Thanks for reading the blog. We’ll be back in a few hours with more rolling coverage of the pandemic but in the meantime you can catch up on all the latest Covid-19 stories here.
Summary
Here’s a roundup of the key events from the last few hours:
- The Netherlands expects to further relax coronavirus restrictions next week, giving the green light to sex workers and zoos so long as cases keep falling, prime minister Mark Rutte said Tuesday.
- Major US airlines have weighed in alongside UK carriers to urge the reopening of transatlantic travel, calling on governments in Washington and London to arrange a summit as soon as possible.
- Burger chain McDonald’s has announced it is partnering with the White House to promote vaccination information on its coffee cups. Separately, Joe Biden announced on Tuesday a new program with Lyft and Uber which will offer free rides to anyone going to a vaccination site to get vaccinated.
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Pfizer has asked the UK medical regulator for permission to use its Covid-19 vaccine for 12- to 15-year-olds in Britain, the Telegraph has reported.
- Teachers in Buenos Aires are demanding a return to virtual learning due to the increase in cases of coronavirus since the return of students.
- Brazil recorded 72,715 additional confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the past 24 hours, along with 2,311 deaths from Covid-19, the health ministry said on Tuesday.
- The Canadian provinces of Alberta and Ontario said on Tuesday they would stop offering first doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine, with Ontario citing evidence that the risk of rare blood clots is somewhat higher than previously estimated.
- Brazil’s federal government on Tuesday nationally suspended the vaccination of pregnant women with the AstraZeneca shot, after an expectant mother in Rio de Janeiro died from a stroke possibly related to the inoculation.
I’m handing this blog to my colleagues in Australia now. Thanks so much for joining me.
Updated
Brazil’s federal government on Tuesday nationally suspended the vaccination of pregnant women with the AstraZeneca Covid-19 shot, after an expectant mother in Rio de Janeiro died from a stroke possibly related to the inoculation.
Franciele Francinato, coordinator of the health ministry’s vaccination program, told reporters the suspension was enacted as a precautionary measure after health regulator Anvisa issued a warning about the vaccine’s use in pregnant women earlier in the day, Reuters reports.
Authorities are investigating the incident. The suspension applies only to AstraZeneca’s shot and not to vaccines developed by Sinovac and Pfizer Inc that are also being used in the country.
The pregnant woman in Rio de Janeiro died after receiving the AstraZeneca shot, according to state Health Secretary Alexandre Chieppe.
Anvisa said the 35-year-old woman, who was 23 weeks pregnant, died of a hemorrhagic stroke on Monday after checking into a hospital five days earlier.
Anvisa said in a statement:
The serious adverse event of a hemorrhagic stroke was assessed as possibly related to the use of the vaccine given to the pregnant woman.
AstraZeneca said in a statement that pregnant women and those breastfeeding were excluded from clinical trials of its Covid-19 vaccine. Studies in animals did not produce direct or indirect evidence of harm regarding pregnancy or fetal development, the statement added.
Anvisa said it had not been informed of any other adverse events in pregnant women receiving the vaccine.
Updated
The Canadian provinces of Alberta and Ontario said on Tuesday they would stop offering first doses of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine, with Ontario citing evidence that the risk of rare blood clots is somewhat higher than previously estimated.
Alberta said it took the same step only because it was unclear when more shipments of the vaccine might arrive, and not due to concern about side effects, Reuters reports.
Officials in Ontario said roughly one in 60,000 people who received the vaccine in the province, eight in total, developed the complication, which involves blood clots accompanied by a low level of platelets, cells in the blood that help it to clot.
Regulators and expert groups in Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and Europe had previously estimated that the risk was between one in 95,000 and one in 130,000.
Ontario’s chief medical officer David Williams said:
We maintain that those who received their first dose with the AstraZeneca vaccine did absolutely the right thing to prevent illness and protect their families, loved ones and communities.
Three deaths in Canada have been linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Officials said the vaccine is effective, and noted that alternative vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna are increasingly available. Canada has distributed just over 20 million doses of various COVID vaccines, and 11.6% were AstraZeneca’s vaccine.
Experts have said it is likely fine to mix COVID-19 vaccines, and a trial underway in the UK is looking at the question directly.
Brazil recorded 72,715 additional confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the past 24 hours, along with 2,311 deaths from Covid-19, the health ministry said on Tuesday.
Brazil has registered nearly 15.3 million cases since the pandemic began, while the official death toll has risen to 425,540, according to ministry data.
Teachers in Buenos Aires are demanding a return to virtual learning rather than in person schooling due to the increase in cases of Coronavirus since the return of students, the low percentage of vaccinated teachers and teachers who have died in recent days in Argentina.
Updated
Pfizer Inc has formally asked the UK medical regulator for permission to use its Covid-19 vaccine for 12- to 15-year-olds in Britain, the Telegraph has reported.
The report, citing a Pfizer spokesman, said:
We can confirm that the companies have submitted a request to the MHRA to expand the use of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid vaccine in the UK to adolescents.
Burger chain McDonald’s has announced it is partnering with the White House to promote vaccination information on its coffee cups.
Separately, Joe Biden announced on Tuesday a new program with Lyft and Uber which will offer free rides to anyone going to a vaccination site to get vaccinated.
Starting in July, US customers will see redesigned McCafé cups and delivery-box seal stickers featuring an upbeat message of “We Can Do This”, a slogan created by the US health department.
McDonald’s also said it will unveil a billboard in New York’s Times Square this month displaying vaccine information.
Xavier Becerra, the health secretary, said in a statement the public-private partnership “will help more people make informed decisions about their health and learn about steps they can take to protect themselves and their communities”.
As part of Biden’s goal to get 70% of the US adult population vaccinated with at least one shot by 4 July, the ride-share giants Uber and Lyft will promote rides to and from tens of thousands of vaccination sites through their apps, the White House said.
People will be able to simply select a vaccination site near them, follow simple directions to redeem their ride, and then get a ride to take them to and from a nearby vaccination site free of charge.
The vaccine promotion scheme is expected to start in about two weeks and last until the Fourth of July holiday.
Read the full story here:
Major US airlines have weighed in alongside UK carriers to urge the reopening of transatlantic travel, calling on governments in Washington and London to arrange a summit as soon as possible.
The airlines said that safely reopening borders was essential for economic recovery and asked the nations’ leaders to meet before the G7, and take a decision with sufficient time for airlines to plan and restart services.
In a letter to transport secretaries of state in the US and UK, the chief executives of American, Delta, United and Jet Blue, along with those of British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, said that the levels of vaccination in each country meant that the lucrative routes, flown by 22 million passengers in 2019, could be safely reopened.
They said: “We are confident that the aviation industry possesses the right tools, based on data and science, to enable a safe and meaningful restart to transatlantic travel. US and UK citizens would benefit from the significant testing capability and the successful trials of digital applications to verify health credentials.”
Here’s the full article:
The Netherlands expects to further relax coronavirus restrictions next week, giving the green light to sex workers and zoos so long as cases keep falling, prime minister Mark Rutte said Tuesday.
Dutch gyms, swimming pools and amusement parks will also be allowed to reopen on May 19, while cafes and restaurants with outdoor terraces that restarted last week will be permitted longer opening hours, AFP reports.
Rutte said there was “one condition” which was that intensive care and hospital admissions must have fallen further by May 17, otherwise the “pause button is pressed”.
He said:
We don’t think it will come to that, but we have to take it into account.
We want nothing more than to give space to society, but we also do not want to make mistakes, just before the finish.
The lifting of the ban on sex work will be a major boost to Amsterdam’s famed Red Light district, which has been effectively shuttered since October.
Sex workers are the last of the so-called “contact professions” including hairdressers that have been allowed to reopen in the Netherlands.
The Netherlands, with a population of 17 million, has administered six million vaccinations and the government said it “expects that the number of new hospital admissions will now continue to decline rapidly.”
Dutch health authorities have recorded 17,383 deaths from coronavirus and 1.57 million infections since the start of the pandemic. It reported 47,108 infections last week, down 10 percent on the previous week.
Summary of today's developments
Here’s a quick look at the major lines from today:
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Belgium will relax almost all its restrictions from 9 June, the government has said, provided the vaccination campaign continues at speed and intensive care patients remain below 500.
- People in the US will be able to get a free ride to vaccination centres in Uber and Lyft vehicles after the companies partnered with the government as part of a new effort to boost vaccination figures.
- Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed that most of Scotland will move to level 2 of Covid-19 restrictions on 17 May. This means that six people from three households will be able meet indoors and eight people from eight houses can meet outdoors. Moray is being kept in level 3 due to an outbreak while most islands will move to more relaxed measures at level 1.
- Scotland will move to a traffic light system for international travel from 17 May, with the same 12 countries on its green list as England.
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Greece has said it will fully vaccinate all residents on its islands by the end of June in a bid to boost tourism. The announcement comes as Greece’s cases spike, with 3,197 new infections recorded on Tuesday – more than double the figure recorded a week ago.
- Police have arrested at least two activists outside AstraZeneca’s Cambridge headquarters at a protest calling on the company to waive its vaccine patent.
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The Philippines has discovered its first two cases of the coronavirus variant first detected in India, its health ministry has announced as new cases fall to a near eight-week low.
- Inheritance tax should become a larger slice of government tax revenue following the pandemic, according to a report by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) that warns wealth inequality will rise over the next decade unless death duties also increase.
That’s all from me for today – my colleague Nicola Slawson will be here to bring you the latest shortly. Thanks for reading along.
Updated
Boris Johnson has promised to set up a public inquiry into the government’s handling of the Covid pandemic during this parliamentary session.
It is the first time the prime minister has set out a loose timeframe for such an inquiry.
“I do believe it’s essential we have a full, proper public inquiry into the Covid pandemic,” the prime minister said, in response to a question from the leader of the Liberal Democrats, Ed Davey. “I can certainly say that we will do that within this session.”
Wales will trial a series of mass events over the next four weeks to help the government plan how it such events can go forward once restrictions are eased.
Welsh first minister Mark Drakeford said the nine trial events would bring the lifting of further restrictions “one step closer”.
The events will include a celebration to mark the end of Ramadan, an arts festival, football matches, a business conference and a theatre performance.
Attendees will be in groups of between four and six people, who will be required to bring a form of identification, take a PCR Covid test a maximum of five days before, as well as a rapid test 24 hours before arrival.
Drakeford said: “It’s been a long and difficult 18 months for the events industry in Wales, for event owners, those who depend on the sector for the work, and for those who long to see the return of live events to Wales.
“As we look at lifting the coronavirus restrictions in Wales we have worked closely with event organisers to establish a list of pilot test events which take in a range of different locations and types of event.”
He said that the “access of attendees” at these trials will be “strictly controlled by the organisers and agreed in advance”.
Updated
UK reports 2,474 cases, 20 deaths
The UK’s daily coronavirus figures have just been published, following a delay attributed to the late release of figures in Scotland.
A further 2,474 people have tested positive and 20 more people have died within 28 days of positive test, government data shows.
Today’s figures compare with 1,946 cases and 4 deaths one week ago, and take the UK’s caseload to 4,439,691 and the toll to 127,629.
There have been 151,765 deaths with Covid-19 recorded on the death certificate up to 30 April.
The seven-day rolling average, which evens out reporting irregularities in the daily figures, shows that cases are up by 12.2%% compared with the previous week (28 April - 4 May).
Although cases have risen, deaths have fallen by 6.5% by the same measure.
Updated
While Greece prepares to open its tourism sector for business, coronavirus cases are spiking, with 3,197 new infections recorded on Tuesday – more than double the figure recorded a week ago.
A total of 1,368 infections were reported last Tuesday.
This takes Greece’s caseload to 367,076, according to government figures.
A further 52 Covid-19 patients died on Tuesday, raising the toll to 11,141.
Greece has said it will fully vaccinate all residents on its islands by the end of June in a bid to boost tourism.
The plan is an extension of a government programme to fully vaccinate islands with populations of under 10,000, which began in April.
The residents of 32 islands have already been inoculated and those of another 36 islands will be vaccinated by the end of May, according to a report in Greek daily Kathimerini.
Islands with more than 10,000 residents are now being targeted in the rollout.
This is a change to its national rollout which prioritises people based on age and medical vulnerability.
Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said: “This initiative aims to support local communities, as well as their economies. My message is clear. We are open again.
“I am delighted that later this week Greece will begin to reopen its tourism industry. We are taking every precaution to ensure the safety and security of our visitors and our residents.”
Greece will reopen for tourism on 15 May, when it will allow people to travel between regions again. The UK government has placed the country on its amber list for travel, meaning people will have quarantine for 10 days upon return.
Updated
More Covid patients died in care homes in England and Wales in the second wave
More people died with Covid in care homes in England and Wales in the second wave of the pandemic than the first, according to official figures.
Data released by the Office for National Statistics shows that, while the rise in coronavirus deaths among care home residents was much sharper during the first wave between March and September 2020, the number and proportion of Covid deaths was higher in the second wave from September to April 2021.
However, the ONS notes that, because of subsequent enhanced testing and increased medical knowledge, there may have been other Covid deaths in the first wave caused by undiagnosed cases of the virus.
There were 20,664 care home deaths (23.1%) in wave 1 – from mid-March to mid-September 2020 – that mentioned Covid on the death certificate. This compared with 21,677 deaths (25.7%) between then and the start of April.
Read Pamela Duncan’s full report here:
Updated
Singapore has detected 26 coronavirus cases in people who had previously been infected, its health minister told parliament on Tuesday.
Investigations are underway to determine whether the reinfections were caused by decreased immunity over time or infection with a new variant that evades the protection offered by previous illness, Gan Kim Yong said.
Singapore has found 10 virus variants among local and imported cases, according to a report in the Straits Times, including the B.1.617.2 “variant of concern” which was first identified in India.
The variant is understood to have led to outbreaks at Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) and the Tuas South community care facility.
The country has also recorded 56 coronavirus cases in fully vaccinated patients (30 local infections and 26 imported cases). None of the local cases led to severe disease requiring intensive care.
Gan said: “Overall, the benefits of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines continue to outweigh the known risks and we must continue to encourage Singaporeans to be vaccinated.”
Belgium to ease most restrictions in June
Belgium will relax almost all its restrictions from 9 June, the government has said, provided the vaccination campaign continues at speed and intensive care patients remain below 500.
Urging Belgians to get vaccinated, Reuters reports that Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said: “The more people are vaccinated, the faster we will get our freedom back.”
He said the government was aiming to have phased out all restrictions by 1 September.
Belgians will be able to dine at restaurants until 10pm and outdoor terraces will remain open until 11.30pm from 9 June. The following events and activities will also be permitted:
- Large events will be authorised, such as shows, exhibitions and theatres with a maximum of 200 people permitted inside and 400 outdoors.
- Weddings will be possible indoors for up to 100 and outdoors for 200 guests.
- Fairs, flea markets, saunas, casinos, bowling alleys, parks, fitness centres, gyms, sports training and competitions will reopen, with improved ventilation systems if they are indoors.
- Belgian workers will be allowed to work from offices once a week.
Masks and social distancing will still be required for large events, including outdoors.
Updated
Americans to be offered free taxis to vaccination centres
People in the US will be able to get a free ride to vaccination centres in Uber and Lyft vehicles after the companies partnered with the government as part of a new effort to boost vaccination figures.
Joe Biden will announce the scheme later today, alongside plans for some of the US’ biggest community colleges to host vaccination sites for students, staff and local communities during May and June.
States will also be offered more funding in order to support local efforts to encourage vaccine uptake, including door-to-door canvassing and phone banking.
Biden is aiming for 70% of US adults to have had one vaccine shot by 4 July.
Updated
AstraZeneca has said it believes that “extraordinary circumstances call for extraordinary measures” following activists staging a protest at its Cambridge headquarters demanding the company waive its Covid vaccine patent.
A spokesperson for AstraZeneca said: “We agree with the view that the extraordinary circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic call for extraordinary measures.
“AstraZeneca has risen to the challenge of creating a not-for-profit vaccine that is widely available around the world, and we are proud that our vaccine accounts for 98% of all supplies to Covax. We have established 20 supply lines spread across the globe and we have shared the IP (intellectual property) and know-how with dozens of partners in order to make this a reality. In fact, our model is similar to what an open IP model could look like.”
Hello, this is Clea Skopeliti again. You can reach me on Twitter @cleaskopeliti or by email if you’ve got a story I haven’t included. Cheers.
Updated
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not travel to Britain for the Group of Seven (G7) summit next month because of the country’s coronavirus situation, Reuters reports.
While appreciating the invitation to the Prime Minister by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to attend the G7 Summit as a Special Invitee, given the prevailing COVID situation, it has been decided that the Prime Minister will not attend the G7 Summit in person,” the ministry said in a statement.
Modi has been criticised for allowing huge gatherings at a religious festival and holding large election rallies during the past two months even as cases surged.
Slovakia’s Health Ministry is halting the use of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine for people getting their first doses, Reuters reports.
The ministry said it would continue to use the shot for those waiting for the second dose and added it was considering various alternatives on how to proceed. The decision comes after the state drug regulator last week reported the death of a 47-year-old woman that was likely connected to the shot.
Brazilian states halted vaccination of pregnant women on Tuesday after a death in Rio de Janeiro led health regulator Anvisa to warn against the use of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine for expecting mothers, Reuters reports.
A pregnant woman in Rio de Janeiro died after receiving the AstraZeneca shot, according to state Health Secretary Alexandre Chieppe, in a case authorities are still investigating.
Sao Paulo state suspended Covid-19 vaccination for pregnant women with risk factors and Rio state suspended immunisation of all pregnant women. Both states cited the Anvisa recommendation as a reason for the decision.
Asked about the suspension, AstraZeneca said in a statement that pregnant women and those breastfeeding were excluded from clinical trials of its Covid-19 vaccine. Studies in animals did not produce direct or indirect evidence of harm regarding pregnancy or fetal development, the statement added.
AstraZeneca investors narrowly approved pay package proposals for its chief executive, Pascal Soriot, after nearly 40% voted against the policy, which could hand him pay and perks of up to £17.8m for 2021, Julia Kollewe reports.
Updated
Small US manufacturers have written to President Joe Biden asking for federal aid to plug the hole left in their budgets by unsold face masks after Chinese competitors flooded the market with lower priced alternatives, Reuters reports.
The manufacturers said over half their production would be forced offline in 60 days if they don’t get immediate federal aid, costing thousands of jobs. They blame low-priced imports, especially from China.
“We write to you with a request for immediate help against unfair trade practices by foreign nations that threaten the viability of the US domestic PPE mask manufacturing industry, as well as future US pandemic preparedness efforts,” the newly formed group, the American Mask Manufacturers’ Association, said in the letter.
The group said they have capacity to produce 3.7bn surgical masks and more than 1bn of the higher-protection N95 masks a year – and are now sitting on stockpiles of 260m surgical masks in their warehouses that they are struggling to sell. Another 20m N95s are also on factory shelves.
When masks were in short supply last year, prices surged. But prices have now crashed, and hospital administrators and others are shopping for the best prices in a market crowded with new offerings.
A box of 50 surgical masks which sold for more than $50 (£35) a year ago can be found for $5 (£3.50) now.
Rachel Hall here taking over from Clea Skopeliti – do send over any tips, ideas and thoughts to rachel.hall@theguardian.com
Updated
European Union governments been discussing how a Covid certificate could allow countries to open up for tourism and help citizens travel more freely across the 27-nation bloc.
Here are some of the key takeaways, via Reuters:
- A Covid certificate would be handed out for free by health authorities in EU countries to people who received a vaccine, had a negative test or are immune, having recovered from Covid.
- No one will be obliged to use the EU certificate, the European parliament says.
- Portugal, which holds the EU’s rotating presidency, hopes for political agreement on the deal by the end of May to enable the certificate to be operational by 21 June.
- Negotiators must decide whether faster, but less accurate, Covid-19 antigen tests can be included in the certificate.
- The certificate could be a paper or a digital document, with a QR code carrying encoded data that would be uploaded to the central system to allow verification in other EU countries through a single gateway.
- EU negotiators must still agree if all vaccines can be considered for the certificate, or only those approved by the European Medicines Agency.
- A dry run is due to start involving more than a dozen EU countries including France and Spain, while a full rollout of the system in all member states is planned in June.
I’m handing over to my colleague Rachel Hall now for the next hour.
Updated
Spain will allow Britons to enter the country without a negative PCR test from 20 May, as long as the UK’s infection rates continue declining, the Spanish tourism minister said on Tuesday.
“They could come from 20 May onwards without a PCR if the incidence rates are below the range currently under review, which is around 50 cases per 100,000 people”, Reyes Maroto told reporters after a weekly cabinet meeting.
The announcement follows Spain exiting its six-month state of emergency on Sunday, ending bans on traveling between regions and relaxing many curbs on social gatherings.
A recruitment firm that hires workers to conduct NHS Covid-19 tests – and is co-owned by a well-known football executive – has been supplying staff employed through a contrived network of companies that possesses many of the hallmarks of a notorious tax scam.
Industrious Recruitment has supplied laboratory staff to the NHS Lighthouse laboratories in Milton Keynes, which was launched by the health secretary, Matt Hancock, last year as the first of three of the government’s “mega labs” processing hundreds of thousands of Covid-19 tests a week.
Hundreds of workers recruited by Industrious to process Covid-19 tests at the site have been employed by multiple companies, the Guardian understands, in a structure that appears to mimic schemes that have previously been cited as depriving the taxpayer of “hundreds of millions” of pounds a year.
Days after the Guardian confronted Industrious about the tax scheme, the Lighthouse lab workers said they had suddenly become directly employed by the recruitment company.
Industrious is the latest recruitment firm that appears to have been supplying pandemic workers employed via mini umbrella companies (MUC). The problem was revealed by a Guardian investigation that has shown how the supply chain of the government’s pandemic response seems to be riddled with such schemes.
Read Simon Goodley and Jasper Jolly’s full investigation here:
Nigeria’s government has reimposed lockdown restrictions, banning gatherings of over 50 people, along with the closure of bars, nightclubs and gyms. The ban comes days before almost half of the country’s 200m people celebrate the Islamic celebration of Eid.
The government said the fragility of Nigeria’s health system, a lack of vaccines following the disruption in orders expected from India, and a general lack of compliance with covid-19 safety measures, had forced the government to adopt stricter measures.
Nigeria like many African countries has experienced a second-wave of the virus and are bracing for a potential third wave, with one eye on the shocking escalation of cases and deaths in India.
Nigeria has not recorded an increase in cases in recent months, yet data released by health authorities does not capture the full picture, with many cases unrecorded and over a year into the pandemic, test capacity remains limited.
In recent months while daily life has begun to resemble to pre-pandemic normals, Nigeria and many African countries remain in a struggle to secure vaccinations.
About 4 million doses have arrived so far. Hopes that millions more would be sent by June have taken a hit after India suspended exports following its own deadly outbreak. Agreements signed with Johnson & Johnson will see vaccines delivered but likely much later in the year.
Difficulties securing vaccines has meant Nigeria plans to vaccinate just over half of its population within the next two years,
Scotland coronavirus briefing summary
Here’s a quick summary of the changes announced by Nicola Sturgeon this afternoon.
- The first minister announced a relaxation of restrictions from 17 May in most of Scotland.
- Most of Scotland will be in level 2 restrictions, while Moray will stay in level 3 due to an outbreak. Most of the islands will have their measures eased even further, into level 1.
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Level 2 restrictions, which affect most of the country, will allow:
- Six people from three households to meet indoors in a private dwelling or hospitality venue
- Eight people from eight houses to meet outdoors
- From Monday the following islands will be in level 1: the Western Isles, Orkney, Shetland, all islands in the Highland Council area – except for Skye – and the islands in the Argyll and Bute area.
- From 17 May, Scotland will move to a traffic light system for international travel. The countries on Scotland and England’s green lists (12 in total) are the same, though Sturgeon said she “reserved the right” to break with the UK government’s list if she felt it necessary.
- For travellers coming from green list countries, people will be required to take a test upon arrival but will not need to self-isolate if they do not test positive.
- For amber list countries, travellers will need to isolate for 10 days and take two PCR tests.
- Those coming from red list destinations will still need to enter isolate in a hotel upon arrival in Scotland.
Updated
Police make arrests at 'people's vaccine' protest
A scuffle has broken out between police and protesters outside the AstraZeneca headquarters as officers moved in to make arrests.
At least two #PeoplesVaccine protesters have been arrested. It’s unclear as yet what for. pic.twitter.com/PkDmbyKEEt
— Damien Gayle (@damiengayle) May 11, 2021
At least two protesters were arrested after others tried to stop police from apprehending them. Pushing and shoving between police and protesters continued for several minutes until the final arrest was made.
It is unclear why police started making arrests, although several activists had blockaded the entrance to the building, with two chained to the doors and two sat above the entrance holding a banner.
Police have begun scuffling with #PeoplesVaccine protesters as they move in to make arrests outside the @AstraZeneca HQ pic.twitter.com/ScBvFl5JQv
— Damien Gayle (@damiengayle) May 11, 2021
Global Justice Now has criticised AstraZeneca for not joining the WHO’s Covid-19 Technology Access Pool, which facilitates the sharing of technology for vaccines and treatments.
The Anglo-Swedish drugmaker responded that not a single company had joined or made any contributions to it, and that G-7 governments had not endorsed it either.
AstraZeneca has 20 manufacturing partners around the world, with which it has shared the Covid-19 vaccine technology. With its partners, which include India’s Serum Institute, the world’s biggest vaccine manufacturer, it has supplied 300m doses so far to 165 countries.
The company has pledged to provide its vaccine on a not-for-profit basis for the duration of the current pandemic. By contrast, US rivals Pfizer and Moderna are on course to make $45bn (£32bn) collectively from their coronavirus vaccines this year. AstraZeneca actually lost money making its vaccine in the first three months of the year.
AstraZeneca boss Pascal Soriot said last month: “We are very proud that in a few months we have produced a vaccine for the world offering protection to some of our most vulnerable communities. To date, we have supplied more than 300 million doses to 165 countries. It is really a remarkable achievement, considering that it is a year today that we entered into our agreement with Oxford.”
Soriot underlined that 90% of India’s vaccinations use AstraZeneca’s jab, saying: “We all know the catastrophic pandemic that is raging through India at this stage. It is really awful, and we are very proud to be able to help people in India deliver very, very large quantities of vaccinations.”
He added that the company is also providing 98% of the supply to Covax.
Soriot faces the threat of a shareholder revolt over his potential maximum pay package of £17.8m for 2021 at the company’s annual meeting today.
Updated
Lack of access to vaccines for poorer people in developing countries is a form of apartheid, the Cambridge academic Priyamvada Gopal has said as she addressed a protest outside AstraZeneca’s headquarters in Cambridge.
Gopal, author of the recent bestselling book Insurgent Empire, said she was frequently on the phone to friends and relatives back in India giving condolences and sympathies for loved ones who had died from Covid.
Addressing the inequality of vaccine distribution, she said:
“The virus is really laughing with glee. The more we have patents, the more we refuse to share knowhow, the more we privatise medicine, the more it is able to run rampant. Privatisation is not the solution.
“What we now have, as many people have said, is vaccine apartheid. It’s apartheid, it’s protecting people on class lines, on caste lines and on race lines. Make no mistake this is going back to the colonial moment when cities were divided into ‘white town’ and ‘black town’, and there was sanitary measures in white town that there were not in black towns, that were regarded as the zones of unsanitary infection, and it was regarded as OK that there were entire zones of the world that were vulnerable to infection.”
“What we now have, as many people have said, is vaccine apartheid. It’s apartheid, it’s protecting people on class lines, on caste lines and on race lines.”
— Damien Gayle (@damiengayle) May 11, 2021
The Cambridge academic @PriyamvadaGopal, speaks to #PeoplesVaccine protesters outside the @AstraZeneca HQ. pic.twitter.com/rodDjbn2UM
Today’s direct protest outside AstraZeneca’s Cambridge headquarters, spearheaded by youth network of the campaigning organisation Global Justice Now, followed a direct action in which activists blockaded the doors of the building (see earlier post).
Simultaneous protests, taking place as AstraZeneca holds its annual general meeting, were planned to take place at the company’s Macclesfield factory, and at Oxford university, where the company’s Covid vaccine was developed.
Dozens of #PeoplesVaccine protesters watching speakers outside @AstraZeneca talk about why its Covid vaccine patent should be waived. pic.twitter.com/EvbByAdCMy
— Damien Gayle (@damiengayle) May 11, 2021
Nick Dearden, director of Global Justice Now, said: “Scientists at Oxford University, a publicly-funded institution, developed this lifesaving vaccine through a research and development process that was 97% publicly funded. The resulting vaccine should have been openly accessible to everyone, but AstraZeneca swooped in and privatised it.
“The UK is reaping the benefits of the highly effective vaccines that are now available, but people in low and middle income countries are still dying daily by the thousands from Covid-19.”
By noon dozens of protesters had gathered outside the blockaded doors of the AstraZeneca building to hear speakers. Heidi Chow, Global Justice Now’s lead pharmaceutical campaigner, cited an investigation that found 97% of the research that led to the development of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine had been publicly funded. She said:
“This vaccine that was discovered at a public university, by public scientists, based on 20 years of public research, and then tested on members of the public, this should have been the people’s vaccine.”
“This vaccine that was discovered at a public university, by public scientists, based on 20 years of public research, and then tested on members of the public, this should have been the #PeoplesVaccine .”
— Damien Gayle (@damiengayle) May 11, 2021
Heidi Chow, @GlobalJusticeUK campaigner, outside @AstraZeneca HQ. pic.twitter.com/OS0Jj7Zdql
That’s the end of the briefing. I’ll post a roundup shortly.
There are going to be restrictions on travel for some time to come, Nicola Sturgeon says, discussing the traffic light system.
“These are mitigations we didn’t have in place last summer – we are being much more cautious in terms of the speed and mitigations,” the first minister says.
There will probably be restrictions on international travel for longer than other restrictions, she adds.
Updated
We’re given some figures comparing Scotland’s vaccine rollout to England’s.
Scotland has vaccinated 64% of its adult population with first doses, while England has vaccinated 65%.
Scotland has fully vaccinated 33.2% of adults, compared with 33.7% in England.
Updated
On the travel traffic light system, Nicola Sturgeon says she “reserves the right” to maintain a more cautious approach if the UK government were to add a country that her government does not consider a “sensible” choice to the green list.
She adds that she hopes to continue for a four-nations approach to the green list, however.
Asked about the Indian variant, National Clinical Director Jason Leitch explains that there are three Indian subtypes of variants – one of which is a variant of concern – because it appears to be as transmissible as the one in Kent.
We don’t know yet what it does for disease severity or vaccines.
There are 21 cases of the first subtype in Scotland.
There are 18 confirmed cases of the second subtype – the variant of concern – in Scotland.
All these cases are at least indirectly related to travel, Gregor Smith adds.
Updated
“There are no magic solutions right now,” Nicola Sturgeon says adding that the worst thing to do right now is to “throw caution to the wind”.
Q: Why not impose tougher restriction on Moray?
Nicola Sturgeon says that the advice is that level 4 is not required – there are early signs the situation may be starting to improve, if it doesn’t improve materially it won’t go to Level 2.
The chief medical officer for Scotland, Dr Gregor Smith, says: “Level 4 is a much higher level of restrictions, we need to make sure there is sufficient justification to do that … at this moment in time we don’t think it’s proportionate.”
He adds that the genomic sequencing hasn’t found any variants of concerns in Moray, which has the same proportion of the variant first found in Kent as other parts of Scotland.
Updated
Asked about the aviation industry, the first minister underlines that there are inescapable facts about this fact especially new variants, Nicola Sturgeon says.
“We do not help anyone, including the aviation industry, if we allow variants in and sent us back the way.”
Asked about the timescale to remove social distancing in hospitality settings, Sturgeon says over the next three weeks a more fundamental review of physical distancing will be carried out.
She says: “I’m not going to preempt what that will say, but it will look at further relaxation in indoor settings.”
Asked about how long face masks will be required, Sturgeon says again that she doesn’t want to preempt reviews, but says that mitigations in school will be reviewed.
“If it is safe to move away from that we will do it,” she says.
Updated
The government is not seeing a spread of infection into other areas from Moray, the chief medical officer for Scotland, Dr Gregor Smith, says.
Updated
Asked about anomalies between rules in gardens vs parks, Nicola Sturgeon says it’s a case of “not wanting to do everything at once”.
She says the government wants to reopen it “bit by bit … putting a toe in the water”, adding: “For now, we just want to be cautious … If we did everything we’d go backwards.”
Updated
A “significant IT issue” has meant Nicola Sturgeon was unable to report daily coronavirus figures on Tuesday.
Giving a coronavirus briefing in Edinburgh, Sturgeon said: “Usually at this point I would update you on the daily statistics. Unfortunately, I am not able to do that right now due to a significant IT issue affecting Public Health Scotland this morning.
“I hope that will be resolved soon and I can assure you that all of today’s figures will be published just as quickly as possible, and you will be able to access them when they are published on the Scottish government website.”
Updated
The 12 countries on Scotland’s green list are the same as England’s, the first minister announced.
These are:
- Portugal
- Israel
- Singapore
- Australia
- New Zealand
- Brunei
- Iceland
- Gibraltar
- Falkland Islands
- Faroe Islands
- South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
- St Helena, Tristan de Cunha, Ascension Island
Nicola Sturgeon said she encouraged domestic holidays over travelling abroad this summer.
“Even though the rules on non-essential travel are starting to change, that doesn’t mean we’re saying that non-essential international travel is desirable,” she said.
“Everyone should think seriously about whether they should travel abroad this summer. When it comes to holidays abroad, my advice continues to be to err on the side of caution and to staycation this summer.”
Updated
Most of Scotland to move to level 2 restrictions from 17 May
Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed that most of Scotland will move to level 2 of Covid-19 restrictions on Monday.
Moray will stay in level 3 due to a recent surge in cases and an increase in hospital admissions, while most islands will be in level 1.
In most parts of Scotland, the rules will be relaxed to allow:
- Six people from three households to meet indoors in a private dwelling or hospitality venue
- Eight people from eight houses to meet outdoors
The changes will come into effect from 17 May.
Updated
Attendance in England’s state schools has fallen slightly over the past week, government figures show.
About 92% of state school pupils were in class on 5 May, down from 93% on 29 April, according to the Department for Education (DfE) statistics.
Just under nine in 10 (89%) secondary school pupils were in class last week, down from 90% on the previous week, while attendance in primary schools remained at 95%.
The DfE estimates that approximately 1% of all pupils – up to 84,000 children – did not attend school for Covid-19-related reasons on 5 May, similar to the previous week.
Updated
Travellers staying in quarantine hotels in the UK after returning from “red list” countries have complained of “prison-like” conditions, including windows that do not open, a lack of fresh air, exercise and decent food.
The Guardian spoke to nine travellers who are or have recently been in quarantine hotels after returning from countries including Brazil, India, Pakistan and South Africa. They complained of a deterioration in their mental and physical health due to being confined in their bedrooms round the clock and being forced into debt to pay the £1,750 per adult charge for the quarantine period.
Some of them had travelled abroad due to sickness or death of loved ones and so were already in a distressed and traumatised state before entering the quarantine process.
They also expressed concern about a lack of social distancing at UK airports and on the coaches transporting people to quarantine hotels.
Read more of Diane Taylor’s report here:
A growing number of people in Japan are dying of Covid-19 at home as the country’s healthcare system struggles to cope with a variant-fuelled fourth wave and a slow vaccine rollout.
The prefecture of Osaka reported deaths outside hospital for the first time on Monday, saying 18 Covid-19 patients had died at home in Osaka, including 17 deaths since 1 March, according to Reuters.
“Compared with the number of infections, the number of beds for severe cases is very limited in Japan,” said Yasutoshi Kido, a professor at Osaka City University’s Graduate School of Medicine.
More than 96% of Osaka’s critical care beds are occupied.
In one Osaka nursing home, 61 residents were infected and 14 died while waiting to be hospitalised, public broadcaster NHK reported last Friday.
There is anger among Japanese people at the pace of the country’s vaccination campaign – Japan is lagging behind other wealthy countries in its rollout, with 2.6% of its population inoculated.
Updated
Philippines detects first cases of B.1.617 variant
The Philippines has discovered its first two cases of the coronavirus variant first detected in India, its health ministry has announced as the new cases fall to a near eight-week low.
The cases confirmed in two Filipino seafarers who returned in April, Reuters reports that Alethea De Guzman, director of the ministry’s epidemiology bureau, told a news conference on Tuesday. They were both isolated and both have since recovered, she said.
“We need to continually monitor what other variants we may be able to detect locally, as well as monitor the spread of the variants we have already detected,” De Guzman said.
The development comes as the World Health Organization classifies the B.1.617 variant as a “variant of global concern” with some preliminary studies showing that it spreads more easily.
The southeast Asian country has suspended entry to travellers from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh. After Indonesia, the Philippines has the highest number of cases and deaths in southeast Asia.
Updated
Activists have blockaded the entrance to AstraZeneca’s headquarters in a call on the company to waive its Covid vaccine patent.
Two protesters chained themselves to the doors to the company’s Cambridge site, while two others climbed above to hang a banner over the entrance reading: “People’s vaccine not profit vaccine. #JoinCTAP.”
Protesters have blockaded @AstraZeneca’s cambridge hq to call for the company to waive the patent for its #coronavirus vaccine #PeoplesVaccine pic.twitter.com/Nd26h51CCB
— Damien Gayle (@damiengayle) May 11, 2021
The hashtag refers to the World Health Organization’s coronavirus technology access pool, which has been set up to allow organisations to share information on how to fight the pandemic.
The direct action came ahead of protests outside AstraZeneca on the day of its annual meeting with shareholders to demand the company openly license its the vaccine.
Two protesters have climbed above the entrance to the @AstraZeneca hq and two more are chained to the doors to stop people getting in. The action comes on the day of the company’s AGM. pic.twitter.com/Q7V5SplDCi
— Damien Gayle (@damiengayle) May 11, 2021
One protester chained to the door, who gave his name as Coati, said that he had taken action against AstraZeneca because shareholders could be deciding whether to start profiting from from its vaccine, co-developed with Oxford University. The company had pledged to distribute the jab at cost price until the end of the pandemic, but it is in AstraZeneca’s power to decide when to decide that was.
“That could be what they’re deciding here today, to start profiting while thousands of people are dying everyday in India.”
“They could be deciding today to start profiting [from the vaccine] as thousands of people die everyday in India.”
— Damien Gayle (@damiengayle) May 11, 2021
‘Coati’ explains why he’s chained to the door at @AstraZeneca’s headquarters. pic.twitter.com/XLFhz5LpA7
Hello, I’m Clea Skopeliti and I’ll be bringing you the latest developments from around the world for the next few hours.
My Twitter is @cleaskopeliti if you’d like to point to a story I’ve missed. Thanks!
Today so far…
- The World Health Organization has said the B.1.617 variant spreading in India shows signs of being more transmissible, and is now being treated as a variant of concern globally.
- WHO Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that public health capacities must be strengthened to prepare for the possibility of vaccine-evading Covid-19 variants.
- Indian prime minister Narendra Modi remains under pressure to impose a national lockdown to replace the piecemeal Covid restrictions across the stricken country. A Reuters tally shows that India is accounting for one in every three Covid deaths reported worldwide each day. The seven-day average of new cases in India is at a record high of 390,995.
- The European Union wants AstraZeneca to deliver at least 120 million doses of its Covid-19 vaccine by the end of June, a lawyer representing the EU said at the opening of a legal case against the company over delayed supplies.
- AstraZeneca had originally agreed with the EU to deliver 300 million doses by the end of June, but has so far delivered only 50 million. A provisional compensation of 1 euro was put forward by the EU while damages were assessed.
- Holidaymakers who have had both doses of a coronavirus vaccine will be able to “prove” their status to other countries using the NHS app, UK health secretary Matt Hancock has said. The ban on overseas leisure travel from England is lifted on Monday.
- Theatres in Scotland have called for an urgent review of Covid-19 social distancing restrictions for audiences, saying that the 2-metre rule leaves them in a perilous position.
- Heathrow says it lost nearly 6.3 million passengers in April 2021 compared with the same month in 2019.
-
US health authorities have approved the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for emergency use in adolescents, which includes children as young as 12.
- Taiwan’s government has tightened rules on public gatherings after reporting six new domestic Covid-19 cases with no clear source of infection.
- Inheritance tax should become a larger slice of government tax revenue following the pandemic, according to a report by the OECD that warns wealth inequality will rise over the next decade unless death duties also increase.
- Novavax has said the development of its Covid-19 vaccine is slower than previously anticipated and does expect to file for regulatory approval until the third quarter of 2021.
That is it from me, Martin Belam. Clea Skopeliti will be here shortly to continue our live coverage of global coronavirus news and the top UK Covid lines. Andrew Sparrow has the UK live blog, which will mainly be concerned with politics today.
OECD calls for higher inheritance tax after Covid pandemic
Inheritance tax should become a larger slice of government tax revenue following the pandemic, according to a report by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) that warns wealth inequality will rise over the next decade unless death duties also increase.
A more robust tax on inheritances that prevents the use of avoidance measures by the super-wealthy would also support efforts by governments to pay down debts incurred over the past year to cope with the Covid-19 virus, said the Paris-based thinktank, which advises 36 mainly richer nations, including the UK.
In a report that argued the moment was ripe for governments to deploy arguments of fairness and the need for higher tax revenues, the OECD said decades of rising asset prices meant there were more wealthy people than in previous generations and as individuals they had become wealthier than in the past.
Baby boomers, who in the UK are 57 years of age and older, have accumulated a disproportionate amount of assets compared with previous generations, leading to greater inequality.
Inheritance tax has declined in most countries as a proportion of overall tax revenues and now accounts for only 0.5% of tax revenues on average across the 36 nations.
“Inheritance taxation has the potential to play a particularly important role in the current context. Wealth inequality is high and has increased in some countries over recent decades,” the OECD said.
Read more of Phillip Inman’s report here: OECD calls for higher inheritance tax after Covid pandemic
EU opens second court case against AstraZeneca over vaccine supplies
The European Union wants AstraZeneca to deliver at least 120m doses of its Covid-19 vaccine by the end of June, a lawyer representing the EU said at the opening of a legal case against the company over delayed supplies.
The lawyer was speaking in a Belgian court as proceedings in the second legal case brought by the European Commission against the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker got underway.
AstraZeneca had originally agreed with the EU to deliver 300m doses by the end of June, but has so far delivered only 50m, and has said it aims to ship 100m shots by the end of June.
Officials familiar with the case said the lawsuit is mostly procedural – pertaining to the merits of the issue – after a first case was launched in April, and would allow the European Union to seek possible financial penalties.
Francesco Guarascio reports for Reuters that a request for a provisional compensation of 1 euro was put forward by the EU while damages were assessed, but a demand for real compensation for what the EU deems a breach of contract by AstraZeneca would be decided at a later stage.
Updated
The latest Office for National Statistics deaths bulletin is out today for England and Wales. It covers the week to 30 April. The key points pulled out by PA include:
- A total of 205 deaths registered in England and Wales in the week ending 30 April mentioned Covid-19 on the death certificate, the lowest number since the week ending 18 September, and down 21% on the previous week.
- Around one in 48 (2.1%) deaths registered in England and Wales in the week to 30 April mentioned Covid-19 on the death certificate.
- A total of 152,704 deaths have now occurred in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.
- Deaths involving Covid-19 among people in all age groups 50 and over have fallen by at least 96% since the second-wave peak.
- The total number of deaths registered in England and Wales was below the five-year average for the eighth consecutive week.
Taiwan tightens restrictions after new domestic Covid cases
Taiwan’s government has tightened rules on public gatherings after reporting six new domestic Covid-19 cases with no clear source of infection, a rare rise on the island, which has until now kept the pandemic well under control.
Taiwan largely closed its borders early on in the pandemic and has a robust contact tracing and quarantine system, meaning its low case numbers – 1,210 infections to date including 12 deaths – have allowed life to carry on more or less as normal.
Already dealing with an outbreak among pilots of Taiwan’s largest carrier. China Airlines. and at a hotel where some of them stayed, health minister Chen Shih-chung told reporters they had confirmed six new cases with no clear source of infection.
“We hope that this does not spread,” he said, calling on people to wear masks, wash their hands and ensure social distancing while the government tracks down those who had been in contact with the infected to quarantine and test them.
Ben Blanchard reports for Reuters that effective immediately until 8 June, all outdoor activities of more than 500 people and inside activities of 100 or more should be cancelled. Food and drink will also be banned on trains.
Similar restrictions have been put in place before, though Taiwan has never gone into a total lockdown.
Updated
My colleague Andrew Sparrow has launched the UK politics blog for today. With the Queen’s Speech taking place in parliament later on, he will be very much focussed on the politics. I’ll be continuing here with global coronavirus news and the top Covid lines from the UK.
UK: Hancock confirms NHS app will be used to prove vaccine status for international travel
Holidaymakers who have had both doses of a coronavirus vaccine will be able to “prove” their status to other countries, UK health secretary Matt Hancock has said. He confirmed that people in England who travel abroad will be able to use the NHS app to demonstrate they are fully vaccinated when the ban on overseas leisure travel is lifted on Monday.
The app is currently used to book medical appointments and order repeat prescriptions, and is different from the Covid-19 app.
People who do not have access to a smartphone and know the country they are travelling to requires proof of vaccination status can call the NHS helpline 119 from Monday and ask for a letter to be posted to them.
Neil Lancefield, PA Media’s transport correspondent reports that Hancock told Sky News: “The certification, being able to show that you’ve had a jab, is going to be necessary for people to be able to travel.
“So, we want to make sure people can get access to that proof, not least to show governments of other countries that you’ve had the jab if they require that in order to arrive.
“Israel’s a good example. They’ve said that they’ll want proof of you having had two jabs for you to go to Israel as and when they open up. They’re on the green list of course.
“So we will make sure that you can get access to that, to prove that point.”
Mr Hancock said the use of so-called vaccine passports is “different to the question of whether we require people to be certified as Covid-secure before doing things domestically”.
He added: “The focus for the time being on this certification question, is making sure that people can travel internationally and show that they’ve had the jab if that’s what another country requires.”
Updated
Morrisons has reported a surge in fuel sales and a rebound in food-to-go in recent weeks, as life in the UK slowly returns to normal.
Fuel sales at the supermarket group jumped 17.5% in the 14 weeks to 9 May, its first quarter, contributing to a 5.3% rise in total sales. Like-for-like sales were up 2.7% excluding fuel, and 4.7% higher including fuel.
“The pandemic is not yet over, but it is in retreat across Britain and there is much to be positive about as something approaching normal life begins to take shape,” said David Potts, the Morrisons chief executive.
“Our forecourts are getting busier, we are seeing encouraging recent signs of a strong rebound of food-to-go, takeaway counters and salad bars, and our popular cafes will soon fully reopen. The nation has a summer of socialising and sport to look forward to and we’ll all be able to rediscover the joys of meeting up and eating well together.”
Read more of Julia Kollewe’s report here: Morrisons reports surge in fuel and food-to-go sales as Covid restrictions ease
Vietnam is seeking the transfer of mRNA technology to domestically manufacture Covid-19 vaccines, state media reported, as officials warned of supply issues until the end of the year.
The mRNA vaccines, like that developed jointly by BionTech and Pfizer, prompt the human body to make a protein that is part of the virus, triggering an immune response. The AstraZeneca and the Johnson & Johnson vaccines use a different technology.
“Given the currently limited supply to Vietnam, especially as the Covid-19 situation is showing complicated developments, the health ministry has met with a World Health Organization representative to facilitate the negotiations on transferring of mRNA technology,” the Vietnam News Agency reported.
Vaccine makers have come under growing pressure to free up their patents to aid poor countries. BioNTech and other COVID-19 vaccine makers have said they were already transferring vital production knowledge to other parts of the world. On Monday, BioNTech announced plans to set up a regional centre and a new vaccine factory in Singapore.
Vietnam has been praised for its record in containing Covid-19 outbreaks quickly through targeted mass testing and a strict, centralised quarantine programme. But a new outbreak emerged late last month and has already reached 25 of its 63 provinces, with a daily record 129 cases reported on Monday, although infections are still relatively low at 501 in the past two weeks.
Vietnam said last week it aims to administer all of its 928,800 AstraZeneca doses, most of which came via the global COVAX scheme, by May 15.
“The health ministry is trying to obtain more vaccines, and we expect to receive more by the end of 2021, but it won’t be enough for community immunity,” Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam said in a statement, report James Pearson and Khanh Vu for Reuters.
“At least from now until the end of 2021, Vietnam will have to take anti-Covid-19 measures as if it hasn’t received any vaccines.”
Theatres in Scotland have called for an urgent review of Covid-19 social distancing restrictions for audiences, saying that the 2-metre rule leaves them in a perilous position.
On Monday, all of Scotland is expected to move into protection level 2, which permits theatres to open with social distancing and capacity limits agreed with local authorities. But in a survey conducted by the Federation of Scottish Theatre (FST), 96% of members responded that it is not economically viable for them to reopen under the current restrictions.
The requirement of at least 2-metre social distancing in venues means the 236-capacity Tron in Glasgow could accommodate 14 theatregoers (6% of its usual full audience). Dundee Rep, which usually fits a capacity of 455, would have an audience of 80 (18%). A 1-metre distance between theatregoers would raise those audience numbers to 60 and 110 respectively.
England’s theatres were yesterday granted permission to open at 50% capacity from Monday, 17 May. In a statement, the FST – a network of 260 professional performing arts organisations and individuals throughout Scotland – said that its theatres were reliant on visiting productions that tour around the UK: “The continued uncertainty and lack of clarity in Scotland is resulting in increased nervousness and unwillingness of producers booking their productions and concerts into Scotland’s venues, particularly while their options are much more secure south of the border.”
Read more of our Stage editor Chris Wiegand’s report here: Scottish theatres say reopening not viable under Holyrood Covid rules
Updated
If you woke up today in the UK desperate to hear from health secretary Matt Hancock, then today was your lucky day. Following earlier appearances on Times Radio, Sky News and BBC Breakfast, he’s just popped up on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.
On there, PA Media reports, he addressed the issue of international travel. He said the UK government is taking a “cautious approach” to easing travel restrictions to ensure the progress in combating coronavirus was not jeopardised by new variants from overseas.
“We have some degree of confidence that the vaccine works effectively against the so-called Indian variant, and then against the South African variant we are a little bit more worried, but we don’t have full data on those yet.
“These are reasons to take a cautious approach at the borders in order to protect the progress that we have made at home.
“People would be loath to see us put that at risk by going too fast at the borders. But on the other hand we are seeing countries get this virus under control in the same way we appear to be able to get it under control.”
Updated
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi remains under pressure to impose a national lockdown to replace the piecemeal Covid restrictions across the stricken country.
According to CNN data compiled from state governments, at least 19 of India’s 36 states and union territories are under full Covid-19 lockdowns and at least 24 under some of form of restrictions. And several regional authorities have announced in the past week fresh restrictions with some extending or tightening previously set guidelines.
Diksha Madhok reports for CNN on worries in the international business community for the global economy if India cannot gets its Covid outbreak under control. She writes:
About 80% of world goods trade by volume is carried on ships, and India provides many of their crews. More than 200,000 of an estimated 1.7 million seafarers globally are from India, according to Guy Platten, the Secretary General at the International Chamber of Shipping. Many of them have officer ranks and roles requiring important skills, he added.
As many countries have banned flights from India, it is already impossible to move Indian workers to ports around the world, and swap crews.
René Piil Pedersen, head of Marine Relations at Maersk, the world’s largest container shipping company, hopes that countries start distinguishing between regular travelers and seafarers. Otherwise, he said, the world could face both a serious threat to global cargo flows, and a “humanitarian crisis,” because crews would not be able to leave their vessels and return home.
“It will take a heavy toll on their mental welfare,” said Pedersen, whose company employs 30% of its seafarers from India.
Read more here: CNN – India’s Covid-19 catastrophe could make global shortages even worse
Prof Graham Medley, from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and chairman of the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (Spi-M), which advises the UK government, said the country may be back to normal by the end of the year if there were limited threats from variants.
Asked on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme how normal life could be at the end of the year, he said: “I don’t think anyone can give you the complete answer. If vaccines continue to work, and we don’t have some nasty variants, then potentially we could be completely back to normal by the end of the year but, on the other hand, if there are variants, if the vaccines wane, so the impact wanes and we aren’t able to get boosters, then we could have been in a very different position.”
PA Media reports that earlier he said the country was in its best position, saying: “We’re in the best position that we’ve been in the whole epidemic, prevalence is low, vaccines are working. I think the risks going forward, you can think of them in two ways: one is the risk to each individual and the other is the risks to the population, so essentially having to go back into a lockdown again.
“Both of those are low but there remain challenges in the sense that we don’t know what the virus is going to do in terms of the future and it’s quite likely that it will start to increase together and start to transmit, and the question is whether the vaccines can hold it.”
Medley said there would “inevitably” be a third wave of infection “but whether that translates into hospitalisations, I think is is the big question. And that’s still uncertain. The kind of projections that we had back in February, had some really quite scary numbers in, but they were based upon the fact that the vaccines might not work, but now we know they do.”
Updated
Some economic impact of Covid news here from PA Media – Heathrow says it lost nearly 6.3 million passengers in April compared with the same month in 2019.
Just 536,000 people travelled through the London airport in April, a 92% reduction on the total for April 2019.
Chief executive John Holland-Kaye said: “The government’s green list is very welcome but they need to expand it massively in the next few weeks to include other low-risk markets such as the United States, and remove the need for fully vaccinated passengers to take two expensive PCR tests.
Ministers say that from 17 May at the earliest international travel for leisure may be able to resume, and that countries would be placed in a traffic light system, with green, amber and red lists that would set out the rules for things such as testing and quarantining for those returning to England:
Green: passengers will not need to quarantine on return (unless they receive a positive result) but must take a pre-departure test as well as a PCR test on arrival back in the UK. A handful of countries and territories are on the initial green list including Australia, New Zealand, Israel, Portugal and the Falkland Island.
Amber: travellers will need to quarantine for 10 days, as well as taking a pre-departure test and two PCR tests (on day two and day eight) with the option of paying for a private Covid-19 test on day five (the test to release scheme) to end self-isolation early.
Red: arrivals will be subject to restrictions currently in place for red list countries, which include a 10-day stay in a managed quarantine hotel, as well as pre-departure testing and and two PCR tests.
Which list a country is put on will depend on a number of factors including the percentage of the population that has been vaccinated, infection rates and the prevalence of “variants of concern”.
Given travel is a devolved matter, the administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will decide whether to follow suit or adopt a different approach.
“Border Force’s claims that ‘long queues in immigration are inevitable’ smack of complacency. They are completely avoidable if ministers ensure that all desks are staffed at peak times.”
Incidentally my colleague Graeme Wearden has recently launched our business live blog for the day, which I am sure will have further details on that in due course …
Updated
While he has been doing the media round in the UK this morning, health secretary Matt Hancock has also promised that the government would be publishing clear guidance on close personal contact.
PA Media reports his interview on Sky News, where he said: “We will be changing the rules to be far more about people taking personal responsibility, exercising common sense according to their circumstances.”
“We will set out really clearly the risks. People understand the risks – we know that – and we’ll make that very, very plain and then people can exercise their own personal responsibility.”
He added: “Grandparents, sometimes for the first time in over a year, will be able to be close to their grandchildren, but taking into account the individual risk of catching this disease which differs according to circumstances.”
Updated
UK keeping 'very close eye on the Indian variant' – health minister
In the UK, health secretary Matt Hancock has this morning told Times Radio that the government is keeping a close eye on the Indian variant of Covid-19.
Reuters report he claimed that measures such as enhanced tracking and tracing, travel restrictions and the roll out of the vaccine should keep it at very low levels.
“We of course are maintaining a very close eye on the Indian variant, there isn’t any evidence yet that the vaccine doesn’t work against it,” Hancock said.
Australia publishes list of possible exposure sites for new Covid case in Victoria
In Australia, Victorian health minister Martin Foley is giving more information on the positive Covid-19 case in Victoria, and has named a list of exposure sites. The full list is here. That page was crashing earlier so you can also find a list of exposure sites on the Department of health Facebook page.
“My understanding is the gentleman departed India via the Maldives, through Singapore into Adelaide,” Foley said. The man entered quarantine in South Australia for 14 days, before flying home to Victoria where he tested positive this morning.
Chief health officer professor Brett Sutton said it was a reminder to “be on guard”.
“The thing about this virus, there are some individuals who pass on to no one else at all,” he said. “And there are some individuals who pass on to several people, and you can’t tell.”
Sutton said he would not comment on another jurisdiction’s quarantine system but all new incidents should be a “learning opportunity” and Victoria had been through its own “learning journey” in that regard.
“I think it’s absolutely the case he’s picked it up in quarantine in South Australia,” Sutton said.
Updated
Mumbai’s BKC pop-up mega hospital in India’s financial capital is mounted with tents and metal partitions and looks like a war room. It has a capacity of more than 2,000 beds, including intensive care units. It is mostly full. This week Associated Press sent a photographer there to capture the scenes.
Rafiq Maqbool reports that its doctors and nurses constantly monitor patients, holding the hands of some to calm them as they have problems breathing, or touching them to see how responsive they are. In some cases they help patients use a mobile phone to speak to family members, who are not allowed visit.
India’s western Maharashtra state, home to Mumbai, is one of the country’s worst-hit states, grappling with a surge of coronavirus infections that has overwhelmed hospitals and made field facilities like BKC vital.
The BKC field hospital currently has 329 doctors and 330 nurses, said Dr. Rajesh Dere, the man in charge of running the hospital, which has treated more than 22,600 Covid-19 patients since it was set up last May to provide free treatment and medicines to patients.
“I think no hospital or very few hospitals could have managed at such a large scale,” Dere said.
One thing you can guarantee about a global pandemic is that it will throw political fault lines into sharp relief. That’s happening today, with Taiwan accusing China of “maliciously” blocking its access to the World Health Organization (WHO) and putting politics above people’s wellbeing. Beijing has signalled it would not allow the island to attend a major WHO meeting, arguing it should be represented by China itself.
Taiwan’s foreign ministry spokeswoman, Joanne Ou, said China was lying and seeking to mislead the international community. “China’s malicious obstruction is the main obstacle to the WHO’s failure to fully include Taiwan in technical discussions,” she said.
“It also shows China’s continued tyrannical act of putting politics above health and human rights.”
Only Taiwan’s democratically elected government can represent its people in the WHO and other bodies, not China, Reuters report her saying.
Taiwan is locked out of most global organisations such as the WHO due to the objections of China, which considers the island one of its provinces not a country.
Updated
India accounting for one in three global daily deaths
Good morning, Martin Belam here, joining you from London. Reuters report that India’s coronavirus crisis is showing scant sign of easing. A Reuters tally shows that the country is accounting for one in every three Covid deaths reported worldwide each day.
The seven-day average of new cases is at a record high of 390,995.
Eleven people died late on Monday in a government hospital in Tirupati, a city in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, due to a delay in the arrival of a tanker carrying oxygen, a government official said.
“There were issues with oxygen pressure due to low availability. It all happened within a span of five minutes,” said M Harinarayan, the district’s top bureaucrat said late last night, adding the SVR Ruia hospital now had sufficient oxygen.
Updated
Nepal is so short of oxygen canisters that it has asked climbers on Mount Everest to bring back their empties instead of abandoning them on mountain slopes, an official told Reuters on Monday.
Kul Bahadur Gurung, a senior official with the Nepal Mountaineering Association, said climbers and their Sherpa guides were estimated to have carried at least 3,500 oxygen bottles this season. These bottles often get buried in avalanches or are abandoned at the end of the expedition.
“We appeal to climbers and sherpas to bring back their empty bottles wherever possible as they can be refilled and used for the treatment of the coronavirus patients who are in dire needs,” Gurung told Reuters.
The country issued climbing permits to more than 700 climbers for 16 Himalayan peaks – 408 to Mount Everest – for the April-May climbing season in a bid to get the mountaineering industry and tourism back up and running.
Our international correspondent Peter Beaumont has reported that the Covid situation in Nepal may be as bad, if not worse, than in neighbouring India, with which it shares a long and porous border.
Many private and community hospitals in Kathmandu have said they are unable to take any more patients due to lack of oxygen. There was a shortage of both the gas and canisters. “We need about 25,000 oxygen cylinders immediately to save people from dying. This is our urgent need,” Samir Kumar Adhikari, a health ministry official, said.
The spread of variants, increased social mixing, the relaxation of public health and social measures and inequitable vaccination are all driving #COVID19 transmission. Therefore, we need to use every tool at our disposal to drive transmission down, right now. pic.twitter.com/47wje5w5LO
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) May 10, 2021
Cases of mucormycosis, a rare black fungus that invades the brain, have been on the rise in India during the pandemic. Melissa Davey has explained for us what it is, why it is surfacing now and how it is treated.
Hong Kong authorities have scrapped their plans to force hundreds of thousands of foreign domestic workers to be vaccinated against Covid-19 or face losing their job.
The Guardian reported last week on the mass mandatory testing of the city’s 370,000 domestic workers after a more infectious strain was detected in the community. Those wanting to apply for work visas – or renew their current ones – would need to show they had received two doses.
But on Tuesday, the city’s chief executive, Carrie Lam, said: “The government has decided not to request mandatory vaccination when helpers renew their contracts.”
She said the decision had been made after meetings with officials from the Philippines and Indonesia, the countries whose people make up the majority of foreign domestic workers.
The Philippines foreign affairs secretary, Teodoro Locsin, had previously warned the initial proposal “smacked of discrimination”.
So far just 16% of the city’s 7.5 million people have received one or more doses, a long way from the 60-70% considered necessary for herd immunity, AFP reported. Regular polling shows Hongkongers have some of the lowest support ratings for inoculation in the world.
Singapore’s prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, has condemned an alleged racist attack on a local woman of Indian descent after she was reportedly kicked and abused for not wearing a mask, in a case that is being investigated by police, Reuters has reported.
In a Facebook post on Monday night, Lee said anxiety and stress caused by the pandemic “does not justify racist attitudes and actions, much less physically abusing and assaulting someone because she belongs to a particular race, in this case Indian.”
Local media reported the 55-year-old Singaporean woman was walking briskly on Friday when a man shouted racial slurs at her for not wearing her mask above her nose and kicked her in the chest.
Face masks are mandatory in public in Singapore, but can be removed when exercising, including brisk walking.
The World Health Organization has said the B.1.617 variant spreading in India shows signs of being more transmissible, and is now being treated as a variant of concern globally.
The WHO’s Covid-19 chief, Maria Van Kerkhove, said they were studying the data out of India “very, very carefully” and would provide more details in the weekly epidemiological update on Tuesday.
Here she speaks more about the issue:
The #SARSCoV2 virus variant B.1.617 is currently listed as a variant of interest but is being evaluated as a potential variant of concern by @WHO & our 🦠 evolution working group
— Maria Van Kerkhove (@mvankerkhove) May 9, 2021
We are grateful for the ongoing work around 🌍 to monitor & study VOI/VOC#COVID19 @WHO @DrTedros pic.twitter.com/CUDd4ue1ZW
The move – an upgrade from classification as a “variant of interest” – means the variant will be added to the list that contains others such as those first detected in UK (B.1.1.7), Brazil (P.1) and South Africa (B.1.351).
India, suffering from one of the worst outbreaks in the world, reported nearly 370,000 fresh infections and more than 3,700 new deaths on Monday. The devastating wave has overwhelmed India’s healthcare system, and experts have said official figures for cases and fatalities are much lower than the actual numbers.
BioNTech on Monday sought to ally concerns about the mutation in India, saying that “to date, there is no evidence” that the jab needs to be adapted to fight the emerging variants.
Summary
Hello and welcome to today’s coronavirus liveblog, where you can find the latest developments and data from around the world on the pandemic. Below are a few points to catch up on:
- The World Health Organization has said the B.1.617 variant spreading in India shows signs of being more transmissible, and is now being treated as a variant of concern globally.
- US health authorities have approved the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for emergency use in adolescents. US regulators authorised the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for use in children as young as 12.
- Malaysia’s government has announced that it will impose a national lockdown in response to rising cases. All social gatherings will be banned and schools closed.
- WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that public health capacities must be strengthened to prepare for the possibility of vaccine-evading Covid-19 variants.
- France records its’ lowest case figures of 2021. The country records 3,292 new Covid-19 cases and 292 deaths.
- University students at the State University of New York (SUNY) and the City University of New York (CUNY) must get vaccinated against Covid-19 to attend classes during the fall semester.
- The French prime minister Jean Castex has said that France was “emerging on a long-term basis” from the Covid-19 crisis.
- Argentina’s health ministry confirmed its first cases of the Covid-19 variants first discovered in India and South Africa in three travellers returning from Europe.
- Novavax Inc has said the development of its Covid-19 vaccine is slower than previously anticipated and does expect to file for regulatory approval until the third quarter of 2021.
