Coronavirus news: London now UK’s Covid hotspot and Test and Trace cuts Christmas hours
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London has been confirmed as the UK’s coronavirus hotspot following a dramatic surge in infections in recent weeks, according to the latest infection survey from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The capital was shown on Thursday to have the highest percentage of people testing positive for Covid-19 in the country as millions more people prepared to be forced into tier 4 restrictions from Boxing Day as part of efforts to control a faster-spreading version of the virus.
Health secretary Matt Hancock warned the UK’s variant was spreading at a “dangerous rate” and urged people to stay at home from Saturday in the affected areas.
Meanwhile, other parts of the country, such as Bristol, Gloucestershire and Somerset, were escalated to tier 3 amid concerns about rising infection rates over the Christmas period.
It came as The Independent revealed the government had asked England’s Test and Trace service to reduce its working hours during the Christmas holidays despite a surge in confirmed cases.
Nearly 40,000 positive tests for Covid-19 were reported on Wednesday, yet clinical staff working for the system have been told to cancel shifts ahead of a shortened working day.
Official figures released by the Department of Health and Social Care revealed 616,933 people had received their first dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine by the end of last week.
It came after Boris Johnson said almost 800,000 people had been vaccinated, however the prime minister is likely to have had more up-to-date figures when he made his address on reaching a post-Brexit deal with the European Union on Thursday.
Germany reports first case of coronavirus variant spreading in UK
The new variant of coronavirus that has been spreading rapidly through the UK has been found in Germany for the first time.
The German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg today revealed the infected person flew to Frankfurt from London Heathrow on 20 December to visit relatives and tested positive upon arrival.
Further genetic analysis of the sample at a lab in Berlin has yielded a case of B.1.1.7, as the variant is known, the southwestern German state's health ministry said in a statement.
The person, who has since developed mild symptoms, was picked up from the airport by car by family members and has isolated at the family's residence in Baden-Wuerttemberg since then, the ministry added.
Three individuals who have been in close contact with the person have also quarantined, it said.
Millions travel through US airports before Christmas Eve
More than 6 million passengers have travelled through US airport security checkpoints within the week before Christmas.
Despite warnings from health officials and overwhelmed hospital systems urging Americans to stay at home to prevent spreading the coronavirus, Christmas-related air travel surpassed 1 million daily passengers for three consecutive days, between Friday and Sunday before Christmas, according to the Transportation Security Administration.
Alex Woodward explains more in this piece:
6 million people have travelled through US airports before Christmas Eve
More than 1.1 million people screened at airports on day before Christmas Eve, breaking pandemic travel record as hospitalisations overwhelm health systems
UK deaths rise by 574
A further 574 people have died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of today, bringing the UK total to 69,625, according to the latest government stats.
Separate figures published by the UK's statistics agencies for deaths where Covid-19 has been mentioned on the death certificate, together with additional data on deaths that have occurred in recent days, show there have now been 86,000 deaths involving Covid-19 in the UK.
The government said that, as of 9am on Thursday, there had been a further 39,036 lab-confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK.
It brings the total number of cases in the UK to 2,188,587.
Turkey says China’s CoronaVac efficacy at 91.25 per cent
A Covid-19 vaccine developed by China's Sinovac Biotech is 91.25 per cent effective and the rate is likely to increase based on late-stage trial data, Turkish researchers have said as the country becomes the second trial site to produce results for the Chinese candidate.
The researchers, part of the government's science council, said no major symptoms were detected during CoronaVac's trials in Turkey, apart from one person who had an allergic reaction.
Turkey had agreed to procure 50 million doses of Sinovac's CoronaVac by 11 December but the shipment had been delayed. Health minister Fahrettin Koca said the vaccines would arrive in Turkey on Monday, adding that Turkey would vaccinate some 9 million people in the first group, starting with health workers.
Doctors, pharmacists and dentists call off strike over PPE in Kenya
Doctors, pharmacists and dentists in Kenya called off a three-day strike over inadequate personal protective equipment and insurance after the government acquiesced to their most immediate demands.
However, most other health workers remained on strike as nurses and clinicians vowed to stay off the job until their different set of demands is met.
Two people reportedly died after they could not get anyone to attend to them at government hospitals in Mombasa and Nairobi, family members said.
An agreement signed by Kenyan Minister for Health Mutahi Kagwe and representatives of the the Kenya Medical Practitioner Pharmacists and Dentists Union calls for the government to fast-track comprehensive insurance coverage for doctors.
The government also said it it will provide adequate quality personal protective equipment to all 7,200 doctors represented by the union.
Army to oversee Covid tests for lorry drivers
Transport minister Grant Shapps said he has asked the Army to take over management of coronavirus tests for lorry drivers stranded in Kent trying to get across the French border.
He Shapps said: "We need to get the situation in Kent, caused by the French government's sudden imposition of Covid restrictions, resolved as soon as possible.
"I have today sent special instructions to the Army to take control of testing and HGV management operations in the county. Our aim is to get foreign hauliers home with their families as quickly as we can.
"I know it's been hard for many drivers cooped up in their cabs at this precious time of year but I assure them that we are doing our utmost to get them home."
US herd immunity could require nearly 90% to get vaccine, says Dr Fauci
Herd immunity against Covid-19 could require vaccination rates approaching as high as 90 per cent, according to US infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci.
More than 1 million Americans have received a first dose of a vaccine since 14 December, according to the US Centres for Disease Control, or only about 0.3 per cent of the population.
Dr Fauci, who is advising both president Donald Trump and president-elect Joe Biden on the pandemic, acknowledged he had incrementally increased his estimates from earlier in the year, when he tended to say only 60 to 70 per cent would need to be inoculated for herd immunity to be reached.
China to suspend UK flights indefinitely
China will suspend direct flights to and from Britain indefinitely over fears of a new strain of the coronavirus, Wang Wenbin, a foreign ministry spokesman said today.
"After much consideration, China has decided to take reference from other countries and suspend flights to and from UK," he told reporters at a daily briefing.
“China will closely monitor relevant developments and dynamically adjust control measures depending on the situation.”
More than 600,000 people in UK get first Pfizer vaccine dose
More than 600,000 people in the UK have received the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine.
The Department of Health and Social Care said in a statement: "The government has today published figures which show the number of people who have received the vaccine between 8 December and 20 December in the UK is 616,933."
No room at the port
Thousands of lorry drivers are expected to wake up on a cold Christmas morning in their vehicles in Kent, as truckers await longed-for negative coronavirus test results and a backlog of key workers queuing to cross the Channel to clear.
Though the border has re-opened and testing is now in full swing, it is thought Christmas will be another day by the roadside for many who have been caught in the middle of new border restrictions over the mutated version of coronavirus in the UK.
Kent’s key workers expected to spend Christmas on the roadside
Thousands of lorry drivers still stranded at Dover to miss out on festivities with families
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