15th Nov 2021 https://nfind.uk/lockdown_exit/index.php/newsletter=539 lockdown_exit

Lockdown Exit

Reuters Austria is the first European country to reinstate the same restrictions on daily movements that applied during national lockdowns before vaccines were rolled out though this time they only affect a minority of the population. We are not taking this step lightly but it is necessary Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg told a news conference announcing the new measure under which the unvaccinated can only leave their homes for a limited number of reasons like going to work or shopping for essentials. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/austria-orders-non-vaccinated-people-into-covid-19-lockdown-2021-11-14/ 14th Nov 2021

Lockdown Exit

The Wall Street Journal The U.S. is at the forefront of the race to vaccinate young children. Many governments elsewhere are treading more cautiously. In Mexico the president says he wont be held hostage by vaccine makers and there are no plans to inoculate under18s except those at risk. In many parts of Africa rollouts are going so slowly that vaccinating children is a distant ambition. Some governments are waiting to see how the campaign in the U.S. goes before moving ahead. The U.S. where children between 5 and 11 are getting shots for the first time this month isnt alone Children as young as 3 are being vaccinated in countries such as Colombia Argentina and China. https://www.wsj.com/articles/as-the-u-s-races-to-vaccinate-kids-against-covid-19-some-countries-hold-back-11636799400 13th Nov 2021

Lockdown Exit

Reuters Brazils Supreme Court on Friday suspended a government order that prevented companies from requiring employees to provide proof that they have been vaccinate against COVID19 and stopped dismissals of those not immunized. Brazils farright President Jair Bolsonaro a vaccine skeptic has criticized vaccine passports required in other countries. Brazil has suffered the seconddeadliest coronavirus pandemic outside of the United States. Justice Luis Roberto Barroso said the pandemic had killed 610000 Brazilians and it was reasonable to surmise that the presence of unvaccinated employees poses a threat to the health of the others. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/brazils-top-court-rules-that-companies-can-require-employee-vaccination-2021-11-12/ 13th Nov 2021

Lockdown Exit

Reuters The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is unlikely to ask its outside vaccine advisers to weigh in on whether the agency should authorize Pfizer PFE.N COVID19 boosters for all adults CNN reported on Friday citing a source. The source told CNN its unlikely there is going to be a meeting of the outside advisers and there has been no discussion of a meeting to discuss Pfizers application. The FDA said the agency will determine whether to hold a meeting of the advisory committee ... following its initial review of the information submitted CNN added. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/fda-likely-make-vaccine-booster-decision-without-outside-advisory-committee-2021-11-12/ 13th Nov 2021

Lockdown Exit

Reuters Three German state health ministers urged parties negotiating to form a new government to prolong states power to implement stricter pandemic measures such as lockdowns or school closures as the countrys sevenday COVID incidence rate hit record highs. The number of people per 100000 infected last week rose to 277.4 data from the Robert Koch Institute showed on Saturday and has risen to over 500 in some regions of the country. The head of Germanys largest doctors association Marburger Bund told German media group Funke Mediengruppe that overburdened intensive care units may need to move patients between regions to find beds in coming weeks. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/merkel-urges-unvaccinated-reconsider-7-day-covid-incidence-rate-hits-record-2021-11-13/ 13th Nov 2021

Lockdown Exit

The Independent The government has been ordered to publish its assessments on the impact of national lockdowns and Covid restrictions after resisting making them public The Independent can reveal. Department of Health and Social Care DHSC officials drew up documents predicting how changing coronavirus rules would affect different groups but they have so far been kept secret. The Liberty human rights group requested the equality impact assessments under the Freedom of Information FOI Act but was refused and told releasing them would not be in the public interest. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/covid-lockdown-impact-assessments-foi-b1956743.html 13th Nov 2021

Lockdown Exit

Bloomberg Germany is being battered by a fourth Covid wave with low vaccination rates in its eastern states a big reason the virus has regained a foothold. The four regions registering the lowest vaccination rates Saxony Thuringia Brandenburg and SaxonyAnhalt are all in the formerly communist East. No state in eastern Germany has an inoculation level that exceeds the nationwide rate of 67.5 fully vaccinated with the exception of oncedivided Berlin according to health ministry data. Germanys military will put as many as 12000 troops on standby to help overburdened health clinics and to speed the rollout of booster vaccines Der Spiegel reported Saturday https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-11-13/germany-s-east-west-vaccine-divide-leads-to-record-covid-cases?srnd=premium-europe 13th Nov 2021

Lockdown Exit

Yahoo News Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Friday announced Western Europes first partial lockdown of the winter with three weeks of Covid curbs on restaurants shops and sporting events. Protesters set off fireworks in The Hague after Rutte unveiled the annoying and farreaching measures following a record spike of infections to more than 16000 a day. At a news conference Rutte said the situation required a hard blow of a few weeks because the virus is everywhere throughout the country in all sectors and all ages. Fortunately the vast majority have been vaccinated otherwise the misery in the hospitals would be incalculable at the moment. https://news.yahoo.com/dutch-return-partial-lockdown-covid-190943200.html 12th Nov 2021

Lockdown Exit

Al Jazeera English on MSN.com The lockdown that begins Saturday night is the first to start in Western Europe since a new wave of infections began surging across parts of the continent. Under the lockdown bars restaurants and supermarkets will have to close at 8pm 1900 GMT professional sports matches will be played in empty stadiums and people are being urged to work from home as much as possible. Stores selling nonessential items will have to close at 6pm. Tonight we have a very unpleasant message with very unpleasant and farreaching decisions Rutte said on Friday. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/dutch-gov-e2-80-99t-orders-partial-lockdown-amid-covid-surge/ar-AAQDJHi 12th Nov 2021

Lockdown Exit

Bloomberg The Netherlands is entering another lockdown after coronavirus infections hit records in recent days Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said. We have a very difficult message tonight combined with drastic measures Rutte said at a press conference in The Hague on Friday. The country will enter a partial lockdown with bars and restaurants that need to shut down effective from Saturday 8 p.m. local time Rutte added. Nonessential shops must close at 6 p.m. He strongly urged people to work from home as much as possible while there also will be a limit to invite a maximum amount of 4 people to socialize at home. The package will be reviewed Dec. 3 Rutte said. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-11-12/workers-at-boston-s-museum-of-fine-arts-to-strike-for-a-day 12th Nov 2021

Lockdown Exit

CNN Austria is days away from ordering millions of unvaccinated people to stay at home its chancellor has said in a rare move that underscores the increasing exasperation of European leaders towards those who have not yet been inoculated against Covid19. Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg told reporters on Friday that the government should give the green light for the move this weekend. The aim is clear we want on Sunday to give the green light for a nationwide lockdown for the unvaccinated Schallenberg said at a news conference in Innsbruck. He had earlier called the countrys vaccination rate shamefully low and hinted that the measure would be triggered within days. In other states that rate is a lot higher it is shameful as we have enough vaccines available https://edition.cnn.com/2021/11/12/europe/austria-unvaccinated-lockdown-europe-covid-intl 12th Nov 2021

Lockdown Exit

Reuters Austrias government is likely to decide on Sunday to impose a lockdown on people who are not fully vaccinated against the coronavirus as daily infections have surged to record levels Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg said on Friday. Schallenberg did not say when the lockdown would take effect but the two provinces hardesthit by this wave of infections Upper Austria and Salzburg will introduce the measure for themselves on Monday. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/austria-plans-approve-lockdown-unvaccinated-sunday-2021-11-12/ 12th Nov 2021

Lockdown Exit

The New York Times Dr. Anthony S. Fauci the nations top infectious disease expert described the current status of the pandemic in the United States as a mixed bag that is leaning more toward the positive than the negative. But there is still work to do he said including dealing with complicated factors such as vaccination rates contagious variants of the virus and waning immunity to infection. In our conversation Dr. Fauci weighed in on vaccine mandates booster shots and the end of the pandemic. Ultimately all pandemics burn themselves out he told us adding So you have a choice. Do you want it to burn itself out and kill a lot more people and make a lot more people sick Or do you want to do something about it to prevent further deaths and further illness https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/12/podcasts/the-daily/anthony-fauci-vaccine-mandates-booster-shots.html 12th Nov 2021

Lockdown Exit

Barrons Ten countries in the 27member European Union face a Covid situation of very high concern the blocs diseases agency said Friday warning the pandemic was worsening across the continent. The overall epidemiological situation... was characterised by a high and rapidly increasing overall case notification rate and a low but slowly increasing death rate the European Centre for Disease Control said. Case notification rates death rates and hospital and ICU admissions are all forecast to increase over the next two weeks. In its latest weekly risk assessment the agency listed 10 EU countries in its highest category of concern Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Czech Republic Estonia Greece Hungary Netherlands Poland and Slovenia. https://www.barrons.com/news/10-eu-nations-face-covid-situation-of-high-concern-01636726208?refsec=afp-news 12th Nov 2021

Lockdown Exit

EL PAS Despite the success of Spains Covid19 vaccination drive 88.9 of the over12 population is fully vaccinated according to the Health Ministry there are growing concerns about the delicate situation in many other European countries. Germany Austria and the Netherlands which have lower vaccination rates than Spain on Thursday reported the highest daily number of coronavirus cases seen since the beginning of the pandemic. Fatalities for Covid19 are also rising in these countries. The question many are asking now is if Spain is on the brink of a sixth wave. https://english.elpais.com/society/2021-11-12/experts-optimistic-spain-will-avoid-sixth-coronavirus-wave-despite-surge-in-cases-across-europe.html 12th Nov 2021

Exit Strategies

Reuters Morocco will conduct rapid COVID19 tests to passengers arriving in its airports and ports and will deny access to any visitor with a positive result the government said on Saturday. The measure which strengthens an existing requirement of a negative PCR test 48 hours before departure aims to protect the country amid a surge of cases in Europe the government said in a statement. Travelers with positive test must be returned at the cost of the airline that brought them into the country unless they have a permanent residency document it said. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/morocco-plans-additional-airport-covid-testing-amid-europe-surge-2021-11-13/ 13th Nov 2021

Exit Strategies

The Straits Times A fouryearold boy who is suffering from a rare and severe inflammatory syndrome linked to Covid19 in children has been discharged from the intensive care unit ICU on Tuesday afternoon Nov 9 after spending more than a week in there. His mother Ms Marilyn Cacanindin 39 told The Straits Times that Muhammad Ali Zafir Mohamed Azmi has been transferred to a high dependency ward in KK Womens and Childrens Hospital KKH. ST previously reported that Ali Zafir was placed in the ICU on Nov 1 the same day he was admitted to KKH for symptoms including a persistent high fever chills and vomiting. Other symptoms he had included involuntary jerking in his sleep bruising on his limbs and intense stomach pain. He was diagnosed with multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children MISC which can affect various organs including the brain and kidneys https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/boy-4-with-rare-inflammatory-syndrome-linked-to-covid-19-out-of-icu 13th Nov 2021

Exit Strategies

Bangkok Post Nightlife venues such as pubs will remain closed until at least Jan 16 to avoid a possible surge of infections during New Year. Taweesilp Visanuyothin spokesman for the Centre for Covid19 Situation Administration CCSA on Friday said a CCSA meeting chaired by Prime Minister Prayut Chanocha decided to defer the reopening of clubs pubs and karaoke venues. The CCSA originally planned to reopen these venues on Dec 1 according to Dr Taweesilp. However it has set the new tentative reopening date to Jan 16 and only in some areas depending on the Covid19 situation he said. https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2214571/ccsa-extends-nightlife-curbs 13th Nov 2021

Exit Strategies

The Associated Press The Japanese governments preparations for the next virus surge include adding thousands more hospital beds to avoid a situation like last summer when many COVID19 patients were forced to stay home even while dependent on oxygen deliveries. Even though Japan has a reasonable health insurance system and the worlds largest number of beds per capita COVID19 patients were admitted to only a fraction of the beds mostly at public university and major private hospitals. The government has provided subsidies to lure more hospitals to treat such patients but progress is slow triggering calls for tougher measures in an emergency. https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-business-japan-infectious-diseases-health-49cb82980fb7818518e7c889a624538e 12th Nov 2021

Exit Strategies

The Wall Street Journal AstraZeneca PLC said it would start pricing its Covid19 vaccine to make it profitable ending a period in which it had pledged to roll out the shots at cost during the pandemic. The AngloSwedish pharmaceuticals giant said it would shift away from a nonprofit approach to the vaccine starting in 2022 signing new contracts that will allow it to make money off the shot. The company expects some earnings contribution from new orders in the fourth quarter of this year. The company said the shot generated 1.05 billion in revenue in the third quarter. https://www.wsj.com/articles/astrazeneca-plans-to-start-selling-covid-19-vaccines-at-profit-11636709431 12th Nov 2021

Exit Strategies

Reuters Leaders of the AsiaPacific Economic Cooperation APEC forum vowed to address economic recovery in the region by shoring up supply chains tackling labor issues and continuing to respond to the COVID19 pandemic. They also pledged to work together to address climate and environmental challenges they said in a statement following their meeting in Wellington New Zealand. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-apec-summit-statement/apec-leaders-vow-to-tackle-economic-recovery-covid-19-climate-idUSKBN2HX1PF 12th Nov 2021

Exit Strategies

Reuters Dutch insurer Aegon NV reported a 16 fall in third quarter operating profit on Thursday due to higher COVID19 related mortality claims in the Americas the latest European insurer to suffer from new waves of the pandemic. Aegon which does twothirds of its business in the United States said unfavourable mortality claims in the Americas in the third quarter were 111 million up from 31 million a year earlier. Performance improvements across most of our businesses ... were offset by elevated mortality in the United States Aegon Chief Executive Lard Friese in a statement. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/aegon-q3-operating-result-down-16-us-covid-linked-claims-2021-11-11/ 12th Nov 2021

Exit Strategies

Reuters AstraZeneca said it would begin to earn a modest profit from its coronavirus vaccine as the world learns to live with the virus and the drugmaker is in talks with several countries about new orders for delivery next year. AstraZeneca made a commitment to sell the shot developed with Oxford University at cost during the pandemic and in a press conference on Friday said lowincome nations would continue to receive the vaccine on a noprofit basis while a postpandemic commercial approach would apply to other new orders even as infections in Europe rise again https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/astrazeneca-makes-over-1-bln-q3-vaccine-sales-small-profit-2021-11-12/ 12th Nov 2021

Exit Strategies

Reuters U.S. President Joe Bidens vaccine requirements are prompting more Americans to get COVID19 shots White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Friday. In the past week were averaging nearly 300000 first shots per day for people aged 12 and over Psaki said up from less than 250000 first shots per day in midJuly before Biden first discussed vaccine requirements. Biden announced on Sept. 9 vaccination mandates for workers at federal contractors and said workers at big private employers need to be vaccinated or tested. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/biden-vaccination-rules-are-boosting-covid-19-shot-uptake-white-house-2021-11-12/ 12th Nov 2021

Exit Strategies

Bangalore Mirror With many yet to take the second dose of vaccine even after completing the mandatory gap of 84 days after the first dose health experts are clamouring for adopting the Singapore model where particllay vaccinated citizens are not allowed to visit public places. https://bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com/bangalore/others/no-takers-for-second-dose-adopt-the-singapore-model/articleshow/87673562.cms 12th Nov 2021

Partisan Exits

Bloomberg A U.S. appeals court has extended its Nov. 6 order pausing President Joe Bidens shotortest mandate for businesses with 100 or more employees. The ruling issued today by the New Orleansbased U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit solidifies its earlier order blocking implementation of the Occupational Safety and Health Administrations emergency regulation. Its ruling comes ahead of a Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation lottery to determine which federal appeals court will be assigned to adjudicate the many legal challenges to the measure now pending across the country. The lottery is slated for Nov. 16. In a 22page opinion the court had harsh words for the vaccine mandate. The mandate threatens to substantially burden the liberty interests of reluctant individual recipients put to a choice between their jobs and their jabs the court said. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-11-12/biden-s-shot-or-test-mandate-dealt-another-blow-by-fifth-circuit 13th Nov 2021

Partisan Exits

MarketWatch The U.S. is experiencing one of its worst labor shortages in decades. Its likely the reason why your pizza took longer than usual to get delivered or why your flight may have been canceled. And its also the reason why youre probably going to have a tough time getting a friend or loved one into an assisted living facility or nursing home and why you may be more concerned about a vulnerable family member currently residing in one. Since the beginning of the pandemic some 221000 people have left the industry. That amounts to a 14 drop in employment according to a report published by the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living trade organizations that collectively represent some 14000 nursing homes and assisted living communities across the country. Among all healthcare sectors nursing homes have lost the most jobs since before the pandemic according to the report which is based on Bureau of Labor Statistics data. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/caregivers-are-getting-burned-out-by-the-pandemic-labor-shortages-are-taking-a-huge-toll-on-nursing-homes-11636741886 12th Nov 2021

Partisan Exits

The Wall Street Journal After months of severe shortages Covid19 vaccine supplies for the worlds poorest nations are finally ramping up. But many countries say they will struggle to get them into peoples arms as they grapple with the potential delivery of more vaccines in the coming weeks than they have received so far this year. Authorities lack funds to conduct public awareness campaigns and set up more vaccination sites including the necessary fridges and freezers to store the shots. Misinformation and low case numbers have also left many in poor countries skeptical of the shots. Just 4.2 of people in lowincome countries have received a first dose. Across Africa only 6.3 of people are fully vaccinated according to Our World in Data a project based at Oxford University. https://www.wsj.com/articles/covid-19-vaccines-are-now-reaching-poor-countries-but-not-peoples-arms-11636741322 12th Nov 2021

Continued Lockdown

Bloomberg The Philippines is keeping its loose coronavirus restrictions in the Manila capital region until Nov. 30 as daily cases decline and vaccination picks up. The capital which accounts for a third of economic output will remain under Alert Level 2 the secondlowest under a fivetiered system presidential spokesman Harry Roque said in a statement on Saturday. Provinces near Metro Manila will also be under the same level. Relaxed restrictions on public movement have been in placed since Nov. 5 and minors have been allowed in indoor establishments. Under Alert Level 2 indoor restaurants gyms and cinemas can operate at half capacity while outdoor establishments can open at 70 capacity. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-11-13/philippines-keeps-loose-virus-curbs-in-capital-region 13th Nov 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters Bahrain has approved the emergency use of AstraZenecas AZN.L antiCOVID drug Evusheld the state news agency reported on Sunday. Bahrain has become the first country to authorize the drug which will be limited to adults who suffer from immunodeficiency or who are taking immunosuppressants as well as individuals with occupations that put them at risk of transmission the news agency said. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/bahrain-authorizes-astrazenecas-anti-covid-drug-emergency-use-2021-11-14/ 15th Nov 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

The Jerusalem Post The Pfizer vaccines were not evaluated for preventing infection but rather symptomatic or severe disease and death. And when it comes to these statistics at least for now the vaccines seem to be doing their job. The percentage of people testing positive for the virus has declined from an aveage of more than 5 to just 0.56. And hospitalisations have gone down too hitting only 200 people on Friday with 20 of the patients in only a mild condition. https://www.jpost.com/health-and-wellness/coronavirus/more-than-10000-covid-19-booster-breakthroughs-in-israel-684832 13th Nov 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

Al Jazeera English Covaxin the first COVID19 vaccine developed in India is highly efficacious and presents no safety concerns according to a study published in the medical journal Lancet. Covaxin gained emergency approval from the World Health Organization last week the eighth jab to be given the green light by the health body. The vaccine has already been cleared for use in 17 countries. Known by the code BBV152 Covaxin is an inactivated virusbased COVID19 vaccine developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research and the National Institute of Virology. The WHO has described it as extremely suitable for low and middleincome countries due to easy storage requirements. Some of the other approved vaccines must be stored at very low temperatures which throws up logistical and cost problems. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/11/12/india-covid-vaccine-covaxin-highly-efficacious-lancet-study 12th Nov 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

Al Jazeera English French pharmaceutical company Valneva is throwing its hat into the vaccine ring but it has a vaccine with a difference. Rather than induce an immune response that targets just the spike protein of the coronavirus the Valneva vaccine also known as VLA2001 stimulates an immune response to the entire virus and that might just give it an edge over its competitors. It is different in that it uses the tried and tested method of taking the whole of the coronavirus and inactivating it so that it can no longer cause illness. It then combines with an adjuvant a substance that helps it enter human cells effectively. https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2021/11/9/valneva-covid-19-vaccine-why-it-might-be-a-game-changer 12th Nov 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters World Health Organization WHO officials said on Friday they were hoping to convene a meeting soon to set guidelines on the use of COVID19 antiviral pills saying they offered very attractive new prospects for clinical care. Britain became the first country to approve one of the potentially gamechanging pills earlier this month. Janet Diaz the WHOs top official for clinical care responses said that a meeting of its guidelines development group would consider the question of COVID pills in a forthcoming meeting in three weeks. Another WHO official Mike Ryan said preliminary findings on the pills was very very welcome adding that a careful process was not required before the therapies should be expanded more broadly. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/who-eyes-meeting-set-guidelines-covid-19-pills-2021-11-12/ 12th Nov 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters Britains GSK and partner Vir said on Friday their antibodybased COVID19 drug was shown in a trial to work as well when given as a shot in the arm awhen administered via the standard infusion potentially offering more convenience. GSK said it would now speak to global regulators including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration about potential approval for the new method of administration known as intramuscular injection which can be carried out by family doctors and spare patients a trip to hospital. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/gsk-vir-covid-19-antibody-muscle-injection-effective-intravenous-shot-2021-11-12/ 12th Nov 2021

Scientific Viewpoint

Hindustan Times Experts at the hospital said inflammatory reactions after Covid could include hypoxia weakness weight loss hair loss myocarditis thyroid and diabetes which is being reported as one of the most common diseases. https://www.hindustantimes.com/lifestyle/health/patients-with-covid-19-history-contributing-to-diabetes-case-burden-says-delhi-hospital-101636767749519.html 12th Nov 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

Malta Today Malta recorded 50 new COVID19 cases on Friday figures published on the Health Ministry Facebook page show. Active have now risen to 513 after only 10 recoveries were registered. There are currently 16 patients currently being treated at Mater Dei Hospital of whom three are in the ITU. Till yesterday 901238 doses were administered of which 70036 are booster doses. No deaths were recorded. 462 total deaths have been recorded since the start of the pandemic. https://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/113233/covid19_active_cases_rise_to_513_50_new_infections_recorded_ 13th Nov 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

IOL South Africa recorded 393 new Covid19 cases and 17 deaths on Friday the National Institute for Communicable Diseases NICD has said. Today the institute reports 393 new COVID19 cases that have been identified in South Africa which brings the total number of laboratoryconfirmed cases to 2 925 371. This increase represents a 1.3 positivity rate. As per the National Department of Health a further 17 COVID19 related deaths have been reported bringing total fatalities to 89 469 to date. A total of 18 865 934 tests have been conducted in both public and private sectors the NICD said. https://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/western-cape/sa-records-17-covid-19-deaths-393-new-covid-19-cases-5e583982-b793-4b8f-a142-e2c236e83d3d 13th Nov 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

The Straits Times Covid19 cases are rising in Malaysia hitting 6517 on Friday Nov 12 which is the highest number since Oct 22 and the third consecutive day the number has breached the 6000 mark. The countrys R0 Rnaught value or the average number of new infections generated by each case has also risen to 1 which means Covid19 is accelerating. It was 0.99 on Thursday. In a Facebook post on Friday Health Ministry directorgeneral Noor Hisham Abdullah disclosed that the infectivity rate in some states and territories were in fact above 1. The rate in Selangor was 1.03 Kelantan 1.02 Kuala Lumpur 1.04 Putrajaya 1.16 Negri Sembilan 1.01 and Pahang 1.01. Trending downwards since late July the infectivity rate took a turn beginning Oct 20. https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/malaysia-sees-uptick-in-covid-19-cases-fears-of-further-rises 13th Nov 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

The Associated Press on MSN.com Germanys disease control center is calling for people to cancel or avoid large events and to reduce their contacts as the countrys coronavirus infection rate hits the latest in a string of new highs. The center the Robert Koch Institute said Friday that Germanys infection rate climbed to 263.7 new cases per 100000 residents over seven days up from 249.1 the previous day. Germany reported 48640 new cases Friday a day after the daily total topped 50000 for the first time. Another 191 COVID19 deaths brought Germanys total in the pandemic so far to 97389. https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/us/disease-center-urges-germans-to-cancel-or-avoid-big-events/ar-AAQC8l6 12th Nov 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

Associated Press The contagious delta variant is driving up COVID19 hospitalizations in the Mountain West and fueling disruptive outbreaks in the North a worrisome sign of what could be ahead this winter in the U.S. While trends are improving in Florida Texas and other Southern states that bore the worst of the summer surge its clear that delta isnt done with the United States. COVID19 is moving north and west for the winter as people head indoors close their windows and breathe stagnant air. Were going to see a lot of outbreaks in unvaccinated people that will result in serious illness and it will be tragic said Dr. Donald Milton of the University of Maryland School of Public Health. https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-colorado-united-states-michigan-public-health-f2d9ccb4092fd4651d055dbf7083f259 12th Nov 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters Europe has become the epicentre of the pandemic again prompting some governments to consider reimposing unpopular lockdowns in the runup to Christmas and stirring debate over whether vaccines alone are enough to tame COVID19. Europe accounts for more than half of the average 7day infections globally and about half of latest deaths according to a Reuters tally the highest levels since April last year when the virus was at its initial peak in Italy. Governments and companies are worried the prolonged pandemic will derail a fragile economic recovery. Countries including the Netherlands Germany Austria and the Czech Republic are taking or planning measures to curb the spread. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/covid-19s-epicentre-again-europe-faces-fresh-reckoning-2021-11-12/ 12th Nov 2021

Coronavirus Resurgence

The Associated Press Can athome COVID19 tests make holiday gatherings safer Yes combined with vaccination home test kits for COVID19 can add a layer of safety and reassurance by providing onthespot results during this second year of pandemic holidays. We will be using rapid tests to doublecheck everybody before we gather together says Dr. Emily Volk president of the College of American Pathologists who is planning a holiday meal with six vaccinated family members. Well be doing it as they come in the door. Home kits are not as accurate as the PCR tests done in hospitals and at testing sites Volk says. But they have the advantage of giving results within minutes instead of days. https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-lifestyle-health-50fcfdf4dd46a0459db4abef2b1c3c1f 11th Nov 2021

New Lockdown

Reuters The Netherlands will return to a partial lockdown from Saturday after the government ordered restaurants and shops to close early and barred spectators from major sporting events in an effort to contain a rapid surge in COVID19 cases. Caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte said restrictions that the Dutch people had thought had ended for good were being reimposed for three weeks. Supermarkets and nonessential retailers will also close earlier and social distancing measures will be reimposed. The government recommended that no more than four visitors be received at home effective immediately. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/netherlands-impose-partial-lockdown-halt-covid-19-surge-media-2021-11-12/ 12th Nov 2021