14th Aug 2020 https://nfind.uk/lockdown_exit/index.php/newsletter=74 lockdown_exit

Lockdown Exit

Reuters UK France reported more than 2500 new COVID19 infections for the second day in a row on Thursday levels last seen in midApril when the country was in the middle of one of Europes strictest lockdowns. Despite the rise in cases which could prompt Britain to remove France from its list of safe travel destinations the number of people hospitalised due to the disease continued to fall having dipped below 5000 for the first time since midMarch on Wednesday. Experts say this is because more young people are being infected who are less likely to need hospital care. The total official tally of cases now stands at 209365. https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-france-casualties/frances-covid-19-cases-at-four-month-high-health-system-holding-up-idUKKCN2592OP 13th Aug 2020

Lockdown Exit

Reuters UK Any potential COVID19 vaccine backed by the Trump administrations Operation Warp Speed program is unlikely to receive a green light from regulators any earlier than November or December given the time needed for a largescale clinical trial the National Institutes of Health director said on Thursday. In a call with reporters Francis Collins said he thinks testing a vaccine in at least 10000 people could potentially give enough evidence of safety and efficacy to clear it for wider use. U.S. latestage vaccine trials launched so far aim to recruit up to 30000 people. I would not expect to see on the basis of what we know scientifically that we would be at the point where the FDA could make such a judgment until considerably later than October 1st Collins said referring to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Maybe November or December would be my best bet. https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-vaccine/top-u-s-health-official-says-approval-of-covid-vaccines-unlikely-before-november-idUKKCN2592YS 13th Aug 2020

Lockdown Exit

CNBC Goran K. Hansson the generalsecretary of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and Economist Lars Calmfors called for a different strategy to the one of nolockdown and little restrictions. Sweden had one of the worst coronavirus crises in Europe. Now a retake is required where effective measures are put in place to protect the population Hansson and Calmfors wrote. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/13/swedens-coronavirus-critics-urge-more-caution-to-avoid-a-second-wave.html 13th Aug 2020

Lockdown Exit

The Guardian Welcome to cube city. Xu Weiping a Chinese multimillionaire has a vision for the future of office work in the postCovid19 pandemic world thousands of office pods where each person works in their own selfcontained 3m x 3m cube. Xu reckons the coronavirus pandemic will have such a fundamental impact on the way people work that he is converting 20 newly constructed office buildings in east London into 2000 of the individual cube offices. If the cubes which feature a kettle fridge microwave videoscreen and folddown bed as well as a chair and desk prove popular Xu plans to convert all of his 1.7bn 35acre regeneration project in east London into more than 10000 of the individual cubes. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/aug/13/office-pods-may-be-the-answer-to-working-safely-post-covid-19 13th Aug 2020

Lockdown Exit

The Straits Times Brazil recorded 60091 new cases of the novel coronavirus and 1261 deaths from the disease caused by the virus in a 24hour period the Health Ministry said on Thursday Aug 13. Brazil has registered 3224876 cases of the virus since the pandemic began while the official death toll from Covid19 has risen to 105463 according to ministry data. Brazil ranks as the country experiencing the worlds worst coronavirus outbreak after the United States. https://www.straitstimes.com/world/americas/brazil-death-toll-from-covid-19-passes-105000 14th Aug 2020

Lockdown Exit

Bloomberg Bill Gates the Microsoft Corp. cofounder and billionaire philanthropist has become for better and worse a central character in the story of Covid19. The good news The Bill Melinda Gates Foundation has pledged more than 350 million to fight the disease including funds for vaccine manufacturing efforts at AstraZeneca Johnson Johnson and Novavax. The bad news Gates has been vilified by antivaxxers and other conspiracy theorists who claim he seeded the virus for his own nefarious purposes. Gates says hes optimistic about the worlds chances of seeing through the wilder theories and of beating the coronavirus too. His remarks have been condensed and edited for clarity. https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2020-bill-gates-covid-vaccine/ 13th Aug 2020

Lockdown Exit

Business Insider Germanys health minister says there will certainly be a coronavirus vaccine in the next year. Jens Spahn said he was optimistic that a vaccine would be developed in the coming months. He did not specify which vaccine he believed would prove safe and effective and added that it was not yet possible to know how long any such treatment would offer immunity against Covid19 for. More than 100 vaccines around the world are currently in development. https://www.businessinsider.com/germany-health-minister-certainly-a-coronavirus-vaccine-in-the-next-year-2020-8 13th Aug 2020

Lockdown Exit

ABC News Former Vice President Joe Biden on Thursday called for immediate mask mandates nationwide for the next three months keeping the focus on drawing a stark contrast between how he would respond to the pandemic crisis compared to how he says its been mishandled by President Donald Trump. Trump fired back at an evening news conference saying We want to have a certain freedom thats what were about. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/biden-calls-nationwide-mask-mandate-months-targeting-trumps/story?id=72350839 13th Aug 2020

Exit Strategies

New York Post A top CDC official has warned that the US must brace for the worst fall ever in the history of public health disasters if Americans dont follow coronavirus guidelines. For your country right now and for the war that were in against COVID Im asking you to do four simple things wear a mask social distance wash your hands and be smart about crowds Dr. Robert Redfield director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told WebMD. Im not asking some of America to do it. We all gotta do it. If people fail to follow those tips next season could be the worst fall from a public health perspective weve ever had he said. https://nypost.com/2020/08/13/cdc-warns-us-of-worst-fall-if-covid-19-guidelines-are-ignored/ 13th Aug 2020

Exit Strategies

BBC The Spanish region of Galicia has effectively banned smoking in public places over concerns it increases the risk of Covid19 transmission. It issued a blanket ban on smoking in the street and in public places such as restaurants and bars if social distancing is not possible. The northwestern region is the first to introduce such a measure but the Canary Islands has since followed suit. It comes as Spain faces the worst infection rate in western Europe. Daily cases have risen from fewer than 150 in June to more than 1500 throughout August. It recorded 1690 new cases in the latest daily count on Wednesday bringing the countrys total to almost 330000. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53763267 13th Aug 2020

Exit Strategies

The Financial Times France on Wednesday reported 2524 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours a postlockdown record as British officials prepared to decide whether to add the country to its quarantine list. But Boris Johnsons government is not expected to immediately announce on Thursday that British travellers to France must selfisolate for 14 days upon their return in a welcome development for British holidaymakers. When the UKs travel regime is reviewed on Thursday French officials expect Matt Hancock the health secretary to say he is closely monitoring the situation in France but that new travel restrictions would be premature. Malta and the Netherlands which have higher infection rates than France are regarded as more likely to be added to Britains list. It already includes the popular holiday destinations of Spain and Portugal. https://www.ft.com/content/db9b331e-869c-465e-9962-ea207ecf7c4f 13th Aug 2020

Exit Strategies

The Indian Express While CPIM said the Mamata Banerjee government has made lockdown a farce the Congress said the CM should consult experts before making such changes. The BJP claimed the move has political import and meant to please a particular community. https://indianexpress.com/article/india/bengal-changes-lockdown-dates-4th-time-in-a-fortnight-sparks-criticism-6552296/ 13th Aug 2020

Exit Strategies

The Guardian South Korea has opened a hightech new front in the battle against coronavirus fortifying bus shelters in the capital with temperaturechecking doors and ultraviolet disinfection lamps. To enter passengers must stand in front of an automated thermalimaging camera and the door will slide open only if their temperature is below 37.5C. A separate camera is installed lower down to test children. Inside the glasswalled booths which cost about 100m won 84000 each the airconditioning systems have ultraviolet lamps installed to kill viruses at the same time as cooling the air. Free wifi is also included. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/13/south-korea-installs-anti-virus-bus-shelters-with-temperature-sensors-and-uv-lamps 13th Aug 2020

Exit Strategies

Reuters UK Uzbekistan will lift its second lockdown starting from Saturday the government said on Wednesday promising to restore most services in the central Asian country within days in order to revive the economy. The government reintroduced a lockdown last month after lifting restrictions in June led to a surge in new COVID19 cases leaving hospitals struggling to cope. On Saturday people will be allowed to drive their cars again and hold ceremonies such as weddings for up to 30 guests at their homes. Businesses such as hotels barbershops and outdoor cafes will also be able to reopen and air and rail traffic will resume President Shavkat Mirziyoyevs office said in a statement. https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-uzbekistan/uzbekistan-to-start-lifting-lockdown-from-saturday-idUKKCN2581WD 13th Aug 2020

Exit Strategies

Reuters UK The Kuwaiti cabinet said on Thursday it will start implementing the fourth stage of the gradual gotonormality plan on Aug. 18 and some activities that were set to open during the fifth stage including gyms sport clubs beauty salons and tailors will now be open as a part of the fourth stage. The cabinet also decided to keep the nationwide partial curfew and to resume football activity in the gulf country without the presence of fans. Kuwait decided in May on a fivephase plan to go back to normal life after restrictions the coronavirus outbreak brought to the country. https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-kuwait/kuwait-to-move-to-fourth-stage-of-gradual-return-to-normality-plan-cabinet-idUKKCN2592OG 13th Aug 2020

Exit Strategies

Reuters UK Finland recommended the use of face masks in public for the first time on Thursday as the number of coronavirus cases rises. Prime Minister Sanna Marin said masks should be worn in situations where social distancing is not possible such as on public transport. People aged 15 or over who will stay for more than 15 minutes in crowded places should wear them excluding regions where no new cases have been found in two weeks the public health authority also recommended. Prior to Thursday Finland had not officially backed the use of masks. Health authorities reported 41 new COVID19 cases on Thursday a daily record since the end of May bringing the total to 7683 since the beginning of the pandemic. A total of 333 people have died. https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-finland-facemasks/finland-recommends-use-of-facemasks-on-public-transport-idUKKCN2591HN 13th Aug 2020

Partisan Exits

Euro Weekly News An anti face mask protester says dont follow Spain as he celebrates the news of a sacked KFC worker being reinstated after refusing to wear a face mask. KFC worker in Bridgend South Wales Paul Candlin was dismissed for refusing to wear a face mask whilst at work. Candlin was fired on the spot by KFC bosses as he point blank refused to wear a mask designed to protect customers from Covid19. https://www.euroweeklynews.com/2020/08/13/anti-face-mask-protester-delighted-sacked-kfc-worker-reinstated-and-says-stop-following-spain/ 13th Aug 2020

Partisan Exits

Euro Weekly News Expats on Spains Costa del Sol are starting to vent their frustration and anger calling for governments to move on and want regulations dropped that are affecting businesses. As the Coronavirus remains at the top of the news on a daily basis many people now are questioning why countries like Spain and the UK cant move on. Whilst all countries around the world are still experiencing infections businesses are still suffering whilst recessions are at the forefront of minds in many quarters and appear to be adding to citizens frustrations across Europe. https://www.euroweeklynews.com/2020/08/13/expats-on-spains-costa-del-sol-vent-their-frustrations-saying-we-need-to-move-on-from-coronavirus/ 13th Aug 2020

Partisan Exits

Daily Mail Trump acknowledged Atlas at a White House event on opening schools. Said Atlas would talk at coronavirus task force meeting later Wednesday. He has advocated for herd immunity. Spoke of the harms of keeping children away from school Argued in April against mass isolation measures. Previously warned against hysteria of school closings https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8621005/Donald-Trump-turns-mic-new-coronavirus-task-force-member-Dr-Scott-Atlas.html 13th Aug 2020

Partisan Exits

The Epoch Times Amid thirdwave CCP virus outbreaks in Chinas northwestern region of Xinjiang and northeastern city of Dalian authorities enacted strict quarantine rules with some residents being harshly punished for breaking regulations. Some who spoke to The Epoch Times criticized authorities for their draconian measures. https://m.theepochtimes.com/chinese-citizens-decry-extreme-lockdown-measures-in-latest-virus-epicenters_3459476.html 13th Aug 2020

Partisan Exits

New Zealand Herald Traffic came to a halt in Whangrei this morning as protesters took to the streets to oppose the Governments Covid19 social restrictions. About 60 people gathered at the Whangrei police station after people from two groups FACTS NZ and Kotahitanga Movement Aotearoa held separate marches walking from Forum North to the police station where both groups held a krero referencing how the Governments alert level system among other things violated their rights. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&ampobjectid=12356284 13th Aug 2020

Partisan Exits

Medical Xpress The Brazilian state of Parana signed a deal Wednesday to test and produce Russias new coronavirus vaccine though officials stressed they would have to be sure of its safety and effectiveness first. The vaccine would have to receive Brazilian regulatory approval and complete Phase 3 clinical trials or largescale testing in humans before being produced in Brazil said officials from the southern state. Production if it goes ahead would likely only start in the second half of 2021 said Jorge Callado head of the staterun Parana Technology Institute which signed the deal with the Russian Direct Investment Fund RDIF. This is a very objective memorandum of understanding on technological exchange. It does not impose obligations it simply enables us to work together he told a virtual news conference. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-08-brazil-state-russian-vaccine.html 13th Aug 2020

Continued Lockdown

The Guardian The coronavirus pandemic has had a catastrophic effect on the nutritional health of the UKs poorest citizens with as many as one in 10 forced to use food banks and vast numbers skipping meals and going hungry according to the governments food safety watchdog. Food insecurity has shot up even further since lockdown as peoples income reduced the Food Standards Agency FSA said heightening the risk both of malnutrition and obesity as struggling families adopted highly restrictive basic sustenance diets that largely cut out healthy foods. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/aug/12/coronavirus-lockdown-hits-nutritional-health-of-uks-poorest 13th Aug 2020

Continued Lockdown

Financial Times The UK can now claim the dubious distinction of having suffered one of the highest death tolls from coronavirus in Europe and also one of the deepest recessions. The second quarters 20.4 per cent fall in gross domestic product shown in official data on Wednesday was the biggest drop in output in any main European economy over the period. Although a recovery from Aprils low point picked up speed in June output remains 22.1 per cent below its level at the end of 2019. This makes it the sharpest recession in the G7 and second only to Spain among European peers over the first half of the year a period that captures national lockdowns that began earlier in some countries. https://www.ft.com/content/1573a53a-8fcf-43d9-a920-2095da93751f 13th Aug 2020

Continued Lockdown

India.com The top cops comments came days after a house party organised at a villa in the coastal village of Arpora turned into a streetside brawl after youngsters attending the event got embroiled in a brawl with a local gang. https://www.india.com/news/india/goa-lockdown-news-police-to-crackdown-on-night-parties-amid-pandemic-as-section-144-continues-to-be-imposed-in-state-4109881/ 13th Aug 2020

Continued Lockdown

BBC Dr Rahul Nagar a Delhibased dermatologist says theres always been a very clear division of labour in his home. His wife also a doctor did the cooking and was the primary carer for their child. Like most middleclass Indians they employed a parttime help who did the cleaning and dishes while Dr Nagar did little bits and pieces. But then came the pandemic and as Covid19 cases began to rise India went into a strict lockdown and their domestic helper was unable to come to work. Prelockdown for every five hours of work my wife did I did one hour. But this pandemic has been a bolt from the blue says Dr Nagar. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-53750633 13th Aug 2020

Continued Lockdown

Sky News Australia Hundreds of Australians are at great risk of cancer and other serious illnesses because fear of COVID19 and the current lockdowns has been keeping people from seeking medical help. Chief Medical Officer at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre David Speakman said there would likely be a wave of diagnosis from cancer and a whole lot of other medical conditions that have been missed or not attended to because of the COVID19 pandemic. Cancer Council Australia reported a 40 per cent drop off in cancer referrals than was usual at this time of year. Mr Speakman told Sky News host Chris Kenny people had been ignoring symptoms and choosing not to see a doctor for fear of contracting the killer virus. https://www.skynews.com.au/details/_6180706474001 13th Aug 2020

Continued Lockdown

Reuters UK The Portuguese capital and its surrounds will remain under tougher anticoronavirus restrictions than the rest of the country until at least the end of August the government said on Thursday. Portugal has reported 53223 infections and 1764 deaths from the coronavirus much lower than many other European countries including neighbouring Spain where more than 28500 have died. But although the sunny southern European nation initially won praise for its quick response to the pandemic a steady count of several hundred new cases per day in and around Lisbon in June and July after the end of a nationwide lockdown prompted authorities to reimpose some curbs. Even as the number of infections in Lisbon has fallen again the government wants to take it slow especially when some of Europes top soccer teams are in the city for a special Final Eight UEFA Champions League minitournament. https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-portugal/portugal-keeps-lisbon-under-stricter-covid-curbs-until-end-august-idUKKCN25923L 13th Aug 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters UK The Canary Islands became Spains second region to all but ban smoking in the streets on Thursday as part of measures to stop a resurgence of coronavirus infections and other regions considered a similar ban. Smoking will be banned when people cannot maintain a 2metre 6.5foot distance between each other on the islands which are popular with tourists. Authorities also imposed new restrictions including the use of masks in public at all times a limit of 10 people in gatherings and restrictions on nightclub capacity. The last few days point to an increase in positive cases ... We will increase checks to make sure people follow the rules because otherwise it will be our health and economy paying the price regional leader Angel Victor Torres said. https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-spain-smoking/spains-canary-islands-curb-smoking-amid-covid-19-worries-idUKKCN2592YV 14th Aug 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

ABC7 San Francisco ABC7 spoke exclusively with the Food and Drug Administrations former Chief Scientist Dr. Jesse Goodman to weigh the strengths and weaknesses of the process. One thing I always say is expect the unexpected. When youre starting something new in vaccine development. Things occur said Dr. Goodman an infectious disease physician and professor at Georgetown University. Goodman led the FDAs response to the H1N1 flu pandemic in 2009. This is a bigger challenge than we had in 2009 because we could build on proven vaccines Goodman said. We had pretty high confidence in manufacturing quality and in their safety and performance. To put in perspective it took eight years for an effective Ebola vaccine. It took six months for a safe H1N1 vaccine made possible with decades of prior research on influenza. https://abc7news.com/coronavirus-vaccine-is-their-a-for-the-covid-19-building-better-bay-area/6367740/ 13th Aug 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

YAHOO! Israels largest hospital says it has developed a coronavirus test which takes less than a second to deliver a result. Patients rinse their mouth with saline wash and spit into a vial. It is then examined by a device which shines light and analyses the reaction of the sample. An algorithm then determines whether the reaction is consistent with COVID19. The team at the Sheba Medical Centre near Tel Aviv said hundreds of patients were tested in an initial clinical trial. And the new technique had a 95 per cent success rate. Eli Schwartz is from the Centre for Geographic Medicine and Tropical Diseases at the center. https://uk.news.yahoo.com/israel-develops-fast-saliva-test-155131827.html 13th Aug 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

Daily Mail Professor Alexander Chucalin resigned from the health ministrys ethics council It appears Chucalin sought and failed to block its registration on safety grounds He accused two leading medics involved in the drug of flouting medical ethics https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8622761/Russias-doctor-quits-gross-violations-ethics-rushed-Covid-19-vaccine.html 13th Aug 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters Novavax Inc said on Thursday South Koreas SK bioscience would manufacture a component of the U.S. drug developers experimental coronavirus vaccine in a bid to boost its supply. Shares of Marylandbased Novavax rose nearly 7 in morning trade. Novavax has received 2 billion in funding so far for its coronavirus vaccine including 384 million from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations CEPI. As part of that deal Novavax has committed to supply its vaccine to COVAX a scheme that aims to provide equitable access to COVID19 vaccines across the globe. The deal with SK bioscience would help it increase the supply to meet those commitments Novavax said. https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-novavax/novavax-ties-up-with-sk-bioscience-to-boost-supply-of-potential-covid-19-vaccine-idUKKCN2591UZ 13th Aug 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

The Financial Times The Philippines has said it will launch clinical trials of Russias Covid19 vaccine after the country endorsed the contentious jab as President Rodrigo Duterte vowed to be one of the first injected with it. Mr Dutertes spokesman said on Thursday that trials would begin in October and if they were successful the Sputnik V vaccine would be registered for public use by April 2021. The president would be administered with the vaccine by May 1 at the earliest said spokesman Harry Roque confirming the Philippine leaders vow earlier this week that he would be the first to be injected on. Its not a metaphorical statement said Mr Roque in an online briefing with journalists. He is willing to undergo it. https://www.ft.com/content/1c48d1d4-5480-4d5f-84a3-c0c8017a4f49 13th Aug 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

Sky News More than three million people in England have already been infected with coronavirus a new study suggests. A major testing programme led by Imperial College London found that just under 6 of Englands population an estimated 3.4 million people had antibodies to COVID19 and were likely to have previously had the virus prior to the end of June. This is more than 12 times the number of cases shown by the governments official figures which state a total of 270971 people in England had a positive coronavirus test confirmed by a laboratory as of 4pm on Wednesday. https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-more-than-three-million-people-in-england-have-had-covid-19-antibody-study-suggests-12048413 13th Aug 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

ABC News Acclaimed composer Andrew Lloyd Webber like many in the entertainment industry is looking forward to the day when theaters can reopen safely. He has made it known that he will do anything to save live theater. The Tony winner announced Wednesday hes volunteered to help in the development of a COVID19 vaccine. Webber 72 will officially join the vaccine trial helmed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca on Thursday which has reportedly shown promising results. https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Culture/andrew-lloyd-webber-announces-hell-experimental-covid-19/story?id=72347692 13th Aug 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

Nature.com More than three months of lockdowns have prevented many people from accessing treatments for nonCOVID infectious diseases at the same time new cases of these illnesses will have gone undetected. Although lockdowns are easing it will take some time for health care to get back to normal as authorities continue to prioritize COVID19. Taken together this is resulting in a surge of cases. Thats why there needs to be a step change in funding for AIDS malaria and TB prevention treatment and research and greater public awareness of the rising threat posed by infectious diseases. And researchers particularly epidemiologists must continue to refine the models that are alerting the world to this approaching catastrophe. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02334-0 13th Aug 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

Sky News Teenagers and young adults who vape may be up to seven times more likely to catch coronavirus a study has found. Researchers who surveyed 4351 Americans aged 1324 years in May found those who had used both ecigarettes and cigarettes were seven times more likely to be diagnosed with COVID19. Those who had used both cigarettes and ecigarettes in the previous 30 days were 4.7 times more likely to experience symptoms of the illness compared with those who never smoked or vaped. Among people tested for coronavirus those who used just ecigarettes were five times more likely to test positive for the disease. https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-vaping-teens-and-young-adults-up-to-seven-times-more-likely-to-contract-covid-19-study-finds-12048061 13th Aug 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

Metro.co.uk The coronavirus outbreak appears to have been widely dispersed across the UK earlier than previously thought one of the scientists leading a study into the prevalence of the virus has claimed. Helen Ward from Imperial College London said Covid19 was spread out across the country in January and February despite officials only catching the first case in late January. Speaking on BBC Breakfast on Thursday morning the British physician said What was interesting about the study is that we can tell from people who reported not only having a positive test but we also asked about their symptoms so we can actually track for most people the 70 of people who reported symptoms when they think they were infected. https://metro.co.uk/2020/08/13/coronavirus-widespread-across-uk-earlier-previously-thought-13122136/ 13th Aug 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

Digital Health Englands new look NHS contacttracing app is set to begin public trials today after months of setbacks. The app will be based on Apple and Googles decentralised model. NHSX has been working with the tech giants to develop a new version of the app after abandoning its original model in June. Both versions of the app used Bluetooth to track time and distance between smartphone devices but Apple and Googles version was hailed as more privacycentric as it only sends alerts between devices when Covid19 is detected rather than large quantities of data being stored on a central database. The trial beginning on August 13 will again involve the Isle of Wight as well as NHS volunteer respondents in the UK. Then from next week residents in the London borough of Newham will start trialing the app. https://www.digitalhealth.net/2020/08/covid-19-new-trial-nhs-contact-tracing-app/ 13th Aug 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

Agenzia ANSA Agostino Miozzo the coordinator of the CTS panel of experts advising the government on the coronavirus emergency on Thursday warned that local lockdowns may become inevitable if the situation gets out of hand. Italy has seen an increase in COVID19 contagion in recent weeks with the number of new cases registered each day going from around 200300 to 400500. Miozzo said the danger exists because there is always a party to dance at a barbecue to have or a funeral to hold. 400 cases a day are neither many nor few he added. It tells us that the virus is here and it is present all over the country. We still have a manageable situation. But it is a precarious situation and the quantum leap can be very fast and that is the real risk. He also said that Italys night clubs and discos must stay closed. Mass gatherings are devastating impossible to manage he said. Miozzo also stressed on the other hand that another national lockdown was decidedly improbable. https://www.ansa.it/english/news/general_news/2020/08/13/covid-panel-expert-says-local-lockdowns-may-be-needed_1497e693-13a4-4fd0-a1d7-218fca6d90ab.html 13th Aug 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

Medical Xpress Since then there has been an increase in COVID19 cases following the lowest recorded estimate in June as well as spikes in transmission in certain areas. In response rather than locking down the whole country again the government has brought in local lockdowns in affected areas. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-08-local-lockdowns-successfulhere.html 13th Aug 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

The Hill on MSN.com Russia recently announced that it has developed an effective vaccine against the COVID19 virus despite less than two months of testing on humans. A billion doses of the evocatively Cold Warnamed Sputnik V Russian officials claim will be available worldwide by early 2021 at the latest. Given that safe and successful vaccines are often a decade in the making what did the Russians do to score this victory Simple they truncated and skipped the usual trials that preface the release of any new pharmaceutical and that help ensures its safety. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/russias-fast-track-vaccine-is-a-lesson-in-ethics-human-exploitation/ar-BB17VpCu 13th Aug 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

CNBC Russia has rebuffed international criticism and skepticism surrounding its coronavirus vaccine saying that its safe and that it works. Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko reportedly said Wednesday that allegations that the vaccine was unsafe were groundless and driven by competition while Kirill Dmitriev the chief executive of Russias sovereign wealth fund RDIF which is backing the vaccine said U.S. criticism of the vaccine showed bias. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/11/coronavirus-live-updates.html 13th Aug 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

New Scientist News A staggering 115 million children in India are at risk of malnutrition as the worlds largest school lunch programme has been disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. When India went under a strict lockdown on 24 March to reduce the spread of the virus 12yearold Kavis life changed. His mother a roadside tailor was no longer able to work and his father doesnt have a job due to health problems. With schools closed Kavi began selling fruit and vegetables from a sparsely stocked cart. The cart is now their primary source of income but isnt enough for a family of four. Some days we just eat rice or chapati with salt says Kavi. Before lockdown Kavi was guaranteed a nutritious meal of rice lentils and vegetables under Indias staterun school lunch programme. As many as 115 million children between the ages of 6 and 14 were dependent on these school lunches for their daily dietary requirements which aimed to address Indias chronic malnutrition problem. Of the 1 million deaths of children under 5 in India in 2017 around 700000 were attributed to malnutrition. https://www.newscientist.com/article/2251523-covid-19-lockdown-means-115-million-indian-children-risk-malnutrition/ 13th Aug 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

STAT News In response to the rising Covid19 death toll and case counts in the U.S. calls for a national lockdown have been escalating. In an open letter to Americas decisionmakers more than 150 medical professionals urge them to shut it down now and start over. In the letter they argue that people should stay home going out only to get food and medicine or to exercise and get fresh air. I empathize with the urgency in their plea for people to stay home. I felt helpless watching patient after patient die from Covid19 while working in a New York hospital in April. In the Northern California Covid19 clinic I work in I continue to see patients infected with and harmed by the virus. I too am desperate for this pandemic to end. https://www.statnews.com/2020/08/13/teach-people-to-socialize-safely-during-time-of-coronavirus/ 13th Aug 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

The Lancet In Wuhan there were an estimated 1386 95 CrI 4203793 symptomatic cases over 30 of COVID19 between December 30 2019 and January 12 2020. In Seattle we estimate that 2268 95 CrI 498 6069 children under 18 and 4367 95 CrI 2776 6526 adults were symptomatically infected between February 24 and March 9 2020. We also find that the initial pandemic wave in Wuhan likely originated with a single infected case who developed symptoms sometime between October 26 and December 13 2019 in Seattle the seeding likely occurred between December 25 2019 and January 15 2020. The spread of COVID19 in Wuhan and Seattle was far more extensive than initially reported. The virus likely spread for months in Wuhan before the lockdown. Given that COVID19 appears to be overwhelmingly mild in children our high estimate for symptomatic pediatric cases in Seattle suggests that there may have been thousands more mild cases at the time. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(20)30223-6/fulltext 13th Aug 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

RNZ As health officials race to track the the origins of the community outbreak of Covid19 as the cluster hits 17 cases disease modeller Shaun Hendy says a lockdown extension is likely. Since four members of the same Auckland family tested positive a student at Mount Albert Grammar is confirmed to have the coronavirus as well as three workers from a cool store a finance company worker and one of their family members. There are also seven family members of already infected people. The Director General of Health says all the new positive cases will be moved to managed quarantine facilities. And all staff working at the borders including our ports and managed isolation facilities are in the process of being tested. Prior to this latest outbreak physics professor and disease modeller Shaun Hendy was calling for all those front line workers to be routinely tested once a week. Everything is still linked to the cold store facility and thats good news in some ways because we havent seen other clusters out there in the community. https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2018759382/covid-19-lockdown-extension-likely-disease-modelling-expert 13th Aug 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters UK The European Commission said on Thursday it had concluded preliminary talks with U.S. pharmaceutical company Johnson Johnson for an advance purchase deal of a potential COVID19 vaccine the company is developing. The EU executive arm said this could pave the way for the signing of a contract that would allow EU countries to buy the vaccines or donate to developing countries. https://uk.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-eu-johnsonjohnson/eu-wraps-up-talks-with-johnson-johnson-to-buy-potential-covid-19-vaccine-idUKL8N2FF6SY 13th Aug 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters The World Health Organization said on Thursday it saw no evidence of coronavirus being spread by food or packaging and urged people not to be afraid of the virus entering the food chain. Two cities in China said they had found traces of the coronavirus in imported frozen chicken wings from Brazil and on outer packaging of frozen Ecuadorian shrimp raising fears that contaminated food shipments might cause a new outbreak. People should not fear food or food packaging or processing or delivery of food WHO head of emergencies programme Mike Ryan told a briefing in Geneva. There is no evidence that food or the food chain is participating in transmission of this virus. And people should feel comfortable and safe. WHO epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkhove said China had tested hundreds of thousands of packages and found very very few less than 10 proving positive for the virus. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-who/people-should-not-fear-spread-of-covid-19-in-food-packaging-who-idUSKCN2592D5 13th Aug 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters Production of 400 million doses of a COVID19 vaccine for Latin America could begin early next year an executive for pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca Plc AZN.L said on Thursday as the regions coronavirus death toll stands at nearly 230000. In partnership with the Mexican and Argentinean governments AstraZeneca plans to initially produce 150 million doses and eventually make at least 400 million for distribution throughout the region said Sylvia Varela head of AstraZeneca Mexico. Home to some 650 million people Latin America has registered the worlds highest tallies for coronavirus cases and deaths with Brazil and Mexico trailing only the United States in record numbers of fatalities. Well be prioritizing the vulnerable populations Varela said at the Mexican presidents daily news conference noting that the pricing while still not final was not expected to exceed 4 per dose. That could bring the cost of the first 150 million doses to 600 million. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-latam-vaccine/astrazeneca-set-to-start-making-400-million-covid-19-vaccines-for-latam-early-in-2021-idUSKCN2591Y1 13th Aug 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

The Jakarta Post Seven African countries will start administering coronavirus antibody tests from next week a regional body said on Thursday as part of efforts to understand the extent of the outbreak on the continent. Liberia Sierra Leone Zambia Zimbabwe Cameroon Nigeria Morocco are the first set of countries that committed to it said John Nkengasong head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention based in Addis Ababa. Western governments are using antibody tests to find out how many of their citizens have been infected in the hope that will help them reopen their economies. https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/08/14/seven-african-countries-to-start-testing-for-covid-19-antibodies.html 13th Aug 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

Bloomberg As chief executive officer of the Serum Institute of India the largest manufacturer of vaccines in the world Adar Poonawalla can produce about 1.5 billion doses a year of almost any inoculation. He has machines that fill 500 glass vials every minute and gleaming steel bioreactors almost two stories high that can make more than 10 million shots a month. He can claim credibly that he helps inoculate 65 of the worlds children in more than 100 countries against diseases such as measles and tuberculosis. And deep inside Serums lushly landscaped 50acre campus about three hours inland from Mumbai hes already brewing the raw materials to make one of the leading experimental vaccines for the novel coronavirus at a scale that could make a serious difference to ending the pandemic. https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2020-covid-vaccine-serum-india/ 13th Aug 2020

Coronavirus Resurgence

Aberdeen Evening Express The First Minister said clusters have emerged in Glasgow and Orkney in addition to the one in Aberdeen which led to a local lockdown. A household cluster in Peterhead is also being investigated and has led to the closure of a primary school. Ms Sturgeon told the Scottish Governments regular coronavirus briefing that provisional figures indicate the upper estimate for the R number the average number of people infected by each person with Covid19 last week could have been as high as 1.3. She added When the prevalence across the country is low the R number will be disproportionately affected by outbreaks on the scale of the one in Aberdeen. https://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/news/scotland/covid-19-clusters-are-inevitable-and-no-cause-for-undue-alarm-sturgeon/ 13th Aug 2020

Coronavirus Resurgence

The Guardian As surging Covid19 cases across Latin America leave cemeteries and funeral homes struggling to keep pace engineers in Bolivia have come up with a solution as pragmatic as it is macabre a mobile crematorium. The fivemetre by twoandhalfmetre oven is small enough to fit on to a trailer and is powered by locally produced liquefied petroleum gas making it a cheap option for families who cannot afford a funeral service. Three canisters of LPG can cremate a body in 30 to 40 minutes said the mobile crematorys inventor Carlos Ayo an environmental engineer who says he designed the device to help his country in a time of crisis. We wanted to help in this pandemic and one possibility was showing others how to make a crematory oven said Ayo in a telephone interview. Then we asked ourselves wouldnt it be better if it could be mobile to move it from one place to another Ayo said he had received orders from several local councils in Bolivia where authorities are struggling to deal with the rising death toll. Crematoriums are only found in the countrys main cities and even then many Bolivians cannot afford the fees. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/13/bolivia-covid-19-coronavirus-deaths-mobile-crematorium 13th Aug 2020

Coronavirus Resurgence

The Wall Street Journal Italy on Thursday became the latest country to introduce mandatory coronavirus testing on travelers from European countries with rising infections. Most European countries now advise their citizens against going to Spain or to avoid coronavirus hot spots within the country in response to a marked increase in infections there. Governments across the continent are again requiring visitors from a growing list of countries to selfquarantine. Seamless travel within the continent is one of the cornerstones of the European Union and restoring it while preventing a second wave of infections has been a priority for governments. International travel within the continent has gradually resumed after lockdowns were lifted in June with virus infections at a low point. https://www.wsj.com/articles/rising-coronavirus-infections-restrict-european-holidaymakers-11597326586 13th Aug 2020

Coronavirus Resurgence

The Times The government is expected to delay a decision over whether to introduce quarantine measures for people returning from France despite a surge in the number of infections. France has recorded 2524 new coronavirus cases the highest number since it went into lockdown and a big increase on the 1397 announced on Tuesday. Jean Castex the French prime minister has said that coronavirus in France is going the wrong way. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/quarantine-fears-as-coronavirus-cases-surge-in-france-ppsnjdsx5 13th Aug 2020

Coronavirus Resurgence

CNN Europe is giving the world a glimpse at what happens when the coronavirus epidemic is brought under control and the economy reopens the virus bounces back. Spain France Greece and Germany are among the countries that have seen worrying spikes in new Covid19 cases in recent weeks a consequence of going back to sort of normal after months of lockdowns. While the continents first outbreak in the spring hit the elderly spreading in care homes and hospitals these new infection clusters seem to be tied to younger people who are venturing out into bars restaurants and other public places. There is a true resurgence in cases in several countries as a result of physical distancing measures being relaxed the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control ECDC said in a statement on Monday. https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/13/europe/coronavirus-europe-young-people-cases-spiking-intl/index.html 13th Aug 2020

Coronavirus Resurgence

FRANCE 24 English Spains hospitals are beginning to see another surge in patients with the health ministry reporting this week that 805 people had been hospitalised over the past seven days as experts search for reasons why Spain is struggling more than its European neighbors. Not two months after battling back the coronavirus Spains hospitals are beginning to see patients struggling to breathe returning to their wards. The coronavirus devastated the country in March and April with the daily death toll reaching more than 900 fatalities a few months ago. While an enhanced testing effort is revealing that a majority of the infected are asymptomatic and younger making them less likely to need medical treatment concern is increasing as hospitals begin to see more patients. https://www.france24.com/en/20200813-two-months-after-taming-infections-with-lockdown-spain-faces-new-covid-19-surge 13th Aug 2020

Coronavirus Resurgence

BBC Germany has recorded its biggest daily increase in coronavirus cases in more than three months as European countries struggle to curb a surge in infections. More than 1200 cases were reported in Germany in the past 24 hours. Officials said the rise was due in part to people returning from holidays. It came as Germany warned against nonessential trips to parts of Spain. Meanwhile France had 2524 new cases in 24 hours the highest daily rise since its lockdown was lifted in May. The German foreign ministry said it had added a partial travel warning to the Spanish capital Madrid and the Basque region on Tuesday amid rising infections there. Warnings were already in place for the regions of Aragon Catalonia and Navarra. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-53747852 13th Aug 2020

Coronavirus Resurgence

The Times Australia was set to record its lowest singleday rise in infections in more than three weeks today raising hopes that a second wave of cases in the state of Victoria is finally being brought under control. Victoria reported 278 new infections in the past 24 hours down from 410 a day earlier. New South Wales Australias most populous state also reported 12 new cases while Queensland announced that it had found no new cases. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/coronavirus-australia-suffers-deadliest-day-during-pandemic-tcp2z3rr2 13th Aug 2020

Coronavirus Resurgence

BNNBloomberg New Zealand recorded 13 new local cases of the coronavirus on Thursday and said it will transfer anyone infected into quarantine facilities as the government attempts to stamp out the nations first outbreak in more than three months. The cluster of infections in the largest city of Auckland now stands at 17 people and the government will decide tomorrow whether to extend a threeday lockdown there. Health DirectorGeneral Ashley Bloomfield told reporters in Wellington that he expects the number of infections to grow and the mandatory quarantine would help stop the spread of the virus through households. After eradicating community transmission New Zealands 102day COVIDfree run ended this week when four new cases were detected in an Auckland household from a yettobe determined source. Officials are heeding lessons from countries such as Japan and Australia where a reliance on selfisolation at home has failed to prevent a rapid spread of the infection. Nations such as South Korea have had better success by isolating cases outside of their homes. New Zealand now has 36 active cases which includes 19 people who tested positive during the 14day quarantine thats mandatory for anyone returning to the country from overseas. https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/new-zealand-reports-13-new-community-virus-cases-amid-outbreak-1.1479308 13th Aug 2020

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters New Zealand was scrambling to trace the source of its first coronavirus outbreak in more than three months reporting 13 new community infections on Thursday after Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern had sought to eradicate the virus with a hard lockdown. The resurgence of COVID19 comes just weeks before a scheduled general election increasing pressure on Ardern to get the outbreak under control amid growing criticism. Ardern swiftly reimposed tight movement restrictions in Auckland and social distancing measures across the rest of the country after the discovery this week of four infected family members in the city. Once again we are reminded of how tricky this virus is and how easily it can spread she said during a televised news conference on Thursday. Going hard and early is still the best course of action. https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-newzealand/new-zealand-scrambles-to-trace-cluster-reporting-14-new-virus-cases-idUKKCN259044 13th Aug 2020

Coronavirus Resurgence

Daily Mail New Zealands deputy prime minister has theory about coronavirus outbreak. He believes the virus was a breach inside our quarantine system. Prime Minister Jacinda Arderns office said no connection has been made yet https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8623297/New-Zealands-deputy-PM-claims-coronavirus-outbreak-started-quarantine-breach.html 13th Aug 2020

Coronavirus Resurgence

The Independent New Zealand has reported 14 new cases of Covid19 two days after the countrys first four domestic cases in more than three months. All but one of the new cases were found in Auckland one day after New Zealands largest city was placed under a threeday lockdown. The 13 Auckland cases are all linked to the four family members who were the countrys first domestic cases in 102 days the Ministry of Health said. Health officials are working to determine how the four family members were infected. Particular attention has been paid to the workplace of one member employed by international coldstorage and transportation firm Americold which operates two facilities in Auckland where officials suspect the virus may have spread from imported freight. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/australasia/coronavirus-new-zealand-new-cases-auckland-lockdown-jacinda-ardern-a9667966.html 13th Aug 2020

Coronavirus Resurgence

Stuff.co.nz Tracing cases upstream might be the key to limiting the Covid19 lockdown and containing other outbreaks before they spread one expert says. An additional 13 cases have been linked to Aucklands index case identified on Tuesday. The outbreak has been officially classified as a cluster and mass testing is underway across Auckland and the country to contain further spread. However cluster busting might be easier than trying to find new cases and clusters through mass testing which usually relies on contacts developing symptoms and proactively seeking tests. Professor Shaun Hendy the director of Te Pnaha Matatini told Stuff cluster busting is an effective approach thats arguably more important than downstream tracing or finding other cases in the cluster. https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/122443097/coronavirus-rapid-cluster-busting-to-find-covid19-outbreak-source-could-nip-other-clusters-in-the-bud 13th Aug 2020

Coronavirus Resurgence

BBC New Zealand has reported 14 new Covid19 cases a day after its biggest city Auckland went back into lockdown. The detection of four new infected family members earlier this week shocked a country that had recorded no locally transmitted cases for more than three months. Of the new cases 13 have been linked back to this family while one is an overseas arrival who was in quarantine. A threeday lockdown was imposed in Auckland on Wednesday. We can see the seriousness of the situation we are in Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said in a news conference. Its being dealt with in an urgent but calm and methodical way. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-53761122 13th Aug 2020

Coronavirus Resurgence

La Repubblica The nine new cases were detected in the hours following the daily public health bulletin to the Calabria Region and its subsequent publication through official channels. Faced with this increase which also involves affected health workers among others the press release continues it was decided to ramp up and intensify the Covid19 safety measures the hospital has already adopted. https://www.repubblica.it/cronaca/2020/08/13/news/coronavirus_nove_casi_all_ospedale_di_reggio_calabria_ci_sono_anche_sanitari-264608308/?rss&ampref=twhr 13th Aug 2020

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters UK The Philippines health ministry on Thursday reported 4002 more novel coronavirus infections and 23 additional deaths in the country. In a bulletin the ministry said total number of confirmed cases in the Philippines had risen to 147526 the highest in Southeast Asia while confirmed deaths had reached 2426. The Philippines plans to launch clinical trials for a Russian coronavirus vaccine in October after Russia became the first country to grant regulatory approval for a COVID19 vaccine drawing safety concerns over the frantic pace of its development. https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-philippines-cases/philippines-reports-4002-more-coronavirus-infections-23-deaths-idUKKCN25912X 13th Aug 2020

New Lockdown

9News Several New Zealand nationals recently deported from Australia have ended up homeless after completing their 14 days in managed isolation the Auckland City Mission says. Colloquially known as 501s the group was deported after serving sentences across the Tasman and were housed in an enhanced security isolation facility in Auckland. But when their quarantine came to an end some of them didnt have anywhere to go. Auckland City Missioner Chris Farrelly said several 501s had turned up at the Mission in recent weeks. They are among a number of people who have arrived in the city with nowhere to stay and whom the Mission is trying to find homes for during Aucklands alert level 3 coronavirus lockdown. Farrelly said many people had also been housed during the previous lockdown but some had left their accommodation since then. https://www.9news.com.au/national/coronavirus-new-zealand-auckland-outbreaks-lockdown-residents-deported-australia-stranded-homeless-covid19/2e239b28-443b-45ee-927c-9a12679636b5 12th Aug 2020

New Lockdown

CNN CNNs Richard Quest spoke with Andy Foster the mayor of New Zealands capital Wellington about the countrys response to the coronavirus as New Zealand reported 14 new coronavirus cases and imposed a lockdown in the city of Auckland. https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2020/08/13/new-zealand-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic-cases-quest-intl-ldn-vpx.cnn 12th Aug 2020

New Lockdown

Newstalk ZB Over the last couple of weeks many Kiwis have looked across the Tasman at Victoria with the thought of that would never happen to us. But as we begin our second wave should we be taking advice from the situation in Australia Epidemiologist at Melbourne University Tony Blakely told Mike Hosking the compulsory wearing of masks in Victoria has worked. Studies have shown up to a 85 reduction by wearing masks. The numbers have started to some down fast since wearing masks theres very strong evidence they work. They really are a no brainier. https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/mike-hosking-breakfast/audio/tony-blakely-can-new-zealand-learn-anything-from-australias-lockdown/ 12th Aug 2020

New Lockdown

Financial Times The sight of dozens of customers at the village pub just a couple of miles outside the spa town of Ilkley perfectly illustrated the UK governments attempts to curb coronavirus while keeping the economy open. This area of West Yorkshire is part of a large zone across northern England where almost two weeks ago 4.5m people were told lockdown rules were being imposed to contain localised outbreaks of the virus. The rules state that separate households can be fined 100 for mixing in each others homes and gardens. The combination of this ban on home entertaining and a government subsidy across England on meals out designed to give the struggling hospitality sector a boost in August has enticed crowds into temporary marquees in the car park of the Swan. Amy Sayers the Swans landlady praised the governments efforts to balance measures to contain the virus with the need to keep the economy functioning. But some of her customers were not convinced. It makes no sense said Fiona Mann a local businesswoman having a drink with a friend. I can come to the pub and meet someone but I cant have them in my garden. https://www.ft.com/content/849a2ae5-7c36-46da-9da9-b67ec2975e7c 12th Aug 2020