Covid-19 news: UK variant may be 30 per cent more deadly
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Latest coronavirus news as of 6pm on 22 January
New variant of coronavirus in the UK may be deadlier than the original virus
Preliminary evidence indicates the more transmissible B.1.1.7 variant of the coronavirus first identified in the UK may additionally be more deadly, UK prime minister Boris Johnson told a press briefing on Friday. The government was briefed by researchers in the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group, who are assessing the data on the variant, which appears to be about 30 per cent more deadly. Researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and at Imperial College London who analysed data on the new variant concluded it is between 29 and 36 per cent more lethal, whereas researchers at the University of Exeter put the figure at 91 per cent. The UK’s chief scientific adviser, Patrick Vallance, said the evidence on lethality “is not yet strong”, adding: “but it is obviously a concern”.
The UK’s coronavirus epidemic may be shrinking, as the R number – the number of people each person with covid-19 infects – was found to be at or below 1.0 for the first time since early December. The latest official estimate for the R number puts it at between 0.8 and 1.0. Separate figures from the Office for National Statistics’ random swab testing survey indicate the number of new cases may be levelling off slightly across England, Wales and Scotland, although cases still appear to be rising sharply in Northern Ireland. An estimated one in 55 people in England had the virus in the week up to 16 January, compared to one in 50 people two weeks earlier. In Northern Ireland, the estimated infection rate jumped from one in 200 in the previous survey to one in 60 in the most recent one. Equivalent figures for Wales and Scotland in the most recent week were one in 70 and one in 100 people estimated to have had the virus.
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People in England attending house parties of more than 15 people will receive £800 fines starting next week. Home secretary Priti Patel told a Downing street press conference that there remained a “small minority that refuse to do the right thing”. But some scientists, including members of the Independent SAGE group, are calling for the government to tighten restrictions in England, arguing that the main problem is that the existing rules are too permissive, rather than people not abiding by them. “The problem is not that people are flexing the rules but that the rules are too flexible,” Stephen Reicher at the University of St Andrews told an Independent SAGE briefing. When people do break the rules – for example, by not staying home when they have symptoms – it is often because they have little choice, added Susan Michie at University College London. “People are going out because they haven’t got enough income in order to stay home,” she said at the briefing.
The UK government said it has no plans to start paying £500 to people who test positive for the coronavirus in England after reports in the Guardian that ministers were considering the idea. “There are no plans to introduce an extra £500 payment,” said a spokesperson for UK prime minister Boris Johnson. The idea was reportedly prompted by government polling, which suggested only 17 per cent of people with symptoms are coming forward for testing.
A coronavirus information-sharing platform for pharmaceutical companies organised by the World Health Organization hasn’t attracted any contributions since it was launched in May 2020, the Guardian reported.
Coronavirus deaths
Matthew Rowett
The worldwide covid-19 death toll has passed 2.09 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 97.7 million, according to Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.
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What to read, watch and listen to about coronavirus
The New York Times is tracking hospital bed occupancy in England in an interactive graphic.
Panorama: The Race for a Vaccine is a BBC documentary about the inside story of the development of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine against covid-19.
Race Against the Virus: Hunt for a Vaccine is a Channel 4 documentary which tells the story of the coronavirus pandemic through the eyes of the scientists on the frontline.
The New York Times is assessing the progress of different vaccine candidates and potential drug treatments for covid-19, and ranking them for effectiveness and safety.
Humans of COVID-19 is a project highlighting the experiences of key workers on the frontline in the fight against coronavirus in the UK, through social media.
Belly Mujinga: Searching for the Truth is a BBC Panorama investigation of the death of transport worker Belly Mujinga from covid-19, following reports she had been coughed and spat on by a customer at London’s Victoria Station.
Coronavirus, Explained on Netflix is a short documentary series examining the on-going coronavirus pandemic, the efforts to fight it and ways to manage its mental health toll.
New Scientist Weekly features updates and analysis on the latest developments in the covid-19 pandemic. Our podcast sees expert journalists from the magazine discuss the biggest science stories to hit the headlines each week – from technology and space, to health and the environment.
COVID-19: The Pandemic that Never Should Have Happened, and How to Stop the Next One by Debora Mackenzie is about how the pandemic happened and why it will happen again if we don’t do things differently in future.
The Rules of Contagion is about the new science of contagion and the surprising ways it shapes our lives and behaviour. The author, Adam Kucharski, is an epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK, and in the book he examines how diseases spread and why they stop.
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Nicolas Briquet/SOPA Images/Sipa USA
21 January
Too soon to say when restrictions in England could be lifted, says UK prime minister
It is still “too early to say” when coronavirus restrictions might be lifted in England, UK prime minister Boris Johnson told journalists on Thursday. That is because the rate of new infections in England doesn’t appear to be decreasing under lockdown and hospitals remain overloaded, while daily death rates are setting records. One in 63 people in England were infected with the coronavirus between 6 and 15 January, according to the latest results from Imperial College London’s REACT-1 study. This is equivalent to 1.58 per cent of England’s population and the highest figure the study has reported since it started in May. It is also 50 per cent higher than in early December. The interim results, based on random swab testing of almost 143,000 people, indicate the rate of new infections was not decreasing 10 days into England’s nationwide lockdown, which started on 5 January. “In the REACT survey, we’re seeing the contagiousness of the new [coronavirus] variant that we saw arrive just before Christmas,” said Johnson.
Other coronavirus news
US president Joe Biden signed 10 executive orders aimed at boosting the country’s fight against covid-19, including halting US withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO). The emergency legislation also aims to accelerate the nation’s covid-19 vaccination programme, increase coronavirus testing and increase the production of personal protective equipment, such as masks. On Thursday, it is expected that Biden will issue a directive including the intent to join the WHO’s vaccine accelerating COVAX scheme, which is working to deliver vaccines to low-income countries. Overall, the Biden administration is aiming to develop a comprehensive strategy for dealing with the pandemic, Biden’s covid-19 task force coordinator, Jeff Zients, told journalists. The US has recorded more than 24.4 million coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic and more than 406,000 deaths from covid-19.
The European Union may ban travel from the UK and restrict movement across internal borders, in order to try to curb the spread of new coronavirus variants. Leaders will discuss potential measures on Thursday evening. “The danger is that when the infections in a country go up, this mutation becomes a quasi-majority variant and then the infection can no longer be controlled,” German chancellor Angela Merkel’s chief of staff, Helge Braun, told German broadcaster ARD. “And therefore even stricter entry rules at our internal borders are unavoidable, and since everyone does not want that, it is important that we act together now.”
Coronavirus deaths
Matthew Rowett
The worldwide covid-19 death toll has passed 2.08 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 97 million, according to Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.
Latest on coronavirus from New Scientist
Virus evolution: As the new coronavirus evolves, it could follow the same path as other coronaviruses we live with already, becoming far less deadly in the future.
Vaccination challenge: More transmissible coronavirus variants, coupled with questions about whether the vaccines prevent transmission, means it might be impossible to wipe out covid-19.
Guy Bell/Shutterstock
20 January
Hospitals in the UK under ‘enormous pressure’, says chief scientific adviser
UK hospitals are under significant strain, the country’s chief scientific adviser has warned, as hospital admissions and deaths continue to rise. “It may not look like it when you go for a walk in the park, but when you go into a hospital, this is very, very bad at the moment with enormous pressure and in some cases it looks like a war zone in terms of the things that people are having to deal with,” said Patrick Vallance. There are currently 39,068 people in hospital with covid-19 across the country, with 3947 receiving ventilation. On Wednesday, the UK reported 1820 deaths from covid-19 within 28 days of a positive test – the highest daily increase since the start of the pandemic. In the seven days up to 17 January, the UK reported an average of 1218 covid-19 deaths each day.
UK prime minister Boris Johnson said it would not be a good use of resources to have an inquiry into the UK government’s covid-19 response while health services are under strain. “The NHS is under unprecedented pressure [and] the entire British state is trying to fight covid to roll out the biggest vaccination programme in the history of our country,” Johnson told parliament. “The idea that we should now concentrate […] vast state resources to an inquiry now, in the middle of the pandemic, does not seem sensible to me,” he said, adding, “but of course we will learn lessons in due course”.
Other coronavirus news
A formula used to distribute covid-19 vaccines in England, which didn’t account for the size of GP practices, has resulted in fewer people receiving the jab in London, according to London mayor Sadiq Khan. He told the Guardian the supply model is now going to be revised, following a crisis meeting with UK vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi last week. NHS England figures show that 388,437 people in London have received at least one dose of a covid-19 vaccine – the lowest of any region in England – despite London being one of the largest NHS regions in the country, with a population of 8.6 million people. The Midlands region, which includes 10.6 million people, has administered the most first doses of vaccine at 713,602. “Some areas have had different logistical challenges than others,” a spokesperson for Boris Johnson told the Guardian.
US president Joe Biden held a vigil in Washington DC on Tuesday to memorialise the more than 400,000 people in the US who have died from covid-19. “To heal, we must remember,” he said at the memorial. “It’s hard sometimes to remember, but that’s how we heal. It’s important to do that as a nation.”
Coronavirus deaths
Matthew Rowett
The worldwide covid-19 death toll has passed 2.06 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 96.3 million, according to Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.
Latest on coronavirus from New Scientist
UK variant: The highly infectious B.1.1.7 coronavirus variant from the UK has now been reported in more than 50 countries, placing new urgency on the race to vaccinate the vulnerable.
Mutating virus: New versions of coronavirus that spread faster and might evade the immune system are causing fears about vaccine efficacy and a rise in covid-19 deaths. Here’s what you need to know.
SIMON DAWSON/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
19 January
Estimated one in 10 people in the UK had covid-19 antibodies in December
About one in 10 people in private households across the UK are estimated to have had antibodies against the coronavirus in their blood in December 2020, according to the latest results from an infection survey by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The detection of antibodies in the blood is an indication of a previous infection, but doesn’t indicate exactly when that infection took place. In England, about one in eight people – equivalent to 5.4 million people – would have been expected to test positive for antibodies during the same period. This is an increase from about one in 11 people the previous month. Equivalent estimates for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland put the figures for December at one in 10, one in 11 and one in 13 people who would have been expected to test positive for coronavirus antibodies, respectively, although these estimates are based on smaller numbers of positive antibody tests.
“This study shows that infection with the [coronavirus] is much more widespread in the UK than previously realised,” said Lawrence Young at the University of Warwick in a statement. “The implications are that infection rates increased significantly between November and December.”
There were 6586 deaths from covid-19 registered in the UK as a whole in the week up to 8 January, bringing the registered total to almost 96,000.
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Deaths in care homes in England have reached their highest level since mid-May, according to the most recent figures reported to the Care Quality Commission. About 1260 deaths involving covid-19 were reported in care homes in England in the week up to 8 January, up from 824 the previous week.
US president Donald Trump rescinded coronavirus-related travel bans on non-US citizens travelling to the US from Brazil and much of Europe, effective from 26 January. President-elect Joe Biden plans to reimpose the restrictions once in office, according to a spokesperson.
Germany will extend its nationwide lockdown until 14 February, with most shops and schools to remain shut.
People aged 40 and above in Israel can now get a covid-19 vaccine, its health ministry announced.
Coronavirus deaths
Matthew Rowett
The worldwide covid-19 death toll has passed 2.04 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 95.7 million, according to Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.
Latest on coronavirus from New Scientist
New variants: It looks like some of the new coronavirus variants can evade parts of our immune response, but it’s not yet clear if we need to update the vaccines.
Darren Staples/Getty Images
18 January
Over 70s and clinically vulnerable people next in line for covid-19 vaccines in the UK
People in the UK’s four nations aged 70 and over, as well as clinically extremely vulnerable individuals in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, will start receiving invitations to get vaccinated against covid-19 this week. “Today is a significant milestone in our vaccination programme as we open it up to millions of people who are most at risk from covid-19,” said UK prime minister Boris Johnson in a statement on Monday. “We have a long way to go and there will doubtless be challenges ahead – but by working together we are making huge progress in our fight against this virus,” he said. People in the top two priority groups, which include care home residents and staff, people aged 80 and over and frontline health and care staff, will continue to be prioritised first. That is in accordance with recommendations made by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, UK health minister Matt Hancock explained. “When an area has already reached the vast majority of groups 1-2, they can now start opening up the programme to groups 3-4,” said Hancock.
About 3.8 million people have received a first dose of covid-19 vaccine so far in the UK. Nadhim Zahawi, the UK minister responsible for the rollout of covid-19 vaccines, told the BBC’s Breakfast show he expects there could be a gradual easing of restrictions in England, potentially starting two to three weeks after people in the most vulnerable groups had been vaccinated. However, he said this will be dependent on what we learn about the impact of the vaccine on transmission of the coronavirus: it still isn’t clear if being vaccinated prevents people from spreading the infection to others.
Meanwhile, hospitals in England remain under pressure as admissions of covid-19 patients and numbers of patients requiring mechanical ventilation continue to rise. The most recent figures available from NHS England show that 10 out of 140 hospital trusts were at full capacity in adult critical care in the week up to 10 January, up from four the previous week.
Other coronavirus news
Just 25 covid-19 vaccine doses have been administered in low-income countries, compared to 39 million doses given to people so far in wealthier countries, according to World Health Organization (WHO) director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who described it as a “catastrophic moral failure”. All 25 doses were administered in Guinea, which is the only low-income country to have delivered any covid-19 jabs so far. “It’s not right that younger, healthier adults in rich countries are vaccinated before health workers and older people in poorer countries,” he said at a meeting of the WHO’s executive board on Monday.
It is unlikely that Australia will fully open its borders in 2021, even if the majority of its population gets vaccinated against covid-19, according to Australian health minister Brendan Murphy. “I think that we’ll go most of this year with still substantial border restrictions,” Murphy told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on Monday. “Even if we have a lot of the population vaccinated, we don’t know whether that will prevent transmission of the virus.” Quarantine requirements for travellers to Australia will probably also continue for some time, he said.
Coronavirus deaths
Matthew Rowett
The worldwide covid-19 death toll has passed 2.03 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 95.1 million, according to Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.
Latest on coronavirus from New Scientist
Vaccine data: The race to vaccinate as many people as possible against covid-19 is under way, but unless countries track who receives the vaccine we won’t be able to ensure the benefits are spread equitably, says Layal Liverpool.
DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP via Getty Images
15 January
Concern grows about new coronavirus variant identified in travellers from Brazil
Travellers from countries in South America, as well as from Portugal, Cape Verde and Panama, are now banned from entering the UK amid growing concern about a new variant of the coronavirus that was first identified in people who travelled to Japan from Brazil. The ban came into force at 04:00 GMT on Friday. As with the other coronavirus variants identified in the UK and South Africa, the new variant contains mutations in the coronavirus spike protein, which the virus uses to enter human cells. Both of these new variants are highly transmissible, which has prompted concerns that the variant first found in travellers from Brazil to Japan may also spread rapidly.
UK transport minister Grant Shapps told BBC Radio 4 on Friday that the variant of concern is not “as far as we are aware” already in the UK. In the Brazilian Amazonas state, where the new variant is thought to have first emerged, hospitals are becoming overwhelmed. The city of Manaus has seen a surge of coronavirus cases and deaths, and there have been reports of severe oxygen shortages in some hospitals in the city. “There is no oxygen and lots of people are dying,” a local healthcare worker said in a video posted on Twitter. “If anyone has any oxygen, please bring it to the clinic. There are so many people dying.”
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Some severely ill covid-19 patients are being transferred from hospitals in London to Newcastle, due to intensive care units in London running out of capacity. “Moving intensive care patients long distances across country is a clear indicator that the NHS in London has been overwhelmed by covid-19,” Lucy Watson, chair of the Patients’ Association, told the Guardian. “At such a worrying and frightening time, the role of family liaison workers maintaining contact between patients, their families and clinicians will be all the more important,” said Watson. “This will be particularly so for those whose loved ones die far away.”
Pfizer will temporarily decrease deliveries to Europe of its covid-19 vaccine, developed in partnership with BioNTech, while it undergoes upgrades to increase its production capacity. “We had expected 43,875 vaccine doses from Pfizer in week 3 (next week). Now it appears that we will get 36,075 doses,” the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (FHI) told Reuters on Friday. “This temporary reduction will affect all European countries,” the FHI said, adding that it isn’t currently clear when Pfizer will return to maximum production capacity. Many European Union nations have complained that they are receiving fewer supplies than expected.
China is constructing a medical isolation centre in Hebei province to help contain a new covid-19 outbreak. The centre is expected to have space for 3000 makeshift wards with a capacity for several thousand people. China reported its highest daily increase in coronavirus cases in more than 10 months on Friday, with 144 new cases. More than 28 million people are living under new lockdowns in Hebei and Heilongjiang provinces.
Coronavirus deaths
Matthew Rowett
The worldwide covid-19 death toll has passed 1.99 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 93.2 million, according to Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.
Mark Thomas/Shutterstock
14 January
Record number of people waiting for non-covid-19 NHS treatment in England
The coronavirus pandemic is having a “calamitous impact” on other medical treatment in England, the president of the Royal College of Surgeons, Neil Mortensen, has said, as data published by NHS England revealed millions of people were waiting for hospital treatment unrelated to covid-19. About 4.46 million people were waiting to start hospital treatment in England in November last year, the highest figure ever recorded. “When we eventually emerge from this crisis, we will need sustained investment to treat all those who have been waiting patiently for treatment,” said Mortensen. NHS England figures also show that 192,169 of those people had been waiting 52 weeks or more by November 2020, compared to just 1400 people the previous year.
Other coronavirus news
The majority of people who have had covid-19 and recovered are protected from getting it again for at least five months, according to a study of healthcare workers by Public Health England. In Public Health England’s SIREN study, 20,787 healthcare workers were regularly tested for the coronavirus between 18 June and 24 November. Those who tested positive for coronavirus antibodies at the start of the study – 6614 of the participants – had an 83 per cent lower risk of reinfection, compared to those who tested negative at the start.
A World Health Organization team has arrived in Wuhan, China, where it will investigate the origins of the coronavirus pandemic. On Thursday, China recorded its first death from covid-19 since May 2020 in Hebei province. The area is experiencing a new outbreak and tens of millions of people are under newly imposed lockdowns.
UK ministers are expected to announce a ban on travel from Brazil, following the discovery of a new coronavirus variant in people who travelled from Brazil to Japan.
Coronavirus deaths
Matthew Rowett
The worldwide covid-19 death toll has passed 1.98 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 92.5 million, according to Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.
Latest on coronavirus from New Scientist
Vaccine boost: A positive outlook, even just on the day of receiving a vaccine, as well as strong social ties and a happy relationship can help increase antibodies made in response to a shot.
REUTERS/Hannah McKay
13 January
UK reports record 1564 deaths in a single day
The UK reported 1564 deaths from covid-19 within 28 days of a positive test on Wednesday, the highest daily increase since the pandemic began. The country also reported 47,525 new coronavirus cases. UK prime minister Boris Johnson said the government plans to open 24/7 covid-19 vaccination centres “as soon as we can”. “We have a huge network of 233 hospitals, 1000 GP surgeries, 200 pharmacies and 50 mass vaccination centres and they are going […] exceptionally fast,” he told parliament on Wednesday. “At the moment the limit is on supply.” On Tuesday, 223,726 people received a dose of covid-19 vaccine, up from 165,844 on Monday.
Thousands of hospital patients in England could be discharged early and sent to hotels in order to free up beds for severely ill covid-19 patients, the Guardian reported. Some covid-19 patients could also be discharged directly from hospitals into care homes, without a negative test if they have isolated for 14 days and shown no new symptoms. “This is a dire situation, in which the NHS often has no good options available. Discharging patients early from hospital is likely to be one of few options open to the NHS to manage the scale of the current need,” chair of the Patients Association, Lucy Watson, told the Guardian.
Other coronavirus news
The US recorded 4327 deaths from covid-19 on Tuesday, the country’s highest daily increase since the start of the pandemic. On the same day, US officials recommended that states broaden vaccination eligibility to people 65 or over who have chronic health conditions that make them more vulnerable to covid-19.
China saw its biggest daily rise in coronavirus cases in more than five months on Tuesday. There were 115 new confirmed cases reported in the mainland on 12 January – the largest daily increase since 30 July, according to its National Health Commission.
There are concerns about a new variant of the coronavirus first detected in people travelling to Japan from Brazil. Boris Johnson said he was concerned about the variant and that steps were being taken to protect the country from new infections entering from abroad. The new variant is different from the highly transmissible variants identified in the UK and South Africa.
Israel’s health ministry reported that initial data suggests the vaccine developed by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech reduces infections by 50 per cent after 14 days. Israel has so far vaccinated almost 2 million people – about 20 per cent of the country’s population.
Coronavirus deaths
Matthew Rowett
The worldwide covid-19 death toll has passed 1.96 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 91.8 million, according to Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.
Latest on coronavirus from New Scientist
UK variant: The faster spreading coronavirus variant first identified in the UK has officially reached nine US states and could soon cause a massive surge in covid-19 cases that makes the post-holiday spike look minimal, an expert has warned.
Delaying vaccine doses: To vaccinate more people quickly, the UK is making people wait up to three months for a booster shot rather than the few weeks tested in trials. Here’s what the evidence says about the situation.
Victoria Jones/PA Images
12 January
Pandemic caused UK excess deaths to rise to highest level since second world war
The UK has recorded the largest increase in excess deaths in the country since 1940 during the second world war. Last year there were approximately 697,000 deaths in the UK, almost 91,000 more than would have been expected based on the average in the previous five years. This does not account for the impact of deaths in December 2020, as figures are only available until November. “The UK has one of the highest rates of excess deaths in the world, with more excess deaths per million people than most other European countries or the US,” Richard Murray, chief executive of health charity the King’s Fund, told the BBC. “It will take a public inquiry to determine exactly what went wrong, but mistakes have been made.”
Other coronavirus news
Despite record numbers of people in hospitals in England, the pressure on the NHS may not peak until next month, MPs have been told. That is because the infection rate will not decrease as fast as it did after the first lockdown in March. “It’s going to go down more slowly because of the increased transmissibility of the new strain,” said Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents all NHS trusts in England. Hopson was referring to the highly transmissible B.1.1.7 variant, first identified in the UK in September. “It now looks like the peak for NHS demand may actually now be in February,” he said. “If that’s right, that’s going to basically mean there’s a higher level and a more extended period of pressure on the NHS than we were expecting even a week ago.”
Germany’s lockdown could last another eight to 10 weeks, as concerns about the spread of the UK variant in the country grow.
Israel may start vaccinating children over the age of 12 against covid-19 within the next two months, if pharmacological research shows this is safe, according to a local health official.
David Attenborough has been vaccinated against covid-19. The natural historian and TV presenter is 94 years old.
Coronavirus deaths
Matthew Rowett
The worldwide covid-19 death toll has passed 1.95 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 91 million, according to Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.
Latest on coronavirus from New Scientist
UK variant spreads: Authorities in Australia have responded swiftly to contain potential outbreaks of a highly transmissible coronavirus variant. The more contagious B.1.1.7 variant, first sequenced in the UK in September, has now reached at least 45 countries.
Missing vaccine data: Demographic data about vaccination programmes could reveal problems early on. So far, no figures about ethnicity have been released in England, even though people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds are at greater risk from covid-19.
SIMON DAWSON/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
11 January
Hospitals in England struggle to cope with growing numbers of covid-19 patients
England’s chief medical officer on Monday issued a stark warning about what the country can expect in the coming weeks and urged people to avoid all unnecessary contact with others. “The next few weeks are going to be the worst weeks of this pandemic in terms of numbers into the NHS,” Chris Whitty told the BBC. He said there were more than 30,000 people with covid-19 in hospitals in England, compared to about 18,000 during the peak of the first wave in April last year. Hospitals around the country are taking exceptional measures to cope with the influx of people with covid-19, including putting trainees on wards and making nurses responsible for a greater number of patients than usual. Southend Hospital in England has been forced to reduce the amount of oxygen it uses to treat patients, because the hospital’s oxygen supply has “reached a critical situation”, according to documents seen by the BBC.
“We need to really double down, this is everybody’s problem, any single unnecessary contact you have with someone is a potential link in a chain of transmission that will lead to a vulnerable person,” said Whitty. “We’ve all got to, as individuals, help our NHS, help our fellow citizens, by minimising the amount of unnecessary contacts we have.”
Other coronavirus news
UK prime minister Boris Johnson said 2 million people have been vaccinated against covid-19 in the country so far, including about 40 per cent of people over the age of 80 and 23 per cent of older care home residents. Later, UK health minister Matt Hancock said 2.6 million doses of covid-19 vaccine had been given to 2.3 million people in the country. The UK has now published full details of its vaccination programme, including its plan to be administering at least two million vaccinations per week in England by the end of January, and to have vaccinated 15 million people by mid-February. “It’s a race against time, because we can all see the threat that our NHS faces,” said Johnson.
A highly transmissible variant of the coronavirus first identified in the UK accounted for almost half of the most recent sample of positive tests in Ireland, according to local authorities.
Coronavirus deaths
Matthew Rowett
The worldwide covid-19 death toll has passed 1.93 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 90.4 million, according to Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.
Latest on coronavirus from New Scientist
UK vaccination target: UK prime minister Boris Johnson has set a target of 15 February by which 13.9 million vulnerable people should be vaccinated against covid-19, but manufacturing, safety checks and distribution logistics will make that difficult.
Covid-19 puzzle: The coronavirus is a riddle on many levels, but what we do know is that the time for underestimating it is over.
Victoria Jones/PA Wire/PA Images
8 January
London mayor Sadiq Khan urges Londoners to stay at home “to protect our NHS”
London mayor Sadiq Khan has declared a major incident in London in response to surging coronavirus cases and hospitalisations in the city. More than 100 firefighters have been drafted in to drive ambulances in London, to help cope with the increased demand. Khan said the London Ambulance Service is currently taking up to 8000 emergency calls per day, compared to 5500 on a typical busy day. “Londoners continue to make huge sacrifices and I am today imploring them to please stay home unless it is absolutely necessary for you to leave,” said London mayor Sadiq Khan in a statement. “If we do not take immediate action now, our NHS could be overwhelmed and more people will die. Stay at home to protect yourself, your family, friends and other Londoners and to protect our NHS,” said Khan. A major incident is one that presents a serious threat to the health of the community or that causes significant numbers or types of casualties requiring special arrangements to be implemented. Previously, major incidents have been declared in London for the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017 and for terror attacks at Westminster Bridge and London Bridge.
In London more than 7000 people are in hospital with covid-19, making up more than half of the capital’s occupied beds. The Office for National Statistics estimates that one in 30 people across the city had the virus on 2 January. Infections in London, as well as in England and in the UK as a whole, are estimated to be growing by up to 6 per cent each day. Across the UK the most recent official estimate of the R number is between 1.0 and 1.4, which means every 10 infected people infect an average of 10 to 14 others.
Other coronavirus news
Preliminary research suggests the covid-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech is effective against the highly transmissible new variants of the coronavirus identified in the UK and South Africa. Antibodies isolated from the blood of 20 people who had received the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine were still able to neutralise viruses containing one of the key mutations in laboratory tests. The research has not been peer-reviewed. Concerns that covid-19 vaccines will not work against the variant identified in South Africa prompted the introduction of testing for new arrivals into England and Scotland from abroad, according to UK transport minister Grant Shapps.
A third covid-19 vaccine has been approved for use in the UK. The UK has ordered an additional 10 million doses of the mRNA vaccine developed by US company Moderna, on top of 7 million which it pre-ordered last year, but supplies for the additional doses are not expected to arrive until spring.
More than 4000 people in the US died from covid-19 in a single day for the first time since the start of the pandemic. The country recorded 4033 deaths due to covid-19 on Thursday, according to the COVID Tracking Project, passing its previous record of 3903 deaths on 30 December.
Greater Brisbane in Australia was put under a strict lockdown after one case of the highly transmissible UK variant was detected on Thursday.
Coronavirus deaths
Matthew Rowett
The worldwide covid-19 death toll has passed 1.90 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 88.3 million, according to Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.
NEIL HALL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
7 January
England hospitals cut back on services as nearly a third of patients have coronavirus
There are 26,467 covid-19 patients in hospital in England, accounting for nearly a third of all people in hospital. Many hospitals have had to cancel routine operations to accommodate a growing number of people with covid-19. The BBC reported that there are indications this is beginning to happen for cancer care as well. “The impact of the pandemic is taking care away from other illnesses such as cancer and heart disease,” Rupert Pearse, an intensive care consultant at the Royal London Hospital told the BBC. “We’re really struggling to provide the quality of patient care that we think patients deserve,” said Pearse.
The number of covid-19 patients in England hospitals has increased by more than 50 per cent since Christmas, with average daily hospitalisations now exceeding 3000 per day – three times the usual winter rate for respiratory conditions.
Other coronavirus news
Birmingham could run out of stocks of the coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech as soon as Friday, according to local leaders. The city has not yet been supplied with the vaccine developed by the University of Oxford in partnership with AstraZeneca. Birmingham leaders called for more clarity on the covid-19 vaccination programme in their city in a letter to UK health minister Matt Hancock. “It remains unclear who is responsible for overseeing the vaccination programme in Birmingham, and whom we should hold accountable for progress and delivery,” it said. In a briefing on Tuesday, UK prime minister Boris Johnson said 1.3 million people in the UK had been vaccinated with a first dose so far and data from NHS England published today revealed 308,541 people received a jab in England in the week ending 3 January. The government aims to vaccinate 13 million people in four priority groups by mid-February.
Almost half of the residents in an East Sussex care home in England died from covid-19 over the Christmas and New Year period, with more than a third of the staff also testing positive during the outbreak, the Guardian reported. Of the 27 residents at Edendale Lodge care home in Crowhurst, 13 died with confirmed or suspected covid-19 since 13 December. Prime minister Johnson told parliament on Wednesday that 10 per cent of care home residents and 14 per cent of staff had so far been vaccinated against the disease. “That clearly needs to be stepped up,” he said.
As coronavirus vaccines continue to be rolled out across the US, health officials have stressed that the risk of severe illness and death from covid-19 still outweighs the risk of developing a severe allergic reaction to the vaccine. In the US, 29 people have so far developed anaphylaxis after being vaccinated against covid-19 and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it currently appears that cases are occurring at a rate of about 5.5 per 1 million vaccine doses administered.
Coronavirus deaths
Matthew Rowett
The worldwide covid-19 death toll has passed 1.88 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 87.3 million, according to Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.
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Max Willcock/EMPICS Entertainment/PA
6 January
UK reports 1041 deaths from covid-19 in a single day
The UK reported 1041 deaths from covid-19 within 28 days of a positive test on Wednesday, the highest daily figure since 21 April, when 1224 deaths were reported. There were 62,322 new cases of coronavirus reported on Wednesday. “This upward trend of cases (and hospitalisations and deaths) is likely to continue for another 2-3 weeks as the impact of social mixing during Christmas/New Year continues to be felt,” said Julian Tang at the University of Leicester in a statement.
A quarter of all deaths in England and Wales in the week leading up to Christmas were due to covid-19. New figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that 2912, or 25 per cent, of the 11,520 deaths registered across England and Wales in the week ending 25 December mentioned covid-19 on the death certificate. Wales has been under a lockdown since 23 December and England and Scotland both entered nationwide lockdowns on Tuesday.
Other coronavirus news
A World Health Organization (WHO) team sent to China to investigate the origins of the coronavirus pandemic has been denied entry to the country. Speaking at a news conference in Geneva, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, “I’m very disappointed with this news, given that two members had already begun their journeys and others were not able to travel at the last minute, but had been in contact with senior Chinese officials.”
Coronavirus cases and hospitalisations are surging in California. The state recorded more than 74,000 new coronavirus cases on Monday and 21,597 people were hospitalised, both record daily increases since the start of the pandemic. “It is getting harder and harder for healthcare workers to care for those coming to the hospital with gunshot wounds, heart attacks, strokes and injuries from car accidents,” Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis told the Los Angeles Times.
People arriving in the UK from abroad may soon be required to show a negative coronavirus test in order to enter the country. A spokesperson for the Department for Transport told the BBC: “With a new strain of the virus on the loose in South Africa and a more infectious variant already widespread in the UK we need to do more.” The Department for Transport said full details of additional measures, which may also include testing before departure, remain to be agreed. Certain travellers, such as haulage drivers, may be exempt.
The European Medicines Agency has recommended a covid-19 vaccine developed by US company Moderna for authorisation in the EU. The vaccine has already been authorised for emergency use in the US.
Coronavirus deaths
Matthew Rowett
The worldwide covid-19 death toll has passed 1.87 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 86.7 million, according to Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.
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Anthony Devlin/Bloomberg via Getty Images
5 January
Lockdowns imposed in England and Scotland to try to curb surging virus cases
Strict new nationwide lockdowns came into force in England and Scotland, which cabinet office minister Michael Gove said could last in some form until March. UK prime minister Boris Johnson announced the new lockdown rules for England during a televised address on Monday evening, saying that vaccination of key groups of people by mid-February could allow the restrictions in England to be eased. But on Tuesday, cabinet office minister Michael Gove told Sky News: “We can’t predict with certainty that we’ll be able to lift restrictions in the week commencing [15 to 22 February]. What we will be doing is everything we can to make sure that as many people as possible are vaccinated, so that we can begin progressively to lift restrictions. I think it’s right to say that, as we enter March, we should be able to lift some of these restrictions – but not necessarily all.” The top four priority groups for vaccinations include older care home residents and their carers, people over 70, frontline health and social care workers, and clinically extremely vulnerable people.
The UK reported 60,916 new daily coronavirus cases on Tuesday, surpassing 60,000 daily new cases for the first time since the start of the pandemic. One in 50 people in England and one in 30 in London are estimated to have the coronavirus, according to the most recent data from the Office for National Statistics, England’s chief medical officer Chris Whitty said during a televised briefing on Tuesday. By comparison, one in 900 people were infected in early September.
In Tuesday’s press conference, Johnson said that 1.3 million people in the UK have so far received the first dose of a covid-19 vaccine. However, more than 4 million doses of the vaccine developed by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech were delivered to the UK before the end of 2020, the Financial Times reported, prompting questions about the gap between the number of vaccine doses secured and the number of people who have been vaccinated. Asked about the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca in partnership with the University of Oxford, of which the government has said it hopes to have 2 million doses a week by the end of January, NHS England director Stephen Powis told the Financial Times: “Certainly this month we’ll be able to get up to that sort of number but that would depend on supplies. We’ll be delivering it as soon as we get it.”
Other coronavirus news
Researchers in South Africa are investigating whether a new variant of coronavirus spreading in the country might be resistant to existing covid-19 vaccines. “It’s a theoretical concern. A reasonable concern […] that the South African variant might be more resistant,” Shabir Madhi, who led trials of the Oxford/AstraZeneca covid-19 vaccine in South Africa, told the BBC. Madhi said it was unlikely that the mutation in the South African variant would render current vaccines useless but said it might weaken their impact.
Germany will extend its nationwide lockdown until at least the end of January. After a partial lockdown introduced in early November failed to sufficiently reduce infections, Germany entered a second nationwide lockdown on 16 December, which was originally due to be lifted on 10 January.
Coronavirus deaths
Matthew Rowett
The worldwide covid-19 death toll has passed 1.85 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 85.8 million, according to Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.
James Veysey/Shutterstock
4 January
England expected to tighten restrictions and Scotland announces national lockdown
Much of the UK faces new lockdown measures as Prime Minister Boris Johnson said there is “no question” that restrictions in England will be tightened, and Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon announced a strict new lockdown in Scotland starting at midnight on 5 January. Johnson is expected to announce tougher restrictions in England this evening in a televised appearance, which could include schools being closed and Tier 4 restrictions across the country. The UK recorded 58,784 new coronavirus cases on Monday and 407 deaths within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test, and the Joint Biosecurity Centre is expected to be raising the country’s covid-19 threat level to 5 – the highest level.
Most primary schools in England reopened today, despite calls from teaching unions and some councils to keep schools shut. Primary schools in London and south-east England remain closed until 18 January. Council leaders in many areas including Manchester and Birmingham said they would support the decision of head teachers who think it is unsafe to reopen their schools.
First Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines administered in the UK
An 82-year-old man became the first person to receive the coronavirus vaccine developed by the University of Oxford in partnership with AstraZeneca, as part of the UK’s mass vaccination programme. Brian Pinker received the jab at the Churchill Hospital in Oxford and 530,000 doses were ready for use on Monday. AstraZeneca has said it expects to supply about 2 million doses of the vaccine every week by the middle of January in the UK.
Other coronavirus news
Coronavirus cases in the UK are continuing to surge, with concern growing about a variant of the virus first detected in South Africa. “I’m incredibly worried about the South African variant, and that’s why we took the action that we did to restrict all flights from South Africa,” UK health minister Matt Hancock told BBC radio. “It’s even more of a problem than the UK new variant,” he said. John Bell at the University of Oxford told the Telegraph there was “a big question” as to whether existing vaccines would be effective against the South Africa variant, which contains mutations that affect part of the virus that is recognised by antibodies. However, he added that it should be possible to make new vaccines quickly, if this or any future variant of the coronavirus emerges that is resistant to the current ones. “It might take a month, or six weeks, to get a new vaccine, so everybody should stay calm. It’s going to be fine,” he said. “We’re now in a game of cat and mouse, because these are not the only two variants we’re going to see. We’re going to see lots of variants.”
India approved two coronavirus vaccines for emergency use on Sunday, including the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine and a vaccine called Covaxin being developed by Indian company Bharat Biotech. Gagandeep Kang at the Christian Medical College, Vellore in India expressed concerns about India’s approval of Covaxin, as phase III trials of the vaccine haven’t yet been completed. Kang told the Times of India newspaper that she had “never seen anything like this before”, adding that “there is absolutely no efficacy data that has been presented or published.”
Coronavirus deaths
Matthew Rowett
The worldwide covid-19 death toll has passed 1.84 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 85.2 million, according to Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.
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17 December
Regions in the east and south-east of England face tier three rules from Saturday
Almost 70 per cent of England’s population will be living under strict tier three coronavirus rules from Saturday as “pressures on the NHS remain”, said UK health minister Matt Hancock on Thursday. Regions in the east and south-east of the country, including Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Hertfordshire will move into tier three one minute after midnight on Saturday 19 December, as will parts of Surrey, East Sussex, Cambridgeshire and Hampshire. “I know that tier three measures are tough, but the best way for everyone to get out of them is to pull together, not just to follow the rules, but to do everything they possibly can to stop the spread of the virus,” Hancock told parliament. There will be 38 million people in the country living in tier three from Saturday, including other parts of England already under tier three rules.
Hancock said cases in the south-east of England had risen by 46 per cent in a week, with hospital admissions up by more than a third, while cases in the east of England had gone up by two-thirds in a week and hospital admissions had risen by nearly half. He also announced that Bristol and North Somerset would be able to move down to tier two on Saturday and that Herefordshire would also be able to move down, to tier one. “I think this is a wise precautionary measure – to damp down virus transmission in the lead up to the Christmas 5-day relaxation – and afterwards, to restrict wider virus transmission coming out of this break,” said Julian Tang at the University of Leicester, UK, in a statement.
Yesterday, the UK, Scottish and Welsh governments released a joint statement with advice on household mixing during Christmas. “The safest way to spend this Christmas is with your own household or your existing support bubble in your own home – and we strongly recommend that this is what you do if at all possible,” the statement said. It also stressed that “scientific advice is clear: the longer you meet others for, the higher the risk of you catching and spreading the virus” and that “if you do intend to form a bubble, you should keep the bubble small and your visits short”.
Other coronavirus news
Two healthcare workers in Alaska developed allergic reactions after receiving the coronavirus vaccine developed by US company Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech, including a woman who did not have a history of allergies to vaccines and who was admitted to hospital. Both individuals received treatment and have recovered. The woman’s reaction appears to be similar to the allergic reactions experienced by two healthcare workers who were vaccinated in the UK last week. Following the two allergic reactions in the UK, US Food and Drug Administration officials said they would require Pfizer to monitor severe allergic reactions and submit data on this later on.
French president Emmanuel Macron tested positive for the coronavirus. In a statement, the Élysée Palace said Macron would “self-isolate for seven days in line with the health protocol applicable to everyone” and that he would continue to work remotely.
Coronavirus deaths
Matthew Rowett
The worldwide covid-19 death toll has passed 1.65 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 74.4 million, according to Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.
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