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Key developments
- India reported 40,953 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, the biggest daily jump in nearly four months, with its richest state Maharashtra accounting for more than half the infections.
- In the Philippines, the health ministry recorded 7,999 new coronavirus infections, the second straight day; the country posted a record high in daily reported cases.
- Papua New Guinea reported rising coronavirus infections, highlighting the need for tougher social distancing restrictions that will take effect on Monday.
- Colombia’s president, Iván Duque, offered to receive the coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca to demonstrate its safety, following concerns over blood clotting.
- Pakistan’s prime minister Imran Khan has tested positive for Covid-19. The prime minister had been vaccinated on Thursday.
- Denmark reported two cases of hospital staff with blood clots and cerebral haemorrhage after receiving the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine.
- Scientist Dr Mike Tildesley advising the UK government, warned that international travel this summer is “extremely unlikely” for the average British holidaymaker.
- Thailand reported 119 new Covid-19 cases on Saturday — 112 local infections and seven imported — raising the total tally to 27,713 with no new deaths, as authorities consider easing quarantine rules.
- The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Organising Committee announced that international spectators will not be allowed to enter Japan during the Olympic Games scheduled for this summer.
- The UK has recorded 96 deaths and 5,587 new cases of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours.
- Several demonstrators took part in a “Silent Protest” to demand the end of lockdown measures in the small northern town of Liestal, Switzerland.
- Italy reported 401 coronavirus-related deaths, up from 386 the day before, and 23,832 new cases, down from yesterday’s 25,735 in the past 24 hours.
- Chile set a new daily record for Covid-19 cases leaving its hospitals on the verge of collapse.
- Greece will begin distributing free Covid-19 tests that will allow residents to do it themselves and reduce pressure on the healthcare system.
- The Brazilian government has been in talks with the US about potentially importing excess Covid-19 vaccines since 13 March.
- Kenya’s plans to offer free Covid-19 vaccines to all diplomats based in the country, including United Nations staff, has been met with criticism by local medical staff.
- France recorded 35,327 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of positive cases to 4.25 million.
- An anti-lockdown demonstration in Kassel, Germany turned violent, and police forces deployed water cannons and used pepper spray to disperse crowds.
- Hundreds of Kosovar health workers have travelled to neighbouring Albania to receive a Covid-19 vaccination after donating some of its supply.
- Congo’s leading presidential opposition candidate, Guy Brice Parfait Kolelas, is hospitalised for Covid-19 ahead of Sunday’s election.
- Brazil recorded 79,069 confirmed Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours and 2,438 deaths.
Updated
The Covid-19 vaccination programme across NSW, Australia will be delayed due to heavy rains and flooding cutting off roads.
The federal health department have said on the delay that “Vaccine delivery is being affected in Sydney and across multiple regional NSW locations.”
“We ask for the public’s patience and understanding with these unforeseen supply delays.”
AAP Aus News reports:
Vaccines ready for the phase 1b rollout - for people over 70, Indigenous Australians over 55, those with a medical condition or disability, and workers deemed high risk - are supposed to have been delivered across the country by the end of the weekend.
Unrelated to severe weather, the federal government has had to defend “hiccups” in the COVID-19 vaccine rollout on Saturday amid complaints of disorganisation and delays.
Federal Liberal MP Jason Falinski stood firm for the government on Saturday when Labor MP Josh Wilson alleged a failure in “basic administrative competence”.
Mr Wilson argued there had been plenty of time to ensure the vaccine booking system worked, that enough vaccine doses were being distributed and that people were being prompted to have the jab.
“There will be hiccups along the way in the rollout of this vaccine,” Mr Falinski countered on ABC News on Saturday.
“We have zero community transmission, so we can take the time to get this right.”
He sung the government’s praises for ensuring the vaccine is produced domestically, unlike Canada, which remains at the whim of overseas facilities.
Trade Minister Dan Tehan also lauded that decision, as the European Union threatened to block exports of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
“It won’t be too long until we’re producing nearly a million doses a week,” he told reporters.
Updated
The US is turning a corner on Covid, with 2m vaccination shots administered each day since early March. But some states are facing worrying rises of both regular cases and cases of virus variants.
Michigan has emerged as a particular concern, reporting an average of 28 Covid cases per 100,000 people each day – the fourth-fastest growth rate behind New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island and a 92% rise in new cases in the last two weeks.
Just over 27% of Michigan’s population of nearly 10 million has received at least one shot.
Erum Salam reports more on Michigan’s reopening here:
Brazil recorded 79,069 confirmed Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours, alongside 2,438 deaths, the health ministry said. Since the pandemic began the country has registered nearly 12 million cases, with the official death toll at 292,752.
Congo's opposition candidate hospitalised for Covid
Congo’s leading presidential opposition candidate, Guy Brice Parfait Kolelas, 61, is reportedly receiving oxygen in a private hospital after being diagnosed with Covid-19, a family member has said. The news comes on the eve of the election.
AP reports:
Guy Brice Parfait Kolelas, 61, had skipped his final campaign event on Friday after telling some reporters a day earlier that he feared he had malaria.
A relative who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter said plans were under way for Kolelas to be evacuated abroad for further treatment.
A video circulating on social media dated Friday showed Kolelas wearing an oxygen mask and with a blood pressure cuff on his arm as he lay in a hospital bed.
“My dear compatriots, I am in trouble. I am fighting death,” the candidate says in a weak-sounding voice after removing his oxygen mask. “However, I ask you to stand up and vote for change. I would not have fought for nothing.”
A campaign spokesman confirmed the authenticity of the video and Kolelas’ hospitalization.
Two people at the hospital who had seen the Kolelas’ test results confirmed to the AP late Saturday that he had tested positive for the coronavirus.
Updated
In London, an anti-lockdown protest resulted in 13 arrests after demonstrators defied police warnings to stay away from public gatherings due to lockdown measures.
Under heavy police presence, demonstrators held banners with slogans that read “Stop Destroying Our Kids’ lives” and “Fake Pandemic,” reports Reuters, as well as one speaker telling the crowd he would “never take a vaccine.”
By 4pm the Metropolitan police said that the 13 confirmed arrests were mostly for breaching Covid restrictions.
My colleague Mattha Busby reports on the latest anti-lockdown protest here:
Updated
Hundreds of Kosovar health workers have travelled to neighbouring Albania to receive a Covid-19 vaccination after offering to donate some of its supply.
Kosovo is currently the only country in Europe that has not started its vaccination roll-out since they depend on the World Health Organisation (WHO) co-led COVAX scheme.
Albania’s prime minister Edi Rama said that 500 doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine would be allocated to Kosovar health workers and pledged to give them more in the future, Reuters reports.
The prime minister told reporters in the town of Kukes where the vaccines were administered: “It is important to start with (Kosovo’s) doctors because they are more in danger.”
After an anti-lockdown demonstration in Kassel, Germany turned violent, police forces deployed water cannons and used pepper spray to disperse crowds.
With around 20,000 protestors gathering in the German city, police forces tweeted that some demonstrators threw bottles to break through the barriers.
They also said that demonstrators disobeyed instructions to protect people’s safety by not following social distancing guidelines.
Wasserwerfereinsatz an der Kreuzung am Altmarkt.
— Polizei Nordhessen (@Polizei_NH) March 20, 2021
Dort kam es zu Flaschenwürfen und es wurde versucht, Absperrungen zu durchbrechen. Das konnten wir verhindern.#ks2003 #kassel
Reuters reports:
Protesters carried placards reading “No compulsory vaccination” and “Democracy will not tolerate censorship”.
Marchers faced counter-protesters wearing face masks, one of whom held up a placard reading “Vaccinated”.
With Germany in its fourth month of lockdown and vaccination efforts lagging compared to Britain and the United States, many people, from shopkeepers to would-be holidaymakers, are increasingly restive at the lack of a clear path to a return to normal life.
National and regional leaders are due to consult on Monday over the next steps in the national lockdown. But with case numbers rising sharply thanks to the spread of more infectious variants, many politicians are saying it is too early to ease restrictions.
Updated
France recorded 35,327 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of positive cases to 4.25 million. The death toll now stands at 92,167, up by 185 from the previous day, Reuters reports.
The French health ministry has reported that 6,137,375 people have received their first Covid-19 vaccine shot since the vaccination campaign began.
The ministry also reported 4,353 Covid patients in intensive care, up by 66 from yesterday.
Large parts of the country, including the capital Paris, have been placed under a new partial lockdown, beginning on Saturday, to stop the spread of Covid-19 as cases continue to rise.
Updated
Earlier this month, Thailand’s government announced a plan to kickstart tourism. The “area quarantine scheme”, scheduled to begin in April, would allow vaccinated tourists to quarantine in specified hotels for only seven days.
Those not immunised would be required to isolate for ten days. The idea is to soften the current two-week quarantine policy for international visitors in the hope that it could restart tourism and bring back visitors while keeping the risk of spreading Covid low.
Like many countries, the pandemic halting tourism saw the local economies drastically affected. But with the new plans announced in Thailand, bar owners and taxi drivers are hopeful that people will begin coming back.
Caleb Quinley reports:
Updated
Kenya’s plans to offer free Covid-19 vaccines to all diplomats based in the country, including United Nations staff, has been met with criticism by local medics after the country’s health workers have not all been inoculated.
The offer was made in a letter by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to diplomatic missions, seen by Reuters. Macharia Kamau, the foreign ministry principal secretary, said they need to “protect everyone resident in Kenya,” including the international community.
The capital and the largest city in the country, Nairobi, hosts the UN headquarters in Africa and is one of four major sites worldwide where agencies including UNICEF and others have huge presences.
Kamau estimates that 25,000 to 30,000 diplomats, UN staff and family members live in the country’s capital.
Reuters reports:
Just over 28,000 health workers, teachers, and security personnel had received their first shots, the Ministry of Health said in a March 19 post on Twitter.
It said in early March that it would set aside 400,000 vaccines for health staff and other essential workers.
“I think the government should focus on getting the priority population vaccinated and achieving vaccine acceptancy with them before opening up to diplomats,” said Elizabeth Gitau, a Kenyan physician and the chief executive officer of the Kenya Medical Association (KMA).
The health ministry referred questions to the foreign ministry. Two Nairobi-based diplomats who declined to be identified confirmed their embassies had received the offer.
“Kenyans must be given priority,” said Chibanzi Mwachonda, head of the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union.
The government note said vaccinations would begin on March 23, and only accredited diplomats and their families were eligible.
Kenya has so far only received two batches of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines - just over 1 million via COVAX and a 100,000 shot donation from the Indian government.
Updated
The Brazilian government has been in talks with the US about potentially importing excess Covid-19 vaccines since 13 March, the foreign ministry tweeted.
On Friday, the White House announced plans to “loan” 4m doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine to Canada and Mexico, but reportedly has no plans for doses to be loaned to other countries.
Reuters reports:
The White House has no plans to loan doses to other countries, according to an administration official.
Brazil is facing the second-deadliest outbreak of coronavirus after the United States, that has worsened with a new wave in recent weeks pushing the hospital system to the brink of collapse.
On Friday, the Health Ministry reported a daily record of 90,570 new cases in the prior 24 hours, as well as the second deadliest day since the pandemic began.
The federal government has been slow to roll out vaccinations in the country, with some local governments needing to halt immunizations at various points due to lack of supplies.
Since March 13, the Brazilian Government, through Itamaraty and the Embassy in Washington, in coordination with the Ministry of Health, has been negotiating with the US Government to make it possible for Brazil to import vaccines from the surplus available in the United States.
— Itamaraty Brazil 🇧🇷 (@Itamaraty_EN) March 20, 2021
Updated
Next month, Greece will begin distributing free Covid-19 tests that will allow residents to do it themselves and reduce pressure on the healthcare system, which has faced a rise in new positive cases.
The Greek government has announced that people with a social security number will be eligible for four test kits per month, which will be distributed at pharmacies.
Reuters reports:
It is a new tool in the country’s battle against the pandemic. The tests will allow better epidemiological monitoring, and of course prevention,” the prime minister’s office said in a statement.
The government said the do-it-yourself test kits have an accuracy rate of about 95%-99%. They are easier to do than rapid tests, needing nasal and saliva samples instead of the nasopharyngeal sample used in rapid tests.
People who get a positive result will be instructed to report it to health authorities for the monitoring and tracing of COVID-19 infections.
The government said Greece would be the first European country to make such test kits so easily available and free of charge.
Greece will lift some COVID-19 lockdown restrictions next week as part of a plan to gradually reopen the economy and relieve national fatigue even as its hospitals remain under severe pressure.
On Friday, health authorities reported 2,785 new coronavirus cases and 64 deaths, bringing total infections to 233,079 since the first case was detected in February last year and the death toll to 7,361.
Updated
Chile has set a new daily record for Covid-19 cases, health officials have reported. While the South American nation continues its vaccination efforts, hospitals are on the verge of collapse.
Reuters reports:
Cases have been ticking up for weeks following the end of the southern hemisphere summer holiday but soared to 7,084, above the previous high of 6,938 last June, the data shows.
The fast-rising caseload has filled critical care wards north to south, leaving Chile with just 198 beds available for new patients. All of the capital Santiago, the economic engine, is in strict lockdown this weekend.
Chile, a comparatively small but wealthy Andean nation, is at the forefront of a global inoculation drive on a per capita basis. It ranks third globally, behind Israel and the United Arab Emirates, for most doses administered per population, according to a Reuters tabulation.
But officials say the holiday infections, the arrival of more contagious variants of the virus and a relaxation of sanitary measures amid the successful vaccination program have prompted a more vicious second wave.
Chile was the first in South America to begin vaccinating its citizens, with an early shipment of the Pfizer vaccine on Dec. 24.
Updated
According to the country’s health ministry, Italy has reported 401 coronavirus-related deaths, up from 386 the day before, and 23,832 new cases, down from yesterday’s 25,735, in the past 24 hours.
The number of patients in hospital was recorded at 27,061, up from the previous day’s total of 26,858. There were also 243 new admissions to intensive care units.
Since the beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak Italy has registered 104,642 deaths, the second-highest Covid-related death toll in Europe after the UK, and the seventh highest in the world.
Updated
Several demonstrators took part in a “Silent Protest” to demand the end of lockdown measures in the small northern town of Liestal, Switzerland.
The protestors accuse the Swiss government of using dictatorial powers to impose the strict restrictions, which have been in place since mid-January. So far, the country has recorded 578,000 cases of Coronavirus and 9,455 deaths.
AFP reports:
The demonstration, which had police authorisation, is the latest in a series of public protests across the country in recent months, including one earlier this month in the small, picturesque town of Chur that drew over 4,000 people.
Police told AFP that they estimated around 5,000 people took part in Saturday’s march in Liestal, which has a population of 14,500 people, while journalists said the number appeared to be a bit higher than that.
(...)
The march comes a day after the Swiss government dashed hopes that many Covid restrictions would be lifted next week.
Switzerland had been expected to continue lifting a range of measures imposed in December and January after a major spike in cases.
It had allowed museums and non-essential shops to reopen from March 1 and had signalled it could allow outdoor areas at restaurants and bars to reopen and change the requirement to work from home from next Monday.
But Health Minister Alain Berset said Friday it was too soon to remove most restrictions, warning of the danger of a “third wave” of infections.
The UK has recorded 96 deaths and 5,587 new cases of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours. The latest figures are down from yesterday’s numbers of 101 deaths, while cases are up from Friday’s 4,802 recorded number.
The country also reports that it has now given 26.85 million people their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine, and has set a new record of administering 711,156 first and second doses in a single day.
Breaking: Incredible performance! U.K. 711,156 doses in a single day, new daily record. 💉💉💉 https://t.co/rB4rMUOYeQ
— Nadhim Zahawi (@nadhimzahawi) March 20, 2021
Hi, I’m Edna Mohamed; I’ll be taking over the live blog for the next few hours. As always, you can message me on Twitter or email me at edna.mohamed.casual@theguardian.com for any tips.
Updated
England is on track to ease lockdown measures in line with its roadmap, the British health minister Matt Hancock said on Saturday after announcing that half of all adults in the UK had now had at least one Covid-19 vaccine dose.
“There is no sign that we won’t be able to make progress as set out in the roadmap,” Hancock told Sky News.
Asked about the threat of a third wave of infections in Europe and what that could mean for Britain, Hancock said the government would be vigilant in protecting the country.
Reuters reports:
Rising infections in Europe could derail [England’s] plan to restart travel, which could possibly be from May 17.
The government is due to say more on April 12, and Hancock confirmed that the judgment on travel was one to make in a few weeks, not now.
“We’ll look at the rates both here and abroad and the impact of new variants to understand whether its safe to make that move,” he said.
I’m now going to hand over to my colleague Edna Mohamed.
Updated
A record 636,219 Covid jabs were recorded in England on Friday at the end of a week which saw the highest number of doses delivered since the vaccination programme began, NHS England said.
PA reports:
Prime minister Boris Johnson was among 535,489 people who received their first dose on Friday when he was given the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab at St Thomas’s hospital in London, where he was treated when he was critically ill with the virus.
Sir Simon Stevens, chief executive of the NHS in England, had the jab at Westminster Abbey on Thursday when the service hit another major milestone by vaccinating more than half the adult population.
NHS England said more than 22.8 million people have now had at least one jab in little over 100 days since the NHS vaccination programme - the biggest in the health service’s history - began, while another 1.5 million second doses have also been administered.
The figures include 2,761,890 first jabs in the past seven days, around 200,000 more than the previous busiest week.
The Israeli government approved new coronavirus regulations for cultural and sporting events, which will take effect on Friday at 5pm.
Haaretz reports:
Indoor arenas with up to 5,000 seats will be allowed to host 1,000 guests. Arenas with a capacity of over 5,000 seats can accommodate 3,000 people.
Months into its mass coronavirus vaccination campaign, Israel sees a drop in Covid infections and in the number of serious cases.
Israel has reopened commerce and culture for vaccinated people, but some restrictions remain on inbound and outbound flights.
Since the outbreak of the pandemic, 6,062 Israelis have died of the virus.
Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip have received 30,000 doses of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine and 2,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine donated by Israel, as well as a shipment of 60,000 vaccines via the Covax scheme.
Israel has administered the first dose of the Covid vaccine to 105,000 Palestinians who have permits to work in Israel or in West Bank settlements.
A total of 2,018 people have died of Covid in the West Bank, while 572 have died in Gaza.
Updated
Portugal said on Saturday that passengers arriving from South Africa via a stopover in another country must also quarantine for 14 days and present a negative coronavirus test taken 72 hours before arrival, the interior ministry said on Saturday.
Reuters reports:
Direct flights from South Africa have already been halted and although few cases of the Covid-19 variant first detected in South Africa have been diagnosed in Portugal so far, the measure was intended to prevent any further spread, the ministry said.
Flights to and from Brazil and Britain have been suspended until the end of the month, also to prevent contagion of Covid-19 variants. Passengers arriving through a different country must also test and quarantine.
Portugal, which has so far reported 816,623 Covid-19 cases and 16,754 deaths, began easing a nationwide lockdown on March 11, but has kept travel restrictions, including controls on its border with Spain, in place.
Thousands of demonstrators descended on the small northern Swiss town of Liestal on Saturday to demand an end to anti-Covid measures that have shut restaurants and other venues for months.
AFP reports:
Between 3,000 and 5,000 people, many wearing white protection jumpsuits, gathered in the small town in the Basel canton for what they have called a “silent protest”, according to estimates by journalists on site.
The protesters, many not wearing face masks, held signs with messages reading “Enough!”, “Vaccines kill” and “Let love guide you, not fear”.
They accuse the Swiss government of using dictatorial powers to impose restrictions aimed at reining in Covid-19 transmission.
The demonstration, which had police authorisation, is the latest in a series of public protests across the country in recent months, including one earlier this month in the small town of Chur that drew more than 4,000 people.
Organisers of Saturday’s demonstration in Liestal, which has a population of about 14,500 people, said in a statement they expected around 5,000 people to take part, but urged more to join.
They complained in a statement ahead of the march that the Swiss government had taken the country “hostage” over a year ago.
Updated
Protesters in a central German city clashed with police on Saturday over coronavirus measures, with officers using pepper spray and batons against people trying to break through police barriers, the German press agency Dpa reported.
Several thousand people participated in the protests in Kassel, and in addition to clashes with police there were also several scuffles with counter-protesters.
Several groups, most of them far-right opponents of government regulations to fight the pandemic, had called for protests on Saturday in cities across the country.
In Berlin, about 1,800 police officers were on standby for possible riots, but only a few dozen protesters assembled at the city’s landmark Brandenburg Gate.
Meanwhile, around 300 citizens came together on Berlin’s Unter den Linden boulevard to protest against the far-right demonstration.
Police had to intervene when some far-right protesters tried to attack press photographers, but in general, a police spokeswoman told Dpa, “there’s not much going on here”.
Updated
China has administered 70 million Covid-19 vaccinations as of 20 March, state media CGTN reported on Saturday, citing the national health commission.
China last reported four new Covid-19 cases on 19 March, all of which were imported from abroad.
Updated
Three Austrian teachers who persistently refused to wear particle filtering masks to protect against the spread of coronavirus have been fired, the Kronen Zeitung newspaper reported on Saturday.
Reuters reports:
Meanwhile in Switzerland, a customer who refused to wear a mask has been banned for five years from the Migros supermarket chain.
Coronavirus fatigue is rising in both countries with protests taking place against restrictions which have seen shops and restaurants closed, and mandatory mask wearing introduced.
One teacher in each of the districts of Freistadt, Vöcklabruck and in the city of Wels in upper Austria were dismissed after talks with the authorities failed to resolve the situation, the paper said.
“There were many efforts to convince him to comply with the applicable hygiene and preventive measures – but they were all in vain,” the education directorate told the newspaper about the Freistadt teacher.
Three other teachers in Freistadt, Braunau and Steyr were persuaded to wear the masks and have kept their jobs, the newspaper said.
Since 25 January Austria has tightened its rules to require FFP2 masks – which filter particles – be worn where previously cotton masks were suitable.
In Switzerland, where mask wearing is compulsory indoors, a self-proclaimed “coronavirus rebel” tried to enter a supermarket in Lucerne without wearing a mask.
He repeatedly refused to wear a mask and was eventually arrested by the police.
Updated
Von der Leyen issues fresh warning to AstraZeneca over reduced vaccine supply
The European commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, adopted a stern tone as she issued a new warning against the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca because of reduced vaccine deliveries.
Von der Leyen told newspapers from the Funke media group:
We have the option of prohibiting a planned export. That is the message to AstraZeneca: you first fulfil your contract with Europe before you start delivering to other countries.
She said the company had only delivered 30% of the agreed amount of vaccines in the first quarter. Von der Leyen had already announced on Wednesday that the EU commission was considering new export requirements for scarce vaccines.
On Friday, she announced that a formal letter had been sent to the manufacturer about the delivery problems.
Von der Leyen said the contract between the EU and AstraZeneca clearly states how much vaccine the EU should receive from AstraZeneca’s plants inside the EU and the UK.
“We didn’t get anything from the Brits while we are delivering vaccines to them,” she said.
Updated
Austria wants to promote the Green Passport for freedom of travel during the pandemic at a meeting with 12 other European countries, the German Press Agency reports.
The consultations should take place before Easter, announced tourism minister Elisabeth Köstinger (ÖVP) on Saturday in Vienna.
Participants include Germany, France, Italy, Greece and Spain.
The EU commission wants the ID card to be ready for use by 1 June, while Austria and some other countries are pushing for an earlier date.
Updated
Half of all adults in the UK have now received at least one vaccine shot, the British health minister, Matt Hancock, said on Saturday.
Hancock wrote on Twitter:
Yesterday we vaccinated more people than any day yet. I’m delighted to be able to say that we’ve now vaccinated HALF of all adults in the UK.
The vaccine is a national success story and our way out of this pandemic. When you get the call, get the jab.
A rise in coronavirus cases across Europe could jeopardise the UK’s roadmap out of lockdown, experts have warned.
Several European countries have recorded increases in the number of coronavirus cases in recent weeks, with Italy recording a near-doubling in the past month and Paris entering a new month-long lockdown to curb the spread.
Andrew Hayward, a British professor of infectious disease epidemiology at University College London and a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), said the EU surge showed “the potential for cases to shoot up” in the UK, warning that Britain needed to be careful in easing lockdown measures.
He said the increasing rates in Europe could last up to several months, and that it was “very worrying” to see a possible third wave of the virus while vaccination rates were comparatively low.
My colleague Molly Blackall reports.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Organising Committee said on Saturday that international spectators will not be allowed to enter Japan during the Olympic Games which are scheduled for this summer.
Olympic and Paralympic tickets purchased by overseas residents will be refunded, it said in a statement.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games were postponed last year to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Thailand reported 119 new Covid-19 cases on Saturday — 112 local infections and seven imported — raising the total tally to 27,713 with no new deaths, as authorities are considering easing quarantine rules.
The Bangkok Post reports:
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration said 65 cases were found in hospitals among outpatients and 47 through active case finding in communities.
Samut Sakhon province, the epicentre of the new wave of coronavirus in December, logged 38 cases, or 33.9% of the local infections. Of these, 34 cases – 26 Thais, 12 Myanmar people – were confirmed in hospitals and five detected in communities.
Bangkok made up another 38 of the local cases – split evenly between outpatients and community testing. They were 31 Thais, six Myanmar people and one Lao national.
The seven imported cases were quarantined arrivals from Myanmar (2), Russia (2), India (1), Poland (1) and Sweden (1).
Updated
International travel this summer is “extremely unlikely” for the average British holidaymaker, Dr Mike Tildesley, a scientist advising the UK government, warned on Saturday.
Tildesley said there was a danger travellers could bring back new variants of the virus which could be less susceptible to vaccines.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme:
I think we are running a real risk if we do start to have lots of people going overseas in July and August because of the potential for bringing more of these new variants back into the country.
What is really dangerous is if we jeopardise our vaccination campaign by having these variants where the vaccines don’t work as effectively spreading more rapidly.
The British professor Andrew Hayward echoed Tildesley’s remarks, saying it is “unlikely” that the UK government will want to encourage Britons to travel to European countries currently experiencing high levels of coronavirus infections this year,
Appearing on Times Radio he was asked if the possibility of permission to travel to Europe without restrictions could come under plans for the easing of lockdown.
Hayward, a professor at University College London, said:
I think the government has always been clear that travel abroad ... any changes or plans are likely to change on that.
[...] It looks like some European countries are going to be having high levels and I think it’s unlikely that we would want to encourage travel to those countries whilst they have high levels of infection.
[It’s about] keeping an eye on what variant is predominant within each country or even common.
I suppose one of the more worrying things about this resurgence is that in some parts of Europe the South African variant is beginning to creep up to higher levels.
So we’d obviously want to be very careful about that.
Hayward added the South African variant was of “particular concern” because vaccine effectiveness against it is “quite low”.
Updated
Denmark on Saturday reported two cases of hospital staff with blood clots and cerebral haemorrhage after receiving the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine.
The Capital Region of Denmark, the authority which handles the health care system in Copenhagen, said that one of the hospital staff had died and both had received the AstraZeneca vaccine less than 14 days before getting ill, Reuters reports.
The Danish medicines agency confirmed it had received two “serious reports”, without giving further details.
Denmark, which put use of the vaccine on hold on 11 March, has not yet resumed its use.
Updated
Pakistan’s prime minister Imran Khan has tested positive for Covid-19.
Khan is currently self-isolating at home, according to the country’s health minister.
Sky News reports:
The premier received his first dose of the Sinopharm coronavirus vaccine two days ago – although it takes a few weeks for the immune system to build immunity.
This means people can become infected with Covid-19 just before or after receiving a vaccine and still get sick.
Reuters reports:
Khan, 68, has been holding regular and frequent meetings lately, including attending a security conference held in capital Islamabad that was attended by a large number of people.
He addressed the conference without wearing a mask, and attended another gathering to inaugurate a housing project for poor people in a similar fashion on Friday. Khan was vaccinated on Thursday.
The south Asian nation of 220 million is seeing a sharp rise in coronavirus infections.
According to numbers released by government, 3,876 people tested positive in the last 24 hours - the highest number of daily infections since early July - taking the total number of infections in the country past 620,000.
There were also 42 more deaths, taking the total to 13,799.
last year. Photograph: Mohammad Ismail/Reuters
Updated
Colombia’s president, Iván Duque, on Friday offered to receive the coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca to demonstrate its safety, following concerns over blood clotting.
Reuters reports:
Safety worries caused at least 13 European countries to stop administering the AstraZeneca vaccine, slowing inoculation campaigns across the European Union.
However, the World Health Organization (WHO) urged countries to keep administering the vaccine as it added its endorsement to that of European and British regulators.
Duque told Colombia’s health minister Fernando Ruiz that while he has so far waited to receive a vaccine, he would accept the AstraZeneca jab to reassure people of its safety.
“I say very clearly that, if the fact that me receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine, as president of the republic, will bring peace of mind about that vaccine ... I will do it when you tell me,” Duque told Ruiz during his nightly broadcast.
Colombia has reported more than 2.3 million coronavirus infections and 61,771 deaths. So far, the country has administered more than 1 million vaccine doses.
Updated
China reported four new coronavirus cases on Friday, up from 11 cases a day earlier, the country’s national health authority said on Saturday.
Reuters reports:
The National Health Commission said all the new cases were imported from abroad.
The number of new asymptomatic cases, which China does not classify as confirmed cases, rose to eight from five cases a day earlier.
The total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in mainland China now stands at 90,087, while the death toll remained at 4,636.
British MPs urge home secretary to allow protests in England despite lockdown
More than 60 British lawmakers have written to the home secretary, Priti Patel, calling for protests to be allowed in England during lockdown.
Reuters reports:
Under England’s coronavirus rules, it is unlawful for groups to gather for protests and police warned people on Saturday not to head to central London for planned demonstrations, including by anti-lockdown campaigners.
Police were criticised for using heavy-handed tactics on March 13 to break up an outdoor vigil for 33-year-old Sarah Everard. A police officer has been charged with her kidnap and murder.
Further protests followed, fuelled by anger over government plans to tighten the law on demonstrations.
The group of lawmakers, including Conservative MP Steve Baker, and Ed Davey, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, said that protest should not be a criminal offence.
“We call on you to expressly exempt protests from restrictions on gatherings,” they said in the letter, which was organised by campaign groups Liberty and Big Brother Watch.
The Home Office said in response that the Covid-19 stay at home order remains in place until March 29, and once it ends protests can resume subject to agreed social-distancing measures.
“While we are still in a pandemic we continue to urge people to avoid mass gatherings, in line with wider coronavirus restrictions,” a spokeswoman said.
Police said that a significant operation will be in place in London to engage with people breaching Covid-19 regulations, adding that any protesters will be encouraged to return home or could face fines or arrest.
Updated
Germany on Friday resumed using the AstraZeneca vaccine after pausing its deployment along with many European countries on Monday over fears of a possible link to blood clots.
But since the AstraZeneca vaccination ban came into place, the willingness of Germans to get vaccinated fell by only two percentage points to 71% compared to the beginning of March, the Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported.
After lifting the suspension on Thursday night, politicians are eager to accelerate Germany’s sluggish vaccine campaign as it battles what health authorities on Friday described as an exponential rise in Covid-19 cases that threatens to overwhelm hospitals.
The highly contagious so-called British variant now makes up around 72% of all cases in Germany.
Some Germans rushed to rebook their appointments and made their way through snow to a vaccination centre in Berlin, my colleague Abby Young-Powell reports.
Papua New Guinea reported rising coronavirus infections on Saturday, highlighting the need for tougher social distancing restrictions that will take effect on Monday.
Reuters reports:
Internal border controls will be tightened, personal movement restricted and mask wearing made mandatory in an effort to slow the spread of Covid-19, which has been overwhelming the country’s public health system.
The authorities in the Pacific island nation of 9 million people said they will ban mass gatherings, close schools and may order burials in a “designated mass grave”.
PNG has recorded a spike in Covid-19 cases in recent weeks, with hundreds of new daily cases. Saturday’s announcement of 295 infections for Thursday and 132 for Friday brings confirmed cases to 3,085 with 36 deaths, but health experts believe the true numbers are likely much higher.
A New Zealand Defence aircraft on Saturday delivered four tonnes (8,800 pounds) of personal protective equipment, health authorities said, including hand sanitiser, goggles, biohazard bags and surgical masks.
Neighbouring Australia has pledged 8,000 doses of the AstraZeneca PLC vaccine for PNG health workers.
Russia on Saturday reported 9,632 new coronavirus cases, including 1,728 in Moscow, pushing the national tally of cases to 4,447,570 since the pandemic began.
The government’s coronavirus taskforce said that 392 people had died in the last 24 hours, taking the overall death toll to 94,569.
On Friday, Russia reported 9,612 fresh infections, and 9,808 a week ago.
On Tuesday, Russia confirmed it had identified the first two cases of the South African coronavirus variant in the country.
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 16,033 to 2,645,783, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Saturday.
The reported death toll rose by 207 to 74,565.
Last Saturday, the RKI had registered 12,674 new cases and 239 new deaths within one day. According to the RKI, the number of new infections reported within seven days per 100,000 inhabitants, the seven-day incidence, was 99.9 nationwide on Saturday morning, compared to 95.6 on the previous day.
The head of the Marburger Bund Doctors’ Association, Susanne Johna, warned hospitals could be overwhelmed, and told the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung: “I expect an even more critical situation from Easter than at the turn of the year.”
The capacity buffer in German intensive care units “will melt away rapidly”, she warned.
Updated
The Philippine health ministry on Saturday recorded 7,999 new coronavirus infections, the second straight day that the country posted a record high in daily reported cases.
The ministry said total confirmed cases have risen to 656,056 while confirmed deaths have reached 12,930, after 30 further deaths from the virus were recorded on Saturday.
The Southeast Asian nation is battling a renewed surge in infections, including those of the new and more transmissible variants, delaying the further reopening of its pandemic-stricken economy, Reuters reports.
India reports biggest surge in new infections in four months
Hello, I’m Jedidajah Otte and I’ll be bringing you the latest developments on the pandemic for the next few hours.
India reported 40,953 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, the biggest daily jump in nearly four months, with its richest state Maharashtra accounting for more than half the infections.
Reuters reports:
Deaths rose by 188 to 159,404, the health ministry reported, underscoring a resurgence of the virus in the world’s third worst affected country, after the United States and Brazil.
Some regions in India have already reimposed containment measures, including lockdowns and restaurant closures, and more are being considered.
Doctors have blamed the fresh infection wave on people’s relaxed attitude to mask-wearing and other social distancing measures, warning that hospital wards were swiftly filling up in states like Maharashtra.
Maharashtra reported a record 25,681 cases, including 3,000 in the financial capital of Mumbai, over the past 24 hours.
The state of 112 million people has imposed a lockdown in some districts and put curbs on cinemas, hotels and restaurants until the end of the month. Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray warned that a wider lockdown is an option, according to local media.
The rise in India’s Covid-19 cases peaked at nearly 100,000 a day in September, and had been falling steadily until late last month.
In addition to Maharashtra, the Indian states of Punjab, Karnataka, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh all reported a surge in new cases.
As ever, feel free to get in touch with updates or comments, you can reach me on Twitter @JedySays or via email.
