17th Jul 2020 https://nfind.uk/lockdown_exit/index.php/newsletter=54 lockdown_exit

Lockdown Exit

The Guardian.pe.ca The number of coronavirus cases in India neared one million on Thursday as infection numbers rose in the countryside pushing authorities to reinstate lockdowns across several states. India reported a record 32696 new cases of the COVID19 disease caused by the novel coronavirus bringing the total to 968876 with 24915 deaths according to data from the federal health ministry. The country of 1.3 billion people is behind only the United States and Brazil in the number of confirmed infections and there is no sign yet of the curve flattening. Indias testing rate is also among the lowest in the world in relation to its population. While major cities such as Delhi and Mumbai were among the initial hotspots of the virus in India newer cases are emerging in rural areas where healthcare infrastructure is much weaker. A fresh lockdown was imposed on Thursday in the largelyrural eastern state of Bihar where cases have been rising after thousands of migrant workers returned from cities following a strict lockdown to contain the virus spread. https://www.theguardian.pe.ca/news/india-coronavirus-cases-near-one-million-driven-by-surge-in-rural-areas-474011/ 16th Jul 2020

Lockdown Exit

Hindustan Times The pandemic is still affecting some regions of Europe. There is strategy called Hammer and Dance says Dr Leticia Kawano Dourado a respiratory physician at the Hospital do Corao in Sao Paulo Brazil. You alternate between closing down and reopening with a focus on testing and tracing until we get a vaccine. The strategy outlined by writer Toms Pueyo has drawn a lot attention from experts. During the Hammer the goal is to get R as close to zero as fast as possible to quench the epidemic. But once you move into the Dance you dont need to do that anymore. You just need your R to stay below 1. He explains where R means the average number of people each person with a disease goes on to infect. https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/life-after-lockdown/story-CTg5skpxxuKFZBrxVnC3nJ.html 16th Jul 2020

Lockdown Exit

The Independent China has reported a return to 3.2 per cent growth in the second quarter in one the worlds first major signs of economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. The countrys gross domestic product GDP exceeded expectations in the three months to the end of June according to data from the countrys National Bureau of Statistics. The rise follows Chinas first decline in decades with GDP dropping by 6.8 per cent in the first quarter of 2020 as the pandemic peaked in the worlds secondlargest economy. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/china-economy-growth-recover-coronavirus-lockdown-gdp-q2-a9622211.html 16th Jul 2020

Lockdown Exit

Newshub With international travel off the cards due to the COVID19 pandemic many New Zealand tourism operators catering to the domestic market are enjoying a boom. Quirky Campers is one of them the campervan rental company is reporting a 1000 percent increase in visits to its website since January. https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/travel/2020/07/quirky-campers-reports-boom-in-interest-from-new-zealanders-post-lockdown.html 16th Jul 2020

Lockdown Exit

Bloomberg New Zealand inflation slowed in the second quarter falling toward the lowend of the central banks target range amid a collapse in the global oil price and a stalling economy due to the Covid19 lockdown. Consumer prices rose 1.5 from a year earlier Statistics New Zealand said Thursday in Wellington. That compared with 2.5 in the first quarter but was faster than the 1.3 expected by economists. Prices fell 0.5 from three months earlier the first quarterly decline since 2015. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-15/new-zealand-inflation-slows-as-virus-lockdown-stalls-economy 16th Jul 2020

Lockdown Exit

Reuters UK The proportion of people in Britain travelling to their place of work rose to 50 last week for the first time since the coronavirus lockdown started a survey from the Office for National Statistics ONS showed on Thursday. Another ONS survey of businesses showed 90 of food and accommodation companies had incurred extra costs because of safety measures implemented in attempts to reopen following lockdown. https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-britain-businesses/half-of-british-workers-have-restarted-commuting-ons-says-idUKKCN24H19S 16th Jul 2020

Lockdown Exit

Reuters Restaurants might have reopened but the owner of Ettas Seafood Kitchen in Londons Brixton Village market fears the prolonged COVID19 lockdown may have changed customer behaviour for good. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-britain-goingout/london-restaurants-fret-as-going-out-goes-out-of-style-idUSKCN24H1NN 16th Jul 2020

Lockdown Exit

The Associated Press Rising coronavirus infections across dozens of states are threatening the U.S. economic recovery forcing businesses and consumers to freeze spending and keeping the unemployment rate stubbornly high. The government reported Thursday that retail sales rose a sharp 7.5 in June but the positive trend was undercut by more recent data showing that credit card spending has stalled. A separate report showed that more than a million Americans sought unemployment benefits last week a sign that companies continue to cut jobs as the virus slashes through the heavily populated Sunbelt. https://apnews.com/fa0d355b07bcaca0bd983526a2c64103 16th Jul 2020

Lockdown Exit

The Wall Street Journal You have no idea how many infections you have today said Jennifer Nuzzo an epidemiologist and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and head epidemiologist for the universitys Covid19 Testing Insights Initiative which tracks testing trends. But it also just puts you behind the eight ball. It delays your ability to intervene and thats the whole point Dr. Nuzzo added. Whats the point of doing a test if someone doesnt get a test result for two weeks Aside from tracking the virus the purpose of testing and identifying cases is to isolate infected people and then quickly locate those they have been in contact with and ask them to selfquarantine before they further spread the virus. https://www.wsj.com/articles/growing-wait-times-for-covid-19-test-results-hinder-virus-response-11594891800 16th Jul 2020

Lockdown Exit

Reuters Prime Minister Boris Johnson is to pour 3 billion pounds 3.77 billion into Englands National Health Service NHS to try to ward off any resurgence of the coronavirus. Britain is the worstaffected country in Europe by COVID19 with a death toll from confirmed cases of more than 45000. The government has faced criticism over several different aspects of its response to the pandemic including that it was too slow to impose a lockdown and failed to ramp up testing capacity quickly enough. In recent weeks the country has eased lockdown restrictions as infection rates have fallen but the government said it must now begin to prepare for a potential second peak in cases over winter. The Prime Minister is clear that now is not the time for complacency and we must make sure our NHS is battle ready for winter a spokesman said ahead of a news conference by Johnson on Friday afternoon. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-britain-johnson/uk-boosts-healthcare-funding-to-ward-off-winter-covid-19-wave-idUSKCN24H3B7 16th Jul 2020

Lockdown Exit

The Independent The coronavirus infection rate in England is fivetimes greater than that of Scotlands the latest data has revealed. Since midMay both countries have seen new daily coronavirus cases reduce significantly though Scotlands handling of the virus appears to have been far more effective. At their peak both nations recorded a similar amount of new cases per day with England recording around 73 new cases per million people compared to Scotlands 63 infections per million people. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/coronavirus-scotland-england-cases-charts-latest-lockdown-strategy-a9622016.html 16th Jul 2020

Lockdown Exit

Reuters Coronavirus support to poor countries has been so far grossly inadequate and thats dangerously shortsighted U.N. aid chief Mark Lowcock said on Thursday as he asked wealthy countries for billions more dollars in assistance. The United Nations increased its humanitarian appeal by more than a third to 10.3 billion to help 63 states mainly in Africa and Latin America tackle the spread and destabilising effects of the coronavirus. This is up from the world bodys initial 2 billion request in March then 6.7 billion in May. So far Lowcock said the United Nations has only received 1.7 billion. https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-un/u-n-aid-chief-to-g20-on-coronavirus-step-up-now-or-pay-price-later-idUKKCN24H3D9 16th Jul 2020

Exit Strategies

The Guardian The UK government has instructed care homes and members of the public to immediately stop using coronavirus testing kits produced by a healthcare firm after safety problems were discovered. Randox was awarded a 133m contract in March to produce the testing kits for England Wales and Northern Ireland without any other firms being given the opportunity to bid for the work. Under the contract the kits are sent to the public and places such as care homes and then delivered back to Randox to check swabs to see if individuals have the virus. On Thursday the health and social care secretary Matt Hancock told MPs Weve identified some swabs that are not up to the usual high standard that we expect and well be carrying out further testing of this batch as a precautionary measure. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/16/uk-government-orders-halt-randox-covid-19-tests-over-safety-issues 16th Jul 2020

Exit Strategies

Reuters France accelerated plans on Thursday to make it compulsory to wear face masks in enclosed public spaces because of concerns about renewed flareups of COVID19. President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday that maskwearing would be mandatory in places such as shops from Aug. 1 citing signs that the coronavirus was coming back a bit. But on Thursday Prime Minister Jean Castex said the order would take effect next week. Until now it has been mandatory to wear face coverings only on public transport and in public spaces where social distancing is not possible. We were considering implementing this measure on August 1 Castex told the Senate. I have heard and understood that this deadline appeared late or raised some questions so the decree will come into force next week. https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-france/france-speeds-up-plans-to-mandate-face-masks-over-covid-19-fears-idUKKCN24H15B 16th Jul 2020

Exit Strategies

Daily Mail NHS Test and Trace is still failing to find a more than a fifth of patients who test positive for Covid19 despite launching almost two months ago shocking data revealed today. Of the 3579 Covid19 patients in England referred to the contact tracing programme between July 2 and July 8 just 2815 were actually tracked down 78.7 per cent. A total of 618 people with the disease could not be reached at all by the tracers who phone text and email someone up to 10 times a day to get hold of them. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8529613/One-FIVE-Covid-19-patients-not-contacted-NHS-Test-Trace.html 16th Jul 2020

Exit Strategies

Sky News There were some who thought South Africa would be spared the worst of the global pandemic but the virus has taken root spreading rapidly through the countrys densely populated townships. In fact South Africa has become the worlds fourthlargest source of daily cases of COVID19 with health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize simultaneously warning of a coming storm and a serious shortage of essentials like hospital beds and compressed oxygen. https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-south-african-communities-are-buckling-under-covid-19-storm-12028997 16th Jul 2020

Exit Strategies

DW (English) German states and the federal government have reached an agreement on more targeted measures to address localized outbreaks of COVID19. One significant change is that entire districts will no longer be required to lockdown in the case of a localized outbreak while quarantine and lockdown measures will be tightly limited to only targeted hotspots. Localized travel bans in and out of coronavirus hotspots may be enforced in cases where the number of infections continues to rise or when there is no certainty that a chain of infection will not continue to spread. The measures come as Germany which has been less affected by the pandemic than neighboring countries seeks to ward off a second wave of coronavirus infections. https://www.dw.com/en/german-health-ministers-push-for-strict-local-coronavirus-lockdowns-as-needed/a-54198328 16th Jul 2020

Exit Strategies

Deccan Herald Germany plans to allow for tougher lockdown measures to contain local outbreaks and ward off the threat of a second coronavirus wave according to a draft agreement between the federal and regional governments. The new rules would include a ban on travel in and out of the affected areas to limit the spread of the virus the document seen by AFP said. The plan is set to be finalised later on Thursday and comes as countries across the world are reimposing curbs on public life in response to a surge in new infections. https://www.deccanherald.com/international/world-news-politics/germany-readies-tougher-lockdowns-to-ward-off-second-wave-draft-plan-861972.html 16th Jul 2020

Exit Strategies

CNN The Spanish island of Mallorca has closed its main party strip after drunken tourists were seen cavorting without masks jumping on cars and chanting aggressively on the streets of a resort town. Authorities say such incidents video of which was shared by a local journalist but hasnt been verified by CNN are isolated but they have raised concerns as Spain teeters on the edge of a fresh coronavirus surge. All of the bars on Punta Ballena street were closed as of Wednesday evening because the mainly British tourists there and the bar operators themselves were not complying with the rules a spokesman for the Balearics regional government told CNN. Authorities are aware of social media postings showing about 20 people dancing in the street including on top of cars added the spokesman. https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/majorca-travel-incidents-scli-intl/index.html 16th Jul 2020

Exit Strategies

Daily Mail PM Jean Castex said masks will be necessary in all public indoor areas next week Currently masks only mandatory on public transport and certain public spaces Not clear whether there will be penalties for not wearing a mask in these areas Countrys R rate is edging above one health authorities warned last week https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8529417/France-makes-face-masks-compulsory-indoor-public-spaces.html 16th Jul 2020

Exit Strategies

FRANCE 24 English The latest research models show the number of US deaths projected to rise to over 150000 by next month. Weve got to almost reset this and say Okay lets stop this nonsense Anthony Fauci the top US infectious disease expert told The Atlantic. In the US state of Oklahoma the Republican governor Kevin Stitt who has often declined to wear a mask said he had tested positive for Covid19. The use of masks to slow the spread of the virus has become a political flashpoint in the US where Trump had resisted wearing one until recently and at times mocked the trend. Stitts state recorded a singleday record of 1075 new cases while its neighbor to the south Texas reported 10791 new cases and 110 new fatalities both new highs. Cases and death tolls continue to mount across the United States particularly in the south and west with Florida and California also hard hit. https://www.france24.com/en/20200716-usa-brazil-australia-covid-19-coronavirus-spike-lockdown-slowdown 16th Jul 2020

Exit Strategies

The Connexion France is to make masks mandatory in enclosed public spaces from next week and not from August 1 as was originally announced the Prime Minister has confirmed. Jean Castex told the Senate today July 16 I have heard and understood that this original deadline appeared late and raised further questions. From Monday July 20 the public will be required to cover their mouths and noses when in enclosed or confined public spaces especially shops and especially sites in which physical distancing is impossible. Mr Castex said We had envisaged that these rules would come into force from August 1 because we are working preventatively not in haste. But I have heard and understood that this original deadline appeared late and raised further questions. The decree will therefore come into force from next week. https://www.connexionfrance.com/French-news/Masks-mandatory-indoors-in-France-next-week-not-August-1 16th Jul 2020

Exit Strategies

Reuters China will allow most cinemas to reopen from July 20 the film administration said on Thursday six months after they were forced to close as part of draconian measures to contain the novel coronavirus. https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-china-film/china-will-allow-cinemas-in-low-risk-areas-to-open-from-july-20-idUKKCN24H0IZ?il=0 16th Jul 2020

Exit Strategies

Reuters Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Wednesday a plan for government grants for all Israelis amid growing public anger over his handling of a coronavirus crisis that has taken a sharp turn for the worse. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-israel/under-fire-over-coronavirus-policy-netanyahu-announces-money-for-all-idUSKCN24G2W3 16th Jul 2020

Exit Strategies

EUobserver The European Commission unveiled on Wednesday 15 July a set of guidelines to strengthen the EUs response to a potential future surge of coronavirus infections calling on member states to reduce the risk of a simultaneous seasonalflu and Covid19 outbreaks in the autumn. The virus is still with us but Europe is now much more prepared said commissions vice president Margaritis Schinas referring to the new localised outbreaks appearing across Europe. https://euobserver.com/coronavirus/148957 16th Jul 2020

Exit Strategies

BBC The Republic of Ireland has decided not to move forward to Phase 4 of its roadmap for easing lockdown amid concerns about the spread of Covid19. This virus has not changed indiscriminate in its cruelty and relentless said the taoiseach. The concern about the rise in cases in recent weeks is very real the R reproductive number has risen above 1 in this country Michel Martin said. The international situation represents a growing worry. Mr Martin said the Irish cabinet had agreed that current public health measures should remain in place and the Republic of Ireland would not progress to Phase 4 of the agreed roadmap. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-53424074 15th Jul 2020

Partisan Exits

Mercury News Major protests are breaking out against governments in several countries after coronavirus sparked fury over grievances including economic problems and alleged corruption or incompetence. Demonstrators have taken to the streets to voice their anger at perceived failures by leaders to rise to the unprecedented challenges heightened by the pandemic. A report from the Institute for Economics and Peace entitled Covid19 and Peace reads The pandemic will undo many years of socioeconomic development for several countries exacerbating humanitarian crises and potentially aggravating unrest and conflict. The IEP said that most of the indicators of its Global Peace Index GPI and Positive Peace Index PPI which measures the attitudes institutions and structures that create and sustain peaceful societies were likely to be negatively impacted by the COVID19 pandemic. https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/07/15/outbreak-lockdown-protests-explode-in-several-countries/ 16th Jul 2020

Partisan Exits

Reuters UK Ukrainians are fed up with the coronavirus lockdown and the government should be cautious about extending it beyond August President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday. Everyone is tired of this quarantine the presidential press service quoted him as telling government officials. Ukraine imposed strict restrictions in March but partially eased them in May to allow economic recovery. It has been extending the lockdown monthly with current rules in place until endJuly requiring people to wear masks and adhere to strict norms in restaurants and public places. We need a clear framework for how we will continue it lockdown so that people have the opportunity to live safely so that business can function so that the economy does not stand at a pause Zelenskiy added. https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-ukraine-lockdown/ukrainians-tired-of-lockdown-says-president-idUKKCN24H1PN 16th Jul 2020

Partisan Exits

Yahoo News Algeria is planning a law to protect health workers after an increase in physical and verbal attacks since the countrys coronavirus outbreak began as it registered another record number of daily cases. President Abdelmadjid Tebboune called for new legislation after an increase in recent weeks of physical and verbal attacks on medics paramedics and administrative staff according to a statement published on the prime ministers website. The incidents have also in some cases involved acts of damage and destruction of public assets and medical equipment the statement added. Algeria on Thursday registered 585 new cases of the novel coronavirus bringing the total number of infections to 21355 including 1052 deaths said Djamel Fourar spokesperson for the scientific committee monitoring the pandemic during a daily press conference. https://news.yahoo.com/algeria-plans-law-protect-medics-attacks-virus-cases-205334371.html 16th Jul 2020

Partisan Exits

ITV News The National Cyber Security Centre NCSC has warned that hackers linked to the Russian intelligence services are targeting UK researchers working on a coronavirus vaccine. The warning has been issued by the UKs cyber security agency alongside its US and Canadian counterparts. https://www.itv.com/news/2020-07-16/coronavirus-how-russian-hackers-tried-to-breach-uk-covid-19-vaccine-research 16th Jul 2020

Partisan Exits

The Guardian Scott Morrison says the response to a second wave of Covid19 infections cannot be shutting the country down to try to eliminate the virus and hes moved to reassure people his government will not be withdrawing income support for those in need. With renewed debate around whether Australia should respond to the latest outbreak and a spike in community transmission with more forceful lockdowns Morrison said on Wednesday elimination was impractical but Victorias chief health officer Brett Sutton told reporters it was an idea worthy of consideration. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jul/15/scott-morrison-says-we-cant-shut-down-australia-to-contain-second-wave-of-covid-19 15th Jul 2020

Continued Lockdown

CTV News Illegal armed groups are imposing strict COVID19 quarantines in parts of Colombia where the state has a weak presence threatening and even killing those who dont comply Human Rights Watch warned Wednesday. At least nine people have been assassinated in recent months for either refusing to abide by the restrictions or actively opposing them. One man community leader Edison Leon was killed in June after sending a letter alerting local authorities that members of a group called La Mafia were forcing residents to staff a health checkpoint in Putumayo. https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/illegal-armed-groups-in-colombia-killing-those-who-disobey-lockdown-orders-1.5026446 16th Jul 2020

Continued Lockdown

The Financial Times The UK has shed more than half a million jobs during the coronavirus lockdown while employees worked fewer hours and earned less despite the government rolling out numerous measures to support the economy. The number of UK payroll employees fell by 650000 in June compared with March a 2.2 per cent fall according to figures from the Office for National Statistics based on tax data. The statistics body said however that the rate of decline in employment had slowed in June compared with May. There are now almost twothirds of a million fewer employees on the payroll than before the lockdown according to the latest tax data said Jonathan Athow deputy national statistician for economic statistics at the ONS. https://www.ft.com/content/b04525c5-4d21-4d73-90b2-c6ba42fb4de1 16th Jul 2020

Continued Lockdown

UPI.com An upscale residential area remains on semilockdown in Beijing on Thursday July 16 2020. China reported just one new confirmed case of the Covid19 in the past 24 hours and two asymptomatic cases as the U.S. struggles to fight the rising infections and deaths across the country. https://www.upi.com/News_Photos/view/upi/e5f172af51f3180b611b5101c02feaab/A-Residential-Area-Remains-on-Lockdown-in-Beijing-China/ 16th Jul 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

USA TODAY The possibility of reinfection is certainly real Dr. Robert Glatter an emergency physician at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City told USA TODAY. And one that I am seeing repeatedly on the front lines. Glatter says he has cared for a number of patients who suffer only mild initial infections get better and actually test negative for the virus before experiencing a recurrence of symptoms. The intensity can be worse the second time he says. These patients develop difficulty breathing leading to hypoxia aches chest pain with recurrent and unrelenting fevers and chills he said adding that they then test positive again. Experts caution that its been only a few months since the first surge of cases in China and around the world. The frequency and severity of reinfections wont be known until cases rise in the areas where there were a significant number of infections last winter said Dr. Daniel Griffin chief of infectious diseases at ProHEALTH Care in New York. We are months away from knowing for certain if reinfections are possible or a significant issue Griffin told USA TODAY. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2020/07/16/covid-19-can-you-get-infected-twice-herd-immunity/5429012002/ 16th Jul 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

The Guardian Coronavirus cases in New South Wales will need to continue rising at their current rates until at least the middle of next week before the government will consider further tightening social restrictions public health experts have said. They argue the states capacity to rapidly respond to new cases has not yet been overwhelmed. As the cluster linked to the Crossroads Hotel in Sydneys southwest grew to 40 cases on Thursday the NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant would not be drawn on specifics in relation to potential further restrictions. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jul/16/covid-19-cases-need-to-keep-rising-in-nsw-before-restrictions-are-tightened-experts-say 16th Jul 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

BBC Encouraging early results from clinical trials have raised hopes for an effective coronavirus vaccine. Studies in the US and UK suggest several experimental vaccines produce a good immune response in volunteers without serious sideeffects. Nearly two dozen coronavirus vaccines are in clinical trials while another 140 are in early development. But some scientists are calling for volunteers to be exposed to the virus to accelerate research. Nobel laureates are among those who say it would make it easier to see if those who had received a vaccine were protected. They signed an open letter to the head of the US National Institutes of Health saying these challenge trials could accelerate vaccine development. The race to create a coronavirus vaccine is certainly accelerating. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-53426367 16th Jul 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

The Guardian Every child in Scotland will need additional mental health support as a consequence of measures taken to tackle the coronavirus crisis according to the countrys children and young peoples commissioner. Speaking exclusively to the Guardian as he publishes Scotlands comprehensive assessment of the impact of the pandemic on childrens rights the first such review undertaken anywhere in the world Bruce Adamson said the pandemic had sent a very negative message about how decisionmakers value young peoples voices. He said Scotland has been viewed as a childrens rights champion but that efforts to involve young people in the dramatic changes being made to their education and support went out the window as soon as lockdown came along. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/jul/16/scotlands-children-need-post-covid-19-mental-health-care-says-report 16th Jul 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

The Guardian Russian statesponsored hackers are targeting UK US and Canadian organisations involved in developing a coronavirus vaccine according to British security officials. The UKs National Cyber Security Centre NCSC said drug companies and research groups were being targeted by a group known as APT29 which was almost certainly part of the Kremlins intelligence services. British officials would not say if any of the attacks had been successful in their goal of stealing medical secrets. They stressed however that none of the vaccine research had been compromised as a result. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/16/russian-state-sponsored-hackers-target-covid-19-vaccine-researchers 16th Jul 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

YAHOO! Imposing lockdown restrictions earlier has been linked to greater reductions in new coronavirus cases a study has found. The research published in the BMJ on Wednesday also found that physical distancing measures such as closing schools workplaces and public transport and restricting mass gatherings were associated with a meaningful reduction in new Covid19 cases. Based on data gathered from 149 countries and regions the study found that on average the implementation of any physical distancing measure was associated with an overall reduction in Covid19 incidence of 13. A team of UK and US researchers compared the change in new cases of Covid19 before and up to 30 days after implementation of physical distancing measures in the early stages of the pandemic. https://uk.news.yahoo.com/earlier-lockdown-linked-bigger-reduction-063122994.html 16th Jul 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

Daily Mail Researchers measured how Covid19 cases changed in response to strict rules. They looked at five physical distancing measures including work closures. Britain was one of the slowest to introduce the potentially lifesaving measures. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8526467/Earlier-lockdowns-cut-Covid-19-outbreaks-quicker-study-shows.html 16th Jul 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters UK While other nations had data showing a worryingly disproportionate infection rate among ethnic minorities France had no such information due to a longstanding taboo on compiling citizens race intended to prevent discrimination. In the end 42yearold Delpierre turned to data compiled by Imperial College in London on Britains epidemic for clues about how the disease could also be affecting France. They knew who was dying and who was surviving we were still putting studies together said Delpierre who began his career studying social factors in AIDS and now heads a team of researchers in Toulouse at the state National Institute of Health and Medical Research INSERM. French governments have long cherished their colourblind policy. Census questionnaires job applications and medical files avoid references to ethnicity or religion. But now on the back of the global Black Lives Matter movement and heightened coronavirus suffering in immigrant communities some campaigners in France say the policy can harm rather than shield minorities. Were too politically correct in France said Ghyslain Vedeux who heads advocacy group the Representative Council of Black Associations. Blacks Arabs immigrants and more broadly poor people were the hardest hit. Why not make it official https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-france-statistics/colour-blind-france-avoids-gauging-covid-impact-on-ethnic-minorities-idUKKCN24H1MJ 16th Jul 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

Sky News Russian cyber spies are trying to steal research into coronavirus vaccines and treatments from Britain the US and Canada the three countries claimed on Thursday. The attack is ongoing with British cyber experts working to defend research institutes laboratories and other targets in the UK according to a branch of the spy agency GCHQ. Organisations in other countries involved in the fight against COVID19 are also allegedly being targeted. https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-russian-cyber-spies-attempting-to-steal-vaccine-research-from-britain-us-and-canada-12029697 16th Jul 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

Wired UK The UK US and Canada have discovered hackers working on behalf of the Russian state launching attacks against coronavirus vaccine development projects. Criminals working for the hacking group Advanced Persistent Threat 29 APT29 also known as Cozy Bear have been caught attacking pharmaceutical businesses and academic institutions involved in vaccine development. Officials in the three countries believe these have been attempts to steal intellectual property and information about potential vaccine candidates. The hackers used custom malware thats not been previously linked to Russia and a number of publicly known vulnerabilities in widely used software such as VPNs. These have been accompanied with spearphishing attempts that have looked to gather login details to internetaccessible parts of the organisations targeted. https://www.wired.co.uk/article/russia-hack-coronavirus-vaccine 16th Jul 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

The Japan Times As countries across the AsiaPacific region struggle with resurgences of the coronavirus one data point is steering government responses the share of cases with no clear indication of how infection occurred. These patients cannot be linked to other confirmed infections or existing outbreaks by virus responders indicating hidden chains of transmission. A growing proportion of such cases in a citys resurgence pushes governments like in Australia and Hong Kong to take broad and blunt action returning entire cities to lockdownlike conditions. You can hardly contain the outbreak because you have no idea where they will come out next said Yang Gonghuan former deputy director general of Chinas Center for Disease Control and Prevention. When theres more cases where the origins are unknown it adds to the difficulty for containment. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/07/16/asia-pacific/coronavirus-spreads-unexplained-ways/ 16th Jul 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

The Economic Times As countries across Asia Pacific struggle with resurgences of the COVID19 one data point is steering government responses the share of cases with no clear indication of how infection occurred. These patients cannot be linked to other confirmed infections or existing outbreaks by virus responders indicating hidden chains of transmission. A growing proportion of such cases in a citys resurgence pushes governments like in Australia and Hong Kong to take broad and blunt action returning entire cities to lockdown like conditions. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/covid-is-spreading-in-unexplained-ways-dimming-containment-hope/articleshow/76992507.cms 16th Jul 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

Medical Xpress Bars may be off the menu and many schools look set to remain closed for months to come as the new coronavirus causes more illness and death in many countries and the U.S. South and West. Indias record daily increase of nearly 327000 cases pushed its total close to 1 million and led authorities to reimpose a threeday lockdown and night curfew in the popular western beach state of Goa two weeks after it was reopened to tourists. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-07-virus-totals-rethink-bars-schools.html 16th Jul 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

Pharmaceutical Technology Based on research findings published in Antiviral Research the drug may act as a decoy to prevent the virus from infecting human cells. SARSCoV2 works by using a surface spike protein to attach to human cells and begin infection. However heparin can bind with the surface spike protein to potentially block the infection. This mechanism could enable the drug to act as a decoy which may be delivered into the body via a nasal spray or nebulizer to interfere and lower the infection risk. According to the researchers similar decoy strategies were observed to be beneficial in fighting other viruses such as influenza A Zika and dengue. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute chemistry and chemical biology professor Robert Linhardt said This approach could be used as an early intervention to reduce the infection among people who have tested positive but arent yet suffering symptoms. But we also see this as part of a larger antiviral strategy. https://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/news/heparin-covid-19-study/ 16th Jul 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

Sky News Researchers at the University of Oxford believe they have made a breakthrough in the development of a coronavirus vaccine. Human trials are reported to have shown promising results after the team discovered the jab could provide double protection against the virus. Blood samples taken from volunteers in phase one trials have shown the vaccine stimulated the body to produce antibodies and Tcells according to a report in The Daily Telegraph. https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-oxford-vaccine-could-provide-double-protection-report-12029406 16th Jul 2020

Coronavirus Resurgence

Mirror Online A Spanish campsite popular with Brit holidaymakers has gone into lockdown after two tourists tested positive for coronavirus. Around 250 tourists are said to be trapped inside the site in the seaside resort of Zarautz which was immediately closed down. Police have now been called in to prevent anyone from entering or leaving without permission. Health officials closed the Talai Mendi campsite in Basque Country after detecting two positive guests. Now all 250 tourists will be tested for coronavirus. The site had only just reopened following the lifting of the coronavirus lockdown. Medical personnel started the tests yesterday and it is hoped the first results will come through today. Tourists will then be given the choice of either going home or staying inside the closed campsite for a quarantine period of between seven and 14 days. https://www.mirror.co.uk/travel/news/breaking-spain-campsite-lockdown-250-22364935 16th Jul 2020

Coronavirus Resurgence

The Guardian As Victoria grapples with more than 200 new Covid19 cases each day questions are being asked of the premier Daniel Andrews and the chief health officer Prof Brett Sutton about whether tougher restrictions or stage 4 lockdown measures are on the cards. There is no definition of what stage four may involve given no one can predict what case numbers may look like in a month let alone a weeks time and therefore what responses may be necessary. This lack of clarity has prompted plenty of speculation about what might lie ahead. Scam text messages with false information have fuelled fears about what a stage four lockdown could entail. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jul/15/is-stage-4-covid-19-lockdown-rules-restrictions-coming-vic-victoria-melbourne-what-is-would-four-mean-date-victorian-premier-daniel-andrews 16th Jul 2020

Coronavirus Resurgence

The Conversation AU Stringent border controls and mandatory quarantine give New Zealand a good chance to remain free of COVID19 for months to come according to our latest modelling. Its been 76 days since New Zealands last reported case of community transmission and our model shows the risk of an infectious person slipping through the border undetected remains very low. Provided the rules are followed we would expect this to happen only once over the next 18 months and even then this person may not infect anyone else. New Zealands borders remain closed to everyone except residents citizens and a small number of foreigners with special exemptions. https://theconversation.com/how-new-zealand-could-keep-eliminating-coronavirus-at-its-border-for-months-to-come-even-as-the-global-pandemic-worsens-142368 16th Jul 2020

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters China reported 10 new confirmed COVID19 cases for the mainland as of the end of July 16 up from one a day earlier the countrys national health authority said on Friday. Nine of the new infections were imported cases involving travellers from overseas. Beijing reported no new cases for an 11th consecutive day. The total number of confirmed COVID19 infections in mainland China to date is 83622. The death toll remains unchanged at 4634. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-china-cases/china-reports-10-new-coronavirus-cases-in-mainland-nearly-all-imported-idUSKCN24I00Y 16th Jul 2020

Coronavirus Resurgence

Yahoo! Brazil on Thursday passed the 2 million confirmed coronavirus cases mark with little sign that the rate of increase is slowing as anger grows over President Jair Bolsonaros handling of the outbreak. Just 27 days have passed since Brazil which has the worlds secondlargest outbreak after the United States reached one million cases. In recent weeks there have been nearly 40000 confirmed new cases per day according to government figures. By contrast 43 days passed between 1 million and 2 million confirmed cases in the United States where the spread of COVID19 eased briefly in May before accelerating again in June according to a Reuters tally. On Thursday confirmed cases in Brazil totalled 2012151 while deaths numbered 76688. https://uk.news.yahoo.com/brazil-reports-more-2-million-214929784.html 16th Jul 2020

Coronavirus Resurgence

CNN For the first time the numbers of coronavirus cases reported in the United States passed 70000 according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. There were 71135 new cases reported Thursday topping the previous high of 67791 new coronavirus cases reported across the country two days ago. Florida reported 13965 of Thursdays cases the second most reported in a day in the state. As much of the country sees a sharp rise in coronavirus cases the test results data that many cities and states depend on to make important decisions about resources and reopenings is lagging. Right now tests are being done in much larger numbers a positive development but this increase is also slowing down results. https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/16/health/us-coronavirus-thursday/index.html 16th Jul 2020

New Lockdown

The Hill Hundreds of millions of people in India are back into lockdown conditions as coronavirus cases surge in the country. More than 400 million people are impacted in three Indian states shut down CNN reported on Wednesday. Lockdowns were also instituted in highrisk areas of localities in several other states permitting only essential food supplies and health services The Associated Press reported. https://thehill.com/policy/international/507610-hundreds-of-millions-in-india-back-in-lockdown-as-virus-cases-surge 16th Jul 2020

New Lockdown

BBC Leicesters mayor has called for 90 of the citys lockdown to be lifted and said residents will be very angry if restrictions are extended further. A prolonged lockdown for the city was announced on 29 June after a spike in Covid19 cases with nonessential shops and schools closed. But mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said new data showed only 10 of Leicester had seen higher transmission rates. The health secretary is due to rule on whether to extend restrictions later. The Department of Health and Social Care previously said it makes no apology for trying to reverse infection rates. Sir Peter said the government had got local people into a messy situation by its handling of the restrictions. On the prospect of the local lockdown being extended he said I think if we are told that there are going to be an awful lot of Leicester people who are very angry indeed. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-53422664 16th Jul 2020

New Lockdown

FRANCE 24 Coronavirus cases have surged in India as the country is now expected to reach a million infections in the next days. A threeday lockdown will be going into effect as of Thursday night in the state of Goa which is also implementing a night curfew until August 10 and a twoweek lockdown has now gone into effect in the Eastern city of Bihar as FRANCE 24s New Delhi correspondent Diya Gupta reports. https://www.france24.com/en/video/20200716-indian-states-ordered-back-into-lockdown-as-coronavirus-cases-surge 16th Jul 2020

New Lockdown

Daily Mail Indias 29429 new coronavirus cases bring its total from 906752 to 936181 Health officials also recorded 582 new deaths taking tally from 23727 to 24309 State of Bihar and IT hub of Bangalore are among areas to impose new lockdown https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8524707/India-sends-375million-people-lockdown.html 16th Jul 2020

New Lockdown

NEWS.com.au Australia has recorded the highest unemployment rate for 22 years raising fears the COVID19 economic recession will dampen prospects of an early recovery. Labour figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics released Thursday showed Australias June unemployment rate rose to 7.4 per cent a 0.3 percentage rise on the previous month. It was the highest monthly unemployment rate since November 1998 and prompted Prime Minister Scott Morrison to label the fiscal pain caused by the pandemic as Australias COVID19 economic recession. https://www.news.com.au/finance/economy/australian-economy/unemployment-rises-as-delays-to-economic-recovery-continues/news-story/fe9dc5d51d5ca1386e5cafc800780d7f 16th Jul 2020

New Lockdown

The Telegraph The confusion around the Governments coronavirus messaging was perfectly illustrated by two Cabinet ministers buying their breakfast at Pret A Manger on Tuesday. When Liz Truss the International Trade Secretary emerged from the sandwich shop wearing a mask but the Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove came out with his face uncovered it showed that the everchanging rules were flummoxing even those running the country. On Friday Boris Johnson is expected to give another landmark speech urging the nation to get back to work after the Governor of the Bank of England warned that peoples fear of commuting was holding back the country. Yet with Downing Street continuing to emit mixed messages about what the public should and should not do and millions of workers still on furlough until October some are starting to question the directions on the Prime Ministers latest road map.... https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2020/07/16/mixed-messages-baffling-public-trying-return-normal-no-longer/?li_source=LI&ampli_medium=li-recommendation-widget 16th Jul 2020