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Coronavirus live: expanded crowd size for Euro 2020 matches at Wembley ‘recipe for disaster’, say MEPs Coronavirus live: expanded crowd size for Euro 2020 matches at Wembley ‘recipe for disaster’, say MEPs
(32 minutes later)
Uefa and the British government urged to reconsider decision to allow 60,000 fans at Euro semis and final; WHO: 10-week decline in Covid cases in Europe has come to an endUefa and the British government urged to reconsider decision to allow 60,000 fans at Euro semis and final; WHO: 10-week decline in Covid cases in Europe has come to an end
German interior minister Horst Seehofer has described as “absolutely irresponsible” Uefa’s decision to hold the Euro 2020 semifinals and finals in the UK due to the prevalence of the Delta variant.
“I suspect that once again it’s all about commercial [interests],” Horst Seehofer told reporters in Berlin, according to the FT. “But commercial interests should not override the need to protect people from infections.”
The position taken by Uefa, European football’s governing body is, “absolutely irresponsible, because we are in a pandemic and precisely in countries like Great Britain we’re seeing a sharp increase in infections”, he added.
“[In such a situation], it is imperative to avoid contact and adhere to hygiene regulations if we are to stop infections [spreading].”
For the Euro 2020 matches held in Munich, he said authorities had enforced strict rules and only allowed 14,000 fans into a stadium that has a capacity of 80,000, the FT reports.
Italy’s justice minister Marta Cartabia has ordered a report into conditions in the country’s prisons after the release of video footage showing guards brutally beating inmates at a jail near Naples who had demanded better coronavirus protections.
The African Union’s head of vaccine procurement has said “not a single” Covid jab has so far left the EU for Africa, hitting out at the bloc for hoarding supply.
Strive Masiyiwa criticised the global effort meant to distribute vaccines to less developed countries, accusing Covax of withholding crucial information including that key donors had not met funding pledges – with “not one dose, not one vial, [having] left a European factory for Africa.”
He stressed that Africa has purchased 400 million vaccine doses and can buy more, but according to the AP he challenged donors: “Pay up your money ... We will no longer measure pledges, we will measure vaccines arriving at our airports.”
The entrepreneur and tech billionaire said Covax had promised to deliver 700 million vaccine doses to Africa by December. But at mid-year, Africa has received just 65 million doses overall. Less than 50 million doses via Covax have arrived.
“It became pretty clear by December that the hope that we would all as a global community buy vaccines together through Covax was not being adhered to, particularly by the rich and powerful nations,” he said.
He added that Covax’s decision to procure vaccines primarily from just one facility, the Serum Institute of India, was risky, Quartz reports. Covax aimed to provide 20% of Africa’s vaccine needs, with African nations stepping up for the rest, he said. But “it really doesn’t matter how much money your country has, they couldn’t buy vaccines ... I never saw presidents try so hard, calling chief executives.”
The vaccines have been hard to source as countries such as the US with manufacturing capabilities imposed controls on export sales in the interest of vaccinating their own citizens first, the AP reports.
Criticising the EU, he said: “When we go to talk to their manufacturers, they tell us they’re completely maxed out meeting the needs of Europe, we’re referred to India.” But the EU now imposes public health restrictions on people vaccinated with Covishield, the Indian-produced version of the EU-accepted AstraZeneca vaccine.
“So how do we get to the situation where they give money to Covax, who go to India to purchase vaccines, and then they tell us those vaccines are not valid?”
Some countries engage in so-called vaccine diplomacy and those bilateral donations are welcome, Masiyiwa said, but they’re not enough to “move the needle.”
Spokespeople for Covax did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the AP on matters raised. But it warned in a statement against turning away people “protected by a subset of WHO-approved vaccines,” saying it would “effectively create a two-tier system, further widening the global vaccine divide.”
The European Commission is being urged to reject a coronavirus recovery plan for Hungary over concerns about fraud, corruption and the country’s stance on LGBTQ+ rights.The European Commission is being urged to reject a coronavirus recovery plan for Hungary over concerns about fraud, corruption and the country’s stance on LGBTQ+ rights.
A cross-party group of left and liberal MEPs have written to the commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, demanding she send the Hungarian government back to the drawing board over its spending plans for a €7.2bn (£6.19bn) coronavirus recovery grant.A cross-party group of left and liberal MEPs have written to the commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, demanding she send the Hungarian government back to the drawing board over its spending plans for a €7.2bn (£6.19bn) coronavirus recovery grant.
Hungary has requested €7.2bn in grants under the scheme, which it is thought would be the largest single transfer of EU funds since it joined the union in 2004.Hungary has requested €7.2bn in grants under the scheme, which it is thought would be the largest single transfer of EU funds since it joined the union in 2004.
The policing of the Sarah Everard vigil in London and “kill the bill” demonstrations in Bristol breached fundamental rights to protest and involved unnecessary and disproportionate use of force, a parliamentary inquiry has found.The policing of the Sarah Everard vigil in London and “kill the bill” demonstrations in Bristol breached fundamental rights to protest and involved unnecessary and disproportionate use of force, a parliamentary inquiry has found.
Multiple failings were committed by the Metropolitan police service (MPS) and Avon and Somerset constabulary (A&SC), including wrongly applying the lockdown regulations and failing to understand their legal duty to facilitate peaceful protest, the all-party parliamentary group on democracy and the constitution (APPGDC) found.Multiple failings were committed by the Metropolitan police service (MPS) and Avon and Somerset constabulary (A&SC), including wrongly applying the lockdown regulations and failing to understand their legal duty to facilitate peaceful protest, the all-party parliamentary group on democracy and the constitution (APPGDC) found.
CureVac is to pursue European approval for its coronavirus vaccine candidate, despite disappointing overall efficacy results.CureVac is to pursue European approval for its coronavirus vaccine candidate, despite disappointing overall efficacy results.
It announced preliminary data on 16 June from a 40,000-person trial, which showed that its two-dose vaccine was just 47% effective at preventing disease. But it argues that final analysis of its late-stage trial shows 53% protection against mild disease, 77% protection against severe disease and full protection against hospitalisation and death, the Financial Times reported.It announced preliminary data on 16 June from a 40,000-person trial, which showed that its two-dose vaccine was just 47% effective at preventing disease. But it argues that final analysis of its late-stage trial shows 53% protection against mild disease, 77% protection against severe disease and full protection against hospitalisation and death, the Financial Times reported.
The company said that the higher efficacy against severe disease meant it still had a pathway for approval from the European Medicines Agency.The company said that the higher efficacy against severe disease meant it still had a pathway for approval from the European Medicines Agency.
“In this final analysis, CVnCoV demonstrates a strong public health value in fully protecting study participants in the age group of 18 to 60 against hospitalisation and death and 77% against moderate and severe disease – an efficacy profile, which we believe will be an important contribution to help manage the Covid-19 pandemic and the dynamic variant spread,” Franz-Werner Haas, chief executive, said.“In this final analysis, CVnCoV demonstrates a strong public health value in fully protecting study participants in the age group of 18 to 60 against hospitalisation and death and 77% against moderate and severe disease – an efficacy profile, which we believe will be an important contribution to help manage the Covid-19 pandemic and the dynamic variant spread,” Franz-Werner Haas, chief executive, said.
The FT said that CureVac has argued that performance of its mRNA vaccine, which it is producing with the pharmaceutical giant Bayer, was lower because it dealt with 15 different virus variants.The FT said that CureVac has argued that performance of its mRNA vaccine, which it is producing with the pharmaceutical giant Bayer, was lower because it dealt with 15 different virus variants.
Greece will start vaccinating teenagers once it gets the go-ahead from experts, a government spokesperson has said, after Athens earlier this week offered those aged 18-25 cash and phone data in exchange for getting a shot.Greece will start vaccinating teenagers once it gets the go-ahead from experts, a government spokesperson has said, after Athens earlier this week offered those aged 18-25 cash and phone data in exchange for getting a shot.
Some 44% of Greeks aged over 18 have been vaccinated and the country has been easing restrictions as infections fall. But with concerns about the spread of the more contagious Delta variant rising, the government has introduced extra incentives to boost vaccination rates in the build-up to the holidays, Reuters reports.Some 44% of Greeks aged over 18 have been vaccinated and the country has been easing restrictions as infections fall. But with concerns about the spread of the more contagious Delta variant rising, the government has introduced extra incentives to boost vaccination rates in the build-up to the holidays, Reuters reports.
A member of the country’s vaccinations committee said they were considering advising the government to target youngsters aged 15 to 17.A member of the country’s vaccinations committee said they were considering advising the government to target youngsters aged 15 to 17.
Tourists with a negative Covid test or a vaccination certificate can travel to the country without the need to quarantine.Tourists with a negative Covid test or a vaccination certificate can travel to the country without the need to quarantine.
Industry officials have said that the average occupancy rate at hotels across the country is 35% to 45% but bookings have frozen, and how the summer holiday season progresses will depend much on whether Britain will decide to allow its citizens to come without the need to isolate on their return.Industry officials have said that the average occupancy rate at hotels across the country is 35% to 45% but bookings have frozen, and how the summer holiday season progresses will depend much on whether Britain will decide to allow its citizens to come without the need to isolate on their return.
The decision to allow 60,000 fans to attend the Euro 2020 semi-finals and finals at Wembley is “a recipe for disaster”, a committee of MEPs has said, urging a rethink because of the surging number of coronavirus cases in the UK.The decision to allow 60,000 fans to attend the Euro 2020 semi-finals and finals at Wembley is “a recipe for disaster”, a committee of MEPs has said, urging a rethink because of the surging number of coronavirus cases in the UK.
The European parliament’s committee on public health wants Uefa and the British government to reconsider their decision to allow Wembley to host the matches at 75% of its 90,000 capacity.The European parliament’s committee on public health wants Uefa and the British government to reconsider their decision to allow Wembley to host the matches at 75% of its 90,000 capacity.
Allowing so many fans to watch the three matches, scheduled for 6, 7 and 11 July, is “a health hazard and a clear unnecessary risk” states a letter from the European parliament’s committee on environment and public health, citing the 10-fold increase in UK coronavirus cases since early May.Allowing so many fans to watch the three matches, scheduled for 6, 7 and 11 July, is “a health hazard and a clear unnecessary risk” states a letter from the European parliament’s committee on environment and public health, citing the 10-fold increase in UK coronavirus cases since early May.
The UK recorded 26,068 new coronavirus cases on 30 June, the highest total since January. But deaths are going up at a much slower rate, from a very low level.The UK recorded 26,068 new coronavirus cases on 30 June, the highest total since January. But deaths are going up at a much slower rate, from a very low level.
The letter calls on the European parliament president, David Sassoli, to urge his fellow EU leaders to take the matter up with Uefa and the UK government.The letter calls on the European parliament president, David Sassoli, to urge his fellow EU leaders to take the matter up with Uefa and the UK government.
Citing recent forecasts that show the more transmissible Delta variant is likely to account for 90% of all coronavirus cases in Europe by the end of August, the MEPs say Uefa should reconsider its decision to hold the matches at Wembley, or “at the least that Uefa and the UK authorities reassess health safety measures and the crowd capacity decision”. The MEPs do not propose an alternative number of spectators.Citing recent forecasts that show the more transmissible Delta variant is likely to account for 90% of all coronavirus cases in Europe by the end of August, the MEPs say Uefa should reconsider its decision to hold the matches at Wembley, or “at the least that Uefa and the UK authorities reassess health safety measures and the crowd capacity decision”. The MEPs do not propose an alternative number of spectators.
They write:They write:
Israel, a world leader in coronavirus vaccinations, has reported its highest daily infection rate in three months as it scrambles to contain the spread of the new Delta variant – though there has been no increase in deaths.Israel, a world leader in coronavirus vaccinations, has reported its highest daily infection rate in three months as it scrambles to contain the spread of the new Delta variant – though there has been no increase in deaths.
AP has the story:AP has the story:
Australia has weathered the pandemic far better than many nations — recording just a single coronavirus death since last October — but its success means many Australians are not in a rush to get vaccinated and that could delay the country’s return to normalcy, reports the Associated Press.Australia has weathered the pandemic far better than many nations — recording just a single coronavirus death since last October — but its success means many Australians are not in a rush to get vaccinated and that could delay the country’s return to normalcy, reports the Associated Press.
Edward Snowden, the whistleblower who revealed the NSA’s mass surveillance programme, writes that “the greatest conspiracies are open and notorious” but they are normalised throughout society.Edward Snowden, the whistleblower who revealed the NSA’s mass surveillance programme, writes that “the greatest conspiracies are open and notorious” but they are normalised throughout society.
Turkey is today making people aged over 50, and healthcare workers, eligible for third doses of a Covid vaccine, its health minister announced yesterday.Turkey is today making people aged over 50, and healthcare workers, eligible for third doses of a Covid vaccine, its health minister announced yesterday.
Dr Fahrettin Koca tweeted: “Our citizens aged 50 and over who have been vaccinated for two doses, as well as our healthcare professionals, will be able to make an appointment with the vaccine they want and the 3rd dose vaccine starting tomorrow.”Dr Fahrettin Koca tweeted: “Our citizens aged 50 and over who have been vaccinated for two doses, as well as our healthcare professionals, will be able to make an appointment with the vaccine they want and the 3rd dose vaccine starting tomorrow.”
Researchers said earlier this week that there was no evidence that booster shots are necessary, especially given shortages in some countries, though an Oxford University study found that a third dose increases antibody and T-cell immune responses.Researchers said earlier this week that there was no evidence that booster shots are necessary, especially given shortages in some countries, though an Oxford University study found that a third dose increases antibody and T-cell immune responses.
According to the Daily Sabah, Koca told a virtual press conference, following a meeting with the country’s coronavirus scientific advisory board, that:According to the Daily Sabah, Koca told a virtual press conference, following a meeting with the country’s coronavirus scientific advisory board, that:
Indonesia has announced it is to impose “emergency” coronavirus restrictions this week to battle a surge in infections,
President Joko Widodo said the new curbs, starting on Saturday, would last more than two weeks in the capital Jakarta, Java, and the holiday island Bali after infections surged to record levels.
“This situation has forced us to take stricter steps … I have decided to impose emergency restrictions.”
The new measures, expected to run until 20 July, include ordering all non-essential employees to work from home, while classes will be held only online. Shopping malls and mosques will also be shuttered in a bid to bring new daily cases to below 10,000 in the Muslim-majority nation, Reuters reports.
But public transit and domestic travel would still be allowed for people who have had at least one vaccine dose, and wedding receptions were still on the cards with limited guest numbers.
Daily cases almost reached 25,000 today, a new record for South-east Asia’s worst-hit nation, which logged 504 deaths in 24 hours, also a new daily record.
Romania has asked AstraZeneca to extend the shelf life of some 43,000 Covid-19 vaccines that expired on 30 June, as the country has been unable to administer them in time due to the low take-up by the public.Reuters reports that vaccine hesitancy is spreading in the EU member-state as a result of entrenched distrust of state institutions, misinformation campaigns and a lack of public awareness.
Authorities have opened appointment-free vaccination centres in markets, airports and concert halls, and are sending doctors door to door in villages, where scepticism is widespread. Left holding so many unused AstraZeneca shots, the government has asked the company to advise whether they can still be used after expiry.
“If the manufacturer provides us with data certifying long-term stability or longer than six months in the coming period … it is very possible that we will have this extension of the validity period,” said Valeriu Gheorghita, head of the government’s vaccination committee.
Canada’s health regulator said on 29 May it had extended the expiry dates of two lots of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine by 30 days to ensure that provinces and territories were able to use up their existing inventory.
New Covid cases in the World Health Organization’s 53-country European region rose 10% last week after falling for 10 straight weeks, the body has said, warning a new surge could come before autumn and calling for more monitoring of Euro 2020 matches.
While infection numbers continue to fall in many countries in the region, including in the EU, Katy Smallwood, WHO Europe’s senior emergencies manager, said some – such as Russia – were “recording their highest daily death rates of the pandemic”.
Driven by the more contagious delta variant combined with “increased mixing, travel, gatherings, and easing of social restrictions”, infections were rising while vaccination levels in the region were still not high enough, regional director Hans Kluge said.
Asked about whether the Euro championship was potentially acting as a “super-spreader” event, Kluge said: “I hope not … but this can’t be excluded.” Hundreds of cases have been detected among spectators, including Scots returning from London, Finns returning from St Petersburg and Delta variant infections in Copenhagen.
Smallwood warned that in a context of increasing infections, large mass gatherings in particular “can act as amplifiers in terms of transmission. It’s really important that local authorities implement a continuous public health risk assessment.”
Concerns were not limited to the matches and stadiums, Smallwood said, calling for increased monitoring of the mixing that happens around them:
Kluge said the WHO was “definitely concerned” by the possibility that the tournament would help spread the Delta variant. “We know it is reported by a total of 33 countries out of the 53, including host countries and some host cities”, he said.
Individuals and governments had to assess risks and act accordingly, he said: “People have to do it by safely taking care of individual behaviour, but also governments, by strengthening health systems, increasing testing, contact tracing and sequencing.”
Smallwood stressed the region now had a “window of opportunity” while many countries were still seeing falling infections. Governments should not lift social measures while infections were rising, she said, or if they did, public health measures such as sequencing should be reinforced.
Kluge said the Delta variant was “already translating into increased hospitalisations and deaths. By August, the WHO’s European region will be ‘Delta dominant’ – but it will also not be fully vaccinated, and it will be mostly restriction-free.”
That meant the three conditions for “a new wave of excess hospitalisations and deaths” were all in place, he warned: “New variants, deficit in vaccine uptake, increased social mixing. There will be a new wave unless we remain disciplined.”
Kluge said that despite huge efforts by many countries, it was “unacceptable” that across the region 63% of people were still waiting for their first vaccine dose, while half of older people and 40% of health care workers remained unprotected.
Smallwood said people who decided to travel abroad should ask:
The first occurrence of Covid-19 in India was officially recorded on 30 January last year in the city of Thrissur in the southern state of Kerala, writes Namrata Joshi. Since then, Kerala’s capable handling of the pandemic has meant that it has been largely spared the brutal scenes and tragic images of the second wave of the pandemic elsewhere in India. Likewise, Kerala’s Malayalam-language film industry – the most dynamic of all India’s multiple regional producers – has seen a talented pool of young, new-wave film-makers deal superbly with the virus.
Where the Mumbai-based behemoth of Bollywood has barely chronicled this life-altering reality – the anthology Unpaused, released on Amazon Prime Video, is almost its only offering – Malayalam cinema is grappling with Covid with diverse film-making forms, styles and themes.
One of the UK’s leading childhood health experts has said there is not enough evidence to support vaccinating children against Covid, and the body that will make the decision on whether to jab under-18s has indicated it will take a cautious approach.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast in a personal capacity, Prof Calum Semple, a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) said not enough was yet known about possible damaging side-effects if children were given Covid jabs, my colleague Matthew Weaver reports.
“I’m not convinced that the evidence base there is strong enough to support vaccination of children, because we don’t have complete safety data for the vaccines that we would want to use,” he said.
It comes after a UK vaccine adviser yesterday made a significant intervention to the debate over whether to inoculate children against Covid, saying “it is not immoral to think that they may be better protected by natural immunity generated through infection than by asking them to take the possible risk of a vaccine”.
Prof Robert Dingwall, a sociologist on the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, said in a string of tweets that since teenagers were at an extremely low risk of Covid, “vaccines must be exceptionally safe” for there to be a significant benefit.
Bangladesh’s 168 million people are from today under a strict military-enforced coronavirus lockdown following a surge in cases.
AFP reports that many of the streets of the south Asian nation were empty today, patrolled by the army and the police, with people confined to their homes except for emergencies and to buy essentials.
Many hospitals in Bangladesh are struggling, particularly in areas bordering India, where the strain was first detected. Some rural towns have recorded infection rates of 70%.
Most restrictions imposed as part of a strict lockdown introduced in April had since been lifted. Now the government has ordered a week of tight controls. “No one will be allowed go out except in case of an emergency during this period,” the government said in a statement, adding army troops and law-enforcement agencies would be deployed to enforce the lockdown.
All offices and transportation will be shut during this period while factories, including the country’s prime garment export sector, will be allowed to remain open if they follow health protocols, it said.
Police have vowed to arrest anyone who comes out of their home without a valid reason. Tens of thousands of migrant workers left the capital, Dhaka, over the weekend amid a looming strict lockdown, but many were pictured gathering at markets on Tuesday.
Bangladesh sealed its border with India in April as a precaution against infection from the Delta variant, although trade continues. Bangladesh has seen a record surge in cases this week, with 7,666 new cases reported on Tuesday and 112 fatalities.
There have been 904,436 infections and 14,388 deaths reported in the country since the pandemic began.
Hello and greetings to everyone reading, wherever you are the in the world. Mattha Busby here to take you through the next few hours of global Covid developments. Thanks to my colleague Martin Belam for covering the blog up until now. Please feel free to drop me a line on Twitter or message me via email (mattha.busby.freelance@guardian.co.uk) with any tips or thoughts on our coverage.
The World Health Organization’s regional director for Europe, Hans Kluge, has said that a 10-week decline in the number of Covid infections in Europe has come to an end. Infections rose 10% last week, which Kluge ascribed to relaxed restrictions and increased travel.
Russia reported 672 coronavirus-related deaths today, the highest official death toll in a single day since the pandemic began. The government coronavirus taskforce also confirmed 23,543 new Covid cases in the last 24 hours, the most since 17 January. Health clinics in Moscow will begin offering booster vaccine shots against Covid today.
US president Joe Biden came up well short on his goal of delivering 80 million doses of coronavirus vaccine to the rest of the world by the end of June, as a host of logistical and regulatory hurdles slowed the pace of vaccine diplomacy
ONS figures in the UK suggest that nearly 1 million people have suffered from long Covid, and that 634,000 people report it adversely affecting their day-to-day activities
Indonesia has reported 24,836 new coronavirus infections and 504 deaths, both record daily highs. The government said it would tighten quarantine and boost testing and vaccinations for Covid and would extend emergency measures if infections did not decline within three weeks.
The Thai island of Phuket has reopened to some foreign tourists, more than a year after the pandemic forced the country’s borders to close. About 400 international tourists were expected to arrive today, through a scheme that officials hope could help to revive the country’s tourism sector. Thailand on Thursday reported a daily record of 57 deaths from the coronavirus, the second day in a row of record-high fatalities as the South-east Asian country.
Scientists in the Netherlands have found coronavirus is common in pet cats and dogs where their owners have the disease. While cases of owners passing on Covid-19 to their pets are considered to be of negligible risk to public health, the scientists say there is a potential risk that domestic animals could act as a “reservoir” for coronavirus and reintroduce it to humans.
Fewer than than 40% of Australia’s oldest and most vulnerable citizens have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 more than four months into the rollout, new data shows.
Police in Uganda have arrested two nurses and were hunting for a man who had posed as a doctor to sell and administer fake coronavirus vaccines to hundreds of people.
India’s version of AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine is not authorised in the EU due to the possibility of “differences” with the original, Europe’s drug regulator said. The African Union yesterday criticised as “inequitable” the decision not to include Covishield, the Indian-made vaccine used by the global Covax programme, on a list of approved vaccines for a digital certificate for travellers in the bloc.
The prime minister of Portugal, Antonio Costa, went into isolation, despite being fully vaccinated, after one of his aides tested positive amid a high in a new wave of infections blamed on the Delta variant.
A very quick Reuters snap here that Indonesia has reported 24,836 new coronavirus infections and 504 deaths, both record daily highs.
Elias Biryabarema reports from Kampala for Reuters that police in Uganda have arrested two nurses and were hunting for a man who had posed as a doctor to sell and administer fake coronavirus vaccines to hundreds of people.
The phoney doctor had persuaded several companies to pay for their employees to receive vaccines, charging £20-£40 ($28-$56) per shot, according to the head of a public health monitoring unit within the president’s office.
“This was a clear scam, this fellow was looking for money, just a common criminal. We suspect he was injecting people with water because it’s colourless, odourless and not dangerous,” Dr Warren Naamara told Reuters. “He is still on the run but we’re hunting for him. We have arrested two nurses whom he was employing.”
Documents seized in a raid of the premises used by the suspects showed at least 812 people had been vaccinated but Naamara said the number of victims could be more.
During a raid on the premises used by the suspects, investigators found vials whose seals had been tampered with and had bogus vaccine labelling and false shipping information, Naamara said.
The latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) data around coronavirus in the UK has been released, and the most striking headline figure is that long Covid was estimated to be adversely affecting the day-to-day activities of 634,000 people - around two-thirds of those with self-reported long Covid - with 178,000 reporting that their ability to undertake day-to-day activities had been “limited a lot”.
PA media report that fatigue was the most common symptom reported as part of an individual’s experience of long Covid (535,000 people), followed by shortness of breath (397,000), muscle ache (309,000) and difficulty concentrating (295,000).
An estimated 385,000 people in private households in the UK have experienced self-reported long Covid that has lasted for at least a year, new figures suggest. This is up from 376,000 in a similar survey carried out one month earlier.
The figures, from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), are based on responses collected in the four weeks to 6 June.
They also suggest a total of 962,000 people in the UK experienced long Covid in the period of the survey, defined as symptoms persisting for more than four weeks after their first suspected coronavirus infection.