Goodbye and summary
That’s it from me, Helen Livingstone, for now. Please join us a little later for a new live feed where we will continue to cover the coronavirus crisis.
You can also keep up with the top headlines here.
I leave you with a summary of the latest developments from the past 24 hours:
- Protesters against Covid vaccine mandates for truckers have defied government calls for them to end an 11-day occupation of Canada’s capital, a day after Ottawa’s mayor declared a state of emergency and promised to “get the city back”.
- In the UK, MPs from all sides angrily rounded on Boris Johnson and accused him of whipping up political poison after the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, was set upon by protesters who accused him of protecting the paedophile Jimmy Savile. Johnson provoked widespread fury last week when he falsely suggested Starmer had protected Savile during his time as director of public prosecutions.
- Sweden will lift its travel restrictions for foreign nationals travelling to Sweden from Nordic countries and the rest of the European Union and European Economic Area from Wednesday, the government has announced.
- The German government is working on plans to relax coronavirus restrictions after the peak in new cases has passed, most likely by the end of February.
- Australia will open its border for fully vaccinated tourists and all visa holders on 21 February, almost two years after borders were first closed.
- Democratic leaders in the US Congress are holding a moment of silence on Monday to commemorate the 900,000 American lives lost to the Covid-19 pandemic.
-
Turkish prosecutors have issued an arrest warrant for former Olympic swimmer Derya Buyukuncu over tweets appearing to express relief that president Recep Tayyip Erdogan tested positive for Covid-19.
- The number of positive Covid-19 cases in the English Premier League, the most watched sports league in the world, has doubled in a week to 22 cases, but with a far higher number of tests being carried out.
- Hong Kong has reported a record 614 cases and many of its residents have begun to crowd supermarkets in an effort to stock up on food and other necessities. One vegetable vendor told Reuters supplies had dropped by 30%.
- Prof John Bell, an Oxford scientist who worked on the AstraZeneca vaccine, has accused scientists and politicians of having “probably killed hundreds of thousands of people” by damaging its reputation.
Turkish prosecutors have issued an arrest warrant for a former Olympic swimmer over tweets appearing to express relief that president Recep Tayyip Erdogan tested positive for Covid-19.
Erdogan, 67, said he had a “mild” infection on Saturday and was working from home.
He posted several tweets on Monday expressing thanks to leaders and officials who wished him well.
But an account believed by prosecutors to belong to Derya Buyukuncu – a six-time backstroke and butterfly Olympian – posted a tweet saying he was making extra pots of a sweet traditionally handed out at funerals.
The Istanbul public prosecutor’s office issued a warrant for Buyukuncu as part of an investigation into “criminal social media postings” about the president’s infection.
The crime of insulting the Turkish president is punishable by up to four years in jail.
The whereabouts of Buyukuncu, who has also starred in a popular Turkish reality TV show, were not immediately clear.
Prosecutors issued eight arrest warrants on Sunday in connection with posts about Erdogan’s health, detaining four people.
Turkish officials have launched more than 160,000 investigations over alleged insults to the president since 2014, when Erdogan assumed the post after more than a decade as prime minister.
Courts have also handed down 3,625 jail sentences on insult charges.
Last month, well-known television journalist Sedef Kabas was arrested on insult charges for comments she made on air about Erdogan.
Erdogan, who has had three doses of a coronavirus vaccine, said on Twitter his symptoms “remained mild” after a routine doctor’s visit on Sunday.
“My wife - Mrs Emine - and I continue to work from home,” Erdogan wrote.
Turkish defence minister Hulusi Akar announced on Sunday he had also tested positive for Covid-19 after accompanying Erdogan on a visit to Ukraine last week.
Hello, this is Helen Livingstone taking over the blog from my colleague Tom Ambrose.
Democratic leaders in the US Congress are planning to hold a moment of silence on Monday to commemorate the 900,000 American lives lost to the Covid-19 pandemic, Reuters reports.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer will gather on the steps of the US Capitol building at 7 pm ET (0000 GMT), joined by congressional leadership and a bipartisan group of legislators, according to Pelosi’s office.
The US reached the milestone of 900,000 deaths from Covid-19 on Friday, according to data collected by Reuters, totalling 906,017 deaths as of Monday.
The figure marks an increase of more than 100,000 US Covid-19 fatalities since 12 December coinciding with a surge of infections and hospitalisations driven by the highly contagious Omicron variant of the virus.
Brazil reports 66,583 new cases of Covid, 428 more deaths
Brazil recorded 66,583 new coronavirus cases and 428 Covid deaths in the past 24 hours, its health ministry confirmed on Monday.
Brazil has now registered over 26.6 million cases since the pandemic began, while the official death toll has risen to 632,621, according to ministry data.
That’s it from me, Tom Ambrose, for today. My colleague Helen Livingstone will be along shortly to continue bringing you the latest coronavirus news.
Updated
Staying with the UK for the moment, Boris Johnson has come under fresh pressure over the Jimmy Savile smear he aimed at Keir Starmer after the Labour leader had to be rescued by police from a mob of anti-vaxxers near parliament.
Starmer faced baseless allegations of “protecting paedophiles” and chants about the sex offender from protesters before being bundled into a police car for protection, the Press Association reported.
Johnson tweeted that the “behaviour directed” at the Labour leader was “absolutely disgraceful” but did not address the nature of the abuse.
The behaviour directed at the Leader of the Opposition tonight is absolutely disgraceful. All forms of harassment of our elected representatives are completely unacceptable.
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) February 7, 2022
I thank the police for responding swiftly.
Officers stepped in to protect the opposition leader as the group, some protesting against Covid measures, followed him from outside Scotland Yard.
On at least two videos posted to social media, a man and a woman were heard shouting about Savile to the Labour leader, as he walked with the shadow foreign secretary, David Lammy.
At least one person was heard repeatedly shouting about “protecting paedophiles”.
Last week, an under-pressure Johnson accused Starmer of having “used his time prosecuting journalists and failing to prosecute Jimmy Savile” while director of public prosecutions (DPP).
Updated
In the UK, MPs from all sides angrily rounded on Boris Johnson and accused him of whipping up political poison after the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, was set upon by protesters who accused him of protecting the paedophile Jimmy Savile.
Johnson provoked widespread fury last week when he suggested Starmer had protected Savile during his time as director of public prosecutions. The comments drew criticism from two former Tory chief whips and prompted the resignation of a long-serving aide.
On Monday, Starmer and the shadow foreign secretary, David Lammy, had to be bundled into a police car after anti-vax protesters surrounded him near parliament with shouts of “traitor” and “Jimmy Savile”. One witness said a protester carried a hangman’s noose prop, which another protester had joked was for Starmer.
Lammy said it was “no surprise the conspiracy theorist thugs who harassed Keir Starmer and I repeated slurs we heard from Boris Johnson last week at the dispatch box. Intimidation, harassment and lies have no place in our democracy. And they won’t ever stop me doing my job.”
The former chief whip Julian Smith, who has called on Johnson to apologise, described the events as appalling. “It is really important for our democracy and for his security that the false Savile slurs made against him are withdrawn in full.”
The German government is working on plans to relax coronavirus restrictions after the peak in new cases has passed, most likely by the end of February.
Unlike some of its European neighbours, Germany still has many pandemic restrictions in place that exclude unvaccinated people from restaurants, public venues and some stores.
“Perspectives for opening are being developed,” government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann told reporters. She said the measures would be discussed at a meeting of federal and state officials on 16 February, but would only take effect when authorities can be sure that Germany’s health system won’t be overwhelmed.
“According to experts, that could be by mid-to-end February,” she said.
Germany has seen a sharp spike in newly confirmed cases in recent weeks due to the omicron variant.
Pharmacists in the country are scheduled to begin offering vaccinations Tuesday, after parliament changed the rules so that they, dentists and vets could also administer the shoots.
US CDC advises against travel to Japan, Cuba, Armenia over Covid
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Monday advised against travel to six countries including Japan, Cuba, Libya, Armenia, Oman and the Democratic Republic of Congo over Covid cases.
The CDC now lists more than 130 countries and territories with Covid cases as “Level Four: Very High.”
It lists just over 50 countries as “Level Three: High,” discouraging non-essential travel by unvaccinated Americans.
Protesters against Covid vaccine mandates for truckers have defied government calls for them to end an 11-day occupation of Canada’s capital, a day after the city’s mayor declared a state of emergency and promised to “get the city back”.
Ottawa police have described the protest as a “siege” on the city, where hundreds of trucks and cars have blockaded the downtown areas. On Sunday, Mayor Jim Watson warned that officials were “losing this battle”, and a civil class-action lawsuit was filed against protesters over the incessant horn blasting and disruption to daily life.
But on Monday morning a 10am deadline – which asked protesters to leave of their own volition or face damages of nearly C$10m (US$7.9m) – came and went with no sign that an end to the protest was at hand.
Dozens of big-rig trucks, RVs and pickups remained parked in front of Parliament Hill and nearby streets, and protesters showed no signs of leaving.
Hello. I’m Tom Ambrose and I’ll be bringing you all the latest Covid news throughout the next few hours.
Let’s start with the news that, in the US, the governors of New Jersey and Delaware have said their states would lift school mask mandates in the coming weeks.
The change signals a desire by at least some Democratic state governors, including New Jersey’s Phil Murphy and Delaware’s John Carney, to take their states off emergency footing and shift toward policies that treat the virus as part of normal life.
By no longer requiring students, teachers and administrators to wear masks in schools to wear masks, the governors are also seeking to blunt one of the most divisive issues of the pandemic, Reuters reported.
Republican leaders in some states, including Florida and Texas, have banned mask mandates in schools, while Democrats have generally encouraged the policy to help stall new infection.
In New Jersey, where the number of new cases have decreased over the past two weeks, Governor Murphy announced the state would lift its school mask mandate on 7 March.
The anti-vaccine parents of a boy in need of a blood transfusion, before undergoing a delicate heart surgery, have refused to receive blood for their child from Covid-vaccinated donors. The couple, both from Modena, in the North of Italy, informed the Bologna’s Sant’Orsola Hospital that they were “adamant that our child will only get unvaccinated blood”.
A judge’s ruling is expected by Tuesday, Italian news agency ANSA reported.
Meanwhile, in just 1 month, five unvaccinated members of a family from Enna, in Sicily, have died after contracting COVID-19. The victims are the 80-year-old father, who died at the end of December at home, shortly after the arrival of an ambulance, followed by the 78-year-old mother. Their 50-year-old son and his two sisters aged 55 and 52, died a few weeks later, in a hospital in Enna where the rest of the family had been admitted.
France reported on Monday that there are 3,622 patients in intensive care units with coronavirus, an increase by 45 as of yesterday.
The country has also reported a total of 105,520 coronavirus deaths in hospital.
Sweden to ease travel restrictions
Sweden will lift its travel restrictions for foreign nationals travelling to Sweden from Nordic countries and the rest of the European Union and European Economic Area from Wednesday, the Swedish government has announced.
The travel bans, which were introduced to slow the spread of the coronavirus, will be lifted on the same day that Sweden is due to lift pandemic restrictions that had been extended last month.
Updated
UK reports 57,623 cases and 45 Covid-linked deaths
On Monday, the UK recorded a further 57,623 coronavirus cases and 45 deaths within 28 days of a positive test.
These figures brings the total number of coronavirus deaths within 28 days of a positive test to be 158,363, while there as been a total of 17,866,632 total cases.
Updated
Italy has recorded a further 326 coronavirus deaths and 41,247 new cases. This brings the total death toll to over 149,000.
The number of positive Covid-19 cases in the English Premier League, the most watched sports league in the world, has doubled in a week, but with a far higher number of tests being carried out, PA Media reports.
The league announced on Monday there were 22 positive results returned from tests on 6,685 players and staff at the top-flight football clubs between 31 January and 6 February.
That was a 100 per cent increase on the previous week, however, only 1,947 players and staff were tested then, with some stars benefiting from a winter break while others were away on international duty outside Europe.
In a boost to encourage vaccination uptake, a children’s vaccination centre in the Philippines has enlisted entertainers dressed as Ironman, Captain America and other characters as part of its coronavirus inoculation campaign.
Filipino children have been particularly affected by containment measures in the Philippines, which kept schools closed for nearly two years and required young people to stay indoors under a strict lockdown.
Reuters reports:
Artists made swords and models from balloons as “superheroes” posed for pictures with children age 5 to 11 after they received their shots in the capital Manila.
The Philippines has vaccinated about half of its 110-million population, but many areas outside urban centres are still lagging far behind, complicating efforts to suppress fresh outbreaks of the novel coronavirus.
“He’s been at home for two years so he needs to go out and meet his friends, his classmates,” said Marissa Say after her son received a vaccine.
“After he completes all doses we can at least somehow feel safe and relaxed and he could go back to his normal life.”
Parent Bernadette Cruz said child vaccinations will help the country get on with life.
“It’s very important for me to have my child vaccinated because it will help to have herd immunity in our country and it will help our current pandemic become endemic much faster,” she said.
Updated
Summary
- The mayor of Canada’s capital has declared a state of emergency, AP reports, as protesters opposed to Covid-19 restrictions continued to paralyse Ottawa’s downtown. Jim Watson said the declaration highlighted the need for support from other jurisdictions and levels of government. It gives the city some additional powers around procurement and how it delivers services, which could help purchase equipment required by frontline workers and first responders.
- The prime minister of Papua New Guinea tested positive for Covid arriving in Beijing last week for the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics. James Marape was immediately given medical treatment, missed Friday’s ceremony and returned home on Sunday night, according to a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson.
- An Oxford scientist who worked on the AstraZeneca vaccine has accused scientists and politicians of having “probably killed hundreds of thousands of people” by damaging its reputation. Prof John Bell told the BBC: “They have damaged the reputation of the vaccine in a way that echoes around the rest of the world.”Saffron Cordery, the deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, said Omicron has caused “really high levels of staff absence” – and that the problem is ongoing. She said that most recently around 70,000 staff had been absent across the NHS – 40% of whom were absent as a result of either Omicron of coronavirus measures.
- Sajid Javid, the UK health secretary, has said he believes the NHS waiting list is going to grow even more due to 8-9 million people who have stayed away during the pandemic. Speaking on Sky News, he urged those who have stayed away to “please come forward”. He said “it’s hard to know” how long it’s going to take for the NHS to recover following Covid.
- Nigeria has received 2m doses of the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine from Finland, Greece and Slovenia, with more EU donations set to arrive in the coming weeks, government officials said on Monday.
- Russia has reported 171,905 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, and a further 609 deaths. Since the start of the pandemic, the country has now seen over 12.6 million cases and 329,000 deaths.
Updated
Nigeria has received 2 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine from Finland, Greece and Slovenia, with more EU donations set to arrive in the coming weeks, government officials said on Monday.
The vaccines are currently in a cold room at the airport of the west African nation’s capital, Abuja.
“This batch of vaccines will expire in August 2023. So we have that ample time to administer before that time,” Faisal Shuaib, executive director of Nigeria’s National Primary Health Care Development Agency, told reporters at an airport news conference.
According to Our World in Data, as of 7 February, just 2.6% of Nigeria’s population has been fully vaccinated, compared to 53.9% of the world’s population.
Russia has reported 171,905 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, and a further 609 deaths.
Since the start of the pandemic, the country has now seen over 12.6 million cases and 329,000 deaths.
Updated
Amid the rising coronavirus cases seen in Hong Kong, Reuters has reported that many of its residents have began to crowd supermarkets in an effort to stock up on food and other necessities, having spoken to some residents involved. The city reported a record 614 coronavirus cases on Monday.
Reuters reports:
At a fresh food market in Tin Shui Wai, in the city’s northern New Territories, vendors said there would be no vegetables in coming days, prompting customers to buy up produce.
“Of course you have to buy. There will be no vegetables from tomorrow. The trucks can’t come here … so the vegetables are very, very pricey,” said a 50-year-old woman surnamed Chow.
John Chan, a vegetable vendor, said the disruptions had seen supply drop by 30%, including for products such as Chinese flowering cabbage. He cautioned that hundreds of kilograms of vegetables due to arrive on Tuesday may not be able to arrive.
“I still don’t know if they can cross the border. If there is none, the prices will further increase or we have nothing to sell.”
Shelves stocking vegetables, tissues and cup noodles were bare at several supermarkets across the former British colony with customers stocking up over concerns that products would be even harder to get in the coming days.
Chow Lai Sheng, a 60-year old janitor, said she bought four toilet rolls as well as instant noodles and canned food.
“The Covid situation is severe. And there are no veggies, so I stockpile a bit,” she said.
Updated
Here's a summary of the latest developments...
- The prime minister of Papua New Guinea tested positive for Covid arriving in Beijing last week for the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics. James Marape was immediately given medical treatment, missed Friday’s ceremony and returned home on Sunday night, according to a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson.
- Northern Ireland has reported a significant increase in young people in mental health crisis seeking hospital help during the pandemic. Referrals to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) from hospital emergency departments went up by 24% between 2019-20 and 2020-21, reports the BBC.
- Saffron Cordery, the deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, said Omicron has caused “really high levels of staff absence” – and that the problem is ongoing. She said that most recently around 70,000 staff had been absent across the NHS – 40% of whom were absent as a result of either Omicron of coronavirus measures.
- An Oxford scientist who worked on the AstraZeneca vaccine has accused scientists and politicians of having “probably killed hundreds of thousands of people” by damaging its reputation. Prof John Bell told the BBC: “They have damaged the reputation of the vaccine in a way that echoes around the rest of the world.”
- Sajid Javid, the UK health secretary, has said he believes the NHS waiting list is going to grow even more due to 8-9 million people who have stayed away during the pandemic. Speaking on Sky News, he urged those who have stayed away to “please come forward”. He said “it’s hard to know” how long it’s going to take for the NHS to recover following Covid.
- The mayor of Canada’s capital has declared a state of emergency, AP reports, as protesters opposed to Covid-19 restrictions continued to paralyse Ottawa’s downtown. Jim Watson said the declaration highlighted the need for support from other jurisdictions and levels of government. It gives the city some additional powers around procurement and how it delivers services, which could help purchase equipment required by frontline workers and first responders.
Handing over the blog to Tobi Thomas now. Thanks for reading.
Good morning, I’m taking over the coronavirus live blog from my colleague from now, if you would like to get in touch please do email tobi.thoma@theguardian.com. Thank you!
Updated
PM of Papua New Guinea tested positive for Covid arriving in Beijing for Winter Olympics
The prime minister of Papua New Guinea tested positive for Covid when he arrived in Beijing last week for the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics, reports the Associated Press.
James Marape was immediately given medical treatment, missed Friday’s ceremony and returned home on Sunday night, according to a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson.
He held a meeting with Chinese premier Li Keqiang via video link while he was in Beijing, the spokesperson said. Marape’s current condition is unknown.
It comes as Papua New Guinea, where less than 4% of the population is vaccinated, is seeing a surge of Omicron cases.
Northern Ireland has reported a significant increase in young people in mental health crisis seeking hospital help during the pandemic.
Referrals to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) from hospital emergency departments went up by 24% between 2019-20 and 2020-21, reports the BBC.
Northern Ireland’s commissioner for children and young people, Koulla Yiasouma, told the broadcaster:
The most significant public health issue caused by the pandemic, aside from the physical health risk from the Covid-19 virus, has been on population emotional wellbeing and mental health.
The evidence is now clear that children and young people have been disproportionately impacted.
The limited statistics that are available on service activity paint a concerning picture.
Updated
Nearly two years after it was introduced, the president of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, has lifted a coronavirus curfew on motorcycle taxis known as boda bodas.
They were banned from operating between 7pm and 5am in March 2020 amid rising Covid cases.
From 6pm today, the president has tweeted that operators can restart work:
Starting tomorrow at 6pm, Boda Boda riders can work trans night like all others. I know that they are some wrong elements using Boda Bodas for crimes but we shall deal with them in another way other than curfew. Resume work and contribute to your household incomes positively.
— Yoweri K Museveni (@KagutaMuseveni) February 6, 2022
Updated
More from Christopher Knaus on the announcement that Australia (see also 05:55) is to open its borders to fully vaccinated tourists and all visa holders:
Australia will open its border for fully vaccinated tourists and all visa holders, a decision branded “bittersweet” by those who have missed funerals in recent weeks due to ongoing restrictions.
Scott Morrison on Monday announced the nation would open to all fully vaccinated visa holders, including tourists, on 21 February, almost two years after borders were first closed.
The borders have been progressively opening since November, but some groups including bridging visa holders, some immediate family members and tourists were yet to be allowed exemption-free travel.
Here’s more from Caroline Davies on Prof John Bell’s comments that doubts cast over AstraZeneca’s Covid vaccine “probably killed hundreds of thousands of people” (see also 07:52).
Andrew Sparrow’s UK politics blog is now up and running:
This blog will continue with global Covid news.
More on the NHS backlog:
The NHS Confederation chief executive, Matthew Taylor, has warned of the dangers of setting “unrealistic” targets for tackling the backlog.
He said that there are already “millions on the waiting list” but that they do not know how many additional people “ought to be” but did not come forward because of Covid.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today:
The particular challenge we have got now is, whilst we know we have got millions on the waiting list, we don’t know how many people out there in the community ought to be on the waiting list but didn’t come forward during Covid. I think that big imponderable is why have have got to be a bit careful about targets.
This is a frustrating situation for the NHS because there is a plan, it has been agreed with leaders, we are ready to go with it and we want to get on with the work.
Updated
NHS continuing to face 'really high levels of staff absence' due to pandemic
Saffron Cordery, the deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, said Omicron has caused “really high levels of staff absence” – and that the problem is ongoing.
She said that most recently around 70,000 staff had been absent across the NHS – 40% of whom were absent as a result of either Omicron of coronavirus measures.
“That’s a very high level of staff away from their frontline jobs,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Today. And said that the problem with absence “persists”.
She said it was important that NHS leaders see the full government plan to tackle the backlog “as quickly as possible” to tackle the “very long waiting lists which built up during the pandemic”.
Updated
The UK health secretary, Sajid Javid, said the government has recognised that about 19,300 social care staff have left their jobs as a result of the government’s mandatory vaccination policy, reports PA Media.
The government has since said it would revoke the rules.
“That’s still a significant number, but that the whole purpose of mandatory jabs when we introduced that was about patient safety, and when we had the Delta variant … it was much more deadly, much more dangerous, and it was right that we did everything we could to protect people that are more vulnerable than the rest of society,” he said.
“So there’s no regrets about that, it was absolutely the right policy.”
Asked whether they would be able to reapply for their former jobs, Javid said they would be able to when the law has changed.
Updated
An Oxford scientist who worked on the AstraZeneca vaccine has accused scientists and politicians of having “probably killed hundreds of thousands of people” by damaging its reputation.
Prof John Bell told the BBC: “They have damaged the reputation of the vaccine in a way that echoes around the rest of the world.”
He also said: “I think bad behaviour from scientists and from politicians has probably killed hundreds of thousands of people – and that they cannot be proud of.”
Alternatives to the vaccine were recommended to people aged under 40 in the UK due to a link to very rare blood clots.
Germany, France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Ireland, Denmark, Bulgaria, Iceland and Thailand put their use of the vaccine on hold due to fears over blood clots.
In the UK, the vaccine has not played a central role in the booster campaign. According to the BBC, it was used for just 48,000 of more than 37m booster jabs.
Updated
UK health secretary says NHS waiting list to grow due to 8-9m who stayed away because of pandemic
Sajid Javid, the UK health secretary, has said he believes the NHS waiting list is going to grow even more due to 8-9 million people who have stayed away during the pandemic.
Speaking on Sky News, he urged those who have stayed away to “please come forward”.
He said “it’s hard to know” how long it’s going to take for the NHS to recover following Covid.
“I want them all to come back because I want them to know the NHS is there, it’s open for them,” he said.
He said there was no issue with the Treasury and that delays were a result of Omicron.
Javid said patients will be able to check waiting times for their trust online through the “my planned care” service.
"The waiting list is going to continue to rise for a while before it starts to fall."@SajidJavid announces an online service which will allow patients to track their place on NHS waiting lists.#KayBurley: https://t.co/3V4jduW7W0
— Sky News (@SkyNews) February 7, 2022
📺 Sky 501, Virgin 602, and Freeview 233 pic.twitter.com/yuDcSpPg23
Hi, I will be looking after the global Covid blog for the next few hours. Please get in touch with any tips or suggestions: miranda.bryant@guardian.co.uk
Summary
That’s it from me, Helen Livingstone, I’m handing you over to my colleague Miranda Bryant.
Before I go, here’s a roundup of the latest Covid developments around the world:
- The mayor of Canada’s capital has declared a state of emergency as protesters opposed to Covid-19 restrictions continued to paralyse central Ottawa. Jim Watson said the declaration highlights the need for support from other jurisdictions and levels of government.
- Hong Kong is expected to report a record of around 610 new Covid-19 cases on Monday, broadcaster TVB has reported, in the biggest test yet for the city’s zero-Covid strategy as it grapples to contain a growing outbreak.
- More than 17 million Vietnamese students are due to return to school for the first time in about a year, the health ministry has said, as authorities announced plans to start vaccinating children from as young as five against Covid-19.
- Indonesia will tighten social restrictions in the capital Jakarta and the holiday island of Bali as coronavirus cases rise sharply while foreign tourists have temporarily been banned from entering the country through Jakarta’s airport.
- The Chinese city of Baise in Guangxi, population 3.57 million, has been locked down because of a Covid outbreak. The outbreak is tiny by global standards, but the curbs, including a ban on non-essential trips in and out, follow a national guideline to quickly contain any flare-ups.
- That news comes as China’s chief epidemiologist, Wu Zunyou, says that as long as there’s no other way to contain the spread of the virus, the country won’t adjust its “dynamic Zero Covid” pandemic control policy.
- Australia’s borders will open to all remaining visa holders on 21 February – if they’re double vaccinated. Prime minister Scott Morrison said “events earlier in the year”, assumed to be a reference to tennis star Novak Djokovic, would have made Australia’s position on vaccination clear.
- Xiomara Castro, the president of Central American country Honduras, has tested positive for Covid-19. In a tweet, she said she had mild symptoms.
- Authorities in India have approved Russia’s one-jab Sputnik Light Covid-19 vaccine. It will be the second Russian-developed jab to be approved by the country, after Sputnik V was allowed in April 2021.
-
Papua New Guinea’s prime minister James Marape tested positive for Covid-19 upon arrival in Beijing on Thursday for the opening of the Winter Games and will not be travelling to France next week for an Indo-Pacific summit, his office has said.
- UK travellers have been warned to check their half-term holiday plans to make sure they meet Covid vaccination rules when travelling to EU destinations as a growing number of countries impose new restrictions.
- Boris Johnson’s desperate efforts to save his premiership have been undermined with one of his most loyal backbench supporters saying it was now “inevitable” that Tory MPs would remove him from office over the “partygate” scandal.
US figure skater Vincent Zhou has tested positive for Covid-19 in athletes’ daily screening at the Beijing Olympics, US Figure Skating has said.
As part of yesterday’s regular Covid-19 screening, Vincent Zhou tested positive,” it said in an emailed statement to Reuters.
“Zhou is undergoing additional testing to confirm his status. If the results are negative, Zhou will be able to compete in the men’s short programme, which begins Tuesday,” it added.
Updated
Indonesia will tighten social restrictions in the capital Jakarta and the holiday island of Bali as coronavirus cases rise sharply, a senior minister said on Monday.
Under new regulations, supermarkets, malls and restaurants will operate at 60% capacity and houses of worship will be reduced to 50% of capacity, said senior minister Luhut Pandjaitan according to Reuters. It was not immediately clear when the measures would take effect.
The move came hours after the transport ministry said it was temporarily banning foreign tourists entering the country through Jakarta’s airport, in a bid to slow a spike in coronavirus infections driven by the Omicron variant.
The south-east Asian country has seen a jump in cases, with more than 36,000 infections recorded on Sunday and the bed occupancy rate at hospitals in the capital reaching 63%.
The move to bar tourists flying to Jakarta comes days after Bali welcomed the first international flight in nearly two years carrying foreign visitors.
The new regulations apply to foreign tourists and Indonesians who have travelled abroad for holidays, the ministry said in a statement released late on Sunday.
The decision to “temporarily restrict tourist arrivals” was intended to slow the spread of the coronavirus, said Novie Riyanto, director general for civil aviation at the ministry.
Tourists flying from abroad will still be able to arrive at Bali airport, as well as at Batam and Tanjung Pinang in the Riau Islands near Singapore.
Police have also implemented a curfew in downtown Jakarta from midnight to 4am. as infections have kept climbing.
Indonesian officials have warned that the surge in cases driven by the Omicron variant may not peak until late February.
Despite these concerns, the resort island of Bali welcomed a flight from Tokyo last Thursday carrying six foreigners, mostly travel agents who were on board to monitor the island’s readiness to receive foreign tourists.
Updated
Hong Kong is expected to report a record of around 610 new Covid-19 cases on Monday, broadcaster TVB reported, in the biggest test yet for the city’s zero-Covid strategy as it grapples to contain a growing outbreak.
Around 300 others were found positive in preliminary tests, TVB said, citing an unnamed source.
The global financial hub, which is following mainland China’s strategy of suppressing all coronavirus outbreaks as soon as possible, has seen cases soar since January with over 2,000 infections compared with just two in December, Reuters reports.
The city recorded 342 cases on Sunday, slightly below the previous day’s record of 351 cases. Dozens of bank branches including outlets of HSBC and Bank of China said they would suspend operations from Monday to help curb transmissions.
Health secretary Sophia Chan said over the weekend that she expects cases to rise “exponentially”.
The former British colony has become one of the most isolated cities in the world, with flights down around 90% due to strict coronavirus regulations and schools, playgrounds, gyms as well as most other venues shut. Restaurants close at 6 pm (1000 GMT), while most people, including the majority of civil servants, are working from home.
The economic and psychological tolls from the hardline approach are rapidly rising, with measures becoming more draconian than those first implemented in 2020.
Government quarantine facilities are also nearing their maximum as authorities struggle to keep up with their rigid contact tracing scheme.
Authorities hold daily briefings providing details on each infected person including where they went and ate. As cases surge however, methods including scouring credit card statements and transport records to identify close contacts are far tougher. There are likely hundreds of transmission chains in the community, they said.
In total, Hong Kong has recorded 213 Covid deaths and around 15,000 cases since early 2020, far less than other similar major cities.
Authorities in China’s southwestern city of Baise have ordered residents to stay at home from Monday and avoid unnecessary travel as they enforced curbs that are among the toughest in the nation’s tool-box to fight rising local infections of Covid-19, AFP reports.
The outbreak in Baise, which has a population of about 3.6 million and borders Vietnam, is tiny by global standards, but the curbs, including a ban on non-essential trips in and out, follow a national guideline to quickly contain any flare-ups.
The effort takes on extra urgency during the staging of the Winter Olympics, which began on Friday and run until 20 February, as well as a busy travel season for the Lunar New Year holiday.
Dozens of athletes for the Games, hosted by the capital Beijing and the northern province of Hebei, have tested positive and moved into isolation, but events have not been seriously affected in the absence of cluster spread in the closed loop insulating them from the public.
Baise, in the region of Guangxi, reported 37 domestically transmitted infections with confirmed symptoms for Sunday, up from six the day before, data from the National Health Commission showed.
Residents should stay indoors except for trips to buy essentials or test for Covid-19, and should opt for delivery rather than in-store purchases whenever possible, state television said, citing a statement from the city government.
It has also suspended non-essential businesses, public transport and school sessions and delayed opening of ports of entry along the international border. Essential workers will need special passes for movement within Baise.
Including Baise, China reported 45 locally transmitted cases with symptoms for 6 February, up from 13 a day earlier, NHC data show.
The southern province of Guangdong and the municipalities of Beijing and Tianjin also reported sporadic local symptomatic cases for Sunday.
There were no new deaths, leaving the death toll at 4,636.
By 6 February, mainland China had 106,419 cases with confirmed symptoms since the outbreak first emerged in late 2019, including both local infections and those from abroad.
Australia’s borders will open to all remaining visa holders on 21 February – if they’re double vaccinated. Prime minister Scott Morrison said “events earlier in the year” (read: Novak Djokovic) would have made Australia’s position on vaccination clear:
It’s almost two years since we took the decision to close the borders to Australia. The national cabinet has decided today Australia will reopen our borders to all remaining visa holders on February 21 of this year.
We have been progressively opening our borders since November of last year. Those programs have proceeded very successfully. Whether it was the programs we had in place with New Zealand or Singapore, and then with Japan and South Korea, opening up to international students and backpackers and economic migrants who are coming to Australia, that will now be extended to international visitors who will be able to return.
The condition is you must be double vaccinated to come to Australia. That’s the rule. Everyone is expected to abide by it. And it’s very important that people understand that requirement if they’re seeking to come to Australia. But if you’re double vaccinated, we look forward to welcoming you back to Australia.
More than 17 million Vietnamese students are due to return to school for the first time in about a year, the health ministry said, as authorities announced plans to start vaccinating children from as young as five against Covid-19.
The Southeast Asian country lifted many of its coronavirus curbs in October, but almost all students had been confined to taking online classes since early last year, Reuters reports.
Most schools in the country are due to reopen by the middle of February, the health ministry said in a statement.
In a separate statement at the weekend, the government said it intended to buy 21.9 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children aged between five and 12.
More than 75% of Vietnam’s 98 million people have received at least two vaccine shots and authorities aim to administer a booster shot to all of the adult population by the end of March.
Schools in the capital Hanoi will start reopening from Tuesday, with precautions such as temperature checks and protocols in place in case positive cases are detected, authorities said.
Vietnam managed to contain the coronavirus for most of 2020 before the Delta variant drove up infections last year.
The ministry of health said the country reported 14,112 new cases on Sunday. Overall, Vietnam has reported 2.34 million Covid-19 infections and more than 38,300 deaths.
Ottawa declares state of emergency over trucker protest
The mayor of Canada’s capital has declared a state of emergency, AP reports, as protesters opposed to Covid-19 restrictions continued to paralyse Ottawa’s downtown.
Jim Watson said the declaration highlighted the need for support from other jurisdictions and levels of government. It gives the city some additional powers around procurement and how it delivers services, which could help purchase equipment required by frontline workers and first responders.
Thousands of protesters descended on Ottawa again on the weekend, joining a hundred who had remained since last weekend. Residents of Ottawa are furious at the nonstop blaring of horns, traffic disruption and harassment and fear no end is in sight after the police chief called it a “siege” that he could not manage.
The “freedom truck convoy” has attracted support from many US Republicans including former president Donald Trump, who called the prime minister, Justin Trudeau, a “far-left lunatic” who has “destroyed Canada with insane Covid mandates”.
Read more below:
Welcome and summary
Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic with me, Helen Livingstone.
The mayor of Canada’s capital has declared a state of emergency as protesters opposed to Covid-19 restrictions continued to paralyse central Ottawa. Jim Watson said the declaration highlights the need for support from other jurisdictions and levels of government.
More than 17 million Vietnamese students are due to return to school for the first time in about a year, the health ministry has said, as authorities announced plans to start vaccinating children from as young as five against Covid-19.
Here’s what else has been happening over the past 24 hours:
- The Chinese city of Baise in Guangxi, population 3.57 million, has been locked down because of a Covid outbreak. The outbreak is tiny by global standards, but the curbs, including a ban on non-essential trips in and out, follow a national guideline to quickly contain any flare-ups
- That news comes as China’s chief epidemiologist, Wu Zunyou, says that as long as there’s no other way to contain the spread of the virus, the country won’t adjust its “dynamic Zero Covid” pandemic control policy.
- Xiomara Castro, the president of Central American country Honduras, has tested positive for Covid-19. In a tweet, she said she had mild symptoms.
- Authorities in India have approved Russia’s one-jab Sputnik Light Covid-19 vaccine. It will be the second Russian-developed jab to be approved by the country, after Sputnik V was allowed in April 2021.
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Papua New Guinea’s prime minister James Marape tested positive for Covid-19 upon arrival in Beijing on Thursday for the opening of the Winter Games and will not be travelling to France next week for an Indo-Pacific summit, his office has said.
- UK travellers have been warned to check their half-term holiday plans to make sure they meet Covid vaccination rules when travelling to EU destinations as a growing number of countries impose new restrictions.
- Boris Johnson’s desperate efforts to save his premiership have been undermined with one of his most loyal backbench supporters saying it was now “inevitable” that Tory MPs would remove him from office over the “partygate” scandal.
Updated
