23rd Nov 2020 https://nfind.uk/lockdown_exit/index.php/newsletter=145 lockdown_exit

Lockdown Exit

The Guardian Most of the public would rather have a lockeddown Christmas than have a new lockdown imposed in January a new poll suggests. With the government considering the extent to which restrictions should be lifted to limit the impact on Christmas family gatherings the latest Opinium poll for the Observer found that the public opted for a lockeddown Christmas over new January restrictions by a margin of 54 to 33. This split is almost identical across all party groups and demographics with older voters in particular preferring to lock down over Christmas rather than in January. There was also strong support for banning people from posting conspiracy theories about the vaccine online with 64 supporting the idea. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/nov/21/locked-down-christmas-preferred-over-new-covid-restrictions-in-january-poll-finds 21st Nov 2020

Lockdown Exit

Irish Examiner The HSE is doing everything it can to minimise the impact of Covid19 on a Kerry nursing home. The executive took control of the Oaklands nursing home in Listowel yesterday after a district court hearing was told it was a centre in chaos where there was a serious risk to life. The HSE is making alternative arrangements for its elderly residents on foot of an order sought at short notice in court. HSE director general Paul Reid has said that the HSE is doing everything that needs to be done at the Oaklands nursing home in Kerry control of which was taken over by the executive on Thursday. https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-40085882.html 20th Nov 2020

Lockdown Exit

Financial Times The NHS could start immunising Britons against coronavirus as soon as next month if regulators approve a Covid19 vaccine health secretary Matt Hancock said on Friday. People are due to be vaccinated at special centres across the UK and also by general practitioners under the NHS plans. Mr Hancocks statement came as new data suggested a levellingoff in the rate at which coronavirus is spreading across the country raising hopes that families might be able to mix at Christmas if social restrictions are eased. The UK government will next week hold discussions with the devolved administrations to try to agree a unified approach to restrictions during the Christmas period. https://www.ft.com/content/3d8c78be-f1d8-4bf7-ac55-0b9614950cfb 20th Nov 2020

Lockdown Exit

The Guardian The NHS is bringing together an army of retired doctors health visitors and physiotherapists to embark on the countrys biggest ever mass vaccination programme the Guardian has learned. The extraordinary effort in England will also include district nurses and high street chemists alongside GPs in the drive to immunise 22 million vulnerable adults followed by the rest of the population. NHS documents seen by the Guardian show the rollout will rely in part on inexperienced staff who will have undergone two hours of online training before starting work. The slides also reveal codenames for two of the most promising vaccines in development the PfizerBioNTech version is called Courageous and the OxfordAstraZeneca vaccine is known as Talent. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/nov/19/nhs-assembles-army-of-staff-for-mass-coronavirus-vaccinations 20th Nov 2020

Lockdown Exit

The Independent A US general said the military is prepared to deliver Pfizer and Modernas coronavirus vaccines as soon as they receive emergency use authorisation from the government. US General Gustave Perna chief operations officer for Operation Warp Speed told ABC News Friday that the military is ready to deliver millions of vaccine doses once the US Food and Drug Administration grants them emergency use authorisation. Pfizer submitted its vaccine to the US FDA today. Moderna will submit its vaccine later this month. The companies said they expect to produce 50 million doses in 2020 and up to 1.3bn doses by the end of 2021. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/covid-vaccine-us-military-doses-fda-b1759277.html 20th Nov 2020

Lockdown Exit

Sky News A council building in Leicestershire has been identified as a vaccination site with the UK gearing up to roll out widespread coronavirus jabs if safety regulators give the goahead. Charnwood Borough Council has told Sky News that an area of its offices will be handed over to Ministry of Defence teams by midDecember for at least nine months. https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-mass-vaccination-site-location-revealed-as-council-building-identified-12137333 20th Nov 2020

Exit Strategies

Reuters on MSN.com The first Americans could receive a COVID19 vaccine as soon as 24 hours after the FDA grants approval which would kick off the largest inoculation campaign in U.S. history starting in midDecember. Within 24 hours from the approval the vaccine will be moving and located in the areas where each state will have told us where they want the vaccine doses Dr. Moncef Slaoui the chief scientific adviser for the governments Operation Warp Speed vaccine program told NBCs Meet the Press. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/first-americans-could-get-covid-19-vaccine-by-december-11-top-health-official-says/ar-BB1bfTZc?tblci=GiAtOM1qZq9oS7jPMRVK-rdLJG6VcLWfvUC5-bttSRvmXyCC-00 22nd Nov 2020

Exit Strategies

Press Herald When the trucks roll into Maine with the first batches of COVID19 vaccine doses perhaps as soon as midDecember the state will need to overcome many logistical hurdles to bring the vaccines to pharmacies doctors offices hospitals schools fire halls and eventually the arms of patients. The mass vaccination effort will be a daunting operation and planning for it has been underway for months. The pandemic has accelerated this fall so getting people vaccinated as quickly as possible is a top priority for public health officials. Since the pandemic began last winter more than 255000 people have died in the United States from COVID19 including 174 in Maine. https://www.pressherald.com/2020/11/22/maine-planning-for-massive-rollout-of-covid-19-vaccines/ 22nd Nov 2020

Exit Strategies

Aberdeen Evening Express The Scottish Government has outlined its distribution plan for an inoculation to the virus with hopes it could be available in the first week of December. However Ms Freeman told the BBC there would be a public information campaign put in place to dispel any concerns held about the vaccine rather than making them mandatory. https://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/news/scotland/covid-19-vaccine-not-to-be-compulsory-says-health-secretary/ 22nd Nov 2020

Exit Strategies

Reuters South Australia was on track on Saturday to end its hard COVID19 lockdown three days early recording only one new infection while other states marked weeks of no new cases or deaths related to the novel coronavirus. The lockdown which kept people in South Australia at home and the majority of businesses shut was imposed earlier this week after false information provided to contact tracers by a man who tested positive raised fears of mass infections. The lockdown planned for six days was to be lifted as of Sunday although a range of measures were to remain to limit big crowds https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-australia/south-australia-emerges-carefully-from-covid-19-outbreak-idUSL1N2I703N 22nd Nov 2020

Exit Strategies

Reuters India Australia moved a step closer to normal life on Sunday opening some internal borders and easing restrictions in regions affected by COVID19 as the vast majority of the country has seen no new community infections or deaths for weeks. South Australia which last week became the epicentre of the countrys infections reported no new community cases and lifted a drastic lockdown earlier than planned with the state premier saying swift action had avoided disaster. The number of active cases in the state stood at 37 after an outbreak linked to a returned traveller from Britain forced 4500 people to quarantine. We have avoided a catastrophic situation in our state by following the unequivocal health advice Premier Steven Marshall told a news briefing. https://uk.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-australia/inching-toward-normal-australia-eases-some-covid-19-curbs-idINL1N2I801E 22nd Nov 2020

Exit Strategies

Reuters UK France will start easing coronavirus lockdown rules in coming weeks carrying out the process in three stages so as to avoid a new flareup in the pandemic the government said on Sunday. On Tuesday President Emmanuel Macron will give a speech to the nation about the virus situation and may announce a partial relaxation of restrictions which have been in place since Oct. 30. Emmanuel Macron will give prospects over several weeks especially on how we adjust our strategy. What is at stake is adapting lockdown rules as the health situation improves while avoiding a new flare up in the epidemic government spokesman Gabriel Attal told Le Journal Du Dimanche. There will be three steps to lockdown easing in view of the health situation and of risks tied to some businesses a first step around Dec. 1 then before the yearend holidays and then from January 2021 Attal added. https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-france-lockdown/france-to-start-easing-lockdown-rules-in-three-steps-government-spokesman-says-idUKKBN28209A 22nd Nov 2020

Exit Strategies

Evening Standard Britons could be given special freedom passes if they test negative for coronavirus twice a week. Passholders would have to show that they have been regularly tested with an electronic form it has been reported. The pass which could take the form of a QR code would allow holders to live a relatively normal life. Boris Johnson is said to be set to unveil the scheme on Monday when he launches the Governments Covid Winter Plan. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/coronavirus-freedom-passes-uk-tests-b76566.html?utm_medium=Social&amputm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1606064733 22nd Nov 2020

Exit Strategies

The Wall Street Journal Covid19 contacttracing apps from Apple Inc. and Google are coming to more states along with evidence that they can help slow infections as long as enough people use them. Fourteen states and Washington D.C. have recently adopted the exposure notification technology the companies built into their smartphone operating systemsBig Techs most significant contribution to the fight against Covid19. California and other states are piloting the technology and could release it soon. https://www.wsj.com/articles/more-states-offer-covid-19-contact-tracing-apps-but-adoption-is-uneven-11605974401 21st Nov 2020

Exit Strategies

BBC The launch of a travel corridor between Hong Kong and Singapore has been postponed for two weeks amid a surge of Covid19 cases in Hong Kong. The deal was due to kick in on Sunday allowing passengers to fly both ways without the need to selfisolate. The decision is a blow to attempts by the two financial hubs to revive their battered travel sectors. Hong Kong reported 43 new infections on Saturday the highest daily toll in nearly three months. The number includes 13 cases with unknown transmission sources raising fears the local outbreak could get out of control. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-55027305 21st Nov 2020

Exit Strategies

iNews Doctors have called for the Rule of Six to be scrapped when the Englandwide lockdown is lifted in December and instead replaced with older restrictions that allow only two households to meet. The British Medical Association BMA said the previous tiered system was inconsistent and did not contain the spread of the virus and warned the rules must be revised before the national lockdown ends. https://inews.co.uk/news/health/covid-restrictions-rule-of-six-after-lockdown-ends-england-what-happens-764206 21st Nov 2020

Exit Strategies

Reuters UK Shopping centres will reopen in Poland in a weeks time Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Saturday in a boost to retailers in the runup to Christmas but he added that the government was working on rules to limit travel. The government closed entertainment venues and some shops from Nov. 7 after a surge in COVID19 cases but infections have levelled off since then allowing some loosening of restrictions. There is one condition ... the discipline of every shop mall furniture store. If not these stores will be closed Morawiecki told a news conference. These decisions can save hundreds of thousands of jobs which is why we are taking them he said. https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-poland/polish-malls-to-reopen-but-pm-warns-against-christmas-travel-idUKKBN2810DV 21st Nov 2020

Exit Strategies

Reuters UK It is too soon to say what restrictions England will face once its COVID lockdown ends next month but it will not be going back to normal health officials said on Friday. Stephen Powis the medical director of Englands NHS health service said the government would be lifting the current restrictions on Dec 2 but added I am sure we will not be going back to normal further restrictions will be required. https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-britain-restrictio-idUKKBN2802CW 21st Nov 2020

Exit Strategies

Evening Standard A London council has vowed relatives will be able to see their loved one in care homes this Christmas as they started planning 30minute onthespot Covid tests for families. Hammersmith and Fulham began boroughwide targeted coronavirus testing this week using the lateral flow swabs piloted in Liverpool which produce results in under an hour. The council which is running the operation in conjunction with the Government will initially test asymptomatic frontline workers in nursing homes and in GP practices followed by school staff social workers people in sheltered homes and other key workers. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/london-council-allow-christmas-care-home-visits-covid-rapid-tests-b74391.html 20th Nov 2020

Exit Strategies

Mirror Online The NHS is planning to roll out the coronavirus vaccine to under 50s by the end of January it has been reported. Under the plan every adult in England who wants to would have been vaccinated by early April. Two Covid vaccines have already been proven to be effective but still need to pass safety tests before they are rolled out to the public. And a third produced by OxfordAstraZeneca this week reported good news about its effectiveness among the elderly. As healthcare is devolved the NHS services in Wales Scotland and Northern Ireland will be creating their own plans. https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/breaking-nhs-start-giving-covid-23042568 20th Nov 2020

Exit Strategies

CNN Vaccines like to be kept cool none more so than the Pfizer candidate for Covid19 which has to be deepfrozen. And thats going to be an issue for developing countries and for rural areas in the developed world. The cold chain is just one of the challenges in distributing vaccines worldwide. There are plenty of others decisions about priority populations and databases to keep track of whos received what vaccine where and when. Additionally different vaccines may have more or less efficacy with different population groups and governments will need PR campaigns to persuade people that vaccines are safe. https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/21/world/coronavirus-vaccine-dry-ice-intl/index.html 20th Nov 2020

Exit Strategies

Bristol Post The rollout of the coronavirus vaccine should not solely prioritise people by age a Bristol expert has argued. Gabriel Scally says there needs to be more discussion before the government finalises the priority list outlining who should be at the front of the queue once a COVID19 vaccine is ready. Speaking in a virtual meeting of the Independent SAGE committee of scientists this afternoon Friday November 20 he suggested peoples professions and the prevalence of coronavirus in their neighbourhoods should also be considered. https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/bristol-professor-says-coronavirus-vaccine-4722379 20th Nov 2020

Exit Strategies

The Guardian Dr Anthony Fauci speaks at the coronavirus task force press briefing marking his first appearance at the White House podium in months. The infectious disease expert has moved to allay concerns about the speed with which the coronavirus vaccine has been developed and implored Americans to continue basic public health measures until it is rolled out https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/video/2020/nov/20/dr-fauci-allays-covid-vaccine-development-speed-concerns-reiterates-public-health-measures-video 20th Nov 2020

Exit Strategies

ABCNews.go.com Eight months since the coronavirus caused widespread lockdowns across the country a dietitian at a nursing home in Sacramento California said its residents have been suffering from isolation and it has led to a slate of emotional and behavioral problems. The older population already runs the risk of being very lonely in our society whether they live in a facility such as ours or they live at home. So that was something we saw right away among the dementia patients the ones who really require a lot of routine and normalcy Katy Tenner told ABC News daily podcast Start Here. There was nothing normal or routine about suddenly having their loved ones not being able to come visit. https://abcnews.go.com/Health/nursing-home-worker-covid-19-restrictions-causing-depression/story?id=74296754&ampcid=social_twitter_abcn 19th Nov 2020

Partisan Exits

Reuters UK Blue skies over the Matterhorn drew skiers and snowboarders to Zermatt on Saturday as well as police to break up crowds as Switzerlands modest coronavirus restrictions allowed nearnormal operations while other Alpine resorts keep their lifts shut. France Italy Austria and Germany have all ordered even the highaltitude lifts that could be running this early in the winter to remain closed for now in the hope that all resorts can benefit at peakseason if and when the infection rate slows. Switzerland despite being a secondwave coronavirus hotspot with 5000 infections a day and mounting deaths is hoping that a middle way of social distancing limits on gatherings and maskwearing on lifts can prop up pillars of the economy such as tourism without fuelling the pandemic. https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-swiss-ski-idUKKBN2810N7 21st Nov 2020

Partisan Exits

Times of Malta South Australias sixday circuitbreaker lockdown will be cut short officials said on Friday blaming a pizza parlour worker who misled contact tracers about how he contracted the virus. Premier Steven Marshall indicated a tough lockdown for the states almost two million people would end late on Saturday at least two days earlier than planned. Marshall said a man who claimed he was a customer at a pizza parlour hotspot leading authorities to believe the strain was virulent enough to be transmitted via a takeaway box in fact worked there. One of the close contacts linked to the Woodville pizza bar deliberately misled our contacttracing team said Marshall. Their story didnt add up. We pursued them. We now know that they lied. https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/south-australia-to-end-lockdown-early-after-pizza-parlour-blunder.833092 20th Nov 2020

Partisan Exits

BBC Early results indicate that at least two vaccines are highly effective several others have reached latestage trials and many more are at some stage of development. None of these vaccines have been approved yet but that hasnt stopped countries purchasing doses in advance. A key research centre in the US Duke University in North Carolina is trying to keep tabs on all the deals being done. It estimates that 6.4 billion doses of potential vaccines have already been bought and another 3.2 billion are either under negotiation or reserved as optional expansions of existing deals. The process of advance purchasing is well established in the pharmaceutical industry as it can help to incentivise the development of products and fund trials according to Clare Wenham assistant professor of global health policy at the London School of Economics. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-54961045 20th Nov 2020

Partisan Exits

The Guardian Unions have called for key frontline workers to be granted priority access to an approved Covid vaccine after they were omitted from the list of those who should receive it first. The unions representing more than 1.8 million employees say that by prioritising only the elderly and health and social care workers the distribution plan fails to protect other key workers with increased risk of exposure. Gail Cartmail assistant general secretary of Unite said It is absolutely correct that social care staff and health workers receive the vaccine at an early stage so they are protected and are not at risk of inadvertently transmitting the virus. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/nov/20/unions-call-for-frontline-uk-workers-to-be-prioritised-for-covid-vaccine 20th Nov 2020

Partisan Exits

Scientific American If the book of nature is written in the language of mathematics as Galileo once declared the Covid19 pandemic has brought that truth home for the worlds mathematicians who have been galvanized by the rapid spread of the coronavirus. So far this year they have been involved in everything from revealing how contagious the novel coronavirus is how far we should stand from each other how long an infected person might shed the virus how a single strain spread from Europe to New York and then burst across America and how to flatten the curve to save hundreds of thousands of lives. Modeling also helped persuade the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that the virus can be airborne and transmitted by aerosols that stay aloft for hours. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/doing-the-touchy-math-on-who-should-get-a-covid-vaccine-first/ 20th Nov 2020

Partisan Exits

The Texas Tribune Officials are preparing for the massive undertaking of distributing a vaccine that may require multiple doses and subzero storage temperatures across a state that covers 270000 square miles and some 170 rural counties. https://www.texastribune.org/2020/11/20/coronavirus-vaccine-texas/ 20th Nov 2020

Continued Lockdown

Reuters UK Germany will have to extend its measures to contain the COVID19 pandemic until Dec. 20 according to senior politicians and a draft proposal obtained by Reuters on Sunday. Germany imposed a monthlong lockdownlite from Nov. 2 to contain a second wave of the virus that is sweeping much of Europe but infection numbers have not declined. Everything points to the fact that the current restrictions must be extended for some time beyond Nov. 30 Finance Minister Olaf Scholz told Bild am Sonntag BamS. Bars and restaurants are closed but schools and shops remain open. Private gatherings are limited to a maximum of 10 people from two households and the draft proposal says that number would be reduced to five. https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-germany/germany-braces-for-extension-of-lockdown-month-into-december-idUKKBN2820CA?il=0 22nd Nov 2020

Continued Lockdown

The Guardian The Covid19 pandemic has created a potential existential threat to central London because many people may in future choose to work in the suburbs rather than in the heart of the capital the mayor of London Sadiq Khan said on Sunday. In an interview in the Observer New Review the mayor says it is issues such as this possible reconfiguration of London that keep him awake at night. He also talks openly about his struggles with mental health during the pandemic admitting that he has found it really hard working from home that he misses personal contact including playing football every Sunday and that lack of access to his wider family and particularly his mother has left him feeling down. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/nov/22/threat-to-central-london-as-commuters-embrace-suburbs-warns-sadiq-khan?utm_term=Autofeed&ampCMP=twt_b-gdnnews&amputm_medium=Social&amputm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1606073658 22nd Nov 2020

Continued Lockdown

Reuters On the stage at the Hebertot theatre in Paris Trinidad Garcia is reenacting a scene from her onewoman show For you to keep loving yourself to an audience of zero. https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-france-actress/i-miss-the-audience-a-french-performers-life-in-covid-lockdown-idUKKBN2801DE 21st Nov 2020

Continued Lockdown

Reuters Britain could ease stringent COVID19 rules to allow families to gather for Christmas as signs indicate that coronavirus cases are starting to flatten as a result of current lockdowns Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on Friday. The United Kingdom has the worst official COVID19 death toll in Europe and Prime Minister Boris Johnson has imposed some of the most stringent curbs in peacetime history in an attempt to halt the spread of the coronavirus. But heading into the holiday season the government faces a dilemma to ease restrictions with the risk of renewed spread of the disease and death or to ban large gettogethers.It of course wont be like a normal Christmas there will have to be rules in place Hancock told Sky News. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-britain-hancock/britain-hopes-christmas-can-be-saved-as-covid-cases-flatten-idUSKBN2800Q1 21st Nov 2020

Continued Lockdown

Reuters UK Italys government has approved a new package worth around 10 billion euros 11.9 billion to support businesses hit by the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic. Under the measures approved late on Friday Rome will immediately offer 1.95 billion euros in grants to coronavirushit businesses and food aid for the poor. The government is also preparing an additional 8 billion euros to beef up aid schemes already in place. On Friday the health ministry reported 37242 new coronavirus infections and 699 deaths as the country struggles to curb a resurgence of cases and fatalities which are stretching its health service to breaking point. https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-italy-stimulus-idUKKBN2810CH 21st Nov 2020

Continued Lockdown

Irish Examiner Cabinet members have expressed their annoyance at their own public health officials over the stalling in the progress in reducing the cases of Covid19. A fresh gulf is emerging between political leaders and medics over the road out of lockdown in two weeks time with ministers expressing annoyance at the lack of progress. Ministers have said that the basis of introducing the level 5 lockdown for six weeks was to get the daily cases of the virus below 100 and that is being undermined by the stubborn refusal of the numbers to drop. The Department of Health was notified of 429 confirmed cases of the coronavirus last night. https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-40085855.html 20th Nov 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

USA Today Public confidence in the vaccine approval process is key to beating the pandemic Dr. Anthony Fauci emphasized to the USA TODAY Editorial Board. https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/health/2020/11/22/faucis-words-why-you-should-not-fear-covid-vaccine/6353614002/ 22nd Nov 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

Daily Mail The experimental drug was given to Trump during his stay in Walter Reed FDA said the cocktail should be given to treat mild to moderate COVID cases Regeneron said the drug has the greatest benefit early on in treatment https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8974295/U-S-FDA-grants-emergency-use-authorization-Regeneron-COVID-19-antibody-given-Trump.html 22nd Nov 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

The Washington Post The Food and Drug Administration on Saturday granted emergency authorization to the experimental antibody treatment given to President Trump last month when he developed covid19 the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. The drug made by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals is designed to prevent infected people from developing severe illness. Instead of waiting for the body to develop its own protective immune response the drug imitates the bodys natural defenses. It is the second drug of this type called a monoclonal antibody to be cleared for treating covid19. The FDA authorized Eli Lilly Co.s drug on Nov. 9. https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/11/21/regeneron-fda-clearance/ 22nd Nov 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

NPR The race to develop COVID19 vaccines is moving swiftly both nationally and internationally. But challenges remain when it comes to distributing vaccines around the world. This week the nation passed the milestone of 250000 deaths from COVID19 a quarter of a million lives lost to a pandemic that continues to rage from coast to coast across the country. But even amid the warnings of a dark winter ahead and the CDC strongly recommending that Americans stay home for Thanksgiving next week there is hope. https://www.npr.org/2020/11/21/937638192/a-look-at-covid-19-vaccine-development-progress 22nd Nov 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

The Guardian While everyone celebrated this months news that not one but two experimental vaccines against Covid19 have proved at least 90 effective at preventing disease in latestage clinical trials research into understanding how the SarsCoV2 virus which causes Covid19 interacts with the human immune system never paused. There are plenty of questions still to answer about the PfizerBioNTech and Moderna vaccines how well will they protect the elderly for example and how long for Which aspects of the immune response that they elicit are protective and which arent Can even better results be achieved with vaccines that target different parts of the immune system https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/22/why-the-race-to-find-covid-19-vaccines-is-far-from-over 22nd Nov 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

The Guardian Remdesivir one of the drugs Donald Trump took when he developed Covid19 should not be used in hospitals because there is no evidence it works the World Health Organization has advised. The US president was an enthusiastic proponent of the drug to the point where he boasted in July that he had bought up the worlds entire stock for Americans. The WHOs guidelines committee however has said Covid patients may be better off without it. The WHO issued what it calls a living guideline which can be updated as evidence comes in largely as a result of a Solidarity trial it led in several countries. Solidarity allocated patients randomly to several drugs including remdesivir and found that those who took it were no more likely to survive severe Covid than those who did not. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/20/remdesivir-dont-use-drug-trump-took-for-covid-19-who-says 21st Nov 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

ITV News The UK will be the first country to begin clinical trials of a new coronavirus antibody treatment developed by drugs giant AstraZeneca aimed at people with a weakened immune system who cannot be vaccinated. A participant in Wakefield West Yorkshire will be the first in the world to receive the pharmaceutical companys new antibody cocktail as part of the trial to test whether it will prevent Covid19 for up to year. The clinical trial programme will recruit 5000 participants which includes 1000 people from nine sites in the UK. The aim of the trial is to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of a combination of two longacting monoclonal antibodies manmade proteins that act like natural human antibodies in the immune system. https://www.itv.com/news/2020-11-20/trials-for-astrazenecas-new-covid-19-antibody-treatment-set-to-begin-in-the-uk 21st Nov 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

BBC People are most likely to pass on coronavirus within the first five days of having symptoms an extensive study suggests. The research indicates patients had the highest levels of virus early on in their illness and live virus capable of replicating was found up to nine days after symptoms began. UK scientists say their study emphasises early isolation is critical to stopping spread. The work appears in the Lancet Microbe. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-55006313 21st Nov 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

BBC 1. Jab for people who cannot be vaccinated trialled For those without functioning immune systems a possible alternative to a vaccine is entering its final stage of trials. It is hoped the jab could provide at least six months protection for those unable to receive vaccines. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-55024769 21st Nov 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

Pulse GPs will not be required to deliver the majority of Covid19 vaccinations that are administered this year the health secretary has confirmed. In todays Downing Street press briefing Matt Hancock said mass vaccination centres would deliver the bulk of the programme next month and GPs would take a more prominent role in 2021. The health secretary also confirmed the MHRA has been asked to assess the Pfizer vaccine representing the final step before the vaccination programme can begin. Deputy chief medical officer Professor Jonathan VanTam said at the briefing that the speed of rollout depended on manufacturing and regulatory constraints. He said Its in the hands of the manufacturers and the regulatory agencies around how quickly batches can be released for use if they are authorised. https://www.pulsetoday.co.uk/uncategorised/gps-will-not-deliver-bulk-of-covid-19-vaccination-this-year/ 21st Nov 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

Financial Times When Stphane Bancel took the top job at Moderna 10 years ago he warned his wife the business had only a 5 per cent chance of success. The Bostonbased biotech was trying to invent a new generation of medicines based on an unproved genetic engineering technique and instead of investing in drugs one by one was aiming to raise record amounts of money to build a platform that would work to develop the entire class of new products. Thanks to the biggest public health crisis in a generation it now looks likely that Moderna will win approval for the first product created by this approach three or four years ahead of schedule after early data published this week showed its Covid19 vaccine to be almost 95 per cent effective. https://www.ft.com/content/0cf071a2-b6a6-49ac-b921-f3ecd30267b2 21st Nov 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

The Washington Post Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech on Friday became the first companies to seek emergency authorization for a coronavirus vaccine in the United States a landmark moment and a signal that a powerful tool to help control the pandemic could begin to be available by late December. Conditions around the country remain dire The United States reported a record high of more than 196000 new coronavirus cases on Friday and is likely to cross 12 million cases nationwide on Saturday six days after surpassing 11 million. https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/11/20/coronavirus-covid-live-updates-us/ 21st Nov 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

The Guardian Public health groups are lobbying countries to commit a portion of their Covid19 vaccine supplies to a humanitarian buffer that would be used to inoculate people living in rebelheld territories those in asylumseeker camps and others unlikely to receive vaccinations from their governments. The emergency stockpile is intended to act as a safety net to ensure the global effort to end the Covid19 pandemic is not sabotaged by governments using vaccines as bargaining chip with restive populations or simply denying it to some marginalised groups. In Syria there are a lot of internally displaced people who might end up in areas not controlled by the government or they might be considered to be antigovernment or prorevolution said Alain Alsalhani a vaccine pharmacist who works with Mdecins Sans Frontires. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/nov/20/wealthy-nations-urged-to-give-portion-of-covid-vaccine-as-humanitarian-buffer 21st Nov 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

ABCNews.go.com Pfizer and partner BioNTech announced they have submitted a request on Friday to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for emergency use authorization of their COVID19 vaccine candidate. It is with great pride and joy and even a little relief but I can say that our request for emergency use authorization for our COVID19 vaccine is now in the FDAs hands Dr. Albert Bourla chairman and CEO of Pfizer said in a video statement Friday afternoon. This is a historic day a historic day for science and for all of us. It took just 248 days to get from the day we announced our plans to collaborate with BioNTech to our FDA submission day. https://abcnews.go.com/Health/pfizer-biontech-submit-emergency-authorization-request-fda-friday/story?id=74313267 20th Nov 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

Evening Standard People infected with coronavirus are most likely to be highly infectious in the first week after symptoms appear research has found. Genetic material of SarsCoV2 the virus that causes Covid19 may still be detected in respiratory or stool samples for several weeks after infection. However no live virus was found in any type of sample collected beyond nine days of symptoms starting the study found. Researchers said people with the virus are mostly likely to be highly infectious for five days after symptom onset. The review published in The Lancet Microbe suggested people infected with SarsCoV2 are most likely to be highly infectious in the first week after symptom onset. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/health/people-with-coronavirus-most-likely-to-be-highly-infectious-in-first-week-after-showing-symptoms-b74467.html 20th Nov 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

CNN Almost a million people have been given an experimental coronavirus vaccine developed by Sinopharm as part of an emergencyuse program authorized by Beijing the Chinese pharmaceutical giants chairman said. No serious adverse effects have been reported from vaccine recipients so far Sinopharm said Wednesday in an article on social media platform WeChat citing Chairman Liu Jingzhen. In emergency use we now have used it on nearly a million people. We have not received any reports of serious adverse reaction and only a few have some mild symptoms Liu said. https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/20/asia/china-sinopharm-vaccine-test-intl-hnk/index.html 20th Nov 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

Sky News Pfizer and BioNTech are submitting an emergency authorisation request in the US which could allow its coronavirus vaccine to be used to treat highrisk populations in the country by midDecember. The UK has already ordered enough of the vaccine to treat 20 million people but it has not yet been approved by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency MHRA. https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-pfizer-requests-emergency-authorisation-for-coronavirus-vaccine-in-us-12137091 20th Nov 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

BBC A possible alternative to a vaccine for people without functioning immune systems is entering its final stage of trials. The injection was developed using antibodies made by the immune system to fight infection produced by a single Covid patient in the US. It is hoped it could provide at least six months protection for patients who cannot receive vaccines. Trials involving 1000 UK participants begin in Manchester on Saturday. A further 4000 people are involved in the trial globally which is being organised by pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca. Participants will be given either an injection containing two different Covid19 antibodies which have been specially engineered to last longer in the body or a placebo. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-55022288 20th Nov 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

The Guardian News that one of the potential coronavirus vaccines had at least a 90 efficacy rate was a victory for science said K Srinath Reddy a cardiologist and president of the Public Health Foundation of India. But it meant little to his countrys 1.3 billion citizens. For us the Pfizer vaccine is more of a scientific curiosity than a practical possibility Reddy said. The need to store the PfizerBioNTech vaccine at at least 70C94F with its required coldchain infrastructure puts it out of the reach of up to twothirds of the worlds population including swathes of south Asia Africa and even rural parts of the US and South America according to German logistics company DHL. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/nov/20/scientists-race-to-find-warm-covid-vaccine-to-solve-issue-of-cold-storage 20th Nov 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

POLITICO.eu Amid rising cases and secondwave lockdowns Europe might have a coronavirus vaccine authorized to use before the end of 2020. Speaking during POLITICOs Health Care Summit Wednesday the head of the European Medicines Agency EMA Emer Cooke said shes hopeful that the agency will have an opinion about whether to authorize a coronavirus vaccine made by Pfizer and BioNTech by the end of the year. Cookes comments followed breaking news that the companies found their vaccine to be 95 percent effective after completing a full review of their ongoing largescale Phase 3 clinical trial. https://www.politico.eu/article/biontech-pfizer-to-seek-emergency-approval-for-coronavirus-vaccine-within-days/ 20th Nov 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

BBC The UK government has formally asked the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to assess the PfizerBioNTech vaccine one of the frontrunners in the race for a coronavirus cure. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said it was another important step forward and that if approved it would be available across the NHS for free across all of the UK. He said the UK has contributed more than any other country towards researching a vaccine something he said the country should be proud of. It follows Pfizer and BioNTech seeking emergency authorisation for the vaccine in the US. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-55017981 20th Nov 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

STV News Frontline health workers care home residents and staff and over 80s will be first to get a coronavirus vaccine in Scotland. Next in line will be over 65s and younger people with underlying health conditions likely to badly affected by the virus. More than one million people in Scotland could be vaccinated by the end of January the health secretary Jeane Freeman told parliament on Thursday. Everyone aged over 18 around 4.4m people will eventually be offered the protection from Covid19 with rollout possibly starting from the first week of December if a vaccine is approved by then. https://news.stv.tv/scotland/health-staff-care-homes-and-over-80s-to-get-covid-vaccine-first 20th Nov 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

The Independent An NHS worker has become the very first person to be recruited for the final stage of a coronavirus vaccine trial. Claire Cole is the first person in the world to give consent to participate in phasethree of a trial to test the safety and efficacy of a coronavirus vaccine developed by Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson Johnson. Cole head of research delivery at Manchester University is one of 6000 volunteers in the UK and 30000 worldwide who are being recruited for the study which will take place at 17 National Institute for Health Research sites in the UK including one in Manchester. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/covid-vaccine-trial-nhs-worker-b1759193.html 20th Nov 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

New Scientist A draft of NHS Englands plan for the rollout of a coronavirus vaccine aims for widespread vaccination of all willing adults in England by early April if sufficient doses and other crucial supplies are available. Under NHS Englands draft covid19 vaccine deployment programme which was outlined in a leaked document dated 13 November seen by HSJ most doses of the potential vaccine would be administered between early January and midMarch at a rate of between 4 and 5 million each week. https://www.newscientist.com/article/2237475-covid-19-news-nhs-drafts-plan-to-vaccinate-adults-in-england-by-april/ 20th Nov 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

Motley Fool Inovio Pharmaceuticals investors can breathe a little easier this week after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration lifted a partial clinical hold on the planned phase 2 study of the companys investigational coronavirus vaccine. The biotech can now move forward with that part of the trial. Adding to the good news Inovio said the U.S. Department of Defense will fund the phase 2 and phase 3 trials. Inovio shares down 34 since the announcement of the partial hold in late September jumped nearly 15 in one trading session. So does this mean Inovio is back as one of the main players in the coronavirus race Well its clear the hold set the company behind from a timeline perspective. But rapidity isnt everything in this race. Lets take a closer look at where Inovio stands right now. https://www.fool.com/investing/2020/11/20/is-inovio-back-in-the-coronavirus-vaccine-race/ 20th Nov 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

The Wall Street Journal Breakthroughs on vaccines and new treatments are finally offering the world a path to end the Covid19 pandemic. Theyre a tribute to private U.S. corporate innovation but now developing countries led by India and South Africa are making a damaging bid to waive patent protections for these lifesaving advances. The attempt will surface Friday when these countries offer a resolution at the World Trade Organization meeting to waive patent protections for Covid vaccines therapies and other technologies. They say this is needed to ensure poor countries have equal access but their effort would harm everyone including the poor. https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-global-covid-vaccine-heist-11605829343 20th Nov 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

Daily Mail on MSN.com TheAstraZeneca vaccine which is being produced by biotechnology giant CSL is on track to be ready by December 28 but will need to be tested in various clinical trials. https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/first-batch-of-coronavirus-vaccine-ready-by-new-years-day/ar-BB1bdxkk 20th Nov 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

iNews The MMR jab could be used to slow the spread of Covid19 while Britons are gradually inoculated with vaccines being developed for the virus a study suggests. Researchers have found that people who had had the measlesmumpsrubella vaccine as a child suffered far less severe symptoms of Covid in many cases having mild symptoms or not symptoms at all. The study found a statistically significant inverse relationship between the level of mumps antibodies and Covid19. This indicates that there is a relationship that warrants further investigation said Professor David Hurley of the University of Georgia. If it has the ultimate benefit of preventing infection from Covid19 preventing the spread of Covid19 reducing the severity of it or a combination of any or all of those it is a very high reward low risk ratio intervention. It would be prudent to vaccinate people of all ages he said. https://inews.co.uk/news/science/mmr-jab-protect-people-coronavirus-vaccine-ready-study-767154?ITO=newsnow 20th Nov 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

CNN Lockdowns could be avoided if everyone followed health measures such as wearing masks the World Health Organizations top Europe official said at a Thursday news briefing. WHO Europes Regional Director Hans Kluge stressed that lockdowns should be a last resort and urged the public to follow guidance to help to prevent deaths. He said that if 95 of people wore masks instead of the current 60 lockdowns would not be needed although he added that mask use was not a panacea and needed to be combined with other measures. If we all do our share lockdowns are avoidable Kluge said. https://edition.cnn.com/2020/11/19/europe/coronavirus-europe-lockdown-tiers-intl/index.html?utm_source=twCNN&amputm_medium=social&amputm_term=link&amputm_content=2020-11-20T07%3A31%3A09 19th Nov 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

The Scotsman A nasal spray that can provide effective protection against Covid19 is now ready for use in humans according to researchers. The spray has been developed by scientists at the University of Birmingham and is formulated using compounds already widely approved by regulatory bodies in the UK Europe and the US. https://www.scotsman.com/health/coronavirus/nasal-spray-can-protect-against-covid-19-now-ready-use-humans-3041398 19th Nov 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

The National Hopes have been raised that the UK could produce a successful coronavirus vaccine after data from the University of Oxford showed its jab provokes a strong immune response in older people. The ChAdOx1 nCov2019 vaccine developed with pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca has been shown to trigger a robust immune response in healthy adults aged 5669 and people over 70. Phase two data published in The Lancet suggests one of the groups most vulnerable to serious illness and death from Covid19 could build immunity researchers say. https://www.thenational.scot/news/18883182.covid-oxford-vaccine-produces-strong-response-older-adults-early-data-reveals/ 19th Nov 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters The following is a roundup of some of the latest scientific studies on the novel coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID19 the illness caused by the virus. https://uk.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-science/covid-science-childhood-vaccine-linked-to-less-severe-covid-19-cigarette-smoke-raises-risk-idUKL1N2I61X6 19th Nov 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

Daily Mail 817 Covid19 patients over the age of 65 in hospital were in the study Had an average age of 78 and 226 28 per cent were diagnosed as delirius 84 37 per cent did not have any typical Covid19 symptoms https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-8966555/One-three-elderly-Covid-19-patients-delirious-study-finds.html 19th Nov 2020

Coronavirus Resurgence

The Guardian The virus is on the rise so uniformly across the vast landmass of the US that records are being shattered daily. Chris McGreal in Kansas City Kenya Evelyn in Milwaukee Vivian Ho in Oakland and Adam Gabbatt and Ed Pilkington in New York. The Disunited States of America are united once more. After a brutal election that exacerbated bitter partisan divisions and left the country feeling as though it had been torn in two it has at last been thrown back together. For all the wrong reasons. The great leveler is coronavirus. Covid19 is rampaging across the US as though it were on a personal mission to unify the splintered nation in an unfolding catastrophe. Of the 50 states of the Union all but one isolated Hawaii is seeing alarming surges in new cases. The virus is on the rise so uniformly across the vast landmass of the US that records are being shattered daily. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/21/us-states-scramble-to-take-action-as-covid-numbers-jump-terrifyingly-higher 22nd Nov 2020

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters Portugal is to ban domestic travel and close schools around two upcoming holidays in a bid to reduce the spread of coronavirus ahead of Christmas Prime Minister Antonio Costa said on Saturday. Travel between municipalities will be banned from 11 p.m. on Nov. 27 to 5 a.m. on Dec. 2 and then again from 11 p.m. on Dec. 4 to 5 a.m. on Dec. 9 to prevent movement around national holidays on Dec. 1 and Dec. 8. Schools will close on the Mondays before both holidays while businesses must close early. Employers are being encouraged to give workers the day off in order to minimise travel activity. We continue to have a very high number of cases which is a threat to our health Costa told a press conference. We must persist to not only halt that growth rate but invert it. https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-portugal/portugal-to-ban-domestic-travel-close-schools-around-national-holidays-idUSKBN2810RC 22nd Nov 2020

Coronavirus Resurgence

CNN The number of US coronavirus cases surpassed 12 million Saturday an increase of more than 1 million cases in less than a week. At least 12085389 cases have been confirmed according to Johns Hopkins University data and 255823 Americans have died. Its another horrific milestone in a month full of devastating Covid19 records in the country. November already accounts for almost a quarter of all Covid19 cases and 9 of deaths. Almost every state has reported a rapid surge in cases and nationwide numbers have been climbing much faster than ever before with the country reporting a staggering 2.9 million infections since the beginning of the month. https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/21/health/us-coronavirus-saturday/index.html 22nd Nov 2020

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters on MSN.com Some Russian hospitals are experiencing serious shortages of drugs used to treat COVID19 and cannot restock because of panic buying high demand and problems with a new labelling system officials distributors and doctors said. https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/some-russian-hospitals-face-shortages-of-covid-19-drugs/ar-BB1bbLJj 21st Nov 2020

Coronavirus Resurgence

The Independent California enacts a nighttime curfew Saturday as spiking coronavirus cases threaten to swamp health care systems and the states largest county warned that an even more drastic lockdown could be imminent. The newest restrictions require people not on essential errands to stay home from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. through Dec. 21 with a possible extension if rapidly worsening trends dont improve. People will be allowed to shop for groceries pick up food and even walk their dogs. Authorities say the focus is on keeping people from social mixing and drinking the kinds of activities that are blamed for causing COVID19 infections to soar after dipping only a few months ago. Dr. Mark Cullen an infectious disease expert who recently retired from Stanford University said the underlying goal is based on a reasonable interpretation of data. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/california-enacts-nighttime-curfew-as-covid19-cases-spike-covid-people-cases-curfew-curfew-b1759535.html 21st Nov 2020

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters Iran introduced tougher restrictions on Saturday to stem a third wave of coronavirus infections including closing nonessential businesses and travel curbs but state media reported widespread flouting of the rules. Tehran streets are crowded despite the restrictions state TV said on Saturday morning. It said some nonessential businesses were open but later showed mostly empty streets and shuttered shops. The semiofficial ISNA news agency posted photos of crammed metro trains with the hashtag Coronavirus kills. Other media sites posted photos of packed buses. https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-iran-idUSKBN2810GI 21st Nov 2020

Coronavirus Resurgence

BBC Ten more people in Northern Ireland have died after contracting Covid19 taking the Department of Healths total of recorded deaths to 923. Another 357 people have tested positive for the virus taking the overall number of confirmed cases to 49442. The figures come a day after some businesses reopened ahead of a twoweek lockdown from 27 November. The restrictions have been criticised by some businesses but First Minister Arlene Foster has defended the move. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-55029886 21st Nov 2020

Coronavirus Resurgence

Daily Mail Sweden today recorded some 393 daily cases of Covid19 per million people This far surpasses 337 per million seen in Britain and 324 per million in France Nation has seen hospital admissions for Covid19 patients double each week https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8971141/Sweden-higher-Covid-19-infection-rate-France-Britain-shunning-lockdowns.html 21st Nov 2020

Coronavirus Resurgence

The Independent Northern Ireland will shut nonessential retail pubs and restaurants for two weeks from November 27 to save the health service from becoming swamped. The country was poised to emerge from a limited circuitbreaker lockdown until the number of infections rose to worrying levels. Closecontact services and cafes can open this Friday as planned but will have to close again next Friday while other hospitality sectors like pubs and licensed restaurants will remain closed throughout Stormont ministers said. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/covid-nothern-ireland-lockdown-shops-coronavirus-hospitals-b1758857.html 21st Nov 2020

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters Wisconsins governor on Friday extended a statewide mask mandate despite a legal challenge from conservatives renewing an emergency health order requiring face coverings in public spaces to curb an alarming surge in COVID19 infections. https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-usa/wisconsin-governor-renews-mask-mandate-despite-court-challenge-as-pandemic-worsens-idUSKBN28027T 21st Nov 2020

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters UK Germany reported a record number of new coronavirus cases on Friday upping the pressure on leaders of the countrys 16 federal states to implement stricter restrictions favoured by Chancellor Angela Merkel to tame a second wave before Christmas. https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-germany-idUKKBN28019X 21st Nov 2020

Coronavirus Resurgence

Irish Examiner Indias total number of coronavirus cases since the pandemic began crossed the nine million mark on Friday. Nevertheless the countrys new daily cases have seen a steady decline for weeks now and the total number of cases represents 0.6 of Indias 1.3 billion population. The health ministry reported 45882 new infections and 584 fatalities in the past 24 hours on Friday. The death toll since the pandemic began is more than 132000. https://www.irishexaminer.com/world/arid-40085879.html 20th Nov 2020

New Lockdown

Reuters UK Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday that Canadas hospital system could be overwhelmed by a possible quadrupling of new COVID19 cases by year end as its biggest city Toronto prepared to impose a lockdown. Trudeau implored Canadians to stay home as much as possible as a second wave of the novel coronavirus rips across the country forcing several of the 10 provinces to reimpose curbs on movement and businesses. Cases continue to spike and authorities complain some people are being more careless about taking precautions. https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-canada/canada-seeing-a-massive-spike-in-covid-cases-hospitals-could-be-swamped-pm-trudeau-idUKKBN2802CS 21st Nov 2020

New Lockdown

Reuters UK South Australias drastic sixday coronavirus lockdown was triggered by a lie to contact tracers from a man who tested positive and restrictions across the state are set to be lifted much sooner than first planned authorities said on Friday. https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-australia/south-australia-says-mans-lie-caused-coronavirus-lockdown-as-harsh-curbs-eased-idUKKBN2800CT 21st Nov 2020

New Lockdown

Toronto Star With the risk of overwhelming hospitals in red zones with COVID19 patients now imminent Premier Doug Ford is moving Toronto into a 28day lockdown along with Peel Region. The new measures will return the city to an experience similar to the earlier days of the pandemic with widespread closures. In Toronto here is what that means as far as closures and new limitations as of 1201 a.m. on Monday Nov. 23 https://www.thestar.com/news/city_hall/2020/11/20/toronto-is-under-a-28-day-covid-19-lockdown-starting-monday-heres-what-that-means.html 20th Nov 2020