R-rate above 1 across the UK as Boris Johnson refuses to rule out third lockdown
Sarah Newey
·65 min read
US Vice President Mike Pence receives the Covid-19 vaccine in the White House, live on television in - SAUL LOEB/AFP
Coronavirus Article Bar with counter
The reproductive number has surpassed 1 across the country, meaning the coronavirus outbreak is growing exponentially, figures published by the Sage scientific advisory panel show.
The scientists estimate that R value - which represents the average number of people each Covid positive patient goes on to infect - is now between 1.1 and 1.2. Last week it was hovering at between 0.9 and 1.
According to the estimates all NHS England regions now have R rates equal or above 1, while a Sage sub group put the current epidemic growth rate at between plus 1 per cent and plus 4 per cent for the UK as a whole.
The concerning figures come after Professor John Edmunds, a member of Sage, said that restrictions will have to be tightened after Christmas as the tier system is not "holding the epidemic wave back".
"I think we are going to have to look at these measures and perhaps tighten them up, we really will," he said. "It's a horrible thing to have to say but we are in quite a difficult position."
However, Prof Edmunds, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said that while the relaxation of restrictions at Christmas is "probably not good for the epidemic", it is "probably good for people's wellbeing in other ways".
During a visit to Greater Manchester the Prime Minister also refused to rule out a third national lockdown after Christmas, saying the rates of infection have increased "very much" in the last few weeks.
WHO team set to visit China in early January to investigate virus origins
The World Health Organization has confirmed that a team of scientists are set to travel to China in the first week of January to investigate the origins of the coronavirus pandemic.
Mike Ryan, the head of the WHO emergency programme, said the international experts - which includes England's former deputy chief medical officer, John Watson - will go to the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where the first cases of Covid-19 were detected last December.
"We still don't have a take-off date because we are working on the logistics around visas and flights. We do expect the team to be going there in the first week of January. There will be quarantine arrangements," Ryan told a press conference this afternoon.
"The team will visit Wuhan, that's the purpose of the mission. The point of the mission is to go to the original point at which human cases were detected. They'll fully expect to do that," he added.
Brazil's Bolsonaro claims virus vaccine could turn people into 'crocodiles'
Just 20 minutes ago we posted about the conflict between Brazil's right-wing president Jair Bolsonaro and the country's court, which has ruled that vaccinations could become mandatory for all citizens.
That tension has become ever starker as Bolsonaro has launched a bizarre has attack on coronavirus vaccines, even suggesting that the one could turn people into crocodiles or bearded ladies.
The far-right leader has been sceptical of the coronavirus since it first emerged late last year, branding it "a little flu." This week he insisted he would not be vaccinated, even while launching the country's mass innoculation program.
"In the Pfizer contract it's very clear: 'we're not responsible for any side effects.' If you turn into a crocodile, it's your problem," Bolsonaro said.
That vaccine has been undergoing tests in Brazil for weeks and is already being used in the United States and Britain.
"If you become superhuman, if a woman starts to grow a beard or if a man starts to speak with an effeminate voice, they will not have anything to do with it," he said, referring to the drug manufacturers.
There is absolutely no evidence to support Bolsonaro's claims, which are a sharp contrast from scientists - including America's Dr Fauci, who addresses vaccine concerns in the video below.
06:33 PM
Watch: 'These are safe and effective products' - Dr Fauci addresses Covid vaccine fears
06:23 PM
Non-essential activities suspended in parts of Mexico
Mexico City and the neighboring State of Mexico are suspending non-essential activities amid a surge of coronavirus infections and death that is quickly saturating hospitals, Mexico's Deputy health minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell said this afternoon.
The suspension of nonessential activities will take effect on Saturday and last through January 10, Lopez-Gatell announced at a press conference.
Here's a look at the trajectory of Mexico's coronavirus outbreak:
06:10 PM
Brazil's supreme court rules Covid vaccine can be mandatory
Brazil’s Supreme Court ruled that vaccinations could become mandatory for all citizens, as the South American country recorded over 1,000 new Covid-19 deaths for the first time in more than three months on Thursday.
The court ruled that Brazilians could be "required, but not forced" by civil authorities to be vaccinated.
The specific enforcement mechanisms allowed by the order were not immediately clear, but Supreme Court Justice Ricardo Lewandowski wrote in the majority ruling that individuals refusing to take vaccines could face sanctions, such as the inability to partake in certain activities or to frequent certain locations.
Brazil's right-wing president Jair Bolsonaro, who has frequently played down the pandemic's severity, has repeatedly said in the past that he will not take any vaccine and that ordinary Brazilians would not be required to do so either, a position that puts him at odds with the court.
Earlier in the day, in a setback to Brazil's attempts to fight the pandemic, Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello said Pfizer was having difficulty acquiring approval for its vaccine in Brazil.
He said a company executive told him the approval process was proving more onerous than expected in the country.
A second wave of Covid-19 cases has hit several major sub-Saharan African nations, as anxiety grows that the continent will be left behind in the global race to stockpile coronavirus vaccines.
The continent of more than 1.1 billion people dodged the apocalyptic scenarios many Western experts predicted at the beginning of this year.
Sub-Saharan Africa has recorded about 25,000 confirmed deaths and 1.6m cases, a fraction of the world's caseload.
Experts say this was primarily due to the lockdown measures put in place by African governments and the fact that Africans tend to be much younger, fitter and more rural than the average Italian or American.
But officials across Africa are now bracing for what looks like an avalanche of infections. Last week, coronavirus cases and deaths went up 40 per cent in the region, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
In the last month, countries like South Africa, Mali, Uganda, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal and the Democratic Republic of Congo have also seen a surge of cases. Cases have also risen in Kenya and Ethiopia.
The NGO Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has also noted a resurgence of Covid-19 both in capital cities and in rural areas, notably in Chad.
A nurse from Lancet Nectare hospital performs a coronavirus test in Richmond, Johannesburg - LUCA SOLA / AFP
05:51 PM
Russia starts cosmonaut vaccination programme
Russia began vaccinating its cosmonauts and staff today at Star City, the closed town near Moscow that is home to the country's space programme, the Roscosmos space corporation said.
Russia rolled out the Sputnik V jab to medics and other frontline workers in Moscow earlier this month - more than 200,000 people have already been vaccinated.
Cosmonaunts Nikolai Chub and Oleg Artemyev, a former crew member of the International Space Station, had the first of the two Sputnik V vaccine jabs, the space corporation said.
Olga Minina, head of the local clinic, said the cosmonauts had volunteered to take the vaccine, which is named after Soviet satellite that triggered the space race.
It is one of a number of vaccines developed by Russia, and one of two in final phase trials that are yet to be completed.
It comes after President Vladimir Putin said on yesterday he was yet to be inoculated, but that he would do so when possible.
05:42 PM
Covid blame game escalates as leaders clash in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland's political leaders have clashed amid a blame game over the region's spiralling Covid-19 infection rates.
First Minister Arlene Foster claimed a drop in compliance with regulations was down to the attendance of senior Sinn Fein figures at the funeral of IRA veteran Bobby Storey at a time when strict limits on numbers applied.
The DUP leader, who also spoke of a failure of society as a whole, made the claims after Sinn Fein Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill accused the DUP of acting against public health advice in opposing more robust measures earlier in the pandemic.
The clashes came a day after the Executive unanimously agreed to impose a sweeping six-week lockdown which will come into force on Boxing Day.
A further 489 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 today, bringing the UK total to 66,541, according to Government figures.
Separate figures published by the UK's statistics agencies for deaths where Covid-19 has been mentioned on the death certificate, together with additional data on deaths that have occurred in recent days, show there have now been 82,000 deaths involving Covid-19 in the UK.
As of 9am on this morning, there had been a further 28,507 lab-confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK.
It brings the total number of cases in the UK to 1,977,167.
Here's a look at the trajectory of the UK's outbreak to date:
05:28 PM
WHO addresses new Covid strain found in South African
The World Health Organization is aware that South African researchers have identified some new virus variants, Maria Van Kerkhove has said.
The epidemiologist and WHO's technical lead said the organization is in touch with researchers and scientists from South Africa.
"We are working with researchers to determine any changes in the behaviour of the virus itself in terms of transmission," she told the press conference.
"So far we have no indication that there are any changes in the virus's behaviour, but these studies are underway."
This kind of surveillance is what the WHO wants to see, but the world shouldn't panic.
"The longer this virus is around, the more opportunity this virus has to spread the more opportunities this virus has to change," she said.
05:24 PM
WHO: Africa is not out of the woods
While Africa so far has dodged the worst of the pandemic, the continent is not out of the woods just yet, the WHO's Mike Ryan has said.
"South Africa continue to battle higher numbers ... and the trajectory in West Africa trajectory and in parts of East Africa is actually upward," he said.
"So while the absolute numbers may not be huge, Africa does need countries to maintain their vigilance."
Unlike other region of the world, many people in Africa live in a situation where they have to work to live, he added.
"They have to work to eat. Therefore, there are limited more limited choices for people in that situation."
Unlike places like the UK, these countries don't necessarily have government structures that can put aside trillions of dollars to pay people to stay at home. "And therefore, people don't have the same choices," he said.
05:18 PM
We have a shared responsibility to support migrant-supporting countries: WHO
In an international crisis, we all a shared responsibility to support countries that are hosting large numbers of refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants, António Vitorino, head of the United Nation's Migration Agency has said.
Speaking at the World Health Organization's press briefing, Mr Vitorino said that while the virus has so far been contained in a number of high risk settings, more support is needed to protect the world's most vulnerable citizens.
"Most of these forcible displaced persons live in low and middle income countries, which tend to have weaker health systems and struggle to meet the health needs of their own population."
It's not a question of creating any preference or privilege to migrants, he says. Healthcare is a fundamental human right.
"We estimate that we have 3 million stranded migrants, all over the world," he said.
"It remains vital that migrants in vulnerable situations have access to immunisation and essential primary health care services, including mental health in humanitarian settings as much as in urban slums, or border communities."
05:08 PM
'We have to finish this vaccine race together," WHO experts says
There is a danger in turning vaccination drives into a race, the World Health Organization's Mike Ryan has warned.
As more countries prepare to vaccinate their citizens, "we shouldn't be seeing this as a game of winners and losers right now. We're at the beginning," he said.
"It could be very destructive for us all to turn this into some kind of nationalistic foot race to who gets there first.
"We all have to get there together. We simply have to finish this race in a line together.
"I think we're all going to have to just be a little bit patient, and a little bit tolerant that things are going to move at slightly different paces in different situations, and we don't politicise this.
"Now we need solidarity, to deliver the ultimate solution, which is to stop this virus transmitting and killing the people we love ."
04:52 PM
'Health for all, means all,' WHO says on International Migrants Day
Health for all means leaving no one behind, the World Health Organization's chief has said, as he called on countries to do more to ensure universal healthcare access for all migrant on International Migrants Day.
Opening the WHO's press briefing, Dr Tedros said:
“Migrants make enormous contributions to our societies, with new ideas that drive economic and social innovation. That's also true in the Covid-19 response.
"It was Turkish migrants to Germany who founded the company that developed the first Covid-19 vaccine to be approved and rolled out and it was a nurse from the Philippines who administered the first dose of that vaccine in the UK."
However, "too often, migrants and their families remain outsiders in their adopted communities," he said. "Even years after migrating, they face discrimination, social exclusion and lack of access to health services.”
There are several measures countries can take to include refugees and migrants in response plans and public health measures, he said, including making sure access to care is not linked to legal status, removing barriers to access and making changes to health systems to make them sensitive to migrants needs.
"Health for all means all, including migrants," he added.
04:44 PM
Rashford launches End Child Food Poverty website to support families over Christmas
England footballer Marcus Rashford and his food poverty taskforce have launched a website to support children and vulnerable families over the Christmas holiday period.
The site, endchildfoodpoverty.org, includes a map that allows people to find help in their local area, as well as information on how people can donate and volunteer this winter.
“There is still so much more to be done but the least children deserve this year, after loss and disruption, is a Christmas dinner on the table," Rashford said in a statement.
Sheffield United v Manchester United: Marcus Rashford - The Daily Mail NMC Pool
04:34 PM
Switzerland closes hospitality venues – barely a week after reopening them
The Swiss government said Friday it is ordering the closure of restaurants, bars, cultural venues and sports facilities next week in a renewed bid to stem a continuing rise in coronavirus cases.
The measure comes barely a week after authorities reopened eateries and watering holes in a wide swath of western Switzerland.
The closures, which take effect on Tuesday and will last through Jan. 22, are necessary because "hospitals and healthcare workers have been under extreme pressure for weeks and the festive period increases the risk of an even more rapid rise in cases," the government said in a statement.
"The coronavirus is not letting us go during these holidays. The situation remains critical. That's why stricter measures have been decided," said Swiss President Simonetta Sommaruga at a news conference.
04:22 PM
France's Macron insists he's doing fine after testing positive for Covid-19
French President Emmanuel Macron has said he is doing fine, a day after he tested positive for the coronavirus, and would report in a transparent manner on his medical condition.
"There is no reason that things will evolve in a bad way," he said in a live speech via Twitter, adding that he would continue managing government affairs albeit at a slower pace.
It comes after officials said earlier today that Macron is self-isolating in the presidential retreat in Versailles and is currently suffering from a fever, cough and fatigue.
Emmanuel Macron, having tested positive for Covid-19, is seen on a screen as he attends by video conference a round table for the National Humanitarian Conference at the Foreign Ministry in Paris on December 17 - CHARLES PLATIAU
Watch: Justin Bieber and the NHS Choir join forces once again in Christmas single
If you're after some festive cheer, this might be right up your street:
04:10 PM
Afternoon summary
Just joining us? Here's a quick summary of the developments to be aware of, in the UK and across the globe:
Boris Johnson has declined to rule out a third national lockdown after Christmas, saying the rates of infection have increased "very much" in the last few weeks.
This comes as the R value surpassed 1 across the UK, according to estimates published by the Government Office for Science and the Sage scientific advisory group.
Sir Keir Starmer urged the Prime Minister to rethink the Christmas window to avoid a third lockdown, which Neil Ferguson has said may need to be tougher than the second.
Meanwhile the Swiss government ordered all restaurants, sports and recreation centres closed for a month from Tuesday, while Austria looks set to enter into a third lockdown after Christmas and Sweden's has introduced the toughest measures yet to help stave off a second wave.
Spain's Supreme Court ordered an investigation into the deaths of elderly nursing home residents during the pandemic as the government warned of a possible third wave of infections.
Slovak Prime Minister announced he has Covid-19, a week after attending a summit with French President Emmanuel Macron who later tested positive for the disease.
United States Vice President Mike Pence received his Covid-19 vaccine live on television, seeking to shore up public support for vaccinations after coroanvirus deaths exceeded 3,000 for a third straight day.
Pence added that approval for Moderna vaccine could come within hours on Friday, after President Donald Trump tweeted that the vaccine had been approved.
Canada will donate Covid-19 vaccines to other countries if it receives more doses than necessary, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said.
It comes after Covax, which aims to equally distribute vaccines worldwide, said it has reached its target of securing almost two billion coronavirus doses and is working out a distribution plan.
And finally, Christmas travel plans for thousands of Australians were thrown into chaos when states and territories imposed border restrictions after 28 cases were detected in Sydney.
Scroll down for more of today's news.
03:59 PM
Slovak PM tests positive a track-and-trace effort across Europe following Macron's diagnosis
Slovak Prime Minister Igor Matovic announced today that he has Covid-19, a week after attending a summit with French President Emmanuel Macron who later tested positive for the disease.
Matovic, 47, posted a message showing his positive test and an order to observe 10 days of isolation on Facebook, but did not say where he had been infected.
The government office said he had cancelled all events for the coming days, but gave no details of the circumstances behind him being tested. Matovic did not mention having any symptoms.
The announcement yesterday that Macron had tested positive for Covid-19 prompted a track-and-trace effort across Europe following numerous meetings between the French leader and European Union heads of government, some of whom decided to self-isolate.
A French presidential official said it was almost certain Macron was infected at last week's EU summit in Brussels, given the timing of his symptoms.
Friday's announcement that Matovic had tested positive triggered self-quarantine announcements by a number of ministers who had attended a government meeting with Matovic on Wednesday.
"For nine months I have been battling people who measure the pandemic just by the number of closed bars and incite people against measures and the government. I admit I am out of strength and was hoping for a few days without stress," the Prime Minister said on Facebook. "Now it seems it will be a different holiday."
03:47 PM
Sweden introduces toughest measures yet to curb Covid
Sweden's government has introduced the toughest measures yet to help stave off a second wave of the pandemic, including recommending masks on public transport and closing non-essential public workplaces.
"It is not possible to return to a normal everyday life. A pandemic is a life and death matter," Prime Minster Stefan Lofven told a news conference.
Sweden, which has opted against lockdowns, is in the midst of a severe second wave of the pandemic and has seen record numbers of new cases almost every week for the past two months.
With the number of deaths close to 8,000 Sweden's death rate per capita is several times higher than that of its Nordic neighbours but lower than several European countries that opted for lockdowns.
Earlier today the country recorded a record 9,654 new coronavirus, and the change in tact comes after he King branded the handling of the pandemic as a "failure" (see 1:16pm).
03:34 PM
Sir Keir asks Boris: 'What are you doing to prevent a third lockdown?'
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has called on Boris Johnson to set out his plan for averting a third national lockdown in England this afternoon.
From the the party's headquarters in London, Sir Keir told reporters that "nobody wants a third lockdown", which would be "hugely damaging on health grounds and also for the economy".
But he added that the tiered system is not working, as demonstrated by the fact that more and more people are being put into higher tiers.
"Whether the Prime Minister rules [national lockdown] out or not is not the central question," Sir Kier said. "I think the central question, Prime Minister, is what are you doing now to prevent the chances of a third lockdown?"
He added that limiting Christmas to mixing only between two households would be a "step in the right direction", suggesting that Boris Johnson has "got to toughen up over Christmas, he's got to show some leadership".
On plans for the rollout of testing in schools in January, he said that the government has been "too slow again", adding that "lots of staff in schools are tearing their hair out" that it was announced just before Christmas.
The Labour leader's comments echo those he made yesterday, where he said the tiered system is "just not strong enough to control the virus". Watch below:
03:25 PM
Welsh death toll tops 3,000
Deaths from coronavirus in Wales have now passed 3,000, according to figures from Public Health Wales.
The agency's latest figures, published on Friday, show another 38 deaths were reported in the previous 24 hours, taking the total during the pandemic to 3,011. A further 2,801 cases of Covid-19 took the country's total to 117,367.
It comes after an extra 11,000 cases were added to the country's total yesterday, after maintenance work on Public Health Wales's computer systems meant the numbers were not included on top of 11,911 positive cases reported between December 9 and 15.
The country's seven-day case rate is now 562.2 per 100,000 people, the highest of any of the four UK nations.
Earlier today Wales's minister for mental health and wellbeing, Eluned Morgan, warned that case rates could even go beyond 1,000 per 100,000 if the two-week-old restrictions on hospitality fail to "kick in", blaming the ever-increasing rates on people mixing with others.
Baroness Morgan told the Welsh Government's Covid-19 press briefing: "It's still early days on that and we're waiting to see if that will be translated into fewer cases.
"The bottom line, however, is that a lot of people are still mixing within households, and that is where the real problem lies.
"So, unless people start to take their responsibility seriously and stop mixing with other households, then we are likely to see the worst-case modelling, which can go above 1,000 per 100,000. That is something we're very concerned about."
Down under, Australian officials have declared Sydney's northern beaches a coronavirus hotspot as a cluster of cases grew to 28 and triggered the return of domestic travel restrictions.
The outbreak follows a period of relative normality in the city after it proved a success in keeping a lid on the virus in recent months.
But on Friday hundreds of thousands of residents were urged to stay at home as much as possible for three days and long queues formed outside Covid-19 clinics as health officials raced to contain the infection.
"If we get on top of this in the next two or three days, all of us will be able to have a much better Christmas," Premier Gladys Berejiklian, leader of Sydney's state of New South Wales, told media.
"But if we don't get on top of it in the next few days, it could mean further restrictions down the track."
Small businesses have criticised postal delays at Royal Mail, saying the FTSE 250 company is failing to be transparent about the disruption and customers are taking their anger out on SMEs as a result.
Companies have said delivery times are erratic and some have reported delays of up to three to four weeks for certain items, forcing SMEs to refund angry customers.
Tory Fox-Hill, founder of Fox and Moon, a Leeds-based stationery company, said hundreds of parcels it sent out on the weekend of Black Friday still have not been delivered.
"Royal Mail are saying there’s an unprecedented amount of post and there are slight delays. But obviously there aren’t slight delays, it’s three to four weeks," said Ms Fox-Hill.
"And it's so irregular. There’s no pattern to the delays at all. We are sending out stuff now that is getting there in 48 hours to a week, but the stuff from Black Friday is stuck in a black hole somewhere."
Simon Foyhas more here, which comes amid huge demand due to a surge in online shopping during the coronavirus pandemic.
03:04 PM
Trudeau commits Canada to sharing any extra vaccine doses
Canada will donate Covid-19 vaccines to other countries if it receives more doses than necessary, its Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a television interview.
Reuters reported in November that Canada was in talks to donate shots to lower-income countries, but Canadian officials have not previously made any public commitment.
"As Canada gets vaccinated, if we have more vaccines than necessary, absolutely we will be sharing with the world," Trudeau said in a CTV interview, which is set to air on Sunday. He did not outline how donations might work.
Canada has reserved more vaccine doses per capita than any other country. In the unlikely event that all the experimental vaccines perform well in trials, it could access enough doses to vaccinate the Canadian population more than five times over.
It is not yet clear what might be considered an extra dose, or whether Canada would consider exercising options under its purchase contracts in order to donate doses.
Trudeau's comment comes as the Covax alliance, a global vaccine purchasing program run by the Gavi vaccine alliance and the World Health Organization, said it had gained access to nearly 2 billion doses, roughly doubling its supply (see 1:37pm).
02:54 PM
'Easing restrictions increasingly looks like the wrong decision at the wrong time'
Today has seen the publication of two sets of data that has triggered widespread concern.
The ONS infections survey found proportion of people testing positive for Covid-19 is estimated to have increased sharply in London, with other increases in Eastern England, the East Midlands and south-east England (see 12:45pm).
Meanwhile figures from Sage suggest the reproductive number has surpassed 1 across the country, meaning the coronavirus outbreak is growing exponentially (see 1:55pm).
In that context Linda Bauld, professor of Public Health, University of Edinburgh, has warned that "the easing of restrictions for a five day period over Christmas increasingly looks like the wrong decision at the wrong time."
She said that while everyone recognises the importance of seeing loved ones over Christmas, "by allowing travel around the UK and changing guidance to allow household mixing indoors we are setting ourselves up for a miserable January with tough restrictions".
"If the NHS is put under even more pressure and staff are absent due to Covid-19 or caring responsibilities, then a worst case scenario is that this Christmas easing could even delay one of the main routes out of this pandemic - vaccine rollout," she warned this afternoon.
Unions: Chaotic announcements mean school testing programme is 'inoperable'
Secondary schools and colleges which are unable to set up mass Covid-19 testing of students for the first week of January should not be forced to, according to advice from a coalition of education unions.
In a letter to schools, seen by the PA news agency, headteachers have been told they will receive the full support of their union if they decide they cannot carry out tests at the start of term.
It comes after the Government announced secondary school and college pupils' return to class in England will be staggered in the first week of January to help schools roll out mass testing of students.
Schools minister Nick Gibb said the tests will be administered by volunteers and agency staff and details will be published next week.
But education unions jointly warned that testing in secondary schools will not be ready at the start of January due to the Government's last-minute announcement of the scheme at the end of term.
"Many of our organisations have been actively calling for such tests for some time," the unions said.
"However, it is our view that due to the chaotic and rushed nature of this announcement, the lack of proper guidance, and an absence of appropriate support, the Government's plan in its current form will be inoperable for most schools and colleges."
02:33 PM
'It's a pandemic Christmas'
Concerns around easing restrictions during the Christmas period have not abated, especially given the Sage estimates suggesting that the R value is now above 1 across the UK.
Prof Devi Sridhar, chair of global public health at Edinburgh University, has urged people not to cancel Christmas, but err on the side of caution - meet outside as much as possible and stay local.
From a public health perspective it is risky to be inside someone else's home (or to have people in your home) for socializing (unless you're in a very low prevalence area). Meet outside, stay local & err on caution. It's not cancelling Christmas- it's a pandemic Christmas.
Switzerland: Government tightens restrictions for a month
The Swiss government has ordered all restaurants, sports and recreation centres to close for a month from Tuesday and urged people to stay home, in an attempt to curb stubbornly high coronavirus infection rates,
Confirmed cases in Switzerland and neighbouring Liechtenstein have surpassed 400,000 and the death toll has topped 6,000 as the cabinet today backed away from its "middle path" that had aimed to avoid a second business-crippling lockdown.
Here's a look at the trajectory of the country's pandemic:
02:19 PM
Spain: Supreme Court orders investigation into deaths at care homes
Spain's Supreme Court has ordered an investigation into the deaths of elderly nursing home residents during the Covid-19 pandemic, as the government warned the nation was facing a possible third wave of infections.
Magistrates were asked to find out if deaths at nursing homes "were associated with political, administrative or management decisions and whether those decisions are criminally reproachable".
More than 20,000 people died of Covid-19 or suspected Covid-19 in nursing homes during the first wave in March-May, according to preliminary official data reported by El Pais newspaper.
While the courts rejected about 50 cases that specifically targeted the government for its management of the pandemic, it also asked lower courts to look into the possible misuse of public funds to buy flawed or fraudulent medical equipment.
Spain has been one of the countries in Europe hardest-hit by the pandemic. A total of 48,777 people have died from the coronavirus, health ministry data show, with the toll climbing by 181 on Thursday.
Having dropped off steeply since late October, daily infections began rising last week, leading Health Minister Salvador Illa to warn that Spain could be facing the start of a third wave of contagion if adequate measures are not taken.
02:09 PM
Watch: Mike Pence receives coronavirus vaccine
02:01 PM
Third lockdown would need to be stricter than second, says Neil Ferguson
Staying with concerns about the UK trajectory, Professor Neil Ferguson - whose modelling led to the original lockdown in March - has suggested a third national lockdown may need to be more stringent than the second.
He told BBC Radio 4's World At One programme: "The concern I have right now is that ... (in) the East of England, for instance, case numbers were rising during the last lockdown, so there may be a need for additional controls beyond even what were in place then."
Here's a look at the trajectory of the UK's pandemic:
01:55 PM
R rate above 1: Five signs England could be heading for a post-Christmas lockdown
The reproduction number, or R value, is now above 1 across the UK, according to figures published by the Government Office for Science and the Sage scientific advisory group.
The scientists estimate the figure is between 1.1 and 1.2. Last week, the R number, which he average number of people each Covid-19 positive person goes on to infect, was between 0.9 and 1.
When the figure is above 1, an outbreak can grow exponentially.
But the rising R value is not the only indication that England could be heading for a post-Christmas lockdown, Alex Clark reports:
Cases are rising exponentially - doubling every 7 days in some areas
The young are making up most cases
New areas of the country are being hit - including the South east
Hospitals as full as they were in April and non-covid ops are being cancelled
Much of Europe is also locking down now in order to get ahead of the curve
Vaccines: Covax scheme doubles global vaccine supply deals to two billion doses
Over lunchtime we wrote about concerns this week that the Covax scheme may not reach targets needed to ensure vaccines are distributed equitably across the globe (see 12pm).
But in an optimistic press conference the initiative - established by the World Health Organization, Gavi, and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations - has announced that it has reached its target of securing almost two billion coronavirus vaccine doses and is now working out a distribution plan.
WHO Director General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said that the new deals meant that Covax could begin to distribute vaccines to vulnerable populations in all of the 190 countries signed up for the initiative in the first half of next year.
New deals for doses have been agreed with AstraZeneca/Oxford University- it will provide 170 million doses at no profit - and Johnson & Johnson, which will deliver 200 million doses, also at no profit, next year. Both vaccines are awaiting regulatory approval.
"The light at the end of the tunnel has grown a little bit brighter," said Dr Tedros.
Covax added in a statement: "Today’s announcements offer the clearest pathway yet to end the acute phase of the pandemic by protecting the most vulnerable populations around the world," it added.
01:28 PM
In pictures: Mike Pence receives vaccine on live TV
Vice President Mike Pence, seated left, his wife Karen Pence, seated center, and U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams, seated right prepare to receive a Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine shot at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex - AP Photo/Andrew Harnik The Vice President received the jab in a televised event - SAUL LOEB / AFP Karen Pence, the Vice Presidents wife, also received the vaccine during the event - SAUL LOEB / AFP
Over in the United States Vice President Mike Pence, 61, has received the coronavirus vaccine live on television.
He had the first of two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech jab at the White House's Eisenhower Executive Office Building along with his wife Karen and Surgeon General Jerome Adams.
"I didn’t feel a thing,” Mr Pence said shortly after receiving the shot. "Well done."
"The American people can be confident: we have one and perhaps within hours two safe vaccines," Pence added, referring to expected regulatory approval for Moderna's vaccine - Donald Trump tweeted half an hour ago that the Food and Drink Administartion has granted an emergency licence.
The Trump administration said the move was intended to "promote the safety and efficacy of the vaccine and build confidence among the American people," but it comes amid mixed messages.
President Trump was notably absent from proceedings and there has been no mention of when he may receive the jab. The New York Times has also reported that, unusually, Trump was not publicising the event - instead moments before Pence received the vaccine he was tweeting about Russia.
Pence has also written an opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal under the headline "There Isn’t a Coronavirus ‘Second Wave’", while he hosted a holiday party at his residence this week during which guests mingled in an outdoor tent and posed for pictures without masks.
01:16 PM
Record-breaking: Sweden reports almost 10,000 new cases
More bad news from Sweden, whose unorthodox pandemic strategy placed it in the global spotlight, as the country registered a record 9,654 new coronavirus today, Health Agency statistics show.
The increase compared with a previous high of 8,881 daily cases recorded yesterday.
Sweden registered 100 new deaths, taking the total to 7,993. The deaths registered have typically occurred over several days and sometimes weeks, and are added into the Health Agency’s tally which is updated four times per week.
Sweden's death rate per capita is several times higher than that of its Nordic neighbours but lower than several European countries that opted for lockdowns.
It comes after the King declared in a rare interview this week that the country's handling of coronavirus a failure, pointing to the "terrible" death toll of close to 8,000 people, and the "sorrow and frustration" felt by those who have lost loved ones.
Recap: Minister says government 'rules nothing out' on third lockdown
12:56 PM
Trump: US regulators approve Moderna jab
President Donald Trump in has tweeted that Moderna's vaccine had been approved and distribution will start immediately, although the US Food and Drug Administration has made no public announcement yet regarding its decision.
A panel of outside FDA advisers met to discuss Moderna's vaccine yesterday and an agency decision was expected as soon as today.
Moderna vaccine overwhelmingly approved. Distribution to start immediately.
Boris Johnson urges Britons to 'look after' elderly relatives at Christmas
The Prime Minister has urged the public to avoid spreading coronavirus over Christmas.
He said: "What we're saying to people now over this Christmas period is think of those rules about the three households that you can bubble up with, the five days. That is very much a maximum - that's not a target people should aim for.
"I think people really get this, people do get this, all the evidence I'm seeing, people really understand this is the time to look after, to think about, our elderly relatives, avoid spreading the disease.
"Keep it short, keep it small, have yourselves a very little Christmas as I said the other night - that is, I'm afraid, the way through this year.
"Next year I have no doubt that as we roll out the vaccine and all the other things that we're doing it will be very, very different indeed."
Could Hong Kong paying people almost £500 to take Chinese vaccines?
A Hong Kong lawmaker has suggested that residents in the city could be encouraged to overcome safety fears and have Covid-19 vaccines by paying them up to 5,000 HKD (475 GBP), Louise Watt reports.
An initial batch of one million doses will arrive in Hong Kong from China as soon as next month.
Hong Kong has ordered a total of 15 million doses, half from China’s Sinovac Biotech and half from Pfizer/BioNTech. The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines, via mainland supplier Fosun Pharma, are expected to start arriving in the first quarter of 2021 at the earliest, the government has said.
China has granted emergency-use status to a candidate vaccine from Sinovac Biotech, as well as two others from Sinopharm, even though they are still in their testing stage and have not published data on their vaccines’ safety or efficacy.
Lawmaker Leung Che-cheung suggested that residents who worried vaccines were unsafe or had a wait-and-see attitude could be motivated to have a shot with a cash reward of 5,000 HKD.
“If there is a handout, it could act as an encouragement for those who go with the flow and had wanted to observe for a longer period of time,” the The Standard newspaper reported him saying.
In response to Leung’s suggestion, which was first made at a government panel meeting, health minister Sophia Chan said that authorities would launch a campaign to educate residents about the benefits of the vaccine.
“As for the lawmakers’ suggestions, we would certainly consider it if circumstances allow,” she added.
12:45 PM
Coronavirus latest - in numbers
The proportion of people testing positive for Covid-19 is estimated to have increased sharply in London, with other increases in Eastern England, the East Midlands and south-east England, according to analysis from the Office for National Statistics.
Meanwhile rates have continued to decrease in north-west England and Yorkshire & the Humber, while South-west England has the lowest rate.
Other key figures from today's data release:
An estimated 567,300 people in private households in England had Covid-19 between December 6 and 12, equivalent of around 1.04% of the population, or one in 95 people.
It represents a rise from 481,500 people, or one in 115, who were estimated to have Covid-19 in the period November 29 to December 5.
When modelling the level of infection among different age groups in England, the ONS said rates have increased in most age groups - except for young adults (school year 12 to age 24) and 50 to 69-year-olds. Rates remain highest among secondary school-aged children (school years 7 to 11).
Meanwhile in Wales, the percentage of people testing positive rose to 33,400 people in private households between December 6 and 12, up from an estimated 25,600 people the week before.
12:34 PM
Emmanuel Macron at presidential retreat in Versailles with fever
French President Emmanuel Macron is self-isolating in the presidential retreat in Versailles and is currently suffering from a fever, cough and fatigue, officials with the presidency said this morning.
As Mr Macron battles the coronavirus, French doctors are warning families who are heading for the holidays to remain cautious because of an uptick in infections - especially at the dinner table.
While Mr Macron routinely wears a mask and adheres to social distancing rules, he hosted or took part in multiple group meals in the days before testing positive yesterday. Critics say that's a bad example for compatriots advised to keep their gatherings to six people.
Although officials gave details of Mr Macron's current symptoms, they wouldn't provide details of his treatment. He is staying at the presidential residence of La Lanterne in the former royal city of Versailles.
Mr Macron's positive test comes as French health authorities are again seeing a rise in infections and warning of more as French families prepare to get together for Christmas and New Year festivities. France reported another 18,254 new infections yesterday and its death toll is just under 60,000.
Macron is isolating at the official residence La Lanterne, in Versailles - AP Photo/Christophe Ena
12:25 PM
'Hail-A-Panto'
Some fun images here of the UK's first doorstep 'Hail-A-Panto' - the 15-minute outdoor Panto comes at a time when we all need some light-hearted, Covid compliant Christmas entertainment.
Here an audience of competition winners, Jacqueline McBeth and her children Bea and Laurie, watch Puss in Boot in London:
Jonathan Hordle/PA Wire - Jonathan Hordle/PA Wire Jonathan Hordle/PA Wire - Jonathan Hordle/PA Wire
12:16 PM
Johnson: We hope to avoid a lockdown - but it cant be ruled out
Sticking with today's theme of tightening restrictions - Boris Johnson has declined to rule out a third national lockdown after Christmas, saying the rates of infection have increased "very much" in the last few weeks.
The Prime Minister was asked on a visit to Greater Manchester whether England would follow Northern Ireland in imposing stringent restrictions after the festive period.
He said: "We're hoping very much that we will be able to avoid anything like that.
"But the reality is that the rates of infection have increased very much in the last few weeks."
"We're hoping very much we'll be able to avoid that" - Prime Minister Boris Johnson responds to question on whether England will follow Northern Ireland and go into lockdown after Christmas.
England must do 'whatever it takes' to get Covid under control, health chief warns
The President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine has said we must do "whatever it takes" to get coronavirus cases under control.
Asked if a lockdown needed to be announced for England and Scotland following similar announcements in Wales and Northern Ireland, Dr Katherine Henderson said: "I don't really care what the terminology is, all I know is that we need to do something to get ourselves suppressing the community transmission of the virus.
"It seems to me we need to do whatever it takes to get the situation firmly under control so that we can vaccinate people and then move forward."
"We've got a real perfect storm going at the moment of lack of beds, a big wave of Covid patients and a desperate attempt to try and carry on doing work," she added.
12:00 PM
Update on global vaccine scheme expected after documents reveal 'very high' risk of failure
This afternoon we are expecting an update from the organisations behind Covax, a scheme which aims to distribute at least two billion vaccine doses worldwide by the end of next year.
The facility - led by the World Health Organization, the Coalition for Epidemic Prepardness and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance - is considered essential in efforts to temper "vaccine nationalism" and ensure that poorer countries have access to jabs sooner, rather than later.
Ahead of the press conference, which will also feature the CEO of AstraZeneca, Unicef announced that they could potentially transport 850 tonnes of coronavirus vaccines per month in 2021 on behalf of Covax.
But it comes amid growing concerns that the scheme will not deliver on all promises. Earlier this week internal documents revealed that Covax is struggling from a lack of funds, supply risks and complex contractual arrangements.
Meanwhile a coalition of charities, including Oxfam, have warned that high income nations have bought up enough doses to vaccinate their entire populations at least three times over by the end of 2021.
Read more here about the tension between vaccine nationalism and equitable distribution - we will bring you the latest from this afternoons press conference as we get it.
11:51 AM
Northern Ireland would see thousands of deaths without lockdown
Northern Ireland would have witnessed thousands of Covid-19 deaths if no action had been taken to suppress the virus, Stormont's chief scientific adviser has said.
Professor Ian Young's stark assessment came after the devolved Executive in Belfast agreed to a sweeping new lockdown, which will come into force on Boxing Day and last six weeks.
Prof Young said the region's already over-capacity health service would have been completely swamped in January if no action was taken:
"Of all of the things that we look at in terms of modelling, the number of deaths is the one that is most difficult to predict. It would, if no action were taken - which is inconceivable - have been very large, certainly within the thousands, if no action was taken."
Prof Young told BBC Radio Ulster that the current number of Covid-19 inpatients of between 400 and 500 would have soared to between 3,000 and 4,000 by the end of January if no action had been taken.
"In terms of the total number of general and acute beds, the type of beds that would have been required in hospital, the number of patients needing beds would have exceeded the total number of beds that were available," he added.
Behind-the-scenes with the volunteer army preparing to roll out Covid vaccines
As the UK’s leading first aid charity gears up to deliver mass coronavirus vaccines, Jordan Kelly-Linden joins a training day to find out more - read her story here or watch the video below:
11:31 AM
Austria looks set to go into third lockdown after Christmas
This morning has seen a lot of discussions around the prospect of third lockdowns across Europe.
In the UK the schools minister refused to rule out the prospect, while Northern Ireland is set to enter a six week shutdown after Christmas and the Swiss Health Minister is expected to ask cabinet colleagues to close restaurants for a month today.
It has now been reported by national media that Austria, too, will be entering a third coronavirus lockdown after Christmas that will last until January 18.
The government is holding a video conference this afternoon with the governors of Austria's nine provinces on possible further restrictions, but details of expected measures have been widely leaked.
The country ended its second lockdown just last week. It reduced the number of daily infections to less than 3,000 from a peak above 9,000, but that level is still higher than the government would like - and larger gatherings of up to 10 people from 10 households are allowed over Christmas.
A fresh lockdown would mean closing non-essential shops again and switching from the current night curfew to being required to stay at home all day where possible.
It could also mean delaying the reopening of ski resorts, which is scheduled for December 24.
Snow covers benches and tables at a closed ski slope in Fieberbrunn, Austria - AP Photo/Matthias Schrader
11:17 AM
Morning news update
Just joining us? Here's a quick summary of the developments to be aware of, in the UK and across the globe:
A new national lockdown in England cannot be ruled out after Christmas, schools minister Nick Gibb said, although he emphasised the regional "tiered" system of restrictions was effective.
But Prof John Edmunds, a member of Sage, said that measures will need to be tightened after Christmas because the tiers are not "holding the epidemic wave back". He added, though, that while bad for the epidemic relaxing restrictions for festivities is "probably good" for mental health.
The return to school will be delayed by up to a week in January, with headteachers told to recruit an army of parents and volunteers to carry out mass testing of teenagers.
GPs have been given new guidance that allows them to use Covid-19 vaccine doses that were previously being wasted, the Telegraph has learned.
Meanwhile in the US, Moderna's coronavirus vaccine has been all but authorised for use in after it was on given overwhelming approval by advisers to the American drugs regulator.
The US is grappling with an unrelenting coronavirus surge, which has pushed besieged hospitals further to the brink.
France is unlikely to return to normal before autumn next year as it could take longer than initially envisioned to role out vaccines, a senior government scientific adviser said.
It comes after President Emmanuel Macron tested positive yesterday, prompting a track and trace effort across Europe following meetings he had with EU heads of government.
Christmas travel plans for thousands of Australians were thrown into chaos when states and territories imposed border restrictions after 28 cases were detected in Sydney.
South Korea reported its second-highest ever daily tally of cases, as the government warned businesses it was unacceptable for them to try to dodge shutdown orders by tricking the system.
And finally, China is planning to vaccinate 50 million people in the high-priority group before the start of the peak Lunar New Year travel season early next year.
11:03 AM
South Korea: Six people die this month waiting for hospital care amid Covid surge
Six people suffering from Covid-19 have died in South Korea this month while waiting for hospital beds, officials have said, while hundreds could not get admitted as surging coronavirus infections overwhelm the health system.
South Korea reported 1,062 new coronavirus cases today, its second-highest daily tally since the pandemic began, as the government agonised over whether to introduce tighter restrictions and warned businesses it was unacceptable to try to dodge shut-down orders.
The huge uptick of new cases (see chart) has shaken a country that has for months been held up as a mitigation success story. But despite its total tally rising to 47,515 infections, South Korea has only suffered about 650 deaths in total.
One of those who died waiting for a hospital bed was at home in the capital, Seoul, after testing positive on Saturday, while three others were in a nursing home in Gyeonggi province.
The Yonhap news agency reported two other such deaths in December but provided no immediate details.
"We express our deepest condolences and feel keenly responsible,” Park Yoo-mi, a quarantine officer for the Seoul government told a briefing.
"The on-site response team in the Seoul metropolitan area has been experiencing difficulty in allocating beds due to sharp increase in confirmed cases and overload in administration and medical systems since the beginning of December.”
10:45 AM
PM urges people to 'minimise contact' today if they're forming a Christmas bubble
Boris Johnson has just tweeted a message people urging them to start cutting down on seeing people from outside their household, if they are going to take advantage of the Christmas rules relaxation.
If you are forming a Christmas Bubble, it’s vital that from today, you minimise contact with people from outside your household.
Everyone must take personal responsibility to avoid passing the virus on to loved ones this Christmas.https://t.co/dpk4hK17xs
Half of adults are planning to form a Christmas bubble, ONS finds
This compared to 38% who said they were not planning to form a bubble over the festive period and 12% who said they did not know, according to an ONS survey between December 10 and 13.
The survey also showed that just over half (56%) of adults in Great Britain reported they felt it was very easy or easy to understand rules for forming a Christmas bubble.
The ONS said this understanding seemed to increase with age, with 48% of those aged between 16 and 29 reporting this, compared with 55% of adults aged 30 to 49, 58% of 50 to 69-year-olds and 61% of people aged 70 years and over.
09:55 AM
'I had sleepless nights while creating Covid-19 vaccine'
Sarah Gilbert, professor of vaccinology at the University of Oxford, said she had sleepless nights while trying to develop a coronavirus jab.
"I didn't have doubts about what it is we were doing. The doubts I had in the early parts of the year were about our ability as a university to actually bring this off," she said.
"Because it is not what a university would normally do. And I think that all worked because we had so many people within the university who really wanted this to work and were prepared to come together and form a large team.
"At the start of the year I did have sleepless nights, wondering what it was that we haven't thought about - what problem was going to trip us up, because nobody had realised that we needed to do it, but, actually, that never happened. Somebody had always thought of everything."
09:14 AM
The hospitals that will have the Covid-19 vaccine and how it will be rolled out
The coronavirus vaccine roll-out began on Tuesday December 8, with 50 hospital hubs starting to immunise the most vulnerable. It marks the beginning of the largest immunisation programme in British history.
The first vaccine was administered to a 90-year-old grandmother, who received the jab from University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire at 6.31am.
Mr Shakespeare receiving the vaccine - Reuters
William Shakespeare, 81, was the second person to be vaccinated in Coventry and Michael Tibbs, 99, was the first person in the South West to receive the vaccine at Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth.
Read all the latest news on the vaccine rollout here.
08:49 AM
'We cannot rule out national lockdown after Christmas'
Asked if there would be no national lockdown, Schools Minister Nick Gibb said: "We think the tier system is a very effective way, of course, (but) you know, we rule nothing out.
"This Government is absolutely determined to tackle this virus."
He reiterated a warning of caution over Christmas, adding: "We're not there yet. That's why we have to, all of us, be so careful over the Christmas period.
"To have a short period of Christmas, to keep to small numbers the number of people who join you for Christmas, to make sure we keep this deadly virus under control."
08:20 AM
NHS scraps order to 'waste one in six' vaccine doses
GPs have been given new guidance that allows them to use Covid-19 vaccine doses that were previously being wasted, the Telegraph has learned.
Every vial of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine was expected to include five doses, allowing five people to get their first shot of the vaccine as the mass roll-out begins across the country. It takes two doses, delivered 21 days apart, to protect against the coronavirus.
However, GPs have found that it is actually possible to make six doses out of the vials. Until Thursday, they were advised to dispose of the extra dose - meaning large volumes of the vaccine had to be thrown away.
Teachers won't have to play role in coronavirus testing in schools, minister confirms
"Teachers are already fully occupied, they already have their hands full," schools minister Nick Gibb said.
Mr Gibb said this will be planned by the Armed Forces and administered by volunteers and agency workers.
"People are very community minded, this is a national effort," he added.
"This is about our priority for education, making sure children are in the classroom, getting lessons."
The return of secondary school and college pupils will be staggered in the first week of January, the government announced on Thursday.
07:43 AM
Retail sales volumes fall by almost 4%
UK retail sales volumes declined in November as stores were forced to temporarily close during England's second national lockdown, new figures show.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said retail sales volumes fell 3.8% last month compared with October.
Shoppers in Regent Street, London - Betty Laura Zapata /Bloomberg
However, the ONS said overall sales remained above pre-pandemic levels amid continued strong growth in online sales.
It was above the expectations of analysts, who had forecast a 4.1% slump in retail sales for month.
Lower clothing sales were a significant factor contributing to the slump, the ONS said, tumbling by 19% compared with the previous month.
07:18 AM
Keeping schools open during the coronavirus crisis is a national priority, says Government minister
Schools Minister Nick Gibb told Times Radio: "Our national priority is to keep schools open. We wanted schools to stay open right to the end of term.
"What's happening in January is still primary schools will go back on January 4. So will all students who are vulnerable, or children of critical workers, and, indeed, children who are in their exam years, year 11, and year 13.
"But that first week, that first five days, other secondary-school pupils will be learning from home from remote education so that schools can prepare for all secondary-school pupils to be tested in those first few weeks of term.
"So, it's a national system, a national strategy."
06:59 AM
Christmas rail chaos looms as second train operator announces cancellations
Christmas chaos looms for rail passengers as a second train operator has announced a series of cancellations, blaming Covid-related staff shortages.
South Western Railway has already said trains between London and the South coast would be cut back over the next week, including for the first day of the Christmas travel bubble period (December 23), due to rail workers coming down with coronavirus and self-isolating.
The news comes a day after it emerged Great Western Railway had suspended bookings on some Christmas services and is instead directing people to coach operators due to Covid-19 absences among drivers.
Prince Charles confirms he will take the coronavirus vaccine
The Prince of Wales has confirmed he will take a coronavirus vaccine, but said he is “way down” the priority list and already has antibodies.
Speaking to staff on a tour of a vaccination centre in Gloucester on Thursday, Prince Charles suggested he may not get one of the newly approved Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines - currently being rolled out - but instead would have to wait for the Oxford/Astrazeneca jab, which is still awaiting regulatory approval.
Prince Charles - Chris Jackson/AFP
His words will come as a boost to the Government's efforts to encourage broad uptake of the drug, in the face of “anti-vax” campaigners.
Almost 70 specialist clinics set up to help people suffering from long Covid
Long Covid is the name applied so far by experts grappling with the issue of longer-term effects of the coronavirus.
The latest official guidelines in Britain use two definitions: people may have "ongoing symptomatic Covid-19" if symptoms persist from four to 12 weeks, and could have "post-Covid-19 syndrome" if they do not resolve after 12 weeks.
The NHS says one in five people who have contracted coronavirus have gone on to develop longer-term symptoms. It has data showing 186,000 have reported having problems for up to 12 weeks.
But there is also evidence so far, including cases documented in the US, where symptoms have continued for more than six months.
06:11 AM
WHO warns Christmas gatherings 'not worth the risk'
he World Health Organisation (WHO) has appealed to people to stay home during the holiday season as it is "not worth the risk" of catching Covid-19.
With more than two-thirds of England's population to be living under Tier 3 measures from Saturday as the UK Government tries to stem rising infections, WHO said "the safest thing to do right now is to remain at home".
The organisation's regional director for Europe Dr Hans Kluge said: "There remains a difference between what you are being permitted to do by your authorities and what you should do."
In a statement, he said: "We have a few more months of sacrifice ahead and can behave now in a way that collectively we are proud of. When we look back at these unprecedented times, I hope we all felt we acted with a spirit of shared humanity to protect those in need."
China is planning to vaccinate 50 million people in the high-priority group against the coronavirus before the start of the peak Lunar New Year travel season early next year, the South China Morning Post reported on Friday.
Beijing is planning to distribute 100 million doses of the vaccines made by Chinese firms Sinopharm and Sinovac Biotech, the report said.
China has granted emergency-use status to two candidate vaccines from Sinopharm and one from Sinovac Biotech. It has approved a fourth, from CanSino Biologics, for military use.
The SCMP report said Chinese officials have been asked to complete the first 50 million doses by Jan. 15 and the second by Feb. 5.
05:05 AM
Airline expands cold storage as vaccine rollout begins
Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd is expanding its cold storage facilities at its cargo terminal to allow it to temporarily hold more than 8.6 million vaccine doses a day as countries begin approving Covid-19 vaccines.
Its current capacity is about 7.1 million doses and a new cold storage room will allow for a further 1.5 million doses, Cathay Director Cargo Tom Owen said in a newsletter on Friday.
Cathay has also invested in a new generation track-and-trace system called Ultra Track to allow freight forwarders to monitor the condition of vaccine shipments in real-time.
Ultra Track uses a low-energy Bluetooth transmitter that can record and transmit GPS positions, temperature, vibration and humidity in real-time.
04:39 AM
India records 22,890 new cases
India recorded 22,890 new coronavirus infections, the health ministry said on Friday, taking its overall tally to 20,000 short of the 10-million mark.
India has recorded the world's second-highest number of infections behind the United States, but numbers have dipped steadily since hitting a peak in September. Daily cases were below 30,000 for the fifth straight day on Friday.
Deaths rose by 338, taking the total to 144,789, the health ministry said.
An Indian cake artist gives the finishing touch to the 'Coronavirus COVID19', for the 46th annual Cake Exhibition in Bangalore - JAGADEESH NV/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
03:31 AM
Pfizer applies for vaccine approval in Japan
Drugmaker Pfizer Inc said on Friday it had applied for approval in Japan of its Covid-19 vaccine, which is already being administered in the UK and the US.
The Japanese government has a supply deal with Pfizer for 120 million vaccine doses of the vaccine made by Pfizer and German partner BioNTech.
Pfizer said in a statement it had made the application to Japan's Health Ministry, along with providing information on tests it has carried out up to now.
03:09 AM
Babies born to Covid mums have antibodies, study finds
All five babies born to women with Covid-19 infection during a study in Singapore have had antibodies against the virus, although the researchers said it is not yet clear what level of protection this may offer.
The findings from a study of 16 women released on Friday also found that most were mildy infected, while more severe reactions occurred in older women with a high body mass index - a trend that is mirrored in the general population.
Of the five who had delivered their babies by the time the study was published, all had antibodies, according to the Singapore Obstetrics and Gynaecology Research Network.
The number of antibodies in the babies varied, and was higher among those whose mothers' had been infected nearer to the time of delivery, the researchers said. Further monitoring is required to see whether the antibodies will decline as the babies get older, they added.
Philippines will be able to secure 4-25m doses of vaccines
The Philippines will be able to secure between four to 25 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines from Moderna Inc and Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc , the Southeast Asia country's ambassador to Washington said on Friday.
The U.S. companies were ready to supply millions of doses, Philippine Ambassador Jose Manuel Romualdez said in a statement, adding that the vaccines would be ready from the third quarter of 2021 should his government find their proposals acceptable.
The Philippines has reported the second-highest number of deaths and cases in Southeast Asia, next to Indonesia.
A worker disinfects a nativity scene display at a shrine in Manila - Reuters
01:53 AM
South Korea records second highest daily tally of cases
South Korea reported 1,062 new coronavirus cases on Friday, the second highest since it confirmed its first infection in January, theKorea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.
The daily numbers were above 1,000 for the third straight day for the first time since the start of the pandemic, the KDCA data showed.
A park is taped off for the social distancing measures and a precaution against the coronavirus in Seoul, - AP
12:51 AM
Brazil reports spike in deaths
Brazil recorded over a 1,000 new Covid-19 deaths for the first time in over three months on Thursday, as its Supreme Court ruled that vaccinations could be required in the South American country.
Brazil, which has the second deadliest outbreak in the world behind the United States, reported 1,092 deaths and 69,826 new confirmed cases, as a second wave that has been gaining steam since mid-November grows increasingly severe.
It was the highest death toll since Sept. 15, when the country reported 1,115 deaths. The pandemic has now claimed 184,827 Brazilian lives, and over 7 million infections.
Appetite for a widespread lockdown appears limited in Brazil, which has pockets of severe poverty. But a Brazilian Supreme Court justice issued an order requiring bars and restaurants in Sao Paulo, the nation's most populous state, to stop serving alcohol after 8 pm.
People walk at a popular shopping street amid the coronavirus disease outbreak in Sao Paulo - Reuters
12:48 AM
Australian state battles to contain new outbreak
Australia's most populous state New South Wales on Friday reported 10 new cases as authorities battled to contain a new cluster in Sydney's northern coastal suburbs.
NSW State Premier Gladys Berejiklian flagged more restrictions might come if the outbreak was not brought under control in the next few days. She said no one should use public transport or visit supermarkets without masks.
"If we can get on top of this in the next two or three days, all of us will be able to have a much better Christmas," Ms Berejiklian said.
The new cases have taken the total numbers of infections in the cluster to 28.
People line up for Covid-19 testing at Mona Vale Hospital's walk-in clinic in Sydney - DEAN LEWINS/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
12:41 AM
Some US states say vaccine allotments cut for next week
Several states say they have been told to expect far fewer doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in its second week of distribution, prompting worries about potential delays in shots for health care workers and long-term care residents.
But senior Trump administration officials on Thursday downplayed the risk of delays, citing a confusion over semantics, while Pfizer said its production levels have not changed.
The first US doses were administered on Monday, and already this week, hundreds of thousands of people, mostly health care workers, have been vaccinated. The pace is expected to increase next week, assuming Moderna gets federal authorisation for its vaccine.
Efforts to help ward off the coronavirus come amid a staggering death toll that surpassed 300,000 on Monday. Johns Hopkins University says about 2,400 people are dying daily in the US, which is averaging more than 210,000 cases per day.
Sir Paul McCartney will have vaccine 'as soon as he is able to'
Sir Paul McCartney has said he will have the coronavirus vaccine as soon as he is able to.
The former Beatle, 78, told The Sun that "the vaccine will get us out of this".
He added it is "great news" that vaccinations are now under way.
However, Sir Paul said there are still challenges lying ahead.
"I mean it's going to be very difficult for a while yet, because you can't just lockdown a whole country unless you're China," he told the newspaper.
"We can't have that kind of lack of freedom, we're all brought up to enjoy this great freedom that we have in a democracy.
"So if somebody says, particularly to younger people, 'Look, you've just got to stay in Saturday night,' I can't imagine that all those girls you see in Liverpool in the freezing cold in the tiniest of mini-skirts on a Saturday night in the middle of winter, I'm not sure you can say to them, 'Look, you've got to stay home'."
Affluent Americans may want to double-check how much of their bank deposits are protected by government-backed insurance. The rules governing trust accounts just changed.
Budgeting apps can help you keep track of your finances, stick to a spending plan and reach your money goals. These are the best budget-tracking apps available right now.
