Join Hafta-Ichi to Research the article “Coronavirus live news: England winter lockdown delays ’caused thousands of deaths’; Brazil daily cases top 90,000 | World news”
07:01
That’s it from me, Helen Sullivan, from Australia – where we may have almost no coronavirus, but we sure as Sheila have a mouse plague:
Mouse plague runs rampant in eastern Australia – video
06:52
Summary
Here are the key developments from the last few hours:
Delaying England’s winter lockdown ‘caused up to 27,000 extra Covid deaths’. Delaying the winter lockdown caused up to 27,000 extra deaths in England, the Resolution Foundation thinktank has claimed as it accused the government of a “huge mistake” which should be central to any public inquiry into the UK’s handling of the pandemic.
EU regulator to report on AstraZeneca Covid vaccine safety. Europe’s medicines regulator is under mounting pressure to clear up safety concerns over the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid vaccine as experts warned that arguably political decisions to pause it in many countries risked seriously delaying the continent’s already sluggish vaccination drive.
Brazil cases topped 90,000 for the first time. Brazil on Wednesday registered an unprecedented 90,303 new coronavirus cases, a day after the country reported a fresh record for deaths related to the virus, Reuters reports.Infections now total 11,693,838.Deaths rose by 2,648, the second highest tally after the record reported on Tuesday, bringing the total to 284,775.
Poorest countries will suffer most from Covid downturn, the UN said. The poorest and most vulnerable countries will be the biggest losers from a pandemic downturn that will leave the global economy nursing $10tn (£7.2tn) of losses by the end of the year, according to the UN.
Japan to lift Tokyo area state of emergency as planned on Sunday – minister. The Japanese government’s advisory panel on coronavirus countermeasures on Thursday approved a plan to let the state of emergency expire in the Tokyo area as scheduled on March 21, Economy Minister Yasuhisa Nishimura said.
Older people more likely to catch Covid a second time. Older people who have recovered from Covid cannot assume they are immune from a second attack, according to a new study that shows the under-65s are much less susceptible to reinfection.
Indian state of Maharashtra accounts for 65% of new daily cases. India reported 35,871 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, the highest in more than three months, with the worst-affected state of Maharashtra alone accounting for 65% of that.
Tanzania’s Covid-denying president, John Magufuli, died aged 61. Tanzania’s president, John Magufuli , one of Africa’s most prominent Covid-19 deniers, has died after a two-week absence from public life which prompted speculation that he had contracted the disease.Magufuli’s death was announced on Wednesday by the country’s vice-president Samia Suluhu, who said the president died of heart failure. He was 61.
UK foreign secretary said EU threat to block exports of vaccine needs ‘some explaining’. The British foreign minister, Dominic Raab, said on Wednesday that the European commission’s threat to ban exports of Covid-19 vaccines cut across previous assurances, adding that the commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, needed to explain herself.
NHS chiefs fear collision course with ministers over Covid backlog. Hospital bosses are bracing themselves for a clash with ministers over how quickly they can clear the backlog of NHS care that built up during the pandemic.
Blanket ‘do not resuscitate’ orders imposed on English care homes, finds CQC. Blanket orders not to resuscitate some care home residents at the start of the Covid pandemic have been identified in a report by England’s care regulator.
Quarantine-free travel to Australia from New Zealand could be in place by end of April. Quarantine-free travel to Australia from New Zealand could be in place by the end of April, Radio New Zealand reports. Ministers are working on the proposal, which could be put to Cabinet as soon as Monday. Deputy prime minister Grant Robertson says he is “very optimistic” about the travel bubble being opened soon.
Taiwan began AstraZeneca rollout. Taiwan could begin distributing the AstraZeneca vaccine next Monday, according to its Central Epidemic Command Center, following the arrival of a first batch of nearly 200,000 doses earlier this month.
China doubled down on Covid narrative ahead of WHO report. Chinese state media are doubling down on Beijing’s narrative about the origins of the Covid-19 ahead of the much anticipated release of the World Health Organization’s findings. Liang Wannian, who led the Chinese side of the joint WHO investigation in January, told the Global Times that China did not find evidence of the virus earlier than December 8, 2019.
06:29
Poorest countries will suffer most from Covid downturn, says UN
Larry Elliott
The UN has said the poorest and most vulnerable countries will be the biggest losers from a pandemic downturn that will leave the global economy nursing $10tn (£7.2tn) of losses by the end of the year.
Despite becoming the latest international body to revise its growth forecast for 2021 upwards, the UN’s conference on trade and development (Unctad) said there were signs the pandemic would end with pre-crisis problems unresolved:
06:15
NHS chiefs fear collision course with ministers over Covid backlog
Denis Campbell
In England, hospital bosses are bracing themselves for a clash with ministers over how quickly they can clear the backlog of NHS care that built up during the pandemic.
They are warning that it will take “years” to treat all those whose care was cancelled because Covid disrupted so many hospital services, particularly surgery and diagnostic tests.
Staff shortages, exhaustion among frontline personnel after tackling the pandemic and their need to have a break mean that progress will be slower than the government expects, NHS trust chiefs say:
05:32
Indian state of Maharashtra accounts for 65% of new daily cases
India reported 35,871 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, the highest in more than three months, with the worst-affected state of Maharashtra alone accounting for 65% of that.
Total infections have now risen to 11.47 million, the highest after the United States and Brazil. Deaths rose by 172 to 159,216, data from the health ministry showed.
An Indian man walks past a wall showing a graffiti honoring frontline workers in the fight against the spread of coronavirus COVID-19, in Mumbai, India, 17 March 2021. India reported 35,871 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, the highest in more than three months, with the worst-affected state of Maharashtra alone accounting for 65% of that. Photograph: Divyakant Solanki/EPA
05:22
EU regulator to report on AstraZeneca Covid vaccine safety
Jon Henley
Europe’s medicines regulator is under mounting pressure to clear up safety concerns over the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid vaccine as experts warned that arguably political decisions to pause it in many countries risked seriously delaying the continent’s already sluggish vaccination drive.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is due on Thursday to announce the findings of its investigation into cases of bleeding, blood clots and low platelet counts in 30 of the vaccine’s recipients that have led many European countries to suspend it:
05:00
In Australia, inundated general practitioners say the government has undersupplied them with Covid-19 vaccine doses, mixed up their contact details on its national booking system, and failed to properly forewarn the sector of the content of Wednesday’s public announcement.
Some GP clinics are continuing to report scenes of chaos and huge demand from the public after the government’s troubled launch of its website to coordinate Covid vaccination appointments as part of stage 1b of the vaccine rollout.
However, the health minister, Greg Hunt, has played down reports of GP clinics frustrated at the website launch, reacting to concerns by saying “you would rather be in Australia than anywhere else in the world”.
The Guardian’s Christopher Knaus and Elias Visontay report:
04:21
Podcast: What do progressives make of Joe Biden’s presidency so far?
Lauren Gambino, political correspondent for Guardian US, discusses the$1.9tn Covid relief package, which was passed by Congress last week. It was seen as a major legislative victory for Joe BidenWhat do progressives make of Joe Biden’s presidency so far?
Lauren Gambino, political correspondent for Guardian US, discusses the $1.9tn Covid relief package, which was passed by Congress last week. It was seen as a major legislative victory for Joe Biden
Updated
03:43
China doubles down on Covid narrative ahead of WHO report
Chinese state media are doubling down on Beijing’s narrative about the origins of the Covid-19 ahead of the much anticipated release of the World Health Organization’s findings.
Liang Wannian, who led the Chinese side of the joint WHO investigation in January, told the Global Times that China did not find evidence of the virus earlier than December 8, 2019.
He also repeated major talking points that the virus was of “natural origin” and began at the Huanan seafood market in Wuhan, with “cold chain transmission” playing an important role in the spread of the virus. He said a lab leak was unlikely.
Liang also shot back at concerns raised by the US about the transparency of the WHO investigation and the upcoming report.
“Recently, some politicians and the media in the world insisted on politicizing the scientific issue of tracing the source of Covid, regardless of scientific facts, for their own personal gain, arbitrarily misinterpreting the scientific findings and reports of our joint team, which is a huge disrespect to the work of our scientists,” he said.
Liang denied reports of any conflicts between Chinese and international researchers during the investigation and said the international community should safeguard the “scientific spirit.”
03:15
China reported six new mainland Covid cases on 17 March up from four cases a day earlier, the country’s national health authority said on Thursday.
The National Health Commission said in a statement all of the new cases were imported infections originating from overseas. The number of new asymptomatic cases, which China does not classify as confirmed cases, fell to six from 15 a day earlier.
The total number of confirmed Covid cases in mainland China now stands at 90,066, while the death toll remained unchanged at 4,636.
02:54
Taiwan begins AstraZeneca rollout
Taiwan could begin distributing the AstraZeneca vaccine next Monday, according to its Central Epidemic Command Center, following the arrival of a first batch of nearly 200,000 doses earlier this month.
The vaccine was obtained through the World Health Organisation’s Covax program, although Taiwan is neither a member nor observer of the global health body due to objections from Beijing.
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung said that health authorities would continue to review the side effects of Astra Zeneca after concerns were raised in Europe that it can lead to blood clots and other concerns.
Priority will be given first to health workers and people employed in quarantine centres, according to the government.
Taiwan’s Food and Drug Administration granted emergency approval of the vaccine in February although a domestically produced vaccines is still under way. Taiwan previously agreed to purchase around 10 million doses of Astra Zeneca and another 10 million doses from Covax and Moderna.
Vaccine rollout has been slower in Taiwan than some of its East Asian neighbours as it has seen just 10 deaths and less than 1,000 cases, according to the CECC.
Strict border controls and aggressive contact tracing in the early days of the pandemic have kept numbers low. Travellers are still required to undergo 14 days of quarantine and an additional week of “self-help management” following their arrival.
Hafta Ichi
Source: The Guardian
Keyword: Coronavirus live news: England winter lockdown delays ’caused thousands of deaths’; Brazil daily cases top 90,000 | World news
