26th Jan 2021 https://nfind.uk/lockdown_exit/index.php/newsletter=185 lockdown_exit

Lockdown Exit

Financial Times An estimated 1.3m have gone home with hospitality and retail the sectors most heavily affected. Lorenzo di Cretico a manager at the central London restaurant and club 100 Wardour Street moved to the UK 12 years ago with high hopes. He had been a manager at a trattoria in Rome but wanted to learn English and said London had always been my dream. He found a waiting job within a week. Now however Mr di Cretico is returning home. He has only worked for four months of the past year because of restaurant closures during the pandemic and with little hope of venues reopening soon decided to start his own delicatessen in Rome. https://www.ft.com/content/6629df23-c668-49c0-8097-7f2604ef6652 26th Jan 2021

Lockdown Exit

The Independent Australia became one of the first countries in the world to complete a comprehensive process to approve the rollout of PfizerBioNTechs coronavirus vaccine after AstraZeneca announced a delay in its initial global supply. The inoculation drive is expected to start in late February with a target of 80000 doses per week initially health minister Greg Hunt told reporters. The vaccine has been approved for people aged 16 years and above and would be given in two doses to each recipient. The country approved PfizerBioNTechs COVID19 vaccine after AstraZeneca suggested to the Australian government that it is experiencing a significant supply shock. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/australasia/australia-covid-vaccine-pfizer-oxford-b1792193.html 25th Jan 2021

Lockdown Exit

CNN One year after China imposed a harsh lockdown in Wuhan CNN returns to the original epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak. The city of 11 million has emerged from a crippling lockdown attempting to portray a renewed vibrant image but there are deep wounds yet to heal. https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2021/01/25/china-wuhan-one-year-on-coronavirus-covid-19-culver-pkg-intl-hnk-vpx.cnn 25th Jan 2021

Lockdown Exit

The Conversation AU Many of us who endured lockdowns in Australia are familiar with the surge in energy bills at home. But for older Australians who depend on the Age Pension for income lockdowns drove many deeper into energy poverty. Some faced up to 50 higher bills than in 2019 as a result of COVID. Energy poverty involves lowincome households restricting their energy consumption by avoiding certain activities like showering spending high proportions of their income on energy and sometimes being unable to pay bills. https://theconversation.com/i-cant-save-money-for-potential-emergencies-covid-lockdowns-drove-older-australians-into-energy-poverty-153096 25th Jan 2021

Lockdown Exit

Reuters New Zealand health officials said on Sunday they were investigating what they said was probably the countrys first community coronavirus case in months in a woman who recently returned from overseas. The 56yearold who returned to New Zealand on Dec. 30 tested positive for the virus that causes COVID19 days after leaving a twoweek mandatory quarantine at the border where she had twice tested negative. We are working under the assumptions that this is a positive case and that it is a more transmissible variant either the one identified first in South Africa or the UK or potentially Brazil or another transmissible variant DirectorGeneral of Health Ashley Bloomfield told a news conference. https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-newzealand-idUSL1N2JZ00B 25th Jan 2021

Lockdown Exit

The Guardian New Zealand authorities have said a new case of Covid19 that emerged outside quarantine appeared to be the South African variant. Health officials said on Monday that they believed the infected woman aged 56 contracted the virus from an infected person on the same floor of the Pullman hotel in Auckland where they were both quarantining. She had left the hotel isolation regime after producing two negative tests as is standard but then developed muscle aches and reported her symptoms to health workers in followup interviews. While surface or airborne infection was still a possibility persontoperson infection looked the most likely said the director general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/25/new-zealand-covid-case-appears-to-be-south-african-variant-officials-say 25th Jan 2021

Lockdown Exit

ABC.Net.au The Federal Government has suspended quarantinefree travel for New Zealanders arriving in Australia for 72 hours amid fears of a South African strain of COVID19 across the Tasman. A New Zealand woman infected with the highly infectious variant of COVID19 first detected in South Africa visited around 30 sites before her case was detected. Travellers coming from New Zealand to Australia in the next 72 hours will have to go into mandatory hotel quarantine. This will be done out of an abundance of caution whilst more is learnt about the event and the case Mr Hunt said. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-01-25/greg-hunt-australia-new-zealand-travel-bubble-coronavirus/13089832 25th Jan 2021

Lockdown Exit

The Guardian Most working New Zealanders are back to the grind after the Christmas and New Years holidays. Schools start next week. Parliament resumes on 7 February. Business as usual but theres something lighthearted about it in 2021. The tedium and drab necessity of returning to work is tempered by the knowledge that its not that bad that it could be a lot worse. The mere fact we can move around the towns and cities squeeze into elevators and mooch around with each other in offices and cafes and doctors waiting rooms and any confined space you care to name is a joy. Freedom isnt just the open road freedom is also a day measured in paperclips and paper jams. Its a freedom denied other countries in lockdown. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jan/25/the-daily-grind-never-felt-sweeter-new-zealanders-should-enjoy-their-covid-free-liberties 25th Jan 2021

Lockdown Exit

Reuters The Hong Kong government lifted a lockdown in an area of Kowloon district in the early hours of Monday after testing about 7000 people for coronavirus to curb an outbreak in the densely populated area. The government set up 51 temporary testing stations on Saturday and found 13 confirmed cases in the restricted area that is home to many ageing subdivided flats in which the disease could spread more quickly. Businesses in the area have been hit hard and brought to a standstill the government said in a statement. The government hopes this temporary inconvenience will completely cut the local transmission chains in the district and ease residents worries and fear so that they will regain confidence in resuming social and business activities in the area and return to a normal life. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-hongkong/hong-kong-lifts-lockdown-in-kowloon-district-after-testing-7000-people-idUSKBN29U037 25th Jan 2021

Lockdown Exit

Reuters Ukraine reopens schools restaurants and gyms on Monday ending a tough lockdown introduced on Jan. 8 to prevent a new wave of coronavirus infections Ukrainian authorities said. The number of new cases of coronavirus infection in Ukraine has significantly decreased from 6000 to 9000 cases a day at the beginning of January to 2516 new cases on January 25 the fewest since early September. Such statistics which indicate the stabilisation of the situation the improvement of the situation could be obtained only thanks to you Ukrainians health minister Maksym Stepanov told a televised briefing. https://www.reuters.com/article/healthcoronavirus-ukraine-lockdown/ukraine-completes-tough-covid-lockdown-with-optimistic-expectations-idUSL1N2K00CW 25th Jan 2021

Lockdown Exit

iNews Within months of Britains first wave of the coronavirus pandemic it grew clear that the virus attacked fiercely along preexisting pathways of inequality. By May last year studies showed that the virus discriminates in the same way as society along racial class and regional lines causing twice as many tragic deaths among Black Asian and Minority Ethnic communities and in the most deprived areas. Many wondered if the UKs inequality epidemic at last so viscerally exposed might finally be addressed. https://inews.co.uk/opinion/covid-ethnic-minorities-cases-deaths-inequality-841306 25th Jan 2021

Exit Strategies

The Irish Times Passengers required to quarantine after arriving in Ireland may be asked to contribute towards the costs under new measures being discussed by the Cabinet subcommittee on Covid19. The details of the measure are expected to be discussed later on Monday. https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/covid-19-passengers-may-be-required-to-pay-for-stay-in-quarantine-1.4467181 26th Jan 2021

Exit Strategies

The Scotsman Speaking at her daily press briefing Nicola Sturgeon said 46 per cent of all over 80s had been given a jab since the start of the vaccine rollout. At the same time she revealed that the Scottish Government would publish more detailed data on its immunization effort including breakdowns of the number of people who have been vaccinated in each age and risk category. https://www.scotsman.com/health/coronavirus/coronavirus-scotland-nicola-sturgeon-reveals-almost-half-over-80s-have-been-vaccinated-against-covid-19-3111872 25th Jan 2021

Exit Strategies

POLITICO.eu The export of coronavirus vaccines should be authorized at the EU level before leaving the bloc German Health Minister Jens Spahn said on Monday. As the EU we must be able to know whether and which vaccines are being exported from the EU said Spahn in a statement. This is the only way we can understand whether our EU contracts with manufacturers are being served fairly. The EU will be taking up the call for registration of exports according to Reuters quoting an official who stated that a transparency register would be created and come into force in the coming days. https://www.politico.eu/article/german-health-minister-calls-for-coronavirus-vaccine-exports-to-be-authorized-by-eu/ 25th Jan 2021

Exit Strategies

Sky News Almost four in five of those aged over 80 have received a first dose of a COVID vaccine Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said. Speaking at a Downing Street news conference Mr Hancock said the government was on track to meet its deadline of offering a first dose of a coronavirus jab to 15 million of the most vulnerable by 15 February. He said more than one in nine of the UKs adult population had now received a jab including 78.7 of all over80s. Over the last week 2.5 million got a vaccine at a rate of more than 250 people per minute the health secretary added. https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-almost-four-in-five-of-over-80s-have-received-first-dose-of-coronavirus-vaccine-but-supply-is-tight-says-matt-hancock-12198701 25th Jan 2021

Exit Strategies

BBC News President Joe Biden has pledged to boost the rollout of Covid vaccines in the US and has criticised the speed of the operation under the previous administration. Its been a dismal failure thus far the president said and hes committed to overseeing 100 million vaccine doses administered in his first 100 days. So how slowly has the rollout gone https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-55721437 25th Jan 2021

Exit Strategies

The Guardian California lifted its stayathome order statewide Monday after fourweek projections showed intensive care unit capacity to be above 15 in beleaguered regions for the first time in weeks. Today we can lay claim to starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel as it relates to case numbers said the California governor Gavin Newsom during a press briefing on Monday. Mondays change moves counties back to a tiered system of reopening with most regions across the state expected to move into the most restrictive tier. It lifts an evening curfew and in many areas will allow restaurants and churches to resume outdoor operations and hair and nail salons to reopen. Local officials still could choose to impose stricter rules. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/25/california-lockdown-rules-lifting-stay-at-home-orders-reports 25th Jan 2021

Exit Strategies

Reuters It is difficult to put a timelime on easing lockdown measures Britains health minister said on Monday adding that the government will look at the death rate the number of hospitalisations variants and the success of the vaccine rollout. It is difficult to put a timeline on it because it is a matter of monitoring the data and the facts Matt Hancock told a press conference. https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-britain-hancock-lockd/difficult-to-put-timeline-on-lockdown-easing-uk-minister-idUSS8N2II06S 25th Jan 2021

Exit Strategies

Evening Standard Nearly four in five over80s in the UK have now received a first dose of coronavirus vaccine the Health Secretary has said. Matt Hancock revealed the latest figures at a Downing Street press conference and said the rollout was on track to hit its target of vaccinating 15 million vulnerable people by February 15. Meanwhile Tory MPs have warned that Englands school children have become the forgotten victims of the coronavirus pandemic mounting pressure on Boris Johnson to get kids back into the classroom after the February halfterm. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/covid-uk-coronavirus-live-latest-updates-schools-lockdown-b900968.html 25th Jan 2021

Exit Strategies

Hindustan Times On Monday the health minister of Bulgaria announced that they will make all the travellers coming in the country take a Covid19 test in order to curb the spread of the new strain of coronavirus. Bulgaria will make everyone coming into the country take Covid19 tests to stop the spread of a more contagious variant of the coronavirus health minister Kostandin Angelov said on Monday. Bulgarian health authorities say they have so far recorded eight cases of the new variant that was first identified in Britain. Today we will undertake actions to make PCR tests compulsory for all travellers that want to enter the country including from the European Union Angelov told a government meeting. The country has seen a significant drop in new infections in recent weeks and is planning to ease some restrictions and reopen secondary schools shopping malls and gyms from February 4. https://www.hindustantimes.com/lifestyle/travel/bulgaria-will-have-all-travellers-entering-the-country-take-covid-19-test-101611571549404.html 25th Jan 2021

Exit Strategies

RTE.ie Medicalgrade FFP2 face masks are now mandatory in Austria for people aged over 14 on public transport shops and businesses pharmacies as well as hospitals or medical practices. Austria is among the first European countries to make FFP2 masks mandatory. The measure has largely been accepted without complaint despite controversy over other measures such as the closing of schools while ski lifts remain open. Though often sold for more than 5 each just a few weeks ago the masks which block 94 of aerosols can now be found at all grocery stores for 59 cent each. https://www.rte.ie/news/coronavirus/2021/0125/1191810-world-covid-19/ 25th Jan 2021

Exit Strategies

Metro Under plans being considered ministers could kick start the economy in April but a full easing of lockdown rules will be delayed to allow more people to get the vaccine. https://metro.co.uk/2021/01/25/uk-faces-three-month-halfway-house-lockdown-while-over-50s-get-jabs-13959469/ 25th Jan 2021

Exit Strategies

Reuters British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on Sunday the country was still a long way from being able to relax a national lockdown despite evidence that the restrictions were bringing down the rate of COVID19 infections. There is early evidence that the lockdown is starting to bring cases down. But were a long long long way from that from being low enough because the case rate was incredibly high and you can see the pressure on the NHS National Health Service he said during an interview on Sky News. https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-britain/britain-still-a-long-way-from-easing-virus-lockdown-minister-says-idUSS8N2DU0AZ 25th Jan 2021

Partisan Exits

Bloomberg Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is continuing to work after contracting Covid19 holding a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin and attending meetings remotely. The 67yearold leader said Monday that Putin had agreed to send 24 million doses of the Sputnik V vaccine to Mexico. He tweeted a photo of himself sitting at his desk without a mask. Lopez Obrador known as AMLO announced his diagnosis in a tweet late Sunday following a trip that took him to two states amid a surge in infections and deaths in recent days. The nation now has the fourthhighest number of fatalities globally after the U.S. Brazil and India https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-25/mexico-s-president-says-he-s-infected-with-covid-19-kkbvblk3 25th Jan 2021

Partisan Exits

Daily Mail Boris Johnson has caused confusion by suggesting some lockdown measures could be lifted in midFebruary. In same interview the Prime Minister repeatedly refused to guarantee that schools will reopen before Easter. Comments left No10 scrambling to clarify midFebruary is earliest possible point and nothing likely to change. Many headteachers now believe schools will remain closed until April or May with announcement expected. Tories are up in arms with education committee chair Robert Halfon among those voicing serious concerns https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9183521/Furious-MPs-summon-Gavin-Williamson-Commons-schools-plan.html 25th Jan 2021

Partisan Exits

BBC News For most of us last Friday night was spent on the sofa glued to a screen. Because aside from a Zoom quiz theres not much else to do during lockdown. Right Not if youre Max. Last Friday he hosted a dinner party for seven others inviting five people from two other houses. Thats despite current lockdown rules that ban almost all mixing of households inside. Meeting up with friends is something hes done throughout the pandemic. At some points he went to parties with more than 20 other people. The size of the gatherings I was going to over the span of the last eight months have varied depending on the policies in place he tells Radio 1 Newsbeat. https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-55668923 25th Jan 2021

Partisan Exits

Evening Standard Dutch police used water cannons to disperse hundreds of protesters in Amsterdam demonstrating against a new lockdown curfew that was introduced to curb the spread of coronavirus. It comes after rioting youths set a coronavirus testing facility on fire in Urk a small fishing village in the Netherlands on Saturday. Police clashed with protesters taking part in the outlawed antilockdown demonstration in Amsterdams Museum Square on Sunday. Officials said many of the protesters failed to social distance and were not wearing protective face masks. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/amsterdam-lockdown-protests-fire-covid-testing-b900951.html 25th Jan 2021

Partisan Exits

South China Morning Post Over the weekend thousands of people in a virushit Kowloon neighbourhood had the taste of a full lockdown as compulsory mass Covid19 testing was carried out. Notwithstanding its relatively short timescale the move was unprecedented and highly controversial. Officials are adamant that it was a necessary step in light of the latest outbreak while affected residents and businesses described it is a nuisance and waste of resources. It is important that the government critically reviews its logistics and effectiveness before determining whether the exercise should be extended elsewhere. https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3119185/hong-kong-needs-address-efficacy-jordan-lockdown 25th Jan 2021

Partisan Exits

South China Morning Post Zhu Taos antistate sentiment has alienated his inlaws and neighbours he has been detained subjected to surveillance and censored. As he selfquarantines bracing for another wave of infections he wonders how its possible that people are carrying on with life as usual. https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3119136/coronavirus-wuhan-dissidents-lockdown-has-lasted-nearly-400 25th Jan 2021

Partisan Exits

Los Angeles Times A year after its coronavirus lockdown Wuhan has long since sprung back to life but Zhu Tao remains bunkered in his 14thfloor apartment spending his days doomscrolling through news playing virtual soccer on his PlayStation and feeling that China is teetering on the brink of collapse. He has blown thousands of dollars his life savings stockpiling beef jerky and chocolate bars bottles of water sacks of rice masks alcohol and disinfecting wipes and a 900 solar panel. Haunting Zhu is the fear that the coronavirus might return that once again the government will conceal the truth and once again Wuhan will fall under lockdown. https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-01-25/year-after-lockdown-wuhan-dissident-more-isolated-than-ever 25th Jan 2021

Partisan Exits

HeraldScotland Neil O Brien Tory MP for Harborough and vicechairman of the Conservative Party has suggested Covid sceptics have a hell of a lot to answer for. Mr OBrien is a rare rightwing voice calling out the Covid and lockdown deniers who have undermined the national pandemic response. Some Piers Corbyn for example are so cartoonish and deluded that they are difficult to take seriously. Mr Corbyn confirms Richard Dawkins opinion that a delusion is something people believe in despite a total lack of evidence. Mr Corbyns lack of a public platform furth of Speakers Corner renders him relatively harmless. Others however with access to more public soapboxes have greater culpability. https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/19034847.pandemic-lockdown-covid-deniers-held-account/ 25th Jan 2021

Partisan Exits

Middle East Eye Hundreds of members of Israels ultraOrthodox community have taken to the streets of the country to protest the imposition of lockdown rules to tackle the Covid19 pandemic. Protesters scuffled with police in the city of Bnei Brak while a 41yearold bus driver was hurt after he was attacked with pepper spray by demonstrators who proceeded to set his bus on fire according to Reuters and eyewitnesses who posted video footage on Twitter. One police officer reportedly fired in the air to repel crowds throwing stones after feeling his life was in danger. Police said that smaller confrontations with ultraOrthodox protesters also broke out in several other towns including the port city of Ashdod. https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-covid-ultra-orthodox-protest-lockdown-rules 25th Jan 2021

Partisan Exits

Reuters The number of shoppers heading out to retail destinations across Britain rose by 9 last week from the previous week indicating lockdown fatigue for people cooped up at home market researcher Springboard said on Monday. Footfall across all retail destinations was 65 lower than in the same week last year Springboard said. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered England into a new national lockdown on Jan. 4 to contain a surge in COVID19 cases that threatens to overwhelm parts of the health system. https://www.reuters.com/article/britain-retail-springboard/update-1-lockdown-fatigue-cited-as-uk-shopper-numbers-rose-9-last-week-idUSL8N2K02SW 25th Jan 2021

Partisan Exits

Reuters Images on Dutch television showed bands of youths looting shops throwing bicycles and setting fires in the southern city of Eindhoven. At least 55 people were arrested in Eindhoven the city said in a statement. The demonstration in the citys Museum Square which violated a ban on public gatherings came the day after the government introduced a nightly curfew for the first time since World War Two. Police cleared the square after people ignored instructions to leave and detained those who attacked them with stones and fireworks in nearby streets the mayors office said. Parliament voted narrowly last week to approve the curfew swayed by assertions that a variant of COVID19 first identified in Britain was about to cause a new surge in cases. New infections in the country have generally been declining for a month and fell again on Sunday to 4924 new cases. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-netherlands-protes/dutch-police-detain-240-nationwide-as-anti-lockdown-protests-turn-violent-idUSKBN29T0B2 25th Jan 2021

Partisan Exits

Reuters Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Monday condemned riots across the country this weekend in which demonstrators attacked police and set fires to protest against a nighttime curfew to slow the spread of the coronavirus calling them criminal violence. The police said hundreds of people had been detained after incidents that began on Saturday evening and lasted until the early hours of Monday including some in which rioters threw rocks and in one case knives at police and burned down a COVID19 testing station. This has nothing to do with protest this is criminal violence and we will treat it as such Rutte told reporters outside his office in The Hague. Schools and nonessential shops in the Netherlands have been shut since midDecember following the closure of bars and restaurants two months earlier. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-netherlands-protes/dutch-pm-condemns-lockdown-riots-as-criminal-volence-idUSKBN29U0W3 25th Jan 2021

Partisan Exits

Daily Mail Ministers are expected to make a decision later today on the shape of tougher Covid rules for the UKs borders. Signs that the Government is preparing to announce that all arrivals must quarantine for 10 days in hotels. Growing Cabinet support for blanket rather than targeted curbs to stop coronavirus variants being imported. Travel industry warned unless an end date is set UK could end up isolated for a year as happened in Australia. Boris Johnson said yesterday he is definitely looking at quarantine hotels with senior ministers on board. Government sources believe Britons largely obeying edict not to travel for holidays or nonessential reasons https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9183627/Cabinet-split-coronavirus-hotel-quarantine-plans.html 25th Jan 2021

Partisan Exits

The Independent Polands president on Monday expressed understanding for the despair of people who are opening their businesses in defiance of the antiCOVID19 lockdown but said they still must be punished for breaking governmentordered restrictions. In comments published Monday Andrzej Duda was reacting to the swelling nationwide OtwieraMY We Are Opening movement of thousands of business owners opening their restaurants hotels ski lifts fitness centers and similar businesses to avoid going under as a result of the prolonged social distancing and lockdown recently extended through January. I can understand the impatience and often even the despair of people who see the work of their entire lives falling apart Duda said in an interview for the conservative weekly Sieci. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/polish-president-backs-lockdown-despite-business-frustration-people-people-president-president-andrzej-duda-b1792374.html 25th Jan 2021

Continued Lockdown

CNN People in the United Kingdom have been living under lockdown for the past three weeks hoping their sacrifice would bring the countrys latest coronavirus surge caused by the new more contagious variant of the virus under control. But despite the harsh restrictions case numbers are not dropping as fast as experts have hoped. Deaths continue to rise and public health experts and government are starting to warn people that the country will be in this battle for the long run. The new variant known as B.1.1.7 has wreaked havoc in the UK fueling a surge in cases towards the end of 2020 despite a national lockdown being in place. Data showing an uptick in cases in younger people suggests this was largely because schools had stayed open enabling the variant to spread rapidly. https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/25/uk/coronavirus-uk-variant-lockdown-gbr-intl/index.html 25th Jan 2021

Continued Lockdown

Bloomberg The U.K.s third major lockdown to control the coronavirus could be the final straw for thousands of businesses struggling to pay rent and taxes with little or no money coming in the door. It is costing us thousands of pounds a week even being shut and we have zero income said Andrew Wong owner of the upmarket Chinese restaurant A. Wong in Londons fashionable Pimlico neighborhood. I think all the time about shutting down and walking away though Im not going to do it. While the economy appears to be adapting better to virus curbs gross domestic product shrank 2.6 in November versus 19 in April the same cant be said about company finances. One lobby group estimates 250000 small firms are at risk of going bust. Almost 10000 pubs and restaurants licensed to serve alcohol closed permanently last year according to consultants CGA and AlixPartners. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-25/rent-s-due-and-no-revenue-u-k-businesses-teetering-in-lockdown 25th Jan 2021

Continued Lockdown

i on MSN.com Throughout the pandemic decisions made by adults have had a significant impact on all aspects of young peoples lives yet some teenagers feel their voice and experiences during the pandemic have not been heard. The political has become personal for many leading some young people to become increasingly engaged with politics and involved in community action. Research undertaken by my colleagues and I at the University of Huddersfield and consultancy Ecorys funded by the Nuffield Foundation has been exploring young peoples experiences during lockdown including their engagement and involvement with politics. The research project Growing up under COVID involves 70 young people aged 1418 in the UK Italy Lebanon and Singapore. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/young-people-on-growing-up-in-lockdown-e2-80-98all-we-want-is-to-be-heard-not-ignored-e2-80-99/ar-BB1d4jQN 25th Jan 2021

Continued Lockdown

Wired Kim Jongun acted quickly. On January 22 2020 North Korea closed its borders with China and Russia to stop a new mysterious virus from spreading into the country. At the time what we now know as Covid19 had killed just nine people and infected 400 others. More than a year later the hermit kingdoms border remains sealed tight shut. North Koreas response to the pandemic has been one of the most extreme and paranoid in the world experts say. The lockdowns and quarantines it imposed have been strict while border restrictions have put a halt to fishing and the smuggling of goods into the country. At the same time the nations state media and propaganda apparatus has pumped out messages warning citizens of the dangers of Covid19 and praising the countrys flawless approach to the pandemic. https://www.wired.com/story/truth-about-north-koreas-ultra-lockdown-covid-19/ 25th Jan 2021

Continued Lockdown

BBC News People in Lebanon are living under one of the worlds strictest lockdowns. Under the roundtheclock curfew citizens who are not essential workers have been barred from leaving their homes since 14 January. Here residents in the capital Beirut describe what its like. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-55717523 25th Jan 2021

Continued Lockdown

Daily Mail Minister plans will force travellers to isolate for ten days when they enter Britain Cabinet sources expect Prime Minister to sign off on a comprehensive proposal It means Britons will face having to pay extra on top of the cost of their trip https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9182219/Boris-Johnson-set-ahead-Australia-style-quarantine.html 25th Jan 2021

Continued Lockdown

Reuters The Norwegian government will widen the capital regions coronavirus lockdown from Monday onwards increasing the number of affected municipalities to 25 from the 10 that were initially included health minister Bent Hoeie said on Sunday. Oslo and nine neighbouring municipalities imposed some of their toughest lockdown measures yet on Saturday after an outbreak of a more contagious coronavirus variant first identified in Britain closing all nonessential stores. https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-norway/norway-widens-capital-regions-lockdown-to-combat-pandemic-idUSL8N2JZ0KK 25th Jan 2021

Continued Lockdown

Reuters The British government has quietly extended coronavirus lockdown laws to give local councils in England the power to close pubs restaurants shops and public spaces until July 17 the Telegraph reported on Saturday. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday the government could not consider easing lockdown restrictions with infection rates at their current high levels and until it is confident the vaccination programme is working. The changes to the regulation governing coronavirus restrictions were made as part of a review of the third lockdown earlier this month by Health Secretary Matt Hancock the Telegraph said. https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-britain-lockdown-idUSKBN29S0PW 25th Jan 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters AstraZeneca denied on Monday its COVID19 vaccine is not very effective for people over 65 after German media reports said officials fear the vaccine may not be approved in the European Union for use in the elderly. German daily papers Handelsblatt and Bild said in separate reports the vaccine codeveloped by AstraZeneca and Oxford University had an efficacy of 8 or less than 10 respectively in those over 65. German officials were concerned that the vaccine may not receive approval from the EUs medicines authority EMA for use in those over 65 Bild said in its online edition. The reports mark another potential issue for AstraZeneca which told the EU on Friday it could not meet agreed supply targets up to the end of March after running into vaccine production problems. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-eu-astrazeneca-ger-idUSKBN29U2D9 26th Jan 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

PMLiVE Merck Co MSD has ended its COVID19 vaccine programme after reviewing some disappointing phase 1 results for its candidates V590 and V591. Although both V590 and V591 were generally welltolerated in the phase 1 trials immune responses for the candidates were inferior to those observed in recovered COVID19 patients as well as those reported for other vaccines. Merck did not disclose the exact response levels but the company is planning to submit the results for publication in a peerreviewed journal. https://www.pmlive.com/pharma_news/merck_ends_its_covid-19_vaccine_programme_after_disappointing_early_trial_results_1361879 25th Jan 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

EurekAlert! U.S. counties with higher income inequality faced higher rates of COVID19 infections and deaths in the first 200 days of the pandemic according to a new study. Counties with higher proportions of Black or Hispanic residents also had higher rates the study found reinforcing earlier research showing the disparate effects of the virus on those communities. The findings published last week by JAMA Network Open were based on countylevel data for all 50 states and Washington D.C. https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-01/uoia-ccd012521.php 25th Jan 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

Daily Mail EU leaders have voiced their fury after AstraZeneca said it could not meet the demands of a 300m vaccine deal following a weekend of riots in Europe over lockdown restrictions. The vaccine makers have blamed the EUs supply chain for their failure to deliver the promised 80million vaccines by the end of March as part of the deal. AstraZeneca which developed its shot with Oxford University said they could only offer 31million vaccines in the first quarter a cut of 60 per cent https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9184203/AstraZeneca-say-meet-EUs-Covid-19-vaccine-demands-blocs-supply-chain-problems.html 25th Jan 2021

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Daily Mail Cigarette smokers face a much higher risk of hospitalization and death from COVID19 compared to those who have never smoked a new study suggests. Researchers found that all smokers had higher odds of poor outcomes due to the virus but those at the highest risk were heavy smokers defined as those smoking at least one pack per day for more than 30 years. These patients had nearly double the risk of death due to COVID19 and were more than twice as likely to be hospitalized because of the disease. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-9184631/Heavy-smokers-face-nearly-DOUBLE-risk-dying-COVID-19-compared-people-never-smoked.html 25th Jan 2021

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BBC News People who have received a Covid19 vaccine could still pass the virus on to others and should continue following lockdown rules Englands deputy chief medical officer has warned. Prof Jonathan VanTam stressed that scientists do not yet know the impact of the vaccine on transmission. He said vaccines offer hope but infection rates must come down quickly. Matt Hancock said 75 of over80s in the UK have now had a first virus jab. Both the PfizerBioNTech and OxfordAstraZeneca vaccines require two doses and figures so far reflect those given the first dose. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-55784199 25th Jan 2021

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Sky News Former health secretary Jeremy Hunt has joined growing calls for medicalgrade masks to be made compulsory on public transport and in shops. It comes as experts fear that cloth masks which are often homemade are not of a good enough quality to cope with the emerging new strains of COVID19. Mr Hunt said last time we waited too long before taking action on masks adding lets not make the same mistake again. Trisha Greenhalgh a professor of primary care at the University of Oxford said the context has changed and everyone should be wearing medicalstandard coverings. https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-medical-grade-masks-should-be-compulsory-in-shops-says-former-health-secretary-12198259 25th Jan 2021

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Politico Dr. Anthony Fauci warned Monday that the Covid19 variant ravaging the United Kingdom which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has predicted will become dominant in the United States within roughly two months is likely more deadly than the current common strain of the coronavirus. The remarks from Fauci the nations top infectious disease expert and President Joe Bidens chief medical adviser represent a new assessment from senior U.S. health officials who had acknowledged in recent weeks that the U.K. strain was more contagious but said there was no evidence suggesting it was more dangerous https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/25/fauci-uk-coronavirus-462117 25th Jan 2021

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The Guardian New research suggests that new coronavirus variants may spread more easily than the regular or wild type coronavirus. Fiftyfive countries have now reported the presence of the coronavirus variant B.1.1.7 originally identified in the UK and 23 countries have identified the 501Y.V2 variant originally identified in South Africa. Most of the research characterising the new variants has been published as preprints which means that the studies have not yet gone through the usual peer review and journal publication process. In areas where more infectious variants are established in the community current controls are likely to be less effective and need to be strengthened to prevent the risk of an increase in cases deaths and longterm illness. https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2021/jan/25/new-coronavirus-variants-may-spread-more-easily-so-what-does-this-mean-for-the-fight-against-covid 25th Jan 2021

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Sky News Vaccine manufacturer Moderna is to test out a jab against the South African variant of the virus that causes COVID19. The company made the decision after laboratory tests showed a sixfold reduction in the ability of antibodies produced in response to the vaccine to kill the new version of the virus. The UK has 17 million doses of Modernas vaccine on order with deliveries due to start in the spring. https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-moderna-to-test-out-jab-against-south-african-variant-12198642 25th Jan 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday he was looking at toughening border quarantine rules because of the risk of vaccinebusting new coronavirus variants. New variants of the virus that causes COVID19 are opening up the prospect of a much longer battle against the pathogen than previously thought. Scientists fear the new variants may be more deadly and that vaccines may be less effective against them. We have to realise there is at least the theoretical risk of a new variant that is a vaccinebusting variant coming in weve got to be able to keep that under control Johnson told reporters at a vaccination centre. We want to make sure that we protect our population protect this country against reinfection from abroad Johnson said. We need a solution. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-britain-johnson/risk-of-vaccine-busting-new-variants-prompting-tougher-uk-border-control-johnson-says-idUSKBN29U14Y 25th Jan 2021

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Reuters Drugmaker Merck Co said on Monday it would stop development of its two COVID19 vaccines and focus pandemic research on treatments with initial data on an experimental oral antiviral expected by the end of March. Merck was late to join the race to develop a vaccine to protect against the coronavirus which has so far killed more than 2 million people and continues to surge in many parts of the world including the United States. The company will record a pretax discontinuation charge in the fourth quarter for vaccine candidate V591 which it acquired with the purchase of Austrian vaccine maker Themis Bioscience and V590 developed with nonprofit research organization IAVI Merck said in a statement. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-merck/merck-ends-covid-vaccine-program-cites-inferior-immune-responses-idINKBN29U187 25th Jan 2021

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Bloomberg Merck Co. is discontinuing development of its two experimental Covid19 vaccines after early trial data showed they failed to generate immune responses comparable to a natural infection or existing vaccines. The U.S. drug giant which has a history of successfully developing vaccines had adopted a different strategy from rivals Pfizer Inc. Moderna Inc. and Johnson Johnson using a more traditional approach of focusing on shots based on weakened viruses. One called V590 borrowed technology from Mercks Ebola inoculation while the other V591 is based on a measles vaccine used in Europe. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-25/merck-shuts-down-covid-vaccine-program-after-lackluster-data 25th Jan 2021

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RTE.ie The European Commission has issued a strongly worded statement demanding that the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca spells out what Covid19 vaccine doses it has produced and to whom they have been delivered as the controversy over the disruption to vaccine supplies deepens. A statement by the EU Health Commissioner appears to suggest that the Commission believes that vaccine doses produced by AstraZeneca that were destined for EU member states may have gone elsewhere. Stella Kyriakides said The EU wants to know exactly which doses have been produced whereby AstraZeneca so far and if or to whom they have been delivered. https://www.rte.ie/news/coronavirus/2021/0125/1191881-coronavirus-vaccine-eu/ 25th Jan 2021

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The Guardian The UK government death toll is missing coronavirus fatalities and it always has Guardian analysis has shown. According to the paper by the University of Leicester 30 of Covid19 patients discharged from English hospitals were readmitted within five months and almost one in eight of them die raising further concerns over the accuracy of the widely quoted official figure. If the paper proves correct it would mean in the future thousands of coronavirus patients will be readmitted to hospital and some will die with complications from the virus without being included in the government tally. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/22/uk-official-covid-death-toll-undercounted-fatalities 25th Jan 2021

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CIDRAP Selfreported adherence to such coronaviruscurbing behaviors as physical distancing fell substantiallywhile mask wearing rose significantlyfrom spring to fall 2020 regardless of US Census region according to a research letter published in JAMA. The study led by scientists from Johns Hopkins University analyzed responses to 16 waves of the national Coronavirus Tracking Survey from Apr 1 to Nov 24 2020. The respondents were recruited from the University of Southern Californias Understanding America Study an ongoing nationwide panel of US residents. The researchers asked all participants to complete a survey every 14 days on 16 evidencebased nonpharmaceutical interventions NPIs vulnerable to COVID19 pandemic fatigue or apathy due to prolonged coronavirusrelated isolation uncertainty and disruptions. Among the 7705 participants who completed all survey waves the NPI index showed peak compliance at the beginning of the pandemic 70.0 in early April a leveling off in June high 50s and a slight climb to 60.1but still much lower than in the springat the end of the survey in November. https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2021/01/fewer-stayed-home-more-wore-masks-pandemic-wore 25th Jan 2021

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Fierce Pharma Moderna is weighing a second booster shot to battle back a new coronavirus variant even as it affirms its current vaccines activity against newly emerging mutants. While the current twodose regimen is holding so far its less effective against a South African variantwhich has the company exploring a third shot and a variantspecific booster. The variant candidate is moving into preclinical studies and a phase 1 U.S. study targeting the coronavirus strain first identified in South Africa Moderna said Monday. The South African variant known as B.1.135 notched a sixfold reduction in neutralizing titers in tests made by Moderna and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases NIAID. Despite the decrease the vaccine maintained levels expected to protect vaccine recipients Moderna said. https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/moderna-develops-booster-shot-for-new-covid-strain-affirms-current-vaccine-effectiveness 25th Jan 2021

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Fierce Pharma After AstraZenecas surprise announcement Friday that its first COVID19 vaccine deliveries to Europe would be lighter than expected angry government officials have been demanding answers. In Italy prime minister Giuseppe Conte said hed consider all legal steps against the company the Financial Times reports. Italys firstquarter allotment had been cut to 3.4 million doses from 8 million according to the report. Following AZs announcement Friday European officials were set to meet with AstraZeneca executives on Monday to seek clarification Reuters reports one European official had called AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot ahead of the meeting. Europe has the power to review AstraZenecas documents under their contract and one official told Reuters that penalties arent out of the question. https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/astrazeneca-s-surprise-covid-19-vaccine-shortfall-prompts-europe-to-press-for-answers 25th Jan 2021

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Fierce Pharma When pharmacists discovered a sixth dose could be pulled from vials of Pfizer and BioNTechs vaccine rather than the original five it looked like a solution to supplyconstrained vaccine rollouts. But now that the FDA has approved that tactic Pfizers counting those extra doses toward its established orders The New York Times reportswhich means it wont help boost immediate supplies. In fact it might actually cut them. Special syringes needed to extract that extra shot arent necessarily on hand meaning states could wind up with fewer doses than expected not more. Pfizer is reportedly working with the U.S. government to pair the right syringes with vaccine shipmentsand count doses accordinglybut thats not official or certain. https://www.fiercepharma.com/manufacturing/pfizer-s-six-dose-vial-counts-toward-company-s-elevated-production-spurring-supply 25th Jan 2021

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STAT News Moderna is studying adding booster doses to its vaccine regimen after finding its Covid19 vaccine was less potent against a coronavirus variant that was first identified in South Africa the company said Monday. In lab research that involved testing whether blood from people who had received the vaccine could still fend off different coronavirus variants scientists found that there was a sixfold reduction in the vaccines neutralizing power against the variant called B.1.351 than against earlier forms of the coronavirus Moderna reported. There was no loss in neutralization levels against a different variant called B.1.1.7 that was first identified in the United Kingdom. Both variants are thought to be more transmissible than other forms of the SARSCoV2 virus. https://www.statnews.com/2021/01/25/moderna-vaccine-less-effective-variant/ 25th Jan 2021

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STAT News Merck said Monday it will stop developing both of the current formulations of the Covid19 vaccines the company was working on citing inadequate immune responses to the shots. Work will continue on at least one of the vaccines which is being developed in partnership with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative IAVI to see if using a different route of administration would improve how effective it is. The announcement marks a shocking setback for one of the most storied vaccine makers and will raise tensions around readouts expected soon from other companies including Johnson Johnson and the upstart NovaVax. https://www.statnews.com/2021/01/25/in-a-major-setback-merck-to-stop-developing-its-two-covid-19-vaccines-and-focus-on-therapies/ 25th Jan 2021

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The Washington Post Minnesota officials announced Monday they have identified a person infected with a highly transmissible variant of the coronavirus that has been spreading at alarming rates in recent weeks in Brazil. This is the first report in the United States of the P.1 variant which has been of particular concern to scientists as they have observed the disastrous surge in infections in the Brazilian city of Manaus. One research study published in the journal Science estimated that 76 percent of the Manaus population already had been infected by the coronavirus. That should have put Manaus close to herd immunity. The new surge has raised fears that the P.1 variant has mutations that allow it to evade the human immune system. Evidence to support this hypothesis remains limited. https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/brazil-coronavirus-variant-minnesota/2021/01/25/bff5a8de-5f53-11eb-9430-e7c77b5b0297_story.html 25th Jan 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

The Washington Post The scientific and pharmaceutical race to keep coronavirus vaccines ahead of new virus variants escalated Monday even as a highly transmissible variant first detected in people who had recently traveled to Brazil was discovered in Minnesota. Moderna the maker of one of the two authorized coronavirus vaccines in the United States announced it would develop and test a new vaccine tailored to block a similar mutationriddled virus variant in case an updated shot becomes necessary. The effort is a precautionary step. Evidence released Monday suggested that the Moderna vaccine will still work against two variants of concern that emerged in the United Kingdom and South Africa. https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/01/25/covid-vaccine-virus-variant/ 25th Jan 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

Daily Mail Mary Green 92 got the Covid19 vaccine at her care home in North Tyneside But the dementiasufferer tested positive for the virus five days later. Scientists say jab came too late to save her as it takes two weeks for immunity. Professor Adam Finn said data showed there could be a large gap between doses. UKs largest charity care home boss says he feels residents are halfprotected https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9183587/Grandmother-92-dies-Covid-19-five-days-vaccine-dose.html 25th Jan 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

BBC News Mexican President Andrs Manuel Lpez Obrador has announced he has tested positive for Covid19. The 67yearold said on Twitter that his symptoms were mild and that he was optimistic following the diagnosis. The development comes as Mexico grapples with an upsurge in infections with deaths nearing 150000. Mr Lpez Obrador says he will continue working from home including speaking to President Vladimir Putin about acquiring a Russianmade vaccine. It was announced earlier on Sunday that a call between the two leaders will take place on Monday to discuss their bilateral relationship and the possible supply of Sputnik V jabs. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-55791743 25th Jan 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

Evening Standard The US has passed the grim milestone of more than 25 million confirmed cases of coronavirus. The new milestone means the US accounts for roughly one in four cases reported worldwide and one in five deaths. According to the data compiled by Johns Hopkins University the total number of infections since the pandemic began is 25077155. Earlier this week the US coronavirus death toll passed 400000. It means the number of people who have died from Covid19 is nearly equal to the number of Americans killed in the Second World War. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/us-coronavirus-cases-25-million-b900957.html 25th Jan 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

The Independent Ministers have been urged to intervene after a mass outbreak at the DVLAs offices in Wales by a union declaring the government agencys response a scandal. More than 350 employees at the UK vehicle licensing agencys contact centre in Swansea tested positive in the four months to December bringing the total number of cases since the start of the pandemic to above 500. Welsh health minister Vaughan Gething is among several senior politicians to say he is concerned about anecdotal reports emerging from the offices with the BBC and The Observer reporting that some symptomatic employees had been encouraged to return to work amid an alleged culture of fear. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/covid-dvla-swansea-outbreak-scandal-pcs-b1791986.html 25th Jan 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

Sky News The UK has recorded its lowest daily rise in coronavirus cases so far this year with 22195. The last time the number of cases by date reported was lower than that was 15 December according to the governments coronavirus data dashboard. While there is usually a reporting lag over and immediately after the weekend resulting in lower increases its also well down on yesterdays figure of 30004 and the 37535 posted last Monday. https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-uk-records-lowest-daily-rise-in-coronavirus-cases-so-far-this-year-12198422 25th Jan 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

Associated Press The unrelenting increase in COVID19 infections in Spain following the holiday season is again straining hospitals threatening the mental health of doctors and nurses who have been at the forefront of the pandemic for nearly a year. In Barcelonas Hospital del Mar the critical care capacity has more than doubled and is nearly full with 80 of ICU beds occupied by coronavirus patients. There are young people of 20somethingyearsold and older people of 80yearsold all the age groups said Dr. Joan Ramon Masclans who heads the ICU. This is very difficult and it is one patient after another. https://apnews.com/article/international-news-pandemics-mental-health-coronavirus-pandemic-barcelona-6985c38f750a1b923eceeba4b5ad03b2 25th Jan 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

EL PAS in English Disastrous. Difficult. Disheartening. Thats how dozens of health experts have described the coronavirus epidemiological situation in Spain to EL PAS. The country is reaching the peak of the third wave of the pandemic if it is even possible to say the second ever ended. The number of new infections likely peaked last Thursday when 44357 cases were reported the highest singleday figure since the start of the pandemic. If the curve has not started to flatten since then it will do so this week according to experts. But with the 14day cumulative number of cases per 100000 inhabitants at 828 the real question is how quickly will contagions start to fall and if they will instead reach a plateau. https://english.elpais.com/society/2021-01-25/spain-struggling-to-contain-third-coronavirus-wave-as-more-infectious-strain-takes-hold.html 25th Jan 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters The COVID19 situation in France is worrying the head of the countrys Haute Autorite de Sante HAS health regulator told France Inter radio on Monday as President Emmanuel Macrons government considers a new lockdown. France has the worlds seventhhighest COVID19 death toll with more than 73000 deaths. It is a worrying moment. We are looking at the figures day by day. We need to take measures pretty quickly....but at the same time not too hastily said HAS head Dominique Le Guludec. https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-france/update-1-head-of-french-health-regulatory-body-covid-situation-is-worrying-idUSL1N2K00D1 25th Jan 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters Mexicos President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Sunday he had tested positive for COVID19 amid the countrys deadliest week yet in the coronavirus pandemic which has pushed the health system of the Mexican capital to its limits. The 67yearold president who was a heavy smoker until suffering a major heart attack in 2013 said in a tweet that his symptoms were light and he was receiving treatment. As always I am optimistic said Lopez Obrador who has resisted wearing a face mask in public since the virus reached Mexico over 10 months ago. The president who is back in Mexico City after a threeday visit to parts of northern and central Mexico said he would continue working and still planned to take part in a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday morning. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-mexico-president/mexican-president-lopez-obrador-tests-positive-for-covid-19-idUSKBN29U02F?il=0 25th Jan 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters Britain has detected 77 cases of the South African variant of COVID19 the health minister said on Sunday also urging people to strictly follow lockdown rules as the best precaution against Britains own potentially more deadly variant. Matt Hancock said all 77 cases were connected to travel from South Africa and were under close observation as were nine identified cases of a Brazilian variant. They are under very close observation and we have enhanced contact tracing to do everything we possibly can to stop them from spreading he said during an interview on BBC television. Oxford professor Anthony Harnden deputy chair of a scientific committee on vaccination that advises the government said the South African and Brazilian variants were of concern because COVID19 vaccines may not be effective against them. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-britain-variants/uk-detects-77-cases-of-south-african-covid-variant-nine-of-brazilian-idUSKBN29T07P 25th Jan 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters Israel will ban passenger flights in and out of the country from Monday evening for a week the government announced on Sunday as protesters in some ultraOrthodox Jewish communities clashed with police over coronavirus lockdown measures. Clashes broke out between ultraOrthodox protesters in the city of Bnei Brak and police forces who came to enforce the lockdown. One police officer feeling his life was in danger fired in the air to repel the crowds police said. Smaller confrontations with ultraOrthodox protesters broke out in several other towns police said. The ban on flights will come into force from Monday at 2200 GMT and last until the end of January Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus office said in a statement. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-israel-teens/israel-bans-international-flights-to-curb-coronavirus-spread-idUSKBN29T0A4 25th Jan 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters France probably needs to move into a third lockdown perhaps as early as the February school holidays because of the circulation of new variants of the virus the governments top medical adviser on COVID19 policy said on Sunday. French schoolchildren have two weeks off in February but the entire month is a holiday month as three different zones stagger the start of their holidays by one week with the first starting on Feb. 6. We probably need to go towards a confinement. Whether that needs to be a very strict confinement like the first one in March or a softer form like in November that is a political decision JeanFranois Delfraissy head of the scientific council that advises the government on COVID19 response told BFM television. https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-france-lockdown/update-1-france-probably-needs-new-lockdown-as-early-as-february-top-adviser-idUSL1N2JZ0FP 25th Jan 2021

New Lockdown

Bloomberg France probably needs to move into a third lockdown perhaps as early as the February school holidays because of the circulation of new variants of the virus the governments top medical adviser on Covid19 policy said on Sunday. French schoolchildren have two weeks off in February but the entire month is a holiday month as three different zones stagger the start of their holidays by one week with the first starting on Feb. 6. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-25/france-may-be-headed-for-new-lockdown-as-scientists-raise-alarm 25th Jan 2021

New Lockdown

FRANCE 24 The French government is considering whether or not to impose a third national lockdown. France is now under a 6pm curfew but coronavirus cases have still continued to rise. A final decision on that move is said to be announced on Wednesday and depending on the effects of this tightened curfew. But just how could this new lockdown look like a very strict one like in March 2020 or rather a loosened up version like in November 2020 https://www.france24.com/en/video/20210125-france-to-decide-on-possible-3rd-lockdown-amid-rise-in-new-covid-19-variants-cases 25th Jan 2021

New Lockdown

FRANCE 24 English France probably needs to move into a third lockdown perhaps as early as the February school holidays because of the circulation of new variants of the virus the governments top medical adviser on Covid19 policy said on Sunday. French schoolchildren have two weeks off in February but the entire month is a holiday month as three different zones stagger the start of their holidays by one week with the first starting on Feb. 6. We probably need to go towards a confinement. Whether that needs to be a very strict confinement like the first one in March or a softer form like in November that is a political decision JeanFranois Delfraissy head of the scientific council that advises the government on Covid19 response told BFM television. https://www.france24.com/en/france/20210125-top-advisor-warns-france-probably-needs-new-lockdown-as-early-as-february 25th Jan 2021

New Lockdown

Bloomberg France is set to go back into lockdown within days amid concerns that a new wave of infections driven by the morecontagious U.K. variant of the coronavirus could spiral out of control Journal du Dimanche said citing unidentified people with knowledge of the matter. A decision is imminent JDD wrote saying President Emmanuel Macron could announce the countrys third lockdown on Wednesday night. It could start before the end of the week and last at least three weeks according to the paper. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-24/france-faces-renewed-lockdown-within-days-jdd-says 25th Jan 2021

New Lockdown

ABC News Authorities in a northeastern Chinese city have come under fire for their poor handling of a recent spike in COVID19 cases as anger mounts over a shortage of food and medication during lockdown measures. The latest outbreak in Tonghua city in the northern province of Jilin saw local authorities impose strict measures last week resulting in residents being banned from leaving their homes. More than 190 cases of COVID19 have been recorded in Tonghua since Chinas northeastern outbreak began earlier this month and residents in the lockdown zones are now desperate to find food and essential goods. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-01-25/china-covid-19-coronavirus-cases-rise-tonghua-response/13089004 25th Jan 2021