World

Coronavirus news live: Sweden to introduce Covid pass, UK study finds Delta offshoot less likely to cause symptoms

Published




07:29

Third athlete tests positive at Beijing Winter Olympics test event

China has reported a third Covid-19 case among foreign athletes at preparatory events ahead of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. A foreign athlete participating in the Luge World Cup in Beijing was confirmed on Tuesday as being an asymptomatic case after a routine Covid test.

The athlete has been transferred to an isolation facility for observation, state media reported, quoting Zhao Weidong, an official of the Beijing 2022 Winter Games.

The Luge World Cup is serving as a test event for the 4 February-20 February Beijing Winter Olympics. The Winter Paralympics follow in March.

A maintenance worker wearing a face mask walks through an empty section of spectator stands near a logo for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at a test event.

 A maintenance worker wearing a face mask walks through an empty section of spectator stands near a logo for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at a test event. Photograph: Mark Schiefelbein/AP

Reuters remind us that all participants at the Games will be tested daily and spectators from abroad are not being allowed in. Athletes and other Games personnel will also be isolated in “closed loop” bubbles

Updated




07:16

Jessica Glenza

A steep rise in Covid-19 cases in Europe should serve as a warning that the US could also see significant increases in coronavirus cases this winter, particularly in the nation’s colder regions, scientists say.

“I do expect to see cases increasing – we’ve started to see this in the last week or so,” said Dr David Dowdy, an associate professor of epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University. “I don’t think what we’re seeing in Europe means we’re in for a huge surge of serious illness and death as we [saw] here in the US,” last winter.

In the last three weeks, new cases have increased in several cold weather states across New England and the midwest. However, vaccines remain roughly 85% effective at preventing hospitalization and death.

“Even if cases go up this winter, we’re very unlikely to see the overcrowded [intensive care units] and morgues of a year ago,” said Dowdy.

Vaccine-conferred immunity against infection may allow cases to rise, he said, but far fewer people will need hospitalization. The vast majority of people who were hospitalized or died from Covid-19 this summer, more than 90% in one CDC study, were not fully vaccinated.

“People can still get Covid, there can still be breakthrough infections, but the great news is if you have been vaccinated you are very much less likely to be hospitalized or have severe infection,” said Rupali Limaye, an associate scientist at Johns Hopkins University and an expert in vaccine communication.

Read more of Jessica Glenza’s report here: ‘Zero-Covid is not going to happen’: experts predict a steep rise in US cases this winter




07:11

Hello, it is Martin Belam here in London, taking over from Samantha Lock in Sydney. Here are the most recent Covid numbers in the UK. The seven-day cumulative total of cases according to the UK government’s own dashboard is 272,862. That is 15.1% higher than a week ago. There were 1,022 deaths in the last seven days, which is down 11.7% on the week before, and hospitalisations are down 3.8% on a week ago.





06:53

Fears for Australia’s Indigenous communities amid NT Covid outbreak

Ben Smee

Indigenous health workers in the Northern Territory town of Katherine say they fear for vulnerable community members – including many living on the streets or in severely overcrowded homes – as authorities scramble to contain a Covid outbreak.

The Northern Territory recorded no new Covid cases on Thursday, but the chief minister, Michael Gunner, says concern remains for “large vulnerable households” in Katherine and the tiny remote community of Robinson River.

Our reporter Ben Smee has the latest.




06:29

South Korea sees record jump in infections

South Korea has reported its biggest daily jump in coronavirus infections since the start of the pandemic.

The 3,292 new cases reported by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on Thursday marked the second straight day of over 3,000 cases and brought the national caseload to 406,065.

The agency said 29 people with the virus died in the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 3,187, while 506 others were in serious or critical condition.

The jump comes as hundreds of thousands of masked students flocked to schools on Thursday for the country’s highly competitive college entrance exam, AP reports.




06:08

Hi it’s Samantha Lock back again to bring you all the latest Covid headlines.

Sweden is introducing a digital Covid-19 vaccination certificate for public gatherings and events with more than 100 people indoors, authorities said Wednesday.

Health Minister Lena Hallengren said the country expected to see a rise in cases during the winter and was “not isolated from the rest of the world”.

The vaccination pass will be required for those over the age of either 16 or 18 – the government has yet to decide – at events like concerts, theatres and sporting events, but not at restaurants and bars.

Scientists studying an offshoot of the Covid Delta variant on the rise in England and known as AY.4.2, found it is less likely to cause symptoms than the dominant Delta variant, AY.4.

Here’s a quick summary of the latest headlines:

  • The US is set to boost vaccine manufacturing and produce at least a billion doses a year. The Biden administration is planning to dedicate billions of dollars to build up vaccine manufacturing in the US to produce at least a billion doses each year, in an effort to shore up global Covid-19 supply for poorer countries while also pre-empting future pandemics.
  • The Australian state of Victoria is set to ditch restrictions for fully vaccinated people from midnight on Thursday.
  • The Covid Delta variant offshoot is ‘less likely’ to cause symptoms, researchers have revealed – although experts say the finding requires further scrutiny.
  • Europe is the only region with increasing Covid deaths, the World Health Organization reports. Covid deaths rose 5% in the last week as deaths in all regions other than Europe remained stable or declined, and totalled 50,000 worldwide last week. Of the 3.3 million new infections reported, 2.1 million came from Europe.
  • Spain has approved the use of a Covid-19 booster shot for people between 60-69 years old and for health workers, as part of an effort to combat an uptick in infections.
  • The Czech Republic and Slovakia both reported record daily new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, a day before the two European Union countries plan to approve new restrictions for unvaccinated people in response to rising infections.
  • A fourth Covid wave is hitting Germany with ‘full force’, Merkel says. Germany reported 52,826 new infections on Wednesday – up by a third from a week ago and another daily record, while 294 people died.
  • Belgium tightened its coronavirus restrictions, mandating wider use of masks in indoor settings and enforcing work from home, as cases rose in the country’s fourth Covid wave. The country has one of the highest cases per capita rates in the EU.
  • The UK reported another 38,263 Covid infections and a further 201 deaths within 28 days of a positive test.
  • Mandatory vaccine passports are set to be introduced in Northern Ireland.
  • Covid deaths have decreased 17% in the Americas over the past week, but the most populous countries like the US, Brazil and Colombia are seeing a levelling of new infections after weeks of declining trends, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said on Wednesday.
  • Hungary reported 10,265 new Covid-19 infections, its highest daily tally since the end of March.

Updated

source: theguardian.com