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Australians have been urged to “kick back into gear” and take coronavirus safety seriously, as New South Wales makes masks mandatory.
Victoria has recorded three new locally acquired coronavirus cases and is ramping up testing sites to deal with long queues. Another additional case came from hotel quarantine, bringing the total number of active cases in the state to 36.
The Black Rock cluster in bayside Melbourne, seeded from NSW’s northern beaches outbreak, prompted a swift crackdown by the state government on border rules last week.
Victorian Premier Dan Andrews said people could have been forgiven for thinking it was all over, after 60 days of zero cases in his state.
“But this virus was never going to just go away,” he tweeted. “As hard as it is, we all have to kick back into gear and get on top of it.”
Ten Britons have been refused entry to the Netherlands since 1 January, according to Dutch news outlet NOS, after failing to meet the condition for entry to the country. Only travellers making an essential visit are allowed entry.
“They all have a negative PCR test, but they forget the basic rule that it must be a necessary trip, for example for work or due to serious private circumstances,” said spokesman Robert van Kapel of the Marechaussee police force. “People from a safe country are also allowed to pass, such as Australia or Singapore, but the United Kingdom is certainly not a safe country.”
Since 1 January, non-EU/EEA nationals and nationals of non-Schengen states have not been permitted entry to the Netherlands for non-essential purposes due to EU-wide Covid-19 restrictions.
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The US government is considering giving some people half the dose of Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine in order to speed vaccinations, a federal official said on Sunday.
Moncef Slaoui, head of Operation Warp Speed, the federal vaccine program, said on CBS’ Face the Nation that officials were in talks with Moderna and the Food and Drug Administration about the idea. Moderna’s vaccine requires two injections.
“We know that for the Moderna vaccine, giving half of the dose to people between the ages of 18 and 55, two doses, half the dose, means exactly achieving the objective of immunising double the number of people with the doses we have,” Slaoui said.
“We know it induces identical immune response” to the full dose, he added.
He rejected the suggestion that officials should prioritise giving more people a single shot, rather than holding back doses for the second shot, saying that cutting Moderna vaccine doses in half was “a more responsible approach that would be based on facts and data”.
Slaoui said it would likely not be known until late spring whether vaccinated people can still spread the disease to others.
People in the UK will begin receiving the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine on Monday, after the prime minister expressed hope that the pace could be ramped up to protect tens of millions of people from Covid-19 within the next few months.
In England the first doses would be administered in a small number of hospitals for surveillance purposes, said the NHS: in Oxford, where the vaccine was invented, London, Sussex, Lancashire and Warwickshire.
Read the full report, by the Guardian’s health editor Sarah Boseley, here.
Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner has reiterated calls for a national lockdown, adding that any further delay will mean “more lives lost”.
She underlined that “test and trace, isolation and sick pay” still remain an issue, and called for frontline workers to be vaccinated immediately.
Earlier on Sunday, Sir Keir Starmer had also urged Boris Johnson to bring in new national Covid restrictions in England within the next 24 hours, rather than hint that he will do so soon.
Where is @BorisJohnson?
— 🌈 Angela Rayner 🌈 (@AngelaRayner) January 3, 2021
We need further restrictions and national lockdown now. School closures are inevitable.
Why wait and act later? Delay = more lives lost.
Frontline workers must be vaccinated immediately. Test & trace, isolation support and sick pay STILL need fixing. pic.twitter.com/rZsMSLt8Tn
Graph by Oxford-based organisation Our World in Data showing the UK’s exponential increase in new coronavirus cases.
— Max Roser (@MaxCRoser) January 3, 2021
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Brazil recorded 17,341 additional confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the past 24 hours, along with 293 deaths from Covid-19, the country’s health ministry said on Sunday.
Brazil has registered more than 7.7 million cases of the virus since the pandemic began 10 months ago, while the official death toll has risen to 196,018, according to ministry data.
Parents face more disruption and uncertainty as local authorities across the country scramble to delay schools reopening in the face of rising coronavirus infection rates and the UK prime minister, Boris Johnson, admitted that more could be shut in the coming weeks.
Nottingham city council has said it will support schools that decide it is not safe to reopen, joining a number of other local authorities in putting out a statement ahead of the first day of term.
The leader of the council, David Mellen, said in a statement: “We have reiterated the government guidance as it stands and made absolutely clear that we will support any headteacher who feels it necessary to close, if their risk assessment dictates that it is not safe to open.
“We will also support school leaders who decide that they have enough staff and can safely open part or all of their school. Local headteachers and governors know their schools better than anyone else, and will understand the impact of any staff absence.”
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Summary
- Coronavirus deaths in the UK have passed 75,000, with 54,990 new cases reported on Sunday as well as 454 more deaths within 28 days of a positive test.
- The Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer, has urged Boris Johnson to bring in new national Covid restrictions in England within the next 24 hours, rather than hint that he will do so soon.
- A number of local councils in England have asked the government to allow primary schools to remain shut ahead of the first day of term tomorrow, including Southampton city council and Cumbria county council, both of which have said they support schools in prioritising education for children of key workers and vulnerable children in light of staffing shortages.
- Ireland has reported a further 4,962 cases of Covid-19, taking the total number of cases past 100,000. Sunday’s figure breaks the previous day’s record of 3,394 cases – itself almost double the highest number of cases previously recorded in 24 hours.
- The new variant of the coronavirus, first spotted in the UK, has been detected in Greece, it was reported this evening. Five Greeks and a Briton who tested positive for the virus upon arrival from the UK were found to have been infected with the new strain according to Skai radio.
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France has recorded 12,489 new coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours, up from the 3,466 reported a day earlier, according to the country’s health ministry.
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Kuwait’s civil aviation authority has suspended direct commercial flights to and from the UK, according to a tweet published a few minutes ago.
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Egypt has said it had opened an investigation into the deaths of four Covid-19 patients in an intensive care unit allegedly due to lack of oxygen, which caused a public outcry.
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Brazil’s health regulator Anvisa has approved the import of 2 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, although the jab is not yet approved for use in the country.
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Three people were arrested in Nottingham following a coronavirus protest in the city.
A Nottinghamshire police statement also confirmed 12 fixed penalty notices, adding that it was likely numbers would rise.
A protest was spotted at around midday at the Victoria Embankment, and according to local press it continued to move into the city centre.
An anti-Covid-19 vaccination leaflet and an anti-lockdown sticker were also spotted in the city – which is currently under tier 4 restrictions – on Sunday.
Assistant chief constable Steve Cooper, from Nottinghamshire police, said: “We had an increased police presence this afternoon as we looked to maintain security and offer reassurance, as well as engaging with those present at the protest including organisers.
“The police were on hand to make sure the wider public were kept safe and secure and preserve any evidence of any breaches before dispersing the crowd. As a consequence we have made three arrests and issued 12 fixed penalty notices so far, with the likelihood this will rise.”
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Chris Hopson, the CEO of NHS Providers, has said the “government needs to think very carefully, and very quickly, about strengthening restrictions on social contact and its approach to return to school” in light of data showing rapidly rising hospitalisations.
1/3 Today's data on NHS hospital beds occupied by confirmed COVID-19 patients continues to be really worrying and shows how difficult this is now becoming for NHS. Two things to note. 1. Very large increases overnight for London, SE and E (+8%, +6% and 5% in just ONE day) pic.twitter.com/FtnBB476S2
— Chris Hopson (@ChrisCEOHopson) January 3, 2021
A secondary school teacher in Armagh, Northern Ireland - who wished to remain anonymous - has told the PA news agency that while they “desperately” want schools to be able to open, they are suffering from “constant” stress and fear of the risk of coronavirus.
“I really love my job and desperately want schools to be able to remain open,” they said. “While they are still open I will continue to go in and work.
“The difficulties I find are related to the constant, underlying stress and fear associated with interacting with large numbers of people. My school is good and we can wear masks/visors.
“(But) I find I don’t sleep well, and every night I wonder if I will wake up with symptoms and if I do, I wonder if I will survive the virus.”
The Armagh educator also said they would prefer it if teachers were able to have the option of being in school to broadcast Zoom lessons to pupils at home.
“I think that would be safer for everyone while it also could not be said that ‘teachers are doing nothing’. I find that really upsetting because it is not true and I want all my pupils to do well.”
In a further sign of the new coronavirus strain’s ever expanding reach, health authorities in Cyprus said the variant had been detected on the island, the EU’s most easterly member state.
In a statement the health ministry announced Sunday that of 19 people who had tested positive for the virus upon arrival from Britain, 12 were found to be carrying the highly contagious variant. The samples were taken between 6 and 20 December, it said.
The former British colony, which retains strong links with the UK, has been battling a surge in cases, reporting 627 new infections on Saturday, more than twice the number reported in Greece. Health authorities announced a further 529 confirmed coronavirus cases this evening compared to 390 new infections in Greece. The death toll in the island’s Greek-administered south rose by two to a total of 131 people while 182 patients were being treated for Covid in local hospitals – 45 in serious condition in intensive care.
Since the epidemic’s outbreak in March some 23,974 cases have been recorded in the Greek-run south. The war-split island’s Turkish-held north has also seen a rise in cases with authorities enforcing tougher restrictions to rein in the spread of the virus.
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France has recorded 12,489 new coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours, up from the 3,466 reported a day earlier, according to the country’s health ministry.
The increase was higher than the government’s target of 5,000 or less per day and brought the cumulative total to 2,665,728, the ministry’s data showed.
The Covid-19 death toll was up by 116 to 65,037, after rising by 157 on Saturday.
Nine education unions have called on the Welsh government to give a “centralised, coherent response” to the reopening of schools following concerns about the new strain of coronavirus.
In a joint letter the unions say they “are at a complete loss to understand” how schools can begin a phased return of classroom learning from next week, after it was announced the Covid-19 variant was 70% more transmissible.
On Sunday, the first minister, Mark Drakeford, said the plan would be kept “under consideration” while the government’s technical advisory group looked at all available evidence, but defended the “phased and flexible return” which allows schools to choose when they reopen based on the Covid situation in their area.
But later on Sunday the nine unions said they were “extremely frustrated” the plans to resume face-to-face learning between 11 and 18 January were being kept to, “despite increasing infection rates and pressure on the NHS.”
Their letter to the Welsh government said: “We strongly believe that we need to err on the side of caution and ensure, in advance, that we have the medical ‘evidence and information’ to ensure that any decisions are the correct ones.”
They added: “Given that all of Wales is in Level 4, we are of the opinion that there should be a centralised, coherent response from Welsh government regarding all educational settings, rather than leaving decisions at local level.”
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Protesters built a chain of beer glasses containing lit candles in central Prague on Sunday to challenge restrictions adopted to combat the Covid-19 spread.
The kilometre-long chain led from the government building to the historic Old Town Square, with glasses placed two or three metres apart.
“We are here because we are really desperate and at the end of our tether, physically and mentally,” protest organiser Jiri Janecek told AFP.
The manager of the Maly Janek small brewery south of Prague complained that the government was hurt the sector with its three restaurant closures since the Covid-19 outbreak last March.
“The government misfired with its restrictions and kicked off a far more lethal pandemic of poverty, unemployment, collapsing companies,” said Janecek, bemoaning paltry compensations for the business.
On the chilly, foggy Sunday afternoon, protesters lit candles and placed them in beer glasses handed out by the organisers, which they then put on the pavement.
Some carried Czech flags and the organisers put up a coffin with nails as a symbol of the looming death of their business.
“I don’t like the bans, the restrictions affecting our personal freedom, you cannot go anywhere, nothing’s going on. I don’t like this kind of life,” protester Veronika Musilova told AFP.
The new variant of the coronavirus, first spotted in the UK, has been detected in Greece, it was reported this evening.
Five Greeks and a Briton who tested positive for the virus upon arrival from the UK were found to have been infected with the new strain according to Skai radio. All have been quarantined in a hotel since flying into the country at Christmas.
The news came as the Greek Orthodox church governing body, the Holy Synod, was preparing to convene in emergency session following the government’s decision to re-close places of worship as part of strict lockdown measures re-imposed today.
Senior clerics are said to be enraged that churches will not be able to mark Epiphany, celebrating the baptism of Christ, on 6 January.
In a statement ahead of the Monday morning meeting, the Synod emphasised that over Christmas and the New Year, when places of worship had been permitted to stay open, all the foreseen health measures had been strictly observed.
The session was called by Greece’s spiritual leader, Archbishop Ieronymos, who recently recovered from coronavirus himself amid suggestions that bishops were pressing to defy the order. Epiphany, which officially marks the end of the Christmas holidays, is one of the most important religious festivals in the Greek Orthodox calendar.
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Southampton city council has said it has “advised schools to prioritise education for vulnerable pupils and children of key workers” in cases where schools have staffing shortages due to Covid.
The council has clarified that there will be no fines at the moment for parents who wish to keep their children home due to concerns about Covid-19 and advised parents to check their school’s website directly for any updates.
Christopher Hammond, the leader of the council, said in a statement: “The government has not shown clear leadership and refuses to engage with headteachers’ and trade unions’ legitimate concerns.” He said that it was “becoming apparent” that not all schools would have sufficient teachers to reopen safely.
Hammond added: “Going forwards, we believe that teachers and support workers should be prioritised in the vaccine rollouts to enable children to return to classrooms safely.”
Updated
Ireland passes 100,000 cases
Ireland has reported a further 4,962 cases of Covid-19, taking the total number of cases past 100,000.
Sunday’s figure breaks the previous day’s record of 3,394 cases – itself almost double the highest number of cases previously recorded in 24 hours.
An additional seven coronavirus-related deaths were also registered, bringing the toll to 2,259.
South Africa is trying to get Covid-19 vaccines as soon as February, but the timing will depend on bilateral negotiations with pharmaceutical companies, the health minister, Zweli Mkhize, said on Sunday.
Mkhize added at a news conference that the government’s aim was to vaccinate a minimum of 67% of the country’s population of roughly 60 million people to reach herd immunity.
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The leader of Cumbria county council, Stewart Young, said it was “disappointing” the government had rejected the local authority’s request for the county’s schools to stay closed on Monday and for the next two weeks.
Young said: “They have now responded and government have decided that for now Cumbria’s primary schools should reopen as planned.
“This is disappointing news and I feel that this is the wrong decision for Cumbria and for our families and communities. They have, however, committed to work with us next week to look again at the situation in Cumbria and together I hope we can agree additional measures that can be put into place to help manage the spread of the infection and therefore protect our residents and communities from this very challenging pandemic.
“The county council cannot instruct schools not to reopen. That is a decision for the governors of each school on the advice of their headteacher.
“I therefore give an assurance that any school in Cumbria that decides that at the present time they are only able to extend direct provision to vulnerable children and the children of key workers, and that they cannot open the school fully in line with government instruction, will have the full support and backing of Cumbria county council.”
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The daily number of coronavirus cases in Turkey fell to 9,877 in the last 24 hours, health ministry data showed on Sunday, bringing the total number of cases to 2,241,912 since the country’s outbreak emerged in March.
The number of deaths due to Covid-19 in Turkey fell to 193 in the last 24 hours from 202 a day earlier, falling below 200 for the first time since 6 December. The total death toll stands at 21,488.
Turkey has been in a four-day lockdown for the new year which will be lifted at 5am local time on 4 January. Ankara has also imposed curfews each weekday evening.
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Italy reported 347 coronavirus-related deaths on Sunday compared with 364 the day before, the health ministry said, while the daily tally of new infections rose to 14,245 from 11,831.
Some 102,974 swab tests were carried out in the past day, the ministry said, against a previous 67,174.
Italy has registered 75,332 Covid-19 deaths since its outbreak came to light on 21 February, the highest toll in Europe and the fifth highest in the world. The country has also reported 2.155 million cases to date, the health ministry said.
Patients in hospital with Covid-19 stood at 23,075 on Sunday, up by 127 on the day before. There were 154 admissions to intensive care units, compared with 134 on Saturday.
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Essex county council has become the latest local authority to issue a statement about school closures, announcing that primary schools in Uttlesford, Colchester and Tendring are to remain closed to pupils until 6 January.
The council tweeted that the decision had been taken to allow the council “to clarify the government position on primary schools in these areas reopening, given the rates of infection in these areas and pressures on NHS”.
The local authority said in a statement: “All schools in Essex at primary and secondary level will be either closed tomorrow (Monday 4 January) for a PD day, or will implement remote learning.
“Primary schools in Colchester, Tendring and Uttlesford were to reopen on Tuesday. Schools in these three districts were the only primary schools in Essex due to re-open, with the rest of the County’s primary schools remaining closed until Monday 18 January.”
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Slough borough council has shared a statement confirming some schools in the area have decided they are unable to open due to “individual circumstances”.
The statement confirmed that “government advice and direction is primary schools in Slough will be reopening this week as expected”.
But it went on to say: “We are aware some schools have already made the decision, that due to their individual circumstances they are unable to open and they will be contacting parents directly.”
Councillor Martin Carter, lead member for children and schools, urged concerned parents to speak to their child’s school if they were considering keeping them at home.
“Parents of children who may be vulnerable will need to make individual decisions based on their own children and their own family circumstances,” he said.
“We understand this will be difficult, however we do ask any parent with concerns to speak to their child’s school to discuss safety measures in place before keeping their child at home when the school is open to them.”
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Sir Keir Starmer has called on Boris Johnson to bring in a national lockdown in England within the next 24 hours, rather than hint he will do so soon.
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Cumbria has asked the Department for Education (DfE) to allow it to keep primary schools closed on Monday.
The rural county is one of the areas outside London and the southeast hardest hit by the virulent new strain of Covid-19.
Colin Cox, the director of public health at Cumbria County Council, in a series of tweets, said: “Following extensive discussions over the last 48 hours, the CCC Exec Director (People) and I have this morning jointly written to DfE formally requesting that Cumbrian primary schools are added to the Contingency Framework of schools not expected to open tomorrow.
“Driven by the new strain, rates in Carlisle and Eden are now very high, and are rising fast in other parts of the county - rates in Barrow, Copeland and Allerdale are doubling every 4-5 days. And hospitals are under pressure.
“We don’t have the capacity in the NHS to respond easily to further increases in rates. So while primary children may not themselves be at high risk, we have to reduce opportunities for transmission wherever possible to protect the wider community.
“We await the DfE decision and either way will of course continue to support schools to enable children to learn safely.”
Hello, this is Clea Skopeliti – I’ll be running the blog for the next few hours. You can reach me via email if you spot a story you think I’ve missed.
Greece reported 390 new coronavirus infections and 36 deaths on Sunday as the government imposed strict new curbs for a week.
Today’s figures bring total cases to 140,099 while the death toll stands at 4,957.
The restrictions, announced on Saturday, will see businesses including hair salons and bookstores shut, while the night-time curfew will begin at 9pm - an hour earlier than before.
In a televised statement, government spokesman Stelios Petsas said the measures were aimed at helping schools reopen on 11 January.
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Egypt said on Sunday it had opened an investigation into the deaths of four Covid-19 patients in an intensive care unit allegedly due to lack of oxygen, which caused a public outcry.
“The prosecutor’s office in Al-Husseiniya [in the northern Sharqiya province] summoned the director of Al-Husseiniya hospital to question him over the deaths of four people due to lack of oxygen,” a judicial source told AFP, without specifying the dates of the deaths.
Since Saturday, numerous social media users had shared a video of patients in a hospital ward, with a voice heard saying “everyone is dead in intensive care”.
The prosecutor’s office confirmed the video was of Al-Husseiniya hospital, which was also identified in comments on social media.
The 45-second video also shows hospital staff apparently trying to revive patients.
That’s all from me. Clea Skopeliti will be taking over shortly.
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Here’s my colleague Simon Murphy’s story on Starmer’s intervention:
Starmer: bring in new national restrictions immediately
The Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer, has urged Boris Johnson to bring in new national Covid restrictions in England within the next 24 hours, rather than hint that he will do so soon.
Starmer told reporters: “The virus is clearly out of control. And there’s no good the prime minister hinting that further restrictions are coming into place in a week, or two or three.
“That delay has been the source of so many problems. So, I say bring in those restrictions now, national restrictions, within the next 24 hours. That has to be the first step towards controlling the virus.”
On schools, Starmer said: “It is inevitable more schools are going to have to close. And the Government needs a plan on children’s learning but also for working parents.”
He went on: “The more important thing in a way is that national restrictions need to come in the next 24 hours. Let’s not have the prime minister saying ‘I’m going to do it, but not yet’, that’s the problem he has made so many times.
“Nationwide lockdown - the prime minister has hinted that that’s going to happen but he’s delaying again. And we can’t afford that again.”
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Cyprus has discovered 12 cases of the new coronavirus variant in people who recently travelled from Britain, Reuters reported the health ministry as saying on Sunday.
The new highly transmissible variant – first found in the UK – is now spreading around the world. Of 19 positive tests for Covid-19 recorded on individuals who travelled to Cyprus from Britain between 6-20 December 6, 12 were for the new variant.
In Switzerland, the canton of Geneva said cases of the new variant had been detected in the area. “A few cases of the variant identified in the United Kingdom of the new coronavirus were identified in Geneva recently,” a press release said.
“It is very likely that there is community circulation of this strain in our canton. This means that the transmission of this new strain is active in Geneva and that, today, it is not just about imported cases.”
Thanks to reader Jaya John for pointing out the Swiss news.
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Lancashire and Liverpool will not order schools to close
Lancashire council has said that it will not push for a blanket closure of all primary schools in the county but said that the ultimate decisions on closures would rest with the schools themselves.
Councillor Phillippa Williamson, the Conservative cabinet member for children, young people and schools, said: “Clearly the best place for children is in school, not just for their education but for their social, mental and physical wellbeing.
“Having looked at the infection rates in Lancashire and following advice from our public health experts, we are not advocating a blanket closure of primary schools across Lancashire at this time.
“The ultimate decision on whether to open remains with each individual school. Each of those schools knows their own circumstances best, and we will support them to help make the right decision for their pupils and staff.”
In Liverpool, parents are being advised that schools in the city scheduled to reopen this coming week will do so, unless they are notified.
In a joint statement, cabinet member for education, Cllr Barbara Murray, and director of children and young people services Steve Reddy said: “With less than 24 hours to go, we are not asking schools and parents to change their plans.
“As a tier 3 area which has a lower infection rate than others, the schools that are scheduled to reopen this week should do so, including primary and special schools as well as secondary schools for vulnerable and key worker children.
“No parent will be fined if they keep their child away tomorrow for safety reasons.
“Where headteachers alongside their staff decide that they cannot safely reopen, they will have our full support. The council will continue work with and support schools if this happens.”
Updated
UK death toll goes past 75,000
There have been 54,990 new cases of coronavirus in the last 24 hours and 454 more deaths within 28 days of a positive test.
The latest figures bring the total number of deaths within 28 days of a positive result above 75,000. Other figures which include all cases where Covid-19 is mentioned on a death certificate give a total of over 91,000.
The figures do not include results from Scotland which were not reported today.
While the number of new cases is slightly down on yesterday’s record high, it compares with 30,501 cases reported last Sunday. The number of deaths is slightly up on the 445 reported yesterday and significantly up on the 317 deaths recorded a week ago. The total number of deaths is 75,024.
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High street chains Tesco and Boots have offered to help with the distribution of Covid-19 vaccines.
It is believed Tesco has offered its distribution arm to help with the rollout of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine while Boots is opening three Covid-19 vaccination sites, in Halifax, Huddersfield and Gloucester.
The supermarket giant’s subsidiary Best Food Logistics, food delivery and supply chain specialists, has offered its support, which could include the use of its refrigerated lorries and warehouses to move the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, which can be stored in a fridge.
Covid-19 restrictions, which have shut down many pubs and restaurants, may have opened up some capacity that could be diverted to the vaccine programme.
Boots, the high street chemist, said its three vaccination sites, set up with the local clinical commissioning groups, are to open to patients this month and more could be on the way.
A spokesman told PA: “Boots has extensive knowledge and experience of mass vaccination (having completed over a million flu vaccinations last year, for example) and we have developed a model for Covid-19 vaccination that is aligned with our exceptional safety, clinical and operational standards.
“We stand ready to do much more and our national network of pharmacy expertise is prepped to support the NHS and the Government to accelerate the rollout of the vaccine.”
Boris Johnson, the prime minister, told the BBC’s The Andrew Marr Show that there would be 530,000 doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine at about 540 GP vaccination sites and about 101 hospital sites on Monday, “on top of the million or so that have already been vaccinated”.
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Kuwait suspends flights to and from UK
Kuwait’s civil aviation authority has suspended direct commercial flights to and from the UK, according to a tweet published a few minutes ago.
The post said that the decision was “based on the instructions of the health authorities in the state of Kuwait”. The suspension of flights will begin at 1am Wednesday UK time and run until further notice.
الطيران المدني : تعليق الرحلات التجارية المباشرة في مطار الكويت الدولي من والى المملكة المتحدة اعتباراً من يوم الأربعاء الموافق 6 يناير 2021. pic.twitter.com/mwgtwAmPox
— الطيران المدني (@Kuwait_DGCA) January 3, 2021
Updated
386 more coronavirus deaths in English hospitals
A further 386 people who tested positive for coronavirus have died in hospital in England, bringing the total number of confirmed deaths reported in hospitals to 51,437, NHS England said on Sunday.
Patients were aged between 30 and 107. All except 18, aged between 59 and 95, had known underlying health conditions.
The deaths were between 6 December 2020 and 2 January 2021. There were seven other deaths reported with no positive Covid-19 test result.
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University College London, the UK’s largest campus, has told its students to avoid returning until the end of February at the earliest because of the rapid spread of the new Covid-19 variant in the capital.
My colleague Richard Adams reports that the move puts UCL at odds with the guidelines issued by the Department for Education last week, which called for most students to stay away from campuses in England until 25 January.
Read the full story here:
Brazil approves import of AstraZeneca vaccine
Brazil’s health regulator Anvisa has approved the import of 2 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, although the jab is not yet approved for use in the country.
Anvisa said late on Saturday it had approved the importation request from federal government-affiliated biomedical center Fiocruz on Thursday, Reuters reported.
Importing the doses prior to approval will enable vaccination to begin as soon as Anvisa okays its use, the regulator said. Brazil has yet to approve any vaccine.
Fiocruz will apply for emergency use of the vaccine by Wednesday, its president, Nísia Trindade, said last week.
Brazil has recorded the second-deadliest outbreak of Covid-19 after only the US. South America’s largest country has the third highest tally of coronavirus cases, with the health ministry registering more than 7.7m, after the US and India.
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The plan for schools to return in Wales will be kept “under consideration” following concerns about the new strain of coronavirus, first minister Mark Drakeford has said.
Drakeford’s remarks echoed those of Boris Johnson earlier on Sunday, when he said that whether to close more schools would be kept “under constant review”.
Drakeford said a “phased and flexible return” had been agreed with local authorities that would allow schools to choose their reopening date based on the Covid situation in their area.
But he said the Welsh government would “keep this under consideration”, while its technical advisory group would look at all available evidence early next week.
Two teaching unions have called for face-to-face teaching, set to resume for most schools between 11-18 January, to be delayed until the impact of the Covid-19 variant is assessed.
Drakeford told BBC Radio Wales: “Of course we will continue to make decisions in the light of the best knowledge, research and information that’s available to us at the time.
“But as a government, we will not lose sight of the fact that we have a generation of young people here in Wales whose lives have been so badly disrupted in 2020, whose education needs to be put back on track.
“And it is their needs we will continue to have at the forefront of our minds as we organise with our colleagues a safe return to school.”
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India has granted emergency approval to both the Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine and the domestically developed Covaxin, signalling the start one of the largest Covid-19 immunisation drives in the world.
You can read Hannah Ellis-Petersen’s full story on that development (see earlier post) here:
Schools in Cumbria, one of England’s most northern counties, have been told not to reopen tomorrow for the spring term.
Colin Cox, the director of public health for Cumbria, said he had written to the Department for Education formally requesting that Cumbrian primary schools are added to the contingency framework of schools not expected to open tomorrow.
He said rates in the north of the county, particularly in Carlisle and Eden, were “very high” and that rates in Barrow, Copeland and Allerdale were doubling every four to five days.
“We don’t have the capacity in the NHS to respond easily to further increases in rates. So while primary children may not themselves be at high risk, we have to reduce opportunities for transmission wherever possible to protect the wider community,” said Cox on Twitter.
Following extensive discussions over the last 48 hours, the CCC Exec Director (People) and I have this morning jointly written to DfE formally requesting that Cumbrian primary schools are added to the Contingency Framework of schools not expected to open tomorrow.
— Colin Cox (@CumbriaDPH) January 3, 2021
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Death toll in US passes 350,000
The Covid-19 death toll in the US passed 350,000 early on Sunday, as experts anticipated another surge in cases and deaths stemming from holiday gatherings over Christmas and the new year.
You can read more about that here:
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Kenya is extending its nightly curfew to 12 March as part of measures aimed at taming the spread of Covid-19, President Uhuru Kenyatta’s office said on Sunday.
In early November, Kenyatta extended the nightly curfew that was in place, and it had been due to expire on Sunday. It runs between 10pm and 4am.
A ban on political and roadside gatherings that could turn into super spreader events was also extended for a further 60 days, as was a prohibition on overnight events and vigils, Kenyatta’s office said in a statement.
When the first coronavirus cases were confirmed in Kenya in March, the government closed schools, imposed a curfew, banned public gatherings and at one point restricted movement in and out of the most-affected regions.
Kenya has recorded a total of 96,802 cases and 1,685 deaths, ministry of health data showed on Sunday.
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More from Tony Blair (see earlier post), who says that unless there is a “step-change” in the vaccination programme, it is difficult to see how schools can be kept open.
He told Times Radio: “On the one hand, it’s a disaster for school children, particularly poorest school children, if they’re not getting educated.
“But it’s also completely understandable that teachers and parents say, not because they think their children … the risk to children is very, very small, it’s the risk to transmission rates and it’s the risk to teachers and parents, and therefore to those that their parents mix with …
“Unless there’s a step-change of a radical nature in the vaccination programme, it’s very difficult to see how you’re going to keep schools open.”
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Pope Francis condemns people going on holiday to avoid lockdowns
Pope Francis has condemned people who had gone abroad on holiday to escape coronavirus lockdowns, saying they needed to show greater awareness of the suffering of others.
Speaking after his weekly noon blessing, Francis said he had read newspaper reports of people catching flights to flee government curbs and seek fun elsewhere.
“They didn’t think about those who were staying at home, of the economic problems of many people who have been hit hard by the lockdown, of the sick people. (They thought) only about going on holiday and having fun,” the pope said, according to Reuters.
“This really saddened me,” he said in a video address from the library of the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace.
“We don’t know what 2021 will reserve for us, but what all of us can do together is make a bit more of an effort to take care of each other. There is the temptation to take care only of our own interests,” he added.
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The Peak District’s snow-capped hills have been busier this weekend than on summer bank holidays, with many people not only breaking Covid restrictions but putting pressure on the emergency services, local police have complained.
Derbyshire police’s rural crime team said there were more than 200 cars parked at the top of the Snake Pass, one of the trans-Pennine routes between Sheffield and Manchester, as snow fell on Saturday afternoon.
Calling on visitors to “not be stupid”, officers said: “It seems like many didn’t have the common sense to check the forecast, dress themselves suitably, check they had a capable vehicle and/or driving skills, never mind the fact that they perhaps shouldn’t have been stretching the advice given by the government so as not to overburden our NHS.”
“Never mind, though. Just ring the police and expect them to come along with their magical snowmobiles. Of course, with our superpowers we can simultaneously deal with similar situations in the Goyt Valley, Mam Nick, Curbar Gap and others. And we’re Covid-proof, didn’t you know?”
In a Facebook post on Saturday, the team wrote: “Joking aside, please don’t be stupid. It shouldn’t need a greater explanation than that. Hopefully the evening won’t deteriorate into a mass of emergencies. We’ll deal with what we can, but our underpants aren’t on the outside and we can only knock so much common sense back into society.”
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Israel said on Sunday 2 million people will have received a two-dose Covid-19 vaccination by the end of January, a pace prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu boasts is the world’s fastest.
Starting on 19 December, when Netanyahu got his first jab, Israel launched an aggressive push to administer the vaccine made by US-German pharma alliance Pfizer-BioNTech.
Health ministry director general Hezi Levy said that because of the enthusiastic takeup, Israel would be easing the speed of vaccination to eke out stocks.
The vaccine must be given in two separate jabs, administered three weeks apart.
“We are slowing the pace of vaccinations of the first dose, so that we can keep reserved stock for a second dose for all those who got a first shot,” Levy told public broadcaster KAN in remarks reported by AFP.
He added that around a fifth of Israel’s people, starting with health workers and those over 60, would have had both shots by the end of this month. “By the end of January, we shall have inoculated 2 million residents, most of them elderly,” he said.
As of Friday, 1 million people had received their first injection.
“We are breaking all the records,” Netanyahu said Friday, during a visit to the Israeli Arab city of Umm Al-Fahm, where the millionth jab was reported administered.
“We are ahead of the entire world,” he said.
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Anne Longfield, the children’s commissioner for England, has spoken to the BBC News channel, saying: “The risk of school closures demands immediate action, and vaccination is part of that defence.”
Schools are facing more pressures because of local infection rates, the new variant and there is some doubt about whether the level of infection is growing in older children, she said.
The increase in vaccines available should potentially help the situation, she added.
On the suggestion that exams should be scrapped for 2021, she said: “This is a crucial time. Some of it will depend on what level of online learning children in exam years can get and whether schools are closed for a period of time.
“Some headteachers talk to me about the potential to move to centre-assessed grades and to have additional safeguards around the robustness of decisions.
“It needs to remain something that is considered as we see how January pans out for children.”
She said that children who have exams this year want “clarity” adding: “Most children I talk to want exams to continue, but clearly they need to be fair.”
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Tony Blair calls for introduction of 'vaccination stations'
Tony Blair has called for the introduction of “vaccination stations” modelled on polling stations as part of a massive effort to accelerate the rollout of the jab, along with cutting limits on pharmacy distribution and using unoccupied office space as places to administer the vaccine.
Among other measures he proposes, the former prime minister also says that a minimum of 30,000 additional vaccinators are needed and suggests a single platform should be adopted for a “Covid pass” that would allow any individual to quickly show their status on testing and whether they have been vaccinated.
“Though it is true that the NHS is doing a herculean effort in vaccinating as many as they have, it is simply not sufficient,” he said.
“We have to treble at least the number of vaccinations by end of January when enough supplies of the vaccine should be available to allow us to do that.”
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In Egypt, the government has approved the use of a Covid-19 vaccine developed by the Chinese pharma giant Sinopharm with its rollout to start later in January, the health minister said.
“The Egyptian pharmaceutical authority approved on Saturday the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine,” Hala Zayed said late on Saturday in remarks on the local MBC Masr channel that were reported by AFP.
The first batch of the vaccine was delivered in December, with further doses expected this month.
“The second shipment of this vaccine is due to arrive in the second or third week of January, and as soon as it arrives, we will start vaccinations,” the minister said.
Each batch of the vaccine consists of 50,000 doses, and the ministry has announced that the first group to receive it will be medical workers.
Zayed said Egypt plans to purchase 40m doses of the Sinopharm jab.
Sinopharm announced on Wednesday that one of its vaccines, to be distributed in China, had 79% efficacy.
The jab’s efficacy is lower than that of vaccines developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna – which both have more than 90% efficacy.
Egypt will also receive the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine in the third or fourth week of January, according to Zayed, who added that a contract “was being finalised”.
Negotiations with Pfizer “are under way” as well, she added.
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Marr uses one of Labour’s preferred criticisms of Johnson – that he has always done “the right thing a few weeks too late”.
“People have always argued that,” Johnson says. “The retro-specto-scope is a magnificent instrument … what we’re doing now is using the tiering system – alas, probably about to get tougher … and we have the prospect of vaccines coming down the track in their tens of millions offering people literally life and hope.”
On the prospect of a new Scottish independence referendum, he says: “Referendums in my experience are not particularly jolly events. They don’t have a notably unifying force in the national mood. They should be only once in a generation.” And that, bar a bit of Brexit chest-thumping, is it.
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Marr now goes back into the decisions that led the UK to this point. “The government has taken every possible step that we reasonably could,” Johnson says. “What we could not have foreseen I think reasonably was the arrival of a new variant of the [virus] spreading between 50 and 70% faster … once we did understand that, we took … decisive action.”
Asked why he didn’t follow Sage advice for a circuit-breaker lockdown, Johnson says: “Scientific advisers have said all sorts of different things at different times and they’re by no means unanimous … you could have from March onwards closed down all transmission, the government could have basically pastoralised the British economy … however the damage to people’s mental health, the damage to the long-term prospects of young people growing up in this country, the exacerbation of the gap between rich and poor – that would have been colossal.”
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Johnson sets target of tens of millions of vaccinations in next three months
Johnson says that health secretary Matt Hancock is taking steps to get rid of widely-criticised forms which have to be filled out by retired doctors before they can help with the vaccination effort. He describes the forms as “absurd” and “pointless bureaucracy”.
He says he wishes he could elaborate on how the government will reach 2m vaccinations a week but that he is unable to do so yet. He adds: “We do hope that we’ll be able to do tens of millions in the course of the next three months.”
Johnson says he is 'reconciled' to prospect of tighter restrictions soon
Marr asks if there may be a tier 5 set of restrictions in the near future. Johnson says that he still expects things to be better by Spring but says: “It may be that we need to do things in the next few weeks that will be tougher in many parts of the country, I’m fully fully reconciled to that.”
He declines to set out what kind of tougher measures might be part of that package and notes that ‘tier 5’ is Marr’s phrase not his.
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Johnson points to lateral flow tests - rapid tests that give results in 30 minutes - as being an advantage in the battle to keep schools open as much as possible this time around.
He declines the invitation to guarantee that schools will open on January 18. “Obviously we’re going to continue to assess the impact of the tier four measures, the tier three measures,” he says.
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Johnson encourages parents to send children to school where possible
Boris Johnson is now being interviewed by Andrew Marr. He begins by encouraging parents to send children to school tomorrow where schools are open. He adds that the threat to children and staff is “very small”.
On whether more closures will be necessary, he says “we’ve got to keep things under constant review, but we will be driven not by any political considerations but entirely by the public health question.” He also reflects on the effect of school closures on the most deprived families.
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In the Japanese capital, Tokyo, officials reported 816 new daily coronavirus cases on Sunday, a day after governors from the capital and neighbouring prefectures called on the Japanese government to announce a state of emergency to combat a recent surge in cases.
Japan’s health ministry said there were 3,045 new confirmed cases of the new coronavirus across the country.
Prime minister Yoshihide Suga has resisted calls for a second national state of emergency; the government first introduced that measure in April during an earlier wave of the pandemic. Suga is scheduled to speak publicly on 4 January.
Japan’s economy minister told reporters on Saturday the government needed to consult with health experts before deciding on a new declaration.
As an interim measure, restaurants and karaoke parlors in the Tokyo area are being asked to close at 8pm, while businesses that serve alcohol should close at pm, he said.
The previous state of emergency relied on voluntary business closings and travel restrictions rather than the sort of rigid lockdown measures seen elsewhere in the world.
Tokyo raised its Covid-19 alert to its highest level on 17 December. New infections in the capital hit a record 1,337 on 31 December.
Since the start of the pandemic, Japan has reported more than 240,000 cases of the novel coronavirus and 3,548 deaths, according to the health ministry.
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South Korea says it is containing third wave
In South Korea, a health official said on Sunday that a third wave of the novel coronavirus is being contained, as it reported the lowest number of new infections in nearly four weeks with the help of tougher restrictions during the New Year holiday season.
New cases for Saturday numbered 657, Reuters reported – much lower than 824 the day before, but bringing the country’s total cases to 63,244 with 962 deaths, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).
“The latest third wave of coronavirus spread is being contained as a result of expanded Covid-19 testing (recently) and strengthened distancing measures,” Sohn Young-rae, a senior health official, told a briefing.
He said the worst for the country seems to be passing, though added it is premature to say the situation has definitely shifted to a decline, given the decreased testing during the New Year holiday and weekends.
The government decided on Saturday to expand a ban on private gatherings larger than four people to include the whole country, and extend unprecedented social distancing rules in Seoul and neighbouring areas until 17 January.
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The mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, has warned it could be a “chaotic situation” on Monday with the return to school of most primary children in England.
He told the BBC’s Breakfast programme: “There are many parents in Greater Manchester waking up quite anxious this morning, teachers as well of course and support staff in schools, and children.
“So there’s a lot of people who are worried about what’s happening and I think the really important thing is this doesn’t become a big political row today.
“What we need to find is a practical way through all of this. I would say that the current course is not going to work.”
He added: “It will be quite a chaotic situation tomorrow, I think, given all of the anxieties that people have.”
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Thailand’s government held off from ordering new nationwide business shutdowns on Sunday amid a new wave of coronavirus cases, Reuters reported, but empowered some provincial governors to set their own restrictions and pleaded with the public not to travel.
Thailand, which had largely controlled the virus by mid-2020, saw a second wave of outbreaks beginning in December.
On Sunday, it confirmed 315 new coronavirus cases, the majority of which are from local transmission, bringing its total to 7,694 cases and 64 deaths since its first case last January.
The country also reported its first known case of a more contagious variant of the coronavirus called B.1.1.7 on Sunday, Yong Poovorawan, a senior virologist from Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, said in a post on his official Facebook page.
The variant was found in a family of four who were in quarantine after arriving in Thailand from the UK, and Yong said there is no risk of that variant being spread in Thailand.
The government Covid-19 taskforce had earlier designated 28 provinces, including Bangkok, as high risk zones and recommended suspension of some businesses and crowded activities in those area that pose infection risks to the public.
The measures, which still need final approval from prime minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, will empower provincial governors to suspend businesses and other activities if there is a risk of infection, Taweesin Wisanuyothin, a spokesman for Thailand’s Covid-19 taskforce said.
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Good morning and welcome to the Guardian’s rolling coverage of coronavirus in the UK and around the world.
In Britain this morning, Boris Johnson is due to be interviewed by Andrew Marr for the BBC. He’ll face what is likely to be a testing encounter, his first one-to-one interview since the government changed its guidance over Christmas and as case numbers continue to rise.
The Sunday newspapers are leading on coverage of the vaccine rollout and the battle over reopening of schools, with my Observer colleagues Michael Savage and Donna Ferguson reporting:
The planned reopening of schools in England has descended into disarray, as unions advised teachers not to return to the classroom, heads took legal action over the government’s plans and senior Tories warned that school gates may have to remain shut for weeks to come.
Elsewhere, India authorized the AstraZeneca vaccine for use as well sa one developed by Indian company Bharat Biotech. Russia has just reported another 24,150 coronavirus cases and 504 deaths in the last 24 hours, slightly fewer cases but more deaths than yesterday. Germany, meanwhile, reported 10,315 new cases, and 312 deaths.
We’ll bring you all the developments as they happen.
