9th Mar 2022 https://nfind.uk/lockdown_exit/index.php/newsletter=620 lockdown_exit

Lockdown Exit

Bloomberg New Zealand will reduce the isolation period for Covid19 cases and their household contacts to seven days in order to get more people back to work. The period will reduce from 10 days effective at 1159 p.m. on Friday March 11 in Wellington Minister for Covid Response Chris Hipkins said in a statement. The most up to date public health advice is that there is a decline in infectiousness of omicron over time and that in most cases transmission occurs within seven days he said. Seven days isolation will break the vast majority of potential transmissions while ensuring people can get back to work quicker and therefore reducing the impact on business operations. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-09/new-zealand-to-reduce-covid-self-isolation-period-to-seven-days?utm_source=google&amputm_medium=bd&ampcmpId=google 9th Mar 2022

Lockdown Exit

The Independent Puerto Ricos governor announced that he is ending a requirement for mask use indoors for the second time since the pandemic began as the number of cases and hospitalizations ease. The change will take effect Thursday with a few exceptions. Face masks will still be required in health facilities and nursing homes. In addition starting March 10 domestic travelers will no longer have to present proof of vaccination or a negative coronavirus test or fill out a currently required form. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/puerto-rico-covid-san-juan-b2030655.html 8th Mar 2022

Lockdown Exit

Reuters Romania will lift all COVID restrictions from Wednesday including requiring a digital pass to access institutions and the obligation to wear protective masks both indoors and outside Health Minister Alexandru Rafila said on Tuesday. The decision stems from the coalition governments decision to no longer extend a nationwide state of alert two years after the pandemic first hit Romania. The country remains the European Unions secondleast vaccinated state with just under 42 of the population fully inoculated amid distrust in state institutions and poor vaccine education https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/romanian-government-lift-covid-restrictions-march-9-2022-03-08/ 8th Mar 2022

Lockdown Exit

Bloomberg Pfizer Inc. will soon submit data to U.S. regulators on a fourth dose of its Covid19 vaccine Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla said. Bourla said he spent Tuesday morning reviewing new data from various Covid vaccine studies including one looking at the effects of a fourth dose of the currently available vaccine as well as a new formulation that will protect against multiple coronavirus variants. They look encouraging Bourla said in an interview on Bloomberg Televisions Balance of Power With David Westin noting that Pfizer still needs to collect more information. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-08/pfizer-to-submit-data-to-fda-on-fourth-covid-shot-soon-ceo-says 8th Mar 2022

Lockdown Exit

The Associated Press Back in August New Zealands government put the entire nation on lockdown after a single community case of the coronavirus was detected. On Tuesday when new daily cases hit a record of nearly 24000 officials told hospital workers they could help out on understaffed COVID19 wards even if they were mildly sick themselves. It was the latest sign of just how radically New Zealands approach to the virus has shifted moving from elimination to suppression and now to something approaching acceptance as the omicron variant has taken hold. Experts say New Zealands sometimes counterintuitive actions have likely saved thousands of lives by allowing the nation to mostly avoid earlier more deadly variants and buying time to get people vaccinated. The nation of 5 million has reported just 65 virus deaths since the pandemic began. https://apnews.com/article/covid-health-education-new-zealand-pandemics-617bdd9ffd2c53464287ad031ccf3877 8th Mar 2022

Lockdown Exit

Associated Press Major school districts around the US are allowing students into classrooms without masks for the first time in nearly two years eliminating rules that stirred up intense fights among educators school boards and parents throughout the pandemic. New York City became the latest school district to do away with its mask requirement Monday and Philadelphia is poised to lift its mandate Wednesday joining big cities such as Houston and Dallas and a number of a states that made similar moves in the last week. Chicago schools will end their mask mandate next Monday. https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-health-chicago-new-york-city-school-boards-503601d87087668ee95a0a35bca2ef77 7th Mar 2022

Lockdown Exit

CIDRAP As America enters the third year of the COVID19 pandemic and approaches the 2year anniversary of business and school shutdowns put in place when little was known about the novel coronavirus a group of public health experts have published a new roadmap laying out how the country can enter the new normal stage of the pandemic and manage the virus without eliminating it. The roadmap recommends against future school closings suggests the United States will need to manufacture 1 billion athome COVID19 tests per month and says the nation can lift pandemic restrictions when it is tallying 165 or fewer deaths per day from the virus. https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2022/03/experts-map-out-new-normal-us-enters-third-pandemic-year 7th Mar 2022

Exit Strategies

The Washington Post Floridas governor and chief health official announced a new state policy that will recommend against giving a coronavirus vaccine to healthy children regardless of their age a policy that flies in the face of recommendations by every medical group in the nation. The announcement came at the conclusion of a 90minute forum that Gov. Ron DeSantis R hosted in West Palm Beach. The Curtain Close on COVID Theater was livestreamed from a studio with hundreds of participants appearing on a towering screen behind the panelists. Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo prefaced the change by deriding the school closures and mask and vaccine mandates issued by many states since the start of the pandemic as terrible harmful policies. https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/03/07/florida-surgeon-general-opposes-childrens-covid-vaccines/ 8th Mar 2022

Exit Strategies

Financial Times African countries had hoped the Covax vaccinesharing scheme would guarantee them timely access to jabs but a lack of regional vaccine production and a bidding war with richer western nations meant much of the continent has been last in line for doses. According to the FTs vaccine tracker 73 per cent of EU residents have been fully vaccinated against Covid compared with 13 per cent in Africa. Health authorities and scientific institutions in Africa have now set themselves a different target. By 2040 they want 60 per cent of all vaccines given on the continent to be manufactured in Africa up from 1 per cent now. https://www.ft.com/content/43cbe4b1-ac0c-43f0-9d74-ea5db93a1201 8th Mar 2022

Exit Strategies

Reuters Malaysia will reopen its borders fully from April 1 and allow entry without quarantine for visitors vaccinated against COVID19 Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said on Tuesday. Malaysia has since March 2020 maintained some of the tightest entry curbs in Asia to try to contain coronavirus outbreaks with most foreign nationals barred from entry and returning Malaysians required to undergo quarantine. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/malaysia-reopen-borders-april-with-quarantine-waiver-2022-03-08/ 8th Mar 2022

Exit Strategies

Reuters Floridas top health official said on Monday the state would recommend against the COVID19 vaccine for healthy children breaking with guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In announcing the move during press briefing convened by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis the states surgeon general Dr. Joseph Lapado cited studies that showed few COVID fatalities among healthy children and elevated risk among young boys receiving the vaccine of side effects such as myocarditis. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/florida-breaks-with-cdc-recommends-no-covid-vaccine-healthy-children-2022-03-07/ 8th Mar 2022

Exit Strategies

Reuters Japanese airline ANA Holdings Inc plans to launch a new international lowcost carrier in late 2023 or early 2024 joining its rival Japan Airlines Co in a bet on a revival in tourism as the impact of the COVID pandemic fades. ANA said on Tuesday the carrier Air Japan would fly midrange international flights to AsiaPacific destinations without disclosing planned routes. ANA already has a separate low cost carrier LCC Peach Aviation which flies domestic routes as well as to a handful of shorthaul Asian destinations. https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/japans-ana-lines-up-low-cost-carrier-bet-post-covid-tourism-boom-2022-03-08/ 8th Mar 2022

Exit Strategies

The Wall Street Journal Almost a year ago Rio Ling decided to hold off on vaccinating his 86yearold father against the coronavirus because he was more worried about possible side effects than the virus itself given that Hong Kong had kept cases low under its ZeroCovid policy. By the time he gave the goahead in January after the Omicron variant had broken through the citys defenses it was too late. A few hours after finally receiving the inoculation in late February Mr. Lings dad who has high blood pressure and dementia tested positive for Covid19. Half a million people over 70 werent vaccinated when Omicron began surging through the city. Like other places Hong Kong gave its elderly priority to get their shots but persistent fears about vaccine safety fueled by local media reports about deaths following vaccinations and Hong Kongs low case count led many to delay. https://www.wsj.com/articles/unvaccinated-elderly-send-hong-kongs-covid-19-death-rate-to-worlds-highest-11646748091 8th Mar 2022

Exit Strategies

Associated Press An expert group convened by the World Health Organization said Tuesday it strongly supports urgent and broad access to booster doses amid the global spread of omicron in a reversal of the U.N. agencys insistence last year that boosters werent necessary and contributed to vaccine inequity. In a statement WHO said its expert group concluded that immunization with authorized COVID19 vaccines provide high levels of protection against severe disease and death amid the continuing spread of the hugely contagious omicron variant. WHO said in January that boosters were recommended once countries had adequate supplies and after protecting their most vulnerable. https://apnews.com/article/covid-health-united-nations-immunizations-world-health-organization-fa6ca68d114782c9047ed0c9c167dac5 8th Mar 2022

Exit Strategies

Associated Press Rio de Janeiro is relaxing the use of masks as the COVID19 pandemic wanes in Brazil. Following the determinations of our scientific committee we will have a decree tomorrow to end the mandatory use of masks indoors and outdoors Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes said on Twitter on Monday. Earlier data from Johns Hopkins University showed the global death toll of the virus surpassed 6 million people. Brazil is one of the hardesthit nations counting more than 650000 confirmed deaths the second most after the United States. https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-health-covid-19-pandemic-brazil-rio-de-janeiro-f56e083377c4153fa16a231dfa9a24af 8th Mar 2022

Exit Strategies

Reuters A top Chinese health official rallied embattled Hong Kong on Tuesday to stick with a dynamic zero coronavirus strategy and warned that the citys lifeline health system was at risk and the situation had to be turned around as soon as possible. Hong Kong reported more than 43100 new cases on Tuesday after the launch of an online platform for people to record infections in a surge that has seen the city suffering the most deaths globally per million people in the week to March 6 according to the Our World in Data publication. China has championed the dynamic zero strategy that involves stamping out infections with strict mitigation measures as opposed to the approach adopted in other places of relying on high vaccination rates and moderate mitigation like masks in an effort to live with COVID. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-says-hong-kongs-priority-is-cut-covid-infections-deaths-2022-03-08/ 8th Mar 2022

Partisan Exits

CNN A convoy of vehicles lapped the Washington DC beltway Sunday morning to demand an end to Covid19 mandates and restrictions. The protests come at a time when many pandemicrelated mandates and restrictions imposed by state and local governments rather than lawmakers in Washington have already begun being lifted in much of the country. The group planned to drive at least two loops around the beltway before returning to Hagerstown Maryland Maureen Steele an organizer with the Peoples Convoy told CNN. Sundays protest may mark the beginning of several days of disruptions according to District of Columbia emergency management officials. https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/06/us/trucker-convoy-protest-washington-dc-sunday/index.html 8th Mar 2022

Continued Lockdown

Reuters A top Chinese health official rallied embattled Hong Kong on Tuesday to stick with a dynamic zero coronavirus strategy and warned that the citys lifeline health system was at risk and the situation had to be turned around as soon as possible. Hong Kong reported more than 43100 new cases on Tuesday after the launch of an online platform for people to record infections in a surge that has seen the city suffering the most deaths globally per million people in the week to March 6 according to the Our World in Data publication. China has championed the dynamic zero strategy that involves stamping out infections with strict mitigation measures as opposed to the approach adopted in other places of relying on high vaccination rates and moderate mitigation like masks in an effort to live with COVID. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-says-hong-kongs-priority-is-cut-covid-infections-deaths-2022-03-08/ 8th Mar 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

STAT News Amid intense public pressure Moderna MRNA updated a pledge never to enforce patents for its Covid19 vaccines against manufacturers that supply dozens of low and middleincome countries as part of a World Health Organization program. But at the same time the vaccine maker indicated it would enforce its patents in wealthier nations. In an announcement issued late Monday the company maintained that supplies beyond the 92 countries covered by the WHOs COVAX program are no longer a barrier to access and as a result licenses will be offered to manufacturers for its technology on commercially reasonable terms. There was no detail about the technologies that would be covered or timing to enforce its patents. https://www.statnews.com/pharmalot/2022/03/08/covid19-vaccine-patent-moderna-who-africa/ 8th Mar 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Fortune It might not be long until a fourth COVID vaccine is available in the U.S. and its a big deal. Novavax Inc.s COVID19 vaccine is on its way towards authorization from the U.S. Food Drug Administration after formally submitting a request in late January. The company says it has resolved the manufacturing issues that had delayed their application and now expects approval from the FDA in the coming weeks according to reporting from the Wall Street Journal. In clinical trials first published in January 2021 Novavaxs vaccine was up to 90 effective in preventing severe COVID19 infections on par with the alreadyapproved vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna. But questions remained about the companys manufacturing capabilities that have delayed its ability to bring the vaccine to market. The Marylandbased biotech firm has already won approval for its vaccine in Australia India the European Commission and several other countries since last November. https://fortune.com/2022/03/07/fourth-covid-vaccine-novavax-anti-vax-protein-mrna/ 8th Mar 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

News-Medical.Net In late December 2019 France began administering vaccinations against coronavirus disease 2019 COVID19 to its population. At the end of 2021 77 of the entire population were fully vaccinated and 91 of those 18 years or older. During these times France experienced three epidemic waves caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 SARSCoV2 variants Alpha Delta and Omicron. Vaccination administration was stratified among the different population groups due to limited availability begging with those at most risk of severe COVID19related complications and those who work in healthcare. Moderna PfizerBioNTech AstraZeneca and Janssen were the four Covid19 vaccine brands utilized. With the exception of the Janssen vaccine which only required one dosage a vaccination program was initially considered complete following two doses. A complete vaccination cycle had become a prerequisite for obtaining a French health permit which became effective in June and was first necessary to enter events and places with large crowds. In August the health pass was expanded to include admission to all museums bars restaurants railways and other public venues. https://www.news-medical.net/news/20220307/French-study-shows-COVID-vaccine-efficacy-9425-against-severe-outcomes.aspx 8th Mar 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

CBC.ca New data from Newfoundland and Labradors Department of Health highlights who is at the greatest risk of severe health outcomes due to COVID19 as the province aims to lift all public health restrictions later this month. According to the data provided to CBC News last week 138 people were admitted to hospital due to COVID19 from Dec. 15 deemed the beginning of the provinces Omicron wave to Feb. 28. For comparison Newfoundland and Labrador reported more than 24000 cases of the virus in that period but the actual number is much higher as not all positive cases in the province were reported to public health. The data is broken down into two categories age and vaccination status. Sixtyseven of the 138 hospitalizations or about 49 per cent were people over the age of 70. Additionally 23 people were in their 60s 26 were in their 50s six were in their 40s four were between the ages of 20 and 39 and 12 people were under the age of 20. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/omicron-hospitalizations-death-data-1.6375968 8th Mar 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

CBS News Scans and cognition tests collected from hundreds of people suggest coronavirus infection is associated with a significant deleterious change in the brain according to a study published Monday from scientists in the United Kingdom. The paper published in the journal Nature draws on data in the U.K. Biobank from 401 people between the ages of 51 and 81 who had COVID19 through April 2021. Researchers analyzed data from brain scans and tests collected from participants both before they were infected with the disease and from a second round conducted later close to five months on average after they tested positive. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-19-impact-on-brain-uk-study/ 8th Mar 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

POLITICO Europe Moderna has pledged never to enforce its coronavirus vaccine patents in selected low and middleincome countries and is launching a new initiative to give external researchers access to its technology. The announcement comes amid increasing pressure on the U.S. biotech firm which pulled in more than 12 billion in 2021 to share its technology with initiatives aimed at increasing vaccine manufacturing capacity in low and middleincome countries. Its a very big announcement CEO Stphane Bancel told POLITICO in an interview. Bancel was visibly excited when he explained that for years his team been working on various infectious diseases but as a small company they had been limited in what they could do. The runaway success of their mRNA coronavirus vaccine has opened new doors. We want to make sure that we have all the tools to provide the world with a much better response if God forbid something happens again said Bancel. https://www.politico.eu/article/moderna-share-vaccine-tech-never-enforce-covid19-patents/ 8th Mar 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Sky News The worlds largest genetic study of people with severe COVID has identified DNA variations that could lead to new lifesaving treatments for the disease. The research identified 16 changes to the DNA sequence of critically ill COVID patients that affected their immune response or increased the risk of blood clotting and inflammation in the lungs. The researchers in the GenOMICC consortium which involved almost every intensive care unit in the UK say the findings map out new molecular targets for drugs that are currently used to treat other medical conditions. Professor Kenneth Baillie the studys chief investigator and a critical care consultant at the University of Edinburgh said We have shown for the first time in the history of critical care medicine that an infectious disease that causes organ failure is treatable by supressing the immune system. https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-new-study-could-lead-to-life-saving-treatment-for-severe-cases-12560046 8th Mar 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters A new study by Oxford University has found COVID19 can cause the brain to shrink reduce grey matter in the regions that control emotion and memory and damage areas that control the sense of smell. https://www.reuters.com/video/watch/idspdY?now=true 8th Mar 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters Moderna Inc said on Monday it plans to develop and begin testing vaccines targeting 15 of the worlds most worrisome pathogens by 2025 and will permanently wave its COVID19 vaccine patents for shots intended for certain low and middleincome countries. The U.S. biotechnology company also said it will make its messenger RNA mRNA technology available to researchers working on new vaccines for emerging and neglected diseases through a program called mRNA Access. Moderna announced its strategy ahead of the Global Pandemic Preparedness Summit sponsored by the UK government and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations CEPI an international coalition set up five years ago to prepare for future disease threats. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/moderna-plots-vaccines-against-15-pathogens-with-future-pandemic-potential-2022-03-08/ 8th Mar 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters The following is a summary of some recent studies on COVID19. They include research that warrants further study to corroborate the findings and that has yet to be certified by peer review. Omicron infections are contagious for at least 6 days Patients infected with the Omicron variant of SARSCoV2 remain contagious for just as long as patients infected with earlier variants according to a small study. Researchers took blood samples from 56 newlydiagnosed patients including 37 with Delta infections and 19 with Omicron infections. All were mildly ill such as with flulike symptoms but none were hospitalized https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/omicron-infections-contagious-least-6-days-takeda-drug-shows-promise-covid-2022-03-07/ 8th Mar 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters Scientists have pinpointed 16 new genetic variants in people who developed severe COVID19 in a large study published on Monday that could help researchers develop treatments for very sick patients. The results suggest that people with severe COVID have genes that predispose them to one of two problems failure to limit the ability of the virus to make copies of itself or excessive inflammation and blood clotting. The scientists said their discoveries published in the journal Nature could help prioritise the likely treatments that could work against the disease. Eventually the information could even help predict which patients were likely to become severely ill. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/scientists-identify-new-gene-differences-severe-covid-patients-2022-03-07/ 8th Mar 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Bloomberg Even a mild case of Covid19 can damage the brain and addle thinking scientists found in a study that highlights the illnesss alarming impact on mental function. Researchers identified Covidassociated brain damage months after infection including in the region linked to smell and shrinkage in size equivalent to as much as a decade of normal aging. The changes were linked to cognitive decline in the study which was published Monday in the journal Nature. The findings represent striking evidence of the viruss impact on the central nervous system. More research will be required to understand whether the evidence from the Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging at the University of Oxford means Covid19 will exacerbate the global burden of dementia which cost an estimated 1.3 trillion in the year the pandemic began and other neurodegenerative conditions. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-07/brain-shrinkage-cognitive-decline-found-months-after-mild-covid 8th Mar 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

CIDRAP The statement on animal surveillance came from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization FAO the World Organisation for Animal Health OIE and the World Health Organization WHO. They said though wildlife doesnt play a key transmission role in humans SARSCoV2 spread in animal populations can affect their health and lead to the emergence of new variants. So far farmed mink and pet hamsters have shown the capacity to infect humans and scientists are reviewing a possible case of transmission between whitetailed deer and a human. And in the United States large numbers of whitetail deer have been shown to carry the virus underscoring concerns about establishment of an animal reservoir. https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2022/03/health-groups-press-more-wildlife-sars-cov-2-tracking 8th Mar 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

CIDRAP Social determinants of health SDOH tied to COVID19 death rates varied by race and community type in the first year of the pandemic suggests an observational spatial analysis involving 3142 counties in all 50 US states and Washington DC. The study was published late last week in JAMA Network Open. SDOH are nonmedical factors such as where people live and work that influence health outcomes such as COVID19 infection and death. Racial disparities in health largely emanate from the inequitable access to social economic and physical or built environmental conditions resulting from racism in the US the researchers wrote. Specifically racism interacts with and exists within societal structures and systems to shape the major SDOH. https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2022/03/covid-deaths-vary-race-community-social-factors 7th Mar 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Arutz Sheva A total of 4769 new COVID19 cases were diagnosed across Israel on Monday Israels Health Ministry reported Tuesday morning. The new cases bring the countrywide total to 48408 active cases among them 969 hospitalized patients. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/323529 8th Mar 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Arutz Sheva A total of 4769 new COVID19 cases were diagnosed across Israel on Monday Israels Health Ministry reported Tuesday morning. The new cases bring the countrywide total to 48408 active cases among them 969 hospitalized patients. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/323529 8th Mar 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

New Straits Times There were almost 750000 Covid19 cases involving those under 18yearsold recorded between Jan 25 2020 and March 6 this year. Deputy Health Minister I Datuk Dr Noor Azmi Ghazali said from the 748037 cases a total of 40.3 per cent 301268 cases involved children aged five to 11. In addition 157 deaths due to Covid19 were reported among those under 18 with 39 deaths 24.8 per cent among children aged five to 11 he told the Dewan Rakyat today. Dr Noor Azmi said the Health Ministry also established that there had been an increase in Covid19 infections among children especially after schools reopened early this year. https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2022/03/778043/almost-750000-kids-below-18-contracted-covid-19-2020-dewan-rakyat-told 8th Mar 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

ABC News WAs Deputy Premier is warning the state is headed for more disruptions to services with a record 2847 new COVID19 cases detected and the number of people in hospital continuing to grow. The latest reported infections bring the total number of active cases in WA to 14458 with 48 in hospital up from 36 yesterday. None of the hospital cases are in ICU. The majority of new cases 1530 were selfreported through rapid antigen tests. The remaining 1317 were detected through 11632 PCR tests a significant increase from the previous days 8828 tests despite yesterday being a public holiday. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-08/wa-records-new-covid-19-record-2847-cases-48-in-hospital/100890526 8th Mar 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

RTE.ie The number of people with Covid19 in hospitals around the country has risen by over 30 in the last week. There were 803 Covid patients in hospital as of 8am this morning with 51 of those in ICU. That figure is an increase of 187 compared to last Tuesday. However it is down five on the same time yesterday which is the first daily reduction in 10 days. The 808 people with the coronavirus in hospital on Monday represented the highest level in six weeks since 824 on 25 January. https://www.rte.ie/news/coronavirus/2022/0308/1285081-coronavirus-ireland/ 8th Mar 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

The Independent The number of deaths involving coronavirus registered each week in England and Wales has dropped to around half the level seen at the peak of the recent Omicron wave of infections. Some 766 deaths registered in the week ending February 25 mentioned Covid19 on the death certificate according to the Office for National Statistics ONS. This is down 48 from the 1484 deaths registered in the week to January 21 the highest weekly total during the latest wave of the virus. It is also the fifth weekonweek fall in a row. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/omicron-wales-england-office-for-national-statistics-covid-b2030893.html 8th Mar 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters Mexico reported 42 more confirmed fatalities from COVID19 on Monday bringing the total death toll in the country since the pandemic began to 319901 according to health ministry data. The country also reported 1684 new confirmed cases of the virus the lowest count in a 24hour period so far this year according to a Reuters tally bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 5566669. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/mexico-reports-42-more-covid-deaths-1684-new-cases-2022-03-08/ 8th Mar 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters Hong Kong reported more than 43000 new coronavirus infections on Tuesday a day after the launch of an online self reporting platform which lets residents register their own rapid antigen tests results. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/hong-kong-reports-over-43000-new-covid-cases-after-new-reporting-system-launched-2022-03-08/ 8th Mar 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

Arutz Sheva A total of 4769 new COVID19 cases were diagnosed across Israel on Monday Israels Health Ministry reported Tuesday morning. The new cases bring the countrywide total to 48408 active cases among them 969 hospitalized patients. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/323529 8th Mar 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

The Associated Press Back in August New Zealands government put the entire nation on lockdown after a single community case of the coronavirus was detected. On Tuesday when new daily cases hit a record of nearly 24000 officials told hospital workers they could help out on understaffed COVID19 wards even if they were mildly sick themselves. It was the latest sign of just how radically New Zealands approach to the virus has shifted moving from elimination to suppression and now to something approaching acceptance as the omicron variant has taken hold. Experts say New Zealands sometimes counterintuitive actions have likely saved thousands of lives by allowing the nation to mostly avoid earlier more deadly variants and buying time to get people vaccinated. The nation of 5 million has reported just 65 virus deaths since the pandemic began. https://apnews.com/article/covid-health-education-new-zealand-pandemics-617bdd9ffd2c53464287ad031ccf3877 8th Mar 2022