Covid live news: Denmark lifts all restrictions despite record cases; Russia reports record daily Covid cases
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Version 14 of 32. Denmark scraps face masks, vaccine passes and limited opening hours; Russia records over 125k new cases and 663 deaths Reuters has some initial lines from the World Health Organization on the emerging subvariant of Omicron, BA.2: There’s no evidence so far of any difference in severity between the subvariant and the original variant. BA.2 is understood to be more transmissible than BA.1 (the original Omicron variant), but the gap is smaller than between Omicron and Delta. Vaccines are equally effective against BA.2. I’ll keep posting lines as they emerge. US regulators are urging Pfizer to apply for emergency authorisation for a two-dose regimen of its Covid-19 vaccine for children six months to five years old, according to sources. The move could clear the way for the shots as soon as the end of February, while the companies await data on a three-dose course. Reuters has some initial lines from the World Health Organization on the emerging subvariant of Omicron, BA.2: There’s no evidence so far of any difference in severity between the subvariant and the original variant. BA.2 is understood to be more transmissible than BA.1 (the original Omicron variant), but the gap is smaller than between Omicron and Delta. Vaccines are equally effective against BA.2. I’ll keep posting lines as they emerge. The World Health Organization is warning that the overuse of gloves, “moon suits” and the use of billions of masks and vaccination syringes to prevent the spread of coronavirus have resulted in a huge glut of health care waste worldwide.Associated Press reports: Here’s a summary on the key coronavirus developments today from AFP. Denmark has become the first European Union country to lift all of its Covid restrictions despite record numbers of cases, relying on its high vaccination rate to cope with the Omicron variant. A sub-variant of the highly contagious Omicron strain - BA.2 or “stealth Omicron” - is even more infectious than the original version, according to a Danish study. The World Health Organization warns that the vast amount of waste produced in tackling the pandemic poses a threat to human and environmental health. A pregnant New Zealand journalist who claimed to have nowhere to go but Afghanistan will be allowed to return home after officials grant her an exemption from strict Covid-19 entry restrictions. A senior Olympics official says venues at the Beijing Winter Games - which opens this week - could be up to half full, countering fears that restrictions would lead to a second consecutive Games without spectators. The swimming world championships scheduled to take place in the Japanese city of Fukuoka in July are postponed until 2023 because of the virus. Wealthy Hong Kongers are chartering private jets to get them and their pets out of the city which has some of the strictest virus travel restrictions in the world. The coronavirus has killed at least 5,671,154 million people since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to an AFP tally compiled from official sources on Tuesday. The United States has recorded the most Covid deaths with 886,687, followed by Brazil with 627,138 and India on 496,242. Taking into account excess mortality linked to Covid-19, the WHO estimates the overall death toll could be two to three times higher. An unusual angle on coronavirus here from AFP, which is reporting that pet owners are booking private jets to avoid travel bans and flight cancellations, and get their “fur babies” out of Hong Kong.China is one of the last few places in the world pursuing a strict “zero-Covid” policy, which has resulted in bans on incoming flights and transit passengers.AFP reports: Research shows there were 4,000 extra deaths in hospitals in England during the first year of the pandemic. Guardian reporter Jessica Murray has spoken to families about the deaths of loved ones while they were waiting for NHS urgent care.One family member said: ““I know they can’t save everybody and I know that he may have died anyway. But I just feel that on that Friday night he did not need to sit there for nine hours. They needed to make him comfortable.” The UK’s Covid-19 death toll has passed 180,000, according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics. A total of 1,264 deaths occurred in England and Wales in the week ending 21 January which mentioned Covid-19 on the death certificate, taking the UK-wide total to 180,622. A total of 1,484 deaths were registered in England and Wales in the week ending 21 January that mentioned Covid-19 on the death certificate. The latest figures, from the Office for National Statistics, mark a 7% rise on the previous week and is the highest number since the week to 12 March 2021 when there were 1,501 deaths. Romania recorded its highest daily Covid infections to date today as hospitalisations rose. A total of 40,018 new people have been infected, according to government data, as the country’s vaccination campaign struggles. Russia reported record daily Covid cases as Omicron spreads across the country. The country recorded 125,836 cases, a rise from 124,070 the previous day, reports Reuters. Labour leader Keir Starmer has said that everybody is “paying the price” for the British prime minister’s actions and that the public “feel they have been taken for mugs” by the Downing Street party allegations. He told Sky News that people have been forced to relive “dark moments” from their lives over the last two years as a result of allegations against Boris Johnson and feel guilt over following the rules. Dominic Raab, Britain’s deputy prime minister, insisted the public would have to “wait and see” what a police investigation into alleged Downing Street parties find but that he “gets the argument about double standards” in an interview with Sky News. Tens of thousands of tonnes of medical waste created by the Covid pandemic are threatening human health and the environment, a World Health Organization report has found. The material – including discarded syringes, used test kits and old vaccine bottles – could expose health workers to burns, needle-stick injuries and germs, the report found, and some of it could still be infectious. That’s it from me for today. Passing on to Rachel Hall now. Thanks for reading. The World Health Organization is among the nominees for this year’s Nobel peace prize following two years of the coronavirus pandemic. The body, which was also nominated last year, is joined by British nature broadcaster Sir David Attenborough, Belarusian dissident Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, reports Reuters. Henrik Urdal, director of the Peace Research Institute Oslo, said: “I think the WHO is likely to be discussed in the committee for this year’s prize.” The Associated Press reports on Lunar New Year celebrations in China amid pandemic restrictions, which has led to fewer people returning to their hometowns for the annual holiday: By Niamh McIntyre and Georgina Quach The UK’s Covid-19 death toll has passed 180,000, according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics. A total of 1,264 deaths occurred in England and Wales in the week ending 21 January which mentioned Covid-19 on the death certificate, taking the UK-wide total to 180,622. The number of deaths in the most recent weeks was above the five-year average in private homes, but below the average in hospitals and care homes. The figures also show that there have now been just under 45,000 deaths in care homes in England and Wales since the start of the pandemic. Around one in nine or 11.6% of all deaths registered in England and Wales in the week to January 21 mentioned Covid-19 on the death certificate. |