10th Mar 2022 https://nfind.uk/lockdown_exit/index.php/newsletter=616 lockdown_exit

Lockdown Exit

Reuters President Joe Bidens administration is leaning toward ending a COVIDera order that has blocked more than a million migrants at the U.S.Mexico border according to two U.S. officials familiar with the matter a major policy shift that would restore the U.S. asylum system but could provoke backlash from Republicans. A third official said the policy was being actively debated and a decision could come within weeks though the outcome was not yet clear. All three requested anonymity to provide details on internal conversations. The discussions which have not been previously reported were prompted by recent U.S. court decisions that complicate the implementation of the socalled Title 42 border order coupled with major moves by U.S. public health officials to loosen pandemic restrictions across the United States the officials said https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/us-leaning-toward-ending-covid-era-expulsions-migrants-mexico-border-sources-2022-03-09/ 10th Mar 2022

Lockdown Exit

CNN Americans can now order a second set of free athome Covid19 rapid antigen tests from the federal government. Covidtests.gov the website to sign up for the free tests launched in January when people could order a maximum of four tests per household. Households that took part in that first round can now order an additional four. https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/08/health/second-round-free-covid-tests/index.html 9th Mar 2022

Lockdown Exit

Reuters Austria is suspending its COVID19 vaccine mandate its ministers for health and constitutional affairs said on Wednesday six days before fines for breaches were due to start being imposed. The measure the most sweeping in the European Union as it applied to all adults with few exceptions has been in effect since Feb. 5 but enforcement was only due to begin on March 15. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/austria-says-it-is-putting-its-covid-19-vaccine-mandate-ice-2022-03-09/ 9th Mar 2022

Lockdown Exit

Reuters The man who became the face of Swedens nolockdown pandemic policy Anders Tegnell is stepping down as chief epidemiologist to take up a role at the World Health Organization WHO the Swedish Health Agency said. Tegnell whose almost daily news conferences had Swedes glued to their screens for much of the pandemic will become a senior expert at a WHO group tasked with coordinating the COVID vaccine response between health and vaccine organisations. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/architect-swedens-light-touch-covid-response-gets-job-who-2022-03-09/ 9th Mar 2022

Lockdown Exit

The Guardian Austria is suspending a law making Covid19 vaccinations mandatory for all adults just a month after the legislation took effect in an EU first. The country of 9 million people was among few in the world to make coronavirus jabs compulsory for all adults. The law took effect in February and called for fines of up to 3600 3000 from midMarch for those who did not comply. But the minister Karoline Edtstadler said the laws encroachment of fundamental rights could no longer be justified by the danger posed. After consultations with the health minister we have decided that we will of course follow what the expert commission has said Edtstadler said after a cabinet meeting. We see no need to actually implement this compulsory vaccination due to the Omicron variant that we are predominantly experiencing here. The highly contagious variant is widely believed to be less severe than previous forms of the virus and so far Austrian hospitals have been able to cope with a surge in cases. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/09/austria-suspends-mandatory-covid-vaccination-law 9th Mar 2022

Lockdown Exit

Al Jazeera English The Hong Kong nursing home where Amys 78yearold mother lives battened down the hatches when the COVID19 pandemic hit. Elderly residents were confined within the walls of their rooms. Families were not allowed to visit. As the Chinese territory battled its biggest outbreak of coronavirus cases staff at the private facility camped out in the office for weeks to avoid bringing the virus with them from outside. Even so the inevitable happened. In February Amys mother was among the residents sent to a public hospitals emergency ward after developing a fever. This elderly home has some of the strictest standards in the industry Amy who asked to only be referred to by her first name told Al Jazeera. If 80 percent of its residents can be infected then no other nursing home in Hong Kong can remain unscathed. As Hong Kong reports tens of thousands of coronavirus cases each day the citys large population of unvaccinated elderly residents has resulted in the highest official death rate per capita of any jurisdiction during the pandemic. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/9/in-zero-covid-hong-kong-deaths-smash-global-records 9th Mar 2022

Lockdown Exit

The Associated Press The House approved a massive spending bill Wednesday night that would rush 13.6 billion in U.S. aid to battered Ukraine and its European allies after top Democrats were forced to abruptly drop their plan to include fresh funds to battle COVID19. Passage of the Ukraine aid and the 1.5 trillion governmentwide legislation that carried it let both parties lay claim to electionyear victories for their priorities. Democrats won treasured domestic initiatives Republicans achieved defense boosts and both got their imprint on funds to counter Russias brutal invasion of its western neighbor. Senate approval was assured by weeks end or perhaps slightly longer. Hours earlier House Speaker Nancy Pelosi DCalif. had to abandon the bills 15.6 billion for combating the pandemic a decision she called heartbreaking and that spelled defeat for a top priority of President Joe Biden and party leaders. https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-us-aid-package-41cc2e66c7714b37eca9d2bb8add53aa 9th Mar 2022

Lockdown Exit

iNews Waning immunity from booster shots among the elderly and vulnerable is likely to be behind a sudden uptick in hospital admissions of people with Covid over the past week public health officials believe. Hospitalisations are rising in all seven English NHS regions Scotland and Wales after a period of decline since the start of January. In south west England admissions are higher than they were at the peak of the Omicron wave in January. Other areas that are seeing an increase are still well below their January peak however. https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/covid-hospital-admissions-rising-across-uk-waning-immunity-older-people-1505560 9th Mar 2022

Lockdown Exit

Daily Mail Government dashboard data shows there were 67159 new positive tests recorded over the last 24 hours. Deaths within 28 days of a confirmed coronavirus case also increased to 123 up 66.2 per cent in a week. Covid hospital admissions increased to 1192 on March 5 the latest date UKwide data is available for https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10594871/UKs-daily-Covid-cases-jump-50-CENT-week-hospitalisations-deaths-creep-up.html 9th Mar 2022

Lockdown Exit

Associated Press The German government introduced a legal framework for pandemic regulations and rules Wednesday. Most of the countrys current coronavirus restrictions are set to end by March 20. The countrys health and justice ministers said if German lawmakers pass the framework the countrys 16 state legislatures could adopt the new hot spot measures if virus cases rise again in certain regions if hospitals are at risk of becoming overwhelmed by COVID19 patients or if new virus variants start spreading. The regulations cover matters such as mask requirements social distancing and requiring proof of vaccination recovery of the illness or negative tests to be able to participate in certain parts of public life. https://apnews.com/article/covid-health-europe-pandemics-5d9c500abdfcfeba57f88501c83c31d8 9th Mar 2022

Lockdown Exit

STAT News The U.S. has bungled many of its efforts to rein in the Covid19 pandemic. Francis S. Collins the former director of the National Institutes of Health perfectly captured the countrys fundamental flaw Maybe we underinvested in research on human behavior he said on PBS NewsHour. I never imagined a year ago when those vaccines were just proving to be fantastically safe and effective that we would still have 60 million people who had not taken advantage of them because of misinformation and disinformation that somehow dominated all of the ways in which people were getting their answers. In just 60 words Collins captured the limitations of the nations biomedicinecentric coronavirus response strategy which has grossly underutilized insights and expertise from the behavioral and social sciences that might have bolstered the likelihood that the countrys single best tool effective vaccines would achieve their potential to stop a highly contagious rapidly evolving respiratory virus in its tracks. https://www.statnews.com/2022/03/09/ignoring-behavioral-social-sciences-undermines-us-covid-19-response/ 9th Mar 2022

Lockdown Exit

Reuters The following is a summary of some recent studies on COVID19. They include research that warrants further study to corroborate the findings and that has yet to be certified by peer review. Deltacron with genes of Delta and Omicron found Hybrid versions of the coronavirus that combine genes from the Delta and Omicron variants dubbed Deltacron have been identified in at least 17 patients in the United States and Europe researchers said. Because there have been so few confirmed cases it is too soon to know whether Deltacron infections will be very transmissible or cause severe disease said Philippe Colson of IHU Mediterranee Infection in Marseille France lead author of a report posted on Tuesday on medRxiv ahead of peer review. His team described three patients in France infected with a version of SARSCoV2 that combines the spike protein from an Omicron variant with the body of a Delta variant. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/variant-that-combines-delta-omicron-identified-dogs-sniff-out-virus-with-high-2022-03-09/ 9th Mar 2022

Exit Strategies

Reuters Hong Kong is rushing to build facilities for COVID19 patients with Reuters drone footage showing construction work in full swing after a temporary bridge linking the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen to the Asian financial hub opened at the weekend. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/hong-kong-races-build-isolation-facilities-covid-cases-surge-2022-03-09/ 10th Mar 2022

Exit Strategies

Inquirer.net The Philippines received another shipment of Pfizer COVID19 vaccine more than 1 million doses on Wednesday the National Task Force NTF Against COVID19 said. The delivery is composed of 128700 Pfizer vaccine doses for 12 years old and above and 1056000 doses of reformulated Pfizer vaccine for minors aged 5 to 11. All in all 1184700 doses of Pfizers anticoronavirus vaccine were delivered to the Philippines on Wednesday night. https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1566021/ph-gets-more-than-1-million-doses-of-pfizer-covid-19-vaccine 9th Mar 2022

Exit Strategies

Reuters Compulsory mass testing for coronavirus would be useful but needs to be done at a suitable time Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said on Wednesday following anxiety among the 7.4 million residents of the financial hub bracing for a citywide lockdown. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/hong-kong-leader-urges-suitable-timing-mass-testing-effort-2022-03-09/ 9th Mar 2022

Exit Strategies

Reuters Hong Kong announced plans to devote more medical resources to elderly people on Wednesday as COVID19 infections swept through care homes and deaths climbed rapidly among the mainly unvaccinated seniors. The government will strengthen medical treatment and resources and set up more isolation and temporary care facilities for elderly coronavirus patients Chief Executive Carrie Lam told a media briefing. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/hong-kong-leader-says-covid-resources-be-focused-elderly-deaths-climb-2022-03-09/ 9th Mar 2022

Exit Strategies

Associated Press People stand when Dr. Matshidiso Moeti enters a room at the World Health Organizations Africa headquarters in Republic of Congo. Small in stature big in presence Moeti is the first woman to lead WHOs regional Africa office the capstone of her trailblazing career in which she has overcome discrimination in apartheid South Africa to become one of the worlds top health administrators. Moeti is facing her toughest challenge helping Africa respond to the coronavirus pandemic as the continent trails the rest of the world in testing and vaccination efforts. She has become one of the worlds most compelling voices urging better consideration of Africas people especially women whove in many ways been hit hardest by COVID. https://apnews.com/article/covid-health-business-discrimination-pandemics-c2a80422029960f1c0e2d783e85c1385 9th Mar 2022

Exit Strategies

Associated Press The last statewide mask mandate in the U.S. will be lifted by March 26 Hawaii Gov. David Ige announced Tuesday. No states will require masks indoors after 1159 p.m. March 25. Hawaii is the last to drop the pandemic safety measure with indoor mask mandates in Oregon and Washington state expiring at 1159 p.m. Friday. Ige said Hawaiis COVID19 case counts and hospitalizations are decreasing. https://apnews.com/article/covid-health-hawaii-david-ige-1d41dba1b322af8f7458fbb98c22549c 9th Mar 2022

Exit Strategies

Reuters A proposed bill to fund the U.S. governments operations through September would cut 2 billion from a COVID19 program to boost aviation manufacturing and repair businesses. The U.S. House of Representatives is set to vote on the bill on Wednesday that redirects 15.6 billion in COVID19 relief programs to other COVID programs. In total the U.S. Transportation Department has offered 673 million nationwide in three rounds of awards in the 3 billion program. The aviation manufacturing payroll subsidy program created in 2021 covers up to half of eligible companies compensation costs for up to six months. Some major aerospace firms like Boeing and General Electric opted not to participate. https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/congress-looks-cut-2-billion-covid-aviation-jobs-fund-2022-03-09/ 9th Mar 2022

Partisan Exits

The Guardian In a pronouncement which stunned experts on Monday Floridas controversial surgeon general Dr Joseph Ladapo said the state would be the first to recommend against Covid19 vaccination for healthy children. The move followed two recent Covid19 surges in which pediatric hospitalization was believed to be higher because of low vaccination rates among children. Its very generous to call it a recommendation because recommendations come with supporting evidence and transparency said Saad B Omer director of the Yale Institute of Global Health and professor of medicine in infectious diseases. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/mar/08/florida-children-vaccination-coronavirus 9th Mar 2022

Partisan Exits

The Associated Press Safia Ibrahims business was in trouble. COVID19 had taken hold in Somaliland in the Horn of Africa. The 50yearold widow with 10 children to support set out door to door on the capitals outskirts a razor at hand taking advantage of the lockdown to seek work with a question Have your daughters been cut Her business is female circumcision learned at the age of 15 performed hundreds of times and now being passed along to her daughters. She congratulates young girls upon completing the procedure Pray for me Ive made you a woman now. She believes her work keeps girls pure for marriage. This is our Somali culture. Our greatgrandmothers grandfathers all of them used to practice she said even though she now knows theres no medical or even religious reason for the removal of external genitalia which can cause excessive bleeding problems with urination and childbirth infections and even death. But it remains legal in Somaliland so Ibrahim will continue until authorities tell her to stop. https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-health-lifestyle-religion-africa-e382d9893b7b8c02901c3a3177634c46 9th Mar 2022

Partisan Exits

Sky News Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from two prestigious tennis competitions in the US as coronavirus rules prevent him from entering America. The unvaccinated Serbian has pulled out of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells and the Miami Open after the CDC Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed he needed to be jabbed to enter the country. The 20time grand slam winner revealed last month he had not received any coronavirus vaccinations insisting he would forego big tournaments because the principles of decisionmaking on my body are more important than any title or anything else. https://news.sky.com/story/novak-djokovic-unvaccinated-tennis-star-withdraws-from-two-us-competitions-as-covid-rules-prevent-him-from-entering-america-12562012 9th Mar 2022

Partisan Exits

Reuters United Airlines Holdings Inc will allow workers who have not been vaccinated against COVID19 for religious or medical reasons to return at the end of this month the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday citing people familiar with the matter. The move permits staffers with exemptions from the carriers vaccination requirement for its U.S. employees to return from unpaid leave or from the noncustomerfacing roles they were allowed to apply for as an alternative to their regular jobs the report said. United Airlines declined to comment on the matter when contacted by Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/united-airlines-let-unvaccinated-workers-return-wsj-2022-03-10/ 9th Mar 2022

Continued Lockdown

Reuters Hong Kong is rushing to build facilities for COVID19 patients with Reuters drone footage showing construction work in full swing after a temporary bridge linking the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen to the Asian financial hub opened at the weekend. As a surge in COVID19 cases overwhelms Hong Kongs healthcare facilities authorities have deployed mainland medical and construction workers as well as building materials to speed up efforts to contain an outbreak of the virus https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/hong-kong-races-build-isolation-facilities-covid-cases-surge-2022-03-09/ 9th Mar 2022

Continued Lockdown

Reuters Hong Kong resident Yeung waited for 13 hours outside a hospital in the citys eastern district in cold rainy weather with his 3yearold daughter who had a high fever before they could be admitted for COVID19 treatment. By the time they could enter her fever had gone down and she didnt require medical attention. Yet the 42yearold utilities worker had to stay in the hospital for four nights without a bed because he and his daughter were not allowed to leave. They were then sent to a government isolation centre for nine more days. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/hong-kongs-zero-covid-fight-takes-mental-toll-society-experts-say-2022-03-09/ 9th Mar 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

CIDRAP The World Health Organization WHO technical advisory group on COVID19 vaccines today weighed in on potential updates to COVID19 vaccines in light of emerging variants such as Omicron outlining different options and what data are needed to guide new strategies. In other developments countries experiencing later Omicron surgesespecially in Asiacontinue to report cases at or near record daily highs. And in the United States weekly pediatric COVID19 cases dropped below 100000 part of a 6week decline from the Omicron peak in children. https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2022/03/who-lays-out-plan-covid-vaccines-tackle-new-variants 9th Mar 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

The Times A British variantproof vaccine has received tens of millions of pounds of funding in the hope it may provide more durable protection against SarsCov2 and against coronaviruses that dont even exist yet. Boris Johnson hailed the technology as part of the next generation of vaccines as he opened a conference in London held by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/variant-proof-covid-vaccine-created-in-uk-trcq3jmkx 9th Mar 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

The Associated Press Altamira Therapeutics Ltd. a company dedicated to developing therapeutics that address important unmet medical needs today announced that its affiliate Altamira Medica has received the necessary approvals to initiate a clinical investigation of Bentrio in COVID19 patients the COVAMID study. COVAMID is a randomized placebo controlled clinical trial to evaluate the ability of Bentrio nasal spray to reduce the SARSCoV2 viral load in the nose alleviate COVID19 signs and symptoms and decrease the frequency of COVID19 related hospital admissions. https://apnews.com/press-release/accesswire/covid-business-health-bermuda-clinical-trials-2f249f6c906dc4a5d77c0b166791fd7d 9th Mar 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

The Wall Street Journal Pfizer Inc. has begun studying its Covid19 pill in children under 18 years old who are at high risk of developing severe disease. The study will evaluate whether the fiveday treatment Paxlovid which is in use among people 12 years and older can also keep children who are newly infected by the coronavirus out of the hospital Pfizer said Wednesday. The first child enrolled in the study on Monday. Pfizer expects results by the end of the year said Annaliesa Anderson who leads the companys Paxlovid research. Should results from the pediatric study prove positive the antiviral would be the first Covid19 pill for children under 12 years and an especially important remedy for those with underlying health conditions who cannot be vaccinated or whose parents dont want them to get shots. https://www.wsj.com/articles/pfizer-starts-testing-its-covid-19-pill-in-children-11646826300 9th Mar 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Pharmaceutical Technology Janssen Pharmaceuticals of Johnson Johnson JJ has concluded an agreement with South Africa based company Aspen to manufacture and distribute Covid19 vaccines in Africa. The companies intend to boost Covid19 inoculation rates in Africa through this alliance. Under the deal JJ will provide Covid19 vaccine drug substance to Aspen which will manufacture and make the finished vaccines available under its own brand name Aspenovax. The vaccines will be provided to all 55 Member States of the African Union AU as well as crucial multilateral entities that back the Covid19 inoculation campaign in Africa including the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust AVAT and the COVAX Facility. https://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/news/janssen-aspen-vaccine-africa/ 9th Mar 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

The Guardian People living in the UKs most deprived areas are more likely to be infected with Covid19 but research suggests this relationship is a twoway street becoming infected also increases peoples risk of economic hardship particularly if they develop long Covid. Weve shown that Covid has an impact on peoples ability to meet their basic household requirements something that is only going to be exacerbated by the cost of living crisis which is happening at the same time said Adrian Martineau a professor of respiratory infection and immunity at Queen Mary University of London QMUL who supervised the research. The findings have boosted calls for ministers to do more to support the growing number of workingage adults affected by the condition which is also known as postacute Covid syndrome Pacs. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/mar/09/covid-19-risk-economic-hardship-poverty-study-suggests 9th Mar 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters South African drugmaker Aspen Pharmacare concluded an agreement with Johnson Johnson to package sell and distribute the American groups COVID19 vaccines under its own brand in Africa. In November Aspen entered into talks with JJ for a licensing deal that would give it freedom to sell and distribute the vaccine under its own brand. The agreement also allows Aspen to discuss the expansion of the agreement to include any new versions of the drug substance such as those developed for new variants or a different formulation for administration as a booster Aspen said in a statement. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/safricas-aspen-signs-deal-package-sell-jj-covid-vaccine-2022-03-08/ 9th Mar 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters Pfizer said on Wednesday it has begun a midtolatestage study of its antiviral COVID19 pill for nonhospitalized children aged 617 years who are at high risk of developing severe illness. Pfizers Paxlovid pill is authorized for emergency use in the United States for kids 12 years or older and highrisk adults. But there are no oral antiviral treatments for COVID19 authorized in the United States for younger children. The drugmaker plans to enroll 140 children in the study across two groups of 6 to 17yearolds with one group including those at least 40 kilograms in weight and the other weighing between 20 kgs and 40 kgs. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/pfizer-begins-covid-pill-study-high-risk-children-aged-6-17-2022-03-09/ 9th Mar 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

CIDRAP Adult COVID19 survivorseven those with mild illnesswho underwent scans showed changes in brain structure beyond that expected from normal aging including in areas tied to smell and memory according to a UK study published yesterday in Nature. University of Oxford investigators administered cognitive tests to and scanned the brains of 785 visitors to the UK Biobank imaging centers two times an average of 38 months apart. Of the 785 participants 401 51 were diagnosed as having COVID19 between their scans from March 2020 to April 2021. The remaining 384 participants were age and sexmatched controls. Patients were aged 51 to 81 years. https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2022/03/study-reveals-some-brain-changes-even-mild-covid-19 8th Mar 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

CIDRAP The vast majority of adverse events 92 recorded after people received the PfizerBioNTech or Moderna mRNA COVID19 vaccines during the first 6 months of the US vaccine rollout were mild and transient according to an observational study published yesterday in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2022/03/most-mrna-covid-vaccine-adverse-events-mild-transient 8th Mar 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

RNZ The case is an Aitutaki resident and the person is isolating at home. Household contacts are currently being identified and are asked to quarantine. Like Rarotonga the population on Aitutaki is highly vaccinated and Prime Minister Mark Brown said they are prepared for this. Over the weekend 24 new cases were confirmed bringing the total number to 130. RAT tests will be used to diagnose new cases in the Cook islands as is occurring in New Zealand. No additional PCR test will be required except for clinical reasons. https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/462973/first-covid-19-case-arrives-in-aiutaki 9th Mar 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

The Wall Street Journal Almost a year ago Rio Ling decided to hold off on vaccinating his 86yearold father against the coronavirus because he was more worried about possible side effects than the virus itself given that Hong Kong had kept cases low under its ZeroCovid policy. By the time he gave the goahead in January after the Omicron variant had broken through the citys defenses it was too late. A few hours after finally receiving the inoculation in late February Mr. Lings dad who has high blood pressure and dementia tested positive for Covid19. Half a million people over 70 werent vaccinated when Omicron began surging through the city. Like other places Hong Kong gave its elderly priority to get their shots but persistent fears about vaccine safety fueled by local media reports about deaths following vaccinations and Hong Kongs low case count led many to delay. https://www.wsj.com/articles/unvaccinated-elderly-send-hong-kongs-covid-19-death-rate-to-worlds-highest-11646748091 9th Mar 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

New Scientist The number of global recorded covid deaths between 28 February and 6 March declined by 8 per cent compared to the previous week. In its weekly update the WHO reported the number of recorded new SARSCoV2 infections also decreased by 5 per cent weekonweek. In the week starting 28 February more than 10 million new covid cases and 52000 deaths were reported across the WHOs six regions. Case numbers only increased in the Western Pacific Region rising by 46 per cent. Covid deaths rose in the Western Pacific and Eastern Mediterranean regions by 29 per cent and 2 per cent respectively with fatalities falling elsewhere. The surge in infection caused by the omicron variant appears to have peaked in February. But the WHO has stressed that countries vary in their testing strategies and therefore any trends should be interpreted with caution. https://www.newscientist.com/article/2237475-covid-19-news-deaths-and-new-infections-are-declining-say-who/ 9th Mar 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters The Chinese financial hub of Shanghai is moving quickly to halt the spread of COVID19 amid a rising wave of local symptomless cases testing tens of thousands of people delaying dozens of concerts and exhibitions and shutting some public venues. Shanghai reported 62 domestically transmitted asymptomatic infections for Tuesday the seventh consecutive day of increases in such cases official data showed on Wednesday. That was the highest daily count for the city since China started in late March 2020 to classify symptomless infections separately from confirmed cases. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/shanghai-steps-up-defences-against-wave-asymptomatic-covid-cases-2022-03-09/ 9th Mar 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters Hong Kong health authorities reported on Wednesday 25991 new COVID19 cases confirmed with nucleic acid tests and an additional 32776 confirmed via rapid antigen tests RATs. Some of the cases confirmed with RATs were older than 24 hours. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/hong-kong-reports-58767-new-covid-cases-wednesday-2022-03-09/ 9th Mar 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters French health authorities reported 93050 new COVID19 infections on Tuesday the highest daily total since Feb 22 and an increase of 16.6 versus a week ago. The number of new daily infections has now shown a weekoneweek rise for the fourth consecutive day reversing a declining trend that started end January. The daily COVID19 death toll increased by 167 to 139618 versus a rise of 176 on Monday. The number of people hospitalised with the disease fell by 309 to 21899 a low point since early January. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/frances-new-covid-19-infections-start-creeping-up-again-2022-03-08/ 9th Mar 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

AlJazeera The Hong Kong nursing home where Amys 78yearold mother lives battened down the hatches when the COVID19 pandemic hit. Elderly residents were confined within the walls of their rooms. Families were not allowed to visit. As the Chinese territory battled its biggest outbreak of coronavirus cases staff at the private facility camped out in the office for weeks to avoid bringing the virus with them from outside. Even so the inevitable happened. In February Amys mother was among the residents sent to a public hospitals emergency ward after developing a fever. This elderly home has some of the strictest standards in the industry Amy who asked to only be referred to by her first name told Al Jazeera. If 80 percent of its residents can be infected then no other nursing home in Hong Kong can remain unscathed. As Hong Kong reports tens of thousands of coronavirus cases each day the citys large population of unvaccinated elderly residents has resulted in the highest official death rate per capita of any jurisdiction during the pandemic. Only about 30 per cent of Hong Kong residents over 80 have been double vaccinated despite vaccines being freely available for more than a year amid widespread vaccine hesitancy among the elderly. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/9/in-zero-covid-hong-kong-deaths-smash-global-records 9th Mar 2022