Covid news - live: New ‘highly infectious’ XBB.1.5 subvariant ‘a wake-up’ call for UK

No signs yet new strain is more ‘virulent or causes more serious illness’

Ben Wallace says Covid screening on travelers from China is 'under review'

The “highly infectious” XBB.1.5 Covid subvariant will drive the next wave of the virus in the UK and its rapid spread in other countries should be a “wake-up call”, experts have warned.

Professor Christina Pagel, a member of Independent Sage, a group of scientists working together to give advice to the government, told The Independent that the rapidly spreading variant was both immunosuppressive and highly transmissible – a combination that means it is prime to become dominant in the next wave this winter.

However, “there are no signs it’s [XBB.1.5] more virulent or that it causes more severe illness but it’s the most immunoevasive one so far and its also very transmissible,” Prof Pagel said.

Key Points

• ‘Highly infectious’ XBB.1.5 subvariant ‘a wake-up’ call for UK
• Restrictions on travellers from China kick in today
• 70% of Chinese megacity infected with Covid, doctor says
• Is Omicron variant XBB.1.5 fuel spreading rapidly in the UK?

[3 January 2023 16:43 · Andy Gregory]

Virologist calls for ‘more realistic picture’ from China ahead of WHO meeting

Leading scientists advising the World Health Organisation have said they want a “more realistic picture” of the coronavirus situation from China’s top experts at a key meeting today.

The WHO has invited Chinese scientists to a virtual closed meeting with its technical advisory group on viral evolution, to present data on which variants are circulating in the country.

“We want to see a more realistic picture of what is actually going on,” Professor Marion Koopmans, a Dutch virologist who sits on the WHO committee told Reuters, claiming that some of the data from Beijing, such as that on hospitalisation numbers, is “not very credible”.

“It is in the interests of China itself to come forward with more reliable information.”

Prof Koopmans said the committee has only seen a “tiny fraction” of China’s cases sequenced so far – around 700 – and called for the establishment of a global surveillance network to keep track of the virus, saying: “Right now, what we are getting is very patchy, but that has been the reality in other parts of the world as well.”

[3 January 2023 16:26 · Andy Gregory]

Mask guidance ‘not compulsory’ and ‘pretty longstanding’, says Downing Street

In addition to the government’s fresh restrictions on travel for those leaving China, UK health authorities have urged people to remain at home where possible and wear a face covering outside if they are feeling unwell.

While transport secretary Mark Harper agreed that “wearing a mask is very sensible if you are ill”, Downing Street has stressed that the UK Health Security Agency guidance is “not compulsory”.

“I think that is pretty longstanding advice,” said Rishi Sunak’s official spokesperson. “It remains health advice to the public – it is not mandatory. People need their judgment. Certainly people will continue to use their good sense, having spent a long time dealing ... with these kinds of infectious illnesses.”

Questioned whether it was really “longstanding” advice for people to wear face coverings if they are battling a cold, the No 10 official replied: “That’s not what the advice says.

“What you’ll see is, as has often been the case, if people are ill, they are advised to stay at home. Obviously people can choose to wear a mask if they wish to. It is not compulsory. This is advice from UKHSA rather than government ministers telling people what to do, as we saw during the height of the pandemic before the emergence of vaccines.”

[3 January 2023 16:00 · Emily Atkinson]

China says Covid entry restrictions by countries lack scientific basis and are unreasonable

China on Tuesday hit back at governments who have imposed travelling restrictions on the country by arguing that Covid-19 measures should be “science-based” and warned of possible “countermeasures”.

More than a dozen countries, including the UK and the US, have made it mandatory for travellers from China to show a negative Covid test before arrival. Morocco has imposed a complete ban on people arriving from China over the monumental rise in coronavirus cases plaguing the country.

Some federal governments have cited Beijing’s lack of transparency around infection data and the risk of new variants as the reason behind new regulations.

Alisha Rahaman Sarkar reports:

[3 January 2023 15:55 · Emily Atkinson]

China slapped with new entry rules due to ‘lack of comprehensive health information’, says No 10

Downing Street has rejected any suggestion that the new rules for Chinese travellers could signal a wider change for visitors travelling to the UK from countries with high rates of Covid.

The PM’s official spokesman said: “A part of the reason for this was because of a lack of comprehensive health information being shared.

“We’re working with the Chinese government to encourage them - we’re not alone in this - to get more information from them.”

[3 January 2023 15:50 · Emily Atkinson]

China hits out at ‘unacceptable’ Covid restrictions imposed on its travellers

Beijing has condemned the “unacceptable” introduction of Covid testing on passengers arriving from China to several countries.

Chinese officials said the entry restrictions “lack scientific basis” and threatened retaliatory action.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said: “We are firmly opposed to attempts to manipulate the Covid measures for political purposes and will take counter-measures based on the principle of reciprocity.”

My colleague Liam James has the details:

[3 January 2023 15:45 · Emily Atkinson]

70% of Chinese megacity infected with Covid, doctor says

As China battles a massive surge in Covid cases, a senior doctor at one of Shanghai’s top hospitals has claimed that 70 per cent of the city’s population has been infected.

The wave of cases comes after the Communist regime loosened draconian Covid restrictions overnight, overwhelming hospitals and crematoriums.

Chen Erzhen, vice president at Ruijin Hospital in Shanghai and a member of the city’s Covid-19 expert advisory panel, was quoted as saying the majority of the city’s 25 million people may have been infected.

Maroosha Muzaffar reports: