25th Mar 2022 https://nfind.uk/lockdown_exit/index.php/newsletter=627 lockdown_exit

Lockdown Exit

Pulse The majority of GPs in England think Covid restrictions should still apply a Pulse survey has revealed. Speaking to Pulse GPs said removing restrictions meant difficulties keeping vulnerable people safe and they expressed particular concern with regards to the scrapping of free Covid testing. More than twothirds of GPs are also concerned about their own health in light of the lifting of restrictions. Since the end of last month 24 February fullyvaccinated people and children have not been required to isolate if they develop symptoms of Covid19 and from next week 1 April free testing will be scrapped altogether except for the most vulnerable. However asked in a Pulse survey to what extent they agreed with the Governments decision to remove restrictions Well over half 59 of GPs said they disagreed and almost a quarter 24 of GPs said they strongly disagreed. Although another quarter 27 of GPs did agree with scrapping restrictions only 7.5 strongly agreed. Of the respondents more than two thirds 69 felt concerned about their own health with the removal of restrictions 23 of these felt very concerned. Just 31 felt unconcerned. https://www.pulsetoday.co.uk/news/coronavirus/majority-of-gps-think-england-covid-restrictions-removed-too-soon/ 25th Mar 2022

Lockdown Exit

Sky News More elderly people are now being admitted to hospital with COVID than they were at the peak of the Omicron wave according to the latest official data. The statistics from the UK Health Security Agency will add urgency to the new drive to vaccinate the over75s with a spring booster. Figures from the Weekly Flu and COVID Surveillance Report show that the admission rate in England for every 100000 people over the age of 85 was 178.29 in the week to 20 March compared with 158.43 at the turn of the year. The rate in people aged between 75 and 84 was 74.34 per 100000 last week. At the beginning of January it was 70.3. Although hospitalisation rates in younger patients are also rising they are still below the level of the original Omicron surge. https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-more-elderly-people-being-admitted-to-hospital-with-coronavirus-than-at-peak-of-omicron-wave-latest-data-shows-12574259 25th Mar 2022

Lockdown Exit

The Associated Press Modernas COVID19 vaccine works in babies toddlers and preschoolers the company announced Wednesday a development that could pave the way for the littlest kids to be vaccinated by summer if regulators agree. Moderna said that in the coming weeks it would ask regulators in the U.S. and Europe to authorize two smalldose shots for youngsters under 6. The company also is seeking to have larger doses cleared for older children and teens in the U.S. The announcement is positive news for parents who have anxiously awaited protection for younger tots and been continuously disappointed by setbacks and confusion over which shots might work and when. The nations 18 million children under 5 are the only age group not yet eligible for vaccination. https://apnews.com/article/moderna-low-dose-vaccine-children-c7702f93e863d74b712791b55e54bdc1 25th Mar 2022

Lockdown Exit

Bloomberg Chances are one in five that new Covid19 variants will arise that are more dangerous than the current versions Moderna Inc.s chief executive officer said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. Meanwhile nearly half of the European companies in Hong Kong plan to fully or partially relocate operations and staff out of the city amid the travel and quarantine restrictions a new survey suggests. After conquering Covid19 for almost two years with a zerotolerance approach China is now in the midst of its worst wave since the initial outbreak in Wuhan. Shanghai reported a daily record of 1609 cases according to state television. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-24/moderna-warns-on-variants-firms-leave-hong-kong-virus-update 25th Mar 2022

Lockdown Exit

Bloomberg Around 8 p.m. one evening in late February an elderly man in a Hong Kong nursing home began struggling to breathe. He wasnt the only one who was ill. An unprecedented outbreak of Covid19 was gathering pace and roughly half of the facilitys 100 residents had already tested positive for the virus. Less than a third were fully vaccinated even fewer had received a booster dose. Isolating the infected was impossible. Like most dwellings in the city of 7.4 million the nursing home was cramped. Instead of a private room each residents dedicated space was only big enough for a 2footwide bed separated from neighbors by thin wooden dividers. As the mans condition worsened staff called an emergency hotline for help. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2022-03-23/hong-kong-omicron-cases-force-covid-zero-rethink 25th Mar 2022

Lockdown Exit

Reuters Singapore said on Thursday it will lift quarantine requirements for all vaccinated travellers from next month joining a string of countries in Asia moving more firmly toward a living with the virus approach. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the financial hub will also drop requirements to wear masks outdoors and allow larger groups to gather. Our fight against COVID19 has reached a major turning point Lee said in a televised speech that was also streamed on Facebook. We will be making a decisive move towards living with COVID19. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/singapore-relax-more-covid-curbs-including-overseas-arrivals-2022-03-24/ 25th Mar 2022

Lockdown Exit

Reuters New daily COVID19 cases in the Chinese commercial hub of Shanghai remained close to 1000 on Thursday as authorities scrambled to identify and isolate asymptomatic infections though a leading expert said the outbreak was being contained. Though the number of cases in Shanghai remains small by global standards the densely populated city has become a testing ground for Chinas zeroCOVID strategy as it tries to bring the highly infectious Omicron variant under control. In a meeting on Wednesday Shanghais Communist Party leaders emphasised the need to continue testing implementing closed loops and cutting off transmission chains in order to bring new infections to zero as soon as possible. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/china-reports-2054-new-covid-cases-march-23-vs-2667-day-earlier-2022-03-24/ 25th Mar 2022

Lockdown Exit

Reuters A booster dose of vaccine against COVID19 continues to provide robust protection against hospitalisation for older people nearly four months after getting the third dose new data from the UKs Health Security Agency on Thursday showed. Vaccine effectiveness against hospitalisation for people aged over 65 15 weeks after a booster was 85 down from 91 two weeks after getting the third dose the latest vaccine surveillance report from the agency estimated. The data is the first released by the UK on the longer term durability of boosters. The UK is administering fourth doses to vulnerable age groups joining a number of other countries including Israel as the world fights the more infectious Omicron variant of the coronavirus. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/covid-booster-provides-protection-over-65s-after-15-weeks-uk-data-2022-03-24/ 25th Mar 2022

Lockdown Exit

The Independent South Africa is the latest country to ease rules for inbound travellers. With immediate effect fully vaccinated arrivals no longer need to present a Covid test to enter the country the countrys president Cyril Ramaphosa has announced. Visitors who are partially vaccinated or unvaccinated are permitted entry but must present a negative PCR result from a test taken within the 72 hours prior to arrival. Unlike some European countries South Africa currently classes anyone with two or more doses of a recognised vaccine as fully vaccinated. Children under five are exempt from testing requirements regardless of vaccination status. https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/south-africa-pcr-test-vaccinated-b2043007.html 24th Mar 2022

Lockdown Exit

Reuters Poland will lift the requirement to wear masks in confined spaces except for health care facilities and remove quarantine rules for travellers and roommates of infected people Polands Health Minister Adam Niedzielski said on Thursday. I have decided to introduce two changes as of March 28 an end to the obligation to wear masks stipulating that it does not apply to health care facilities Niedzielski said. The second decision is to abolish home isolation and home quarantine for roommates of infected people and all quarantines for people entering Poland. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/poland-scraps-most-mask-quarantine-rules-2022-03-24/ 24th Mar 2022

Lockdown Exit

Reuters Singapore said on Thursday it will lift quarantine requirements for all vaccinated travellers from next month joining a string of countries in Asia moving more firmly toward a living with the virus approach. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the financial hub will also drop requirements to wear masks outdoors and allow larger groups to gather. Our fight against COVID19 has reached a major turning point Lee said in a televised speech that was also streamed on Facebook. We will be making a decisive move towards living with COVID19. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/singapore-relax-more-covid-curbs-including-overseas-arrivals-2022-03-24/ 24th Mar 2022

Lockdown Exit

Reuters Australia will roll out a fourth dose of COVID19 vaccines to its most vulnerable population starting next month authorities said on Friday as the country looks to limit fresh outbreaks ahead of winter. The decision comes amid a steady rise in cases fuelled by the highly contagious BA.2 subvariant of the Omicron strain and concerns of cocirculation of COVID19 and flu viruses during colder months as most social distancing restrictions end. A second booster shot will be offered from April 4 to people who had their previous booster shot at least four months ago and are over 65 years Indigenous Australians over 50 people with disability or severely immunocompromised Health Minister Greg Hunt said during a media briefing. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/australia-roll-out-fourth-covid-vaccine-shot-ahead-winter-2022-03-24/ 24th Mar 2022

Exit Strategies

The Guardian In 2019 the Global Health Security Index published a report ranking countries on their preparedness for pandemics. The US scored highest followed by the UK. Two years later both countries rank among those with the greatest loss of life from Covid. How could this be A large part of the answer is trust. Countries that looked good on paper in 2019 such as the US UK Spain and Slovenia found they lacked this intangible but critical layer of defence. And this figure from our research over the past two years at the Oxford Covid19 Government Response Tracker shows it in stark terms. On the left see below you can see that a higher global health security score in 2019 is not correlated with fewer deaths during the pandemic at least among the countries whose health systems have a minimum threshold of capacity. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/mar/24/countries-covid-trust-damage-pandemic 25th Mar 2022

Exit Strategies

Nippon.com The Japanese health ministry on Thursday decided to start preparations for administrating fourth shots of novel coronavirus vaccines. The ministry plans to administer the fourth shots as temporary vaccinations like the first second and third shots. It assumes the use of Pfizer Inc.s or Moderna Inc.s vaccine for the fourth shots. The timing to start giving the fourth shots and the interval between the third and fourth shots will continue to be discussed. https://www.nippon.com/en/news/yjj2022032400510/japan-to-start-preparations-for-4th-covid-19-vaccine-shots.html 24th Mar 2022

Exit Strategies

The Scotsman Figures from Public Health Scotland PHS show 983875 adults have not received a third dose or booster six months after the programme began. More than 500000 of these are at least 12 weeks on from their second dose. The Scottish Government admitted fewer appointments had taken place than expected after PHS reported that 21000 vaccine doses were thrown away in February after reaching their expiry dates. https://www.scotsman.com/health/covid-scotland-one-million-scottish-adults-have-not-had-a-booster-vaccine-amid-warnings-over-waning-immunity-3624069 24th Mar 2022

Exit Strategies

The Independent The company behind a COVID19 vaccine touted as a key tool for the developing world has sent tens of millions of doses to wealthy nations but provided none yet to the U.N.backed effort to supply poorer countries a sign that inequity persists in the global response to the pandemic. COVAX had planned to make available 250 million doses from Novavax by March but the U.N. agency in charge of deliveries says the first shipments now likely wont be made until April or May. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/ap-covid-new-delhi-tedros-adhanom-ghebreyesus-public-citizen-b2042824.html 24th Mar 2022

Exit Strategies

BBC News In Northern Ireland most people will no longer be able to access a free PCR test from 22 April the health minister has said. Lateral flow tests LFTs will continue to be free but only for people displaying Covid19 symptoms and this policy continues to be reviewed. Routine contact tracing is also set to be phased out between the middle of April and the end of June. Health Minister Robin Swann said the changes reflected the new realities of the pandemic. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-60858803 24th Mar 2022

Exit Strategies

ABC News Even as most eligible Americans have yet to receive their first COVID19 vaccine boosters Pfizer and Moderna have now asked the FDA to authorize yet another booster dose especially for elderly Americans a group that tends to have weaker immune protection. Pfizer asked the FDA to authorize fourth doses for people older than 65 while Moderna asked for authorization for everyone 18 and older though company executives said the greatest need would be among older adults. https://abcnews.go.com/Health/4th-covid-19-vaccine-doses-looming-experts-fast/story?id=83578268 24th Mar 2022

Exit Strategies

The BMJ Gavin Yamey and colleagues say that a new urgent push for global vaccine equity could help avert suffering and deaths protect economies and prevent new virus variants https://www.bmj.com/content/376/bmj-2022-070650 24th Mar 2022

Exit Strategies

Belfast Telegraph Only 2483 doses of Covid19 vaccine have been administered to children in Northern Ireland between the ages of five and 11. Less than 2 of the cohort has received a dose despite the fact that the vaccine was made available to all children in the age group over a month ago. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/health/coronavirus/covid-19-less-than-2-of-young-kids-in-ni-vaccinated-as-health-professor-warns-of-serious-long-covid-risk-41480995.html 24th Mar 2022

Exit Strategies

Sky News People must continue to have easy access to testing with still an awful lot of people getting sick and dying from COVID the World Health Organisation has told Sky News. Speaking on the second anniversary of the first UK national lockdown Dr David Nabarro the WHOs special envoy on the virus appealed for people to remember it is still nasty and that without mass testing it is difficult to monitor where the virus is. From 1 April lateral flow tests will no longer be freely available the government has said. https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-pandemic-cant-be-beaten-without-easy-access-to-testing-warns-who-envoy-dr-david-nabarro-12573354 24th Mar 2022

Exit Strategies

Reuters The chief executives of American Airlines United Airlines Delta Air Lines and other carriers have urged U.S. President Joe Biden to end a federal mask mandate on airplanes and international predeparture testing requirements. The airline executives including the chairman of Southwest Airlines and JetBlues CEO said in a letter the restrictions are no longer aligned with the realities of the current epidemiological environment. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-airline-ceos-urge-biden-lift-covid-mask-mandate-letter-2022-03-23/ 24th Mar 2022

Exit Strategies

Associated Press Zimbabwe has launched a new COVID19 vaccination campaign that includes jabbing children aged 12 and above to rescue a drive faltering due to vaccine hesitancy and complacency. This week schools in the southern African country have become vaccination zones with children in school uniforms lining up to get the injections. Many parents say they support the vaccination drive to prevent schools from becoming centers of infection although others remain skeptical. https://apnews.com/article/covid-health-zimbabwe-africa-united-nations-d51e25860a6606464aeae8013ecd9551 24th Mar 2022

Partisan Exits

BBC News The Government failed to fully document processes on the way to awarding Covid testing contracts worth hundreds of millions of pounds a report has found. However the National Audit Office NAO said it found no evidence Department of Health contracts had been awarded improperly. And it accepted ministers were acting quickly in exceptional circumstances. But the probe criticised gaps in the audit trail with Labour accusing the Government of acting fast and loose. Former health secretary Matt Hancock said the report confirms a total clean bill of health on ministers work. When Covid hit ministers had to scale up testing capacity working with the private sector to secure both services and supplies the NAO said. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-60860699 25th Mar 2022

Partisan Exits

ABC News Experts have raised concerns about the disappointing rate at which Victorians are getting their booster COVID19 vaccine doses as the possibility of a fourth dose is considered. More than 93.7 per cent of eligible Victorians have had two doses of the vaccine but the latest figures from the health department show 64 per cent of people aged 18 and up have now received three vaccine doses. That figure has risen by less than seven percentage points in a month it stood at 57.1 per cent on February 23. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-24/victoria-booster-vaccination-rate-stubbornly-low/100932468 24th Mar 2022

Partisan Exits

The Conversation Exposure in health care settings has accounted for a large number of infections. Early on in the pandemic health care workers and their household members accounted for 1 in 6 patients ages 18 to 65 admitted to the hospital with COVID19. Vaccines reduced that risk considerably and by August 2021 the risk of infection to health care workers had been cut by twothirds. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention less than 70 of the vaccineeligible U.S. population is fully vaccinated not accounting for the booster although these numbers are changing. When a patient refuses to get the vaccine a health care worker usually gets involved to counsel that patient. This may take a considerable amount of time and unfortunately the results may not always be favorable. Many in the medical community believe that the onus is on the patient to get vaccinated and if they do not do so they should be seen as culpable for contracting COVID19. One such example is the case being made to give lower priority for organ transplants to those willfully unvaccinated. https://theconversation.com/vaccine-hesitancy-is-complicating-physicians-obligation-to-respect-patient-autonomy-during-the-covid-19-pandemic-176442 24th Mar 2022

Partisan Exits

The BMJ The UK government failed to keep proper records when awarding almost 780m 937m 1.03bn worth of covid19 testing contracts to the diagnostics company Randox the UKs public spending watchdog has found. Last year the Conservative MP and former minister Owen Paterson resigned from his parliamentary seat after being heavily criticised for lobbying the government on behalf of Randox while acting as a paid consultant to the company. In a report published on 24 March1 the National Audit Office NAO acknowledged that the government had had to act quickly to build testing capacity at the start of the pandemic but it said that the Department of Health and Social Care did not document key decisions adequately disclose ministerial meetings with Randox fully or keep full records of ministerial discussions involving Randox. https://www.bmj.com/content/376/bmj.o789 24th Mar 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

The New York Times Two doses of Chinas Sinovac vaccine offered older people only a moderately high level of protection against severe disease and death from Covid19 but a third dose significantly bolstered their defenses according to a new study by scientists in Hong Kong. The study based on patients infected during the current devastating Omicron wave in Hong Kong serves as a cautionary note for mainland China where Sinovac is a pillar of the countrys vaccination program. Many older people there have yet to receive booster shots. For people 60 and older two Sinovac doses were 72 percent effective against severe or fatal Covid19 and 77 percent effective against Covidrelated death the study found. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/23/health/sinovac-coronavirus-booster-hong-kong.html 24th Mar 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

The New York Times Moderna said on Wednesday that it would seek emergency authorization of its coronavirus vaccine for children younger than 6 after interim results from its clinical trial showed that volunteers in that age group had a similar immune response to young adults when given a dose onefourth as strong. But the company said the vaccine proved only about 44 percent effective in preventing symptomatic illness among children 6 months to 2 years old and 37 percent effective in children 2 through 5. Dr. Jacqueline Miller the firms senior vice president for infectious diseases said the relatively low level of protection demonstrated the ability of the Omicron variant to evade the vaccines shield. Nonetheless she said in an interview what we have seen is a successful trial. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/23/us/politics/moderna-coronavirus-vaccine-young-children.html 24th Mar 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

The Korea Bizwire Virtusa Corporation today announced that its Virtusa Vax Manager is available to provide businesses with an easy way to track employee vaccination status. The COVID19 vaccine tracker and return to office capabilities of Virtusa Vax Manager can be built rapidly and is easily configurable on technology from Pegasystems the software company that crushes business complexity to help companies stay compliant with emerging regulations while ensuring the wellbeing of all employees and easing the burden on HR staff. http://koreabizwire.com/virtusa-delivers-covid-19-vaccine-tracker/214465 24th Mar 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Evening Standard Covid19 antibody levels among UK adults remain at a record high with no evidence of a drop among older age groups whose most recent dose of vaccine was likely to be several months ago analysis suggests. Some 99.3 of people aged 80 and over in England were likely to have antibodies at the start of March along with 98.2 in Wales and 98.3 in Scotland the highest for each nation since estimates began at the end of 2020. The figures which have been calculated by the Office for National Statistics ONS also estimate 99.2 of over70s in Northern Ireland had antibodies at the beginning of this month again the highest level so far. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/ons-england-scotland-wales-northern-ireland-b990249.html 24th Mar 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters Europes drug regulator is expected to give the goahead this week for AstraZenecas antibodybased injection for preventing COVID19 infections two people familiar with the review said following U.S. and UK approvals. The treatment is meant for adults whose immune system is too weak to respond to vaccines and offers a new tool to ease the pandemic burden on healthcare systems. Infections in Europe are on a sharp rise again this month with the adult vaccination rate stagnating at a little over 83. The expected recommendation by the European Medicines Agency EMA is set to be confirmed swiftly by the European Commission which has the final word on market access. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/astrazenecas-preventative-covid-shot-set-win-eu-clearance-this-week-sources-2022-03-23/ 24th Mar 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters The toll of the COVID19 pandemic was reflected in a natural decrease last year in the population of nearly threequarters of U.S. counties versus the two previous years the census bureau said on Thursday. More than 73 of U.S. counties experienced natural decrease or an excess of deaths over births up from 55.5 in 2020 and 45.5 in 2019 bureau data showed. In 2021 fewer births an aging population and increased mortality intensified by the COVID19 pandemic contributed to a rise in natural decrease the U.S. Census Bureau said in a statement. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/covid-pandemic-fuelled-2021-population-drop-73-us-counties-2022-03-24/ 24th Mar 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters Moderna Inc raised its fullyear forecast for sales of its COVID19 vaccine to roughly 21 billion from 19 billion. The company in February forecast sales of 19 billion from its signed contracts and option for 3 billion in additional purchases. Moderna on Thursday forecast additional purchases of roughly 500 million. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/moderna-raises-full-year-covid-vaccine-sales-forecast-21-billion-2022-03-24/ 24th Mar 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

CIDRAP COVID19 patients can safely use inexpensive pulse oximeters at home to watch for a drop in blood oxygen that signals they need to seek advanced care according to a systematic review published yesterday in The Lancet Digital Health. Pulse oximeters are small devices that shine light through a patients finger to measure his or her blood oxygen saturation. They can be used alone or as part of a remote patient monitoring RPM package. Imperial College London researchers analyzed 13 observational studies involving 2908 participants in five countries using pulse oximetry to monitor their blood oxygen levels from when the COVID19 pandemic began in 2020 to Apr 15 2021. Some RPM programs had participants monitor their own oxygen levels while others developed a mobile app or website for patients to report their readings. Participants included older people with more than one underlying illness young people and pregnant and postpartum women. All participants had COVID19 except for 12 controls in one study. https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2022/03/simple-home-oxygen-monitors-signal-when-seek-covid-care 23rd Mar 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

iNews Two years on from the start of the UKs first Covid lockdown when cases were rising rapidly and there was no timeline for a vaccine the threat of the virus has changed significantly in the UK. Prime Minister Boris Johnson marked the milestone by paying tribute to the heroic efforts of the NHS on Wednesday while giving sympathies to the families of those who died from Covid and said Britains 187000 coronavirus casualties will never be out of our hearts and minds. The UK is now one of the few places globally with nearly zero Covid restrictions in place despite a recent rise in cases driven by the Omicron variant but Health Secretary Sajid Javid has insisted there is no particular cause for concern with the wall of defence from vaccines keeping the situation stable. https://inews.co.uk/news/two-years-uk-first-covid-lockdown-cases-rising-deaths-remain-low-1532873 24th Mar 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

ABC News South Australia has recorded 4742 COVID19 cases its second highest daily caseload on record since the start of the pandemic. Another two people with COVID19 have died both of them men one of whom is aged in his 60s and the other in his 70s.There are 157 people in hospital with COVID19 four fewer than yesterday. The hospitalisation number includes 10 cases in intensive care and one person on a ventilator. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-24/sa-records-4742-covid-cases-and-two-deaths/100936690 24th Mar 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

RTE.ie The Department of Health has been notified of 8910 PCRconfirmed cases of Covid19 as well as 14215 positive antigen tests logged through the HSE portal. As of 8am there were 1425 Covid patients in hospital up 30 on the same time yesterday morning. Of them 53 patients were being treated in ICU a decrease of 2 from Wednesday. Meanwhile Taoiseach Michel Martin said people should continue to be cautious and to wear masks in crowded situations but that the current Covid wave was less impactful and virulent than earlier variants so no new economic restrictions were warranted. https://www.rte.ie/news/coronavirus/2022/0324/1288150-covid-ireland/ 24th Mar 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters New daily COVID19 cases in the Chinese commercial hub of Shanghai remained close to 1000 on Thursday as authorities scrambled to identify and isolate asymptomatic infections though a leading expert said the outbreak was being contained. Though the number of cases in Shanghai remains small by global standards the densely populated city has become a testing ground for Chinas zeroCOVID strategy as it tries to bring the highly infectious Omicron variant under control. In a meeting on Wednesday Shanghais Communist Party leaders emphasised the need to continue testing implementing closed loops and cutting off transmission chains in order to bring new infections to zero as soon as possible. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/china-reports-2054-new-covid-cases-march-23-vs-2667-day-earlier-2022-03-24/ 24th Mar 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

CIDRAP Last week marked a turnaround in a 5week decline in cases. In the continued rise this week cases were up 7 compared to the week before the WHO said. Cases were up 21 in the Western Pacific region an area that includes locations experiencing surges including South Korea Vietnam and Hong Kong. The European regions cases remained steady while levels declined in the Eastern Mediterranean Africa South East Asia and Americas regions. Deaths overall declined 23 compared to the week before though they were up 5 in the Western Pacific region. The WHO received reports of 12 million cases last week. Countries reporting the most cases were South Korea Vietnam Germany France and Australia. Also there were 33000 deaths across the globe with Russia nudging ahead of the United States in reporting the most weekly fatalities. https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2022/03/global-covid-19-cases-climb-second-week-row 23rd Mar 2022

New Lockdown

Reuters Chinas top steelmaking city Tangshan implemented a temporary lockdown on Tuesday to avoid further cases of COVID19 as infections surged the local government said in a statement. Residents should not leave their houses or buildings except for tests or emergencies pending further announcement the government said. Tangshan reported 15 confirmed locally transmitted cases from March 1922 and 79 asymptomatic cases while Hebei province where Tangshan is located had 331 confirmed cases and 2454 asymptomatic cases as of March 22 data from the provincial health authority showed. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/chinese-steelmaking-hub-tangshan-enters-lockdown-covid-cases-rise-2022-03-23/ 24th Mar 2022