Summary
We are now closing today’s live blog. Here is a round-up of developments:
- The Queen has cancelled her planned engagements for Tuesday as she is still experiencing mild cold-like symptoms from Covid-19, Buckingham Palace has said. On Sunday the Palace confirmed the monarch, 95, had tested positive for coronavirus and was planning to continue carrying out “light duties” at Windsor Castle.
- The UK has reported 205 daily Covid-19 deaths within 28 days of a positive test compared with 15 deaths on Monday. A further 41,130 new cases were reported compared with 38,409 cases the previous day.
- Scotland’s system of mandatory vaccine passports for nightclubs and sports venues is to end next week, Nicola Sturgeon has announced. On 21 March, assuming there was no new surge in infections, the regulations requiring face masks on public transport and in shops will also end, to be replaced by guidance recommending them.
- All 7.4 million Hong Kong residents must undergo three rounds of compulsory coronavirus testing in March, the chief executive, Carrie Lam, said.
- Ministers in Ireland have approved plans to remove almost all Covid-related restrictions, including the wearing of face masks, on Monday. The use of masks will only be required in healthcare settings.
- Northern Ireland’s health minister has warned he will not be rushed into making decisions around Covid tests.
- The Spanish government has approved an agreement with unions and business groups to extend its furlough scheme for workers affected by the coronavirus pandemic until the end of March.
- Brazil has reported 816 daily Covid deaths and 105,776 new cases.
- Italy has reported 322 coronavirus-related deaths up from 201. There were a further 60,029 daily Covid-19 cases against 24,408 the day before, the health ministry said.
- People infected with the Omicron coronavirus variant are nearly 75% less likely to develop serious illness or die than those who contract the Delta variant, real-world data released by South Korea’s health authorities showed.
- The UK government’s Covid dashboard will no longer be updated at weekends, the UK Health Security Agency has confirmed. As of this week, the dashboard will be updated from Monday to Friday, while daily cases and deaths by report date published on Mondays will include figures from the weekend.
- People attempting to order free lateral flow tests in England are struggling to do so as the system has been overwhelmed with the scramble for free tests while they are still available.
- Canada’s parliament backed the decision of Justin Trudeau, the prime minister, to invoke rarely-used emergency powers to end pandemic-related protests that have blocked streets in the capital, Ottawa, for more than three weeks.
- New Covid cases fell 21 per cent around the world in the past week, the World Health Organization reported.
- Uganda plans to fine people who refuse to be vaccinated against Covid and imprison those who fail to pay, under a new public health law which lawmakers are scrutinising, its parliament has said.
Scotland Yard said there will be no further action following an assessment of allegations made about the UK’s Covid-19 vaccine programme, PA Media reports.
The Metropolitan Police said a number of documents were submitted at a west London police station on 20 December in support of claims alleging people in the UK Parliament and other organisations had suppressed information about the severity of health implications for those taking the vaccine.
Police said it was suggested by the complainants that offences including gross negligent manslaughter and misconduct in a public office may have taken place.
Following an assessment of all the available evidence, the Met said:
it is clear that no criminal offences are apparent.
The force said it will not be launching a criminal investigation and no further action will be taken in relation to the allegations.
Deputy assistant commissioner Jane Connors said:
The vaccines in use against Covid-19 have been approved by all the relevant national and international regulatory bodies.
They underwent multiple trials and were subject to stringent approval processes. They are in use in more than 100 countries.
We have found no evidence to support any claims that information about adverse health implications is being suppressed or withheld from the public in the manner that was alleged.
The BA.2 variant of the Omicron coronavirus strain is not more severe than the original, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.
Maria Van Kerkhove, a senior WHO official, said that based on a sample of people from various countries “we are not seeing a difference in severity of BA.1 compared to BA.2”, Agence France-Presse reported.
Have questions about Omicron and its sub-lineages like BA.2? Dr @mvankerkhove and Dr @AnuragAgrawalMD explain ⬇️https://t.co/5V6HmtU6zp #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/HURWmoeleq
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) February 22, 2022
Van Kerkhove added:
So this is a similar level of severity as it relates to risk of hospitalisation. And this is really important, because in many countries they’ve had a substantial amount of circulation, both of BA.1 and BA.2.
Van Kerkhove, who leads the technical side of the WHO’s Covid-19 response team, was reporting the findings of a committee of experts tracking the evolution of the virus.
The WHO said in a statement that initial data suggests the new BA.2 variant “appears inherently more transmissible than BA.1,” and that further studies are ongoing to discover why this is the case.
“However the global circulation of all variants is reportedly declining,” it added.
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, the country’s fifth-largest lender, said it plans to bring its local staff back to office starting on 21 March as Omicron-related infections ebb.
The Canadian employees, who had been asked to work remotely in December as infections resurged, would return to office on a hybrid basis, Sandy Sharman, group head of people, culture and brand at CIBC, said in a memo seen by Reuters.
Meanwhile, the bank’s US-based staff started to return on a voluntary basis on 28 January.
A GP in England has warned patient care will be impacted if NHS staff are unable to access free coronavirus tests from April.
Dr Nishant Joshi, a 33-year-old GP based in Bedfordshire, south east England, told PA Media:
We’re going out to see patients every day at care homes, residential homes, their own homes. These are very vulnerable patients.
I just worry that we’re going back to treating some of our most vulnerable patients like sitting ducks once again.
Dr Joshi also warned the cost for staff to get tests for themselves could be problematic, adding:
We talk about the cost of a loaf of bread (and) a pint of milk. Are we going to have to start adding in the price of Covid tests as well into our weekly budget? It just seems completely unreasonable at a time when things have never been more expensive.
Nurses at food banks: how can you look these nurses in the eye and say ‘we know you’re struggling but also we’re going to ask you to pay more?’
It’s just a very unreasonable thing to do at a time when NHS staff have enough to worry about.
Brazil reports 816 daily Covid deaths and 105,776 new cases
Brazil has had 816 Covid-19 deaths and 105,776 new cases were reported in the past 24 hours, the health ministry said.
Yesterday there were 318 deaths and 37,339 new cases.
New Covid cases fell 21 per cent around the world in past week, reports WHO
The number of new coronavirus cases around the world fell 21% in the past week, marking the third consecutive week that cases have dropped, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.
The Associated Press reports:
In the UN health agency’s weekly pandemic report, WHO said there were more than 12 million new coronavirus infections last week. The number of new Covid-19 deaths fell 8% to about 67,000 worldwide, the first time that weekly deaths have fallen since early January.
The Western Pacific was the only region that saw an increase in Covid-19 cases, with a 29% jump, while the number of infections elsewhere dropped significantly.
The number of new deaths also rose in the Western Pacific and Africa while they fell everywhere else.
The highest number of new Covid-19 cases were in Russia, Germany, Brazil, the US and South Korea.
WHO said Omicron remains the overwhelmingly dominant variant worldwide, accounting for more than 99% of sequences shared with the world’s biggest virus database. It said Delta was the only other variant of significance, which comprised fewer than 1% of shared sequences.
WHO’s Europe chief Dr Hans Kluge says the region is now entering a “plausible endgame” for the virus and said there is now a “singular opportunity” for authorities to end the acute phase of the pandemic.
Updated
Boots is to offer individual lateral flow tests for as much as £5.99, including delivery, from Wednesday as retailers gear up for the end of widely available free tests.
The UK’s biggest pharmacy business said customers would be able to order one test online from Wednesday or pay £17 for a pack of four, including delivery within two days. These tests will include the option to send results to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) but they cannot be used for travel requiring a negative antigen test certificate.
From early March, Boots said it would be possible to pick up lateral flow tests in more than 400 of its stores for £2.50 for one or £12 for a pack of five. These cheaper tests will also be available online with four tests priced at £9.50. These tests don’t have the UKHSA reporting function.
Read more here.
Updated
People have struggled to order lateral flow tests online as there is a scramble for free kits while they are still available in England.
The number of free tests available each day will be capped to “manage demand” as the government scales back free testing for people in England.
Tests ordered online are only available every three days, when previously people could order a new pack every 24 hours, PA Media reports.
The public has been encouraged not to stockpile test packs but since the changes were announced the system has been overwhelmed with people trying to order the kits.
A message on the government testing portal states:
Sorry, there are no home delivery slots left for rapid lateral flow tests right now.
The UK Health Security Agency said that test availability is refreshed regularly so people are encouraged to re-visit the site every few hours as more will become available.
The first glimpse of a Partygate questionnaire confirms that Downing Street insiders are being questioned under police caution – and asked if they have a “reasonable excuse” for attending lockdown-busting gatherings.
Boris Johnson has already returned his replies to the Metropolitan police’s questions, and is believed to have argued that he attended social events in No 10 in a work capacity.
A copy of one of the official questionnaires, obtained by ITV, shows it includes the police caution: “You do not have to say anything but it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you subsequently rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence.”
Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, said: “This is an embarrassment that for the first time in UK history we have a PM interviewed under police caution.”
Read the full story here.
Updated
More discussion on the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions in England.
PA Media reports on reaction from the Lords.
Labour peer Baroness Smith of Basildon said:
Most people want to do the right thing, but will struggle with on one hand guidance about the need to self-isolate if possible but on the other pressures either financial or through an employer forcing them to work.
What about those working with the most vulnerable people? In the statement Mr Johnson merely offered the Government was working with retailers to supply tests. So can the she (Baroness Evans of Bowes) shed further light on this? Including whether reports of £3 per each individual test is accurate and whether the price will be fixed?
Liberal Democrat Lords leader Lord Newby criticised the prime minister’s “lack of self-awareness” in easing Covid rules after allegedly breaking them by attending parties at Downing Street.
He added:
If faced with eating or heating or paying for a Covid test, it is pretty obvious what is going to be the lowest priority.
So we have real concerns about getting rid of free testing, especially for those who are either vulnerable or have family who are vulnerable.
Updated
Scotland’s first minister has said scrapping Covid-19 testing capacity would be “inexcusable negligence”, PA Media reports.
Nicola Sturgeon said Scotland would “retain a robust testing system” over the coming months, as she announced that all legal restrictions in response to Covid-19 could end on 21 March if the downward trajectory of the virus continues.
She added that the system would move away from mass testing of those without symptoms to a more targeted approach which will be laid out next month.
She said in her statement of Covid-19 tests:
We consider it important - in line with the principle of healthcare free at the point of use - that they should remain free of charge for any circumstance in which government recommends testing.
Asked by Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross why she was “creating a fight” with the UK Government over testing, Ms Sturgeon said:
I’ve had many discussions with UK government representatives in the past days on this issue and we all agree that, I think, in time we should move to a more targeted system of testing.
The difference between the Scottish government and the UK government is that we should do that in a careful, phased basis and that we should give great care and thought to the testing infrastructure built up in the past two years that we retain for the future.
To dismantle that in any significant way, I think, would be inexcusable negligence given the threats that Covid still presents to us.
The first minister said it was “deeply regrettable” there had been no clarity on the long-term funding for testing, but added that the Scottish government would “continue to work with” the UK government on the matter.
Northern Ireland’s health minister has warned he will not be rushed into making decisions around Covid tests.
Robin Swann was speaking after prime minister Boris Johnson announced an end to free universal symptomatic and asymptomatic testing for the general public in England from 1 April.
DUP MP Sammy Wilson said that Northern Ireland follow England’s lead however Sinn Fein, Alliance and the SDLP have urged caution.
On Tuesday evening Mr Swann emphasised said:
I will not be rushed into making decisions on Covid testing based on timetables set elsewhere.
I have asked officials to draw up policy options based on an appropriate, proportionate approach to testing in NI.
In the meantime, there will be no changes to the current approach.
Looking ahead, testing will continue to have a role, especially in protecting the most vulnerable.
Further discussions on funding will be required with the UK Government and NI Ministerial colleagues.
I will not be rushed into making decisions on COVID testing based on timetables set elsewhere. I have asked officials to draw up policy options based on an appropriate, proportionate approach to testing in NI. In the meantime, there will be no changes to the current approach. 1/2
— Robin Swann MLA #StopCovidNI (@RobinSwannMoH) February 22, 2022
Looking ahead, testing will continue to have a role, especially in protecting the most vulnerable.
— Robin Swann MLA #StopCovidNI (@RobinSwannMoH) February 22, 2022
Further discussions on funding will be required with the UK Government and NI Ministerial colleagues. 2/2
Northern Ireland is currently without a fully functioning Executive following the resignation of first minister Paul Givan earlier this month which also forced deputy first minister Michelle O’Neill from the joint office.
However other Executive ministers, who remain in post, have indicated their preference to keep free Covid testing, PA Media reports.
Finance minister Conor Murphy said he wants to see free testing continue, but warned that Stormont will have tough choices to make without funding from Westminster for free testing.
Updated
A judge has denied bail to one of the leading organisers behind the protests in Canada against Covid-19 restrictions and prime minister Justin Trudeau, the Associated Press reports.
Ontario court justice Julie Bourgeois said Tuesday she believed there was a substantial likelihood Tamara Lich would re-offend if released.
Lich has been a key organiser of the protest that paralysed the streets around Parliament Hill for more than three weeks. The trucker protest, dubbed the ‘Freedom Convoy’, also grew until it closed a handful of Canada-US border posts. They have since ended.
Lich was arrested last Thursday and charged with counselling to commit mischief and promised during a bail hearing on Saturday to give up her advocacy of the protest and return to Alberta.
A separate bail hearing is scheduled on Tuesday for fellow protest organiser Pat King.
King was arrested on Friday and faces charges of mischief, counselling to commit mischief, counselling to commit the offence of disobeying a court order and counselling to obstruct police.
Lich’s bail decision came the day after Canadian lawmakers voted to support the government’s use of measures under the Emergencies Act.
Ottawa police have made 196 arrests, with 110 facing a variety of charges. Police also said 115 vehicles connected to the protest have been towed.
UK reports 205 daily Covid-19 deaths and 41,130 new cases
The UK has reported 205 daily Covid-19 deaths within 28 days of a positive test compared with 15 deaths on Monday. A further 41,130 new cases were reported compared with 38,409 cases the previous day.
Italy has reported 322 coronavirus-related deaths up from 201. There were a further 60,029 daily Covid-19 cases against 24,408 the day before, the health ministry said.
France has reported 97,382 new daily coronavirus cases compared with 17,195 yesterday. A further 2,842 are in intensive care units for Covid-19, this is down by 63.
There have been 109,240 Coronavirus deaths in hospital, up by 286.
Updated
Summary
That’s all from me, Léonie Chao-Fong, on the global coronavirus blog as I head to our coverage of the Ukraine crisis. Please feel free to join me there. In the meantime, here’s a quick recap of all the international Covid developments:
- Scotland’s system of mandatory vaccine passports for nightclubs and sports venues is to end next week, Nicola Sturgeon has announced. On 21 March, assuming there was no new surge in infections, the regulations requiring face masks on public transport and in shops will also end, to be replaced by guidance recommending them.
- All 7.4 million Hong Kong residents must undergo three rounds of compulsory coronavirus testing in March, the chief executive, Carrie Lam, said. Hong Kong’s leader confirmed that officials in mainland China were now coordinating the response to the territory’s worst outbreak as she admitted that local authorities had failed to stamp out the current surge.
- Ministers in Ireland have approved plans to remove almost all Covid-related restrictions, including the wearing of face masks, on Monday. From next week, people will be advised to exercise their own judgment on the use of masks in schools, shops and on public transport. The use of masks will only be required in healthcare settings.
- The Spanish government has approved an agreement with unions and business groups to extend its furlough scheme for workers affected by the coronavirus pandemic until the end of March. The ERTE scheme provides furloughed workers with 70% of their base salary for the first six months, before dropping to 50% for the following months.
- People infected with the Omicron coronavirus variant are nearly 75% less likely to develop serious illness or die than those who contract the Delta variant, real world data released by South Korea’s health authorities showed.
- The UK government’s Covid dashboard will no longer be updated at weekends, the UK Health Security Agency has confirmed. As of this week, the dashboard will be updated from Monday to Friday, while daily cases and deaths by report date published on Mondays will include figures from the weekend.
- Canada’s parliament backed the decision of Justin Trudeau, the prime minister, to invoke rarely-used emergency powers to end pandemic-related protests that have blocked streets in the capital, Ottawa, for more than three weeks.
- The Queen has cancelled her planned engagements for Tuesday as she is still experiencing mild cold-like symptoms from Covid-19, Buckingham Palace has said. The palace confirmed on Sunday that the monarch, 95, had tested positive for coronavirus and was planning to continue carrying out “light duties” at Windsor Castle.
- Uganda plans to fine people who refuse to be vaccinated against Covid and imprison those who fail to pay, under a new public health law which lawmakers are scrutinising, its parliament said on Tuesday.
Updated
The Spanish government has approved an agreement with unions and business groups to extend its furlough scheme for workers affected by the coronavirus pandemic until the end of March.
The ERTE scheme provides furloughed workers with 70% of their base salary for the first six months, before dropping to 50% for the following months.
It was first introduced in April 2020 and has since been extended several times. The most recent extension had been due to end on 28 February.
In a statement, the Spanish government said:
The extension will occur automatically, and the companies and workers concerned will not have to take any steps.
About 104,000 people are currently furloughed in Spain, compared to a peak of 3.4 million in 2020 during the height of the pandemic.
Updated
Also in the UK, prime minister Boris Johnson’s announcement that free Covid-19 testing for the general public will end from 1 April in England has sparked a “hoarding” of lateral flow test kits, say pharmacists.
The government was accused of “a complete lack of planning” and failing to carry out any consultations with high street pharmacies, who had already been limiting the number of LFT kits to two per visit amid a heightened demand.
Leyla Hannbeck, the chief executive of the Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies, told the Guardian that her members were worried that some vulnerable people were going to be “left behind” as pharmacies were likely to be again “inundated” with people asking for the kits.
Hannbeck, who is a pharmacist herself, said pharmacies were already seeing people attempting to circumvent attempts to limit each customer to two LFT kits, which has been common practice for some months.
“There’s nothing to stop different members of the same family coming in at different times in order to get more. We’ve had reports of that. At the same time, local pharmacists have a relationship with their customers and we really want to make sure that people are not left out and get what they need,” she said.
Pharmacists were also in the dark about pricing for kits in future and were learning of the government’s intentions only by following news reports, added Hannbeck, who suggested that subsidies could be imperative.
“On Monday there was a suggestion of guidelines about pricing but we have heard nothing, and then we were hearing mentions of five pounds on the radio in the morning.”
Updated
Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, concludes that “Covid has not gone away, it isn’t the case that it has simply disappeared because we want it”.
She adds that she agrees with the chief medical officer of England that it is “highly likely” we will face “new threats” from Covid in the form of new variants.
“We need contingency measures in place, we need to make sure that we have laws fit for purpose ... I’m sure there will be many people across this country that breathe a sigh of relief that Douglas Ross hasn’t been in charge of these decisions,” she says, before sitting down to applause from her fellow SNP MSPs.
Updated
Sturgeon: 'I must express frustration at the position of the UK government'
In addition, Sturgeon announces plans for the legal requirement on businesses to keep customer contact details to end on 21 March.
But in contrast to the UK government, she says that the Scottish government will ensure continued access to free PCR and lateral flow tests, saying Scotland is committed to a “robust” testing system.
She also says those testing positive should continue to self-isolate for the time being.
She said:
I must express frustration at the position of the UK government. It is, of course, for the prime minister to decide how best to tackle Covid in England.
However, current funding arrangements mean that though taxpayers in all four UK nations contribute to the costs, it is decisions taken for England that determine the resources available to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland for testing and other Covid measures.
Updated
Scotland to end Covid certification scheme and face mask laws
Scotland’s coronavirus certification scheme will “come to an end” on Monday, Sturgeon confirms.
She says the plans for the legal requirement for people to wear face coverings in some settings to become converted to guidance from 21 March.
However, she says it is “highly likely” the virus will continue to mutate and sets out how Scotland plans to deal with that scenario.
“If a new variant emerged that was more transmissible and more severe, perhaps with the ability to evade vaccine or natural immunity, this threat would likely be classified as high,” she says.
“In those circumstances, we might advice people to avoid social contact for a period or to work from home if possible.”
Following the lead from the UK government yesterday, Sturgeon says that those most at risk from Covid will be offered a fourth jab to help protect them.
She says: “This phase of the programme will also start in March.”
Sturgeon says the best available treatment will be used on those suffering from Covid and need to receive hospital treatment.
Updated
Sturgeon sets out plans for Scotland
Also in Scotland, the first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, is setting out the Scottish government’s “strategic framework” for tackling Covid.
She says that it “makes clear that in future we will seek to rely less on legally imposed measures and more on vaccines, treatments and sensible adaptations and good public health behaviours”.
Sturgeon says the Scottish government will aim to ensure vaccines are still readily available for people, in line with expert advice. She says there are more than 600,000 people living in Scotland who have yet to receive a third dose.
Updated
Scotland has recorded another 18 coronavirus deaths, as well as 6,427 new cases of the virus.
The latest statistics mean that 10,614 people have now died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid.
The figures, published by the Scottish government, showed 1,060 people in hospital on Monday with recently confirmed coronavirus, up from 1,051 the previous day.
This total included 12 who were in intensive care, down from 13.
Meanwhile 4,433,160 people in Scotland have received at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine, with 4,152,325 having had two doses and 3,404,119 have received a third dose or booster.
Updated
The UK government’s Covid dashboard will no longer be updated at weekends, the UK Health Security Agency has confirmed.
Established at the start of the pandemic, the dashboard has provided daily updates on Covid-19 cases and deaths in all parts of the UK, as well as data on hospital capacity and vaccinations.
As of this week, the dashboard will be updated from Monday to Friday, the UKHSA said. Daily cases and deaths by report date published on Mondays will include figures from the weekend. These will not be separated out to show daily figures for Saturday and Sunday.
The announcement comes after Boris Johnson’s “living with Covid” plan said the dashboard would be kept under review to ensure its data remains “useful and relevant” as testing is scaled back.
The plan states:
As testing reduces and the Government’s approach to managing Covid-19 further evolves, the UK Health Security Agency will keep the content and frequency of reporting on Covid-19 under close review – including the Gov.uk dashboard – to ensure that statistics are being produced with the appropriate level of quality and transparency, and remain useful and relevant as per the Code of Practice for Statistics.
The i reports the dashboard could face the axe altogether, with Whitehall sources saying the prime minister wanted to end daily updates on the dashboard by mid-April “at the latest”.
A senior source told the paper:
The prime minister has pencilled in Easter as the latest date by which the daily Covid statistics will be published in their current form. In an ideal situation, he will bring an end to them sooner if the current downward trend in deaths continues.
Updated
Boris Johnson’s ‘living with Covid’ strategy fails to provide testing, or address the impact of future variants, long Covid and inequality, writes Prof Christina Pagel, the director of UCL’s Clinical Operational Research Unit.
On Monday the government announced its “living with Covid” strategy, including a phasing-out of free access to rapid lateral flow tests, reduced access to the more accurate PCR tests for most of those with symptoms, an end to legal requirements to self-isolate and an end to financial support for those on low incomes needing to self-isolate.
Announcing the changes, which will come into force on Thursday, Boris Johnson said the time to “compel” people was over. Now people “will be asked to exercise personal responsibility” to look after each other, he said.
Health and education leaders and scientists are concerned about the wisdom of phasing out testing and self-isolation measures at this stage of the pandemic – but given that it is happening, what will the shift in policy mean in practice? What will things look like in the UK over the next year, and how will it affect our ability to deal with Covid-19?
Supporters of relaxing the measures have often appealed to individual responsibility – whether that’s to voluntarily self-isolate if positive, or to assess our own appetite for risk and behave accordingly. But this misses the point: there is a limit to what the individual can do with a highly infectious disease.
Many might choose to isolate if positive, but that relies on knowing you are positive in the first place, on being able to resist pressure from employers to go in to work, and on being able to afford to stay home (financially and practically). All three aspects will become much more difficult from now on, and will necessarily put others at risk.
Updated
European Union countries agreed to open their borders to foreign travellers who have had Covid-19 vaccines authorised by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The recommendation adopted today by EU governments means people from outside the bloc will be able to enter if they have been vaccinated with shots not approved in the EU.
The EU has so far authorised vaccines produced by Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca (when produced in Europe), Johnson & Johnson and Novavax.
In addition to these shots, the WHO has also approved the vaccines produced by Chinese makers Sinopharm and Sinovac and by Indian company Bharat Biotech. It has also authorised the AstraZeneca vaccine made in India by the Serum Institute.
The recommendation states:
Member states should lift the temporary restriction on non-essential travel to the EU for persons vaccinated with an EU- or WHO-approved vaccine.
Updated
Our education editor, Richard Adams, reports on the drop in numbers of pupils absent for Covid-related reasons in England.
State schools in England continued to see lower numbers of pupils absent for Covid-related reasons, although the number of pupils with confirmed cases of Covid remained above 100,000 earlier this month.
The data from the Department for Education’s survey of schools in England found that by 10 February, more than 90% of pupils were attending school on site, the highest level since November last year.
Covid-related absences in all state schools accounted for 2.2% of pupils on 10 February, down from 3.9% on 3 February. That included 136,000 pupils absent with a confirmed case of coronavirus, compared with 250,000 confirmed cases the week before. However the DfE classifies pupils absent after a positive PCR test as ill, and does not include them as Covid-related absences.
Staff absences remained high but falling, with 7.5% of teachers and school leaders recorded as absent, compared with 9% previously.
Overall attendance in primary schools was 93% on 10 February, up from 92% on 3 February. Attendance in secondary schools was 87%, up from 86%. The rates of pupil absence remain higher than pre-pandemic surveys, but the figures are not directly comparable.
Ireland to scrap mandatory face masks from Monday
Ministers in Ireland have approved plans to remove almost all Covid-related restrictions, including the wearing of face masks, on Monday.
The taoiseach, Micheal Martin, tánaiste, Leo Varadkar, and Green party leader, Eamon Ryan, agreed to lift the remaining restrictions at a cabinet meeting this morning.
From next week, people will be advised to exercise their own judgment on the use of masks in schools, shops and on public transport. The use of masks will only be required in healthcare settings.
The decision follows a recommendation from the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet).
Social distancing measures will also be lifted on schools and childcare settings, bringing an end to pods and staggered breaks, while testing and tracing will be scaled back.
Updated
All 7.4 million Hong Kong residents must undergo three rounds of compulsory coronavirus testing in March, the chief executive, Carrie Lam, said.
The tests will be spread out over a number of data with residents also having to take multiple rapid antigen tests every day at home in between, she said.
The city’s leader confirmed that officials in mainland China were now coordinating the response to the territory’s worst outbreak as she admitted that local authorities had failed to stamp out the current surge.
Lam told reporters today:
This quickly worsening epidemic has far exceeded the Hong Kong government’s ability to tackle it, so there is great need for the central government’s support in fighting the virus.
The head of Beijing’s Liaison Office, Xi Baolong, was coordinating the mainland’s response from the border city of Shenzhen, she added.
Schools, gyms, bars and beauty salons will remain closed into late April, while flights from nine countries, including the UK and US, will remain banned.
Updated
People attempting to order free lateral flow tests in England are struggling to do so as the system has been overwhelmed with the scramble for free tests while they are still available.
A message on the government testing portal states:
Sorry, there are no home delivery slots left for rapid lateral flow tests right now.
The number of free tests available each day will be capped to “manage demand” as the government scales back free testing for people in England.
People could previously order a new pack of tests every 24 hours, but now they are available only every three days.
It comes after Boris Johnson said free mass testing would end from 1 April and be limited to the most vulnerable, as part of his government’s “living with Covid” plan.
The public has been encouraged not to stockpile test packs but since the changes were announced the system has been overwhelmed with people trying to order tests.
The UK Health Security Agency said that test availability was refreshed regularly so people were encouraged to revisit the site every few hours as more would become available.
Updated
Hong Kong’s foreign domestic workers who test positive for the coronavirus are being forced into unemployment and homelessness in a move that has been called illegal and “immoral” by the Philippines’ top diplomat in the territory.
Charities warned last week that many of the city’s 370,000 foreign domestic workers – the vast majority women from the Philippines and Indonesia – were being “abandoned” in the current wave sweeping the city, with some forced to sleep rough or being denied treatment after testing positive.
In Hong Kong, foreign domestic workers must live with their employers, cannot swap jobs easily, and are entitled to one day off a week.
The Philippine consul-general Raly Tejada said today that the mission had helped 31 Filipinos who sought its help for hospitalisation or access to isolation rooms, adding that 61 in all had tested positive. It is also looking into cases of Filipinos whose employment contracts were allegedly terminated after they tested positive.
Speaking at an online news conference, Tejada said:
If it can be proven that they were asked to leave because of their sickness, this can be considered an illegal dismissal under the employment ordinance in Hong Kong.
We are proactively engaging also the employers to explain to them that terminating their employees in these difficult times especially when they are positive is not only illegal. It is immoral.
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Reinfection with two different Omicron subvariants is possible – but rarely happens, a Danish study has found.
In Denmark, a more infectious sublineage of the Omicron coronavirus variant known as BA.2 has quickly overtaken the original BA.1 variant. BA.2 now accounts for more than 88% of cases in Denmark.
Until now, it had been unclear whether a person could get infected by both variants. However, a study led by researchers at the Statens Serum Institut (SSI), has found that people infected with BA.1 can get infected with BA.2 shortly afterwards, but that it is a rare occurrence.
The study authors said:
We provide evidence that Omicron BA.2 reinfections are rare but can occur relatively shortly after a BA.1 infection.
Updated
Hello everyone. It’s Léonie Chao-Fong here again, taking over the live blog from Tom Ambrose to bring you all the latest global developments on the coronavirus pandemic. Feel free to get in touch on Twitter or via email.
We start with the news that the Queen has cancelled her planned engagements for Tuesday as she is still experiencing mild cold-like symptoms from Covid-19, Buckingham Palace has said.
The palace confirmed on Sunday that the monarch, 95, had tested positive for coronavirus and was planning to continue carrying out “light duties” at Windsor Castle.
Royal officials said today:
As Her Majesty is still experiencing mild cold like symptoms, she has decided not to undertake her planned virtual engagements today, but will continue with light duties.
It is understood further engagements over the coming week, including her weekly conversation with the prime minister, will be decided upon nearer the time.
The announcement came after the Queen’s eldest son, Prince Charles, 73, tested positive on 10 February, two days after the pair had met each other. His wife, the Duchess of Cornwall, tested positive just days later.
A number of people have also tested positive at Windsor Castle, it is understood.
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Summary
Here is a round-up of today’s top Covid headlines:
- People infected with the Omicron coronavirus variant are nearly 75% less likely to develop serious illness or die than those who contract the Delta variant, real world data released by South Korea’s health authorities showed.
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Canada’s parliament backed the decision of Justin Trudeau, the prime minister, to invoke rarely-used emergency powers to end pandemic-related protests that have blocked streets in the capital, Ottawa, for more than three weeks.
- A protester drove a car toward a New Zealand police line, narrowly avoiding officers, while other protesters sprayed personnel with a stinging substance, police said.
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Uganda plans to fine people who refuse to be vaccinated against Covid and imprison those who fail to pay, under a new public health law which lawmakers are scrutinising, its parliament said on Tuesday.
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Hong Kong authorities said they found Covid in samples taken from the packaging of imports of frozen beef from Brazil and frozen pork skin from Poland, vowing to step up inspections of imported food.
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Hong Kong reported 6,211 new confirmed Covid infections on Tuesday, and another 9,369 self-diagnosed cases.
- Meanwhile, Hong Kong will test its entire population for Covid in March, its leader said today, as the city grapples with its worst outbreak driven by the Omicron variant.
- Mask rules are set to be relaxed in Australia’s three biggest states, with authorities also considering removing isolation requirements for household contacts of Covid-19 cases as part of a “big shift” towards living with the virus.
- Also in Australia, the Nine Network has apologised after mistakenly suggesting the Queen was using the drug ivermectin after contracting Covid.
- In Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon will set out her new strategic framework for dealing with coronavirus on Tuesday. The first minister will speak in the Scottish parliament on Tuesday afternoon as the Scottish government’s blueprint for managing and recovering from Covid is published, PA Media reported.
That’s it from me, Tom Ambrose, for today. I’ll be back tomorrow but my colleague Léonie Chao-Fong will be along shortly to bring you the latest coronavirus stories throughout the day.
Updated
Hong Kong to test entire population for Covid in March
Hong Kong will test its entire population for Covid in March, its leader said today, as the city grapples with its worst outbreak driven by the Omicron variant.
The order for citywide testing comes after mainland Chinese authorities dispatched health workers and medical resources last week to help contain the outbreak in the semi-autonomous Chinese city.
Hong Kong has reported about 5,000 new daily infections since 15 February, with the number threatening to overwhelm its healthcare system.
Since the surge began at the beginning of the year, the city has recorded nearly 54,000 cases and 145 deaths.
Updated
Uganda plans to fine people who refuse to be vaccinated against Covid and imprison those who fail to pay, under a new public health law which lawmakers are scrutinising, its parliament said on Tuesday.
Although the east African country started administering jabs nearly a year ago, only about 16m jabs have been administered among a population of 45 million, with officials blaming widespread reluctance for the low coverage.
The Ugandan parliament’s health committee is scrutinising a public health bill that seeks to make coronavirus vaccinations mandatory, Reuters reported.
“According to the proposal, those who do not get vaccinated against Covid-19 will be fined 4m shillings or [receive] a jail term of six months,” said a statement on the Ugandan parliament’s website.
The statement quoted the health minister, Jane Ruth Aceng, as telling lawmakers on the committee that mandatory vaccinations would ensure enough people were vaccinated to achieve “mass immunity”. She added: “It is important that whoever is supposed to be vaccinated, is vaccinated.”
The statement did not say when the proposed law was likely to be brought before parliament for approval.
Updated
Hong Kong reported 6,211 new confirmed Covid infections on Tuesday, and another 9,369 self-diagnosed cases.
It comes as the city battles to curb a coronavirus outbreak that has overwhelmed healthcare facilities in the global financial hub.
Updated
Also in Australia, the Nine Network has apologised after mistakenly suggesting the Queen was using the drug ivermectin after contracting Covid.
The error had already been boosted by anti-vaxxer and anti-lockdown groups that support the use of ivermectin to treat Covid despite it being labelled “ineffective” by Australia’s chief medical officer.
The television programme A Current Affair broadcast a segment on Monday night about the Queen’s Covid diagnosis. The segment featured Dr Mukesh Haikerwal, a Victorian GP and former Australian Medical Association boss who has been at the forefront of the Covid response, including spearheading testing and vaccination clinics in Melbourne’s west.
As Haikerwal discussed how drug treatments could benefit elderly Covid patients, vision showed stock images of vials of sotrovimab, an intravenous monoclonal antibody treatment used for high-risk cases. The footage then switched to a medication box with a label reading “stromectol, containing 3mg ivermectin”.
Haikerwal told Guardian Australia he did not mention any specific treatments in his interview with A Current Affair and expressly ruled out recommending ivermectin for Covid patients.
Updated
Mask rules are set to be relaxed in Australia’s three biggest states, with authorities also considering removing isolation requirements for household contacts of Covid-19 cases as part of a “big shift” towards living with the virus.
The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, announced that from 11:59pm on Friday, the public health recommendation for Victorians to work or study from home will be removed and masks will only be required in certain settings including public transport, hospitals and primary schools, and for workers in hospitality, retail and large events.
It aligns with a similar plan which will take effect in New South Wales from Friday.
“We’re going to a situation on Friday where there are essentially no Covid rules, or so few that it’s unrecognisable to what it was a year ago, and indeed what it was two years ago,” Andrews said on Tuesday.
The Queensland premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, also said her government would relax the requirement to wear masks in most indoor settings, from 6pm on 4 March.
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In Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon will set out her new strategic framework for dealing with coronavirus on Tuesday.
The First Minister will speak in the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday afternoon as the Scottish Government’s blueprint for managing and recovering from Covid is published, PA Media reported.
When she updated MSPs on the pandemic earlier this month, she said Scotland was “through the worst” of the Omicron wave and the situation was “much more positive” than at the start of the year.
On Monday, Sturgeon said it would be “unacceptable” for public health decisions of the devolved administrations to be impacted by funding decisions taken by the UK Government.
During a visit to the Social Bite cafe in Edinburgh, the First Minister was asked if she was considering automatic trigger points for new restrictions. She said:
In terms of fixed automatic trigger points - we need to be a bit cautious about that.
Because we know that, if we look at the risks we may face in the future in the form of new variants for example, not all variants have the same impact.
She continued:
You need to have attention to data, to evidence.
But inevitably, there will have to be judgement applied in any given situation about the actual severity of the threat that any new risk might pose.
Canada’s parliament has backed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s decision to invoke rarely-used emergency powers to end pandemic-related protests that have blocked streets in the capital Ottawa for more than three weeks.
The Emergencies Act was approved in parliament by 185 to 151, with the minority Liberal government getting support from left-leaning New Democrats.
The special measures, announced by Trudeau a week ago, have been deemed unnecessary and an abuse of power by some opposition politicians, Reuters reported.
Over the weekend, Canadian police restored normalcy in Ottawa. The protesters initially wanted an end to cross-border Covid vaccine mandates for truck drivers, but the occupation turned into a broader demonstration against Trudeau and his government. Protesters blocked the busiest land crossing between Canada and the United States for six days.
Earlier on Monday, Trudeau told reporters his government still needed temporary emergency powers citing “real concerns” about threats in the days ahead. “This state of emergency is not over. There continue to be real concerns about the coming days,” Trudeau said. The act grants authorities broader powers.
Police spent two days clearing protesters from downtown Ottawa, making 191 arrests and towing 79 vehicles by the time the operation ended on Sunday.
Hong Kong authorities said they found Covid in samples taken from the packaging of imports of frozen beef from Brazil and frozen pork skin from Poland, vowing to step up inspections of imported food.
The global financial hub deploys a “dynamic zero Covid” strategy similar to mainland China’s, aiming to eradicate any outbreaks at all costs. Authorities have been on high alert as a new wave of infections is proving harder to control, Reuters reported.
Daily infections numbers have risen sharply this year, reaching a record 7,533 cases on Monday, overwhelming the government’s testing, hospital and quarantine capacities.
The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) took 36 samples for testing from a batch of around 1,100 cartons of frozen beef, weighing a total of 29 tonnes, imported from Brazil by sea. It found one outer packaging and two inner packaging samples tested positive.
It also collected 12 samples from a batch of around 300 cartons of frozen pork skin, weighing around 7 tonnes, imported from Poland via sea. One inner packaging sample tested positive for Covid.
“The CFS has ordered the importers concerned to dispose the beef and pork skin of the same batches,” the government said in a statement late on Monday. “In addition, the CFS will step up the sampling of similar products for testing.”
Clashes continue over measures in New Zealand
A protester drove a car toward a New Zealand police line, narrowly avoiding officers, while other protesters sprayed officers with a stinging substance, police said.
It comes as they tightened a cordon around a convoy that has been camped outside Parliament for two weeks.
The clashes in the capital of Wellington came a day after police reported that some of the protesters had thrown human faeces at them, the Associated Press reported.
Police Assistant Commissioner Richard Chambers told reporters the actions of some of the protesters, who oppose coronavirus vaccine mandates, were unacceptable and would be dealt with assertively.
“Our focus remains on opening the roads up to Wellingtonians and doing our absolute best to restore peaceful protest,” Chambers said. “The behaviour of a certain group within the protest community is absolutely disgraceful.”
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said protesters had taken things too far and needed to return home. “What’s happening in Wellington is wrong,” she said.
The latest clashes began after about 250 officers and staff arrived at dawn and used forklifts to move concrete barriers into a tighter cordon around the encampment, where hundreds of cars and trucks remain blocking city streets. Police have used the barriers this week to allow protest cars to leave but none to enter.
Video posted online shows a white car driving the wrong way down a one-way street toward a group of officers who quickly get out of the way while people shout. The vehicle comes to a stop at the police line and several officers climb inside and pull out the driver.
Police said the officers had been lucky to escape injury after the car stopped just short of colliding with them. They said they had arrested one person for driving in a dangerous manner and two others for obstructing police.
Chambers said the three officers who were sprayed with the unknown stinging substance had been treated at a hospital and were recovering well.
South Korea says Omicron considerably less severe than Delta
Hello. Tom Ambrose here and I’ll be bringing you all the latest Covid news over the next four hours.
We start with news that people infected with the Omicron coronavirus variant are nearly 75% less likely to develop serious illness or die than those who contract the Delta variant, real world data released by South Korea’s health authorities showed.
A study by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) of some 67,200 infections confirmed since December showed the Omicron variant’s severity and death rates averaged 0.38% and 0.18%, respectively, compared with 1.4% and 0.7% for the Delta cases.
The KDCA classed severe cases as people who were hospitalised in intensive care units, Reuters reported.
Around 56% of 1,073 people who died over the past five weeks were either unvaccinated or had received only one dose, the study showed, with people aged 60 or older accounting for 94% of deaths.
More than 86% of South Korea’s 52 million population have been double vaccinated and nearly 60% have received a booster shot.
