Another Covid surge likely within the next year, warns Chris Whitty March 9, 2021 All current modelling suggests another wave of coronavirus is likely within the next year despite the speed of the vaccine rollout, Professor Chris Whitty has warned MPs. England’s chief medical officer said that even under the most optimistic set of assumptions a further 30,000 people will likely die from Covid-19. Speaking at the Commons’ Science and Technology [...]
Covid court backlogs leave victims waiting years for justice, watchdog warns March 9, 2021 Court dates pushed back to 2023 are having “major consequences for victims and witnesses”, a prosecution watchdog has found, as backlogs due the pandemic continue. Delays exacerbated by restrictions have impacted people’s ability to recall events and could lead to less people willing to provide evidence, sparking concern over a “major risk for public confidence”, [...]
Pfizer vaccine ‘neutralises’ Brazil Covid variant, study finds March 9, 2021 The Pfizer/Biontech coronavirus vaccine is able to combat a new variant of Covid-19 first identified in Brazil, according to a new study. Scientists tested blood samples from patients who had received the Pfizer jab and found it was effective in neutralising a laboratory-made version of the virus similar to the Brazil variant. The research, published in the [...]
DFS Furniture enjoys lockdown cushion as online sales soar March 9, 2021 DFS Furniture’s revenue soared to £572.6m in the final six months of last year as consumer demand for new home furnishings jumped in lockdown. Revenue increased 17.3 per cent compared to 2019, despite the closure of non-essential retail during Covid lockdowns, boosted by a 66.2 per cent surge in online sales. Shares in the furniture [...]
Matt Hancock: Vaccines are breaking the ‘unbreakable link’ between Covid cases and deaths March 5, 2021 The “unbreakable link” from Covid cases to hospitalisations and deaths is now being broken as Britain begins to emerge from the grips of the pandemic, the health secretary has said. Latest official data showed infections have fallen 34 per cent over the past week, as the UK makes rapid progress with the vaccine rollout. Speaking [...]
Covid: UK R rate rises despite lockdown measures March 5, 2021 The UK’s R rate has crept up slightly, despite Covid cases falling to their lowest level since September amid nationwide lockdown measures, according to the latest official figures. The rate of reproduction of coronavirus now stands at 0.7 to 0.9, meaning every 10 people infected will likely infect between 7 and 9 other people. The [...]
Cyprus to allow vaccinated Brits in from May March 5, 2021 Cyprus said vaccinated British tourists will be allowed into the country from the start of May. However, international travel from the UK is currently banned until 17 May. The Cypriot government said yesterday they had told officials in Westminster that from May 1 tourists who have had two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine would not [...]
Italy blocks Astrazeneca shipment to Australia as vaccine shortage row escalates March 4, 2021 The Italian government has blocked the export of an Astrazeneca vaccine shipment to Australia as a row over EU shortages continues to escalate. Astrazeneca had requested permission from the Italian government to export around 250,000 vaccine doses made at its Anagni plant near Rome to Australia. However, Italian authorities blocked the request after the British-Swedish [...]
Matt Hancock urges ‘vigilance’ as decline in Covid infections starts to slow March 4, 2021 The health secretary has urged people to “remain vigilant” as the decline in coronavirus cases has slowed down across parts of the country and in some regions reversed, latest figures showed. Imperial College London’s latest React study found the prevalence of Covid across England slumped by two-thirds between 22 January and 13 February. However, the [...]
Surge testing rolled out in more London boroughs over new South Africa Covid cases March 2, 2021 The London boroughs of Barnet and Merton have become the latest regions in the capital to receive surge testing, after officials identified new cases of the South Africa Covid variant. Residents in the N2 and NW4 regions of Barnet, as well as the Wimbledon Park area in Merton, are strongly encouraged to take a Covid-19 [...]