Covid-19: UK scientists urge people to ignore easing of rules amid rising cases

More than 71.1 million cases of coronavirus have been recorded worldwide with more than 1.5 million deaths, according to the latest data from Johns Hopkins University. The following is a summary of the latest developments on the virus around the world:

UK

Scientists and government advisers have urged people to rethink Christmas plans and ignore the easing of Covid rules amid fears over rising cases and hospitalisations in parts of the UK. While "Christmas bubbles" let three households mix between December 23rd and 27th, experts warned ministers were sending the wrong message by saying families must simply "follow the rules" - suggesting this could lead to a third wave with just weeks to go until mass vaccinations protect society's most vulnerable. Official data suggests Covid cases are rising in some parts of the UK, including London, raising concerns that more areas will need to be placed under tighter restrictions. On Friday, the R number for England was estimated to be between 0.8 to 1.0, with concerns that the epidemic could be growing in some parts of the country including London and the east of England. The R number for the UK as a whole was estimated to be between 0.9 and 1.0, up from 0.8 to 1.0 the week before. Hospitalisations have plateaued in the past week but are rising in some parts of the country including London and the southeast, NHS England admissions data to December 8th shows. The data has led scientists to urge people to rethink their festive plans. The latest rises in London, Kent and Essex, concentrated among children aged 11 to 18, makes the concerns more acute. Increases in infection rates in young people eventually lead to a rise in infections among older people. On Thursday health secretary Matt Hancock announced mass testing in schools in these areas.The number of new cases per day in England is now similar to levels seen in early October, while hospital admission figures are similar to those of mid-November, with 1,466 admissions on December 7th. About a third of upper-tier local authorities in England recorded an increase in case rates between the week before lockdown began and December 6th. Medway in Kent, which is now in tier 3, reported the largest rise, with rates increasing by almost 300 per cent.

Prof Stephen Reicher of the University of St Andrews, who is also a member of Spi-B and Independent Sage, said a plea by Mr Hancock, for people to respect the rules this Christmas sent the wrong message. “The message which says stick to the rules misses the point entirely,” he said, warning of a huge increase in infections even if everyone followed the rules to the letter. “The danger is when you say people can, you imply that it is safe and therefore they should.” Scientists have previously said that meeting in small spaces with poor ventilation and alcohol risks a perfect storm for transmission of the coronavirus. “There may be circumstances where there are other factors that make you think it is worth taking that risk - but people have got to do it knowing and being clear about what the risk is,” said Reicher. “[The government] messaging should be very much you have got the choice [but] it is dangerous and therefore don’t do it unless you really need to do it.”

Germany

German chancellor Angela Merkel is scheduled to discuss on Sunday a tightening of lockdown restrictions with state leaders as coronavirus infections rise and amid growing calls for action, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

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Germany has been in partial lockdown for six weeks, with bars and restaurants closed but shops and schools open. Some regions have already imposed tougher measures.

The discussions on Sunday will include whether shops should be closed before the Christmas holiday and the timing of such a move, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Economy minister Peter Altmaier told the RND newspaper group on Saturday that hospital intensive care units were beginning to be stretched to their limits and that Germany couldn’t wait until after Christmas to react.

“We have to clarify how things will continue now,” he said. “Otherwise the pandemic will get completely out of control.”

Germany, which has Europe’s largest economy, was more successful than many European countries in keeping the pandemic under control in the first wave in March and April, but it has been struggling to turn the tide in the second wave with what has been dubbed a “lockdown lite”.

Daily new coronavirus infections have climbed to 28,438, while the daily death toll was 496, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Saturday.

Russia

Russia confirmed 28,137 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours on Saturday, including 6,622 in Moscow, pushing the national tally to 2,625,848 since the pandemic began.

Authorities said 560 people had died overnight, taking the official death toll to 46,453.

Ukraine

The World Bank has approved an additional loan of $300 million to help Ukraine's government support low-income families amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, the bank said late on Friday. "The new funds will help finance Ukraine's Covid-19 social protection emergency response by introducing fast cash transfers to individuals and households who have lost their jobs or income sources because of the pandemic," it said in a statement. The new assistance will be added to the first tranche of $150 million provided in April under the Social Safety Nets Modernisation Project as the bank projected that poverty in Ukraine could increase by 4 per cent , reaching around 23 per cent by the end of 2020. Ukraine has registered 12,811 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number to 885,039 with 14,998 deaths since the pandemic started. The government had decided to introduce tight lockdown restrictions from January 8th, hoping to stop the rapid spread of Covid-19 infections.

US

The United States said it authorised the use of Pfizer Inc's Covid-19 vaccine on Friday, with the first inoculations expected within days, marking a turning point in a country where the pandemic has killed more than 295,000 people. The US Food and Drug Administration granted an emergency use authorization for the vaccine, developed with German partner BioNTech, which was shown to be 95 per cent effective in preventing the disease in a late-stage trial. It said the vaccine can be given to people aged 16 and older. Healthcare workers and elderly people in long-term care facilities are expected to be the main recipients of a first round of 2.9 million doses this month. BioNTech chief executive Ugur Sahin said the vaccine "will help to save lives across the United States and could accelerate a return to normality." US health authorities, shipping services, hospitals and pharmacies have been readying a nationwide inoculation campaign. Pfizer said it would start shipping immediately and state public health systems have been planning to begin shots as early as Monday. California's new cases rose to a record with intensive-care availability at a low. Indoor dining at New York eateries will halt on Monday, dealing a setback to social and economic life, after the city breached virus benchmarks.

Mexico

Mexico’s health agency Cofepris approved Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine for emergency use, deputy health minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell said at a press conference Friday night. The health agency began reviewing data on the vaccine November 26th and a 24-member committee voted unanimously to approve its use, according to a statement. Mexico joins the UK, Canada and the US as countries that have granted emergency use of the Pfizer vaccine. It’s the first country in Latin America to do so. Mr Lopez-Gatell made the announcement moments before presenting numbers that show Covid-19 is still spreading rapidly in Mexico, especially in its capital. The health ministry reported 12,253 new cases, bringing the total to 1,229,379, and making it the fourth day straight the country has seen infections rise by more than 11,000. Deaths rose by 693 to 113,019. Mexico has the the fourth highest number of Covid-19 fatalities after the US, Brazil and India, according to Johns Hopkins University data. Hospitalisations in the capital of Mexico City have been accelerating, Lopez-Gatell said. Occupancy of beds with ventilators, used to care for patients with the most serious cases, has reached 62 per cent . While Mexico has avoided enacting strict lockdowns to stem the spread of the virus, Mr Lopez-Gatell implored Mexico City residents to stay home except for essential activity and avoid parties and gatherings.

Brazil

Brazil reported 53,030 additional confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours and 646 deaths from Covid-19, the health ministry said on Friday. The South American country has now registered 6,834,829 cases since the pandemic began, while the official death toll has risen to 180,411, according to ministry data. Brazil has the world’s second highest death toll behind the United States and the third highest case count behind the United States and India.

South Korea

South Korea reported a record 950 daily coronavirus cases on Saturday, exceeding the late February peak of 909, with the president calling the country’s third wave of Covid-19 an “emergency”. The South Korean authorities warned they may tighten social-distancing restrictions to their strictest level but held off for now. Of the Friday cases reported by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), 928 were locally transmitted and 22 were imported, bringing the total to 41,736 infections with 578 deaths. More than 70 per cent the domestically transmitted cases were from Seoul and its neighbouring areas, where about half of the nation’s 52 million people live. “This is indeed an emergency situation,” said president Moon Jae-in, ordering the mobilisation of police, military personnel and public medical doctors in an effort to curb the further spread of the coronavirus, chiefly driven by small, widespread clusters.–Guardian, Bloomberg, PA, Reuters