Coronavirus Global Updates, Dec 21: Londoners flee capital ahead of tougher Covid-19 restrictions that came into force on Sunday

[Bulls n Bears]

Zimbabwe COVID19 Update


 


COVID-19 update: As at 20 December 2020, Zimbabwe had 12 325 confirmed cases, including 10 024 recoveries and 320 deaths.








 


Londoners flee capital ahead of tougher Covid-19 restrictions that came into force on Sunday
Londoners piled on to trains and motorways on Saturday night as they rushed to leave the capital ahead of new restrictions announced by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.


Johnson announced that London and large parts of south-eastern England will enter Tier 4 Covid-19 restrictions on Sunday.

Tier 4 is the highest possible level of restrictions in England, effectively renewing the lockdown seen in Spring.

By 7 p.m. on Saturday evening, there were no free seats on trains leaving London from several stations in the capital, PA News Agency reports. Passengers complained about not being able to socially distance themselves within the train carriages.

The scenes were condemned by politicians and public health experts. London Mayor Sadiq Khan called the introduction of the restrictions "devastating" in an interview with the BBC, adding that scenes at London train stations "was a direct consequence of the chaotic way the announcement was made, and the late stage it was made.

I understand why people want to return to see their mums, dads, elderly relations, but I think it’s wrong," he said.

Speaking directly to Londoners who left London, he said that while they may have not broken the rules, they may have taken the virus out of London and potentially put “your mum, dad, elderly relations" at risk.

Dr. Chaand Nagpaul, British Medical Association (BMA) council chair, said that such scenes would not have been seen "in east Asian countries that have managed pandemics well in the past," adding that the government should have made sure there were crowd control measures.

“Whilst Christmas is obviously going to be ruined for many, the worst thing we could be doing is infecting our loved ones," he told Sky News.

UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock defended the government's actions on Sky, saying they had no choice to act after being presented with new scientific evidence that a new strain of the virus was spreading more quickly than others in the UK.
"It was our duty to act,” he said. "We acted very quickly and decisively with the announcements the Prime Minister set out yesterday."

New strain: England's chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, warned Saturday that a newly identified variant of  <https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/coronavirus-pandemic-vaccine-updates-12-19-20/index.html> Covid-19 "can spread more quickly" than previous strains of the virus.

"This is now spreading very fast," Johnson warned. "It is with a very heavy heart that I say we cannot continue with Christmas as planned."

As with other new variants or strains of Covid-19, this one carries a genetic fingerprint that makes it easy to track, and it happens to be one that is now common. That does not mean the mutation has made it spread more easily, nor does it not necessarily mean this variation is more dangerous.


 


Two more Alaska health care workers suffer adverse reactions to Covid-19 vaccine
Two health care workers at Providence Health Alaska suffered adverse reactions to a Covid-19 vaccine late last week, Mikal Canfield, a spokesman for Providence Alaska, told CNN on Saturday night.


Five adverse reactions to the vaccine have now been reported in Alaska. Last week, three health care workers in the state had allergic reactions after receiving doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine, CNN previously reported.

Providence Alaska is not releasing the location where the two health care workers are employed, but the network has locations in Anchorage, Valdez, Seward and Kodiak, according to Canfield.

The health care workers who received the vaccine are "frontline caregivers involved directly with patient care," Canfield said.

They suffered mild and non-life-threatening reactions but have not consented to additional information on their conditions being released, Canfield said. 

Canfield told CNN Providence Alaska has reported the adverse reactions to the state health department and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).

CNN also reported Saturday that an Illinois hospital paused its Covid-19 vaccinations after four workers experienced reactions. 

CNN has reached out to the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, as well as Pfizer, for comment. 


 


Japan's winter Covid-19 wave worsens
Japan recorded 2,985 new coronavirus infections and 45 related deaths on Saturday, the Japanese health ministry said on Sunday.


The country's total Covid-19 caseload now stands at 196,592, with 2,886 deaths.

Hospitals across Japan are currently caring for 26,169 Covid-19 parents, among whom 598 are under intensive care. 

Over the past weeks, a resurgent winter wave has seen daily case numbers climb to their highest levels since the beginning of the pandemic.

The surge in cases is being fueled by a worsening situation in capital Tokyo, where 739 new cases were recorded Saturday.

Another hard-hit prefecture, Osaka, recorded 311 new patients Saturday.

Some context: Japan, along with its neighbor South Korea, is seeing a rise in Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations as cold winter temperatures set in. Winter was always expected to bring a spike in cases, as cold weather sends people indoors to poorly ventilated spaces -- conditions likely to make coronavirus spread more easily.

In Japan, cases have been rising steadily since the start of last month. On November 1, just over 600 cases were reported. Twenty days later there were more than 2,500 daily infections.


 


Australian states close off to Sydney residents
Residents of Australia’s most populous city, Sydney, are no longer able to travel interstate without quarantining as a mystery Covid-19 cluster spreads in the city.


All Australian states and territories will require travellers from Sydney to undergo a 14-day quarantine on arrival, according to state governments.

On Saturday, 30 new locally transmitted cases of Covid-19 were detected in Sydney, all located in the Northern Beaches municipality.

The cluster has now grown to 68 cases, with its source still unknown.

Residents of the Northern Beaches have been told to stay in their homes until 11:59pm on Wednesday.

“It’s been done largely instinctively up there on the Northern Beaches,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Sunday, “I know that they’re looking to see things change in the not too distance future and they know that compliance can only help with getting that outcome.”

 

 

US Congress on brink of deal on $900 billion relief package after resolving key dispute

A deal on a long-awaited rescue package to deliver much-needed aid to struggling Americans suddenly was within reach after a major breakthrough Saturday night over a key sticking point: the role of the Federal Reserve to intervene in the US economy.

After days of tense negotiations over a provision pushed by Sen. Pat Toomey to pare back the role of the central bank's emergency lending authority, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and the Pennsylvania Republican reached a deal in principle over the provision, aides said. Now, the two sides will draft the legislative language to ensure it reflects the outlines of the deal.


 


More than 16 million people in England will be subject to stricter coronavirus restrictions
More than 16 million people in England -- or 31% of the British population -- will spend their Christmas holiday under stricter coronavirus regulations, which are set to go into effect on Sunday, according to the UK government's Covid-19 task force.


The Tier 4 measures will be imposed on London and southeast England. They amount to a lockdown and will severely curtail movement over the Christmas holiday.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the new restrictions on Saturday. He said the Tier 4 lockdown was needed in affected areas after a newly identified strain of Covid-19 has proved to spread more quickly than previous strains of the virus. 

"The spread is being driven by the new variant of the virus," Johnson said in a hastily called press conference. "It appears to spread more easily and may be up to 70% more transmissable than the earlier strain."

Johnson outlined that in Tier 4 areas under the toughest restrictions, there will be no possibility for household mixing over Christmas. In areas under lower alert levels in England, Scotland and Wales, mixing will now be permitted only on Christmas Day.

According to the country's Covid-19 task force, 19.7 million people, or 37% of the UK population, will live under Tier 3 guidelines, 16.1 million or 30% will live under Tier 2 and 856,000 or 2% will live under Tier 1 restrictions.

 

Netherlands bans all flights from UK after London discloses new coronavirus variant
The Netherlands will ban all passenger flights from the United Kingdom starting at 6am local time Sunday, according to a press release from the government.

The Dutch government said it is doing so in order to minimize “as much as possible” the risk of a new coronavirus strain detected in the UK spreading in the Netherlands. The flight ban will remain in place until the new year, according to the release. 

The Dutch government said the same variant of the virus had been detected in the Netherlands in a sample from a case from early December, and that it is conducting further investigations to determine if there are any other related cases.

Earlier on Saturday, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson imposed stringent new lockdown measures on the capital and surrounding areas to slow the spread of the virus. The Tier 4 lockdown has forced Christmas holiday plans for more than 16 million people in the UK to be severely curtailed. 

 

Sydney to enforce pre-Christmas restrictions as mystery Covid-19 cluster grows
The Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) recorded 30 locally transmitted Covid-19 cases on Saturday, as a mystery coronavirus cluster in Sydney continues to grow.

State Premier Gladys Berejiklian said Sunday all of the 30 new cases were found in Sydney’s Northern Beaches area, with 28 directly linked to the cluster.

Authorities still don't know how the virus made its way into the community, although the state's health department said this particular strain is likely from the United States. 

The new cases announced on Sunday has brought the total number of cases in what’s known as the "Avalon cluster" to 68. 

Tightening restrictions: Residents of the Northern Beaches have been asked to remain at home through the end of Wednesday to halt the spread.

The rest of Sydney will be subjected to further social distancing measures, including a cap of 10 guests allowed at homes each day and a maximum of 300 people at hospitality venues. These restrictions are expected to last at least through Wednesday.

“Whilst the numbers are higher than they were yesterday, the one positive is we still have not seen evidence of massive seeding outside the Northern Beaches community and our aim of course is to keep that in place,” Berejiklian said.

The first cases of the cluster were reported Wednesday, the first locally-transmitted cases in NSW since December 3.

 

California reports more than 43,000 new Covid-19 cases
California reported 43,608 new Covid-19 cases on Saturday, according to the state's Department of Public Health.

The daily caseload "is slightly higher than normal as it includes some cases from previous days," the department noted.

The state also reported 272 new virus-related deaths on Saturday.

On Thursday, California reported 379 fatalities from Covid-19, the highest daily death toll since the pandemic started.

To date, California has reported a total of 1,807,982 coronavirus cases and 22,432 deaths, according to its health department. 

NOTE: These numbers were released by the California Department of Public Health and may not line up exactly in real time with CNN’s database drawn from Johns Hopkins University and the Covid Tracking Project. 

 

Tennessee First Lady tests positive for Covid-19
Tennessee First Lady Maria Lee has tested positive for Covid-19 and has mild symptoms of the virus, according to a statement from Republican Governor Bill Lee.

Gov. Lee says he is feeling well and has tested negative for Covid-19. He is quarantining at the Governor’s Residence, according to the statement. 

 

Vaccines can be distributed before the FDA signs off on then, says US agency head
Pfizer and Moderna can distribute lots of Covid-19 vaccine without waiting for the US Food and Drug Administration to sign-off on quality control tests that are performed on each lot of vaccine, FDA commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn said in a post on Twitter Saturday.

"FDA is not requiring lot release for #COVID19 vaccine under EUA. The Conditions of Authorization require the companies to submit Certificates of Analysis for each lot at least 48 hrs prior to vaccine distribution and they can distribute without waiting for FDA’s ok," Hahn tweeted.

The FDA has authorized emergency use of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. As a condition of the EUA, the companies are required to submit to the FDA the specifications and results of the quality control tests that are conducted on each lot of vaccine at least 48 hours prior to distribution. These submissions are referred to as Certificates of Analysis.

FDA is not requiring lot release for #COVID19 vaccine under EUA. The Conditions of Authorization require the companies to submit Certificates of Analysis for each lot at least 48 hrs prior to vaccine distribution and they can distribute without waiting for FDA’s ok.

 

Minnesota state senator dies after being diagnosed with Covid-19
Minnesota state Sen. Jerry Relph died Friday following his diagnosis of and hospitalization with Covid-19.

"I'm heartbroken to share that my husband, Jerry Relph, has passed away and entered his heavenly home," his wife Pegi Broker-Relph said in a statement. "Jerry was a beloved husband, father, and grandfather." The family did not elaborate on the cause of Relph's death. 

The 76-year-old, who represented the St. Cloud area, tested positive for Covid-19 on November 13, after discovering he was exposed to the virus at the Minnesota State Capitol, CNN's affiliate WCCO reported. Relph was admitted to an emergency room that weekend for his symptoms, according to WCCO. 

He was elected to a four-year term in the Minnesota state Senate in 2016, narrowing beating his Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party opponent Dan Wolgamott by over 100 votes in a recount. Relph lost reelection to his seat this fall.

 

Boris Johnson backtracks on relaxing Christmas rules after scientists warn new Covid-19 strain is spreading faster
The hopes of millions of Britons that Covid-19 restrictions would be eased over Christmas were dashed on Saturday, after scientists warned a new strain of the virus is spreading more quickly than others.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a series of stricter coronavirus restrictions, tightening rules around household mixing that were due to be relaxed over Christmas in England, while leaders in Scotland and Wales also introduced more stringent measures. The UK has among the highest Covid death rates in Europe, with more than 67,000 fatalities, and over 2 million cases.

The PM broke the news that London, and large parts of southern and eastern England, where cases are surging, will enter Tier 4 restrictions, similar to a lockdown, on Sunday.

"The spread is being driven by the new variant of the virus," Johnson said in a hastily called press conference. "It appears to spread more easily and may be up to 70% more transmissable than the earlier strain."

England's chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, warned Saturday that a newly identified variant of Covid-19 "can spread more quickly" than previous strains of the virus.

"This is now spreading very fast," Johnson warned. "It is with a very heavy heart that I say we cannot continue with Christmas as planned."

 

 


FDA authorizes a second Covid-19 vaccine as US reports highest number of daily cases

Covid-19 continues to ravage the United States, even as a second coronavirus vaccine received a vote of recommendation from a committee at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization and Practices (ACIP) voted Saturday to recommend Moderna's vaccine candidate for people 18 and older, following the US Food and Drug Administration's decision a day earlier to authorize the vaccine for emergency use.

CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield must accept the group's recommendation, which would clear the way for vaccines to be administered and add a second vaccine to the country's arsenal at a crucial moment in the pandemic.

Surging cases: Over the past week, the US averaged more than 219,000 new Covid-19 infections a day, according to a CNN analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University. There were more than 249,000 infections reported on Friday alone — another record.

One of the recent cases is Tennessee First Lady Maria Lee. She tested positive for the virus and has mild symptoms, according to a statement Saturday from Gov. Bill Lee, who said he has tested negative and is quarantining.

 

Approximately 272,000 people have gotten the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine, CDC says
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Dr. Tom Clark said that as of Saturday, at least 272,001 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine have been administered in the United States 

During a meeting of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, Clark said that the number was a “minimal estimate,” since there is a lag in reporting.

Providers are requested to report how many people have been given a vaccine within 72 hours to their local public health office. The public health office then has an additional 24 hours to report that number to the CDC.

 

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