-overhaul-in-light-of-uk-covid-19-in-australia/ckjpel327001s0hmpaxt2nu6o 8th Jan 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

South China Morning Post Pilot scheme by HKU experts helped uncover nine infections in two blocks. Mandatory testing will be triggered if sewage checks reveal two consecutive positive results or two positives over three days https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3117041/hong-kong-fourth-wave-sewage-tests-coronavirus-be?utm_term=Autofeed&amputm_medium=Social&amputm_content=article&amputm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1610239640 10th Jan 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

Daily Mail Unseen strain found in Japan after plane passengers tested positive. Four men and women in their teens to 40s were found to have the new strain. They had arrived at Haneda Airport in Tokyo from Brazil on Saturday January 2. Japans health and welfare department has reported the new discovery to WHO https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9131745/New-mutant-strain-coronavirus-discovered-Japan.html 10th Jan 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

South China Morning Post The country hopes to start its vaccination campaign in the coming days with around 200000 people having registered for inoculation. Chinas Sinopharm says its vaccine is 79 per cent effective https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3117084/jordan-approves-emergency-use-chinas-sinopharm-coronavirus 9th Jan 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

The Star COVAX an international initiative for COVID19 vaccines led by the World Health Organization WHO has secured contracts of 2 billion doses of vaccines WHO DirectorGeneral Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Friday. https://www.thestar.com.my/news/world/2021/01/09/who-led-covax-initiative-secures-contracts-of-2-bln-doses-of-covid-19-vaccines-tedros 9th Jan 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

CBS News When President Donald Trump paid a visit to the National Institutes of Health last March the leads at the vaccine research center explained their lifesaving mission. The key to that mission was a 34yearold doctor named Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett. I was just there telling the task force about the work that weve been doing Corbett told CBS This Morning Saturday cohost Michelle Miller. Two weeks after the visit Corbetts team began the first stage of clinical trials. She said they took a lot of the knowledge they have gained in the last six years and applied it to a vaccine platform in collaboration with Moderna. The vaccine rolled out 10 months later. The vaccine teaches the body how to fend off a virus because it teaches the body how to look for the virus by basically just showing the body the spike protein of the virus she explained. The body then says Oh weve seen this protein before. Lets go fight against it. Thats how it works. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-19-vaccine-development-kizzmekia-corbett/ 9th Jan 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

The BMJ The UKs Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency MHRA has revised its guidance so that pregnant and breastfeeding women can receive the covid19 vaccine. Writing in BMJ Opinion Helen Hare an acute medicine trainee and Kate Womersley an academic foundation trainee said that the change had come after strong pressure from campaigners clinicians and some of the women affected. The MHRA had previously recommended that breastfeeding women should not be given the vaccine which Hare and Womersley said had been interpreted by NHS trusts as a blanket ban. But on 30 December the agency said that women who were breastfeeding could be given both the PfizerBioNTech vaccine and the OxfordAstraZeneca vaccine https://www.bmj.com/content/372/bmj.n64 9th Jan 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

New York Times Doctors and nurses at a South African hospital group noticed an odd spike in the number of Covid19 patients in their wards in late October. The government had slackened its lockdown grip and springtime had brought more parties. But the numbers were growing too quickly to easily explain prompting a distressing question. Is this a different strain one hospital official asked in a group email in early November raising the possibility that the virus had developed a dangerous mutation. That question touched off a highstakes genetic investigation that began here in Durban on the Indian Ocean tipped off researchers in Britain and is now taking place around the world. Scientists have discovered worrisome new variants of the virus leading to border closures quarantines and lockdowns and dousing some of the enthusiasm that arrived with the vaccines. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/09/world/europe/coronavirus-mutations.html 9th Jan 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

Business Today The White House task force for coronavirus has warned of a USA variant of COVID19 that could be fuelling the already aggressive spread of the virus. This variant the task force pointed out is separate from the UK coronavirus variant that is touted to be 70 per cent more transmissible. According to CNN reports sent by the task force warn of a possibility of a USA variant of the coronavirus. This fallwinter surge has been at nearly twice the rate of rise of cases as the spring and summer surges. This acceleration suggests there may be a USA variant that has evolved here in addition to the UK variant that is already spreading in our communities and maybe 50 per cent more transmissible said the report. https://www.businesstoday.in/current/economy-politics/another-covid-19-strain-white-house-warns-of-usa-variant-of-coronavirus/story/427443.html 9th Jan 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

Philippine Daily Inquirer China will provide COVID19 vaccines free of charge once they become available to the general public government authorities said on Saturday. National Health Commission official Zheng Zhongwei said that while manufacturing and transport of vaccines have costs the government can provide vaccines for free to individuals. https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1381494/china-to-provide-covid-19-vaccines-free-of-charge 9th Jan 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

Daily Record A third vaccine has been approved for use in the UK. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has approved the Moderna coronavirus vaccine the Department for Health has announced. The Government has ordered 17 million doses of the Moderna jab but supplies will not delivered until the spring. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said This is further great news and another weapon in our arsenal to tame this awful disease. We have already vaccinated nearly 1.5 million people across the UK and Modernas vaccine will allow us to accelerate our vaccination programme even further once doses become available from the spring. https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/third-covid-vaccine-approved-use-23284221 9th Jan 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

POLITICO.eu The University of OxfordAstraZeneca will submit their jointlyproduced coronavirus vaccine to the European Medicines Agency next week with a decision on approval for use across the bloc expected by the end of January. The EMA already has the drugmakers phase 3 data as part of a rolling review but the vaccine producers are yet to hand a formal submission for conditional marketing authorization from the EU regulator. Possible conclusion end of January depending on data and evaluation progress the agency tweeted. The Commission would need to rubber stamp a recommendation from the EMA. https://www.politico.eu/article/oxford-astrazeneca-to-submit-application-for-coronavirus-vaccine-approval-in-eu-next-week/ 9th Jan 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

Daily Mail SPIB a subgroup of SAGE warned some people would stop obeying rules. They said it was crucial that Government told people to continue to be strict. There is no proof that the vaccine will stop people from spreading the virus. Trials only looked at whether the jabs could prevent severe Covid19 https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9126855/People-social-distancing-wearing-masks-getting-Covid-vaccine.html 9th Jan 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

BBC News People who have had Covid vaccines are being warned to still take care. Vaccination has been shown to prevent severe infection so even if people do catch the virus they would be protected from getting seriously ill. The call comes as an NHS nurse working for the Hywel Dda University Health Board area said she contracted Covid19 while waiting for her second dose. The health board said while the vaccine reduces your chance of suffering no vaccine is 100 effective. The PfizerBioNtech vaccine which started being rolled out in the UK last month offers up to 95 protection against Covid19 after a second dose. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-55579028 9th Jan 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

Ottawa Sun Communistrun Cuba said late on Friday it had signed an accord with Iran to transfer the technology for its most advanced coronavirus vaccine candidate and carry out laststage clinical trials of the shot in the Islamic Republic. The allies are both under fierce U.S. sanctions that exempt medicine yet often put foreign pharmaceutical companies off trading with them and as such they seek to be selfreliant. Both are also strapped for cash. Iran launched human trials of its first domestic COVID19 vaccine candidate late last month while Cuba has four candidates currently in human trials. Once its most advanced candidate Soberana Sovereign 2 has completed Phase II trials which started on Dec. 22 it will be tested in Phase III trials in around 150000 people in Havana officials have said. https://ottawasun.com/news/world/cuba-to-collaborate-with-iran-on-coronavirus-vaccine/wcm/49f818be-972e-46fd-8dec-8ea6d0b71384/amp/ 9th Jan 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

China Daily Chinas COVID19 vaccine is found capable of neutralizing the new strain of the novel coronavirus that was reported to be behind the rise in transmission of the disease in parts of the United Kingdom senior health official said on Saturday. Zeng Yixin viceminister of the National Health Commission said Chinas scientific community is paying close attention to the new variant and its effect on current vaccines as reports indicated that the new strain had arrived in China via imported cases. Scientists from the Institute of Laboratory Animal Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and the Sun Yatsen University in Guangdong province are already working on the issue Zeng said during a news briefing held by the State Council Information Office. https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202101/09/WS5ff9340ca31024ad0baa184d.html 9th Jan 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

Medical Xpress More than three quarters of COVID19 patients have at least one ongoing symptom six months after initially becoming unwell according to research published in The Lancet. The cohort study looking at longterm effects of COVID19 infection on people hospitalised in Wuhan China reveals that the most common symptom to persist is fatigue or muscle weakness 63 of patients with patients also frequently experiencing sleep difficulties 26. Anxiety or depression was reported among 23 of patients. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-01-patients-hospitalised-covid-symptom-months.html 9th Jan 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

Phys.Org Researchers at the University of Chicago have created the first usable computational model of the entire virus responsible for COVID19and they are making this model widely available to help advance research during the pandemic. If you can understand how a virus works thats the first step towards stopping it said Prof. Gregory Voth whose team created the model published in Biophysical Journal. Each thing you know about the viruss life cycle and composition is a vulnerability point where you can hit it. https://phys.org/news/2021-01-scientists-entire-virus-responsible-covid-.html 8th Jan 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

CIDRAP In the first study published today in Pediatrics a team led by researchers at Duke University traced contacts of North Carolina students infected with COVID19 in 11 school districts in the first 9 weeks of inperson instruction in the fall. In August 2020 56 of 115 North Carolina school districts joined the ABC Science Collaborative to put in place specific public health measures to prevent COVID19 transmission and share what they learn in the process. Superintendents reported primary and secondary cases by school and week of the quarter. The collaborative was developed by faculty at Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2021/01/three-studies-highlight-low-covid-risk-person-school 8th Jan 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

Fierce Pharma Compared with Moderna and the PfizerBioNTech partnership which already have their COVID19 vaccines authorized for emergency use CureVac seems a little late to the mRNA race. But now the biotech has signed a Big Pharma teammate to help accelerate development boost manufacturing and prep for a possible launch. CureVac partnered up with German compatriot Bayer on its COVID19 vaccine CVnCOV which just entered phase 3 testing three weeks ago. No financial details were provided. The two companies aim to leverage Bayers expertise and operations to supply hundreds of millions doses of the mRNA shot once its approved. Along the way Bayer will help with clinical development manufacturing regulatory affairs and commercialization. https://www.fiercepharma.com/vaccines/mrna-latecomer-curevac-finds-bayer-as-covid-19-vaccine-partner 8th Jan 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

Fierce Pharma Newly emerged variants of the novel coronavirus have sparked a key question Will existing COVID19 vaccines be less effective against them But scientists have preliminary data showing that may not be the case at least for Pfizer and BioNTechs shot. Researchers from the University of Texas and Pfizer found that in lab dishes the vaccine was able to neutralize an engineered version of a variant which bears an N501Y mutation in its spike protein. The finding was published in bioRxiv and hasnt been peerreviewed. Variants of coronavirus with this mutation were first discovered in the U.K. and South Africa and immediately grabbed global attention because they are more contagious. https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/pfizer-biontech-covid-19-vaccine-works-more-contagious-coronavirus-variants-study 8th Jan 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

Fierce Pharma The question of whether seriously ill COVID19 patients can benefit from antiinflammatories like Roches Actemra and Sanofi and Regenerons Kevzara has dogged practitioners in the United States thanks to conflicting clinical trial results. The United Kingdom on the other hand has reached a definitive answer on the two drugs both of which are IL6 inhibitors They significantly reduce the risk of death in COVID19 patients needing intensive care and they should be used to ease the pressure hospitals are now facing as the coronavirus pandemic continues to intensify the countrys National Institute for Health Research NIHR said Thursday. The recommendation came after data from an NIHRsponsored study showed that Actemra and Kevzara can cut hospital stays for COVID19 patients admitted to intensive care by 10 days and can lower the risk of death by 24 in patients who receive either drug within a day of admission. That finding prompted the U.K. government to recommend to the National Health Service NHS that IL6 inhibitors be rolled out for the treatment of COVID19. https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/uk-embraces-roche-s-actemra-and-regeneron-s-kevzara-for-covid-19-after-study-shows-24-drop 8th Jan 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

STAT News A mutation found in fastspreading coronavirus variants does not negate the Covid19 vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech researchers reported late Thursday. The result is positive if expected evidence that existing vaccines will be able to withstand some mutations to the SARSCoV2 coronavirus without losing efficacy. But experts noted that this vaccine and others will still need to be tested against other mutations of concern and that the new study only looked at one key mutation contained in the variants not the full variants. Were working on that part now in additional studies Philip Dormitzer Pfizers vice president and chief scientific officer of viral vaccines told STAT. https://www.statnews.com/2021/01/08/pfizer-biontech-vaccine-mutation-contagious/ 8th Jan 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

Maui Now US Sen. Brian Schatz DHI announced Hawaii will receive nearly 95 million in a new round of federal funding to support the states COVID19 vaccine distribution testing and contact tracing programs. The funding from the new COVID19 relief package which was signed into law in December will also support COVID19 surveillance containment and other mitigation activities. This money will go directly into making sure the vaccine gets into arms of Hawaii health care workers seniors and everyone else as soon as possible while also helping us stop the spread of the virus said Sen. Schatz member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. We will continue working to make sure our state has the resources it needs to vaccinate everybody and keep our communities safe. https://mauinow.com/2021/01/08/hawai%CA%BBi-to-receive-95-million-for-covid-19-vaccine-distribution-testing-and-tracing/ 8th Jan 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

STAT News Threequarters of Covid19 patients still have at least one symptom six months after first falling ill researchers who followed hospital patients in China reported Friday. The new findings suggest symptoms linger longer and in a higher proportion of patients than previously thought. The largest and longest analysis to date of postCovid recovery also warns that some patients antibody levels fell sharply raising concern that while waiting for a return to full health they could be reinfected with the coronavirus. Almost twothirds of the patients said they were still suffering from fatigue and muscle weakness the researchers wrote in The Lancet. A little over a quarter had difficulty sleeping and a little under a quarter experienced anxiety and depression. Overall more women than men reported lingering symptoms and people whose disease was more severe had poorer lung health. Their median age was 57. https://www.statnews.com/2021/01/08/most-patients-hospitalized-for-covid19-still-have-symptoms-six-months-later/ 8th Jan 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

The New York Times Pfizer and BioNTech announced on Friday that their Covid vaccine is effective against one of the mutations present in the new contagious variants identified in Britain and South Africa. Independent experts said the findings were good news but cautioned that each of those coronavirus variants has several other potentially dangerous mutations that have not yet been investigated. So its possible that one of those mutations affects how well the vaccine works. Its the first step in the right direction said Dr. John Brooks the chief medical officer for the Centers for Disease Control Covid19 emergency response. Im hoping that the additional work that comes out in the future will fall in line with that finding. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/08/health/pfizer-covid-vaccine-variant-mutation.html 8th Jan 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

The New York Times The British government on Friday issued new guidance encouraging health care providers to use two arthritis drugs to treat severely sick Covid19 patients following the release of promising data from a clinical trial that has not yet undergone formal scientific review. The findings in a new paper show that treatment regimens involving the drugs tocilizumab or sarilumab reduced the death rate among Covid patients in intensive care to about 27 percent compared with 36 percent among patients who did not receive the drugs. Based on these results about one death would be prevented for every 12 I.C.U. patients treated early with these drugs. All of the patients in the trial received the drugs within 24 hours of entering intensive care. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/08/health/covid-arthritis-drugs-reduced-deaths.html 8th Jan 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

BBC News Lockdown measures in England need to be stricter to achieve the same impact as the March shutdown scientists advising the government have said. Prof Robert West said the current rules were still allowing a lot of activity which is spreading the virus. Prof Susan Michie also said the spread of the new more infectious variant meant the restrictions were too lax. The government said it had adapted its approach and taken swift action to try and stop the spread of the virus. The warnings come after ministers launched a new campaign urging people to act like they have the virus. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-55602828 8th Jan 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

BuzzFeed News A new highly contagious version of the coronavirus has arrived in the United States but scientists have no way to track how widespread it is. The new variant known as B.1.1.7 was first detected in the United Kingdom and as of Friday has cropped up in at least 45 other countries. That includes the US where it has been reported in dozens of cases across at least eight states California Connecticut Colorado Georgia Florida Texas Pennsylvania and New York. This version of the virus does not appear to cause infections that are more severe or deadly and the vaccines now slowly being distributed are still believed to be capable of fending it off. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/stephaniemlee/coronavirus-new-variant-transmission-b117 8th Jan 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

The New York Times For millions of coronavirus survivors its an increasingly important question How common how serious and how longlasting are the physical and mental aftereffects of Covid19 A new study believed to be the largest so far in which doctors evaluated patients six months after they became ill suggests that many people will experience lingering problems like fatigue insomnia depression anxiety or diminished lung function. The study of 1733 coronavirus patients who were discharged from a hospital in Wuhan China the original epicenter of the pandemic found that more than threequarters of them had at least one symptom six months later. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/08/health/Covid-survivors-longterm.html 8th Jan 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters on MSN.com France has imposed a stricter evening curfew in Marseille after authorities said the new variant of the COVID19 virus initially found in the UK had been discovered in the Mediterranean city. Marseille joined other French cities such as Strasbourg and Dijon in having its curfew moved forward to 6 p.m. from 8 p.m. and running through to 6 a.m. the following morning. The stricter Marseille measures will start on Sunday evening. The move came as COVID19 related deaths and cases increased in France which has the worlds seventhhighest death toll from the coronavirus. There were 20177 new confirmed COVID cases in the last 24 hours and roughly 170 more deaths. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/update-1-french-city-of-marseille-gets-tougher-curfew-as-new-covid-19-variant-discovered/ar-BB1cBRB2 9th Jan 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

ITV News A further nine people who tested positive for Covid19 have died in Northern Ireland in the past 24 hours. The latest figures from the Department of Health also show 1442 more positive cases for coronavirus here out of 4777 tested. The hospitals are operating at 97 bed occupancy with 674 Covid inpatients 47 in ICU and 33 on ventilators. There are 137 active outbreaks across Northern Irelands care homes. It comes as Northern Ireland entered into the second day of tough new restrictions to help stem the spread of rising Covid19 cases. https://www.itv.com/news/utv/2021-01-09/nine-further-covid-19-deaths-in-northern-ireland 9th Jan 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

iNews The number of apparent Covid19 outbreaks inside care homes has more than doubled in a fortnight with the care sector now the largest source of multiinfection incidents once again according to official data. Public Health England figures show that in the week to 3 January there were 749 acute respiratory infection incidents in care homes across the UK up from 480 the week before and 364 in the week before that. The incidents are defined as two or more confirmed or suspected cases of a respiratory illness such as Covid19 or flu and a large majority were confirmed to involve Covid19 through virus testing. https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/covid-19-outbreaks-care-homes-double-in-fortnight-823088 9th Jan 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

Belfast Live As Northern Ireland entered a new range of restrictions at midnight on Thursday the Department of Health reported 20 further coronavirus related deaths. Fridays dashboard update also reported a further 1500 positive cases of the virus in the last 24 hour period bringing the total number of positive cases to 86146 since the start of the pandemic. In a statement to the Assembly this evening Minister Swann said that it is essential that the current lockdown successfully and significantly reduces the R number. He also said that it is estimated that in some parts of NI where transmission is particularly high as many as 1 in 40 people currently have Covid19 and for Northern Ireland as a whole the estimated figure is in the region of 1 in 60. In his statement to the Assembly Mr Swann said This week a number of our Health and Social Care Trusts have confirmed a downturn of elective surgery. This reflects the unprecedented pressures that the Covid19 pandemic is creating in our hospitals. https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/health/northern-ireland-health-minister-robin-19590485 9th Jan 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

Daily Mail The United States on Saturday surpassed 370000 coronavirus deaths a day after the nation broke a record for the highest new cases of COVID19 in one day as California and New Jersey experienced a massive oneday surge. A total of 370119 people have died since the start of the pandemic according to Johns Hopkins Medical Center. Additionally there were 310080 new cases reported on Friday 50000 of which were in California and 20000 in New Jersey according to the COVID Tracking Project. It comes as there were 23083 COVID19 deaths already recorded in the first eight days of the year and 16 states reported their highest number of COVID19 hospitalizations this week in yet more troubling signs for the postholiday surge https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9128715/U-S-breaks-record-daily-COVID-19-cases-310k-new-infections.html 9th Jan 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

Sky News The NHS is breaking in front of us as people fail to obey lockdown rules and hospitals may soon be too short of staff to keep their patients safe a leading doctor has warned. Dr Zudin Puthucheary council member of the Intensive Care Society and a critical care consultant told Sky News he was scared and angry as the COVID19 crisis takes its toll on hospitals notably in London. A major incident was declared in the capital on Friday due to rising numbers of coronavirus cases threatening to overrun its already stretched hospitals. https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-nhs-at-breaking-point-and-public-not-listening-to-lockdown-warns-top-doctor-12183248 9th Jan 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

BBC News People in England are being told to act like they have got Covid as part of a government advertising campaign aimed at tackling the rise in infections. Boris Johnson said the public should stay at home and not get complacent. On Friday 1325 deaths within 28 days of a positive Covid test were recorded in the UK the highest daily figure yet along with 68053 new cases. Government sources say there is likely to be more focus from police on enforcing rather than explaining rules. With over 1000 people dying yesterday its more important than ever everyone sticks to rules a source told the BBC. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-55598918 9th Jan 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

The Straits Times Travellers to Australia will have to show a negative Covid19 test before they can get on their plane the prime minister said on Friday Jan 8 as the city of Brisbane went into lockdown after the discovery of a case of a virulent new coronavirus variant. The more than 2 million residents of Brisbane Australias thirdlargest city will be barred from leaving their homes for anything but essential business for three days from Friday evening after a worker at a quarantine hotel tested positive for the new variant which was first detected in Britain. Australia has detected several cases of the variant but this was the first one to appear outside the quarantine system. https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/australianz/australias-brisbane-locked-down-after-uk-covid-19-strain-found 9th Jan 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

The New York Times Reports of a highly contagious new coronavirus variant in the United States published on Friday by multiple news outlets are based on speculative statements made by Dr. Deborah Birx and are inaccurate according to several government officials. The erroneous report originated at a recent meeting where Dr. Birx a member of the White House coronavirus task force presented graphs of the escalating cases in the country. She suggested to other members of the task force that a new more transmissible variant originating in the United States might explain the surge as another variant did in Britain. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/08/health/US-variant-covid-false.html 9th Jan 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

Mumbai Mirror India on Saturday reported 18222 new COVID19 cases 19253 discharges and 228 deaths. As India gears up for the corona vaccination program a dry run has been conducted in the country to assess the readiness of the mechanism laid out for immunisation drive. In Maharashtra dry run was conducted across 32 of the total 36 districts. Maharashtra Minister also asserted that the central government should bear the entire cost of vaccination. Meanwhile the states coronavirus tally has increased to 19.61 lakh with the addition of 3693 cases. As the virus claimed the lives of 73 patients during the day the fatality count mounted to 49970. https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/coronavirus/news/coronavirus-latest-updates-india-maharashtra-mumbai-covid-vaccination-mutant-strain-uk-flights-bmc-airport-thane-pune/liveblog/80181547.cms 9th Jan 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

The New York Times In the early stages of a global push to distribute the coronavirus vaccine to those who need it most a process that has so far managed to be both hectic and slow some health officials have turned to an unexpected tool the ticketing website Eventbrite. Before the pandemic the platform was a place to book tickets to performances art shows or pub crawls. Now public health officials are using it to schedule vaccination appointments. Mai Miller 48 of Merritt Island Fla. scoured Eventbrite last week in search of a slot for her mother. She scrolled through pages of dates and times repeatedly refreshing the site and hunting for booking buttons that were blue signaling availability. She found a few but she couldnt seem to click on them quickly enough. It was just a scramble she said. Like musical chairs with 20 chairs and 4000 people. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/08/us/covid-vaccine-eventbrite.html 9th Jan 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

The Guardian In England the number of doctors nurses and other healthcare workers who are falling ill with Covid19 has reached crisis levels and is seriously hampering the fight against the rapidly escalating pandemic senior figures in the NHS have warned. The problem of staff absence because of illness or the need to selfisolate when family members test positive is also beginning to hamper the vaccination programme just as the government throws maximum resources into efforts to vaccinate 15 million high priority people by the middle of February. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/09/doctors-raise-alarm-as-covid-strikes-down-nhs-workforce?utm_source=dlvr.it&amputm_medium=twitter 9th Jan 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

CIDRAP Yesterday 4085 Americans died of COVID19 a bleak record in the yearlong pandemic. In total the US reported 274403 new cases an uptick from the 200000 daily average seen through the beginning of the month and one that likely represents a holidayrelated increase. According to the dashboard maintained by Johns Hopkins University the country has 21776072 cases and 367635 deaths by far the most in the world. Several states are setting daily records in both cases and deaths. New York state reported a singleday record of 17609 new COVID19 cases yesterday and has set case records 5 of the past 9 days https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2021/01/us-sees-most-single-day-deaths-pandemic-4000 8th Jan 2021

New Lockdown

Sky News A new public awareness campaign has been launched urging people to stay at home in an attempt to encourage the public to comply with lockdown rules. It comes amid growing fears that people have not been observing social distancing rules as case numbers surge hospitals become swamped and deaths continue to rise. On Friday a record 68053 COVID19 cases were confirmed in the UK and one in 50 people in England are now thought to have coronavirus according to the Office for National Statistics. https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-act-like-youve-got-it-governments-plea-as-fears160grow-over-lockdown-compliance-12182938 9th Jan 2021

New Lockdown

Sky News A police force is to review its lockdown fines after being criticised by two women who thought someone had been murdered due to the heavyhanded response to what they thought was a legal walk. Jessica Allen told Sky News she and her friend Eliza Moore travelled in separate cars to make the fivemile journey from their home town in Ashby de la Zouch Leicestershire to Foremark Reservoir just across the county border in Derbyshire on Wednesday. https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-lockdown-fines-reviewed-in-derbyshire-after-women-treated-like-criminals-over-country-walk-12183283 9th Jan 2021

New Lockdown

Reuters Australias health officials said on Saturday they are on high alert after cases of highly transmissible new variants of the coronavirus discovered in Britain and South Africa have made it into the country. Brisbane the capital of Queensland on Saturday went into a threeday strict lockdown after the discovery of a virulent strain of the virus that causes COVID19 linked to Britain. A variant that emerged in South Africa was found in Sydney Australias largest city in a hotel quarantine. Australia has been more successful than most advanced economies in managing the pandemic with total infections at around 28600 and 909 deaths while each state has at some point recorded zero COVID19 transmissions. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-australia/australia-on-high-alert-after-overseas-travelers-bring-new-covid-19-strains-idUSKBN29E05S?il=0 9th Jan 2021

New Lockdown

Reuters Cyprus will introduce a new lockdown to quell rising COVID19 infections from Jan. 10 its health minister said on Friday the countrys second since the start of the pandemic. Retail businesses such as hairdressers beauty parlours and large department stores will shut until Jan. 31 Health Minister Constantinos Ioannou told a news conference. People will be allowed to leave home just twice a day for specific reasons such as buying groceries or medicines and taking exercise while a current curfew banning movement from 2100 to 0500 daily will remain in force. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-cyprus/cyprus-goes-into-new-lockdown-from-january-10-as-covid-surges-idUSKBN29D1FJ 9th Jan 2021

New Lockdown

Sky News Brisbane has entered a threeday lockdown after a cleaner at a quarantine hotel was diagnosed with the COVID19 variant first identified in the UK. Australias third largest city and its surrounding areas will also see the introduction of compulsory face masks for the first time the Queensland state government said. Queensland chief health officer Dr Jeannette Young said We know that that strain is 70 more infectious and we know the extreme difficulty that the UK has had in controlling their outbreak due to that strain. https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-brisbane-in-three-day-lockdown-over-case-of-new-coronavirus-variant-12182060 8th Jan 2021

New Lockdown

POLITICO.eu Cyprus is to go back into lockdown in a bid to curb an aggressive rise in coronavirus infections. From Sunday until January 31 businesses such as hairdressers beauty salons and department stores will be closed Health Minister Constantinos Ioannou said Friday. Authorities are also reintroducing a text messaging system that grants people permission to leave their home which is allowed only for work shopping for essentials visiting a doctor or exercising with just two outside trips a day permitted. The current curfew from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. will remain in place. https://www.politico.eu/article/cyprus-set-for-second-coronavirus-lockdown/ 8th Jan 2021

New Lockdown

New Zealand Herald Queenslands first community Covid19 case in 113 days has sparked a threeday lockdown for greater Brisbane. It comes a day after Air New Zealands first quarantinefree flight from Auckland to Brisbane took off. Today the state has recorded nine new cases all in hotel quarantine from more than 13000 tests. An inner Brisbane quarantine hotel cleaner has tested positive to the virus highly infectious UK variant. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/covid-19-coronavirus-brisbane-suburbs-go-into-a-three-day-lockdown/BSCR4XIH7RYJRLEMQVJLKNUZZM/ 7th Jan 2021