With that, we are closing this blog. Our new blog is at the link below – head there for the latest:
Internationally acclaimed cellist Yo-Yo Ma celebrated receiving his second shot of the Covid-19 vaccine by performing an impromptu concert at a vaccine site in Berkshire Community College, Massachusetts:
Updated
Dutch health authorities will have to cancel 43,000 vaccination appointments following the government’s decision to suspend the use of Astrazeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine for at least two weeks, according to news agency ANP.
The suspension will be in place until at least 29 March as the Netherlands joined a flurry of European countries in halting its use of the vaccine on Sunday.
In response to concerns, AstraZeneca has said its review had found no evidence of an increased risk of pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or thrombocytopenia, in any defined age group, gender, batch or in any particular country.
Updated
The Australian state of Victoria has reported no new Covid-19 cases for the fifth consecutive day.
The state, which has recorded 20,483 infections and 820 deaths since the pandemic began, currently has two active cases.
Yesterday there were no new cases reported. 9,696 test results were received. Thanks to everyone who got tested - #EveryTestHelps.
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) March 14, 2021
More later: https://t.co/lIUrl0ZEco#COVID19Vic #COVID19VicData pic.twitter.com/LzVOrkgW0h
Updated
More than a quarter of people in Chile have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, putting the South American country near the top among countries at inoculating its population against the virus.
The country of 19 million on South America’s Pacific coast leads on vaccination in Latin America, and globally it is behind Israel, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom, AP reports.
Chile began administering more than 100,000 shots almost every day in early February. This figure more than tripled this week, with a daily global record of 1.3 shots per 100 inhabitants hit on Wednesday.
In contrast, Brazil has vaccinated just 4% of its population, and Argentina around 3%.
Netherlands suspends use of AstraZeneca vaccine
The Netherlands has temporarily halted its AstraZeneca vaccine programme, the government has said.
The suspension will be in place until at least 29 March, Reuters reports.
Several other European countries have temporarily suspended use of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, including Norway, Denmark and Ireland.
However, the UK’s medicines regulator said available evidence does not suggest the vaccine is the cause of the blood clots, advising people to get the jab when asked to do so.
AstraZeneca also said its review had found no evidence of an increased risk of pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or thrombocytopenia, in any defined age group, gender, batch or in any particular country.
Updated
There is “enormous difficulty” in differentiating a causal effect from a coincidence in the case of reports from vaccine adverse effects, a scientist has said amid concerns about AstraZeneca’s vaccine.
Stephen Evans, professor of pharmacoepidemiology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, told PA:
The problem with spontaneous reports of suspected adverse reactions to a vaccine are the enormous difficulty of distinguishing a causal effect from a coincidence.
This is especially true when we know that Covid-19 disease is very strongly associated with blood clotting and there have been hundreds if not many thousands of deaths caused by blood clotting as a result of Covid-19 disease.
The first thing to do is to be absolutely certain that the clots did not have some other cause, including Covid-19.”
Updated
Protesters, many carrying Brazilian and pro-Bolsonaro flags, have demonstrated against the closure of businesses due to coronavirus restrictions in Sao Paulo:
Updated
Brazil has reported 1,127 further Covid-19 deaths in the past 24 hours and 43,812 new cases of the coronavirus, the health ministry said as the pandemic’s most lethal week for the country comes to an end.
The week saw 12,818 deaths in Brazil – an average of 1,831 fatalities a day, far exceeding the 1,000-death daily rolling averages for January and February.
The South American country has now registered a total of 11,483,370 cases, Reuters reports.
The official death toll has risen to 278,229 in the world’s second-worst outbreak other than that in the United States.
Updated
France must do everything to avoid another lockdown as pressure on hospitals grows, prime minister Jean Castex has said as the country added more than 26,000 new cases to its tally.
Rather than send the country into a third national lockdown, the French government has implemented a 6pm nationwide curfew and weekend lockdowns in two hotspot regions while shutting shopping centres.
We have to use all weapons available to avoid a lockdown. I’ve never hid it, let’s vaccinate, protect ourselves, get tested,” Castex said on Sunday.
The situation is not getting better, there is a higher and higher number of infections and hospitals are very burdened with many patients, whose average age is getting lower and who don’t always have comorbidities.”
Meanwhile, the head of the public health service, Jerome Salomon, said that “a lockdown is not a taboo but it is not automatic” either, despite the worsening health situation.
The health ministry reported 26,343 new Covid-19 infections on Sunday and 140 more deaths, taking the toll to 90,429.
Updated
Protest is the lifeblood of a healthy democracy, and it’s critical that we can all stand up to those in power, and make our voices heard,” said Lana Adamou, a lawyer at Liberty. “Safe, socially distanced demonstrations are perfectly possible, and it is the duty of the police to facilitate them, not block them. The current restrictions should be interpreted compatibly with our rights enshrined in the Human Rights Act.”
Last year’s Black Lives Matter protests in some 300 US cities did not cause a spike in cases there, a July report from the National Bureau of Economic Research found. The outdoor air played a part in dispelling the virus and, in cities with big rallies, infections even fell because those who did not take part stayed home instead of shopping or eating out – activities that carry a greater risk.
AstraZeneca’s review of people vaccinated with its jab has shown no evidence of an increased risk of blood clots, the manufacturer has said.
The review covered more than 17 million people vaccinated in the European Union and United Kingdom, Reuters reports.
A careful review of all available safety data of more than 17 million people vaccinated in the European Union and UK with Covid-19 vaccine AstraZeneca has shown no evidence of an increased risk of pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis or thrombocytopenia, in any defined age group, gender, batch or in any particular country,” the statement said.
Denmark, Norway and Iceland have halted the use of the vaccine over concerns about blood clot reports.
Ireland on Sunday temporarily suspended AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine “out of an abundance of caution”.
The drugmaker said additional testing has and is being conducted by the company and the European health authorities and none of the re-tests have shown cause for concern.
There are also no confirmed issues related to quality of any of its Covid-19 vaccine batches used across Europe and rest of the world, the company said.
Updated
Summary
- The head of the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) has said he has “no doubt” that there will be a further wave of coronavirus infections in the autumn.
- There have been a further 4,618 lab-confirmed coronavirus cases in the UK, according to government data – compared with 5,177 cases last Sunday.
- The Philippines is on track with its Covid-19 inoculation drive, the head of the government’s vaccine strategy said on Sunday, addressing criticisms the rollout has been slow as worries grow about a surge in new cases.
- The European Union will be able to stick to its vaccination targets this quarter despite AstraZeneca delivery delays as Pfizer is producing faster than planned, according to the EU industry commissioner Thierry Breton.
- Irish health authorities have recommended that the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine should be temporarily “deferred” in Ireland in the wake of a report by Norwegian regulators.
- Northern Ireland’s department of health has asked the UK’s medicines regulator for an update on the AstraZeneca vaccine rollout in light of the Republic of Ireland’s suspension of the jab, the department has said in a statement, confirming that it will continue.
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France’s government has said today it plans to evacuate around 100 Covid-19 patients from intensive care units in the Paris region this week as hospitals struggle to keep up with a surge in cases.
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Bahrain eased some of its coronavirus restrictions on Sunday, including allowing eating inside restaurants and re-opening educational institutions to students, as case numbers fall.
- Italy’s northern region of Piedmont has said it would temporarily suspend AstraZeneca coronavirus shots after a teacher from the town of Biella died following his vaccination on Saturday.
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Dutch police have been using water cannon to disperse anti-lockdown protesters in The Hague.
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Brazil’s health minister, Eduardo Pazuello, is set to be replaced by the Bolsonaro administration, according to Brazilian media reports.
Updated
France has reported 26,343 new Covid-19 cases and 140 deaths, the latest data from the health ministry showed. This compares with 21,825 cases and 130 deaths last Sunday.
The country’s death toll stands at 90,429, of which 65,118 have been in hospitals, according to Reuters.
The number of people in intensive care units rose by 57 to 4,127, as pressure grows on French hospitals.
France has the world’s sixth-highest total of Covid-19 cases, just behind the UK.
Brazil’s health minister, Eduardo Pazuello, is set to be replaced by the Bolsonaro administration, according to Brazilian media reports.
Pazuello is said to have asked the president, Jair Bolsonaro, to step down from the role due to health problems, O Globo reports.
Brazil has recorded the second-highest number of Covid-19 infections and deaths globally, with 11,439,558 cases and 277,102 deaths to date.
Updated
Northern Ireland’s department of health has asked the UK’s medicines regulator for an update on the AstraZeneca vaccine rollout in light of the Republic of Ireland’s suspension of the jab, the department has said in a statement, confirming that it will continue.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s (MHRA) advice reads:
We are aware of the action in Ireland. We are closely reviewing reports but given the large number of doses administered, and the frequency at which blood clots can occur naturally, the evidence available does not suggest the vaccine is the cause.
The statement comes after the MHRA advised the public to continue getting their Covid-19 vaccines on Thursday.
Northern Ireland’s vaccination programme will continue, and a further expansion of the rollout will be announced soon, the statement said.
Updated
Keir Starmer received his first vaccine dose on Sunday and encouraged others to have the jab when they are offered it.
The 58-year-old had the jab at the Francis Crick Institute in his Holborn and St Pancras constituency on Sunday afternoon.
The Labour leader said: “I am so grateful to the staff and volunteers at the Francis Crick Institute for their warm welcome and exceptional work throughout the pandemic.
“From the help they gave our local hospitals with testing last year, to this vaccination centre, they have been at the forefront of efforts to support our NHS and keep our community safe.
“It has been such a difficult year and the vaccination programme is the light at the end of the tunnel. The vaccine is safe, effective and I urge everyone in our community to take it when it’s their turn.”
Updated
The French labour minister, Élisabeth Borne, has tested positive for Covid-19 and will continue to work remotely, she has said on Twitter.
Borne, 59 is the latest senior French politician to contract the coronavirus. President Emmanuel Macron, finance minister Bruno Le Maire and former culture minister Franck Riester also caught the virus last year.
“Having tested positive for Covid-19, I will continue to exercise my responsibilities from a distance,” Borne said.
Updated
Italy reported 264 coronavirus-related deaths on Sunday, the health ministry has said, against 207 the week before.
A further 21,315 daily cases were registered, Reuters reports – an increase from 20,724 last Sunday.
Italy has recorded 102,145 deaths linked to Covid-19 since its outbreak began, the second-highest toll in Europe after the UK and the seventh-highest in the world. The country has reported around 3.2 million cases to date.
UK reports 4,618 new cases, 52 deaths
There have been a further 4,618 lab-confirmed coronavirus cases in the UK, according to government data – compared with 5,177 cases last Sunday.
A cumulative total of 4,258,438 people have tested positive since the pandemic began.
A further 52 deaths within 28 days of a positive test were reported, bringing the total to 125,516. There were 82 last Sunday.
The seven-day rolling average, which evens out reporting irregularities in the daily figures, shows that cases are down by 4.9% compared with the previous week (1 to 7 March).
Fatalities have decreased by 31.4% by the same measure.
There have been 143,259 deaths where Covid-19 is mentioned as a cause on the death certificate, registered up to 26 February.
Sunday figures are often lower because of reporting delays over the weekend.
Updated
Authorities on the Isle of Man have run strict regime to keep the island as free from Covid-19 as possible but an exemption for ferry workers has caused discontent.
It was only at the start of February that the Isle of Man came out of lockdown. Pubs, shops and restaurants reopened, social distancing measures were lifted and face coverings were no longer mandatory.
Back then, the chief minister of the self-governing British Crown dependency declared that the reopening of society was possible because: “There’s a collective determination, a sense of duty and community spirit. The public have followed all the rules.”
Just over a month later, on 3 March, the island went into a 21-day “circuit-breaker” lockdown to limit the spread of the virus after a spike in cases, with the government believing the “index case” (patient zero in the current wave) was most probably a ferry worker.
As of Friday afternoon, there were 704 active Covid cases on the Isle of Man, with 12 people in hospital, one of whom was in intensive care.
The admission that the island’s ferry service had probably brought back Covid has caused anger on the Isle of Man, with some asking why ferry workers were exempt from the strict 21-day quarantine enforced on all other arrivals.
Several arrests were made as Dutch riot police used water cannon and batons to disperse a crowd of several thousand anti-lockdown protesters gathered at a field in the centre of The Hague a day before national elections.
The demonstration was broken up after the protesters flouted social distancing rules and ignored police warnings to disperse, Reuters reports.
Local media said several arrests were made during the clashes. There were no immediate reports of injuries.
Dutch authorities had stopped train services to the city, the seat of government, to prevent more protesters arriving.
Police initially told people to go home and announced over loudspeakers that the event was over and warned that they would break up the protest by force if necessary.
Many in the crowd, gathered at the central Maliveld field in the city, were holding yellow umbrellas in a show of opposition and chanted “Love, freedom, stop dictatorship.”
The Netherlands has been under a tough lockdown since late January with gatherings of more than two people banned, restaurants and bars shut and with the first night-time curfew since World War Two.
Voting in the election will start on Monday, with polls open for three days to help to ensure social distancing at polling stations. Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s conservative VVD Party looks set to get a new four-year mandate after being in power since 2010.
A majority of voters reluctantly support the lockdown, given the Netherlands’ current coronavirus infection rate which is towards the high end of Europe’s range.
But the curfew, which has been extended until the end of March, prompted several days of rioting across the country when it was first imposed on January. 23.
Dutch police break up anti-lockdown protest in The Hague
Dutch police have been using water cannon to disperse anti-lockdown protesters in The Hague.
Anna Holligan, a reporter for the BBC, tweets this image taken from the Dutch broadcaster NOS.
Dutch police use water canon to disperse anti-lockdown protesters in The Hague (Malieveld now clear) https://t.co/HV47xwkGuR #Covid pic.twitter.com/VVzp86Kmyc
— anna holligan 🎙 (@annaholligan) March 14, 2021
NOS reported that horses were also used by police to disperse the gather.
The Netherlands has seen some of its worst riots for decades since the start of this year.
Three nights of riots erupted in January on the weekend a curfew started, with police using water cannon and teargas against protesters in cities including Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Eindhoven.
They were the most serious riots in the Netherlands for 40 years and led to dozens of arrests.
Updated
Italy's Piedmont temporarily suspends AstraZeneca shot
Italy’s northern region of Piedmont has said it would temporarily suspend AstraZeneca coronavirus shots after a teacher from the town of Biella died following his vaccination on Saturday.
The decision, following similar moves elsewhere in Europe, was precautionary and the region was awaiting the results of checks which will verify the batch that was used and whether there is a connection between the death and the vaccination, the regional government said in an online statement. It did not say how the teacher died.
“It is an act of extreme prudence, while we verify whether there is a connection. There have been no critical issues with the administration of vaccines to date,” Luigi Genesio Icardi, the head of regional health services, said in the statement.
Italy’s medicine authority Aifa on Thursday banned the use of one batch of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Sources told Reuters the decision had been taken after the deaths of two men in Sicily.
The news comes after Irish regulators said earlier today that they were recommending a “precautionary” suspension of the use of the vaccine.
Updated
Following the news that Ireland is suspending the use of the Astrazeneca vaccine, the Irish Cancer Society has said it hopes the time will be used to identify and correspond with patients in cohorts who have been waiting for the jab.
“This could help accelerate the vaccination of these groups over the coming weeks and ensure those who are most at risk from severe disease as a result of Covid-19 are protected,” the society’s director of advocacy, Rachel Morrogh, said in a statement.
The announcement this morning that the Astra Zeneca vaccine is to be suspended will be cause concern amongst the cancer community. We do not know yet how this decision will affect the timeframe within which cancer patients will be vaccinated.
— Rachel Morrogh (@RachelMorrogh) March 14, 2021
Updated
The top US immunologist, Dr Anthony Fauci, has said he hopes Donald Trump will urge his supporters to get the Covid-19 vaccine.
Fauci also emphasised that pandemic-related restrictions should not be lifted prematurely.
His comments come after a PBS NewsHour/NPR/Marist poll last week found that about half of US men who identified themselves as Republicans said they had no plans to get the vaccine.
Asked whether Trump should speak to his supporters directly, given those poll numbers, Fauci said on NBC’s Meet the Press: “I hope he does because the numbers that you gave are so disturbing.”
“How such a large proportion of a certain group of people would not want to get vaccinated merely because of political considerations ... it makes absolutely no sense,” Fauci said.
Other living former US presidents – Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter – are set to appear in two public service announcements for the coronavirus vaccine alongside their wives, without Trump.
Getting the vaccine is “no brainer,” said Fauci, who listed some of the diseases that vaccines had wiped out such as small pox.
“What is the problem here? This is a vaccine that is going to be lifesaving for millions of people,” Fauci said.
Fauci is the director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and an adviser to Joe Biden.
Updated
More than 17,500 chain stores disappeared from high streets, shopping centres and retail parks across Great Britain last year as the Covid-19 pandemic spurred the worst decline on record.
An average of 48 shops, restaurants and other leisure and hospitality venues permanently closed every day across England, Wales and Scotland, and only 21 opened, according to the figures compiled by the Local Data Company, a research provider, for the accountancy firm PwC.
With non-essential shops forced to close during lockdown and a boom in online shopping, as many as 17,532 outlets closed their doors for the last time in 2020. Only 7,655 chain stores were opened. The resulting net closure of 9,877 stores was almost a third higher than in 2019, according to research from almost 3,500 locations, which excludes independent retail outlets and other venues.
The stark figures comes before the true impact of the pandemic on Great Britain’s high streets becomes apparent. Many outlets included in the research were temporarily closed during lockdowns and were not counted as shut but may never reopen after restrictions are relaxed this spring.
You can read the full story here.
Bahrain eased some of its coronavirus restrictions on Sunday, including allowing eating inside restaurants and re-opening educational institutions to students, as case numbers fall.
Restaurants and cafes, which had been limited to take-away meals since late January, can open with no more than 30 customers at one time, the ministry of health said.
Swimming pools and sports facilities can reopen on Sunday, but social gatherings of more than 30 people in homes and private venues are still prohibited.
Ministry officials urged residents to get a vaccine and to continue to adhere to measures such as social distancing and washing hands.
This is Maya Wolfe-Robinson taking over the live blog for a while.
Updated
Stark variations in Covid vaccine uptake between richer and poorer areas of England, together with “stubbornly high” coronavirus rates in some deprived communities, are posing serious questions about the measures needed for restrictions to be safely eased.
Experts fear Covid could become a disease of the poor, with wealthy communities protected through vaccination and having lower exposure to the virus, while more deprived communities are left at greater risk as a result of lower jab uptake, greater prevalence of underlying health conditions and greater exposure to the virus through factors such overcrowded housing and public-facing jobs.
“It is likely that as the country opens up, there will be pockets of the virus that get less attention and publicity, and the government will basically allow this to happen,” said Prof John Drury of the University of Sussex, a member of both the SPI-B advisory sub-group of Sage and the Independent Sage group of experts.
Updated
France’s government has said today it plans to evacuate around 100 Covid-19 patients from intensive care units in the Paris region this week as hospitals struggle to keep up with a surge in cases.
With the transfers, officials hope to avoid a new lockdown for the roughly 12 million people in and around the capital as they race to step up a vaccination drive that got off to a slow start.
“By the end of this week, probably around 100 patients will have been evacuated from the Ile-de-France region” encompassing Paris, government spokesman Gabriel Attal said at Orly airport, where two patients – aged 33 and 70 – were airlifted to the southwestern city of Bordeaux.
Later this week, two specially equipped trains will transfer “several dozens of patients to regions that today are under less strain” from the pandemic, Attal added.
Asked if Paris would avoid a new lockdown, Attal said “we are doing everything we can to not have to take more difficult, more restrictive measures.”
However, “we will always take whatever decisions are necessary.”
Updated
Irish regulator hopes to lift vaccine pause in a week
The chair of Ireland’s National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC), Professor Karina Butler has been speaking about the temporary suspension of the Astrazeneca vaccine in Ireland, which she said was “necessary.” She hoped to be able to say in a week that the regulator had “acted out of an abundance of caution.”
She said that there had been an alert from Norway to Ireland’s Health Products Regulatory Authority about what seemed like a cluster of four “very serious clotting events.” Three were in the brain and one was fatal.
Then the question was, was there the possibility of a relationship with the vaccine. Something that was rare but very serious could very serious outcomes,” she told Irish media outlet Virgin Media News.
“So with that the question was, where does the balance lie? But this is a safety signal. We don’t have the details yet, whether these events occurred in people who had other reasons having them happen. We don’t fully have the information yet are very complicated events are happening at a frequency that is greater than you would expect in a non vaccinated population.”
“But they do seem to have clustered together at a level and in younger people - when I say young I mean less than 65 - where we wouldn’t necessarily have expected them to.”
Above all, she said that the regulator wants confidence to remain high and for people to be assured. She said she hoped the regulator would be able to say in a week that it had acted out of “an abundance of caution.”
Here’s Butler speaking to Gavan Reilly on Virgin Media News:
#NEW
— Zara Nic an Rí (@ZaraKing) March 14, 2021
“Very difficult to pause, but the right thing to do”
-NIAC’s Prof Karina Butler tells @gavreilly the HPRA received an alert from Norway last night
“A cluster of 4 very serious clotting events..3 of which involved clots in the brain, 1 fatal”@VirginMediaNews #AstraZeneca pic.twitter.com/8sjL4YwKDc
Updated
The European Union will be able to stick to its vaccination targets this quarter despite AstraZeneca delivery delays as Pfizer is producing faster than planned, according to EU industry commissioner Thierry Breton.
AstraZeneca said on Friday it would try to deliver 30m doses to the EU by the end of March, down from a contractual obligation of 90m and a previous pledge made last month to deliver 40m doses.
Breton told France’s Europe 1 radio that the delay was unacceptable, but that for now there were no plans to sue the company.
“The good news is that even though there are delays with AstraZeneca we won’t be late with our vaccination programme in the first quarter,” Breton said.
“Pfizer is producing more, much more than planned and is going to deliver more to us,” he added.
EU leaders have come under criticism for a slower rollout of vaccinations than in other countries such as Britain or the US due to a longer approval and purchasing process and repeated delivery delays.
AstraZeneca’s new lower supply target hinges on the bloc’s drug regulator approving supplies from a factory in the Netherlands, an internal document showed, Reuters reported on Saturday.
Updated
A British broadcaster has said she does not know whether her husband will ever have any kind of life again in an interview describing the “horror story” of his year with coronavirus.
Kate Garraway, a presenter on Good Morning Britain, recounted the months since Derek Draper, a 53-year-old former political adviser and lobbyist, was first hospitalised last March.
A year on, he remains in intensive care, experiencing only “fleeting glimmers of consciousness”, Garraway told the Sunday Times magazine.
Although the virus not been present in Draper’s body since the late summer, it has led to kidney failure, damage to his liver and pancreas and heart failure.
He has holes in his lungs following bacterial pneumonia and several infections. Doctors do not know why the virus has had such a destructive effect on Draper’s health and have said it is unlikely he will make a full recovery, Garraway said.
Updated
The Philippines is on track with its Covid-19 inoculation drive, the head of the government’s vaccine strategy said on Sunday, addressing criticisms the rollout has been slow as worries grow about a surge in new cases.
The Department of Health reported 4,899 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, a day after recording the largest single-day increase in more than six months with 5,000 additional infections.
The latest tally brought the country’s total confirmed cases to 621,498, among the highest in Asia, with the reported death toll increasing by 63 to 12,829.
Carlito Galvez, who is in charge of the government’s vaccine procurement programme, said almost 90% of the more than 1m doses that arrived so far had been deployed nationwide.
Updated
Britons are planning to “eat, drink and be merry” once lockdown lifts, with many pubs and restaurants already fully booked for several months.
Those keen to make up for lost time have inundated venues in England with bookings for tables in beer gardens for when they are scheduled to reopen on 12 April.
When the Birmingham restaurant, Craft, started to take bookings on 24 February just after the April easing was announced by the prime minister, 147 groups – 601 people – reserved seats within 20 minutes.
“It’s been an incredible response,” said Sam Morgan, chief executive of the We Are Craft Group. “We have a small amount of availability on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons but otherwise our outdoor private dining pods are pretty much booked up until July and the inside is fully booked from when we open in mid-May until July. We knew there would be a significant demand, however, it has definitely exceeded our expectations. It’s really reassuring.”
Boris Johnson revealed the plans last month to reopen the hospitality industry. From 12 April, up to six people will be able to meet friends or family in beer gardens or to eat outside. Indoor seating is set to restart from 17 May, providing specific Covid-19 conditions are met.
Updated
'No doubt' of autumn Covid-19 wave – UK statistician
The head of the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS), said he has “no doubt” that there will be a further wave of coronavirus infections in the autumn.
The comments of Prof Sir Ian Diamond come after England’s chief medical officer, Prof Chris Whitty, said there were still risks to reopening society and the UK will experience another surge of cases at some point, potentially in late summer or through the autumn and winter.
Diamond, who heads a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the UK parliament, said we need to understand how the data is moving forward and look at the impact of the “wonderful” vaccine rollout.
“But having said that, we need also to recognise that this is a virus that isn’t going to go away.”
“And I have no doubt that in the autumn there will be a further wave of infections,” he told the Andrew Marr Show on BBC One.
Updated
A third wave of the Covid pandemic is advancing swiftly across much of Europe. As a result, many nations – bogged down by sluggish vaccination campaigns – are witnessing sharp rises in infection rates and numbers of cases.
The infection rate in the EU is at its highest level since the beginning of February, with the spread of new variants of the Covid-19 virus blamed for much of the recent increase.
Several countries are now set to impose strict new lockdown measures in the next few days – in contrast to the UK, which is beginning to emerge slowly from its current bout of shop and school closures and sports bans.
In Italy, authorities recorded more than 27,000 new cases and 380 deaths on Friday. “More than a year after the start of the health emergency, we are unfortunately facing a new wave of infections,” said prime minister Mario Draghi.
“The memory of what happened last spring is vivid, and we will do everything to prevent it from happening again.”
Updated
The director and four other officials of a Jordanian hospital treating coronavirus patients have been detained today over deaths at the facility after it ran out of oxygen, judicial sources have told the AFP news agency.
A prosecutor decided to place them in custody for a week for questioning after seven patients died Saturday in the hospital in Salt, near Amman, they said.
Public anger over the deaths led to the resignation of health minister Nazir Obeidat, and King Abdullah II, who visited the state hospital on Saturday, ordered its director Abdel Razak al-Khashman to also step down.
The head of health services for the province where Salt is located has likewise been suspended pending the completion of an investigation.
In video footage posted online, a visibly angry Abdullah, shaking his head, is heard telling the hospital director: “How could such a thing happen. This is unacceptable.”
Hundreds of people rallied outside during the visit to vent their disgust.
Concerns about a lack of co-ordination between different state regulators have been expressed by a University of Cambridge lecturer and physician whose expertise covers the concerns that caused Irish regulators to call for a pause in the administration of the Astrazeneca vaccine.
Mark Toshner, who researches pulmonary embolisms, was reacting after Irish regulators recommended the suspension following a report from the Norwegian Medicines Agency of four new reports of serious blood clotting events in adults after vaccination, tweeted:
Firstly this was always going to keep happening. Take any intervention rolled out to whole populations and there are going to be a lot of spurious associations made and links touted that eventually quietly get shelved 2/n
— Mark Toshner (@mark_toshner) March 11, 2021
WHO scientist who spoke out on early crisis in Italy resigns
A World Health Organization scientist who spoke out about the UN body’s withdrawal of a report on Italy’s early handling of the coronavirus pandemic has resigned.
Francesco Zambon, who is based at the WHO’s office in Venice, confirmed he resigned due to the situation becoming professionally “unsustainable”, after he alleged that he was pressured by a senior WHO official to hide the fact that Italy had not updated its pandemic plan since 2006.
Zambon declined to comment further when contacted by the Guardian but said his resignation, first reported by RAI’s report, would take effect from 31 March.
The Guardian first reported in August that Italy’s pandemic plan was 14 years out of date, a factor that may have contributed to at least 10,000 Covid-19 deaths during the first wave, and which is a key element in an investigation into alleged errors by authorities being carried out by prosecutors in Bergamo, the Lombardy province that was severely affected in the pandemic’s early stage.
Russia reported 10,083 Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours on Sunday, the first time the number of daily infections has crossed the 10 thousand mark since Monday.
It brought the total case tally to 4,390,608.
The Russian coronavirus crisis centre said 395 more coronavirus patients had died in the last 24 hours, taking the national death toll to 92,090.
Ireland’s National Immunisation Advisory Committee is due to meet this morning after announcing a recommended suspension in the rollout of the Astrazeneca vaccine.
Ireland’s Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn said that the recommendation was issued after the Norwegian Medicines Agency reported four new reports of serious blood clotting events in adults after vaccination with the vaccine.
Dr Glynn said:
It has not been concluded that there is any link between the Covid-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca and these cases.
However, acting on the precautionary principle, and pending receipt of further information, the NIAC has recommended the temporary deferral of the Covid-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca vaccination programme in Ireland.
There has been early reaction, and useful reminders of the context to this announcement
Few things re: suspension of #AstraZeneca vaccine in Ireland:
— Dr David Robert Grimes (@drg1985) March 14, 2021
1. Correlation isn't causation - it is likely the thrombotic events are coincidental, suspension is abundance of caution.
2. Rate of event low (~6/million)
3. UK (millions doses given) not seeing a trend https://t.co/RLMc3ALgOO
Two people were arrested on the sidelines of a weekend protest against anti-coronavirus restrictions in Denmark’s capital Copenhagen, the police have said.
One person was arrested for throwing fireworks at police during the Saturday march, while another was detained over violent behaviour, the police told AFP.
The rally was organised by a group calling itself “Men in Black Denmark” which has called regular demonstrations since the end of last year against what it calls the “dictatorship” of the country’s Covid-19 restrictions.
Walking through firework smoke, the protesters held torches as they moved through the city centre chanting “Freedom for Denmark” and “Mette Ciao,” a reference to Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.
Local media reported that the march took place in a “sometimes intense” atmosphere, but without major incident.
The protest came a day after a 30-year-old woman was sentenced to two years in jail for calling for violence during a previous “Men in Black Denmark” rally against Covid-19 restrictions in January.
The case provoked a debate about the sentence which commentators deemed unusually harsh for her at times ambiguous comments.
“Are you ready to walk around and smash the city in a non-violent way?” she had told the crowd during an impromptu speech.
Here’s footage of scenes in Copenhagen, via Paraic O’Brien of Channel 4 News
Next level anti-lockdown demo #Copenhagen pic.twitter.com/6K8DKqBkDr
— Paraic O'Brien (@paraicobrien) March 13, 2021
AstraZeneca should be 'deferred' in Ireland - authorities
The use of the AstraZeneca vaccine should be temporarily “deferred” in Ireland in the wake of a report by Norwegian regulators, Irish health authorities have recommended.
Ireland’s Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) recommended that the use of the vaccine be deferred as a precaution.
It noted that there was no evidence of a link between some cases of blood clotting among those who had received the vaccine and the product itself.
Richard Chambers tweets out a statement which has been issued today:
#BREAKING
— Risteard Mac Ambróis (@newschambers) March 14, 2021
AstraZeneca use in Ireland temporarily deferred in Ireland.@VirginMediaNews #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/KAjrWzIbYP
The FA Cup final – a traditional highlight of the football season in England – will be played in front of 20,000 fans, the government has said.
The Sunday Telegraph also reports this morning that the World Snooker Championship will “kick-start” the return of spectator sport as cases of coronavirus fall and vaccinations accelerate.
Government ministers were said to be trialling a number of events around the country with differently sized audiences to ensure that events can reopen safely.
The FA Cup final at Wembley on 15 May will be the biggest event with crowds in the UK since the pandemic began, and will be a crucial test of the ability of Britain to offer to host more matches for the Euro football finals, which begin on 11 June.
Britain’s prime minister, Boris Johnson, has said that Britain, already due to stage a number of fixtures as part of the tournament, could host any extra matches.
Oliver Dowden, the culture secretary, said this weekend:
These test events will be crucial in finding ways to get fans and audiences back in safely without social distancing.
We will be guided by the science and medical experts, but will work flat out to make that happen.
Updated
Italy is seeing a steady rise in coronavirus infections but a national vaccination campaign and tougher restrictions mean numbers should start improving in late spring, the country’s health minister has said.
Infections in Italy, the first western country hit hard by the pandemic, rose by 10% last week compared with the week before, and officials have warned that the situation is deteriorating as highly contagious variants gain ground.
“The application of more rigorous measures and the progressive rise in the number of vaccinated people make us think that already in the second half of spring (contagion) numbers will be improving,” health minister Roberto Speranza told the daily la Repubblica in an interview.
He added that the coming weeks “would not be at all easy”.
The UK variant represented 54% of cases in the latest study by Italy’s Superior Health Institute, ISS, but the percentage was expected to be higher now, the minister added.
On Friday, the government imposed a nationwide lockdown over the Easter holidays and placed curbs on business and movement on most of Italy.
Updated
Britain’s National Health Service is to double the number of vaccinations against Covid-19 to 5m a week, the Sunday Times reports.
The move, it says, will pave the way for a “mass programme of second jabs”.
While more than than 1.5 million people have received both doses of Covid-19 vaccine, and more than 23 million people have had one dose, official figures indicate that the UK will soon be delivering 5m jabs a week.
A senior government source told the paper: “You are soon going to see letters going out for a huge wave of second jabs.”
Updated
A year after Covid-19 triggered government shutdowns and crowd limitations, more public bodies around the world than ever are livestreaming their meetings for anyone to watch from a computer, television or smartphone.
But in some cases, it’s become harder for people to actually talk with their elected officials, according to a survey in the US by the Associated Press news agency.
Its survey of US state legislatures found that most no longer allow people inside their chambers to observe, and some still do not allow people to testify remotely at committee hearings where legislation is shaped.
At some city council meetings convened remotely, the only avenue for public input is a written comment.
“In a way, this is kind of helping move us toward a country where citizens can be more involved in their government through Zoom, and that’s a good thing,” said David Cuillier, an associate journalism professor at the University of Arizona, who is president of the National Freedom of Information Coalition.
But overall, he said, the pandemic “has created more problems” for public oversight of government.
All 50 state legislatures already provided video or audio of their floor sessions before the pandemic. But the AP survey found that 13 legislative chambers in eight states – Alabama, Arkansas, Iowa, Indiana, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska and Ohio – still do not allow people outside the Capitol to testify remotely by phone or video during committee hearings.
Updated
An epidemiologist whose projections of Covid-19 deaths precipitated the lockdown in Britain, has been reflecting on the situation a year on from when he first realised the full extent of the threat which the virus posed.
Neil Ferguson told the Observer he was ”80% sure” British Covid cases will stay low until autumn, but warns of need for booster jabs.
“It is highly likely that we will have driven Covid down to very low levels of case numbers and we can begin enjoying summer. We will still need to monitor things very carefully, and there has yet to be a proper discussion about what we do in autumn. Certainly, I think it is highly likely we will have to roll out a booster vaccine to protect against possible new variants.
“So, while I am optimistic overall, I still think there is a 20% chance things could go wrong – with the possible appearance of dangerous new variants which undermine immunity given by vaccines.”
In general, though, Ferguson takes the view that the news is likely to be good over the next few months – and that makes a considerable change from the warnings he has had to make for the past year.
Updated
Japan considers limits on Olympic spectators
Japan is considering limiting spectators for the delayed Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics to 50% of venue capacity due to risks posed by the spread of Covid-19, the Sankei newspaper reported today
For large venues the limit for spectators could be set at 20,000, but more people may be allowed if the pandemic situation improves, the Sankei reported.
Japan’s organising committee will announce its decision next month and is expected to comply with domestic regulations, the newspaper said, citing unnamed sources in the government and on the committee.
When asked by Reuters about Sankei’s story, Masa Takaya, a spokesman for the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee, said a decision will be made in April.
The Games were postponed last year due to concerns about the spread of the new coronavirus. They were rescheduled for 23 July to 8 August.
Sources have told Reuters that Japan has decided to stage the Games without spectators from abroad due to concerns over the spread of Covid-19, but Organising Committee president Seiko Hashimoto has said that no decision has been reached.
Updated
Good morning from London where the news here continues to be focused on widespread criticism of police, who cited Covid regulations in breaking up a peaceful vigil in memory of a young British woman whose death has sparked national soul-searching.
In other news, the British government has been urged by some MPs to stop “moving the goalposts” in decisions on coronavirus restrictions and should publish data thresholds for its road map out of lockdown.
Separately, scores of charities have written an open letter to encourage people with underlying health conditions to come forward for a coronavirus vaccine.
We’ll also continue to bring you coverage here of global developments in relation to Covid-19.
Please feel free to flag up any stories which you feel we should be covering today by emailing me or reaching out to me on Twitter at @BenQuinn75
Updated
Summary
This is where I’ll leave you, with the blog taken on by colleagues in London. Take care and stay safe.
- Italy will ramp up its Covid-19 vaccination programme to hit a target of administering 500,000 doses each day, the country’s coronavirus special commissioner said on Saturday.
- There have been a further 5,534 lab-confirmed coronavirus cases in the UK, according to government data – compared with 6,039 cases last Saturday.
- Australia’s prime minister and chief medical officer have just received their second dose of the Pfizer vaccine, alongside 84-year-old Jane Malysiak, who survived the second world war and immigrated to Australia from Poland more than 70 years ago.
- A NSW quarantine hotel worker who had received the first dose of a vaccine has tested positive to Covid. It’s the state’s first community case in 55 days.
- The US has reported a record daily number (more than 4.5m) of vaccine doses administered. This has far surpassed the previous highest daily figure, which stood at 2.9m doses.
- Hong Kong is facing its fifth wave of infection, with a growing cluster centred around a high-end gym logging 99 cases so far.
- China’s foreign ministry office in Hong Kong said that it will simplify mainland China visa applications for foreigners in the city who have been inoculated with Chinese-made Covid-19 vaccines.
- Australia is “working with Singapore” to create a travel bubble between the two nations as early as July.
- Australia’s centre-left Labor party has been reelected in the state of Western Australia after implementing some of the country’s strictest measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
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Argentina’s government is concerned by the rise in Covid-19 cases across the region and will increase border controls and preventative measures, the country’s health minister has said.
- Covid-19 infection levels in the greater Tokyo area appear to be increasing, health minister Norihisa Tamura has said, and threaten to jeopardise the lifting of the state of emergency scheduled for 21 March.
Updated
Britons are planning to “eat, drink and be merry” once lockdown lifts, with many pubs and restaurants already fully booked for several months.
Those keen to make up for lost time have inundated venues in England with bookings for tables in beer gardens for when they are scheduled to reopen on 12 April.
When the Birmingham restaurant, Craft, started to take bookings on 24 February just after the April easing was announced by the prime minister, 147 groups – 601 people – reserved seats within 20 minutes.
“It’s been an incredible response,” said Sam Morgan, chief executive of the We Are Craft Group. “We have a small amount of availability on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons but otherwise our outdoor private dining pods are pretty much booked up until July and the inside is fully booked from when we open in mid-May until July. We knew there would be a significant demand, however, it has definitely exceeded our expectations. It’s really reassuring.”
Boris Johnson revealed the plans last month to reopen the hospitality industry. From 12 April up to six people will be able to meet friends or family in beer gardens or to eat outside. Indoor seating is set to restart from 17 May, providing specific Covid-19 conditions are met. From 21 June, the government hopes to lift all restrictions.
Read more:
In the US, months of hostility and infighting between Texas’s Republican and Democratic leaders reached a breaking point this week, when the state sued Austin and Travis county officials who were still requiring residents to wear masks in public.
In a move decried as “reckless” around the United States, Texas ended almost all of its coronavirus-related restrictions on Wednesday, including a statewide mask mandate and capacity limits on businesses.
But, bolstered by the formidable body of evidence that shows face coverings mitigate the spread of Covid-19, local jurisdictions such as Austin and Round Rock have decided to keep their safety protocols, drawing ire from state politicians.
Read more:
Singapore has pushed back on reports from this morning, that as part of a potential travel bubble - currently being discussed by the two governments - that people from third countries could quarantine in Singapore before flying on to Australia.
But Singapore, which has already opened its border to a handful of countries that have controlled the virus, including Australia, said it was “not in discussion on the concept of a quarantine centre or vaccination hub”.
“Singapore is currently in discussions with Australia on the mutual recognition of vaccination certificates and resumption of travel with priority for students and business travellers,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Sunday.
“We are also discussing the possibility of an air travel bubble which will allow residents of Singapore and Australia to travel between both countries without the need for quarantine.”
Australia summary
A quick run down of the latest Australian developments, courtesy of AAP:
- NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant warned Covid-19 jabs don’t kick in for at least 12 days, with a vaccinated Sydney hotel quarantine worker coming down with the virus.
- The 47-year-old man worked at both the Sofitel Wentworth and Mantra at Haymarket hotels in inner Sydney and had already received his first Pfizer jab.
- The source of the security guard’s infection remains unclear and testing of his close contacts is under way.
- But Dr Chant said the man likely picked up the virus while working at the Sofitel overnight on March 6.
- The Sydney man’s positive result was recorded after 8pm on Saturday, meaning the state’s virus-free run will end at 56 days.
- Queensland Health Minister Yvette D’Ath defended Queensland’s Covid-19 vaccine rollout after a doctor contracted the virus from a patient at a Brisbane hospital.
- She cautioned against making assumptions about how the Princess Alexandra Hospital doctor contracted the virus, saying an investigation was under way.
- The female doctor had contact with two infected patients in the early hours of Wednesday before testing positive on Friday.
- A quarantine hotel is locked down as health authorities investigate an infected traveller for links to the doctor.
- Victoria’s Holiday Inn outbreak is officially over, with its final Covid-19 case cleared by health officials.
- As the state clocked up its 16th day in a row without a new locally acquired case, the health department announced the last active coronavirus case connected to the Melbourne Airport hotel was cleared on Saturday.
- Getting all Australians jabbed with two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine by October is not being ruled out if CSL can ramp up its production of the AstraZeneca type locally.
- Health secretary Brendan Murphy said he is now working with CSL to increase their production, acknowledging some Australians may have to wait for a second jab in the weeks after October if it remains unchanged.
- The federal government is also ramping up its campaign against misinformation on the Covid-19 vaccines, launching a new website called “Is it true”.
- Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack said Australia is working with Singapore to open up an international travel bubble, and believes others will open as the Covid-19 vaccine rolls out.
A confusing situation with the vaccine rollout in the Northern Territory, according to this ABC report.
The NT government has said the first shipment of AstraZeneca vaccines (1,440 doses) would arrive this week. But on Sunday afternoon a spokeswoman for NT Health Minister Natasha Fyles said the shipment hadn’t arrived yet.
The ABC has approached the federal health department, which said this was because the NT government never actually ordered them.
“The NT government have been notified of their allocation of 1,400 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine but they are yet to nominate a delivery address or place an order with the Vaccine Operations Centre,” the spokesperson said.
In a statement just released by the NT government on a separate subject, chief health officer, Dr Hugh Heggie, said Phase 1A of the NT’s vaccine rollout is “on schedule with our most at risk health workers, quarantine and border entry staff set to receive their second doses of the vaccine this week”.
The NT has remained largely virus free, despite hosting the Howard Springs quarantine facility. It is however, extremely reliant on tourism, and has a large vulnerable population, with tens of thousands of people living in remote Indigenous communities.
Carnival Corp Chief Executive Arnold Donald anticipates at least two more tough years for the cruise industry, which is unlikely to return to pre-pandemic levels until at least 2023, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.
The cruise company’s full fleet might be sailing by the end of this year but it will take longer to recover to pre-crisis revenues, Donald told the newspaper in an interview.
He told the paper he asked only that there be “no undue restrictions, constraints, disadvantages placed on the cruise industry versus the rest of travel and tourism”.
Carnival, the world’s biggest cruise company, in January reported a bigger-than-expected preliminary fourth-quarter net loss as business was brought to a virtual standstill by the coronavirus outbreak.
Governments are delaying access to public records during the pandemic, the AP reports.
As states prepared to reopen their economies following coronavirus shutdowns last spring, The Associated Press asked governors across the US for records that could shed light on how businesses and health officials influenced their decisions.
Nine months later, after several more Covid-19 surges and shutdowns, the AP still has not received records from about 20 states. Some outright denied the requests or sought payments the AP declined to make. Others have not responded, or said they still need more time.
Public records have become harder to get since the world was upended by the pandemic a year ago. Governors, legislatures and local officials have suspended or ignored laws setting deadlines to respond to records requests. They cited obstacles for staffers who are working at home or are overwhelmed with crisis management.
The result is that information that once took a few days or weeks to obtain now often takes months — depriving the public of timely facts about decisions their leaders are making.
“The pandemic rages on, but investigative journalism doesn’t halt. The public’s right to know doesn’t cease to exist,” said Gunita Singh, a legal fellow at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, which has tracked nationwide delays in responding to public records requests.
“Having these unnecessary measures in place that hinder open government sets a terrible precedent,” Singh said.
More than a half-dozen states — Connecticut, Hawaii, Indiana, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Washington — continue to suspend some open-records requirements through gubernatorial orders, according to an AP review of public-records policies.
In Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives are bracing for a rout in two key regional polls Sunday, with voters expected to punish Germany’s largest party for a face-mask corruption scandal and a series of pandemic setbacks.
The votes for new regional parliaments in the states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Baden-Wuerttemberg are seen as a bellwether of the nation’s mood ahead of September 26 general elections - which will be the first in over 15 years not to feature Merkel.
Recent surveys have shown that support for Merkel’s centre-right CDU/CSU alliance has fallen to a one-year low at around 30% as Germans sour on its coronavirus crisis management.
The conservatives should brace for “a slap in the face from voters”, said the top-selling Bild daily.
Merkel’s centre-right CDU and its Bavarian CSU sister party have been roiled by damaging claims about MPs apparently profiting from face mask deals early on in the pandemic, forcing three lawmakers to step down in recent days.
Deepening the conservatives’ woes is growing public anger about a sluggish and bureaucratic vaccination campaign, a delayed start to free rapid testing and stubbornly high infection rates despite months of shutdowns.
Germans could perhaps look past the “mask affair”, Der Spiegel weekly wrote, “if citizens felt that the government was doing its job, protecting it from the virus and guiding it through the crisis. But it’s not”.
Tony Walker, vice-chancellor’s fellow at La Trobe University, has written an analysis for the Conversation of the recent Quad meeting (Australia, India, Japan and the US), where the countries agreed to pool financing, manufacturing and distribution capacity to send 1 billion coronavirus vaccines to Asian and Pacific island countries by the end of 2022.
Walker writes that the announcement, even the establishment of the Quad itself, is driven by “deepening alarm among the US and its allies about how China’s rise might affect peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific”.
The leaders’ joint statement leaves no doubt a China preoccupation is driving the elevation of this body to national leader status. In doing so, it invests it with much greater significance. The statement reads:
We strive for a region that is free, open, inclusive, healthy, anchored by democratic values and unconstrained by coercion.
If this is not “fundamentally about China”, it’s not clear what it is about.
It remains to be seen whether the first Quad summit bolsters the group’s ability to counter a rising and increasingly assertive China, or whether differing priorities among its participants expose its limitations.
The Quad is being marketed as a constellation of liberal democracies against an illiberal China. But there is a world of difference between how each of the participants view and interact with China.
In light of the news today that Australia is talking with Singapore about a travel bubble, and earlier this week Taiwan is doing the same, Singapore’s prime minister Lee Hsien Loong has said he hopes the country would start re-opening its borders by the end of the year.
The Southeast Asian island nation has largely banned leisure travel, but has put in place some business and official travel programmes. It is also discussing the mutual recognition of vaccine certificates with other nations.
“I hope if that many countries can have substantial proportions of their populations vaccinated by later this year, we will be able to have the confidence and to have developed the systems to open up our international borders to travel safely again,” Lee said in an interview with BBC that aired on Sunday.
“Hopefully by the end of this year or next year, the doors can start to open, if not earlier,” he said.
The city-state has brought its Covid-19 situation under control with few new local cases and has been rolling out its vaccination programme, having approved shots from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna.
The Western Australian health department has reported one new case of Covid-19 overnight. The man in his 30s is in hotel quarantine after traveling to Perth from overseas.
Getting all Australians jabbed with two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine by October is not being ruled out if CSL can ramp up its production of the AstraZeneca type locally, AAP reports.
Health secretary Brendan Murphy raised doubts about the October target last week when facing a Senate inquiry.
The first AstraZeneca doses that are being produced in Australia are expected to be available the week after next, and Murphy said he is now working with CSL to increase their production. He said if production of the vaccine remains as it is, there may be some Australians who have to wait for a second jab in the weeks after October.
“If we get extra AstraZeneca production from CSL, I imagine all Australians will potentially have received it by the end of October,” Murphy told reporters at a Sydney clinic where prime minister Scott Morrison and chief medical officer Paul Kelly received their second Pfizer jab on Sunday.
Morrison said the critical factor in controlling the pace of the vaccination program is the supply and the production of vaccines.
“That is the critical swing factor,” he told reporters.
It is estimated that Australia is 3.1m doses short of the AstraZeneca vaccine in the initial phases of the rollout. Morrison said health minister Greg Hunt and Murphy would be providing regular updates on the vaccine rollout from Monday week.
“Australia’s suppression strategy has been extremely successful to date, particularly when compared with the devastation caused by the virus in many places overseas,” the prime minister said.
“Australia’s remarkable performance in saving lives is evident - we have the second lowest case rate and third lowest mortality rate amongst countries in the OECD.”
But Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese said Australia is not in a better position than the rest of the world with regard to the vaccine rollout.
He said the government had said four million people would have got their first jab by the end of this month but with just over two weeks to go, only about 150,000 people have been vaccinated.
“We are way way short,” he told Sky News’ Sunday Agenda program.
“We had Scott Morrison in his usual way say that black is white and suggest that he hadn’t really meant that everyone would be vaccinated by October when they have said they would on multiple occasions.”
The government is also ramping up its campaign against misinformation on the Covid-19 vaccines with a new website - “Is it true” on www.health.gov.au/covid19-vaccines.
“This new function will provide trusted, credible information on Covid-19 vaccines for everyone in Australia,” Morrison said.
“It will sort the fact from the fiction.”
You can track Australia’s vaccine rollout with our Covid vaccine tracker here:
Updated
Reuters: Japan’s government is leaning towards ending a state of emergency for Tokyo and surrounding areas over Covid-19 as scheduled on March 21, the Sankei newspaper reported on Sunday.
The government is expected to make its decision at a meeting with advisers on March 18, Sankei reported. Calls to the prime minister’s office were not answered.
The number of hospital beds in use to treat Covid-19 patients is falling gradually, which is justification to end the state of emergency as scheduled, the Sankei said, citing an unnamed government official.
Restrictions such as shorter business hours for restaurants and bars have helped reduce new daily cases in Tokyo to roughly a tenth of a peak of 2,520 on 7 January, but the number of new infections in Tokyo has been creeping up in recent days, raising concerns that the state of emergency might be extended.
There is growing consensus among government officials and advisers, though, that even if the state of emergency is kept in place it would not lead to a further improvement in the number of infections, the Sankei said, citing an unnamed member of the government’s advisory panel.
The Japanese government extended the emergency declaration for Tokyo and three neighbouring prefectures on 5 March by 14 days, saying Covid-19 cases hadn’t fallen far enough and that new, more infectious coronavirus variants posed a threat.
Japan is trying to bring coronavirus cases under control and get vaccinations well under way as it prepares to host the delayed Summer Olympics, now scheduled to start on 23 July.
Japan has so far recorded 446,923 coronavirus cases and 8,573 deaths.
Positive NSW case had received vaccine dose
Here is some more detail of the Sydney venues and transport identified in connection to the hotel worker who tested positive.
New South Wales chief health officer, Dr Kerry Chant, said the 47-year-old hotel quarantine security guard who tested positive to Covid-19 early this morning received his first dose of the Pfizer vaccine on 2 March. The Pfizer vaccine requires two doses to get full immune response. The AstraZeneca vaccine, which Australia is also using, creates the bulk of the immune response in the first dose with the second dose 12 weeks later acting more to extend the coverage.Chant said:
“This man was vaccinated on March two, we wouldn’t have expected his immune system to kick in for 12-14 days or potentially longer, and then the second days of the Pfizer vaccine gives further enhancement to that immune response. In terms of our understanding about transmission, while we are still learning how the vaccines impacted transmission - but what we would hope for and believe in theoretical terms is if you are vaccinated, you probably don’t have such a high viral load… it will potentially stop you transmitting it to the same degree”
The man worked night shifts on weekends at two quarantine hotels, the Mantra and the Sofitel Sydney Wentworth. During the week he worked another job “in an office based setting,” Chant says.
Hotel quarantine staff working multiple jobs was identified as a risk factor during Melbourne’s deadly second wave, and also in the South Australian outbreak last September. Victoria has banned hotel quarantine workers from holding a second job – but NSW still permits it.
Genomic sequencing is still being conducted, but Chant said it was believed the man may have caught the virus from a person quarantining at the Sofitel. He worked an overnight shift at that hotel last Saturday.
Health minister Brad Hazzard said he was “relatively relaxed” about the outbreak.
The man has not shown any symptoms and was picked up in surveillance testing, conducted every time a person in the quarantine system in NSW works a shift. His family members have been tested and returned negative results, and 130 other close contacts have been identified and are now isolating.
Three venues — the Bexley Aquatic centre from 9am to 9.30am Saturday, Pancakes on the Rocks at Beverly Hills from 10.45am to 12pm Saturday, and the train from Hustville to the city, arriving 6.30pm Friday – have been identified as low risk exposure sites.
Updated
Australia, Singapore, working on travel bubble
Australia is “working with Singapore” to create a travel bubble between the two nations as early as July, officials said Sunday, in an effort to restart tourism and travel put on hold by Covid-19.
“As the vaccine rolls out, not only in Australia but in other countries, we will reopen more bubbles,” deputy prime minister Michael McCormack told public broadcaster ABC today.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported the deal would allow Singaporeans and Australians who had been vaccinated to travel between the countries without quarantining.
It said Canberra is also hoping that people from third countries - such as international students, business travellers and returning citizens - could complete two weeks’ quarantine in Singapore before flying to Australia.
Singapore has already opened its border to a handful of countries that have controlled the virus, including Australia, and officials have said the city-state would like to establish reciprocal travel corridors.
“If only others start to do it, then we’ll have a bubble, you have reciprocity, you can start to travel. And I hope some time this year we can do that,” transport minister Ong Ye Kung told local radio Friday.
Australia’s 14-day hotel quarantine requirement for arrivals has left tens of thousands of Australians stranded overseas, with caps on returnees introduced as the limited system has been unable to cope with large numbers.
International tourism - worth about AU$45 billion (US$35 billion) a year to the country’s economy before the pandemic hit - has evaporated.
Australia already has a one-way “travel bubble” with New Zealand, allowing Kiwis to visit without quarantining, though the scheme has been suspended a number of times in response to virus outbreaks.
Updated
NSW health authorities are giving an update on the case of the quarantine worker hotel in that state.
Genomics is being done “urgently” and later this evening or early tomorrow morning results are expected. They’ve also been interviewing the worker, and have some information about venues and transport. I’ll post those details shortly. He’s done all the right things, says chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant.
They’re concerned for two reasons in particular: because he worked a night shift at the Mantra, and might have interacted with other colleagues, and they’re also concerned about how he acquired the infection.
A lovely break from the usual coverage. World famous cellist, Yo-yo Ma, received his second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine on Saturday at the Berkshire community centre in Pittsfield. While waiting out the required 15-observation period, Ma used the time to perform for everyone else waiting in line.
China’s foreign ministry office in Hong Kong said that it will simplify mainland China visa applications for foreigners in the city who have been inoculated with Chinese-made Covid-19 vaccines.
The simplified process, effective from Monday, resumes pre-pandemic application requirements, and will be available only to applicants and their family members inoculated with Chinese-produced vaccines who have obtained a vaccination certificate, the office of China’s foreign commissioner in Hong Kong said in a statement dated Friday.
It said it made the move “in view of resuming people-to-people exchanges between China and other countries in an orderly manner.” It did not say why the simplified procedures were not extended to those receiving other Covid-19 vaccines.
Foreign travellers who have been vaccinated with non-Chinese vaccines will continue to be required to present negative nucleic acid tests and a health and travel declaration form, the statement said.
It was not immediately clear if the simplified procedures will be available to foreigners applying for visas outside of Hong Kong. - Reuters
Hong Kong facing fifth wave
Hong Kong is facing its fifth wave of infection, with a growing cluster centred around a high-end gym logging 99 cases so far. The gym is popular with the city’s central business district workers, local media reported, and several major banks and law firms are among dozens of businesses given compulsory testing orders. Authorities have also locked down four residential buildings in the Mid-levels, in another ambush-style operation to ensures all residents are tested overnight before being allowed to move freely again.
Updated
Staying in Australia for a moment, there’s some concern over new cases in Queensland. There are three cases under investigation.
Authorities have reported one new case but believe it is historical and unconnected to the Princess Alexandra Hospital, where a doctor who had interacted with Covid patients tested positive on Friday. That doctor was wearing appropriate PPE so authorities are investigating how she was infected, the ABC reports.
“It’s not helpful to speculate ... what we do know is all our hospitals have the PPE supply available to them that is the national standard,” QLD health minister Yvette D’Ath said a short time ago.
Two people the doctor had previously met with began showing symptoms on Wednesday. The doctor’s close contacts have tested negative, and more than 230 other contacts have been tested.
Then there is another case, reported on Saturday, who tested positive on day 12 of quarantine. Authorities are working to find out if they picked up the infection while in quarantine, or just didn’t show a positive reading until day 12. The person was in hotel quarantine at the same time as a case linked to the doctor.
*This post was amended to remove an inaccurate reference to the doctor treating Covid patients.
Updated
Australia’s prime minister Scott Morrison and chief health officer, Paul Kelly, recently addressed media.
The NSW hotel worker who tested positive had received the first dose of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccination, but there is a lag time between vaccination and developed immunity, says Kelly. It’s the state’s first community acquired case in 55 days.
Morrison is also defending the government against criticism that its vaccine rollout is not going according to plan. He’s saying Australians believe the government has been transparent, and Australia “is leading the world out of this pandemic”.
Issues with international supply (including EU countries blocking shipments to Australia) have meant the country has only received about 700,000 doses, instead of the millions hoped for by now. Morrison says the shortfall will start to be made up soon as local production of the AstraZeneca vaccine ramps up.
He’s also announced $1bn in funding to telehealth, extending the services until June.
Updated
Hello and welcome to our continuing coverage of the pandemic. This is Helen Davidson in Taipei, here to take you through the next few hours. Below is a quick summary of the latest developments, then I’ll bring you the latest from the Asia region.
- Italy will ramp up its Covid-19 vaccination programme to hit a target of administering 500,000 doses each day, the country’s coronavirus special commissioner said on Saturday.
- There have been a further 5,534 lab-confirmed coronavirus cases in the UK, according to government data – compared with 6,039 cases last Saturday.
- Australia’s prime minister and chief medical officer have just received their second dose of the Pfizer vaccine, alongside 84-year-old Jane Malysiak, who survived the second world war and immigrated to Australia from Poland more than 70 years ago.
- A NSW quarantine hotel worker who had received the first dose of a vaccine, has tested positive to Covid. It’s the state’s first community case in 55 days.
- The United States has reported a record daily number (more than 4.5 million) of vaccine doses administered. This has far surpassed the previous highest daily figure, which stood at 2.9 million doses.
- Australia’s centre-left Labor party has been reelected in the state of Western Australia after implementing some of the country’s strictest measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
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Argentina’s government is concerned by the rise in Covid-19 cases across the region and will increase border controls and preventative measures, the country’s health minister has said.
- Covid-19 infection levels in the greater Tokyo area appear to be increasing, health minister Norihisa Tamura has said, and threaten to jeopardise the lifting of the state of emergency scheduled for 21 March.
