6th Jul 2022 https://nfind.uk/lockdown_exit/index.php/newsletter=696 lockdown_exit

Lockdown Exit

Bloomberg Shanghai is once again mass testing for Covid fueling concerns that Chinas financial hub will find itself back in lockdown in pursuit of Covid Zero. Nine districts as well as some areas in another three districts will conduct two rounds of Covid mass testing until Thursday in order to identify and prevent outbreak risks as early as possible the city government said in a statement. There are 16 districts in Shanghai. The city reported 24 local Covid cases for Tuesday all of them inside quarantine authorities said Wednesday. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-06/shanghai-mass-testing-fuels-concern-another-lockdown-looms 6th Jul 2022

Lockdown Exit

Reuters Macau has locked down one of the citys most famous hotels the Grand Lisboa after more than a dozen COVID19 cases were found there on Tuesday with infections spreading rapidly in the worlds biggest gambling hub. At least 16 other buildings across the special Chinese administrative region are also locked down with no one allowed to exit or enter. The authorities have placed more than 13000 people under quarantine orders as the city battles to contain its biggest outbreak since the pandemic began. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/macau-locks-down-landmark-lisboa-hotel-after-covid-cases-found-2022-07-06/ 6th Jul 2022

Lockdown Exit

Reuters On March 24 a court in the central Chinese city of Fuyang announced that a 1.5 billion hospital built just four years earlier had filed for bankruptcy because it was unable to pay its debts. For most of the last two years the Fuyang Minsheng Hospital had been fully involved in mass coronavirus vaccination and testing programmes in the city training almost 100 staff to perform throat swabs and setting up mobile vaccination facilities to go to schools and workplaces at the order of city officials. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/covid-bust-chinas-private-health-system-hurt-by-tough-coronavirus-controls-2022-07-06/ 6th Jul 2022

Lockdown Exit

Egypt Independent Hospitals are prepared at any time to receive coronavirus cases Adviser to the President of the Republic for Health Affairs Mohamed Awad Tag Eddin assured Monday during a telephone interview with presenter Ahmed Moussa on Sada alBalad channel. Tag Eddin advised citizens to adhere to wearing masks and using disinfectants at gatherings or in contact with people infected with the coronavirus. He stressed that most of the infections are mild and do not require hospitalization explaining that 90 million doses of the vaccine have been provided in Egypt. The effectiveness of the vaccine ranges between four and six months he added explaining that people most vulnerable to infection with coronavirus must obtain the third dose available free of charge to everyone. https://www.egyptindependent.com/egyptian-official-assures-hospitals-at-the-ready-for-future-coronavirus-outbreaks/ 5th Jul 2022

Lockdown Exit

The Guardian It would be sensible for hospitals to reintroduce mandatory maskwearing the chair of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has said as several trusts in England and Wales announced the move. When NHS rules on wearing masks in England were dropped on 10 June local health bodies were given the power to draft their own policies. Their guidance however is no longer legally enforceable. Figures from NHS England show there were about 10658 patients hospitalised with coronavirus on Monday. Infections have doubled in a fortnight across England with about 1000 patients being admitted with the virus each day. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/05/covid-surge-jcvi-chief-andrew-pollard-mandatory-masks-hospital-call 5th Jul 2022

Lockdown Exit

Al Jazeera English After a twoyear absence international pilgrims will perform the yearly Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia for the first time starting Wednesday after previously being restricted amid the kingdoms battle to curb the coronavirus pandemic. Some one million people are expected to be in attendance in the holy city of Mecca in Masjid alHaram Grand Mosque for the start of the fiveday ritual a large jump from last year when only 60000 pilgrims were permitted. In 2020 during the height of the pandemics early waves and before vaccines were available about 10000 were selected. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/5/one-million-set-to-perform-hajj-despite-covid-19-pandemic 5th Jul 2022

Lockdown Exit

Investing The Biden administration on Tuesday will launch a new effort to recruit 250000 mentors and tutors to help students who have fallen back in their learning during the coronavirus pandemic the White House said. The program which will be led by AmeriCorps and the Department of Education along with other service organizations will seek to get adults to fill the roles over the next three years. Students on average are two to four months behind in reading and math as a result of the pandemic a White House official said. The program is intended to help address that deficit. Research shows that high quality tutors and mentors positively impact student achievement wellbeing and overall success the White House said in a statement. https://www.investing.com/news/coronavirus/us-seeks-250000-mentors-tutors-to-address-pandemic-learning-loss-2843994 5th Jul 2022

Lockdown Exit

The Associated Press Many Americans dont expect to rely on the digital services that became commonplace during the pandemic after COVID19 subsides according to a new poll even as many think its a good thing if those options remain available in the future. Close to half or more of U.S. adults say they are not likely to attend virtual activities receive virtual health care have groceries delivered or use curbside pickup after the coronavirus pandemic is over according to a poll from The Associated PressNORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Less than 3 in 10 say theyre very likely to use any of those options at least some of the time. Still close to half also say it would be a good thing if virtual options for health care for community events and for activities like fitness classes or religious services continue after the pandemic. https://apnews.com/article/covid-technology-health-only-on-ap-fbf24abaaa800b00f1f10ae70b67af68 5th Jul 2022

Lockdown Exit

Bloomberg Theres been one consistent silver lining to Covid19 outbreaks they trigger a surge in vaccinations that provide protection against severe infections in the future. Chinas elderly are an exception. Take Shanghai. After the financial hub emerged from a bruising twomonth lockdown and vaccination clinics reopened the number of fully immunized people aged 60 or above increased just one percentage point to 63 in midJune despite hundreds of deaths. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-04/lockdown-pain-fails-to-break-elderly-vaccine-resistance-in-china?srnd=premium-uk 5th Jul 2022

Exit Strategies

The Guardian Australias independent expert advisory group on vaccines is meeting to discuss fourth Covid19 booster doses as Omicron subvariants drive a rise in infections leading some premiers to urge people to wear masks more widely. The BA.4 and BA.5 strains of Omicron are becoming the dominant strains of Covid19 in Australia overtaking the BA.2 strain. A preliminary analysis estimates BA.4 and BA.5 to be about 36 more infectious than BA.2. This infectiousness is driving a new wave of disease however there is no indication the variants are more severe. While Covid19 vaccines do protect well against severe disease and death from the variants they do not appear to be as effective at stopping infection and symptoms when it comes to the BA.4 and BA.5 strains. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/05/atagi-considers-fourth-covid-vaccine-doses-as-omicron-subvariants-drive-surge-in-cases 5th Jul 2022

Exit Strategies

ABC News COVID19 antivirals can only be prescribed to certain groups of people. SAs Health Minister wants doctors to be more free to decide who gets them. A surge in COVID19 cases is expected throughout Australia this winter https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-05/sa-government-push-to-reduce-restrictions-on-covid19-antivirals/101208522 5th Jul 2022

Exit Strategies

The BMJ General practices that wish to continue giving covid booster vaccinations from September have until 14 July to sign up NHS England has said. In guidance setting out expectations for the autumn booster campaign it also states that general practices choosing to provide vaccinations must have sufficient workforce capacity to keep delivering other services. The updated enhanced servicenow phase 5 of the vaccination campaignwill start on 1 September and will initially run to 31 March 2023 but it could be extended by as much as six months depending on advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation. GPs will continue to be paid 10.06 for each vaccine administered and 10 for each housebound patient. https://www.bmj.com/content/378/bmj.o1657 5th Jul 2022

Exit Strategies

BBC News Some groups of people are likely to be offered further Covid19 vaccinations this autumn Northern Irelands chief scientific advisor has said. Prof Ian Young said it would apply to vulnerable people and those aged over 65 while health and social care workers would also be offered it. The most recent population survey estimated that one in 25 people in Northern Ireland had Covid. The current wave is being driven by the ba4 and ba5 variants of the virus. Speaking to BBC News NIs Talkback programme Prof Young said that past vaccines continued to provide protection against severe illness. Unfortunately however with the new variant ba4 and ba5 people can become reinfected with those even when theyve been vaccinated he said. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-62042219 5th Jul 2022

Exit Strategies

Reuters Hong Kong will look into shortening COVID19 quarantine requirements for travellers while still aiming to curb the spread of the virus and prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed the citys new leader John Lee said on Tuesday. Lee spoke at his first weekly news conference as the citys chief executive after being sworn in on Friday by Chinas President Xi Jinping following celebrations marking 25 years since the former British colonys return to Chinese rule. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/hong-kong-considers-shorter-covid-quarantine-travellers-lee-2022-07-05/ 5th Jul 2022

Exit Strategies

Reuters The city of Shanghai on Tuesday announced two new rounds of mass COVID19 testing of most of its 25 million residents over a threeday period citing the need to trace infections linked to an outbreak at a karaoke lounge. The city government said on its official WeChat account that all residents in nine of the citys 16 districts would be tested twice from Tuesday to Thursday. People in parts of three other districts would also have to undergo tests. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinas-shanghai-carry-out-some-covid-testing-residents-say-2022-07-05/ 5th Jul 2022

Exit Strategies

Reuters Ireland expects to run an extensive vaccine drive against COVID19 and flu ahead of a potentially worrying winter surge that could lead to the reimposition of mask wearing in certain settings Deputy Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said on Tuesday. Ireland dropped all COVID19 curbs earlier this year after having one of Europes toughest lockdown regimes. While infections are on the rise again Varadkar said the current wave seemed to be peaking and the number of hospitalised patients was expected to start falling in the next two to three weeks. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ireland-sees-extensive-autumn-covid-19-vaccine-campaign-deputy-pm-2022-07-05/ 5th Jul 2022

Exit Strategies

Reuters The fastspreading BA.4 and BA.5 sublineages of Omicron are estimated to make up a combined 70.1 of the coronavirus variants in the United States as of July 2 the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Tuesday. BA.4 and BA.5 made up 52 of U.S. variants for the week of June 25. They were added to the World Health Organizations monitoring list in March and designated as variants of concern by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/omicron-sub-variants-ba4-ba5-make-up-70-covid-variants-us-cdc-2022-07-05/ 5th Jul 2022

Exit Strategies

Reuters CureVac has filed a patent lawsuit in Germany against BioNTech over its use of mRNA technology marking one of the first known cases of a company going to court amid the fierce competition to develop a vaccine against the coronavirus. The Germanbased biotech company is seeking fair compensation from BioNTech and two subsidiaries for infringement of its intellectual property rights it said on Tuesday. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/curevac-files-patent-lawsuit-germany-against-biontech-2022-07-05/ 5th Jul 2022

Partisan Exits

The Jerusalem Post Former MK Moshe Feiglin who is currently running for the Likud primaries told KAN Radio on Tuesday morning that anyone under 30 years old should avoid the coronavirus vaccine like fire. We are horrified by the shtuyot nonsense that were said by someone with no understanding or knowledge on the topic the Health Ministry tweeted in response. Its unfortunate that a man without any professional backing is handing out suggestions based on kneejerk instincts or delusions while going directly against existing medical knowledge and international studies on the subject not to mention the instructions of every international organization. https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-711231 5th Jul 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

The Wall Street Journal Covid19 reinfections can bring some new risks of serious medical problems hospitalization and death a new study has found. Protection provided by vaccines and prior infection has greatly improved Covid outcomes since the pandemics early days and reinfections are typically less severe than initial ones. Yet each new infection carries a risk of medical problems including hospitalization death and long Covid according to preliminary data from a study of patients in the Veterans Affairs health system. This is a timely finding doctors say as moreinfectious Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 proliferate and are expected to make reinfections more common. https://www.wsj.com/articles/health-risks-of-covid-19-reinfections-for-patients-detailed-in-new-research-11656691792 5th Jul 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Arutz Sheva Health Ministry Director General Professor Nachman Ash has approved the administration of Modernas PfizerBioNTechs COVID19 vaccines for infants and children ages six months to five years. Though the approval applies to all children in the above age group the Health Ministry has not issued a general recommendation for the vaccine. The vaccines were approved last month by the US Food and Drug Administration FDA and later the same month by the Israeli Health Ministrys Staff for the Management of Pandemics. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/356014 5th Jul 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Bloomberg The University of Oxford one of the first to cross the finish line with a Covid19 vaccine is shifting its focus to health threats that could trigger the next pandemic. Oxfords Pandemic Sciences Institute launched Tuesday aims to reduce the risks posed by infectious diseases by improving data collection strengthening surveillance and helping to create vaccines and other countermeasures. Oxford said the organization will seek to learn from the response to Covid and take advantage of the universitys research and global partnerships. But it will have to bring in additional funds to carry out its mission. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-04/oxford-university-takes-aim-at-future-pandemic-threats 5th Jul 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Medical Xpress The spectacular success of mRNA messenger ribonucleic acid vaccine technology against SARSCoV2 provides just a glimpse of their full potential according to the authors of a Perspective published by the Medical Journal of Australia today. Asymptomatic individuals constitute 1638 of the SARSCoV2 infected population which increases the difficulty of identifying infected individuals. The lack of convenient and sensitive tests to detect the virus in all individuals is continuing to limit global response to the pandemic. Predominantly SARSCoV2 is detected through RTPCR realtime reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction on swab samples collected from the nose and throat. However these tests require long detection times high costs specialized equipment and medical personnel and are not feasible in areas where resources are limited. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-07-spectacular-success-mrna-covid-vaccines.html 5th Jul 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News A rapid and reliable skinpatch test can now detect the COVID19 virus and potentially other infectious agents in under three minutes without the need to draw blood. This convenience overcomes a current challenge in identifying infected individuals who are averse to blood tests and could help restrict the spread of the pandemic. The details of the new test were published on July 1 2022 in an article in the journal Scientific Reports titled AntiSARSCoV2 IgMIgG antibodies detection using a patch sensor containing porous microneedles and a paperbased immunoassay. https://www.genengnews.com/topics/translational-medicine/infectious-diseases/skin-patch-test-detects-covid-19-in-under-three-minutes/ 5th Jul 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

The Wall Street Journal Covid19 reinfections can bring some new risks of serious medical problems hospitalization and death a new study has found. Protection provided by vaccines and prior infection has greatly improved Covid outcomes since the pandemics early days and reinfections are typically less severe than initial ones. Yet each new infection carries a risk of medical problems including hospitalization death and long Covid according to preliminary data from a study of patients in the Veterans Affairs health system. This is a timely finding doctors say as moreinfectious Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 proliferate and are expected to make reinfections more common. https://www.wsj.com/articles/health-risks-of-covid-19-reinfections-for-patients-detailed-in-new-research-11656691792 5th Jul 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters CureVac has filed a patent lawsuit in Germany against BioNTech over its use of mRNA technology marking one of the first known cases of a company going to court amid the fierce competition to develop a vaccine against the coronavirus. The Germanbased biotech company is seeking fair compensation from BioNTech and two subsidiaries for infringement of its intellectual property rights it said on Tuesday. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/curevac-files-patent-lawsuit-germany-against-biontech-2022-07-05/ 5th Jul 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

The Guardian Australia is heading for its third Omicron wave in the coming weeks as BA.4 and BA.5 become the dominant Covid strains. BA.4 and BA.5 are more infectious than previous Covid variants and subvariants and are better able to evade immunity from vaccines and previous infections. So were likely to see a rise in case numbers. So what are BA.4 and BA.5 And what can we expect in this next phase of the pandemic https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/05/new-covid-variants-ba4-ba5-most-contagious-australia-third-omicron-wave-coronavirus-subvariants-ba-4-5 5th Jul 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

The Wall Street Journal The highly contagious Omicron BA.5 subvariant has taken over as the dominant version of the virus causing new Covid19 cases in the U.S. the latest federal data show. BA.5 represented nearly 54 of U.S. cases in the week ended July 2 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated Tuesday. It surpassed BA.2.12.1 the version of Omicron partly responsible for a persistent springtime surge in cases which is now estimated to represent closer to one in four cases. Another version known as BA.4 which is closely related to BA.5 and also ramped up recently represents nearly 17 of cases the CDC estimates. https://www.wsj.com/articles/ba-5-subvariant-drives-majority-of-recent-covid-19-cases-11657043207 5th Jul 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

Stuff The second Omicron wave appears to have started. Case numbers along with hospitalisations are trending upwards. Underlying this is the rise of a new Covid subvariant called BA.5 which experts have suggested is starting to snowball. This is a snapshot of whats going on and what you need to know. Um what is BA.5 Alpha Beta Delta Omicron all are distinct Covid19 variants. Just like BA.1 which was dominant here and BA.2 which is now dominant BA.5 is another member of the growing Omicron family. https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/explained/129177758/covid19-nz-understanding-the-omicron-variant-ba5-and-why-its-fuelling-a-second-wave 5th Jul 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

Stuff New cases of Covid19 have soared by more than 3000 in a single day rising from 6498 on Monday to 9629 on Tuesday the Ministry of Health says. There are also 493 people in hospital and 24 people with the virus have died in the period since April 14 the ministry said. The sevenday rolling average of community case numbers on Tuesday is 7246 a rise of about 32 per cent on the same time last year. University of Canterbury professor and Covid19 modeller Michael Plank said the increasing trend in cases over the past week made a second wave of Omicron likely. https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/129179434/covid19-new-cases-soar-by-more-than-3000-in-a-single-day-reaching-9629 5th Jul 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

The New Arab Irans daily recorded coronavirus cases on Monday exceeded 1000 for the first time since late April according to the countrys health ministry. Authorities recorded 1007 new cases within 24 hours on Monday with 122 of the new patients needing to be hospitalised. This was the first time over 1000 cases had been recorded since 27 April. In recent weeks daily cases in Iran have rarely exceeded 200 with some days seeing less than 100 infections. The total number of identified coronavirus cases in Iran since the start of the pandemic in February 2020 is 7240564 and a total of 141404 people have died from Covid19. https://english.alaraby.co.uk/news/iran-records-over-1000-daily-covid-19-cases 5th Jul 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

The BMJ Covid19 infections in the UK are up 32 on the previous week with an estimated 2.3 million people infected according to the Office for National Statistics ONS.1 Rates have continued to increase across all four UK countries likely driven by the growth of the BA.4 and BA.5 omicron subvariants the ONS said. In the week ending 25 June an estimated 1829100 people would have tested positive for covid in Englandaround one in 30 peopleaccording to the ONS coronavirus infection survey. A week earlier that rate was one in 40. https://www.bmj.com/content/378/bmj.o1638 5th Jul 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

The Independent Covid19 deaths in England and Wales remain at a low level despite the latest wave of infections new figures show. There were 285 deaths registered in the week to June 24 where coronavirus was mentioned on the death certificate according to the Office for National Statistics ONS. This is broadly unchanged on the previous two weeks and is well below the 1125 deaths registered in the peak week of the Omicron BA.2 wave of infections earlier in the year. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/office-for-national-statistics-england-infections-wales-b2115960.html 5th Jul 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters The number of new COVID19 infections in Romania nearly doubled over the last week with a peak of 10000 daily cases expected in midAugust Health Minister Alexandru Rafila said on Monday. Romania is the European Unions secondleast vaccinated state with just over 42 of the population fully inoculated amid distrust of state institutions and poor vaccine education. The number of new infections approached 8000 over the last week compared with 3974 new cases in the previous week data showed but the number of hospitalisations and deaths remained low. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/romania-covid-cases-nearly-double-week-2022-07-04/ 5th Jul 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters Macau reported 89 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday taking the total to more than 900 infections since midJune as authorities in the worlds biggest gambling hub race to contain its largest outbreak since the pandemic began. More than 13000 people are under quarantine in the Chinese special administrative region which has effectively shut down to limit the spread of coronavirus. The citys more than 600000 residents are subject to three citywide COVID19 tests this week with people also required to take rapid antigen tests in between. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/macau-covid-outbreak-hits-more-than-900-infections-spread-2022-07-05/ 5th Jul 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters Macau kicked off a new round of COVID19 testing for its more than 600000 residents on Monday as officials in the worlds biggest gambling hub raced to limit spiralling infections in the citys worst outbreak since the pandemic began. All residents face three rounds of tests this week in addition to rapid antigen tests as Mondays 68 new infections took the tally in the former Portuguese colony to 852 since the middle of June. About 12000 people are in quarantine. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/macau-launches-more-covid-testing-infections-soar-2022-07-04/ 5th Jul 2022