UK Covid-19 vaccinations: Latest figures
Boris Johnson has said he is “cautiously optimistic” as he prepares a roadmap for the easing of lockdown restrictions, which will likely start with education and end with pubs and restaurants.
This comes as experts warn of a “new large wave” comparable to the current situation if lockdown is lifted too early. There is amid mounting pressure from some Conservative MPs for the government to begin easing controls after the initial success of the vaccine rollout.
The government are rushing to meet the mid-February target of inoculating the most vulnerable with an estimated 10 per cent of over 70s yet to come forward for their first jab.
According to data published on Friday, more than 14 million have been vaccinated with their first dose while more than 530,000 have received their second dose. Head of NHS England, Sir Simon Stevens, said it had been “the fastest and largest vaccination campaign in history.”
On Friday, officials said England and Wales have already hit their target of offering the vaccine to the top four priority groups by 15 February. NHS England said on Friday that the top four groups in England had now “been offered the opportunity to be vaccinated”. In Wales, First Minister Mark Drakeford thanked “everyone who had been working around the clock to reach this point”.
Meanwhile, with less than 48 hours to go until hotel quarantine is introduced, a statement issued on Saturday morning by Heathrow airport said “significant gaps still remain”.
This comes after it emerged border officials had not even been told how the system would work while MPs have cautioned over chaotic scenes at airports. Staff working this weekend remain unaware of what rules they will be enforcing come Monday.
On Sunday, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said he hoped new drugs set to arrive toward the end of 2021 could make coronavirus a “treatable disease.” Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, he said new treatments could turn “Covid from a pandemic that affects all of our lives into another illness that we have to live with, like we do flu. That’s where we need to get Covid to over the months to come”.
Key Points
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1613234365Latest figures show a further 621 people have died of coronavirus
The government have said 621 people died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Saturday, bringing the UK total to 116,908.
Meanwhile, data up to12 February shows that 14,556,827 of the 15,091,696 jabs given in the UK so far were first does. This is a rise of 544,603 on the previous day.
Based on these latest figures, an average of 221,587 first doses of vaccine would be needed each day to meet the Government’s target of 15 million first doses by Monday 15 February.
Daisy Lester13 February 2021 16:39
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Cases of long covid could be as high as 20%, immunologist warns
The number of patients reporting symptoms of coronavirus weeks after becoming ill could be as high as 20 per cent, which would result in additional strain on the NHS.
Immunologist Professor Danny Altmann, from Imperial College London, said the figure of one in 20 people suffering long covid last October is now markedly higher.
Speaking to Times Radio, he said: “Many people would have 10-20 per cent as their range if you look at the papers on how many people are still reporting significant symptoms several months afterwards.”
Altmann is calling for long covid clinics to be opened across the UK, most recently making his case at a World Health Organisation meeting.
Symptoms of long Covid include ongoing fatigue, loss of taste or smell, respiratory and cardiovascular problems and mental health issues.
“It’s a real thing to worry and think about for the future, for patients and healthcare planning,” he said.
Daisy Lester13 February 2021 16:20
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Hackney police break up an illegal boat party on Saturday morning
Officers from the Metropolitan Police broke up an illegal gathering on a canal boat in Hackney in the early hours of Saturday morning.
One arrest was made and 26 fines were issued for breaching coronavirus regulations. Police arrived at the scene after receiving several reports of a large number of people playing music on a boat on the River Lea, east London.
A 31-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of breaking the Health Protection Regulations and he remains in custody. The same individual was previously reported for consideration of a £10,000 penalty notice for organising a similar party.
Chief Inspector Pete Shaw said: “It is incredibly disappointing that incidents of this nature continue when the vast majority of Londoners are doing the right thing.”
Daisy Lester13 February 2021 15:50
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Is Britain ready for hotel quarantine? Australia’s experience shows challenges ahead
As the UK prepares to enforce strict travel restrictions from Monday, Simon Calder reports on the mounting concerns about whether hotel quarantine will work smoothly.
Forensic analysis of the Australian system, introduced in March 2020, reveals many concerns – from bio-security breaches due to “fresh-air breaks” to the mental wellbeing of quarantining travellers.
From 15 February, all travellers arriving from “red list” countries will be required to pay for 11 nights in an airport hotel with the overall cost – including three meals a day – amounting to £1,750 for individual passengers.
The Australia-wide review makes clear the human cost on arriving travellers, noting “the pressures on mental health and wellbeing during hotel quarantine”. It says: “Even those who have not previously experienced mental ill health may find the experience taxing.”
Read the full report here:
Daisy Lester13 February 2021 15:40
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Parents of children returning to the UK alone urge government rethink hotel quarantine
With hotel quarantine after travel from “red list” countries due to be enforced from Monday, parents of unaccompanied minors are pleading with the government to rethink plans.
Hundreds of children whose parents live and work overseas but who attending British boarding schools are keen to return when schools reopen. However, minors arriving from red listed countries will be required to quarantine for 10 days.
Karl Feilder, who lives in the United Arab Emirates, told the PA news agency: “To be perfectly honest, I think anyone in their right mind would not do that with their children and indeed it’s completely mad, completely unnecessary.”
He added that his daughters are finding the uncertainty extremely stressful and suggested children returning to the UK should be allowed to quarantine at school.
Daisy Lester13 February 2021 15:20
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Boris Johnson says coronavirus is a disease people will have to ‘simply live with’
Prime Minister Boris Johnson during a visit to a pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Stockton-on-Tees, 13 February
(PA)
PM Boris Johnson has said health secretary Matt Hancock was right to say Covid-19 could become a “manageable disease” like the common flu.
Speaking during a visit to a vaccine manufacturing facility in Teesside, he said: “A nasty disease like this will roll through. A new disease like this will take time for humanity to adapt to, but we are.”
“I do think that in due time it will become something that we simply live with. Some people will be more vulnerable than others – that’s inevitable”, he added.
Daisy Lester13 February 2021 15:00
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White tiger cubs likely died of Covid, zoo says
(AFP via Getty Images)
Two deceased tiger cubs that lived in a Pakistani zoo allegedly died from Covid-19, an autopsy has revealed. Pathologists found severe lung damage in the animals, concluding they passed away from coronavirus.
The two 11-week-old white tiger cubs who lived at Lahore Zoo died four days after beginning treatment for feline panleukopenia virus, a common respiratory virus affecting cats’ respiratory systems.
Zoo deputy director Kiran Saleem told Reuters the zoo believes the cubs were the victims of the pandemic that has killed 12,256 people in Pakistan, although no PCR test for coronavirus was conducted.
“After their death, the zoo administration conducted tests of all officials, and six tested positive, including one official who handled the cubs,” Saleem said. “It strengthens the findings of the autopsy. The cubs probably caught the virus from the person handling and feeding them.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have reported throughout the pandemic that several animals in zoological facilities have tested positive for Covid-19 in America, including large cats, great apes, lions, tigers, and a puma.
Daisy Lester13 February 2021 14:40
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Surge testing for the South Africa variant to be rolled out in Middlesbrough, Walsall and Hampshire
After the discovery of a positive case of the South Africa variant of coronavirus in Hampshire, additional surge testing will be carried out in the area as well as in parts ofMiddlesbrough and Walsall.
Testing will help monitor and suppress the South African variant after a second confirmed case was found in Walsall, which is not believed to be linked to international travel.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said people living in these targeted areas are strongly encouraged to take a Covid-19 test this week, whether they are showing symptoms or not.
Middlesbrough currently has the fifth highest infection rate in England, according to Public Health England data analysed by the PA news agency.
Daisy Lester13 February 2021 14:14
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Boris Johnson ‘cautiously optimistic’ ahead of lockdown easing roadmap
(The Independent)
The PM is set to unveil a three-stage roadmap on 22 February that lays out how the UK will ease out of lockdown.
Boris Johnson has said he is “cautiously optimistic” as he prepares plans which will likely start with education and end with pubs and restaurants.
Speaking on a visit to the North East of England, he said: “I’m optimistic, I won’t hide it from you. I’m optimistic, but we have to be cautious.”
Current thinking suggests schools would be the first to reopen in March, followed by shops if the R number continues to stay below one and cases continue to fall.
Daisy Lester13 February 2021 14:08
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Vaccine uptake among care home staff remains ‘far too low’
Concerns over just 66 per cent of care home staff so far having taken up the offer of inoculation has been raised by the deputy chair of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), who said uptake remains “far too low.”
While a third of staff are still to be vaccinated, vulnerable people in care homes are remain at a high risk of catching coronavirus.
Speaking tothe BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Professor Anthony Harnden said: “If they are to stop potentially transmitting to those vulnerable people who they look after and care for deeply, they need to take the immunisation up. The message needs to come across loud and clear.”
Though, he rejected the suggestion that the vaccine be made compulsory among staff.
“I would much prefer to be able to persuade by the power of argument than to force people or to make people lose their jobs because they didn’t take up the vaccine.”
Daisy Lester13 February 2021 14:00
