7th Apr 2022 https://nfind.uk/lockdown_exit/index.php/newsletter=635 lockdown_exit

Lockdown Exit

Bloomberg Chinas strict Covidzero policy is getting costlier by day. As the infectious omicron variant spreads the government is resorting to widespread lockdowns. Shanghai a city of 25 million people is at a standstill and cities accounting for a quarter of Chinas gross domestic product are under some form of restrictions on movement estimates Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Politics is an oftencited reason to explain why China is sticking with Covidzero. Looking for stability Beijing is unlikely to relent before this falls 20th Party Congress when President Xi Jinping is expected to start his third term. https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2022-04-05/in-china-s-covid-fight-respect-for-seniors-backfires 6th Apr 2022

Lockdown Exit

Bloomberg on MSN.com Covid19 infections in England reached their highest level in March since the pandemic began driven by the omicron subvariant BA.2 and waning immunity among older adults according to a new study. The overall Covid prevalence rate more than doubled last month from February when infection rates were falling from the omicronled January peak the React1 study led by Imperial College London found. Since then the emergence of BA.2 a moretransmissible version of omicron has accelerated new infections and become the dominant strain in England accounting for about 90 of the samples that tested positive. The higher infection rates may result in an increase in hospitalizations despite the higher levels of vaccination among the population said Paul Elliott director of the React program and chair in Epidemiology and Public Health Medicine Imperial College London. https://www.msn.com/en-us/finance/other/uk-covid-cases-at-highest-level-as-immunity-wanes-study-finds/ar-AAVUrHT 6th Apr 2022

Lockdown Exit

Bloomberg China reported 20472 new Covid19 cases for Tuesday driven by surging infections in Shanghai where local officials are building the worlds largest makeshift isolation facility to help contain the outbreak there. The National Exhibition and Convention Center a 1.2 million squaremeter space known for hosting international auto shows and other massive events will be converted to house more than 40000 people according to local media reports. The effort shows how far the financial hub will go to fight the virus on top of the lockdown that has kept its 25 million residents confined to their homes. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-04-06/china-s-daily-covid-cases-surge-past-20-000-amid-lockdowns 6th Apr 2022

Lockdown Exit

Reuters Guardians of children with special needs who are infected with COVID can apply to escort them a Shanghai city official said on Wednesday pointing to a relaxation of a childseparation policy that has triggered widespread public anger. The city has been separating COVIDpositive children from their parents citing epidemic prevention measures. Chinas elimination strategy against COVID sees it test trace and centrally quarantine all cases. In the face of rising public criticism the government said on Monday it would allow children to be accompanied by their parents if the parents were also infected but that they would still separate them if they were not. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/shanghai-start-another-round-city-wide-covid-tests-2022-04-06/ 6th Apr 2022

Lockdown Exit

Reuters.com President Joe Biden has tasked the U.S. health department with developing a national action plan to tackle the looming health crisis of long COVID a complex multisymptom condition that leaves many of its sufferers unable to work. Long COVID which arises months after a COVID19 infection affects nearly 7 of all U.S. adults and 2.3 of the overall population and has cost an estimated 386 billion in lost wages savings and medical bills according to an analysis by the Solve Long Covid Initiative a nonprofit research and advocacy group https://www.reuters.com/world/us/white-house-launches-national-plan-address-long-covid-2022-04-05/ 6th Apr 2022

Lockdown Exit

Reuters.com Japan plans to ease COVID 19related border restrictions by lifting its entry ban for foreign nationals from 106 countries including the United States Britain and France on Friday the government said. Tokyo has been gradually relaxing pandemicinduced curbs but the loosened border regime does not mean a full reopening to tourists. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/japan-lift-covid-19-entry-ban-106-countries-including-us-2022-04-06/ 6th Apr 2022

Lockdown Exit

Reuters Germany will not end mandatory isolation for most people who catch COVID19 the health minister said on Wednesday reversing course after concerns were raised that lifting quarantine restrictions would suggest the pandemic was over. Coronavirus is not a cold. That is why there must continue to be isolation after an infection Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said on Twitter adding he had made a mistake by suggesting an end to mandatory quarantine. Under the existing rules people with COVID must isolate for at least seven days. Lauterbach suggested last week a shift to a voluntary fiveday period of selfisolation with the recommendation of a COVID test at the end of that time. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/germany-drops-plan-relax-covid-quarantine-rules-2022-04-06/ 6th Apr 2022

Lockdown Exit

Bloomberg Health officials should be developing a consistent standard for Covid19 vaccines as they prepare for the rapid emergence of new variants U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisers said. Chances are roughly 20 that there will be another omicronlike event in the next 12 months according to research reviewed Wednesday by the FDA and its advisory panel on vaccines. A key portion of the spike protein that coronavirus uses to enter cells is changing at least twice as fast as one common influenza strain which requires new types of shots every year because of mutations. Many of the FDA advisers agreed that the agency needs to come up with a single standard for updating Covid19 shots to prevent a confusing situation where vaccine manufacturers come out with different updates. Several panel members also said that a multiplestrain vaccine makes the most sense for the next iteration of the Covid shot given the great uncertainties about future viral evolution https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-04-06/fda-advisers-seek-vaccine-update-plan-before-next-big-wave?srnd=premium-europe 6th Apr 2022

Lockdown Exit

CIDRAP The International Monetary Fund IMF and three global health partners today proposed a strategy to manage future risk from COVID factoring in different scenarios on how the pandemic could evolve and setting ambitious price tags that would enable key policies to take shape. https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2022/04/global-groups-propose-strategy-tackle-ongoing-covid-risks 5th Apr 2022

Exit Strategies

The Wall Street Journal Covid is hitting Broadway again. Several highly anticipated shows have been affected by breakthrough cases of Covid19 as Broadway looks to make up for pandemic losses with big names and longtime favorites lighting up the Great White Way. Macbeth starring Daniel Craig and Ruth Negga and directed by Sam Gold said Tuesday it was canceling shows through Saturday at 8 p.m. ET because of a limited number of positive COVID test results within the company. Mr. Craig who is returning to the stage for the first time in six years tested positive for Covid19 last week. https://www.wsj.com/articles/covid-19-hits-broadway-once-more-leading-to-cancellations-changes-11649260998 6th Apr 2022

Exit Strategies

Bloomberg Tankers carrying 22 million barrels of Russian Iranian and Venezuelan oil are piling up off China according to Kpler as the country battles a virus outbreak thats sapping demand and causing logistics problems. China has been one of the only buyers of sanctioned Iranian and Venezuelan oil over the last few years. The worlds largest crude importer is also still taking Russian supplies that are being largely shunned since the invasion of Ukraine. The trade in the discounted oil is now being disrupted by the countrys worsening virus outbreak with waiting times to unload ships increasing. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-04-06/sanctioned-oil-piling-up-off-china-as-virus-outbreak-worsens 6th Apr 2022

Exit Strategies

The Irish News Irish people aged 65 and over should receive a fourth dose of a Covid19 vaccine the Republic of Irelands National Immunisation Advisory Committee has said. Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has accepted the recommendation. Those aged 12 and older who are immunocompromised will also receive another booster. https://www.irishnews.com/news/republicofirelandnews/2022/04/06/news/irish-people-aged-65-and-over-to-receive-fourth-dose-of-covid-19-vaccine-2635445/ 6th Apr 2022

Exit Strategies

CBC.ca Ontario is opening up eligibility for fourth COVID19 vaccine doses to those aged 60 and older as wastewater data suggests the number of infections are almost as high as in early January when Omicron was at its peak. Ontarians 60 and up as well as all Indigenous residents and their nonIndigenous household members aged 18 or older will be able to book their second booster shot through the provinces online portal starting Thursday at 8 a.m the province said. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/covid-ontario-april-6-2022-1.6409884 6th Apr 2022

Exit Strategies

Reuters Spain will lift a requirement to wear face masks indoors except on public transport and in hospitals and retirement homes from April 20 Health Minister Carolina Darias said on Wednesday. Since the Omicron variant of the coronavirus drove up infections to record highs in January the caseload has receded sharply and COVID patients now account for just 3.5 of hospital occupation. She said advisers have recommended lifting the obligation after the Easter long weekend. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/spain-mostly-ditch-indoor-mask-wearing-april-20-2022-04-06/ 6th Apr 2022

Exit Strategies

Reuters An official Canadian panel has provided initial recommendations on the use of a second COVID19 vaccine booster dose for some Canadians as infections rise in many parts of the country Health Canada said on Tuesday. The National Advisory Committee on Immunization NACI recommended Canadian jurisdictions to prepare for the deployment of a second vaccine booster dose program over the coming weeks prioritizing people 80 years old and over and residents of longterm care. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/canada-panel-makes-initial-recommendations-second-covid-booster-shot-2022-04-05/ 6th Apr 2022

Exit Strategies

Reuters.com COVAX the global project to share COVID19 vaccines and the African Union have declined options to buy additional doses of Modernas shot as developing nations struggle to allocate supplies. The global alliance did not exercise the option for 166 million doses of the shot for the third quarter of 2022 as well for 166 million doses in the fourth quarter which expired on April 1 a Moderna spokesperson said. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/covax-african-union-decline-buy-more-doses-modernas-covid-shots-2022-04-05/ 6th Apr 2022

Exit Strategies

Reuters Germany will not end mandatory isolation for most people who catch COVID19 the health minister said on Wednesday reversing course after concerns were raised that lifting quarantine restrictions would suggest the pandemic was over. Coronavirus is not a cold. That is why there must continue to be isolation after an infection Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said on Twitter adding he had made a mistake by suggesting an end to mandatory quarantine. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/germany-drops-plan-relax-covid-quarantine-rules-2022-04-06/ 6th Apr 2022

Exit Strategies

STAT News As a Food and Drug Administration panel meets to sort out the ongoing use of booster shots for Covid19 a new survey by STAT and The Harris Poll finds six in 10 Americans have already decided they will get another booster if its recommended for them. Just under onequarter of U.S. adults indicated they will only receive a second booster shot if a new variant arises or there is a surge in Covid19 cases in their area and 18 have no plans to get a booster at all according to the survey which polled 2028 U.S. adults between March 25 and 27. https://www.statnews.com/pharmalot/2022/04/06/covid19-vaccine-mask-booster-harris-poll/ 6th Apr 2022

Partisan Exits

The Wall Street Journal Until Saturday Dr. Zhu Weiping was a littleknown epidemiologist working for Shanghais Pudong district. That was when two recordings in which she shared blunt criticism against the citys Covid19 policies went viral and she became a beacon for many fedup residents. Each recorded phone call between the government scientist and a member of the public has been shared hundreds of thousands of times on WeChat spreading the contention that Beijings strategy of mass testing mandatory quarantine and sweeping lockdowns isnt working against the highly transmissible Omicron variant in the city of 25 million people. Dr. Zhu told one of the callers that Shanghais medical resources had been exhausted because of what she said was an overreaction to Omicron. https://www.wsj.com/articles/viral-recordings-tap-into-anger-at-shanghais-covid-response-11649243138 6th Apr 2022

Partisan Exits

Reuters on MSN.com Chinas top European business group warned on Wednesday that its zeroCOVID strategy was harming the attractiveness of Shanghai as a financial hub echoing analysts voicing caution over the mounting economic toll of the countrys coronavirus curbs. China has for the past month been tackling multiple outbreaks with an elimination strategy that seeks to test trace and centrally quarantine all positive COVID19 cases. Nomura estimated on Tuesday that a total of 23 Chinese cities have implemented either full or partial lockdowns which collectively are home to an estimated 193 million people and contribute to 22 of Chinas GDP. The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China said that the strategy was causing growing difficulties transporting goods across provinces and through ports harming factory output. https://www.msn.com/en-ca/finance/other/chinas-widening-covid-curbs-exact-mounting-economic-toll/ar-AAVVh7v 6th Apr 2022

Partisan Exits

Reuters.com The U.S. Federal Reserve on Tuesday said it had barred six former bank executives from Regions Bank and Bank of America Merrill Lynch from the industry for fraudulently obtaining COVID19 pandemic relief grants. Under the CARES Act some small businesses were eligible to receive funds to mitigate the effects of the pandemic. The six individuals obtained funds based on fraudulent representations and used the money for unauthorized personal expenses the Fed said. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-fed-bars-six-former-bankers-over-covid-grant-fraud-2022-04-05/ 6th Apr 2022

Continued Lockdown

Reuters.com Shanghai is trying to detect and centrally quarantine every COVIDpositive person plus their close contacts among its 26 million residents. But many say local authorities are struggling to carry out that mission given the size of the city. Complaints include unclear guidance on what to do if a person tests positive long waits to enter central quarantine centres and crowded and unsanitary conditions for some once they get there. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/shanghai-long-fruitless-wait-help-amid-covid-lockdown-2022-04-06/ 6th Apr 2022

Continued Lockdown

Reuters.com Shanghai on Wednesday made concessions on an unpopular COVID isolation policy that has separated children from their parents and sparked a public outcry but extended a citywide lockdown that has left some residents struggling to buy food. The lockdown of Chinas most populous city which started in parts of Shanghai 10 days ago and has now confined nearly all of its 26 million residents at home has massively disrupted daily life and business. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/shanghai-scrambles-secure-food-supplies-covid-lockdown-hits-2022-04-06/ 6th Apr 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

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. Vaccinerelated blood clots tied to gene antibody variants. New research may help shed light on a rare but serious bloodclotting problem associated with the COVID19 vaccines from AstraZeneca and Johnson Johnson . Five unrelated people with this clotting complication known as vaccineinduced thrombotic thrombocytopenia all had unusuallystructured antibodies against a protein called PF4 that is involved in blood clotting the researchers found. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/rare-vaccine-related-blood-clots-tied-gene-concentrated-antibodies-may-help-2022-04-06/ 6th Apr 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters.com Top U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials on Wednesday said the agency is aiming to decide by June whether to change the design of COVID19 vaccines in order to combat future variants even if it does not have all the necessary information to measure their effectiveness. Were going to have to think about this in a way that is less than optimal because were not going to have all the data that wed like to have Peter Marks director of FDAs Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research said at a meeting of the agencys scientific advisers to discuss the issue. Marks also conceded that future COVID booster campaigns likely need to be less frequent. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-fda-says-current-covid-vaccines-not-well-matched-against-ba2-variant-2022-04-06/ 6th Apr 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

EurekAlert The SARSCoV2 subunit vaccine PreSRBD developed at MedUni Vienna is based on a structurally folded fusion protein consisting of two receptor binding domains RBD of the SARSCoV2 virus and the PreS antigen from hepatitis B which serve as immunological carriers for each other thereby strengthening the immune response. Currently available genetic SARSCoV2 vaccines induce mainly transient IgG1 antibody responses whereas the PreSRBD vaccine can additionally induce longlived RBDspecific IgG4 antibodies. PreSRBDspecific IgG antibodies detected in blood and mucosal secretions reacted with SARSCoV2 variants including the omicron variant. Antibodies induced by vaccination with PreSRBD more potently inhibited the binding of RBD with its human receptor ACE2 and their virusneutralizing titers were higher than those in a random sample of individuals fully immunized with two vaccinations of currently registered vaccines or than those of COVID19 convalescents i.e. individuals who had previously had COVID19. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/948759 6th Apr 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

CNN A fourth dose of the PfizerBioNTech Covid19 vaccine seems to offer shortlived protection against infection overall but protection against severe illness did not wane for at least several weeks according to a new study. The study published Tuesday in the New England Journal of Medicine looked at the health records of more than 1.25 million vaccinated people in Israel who were 60 or older from January through March 2022 a time when the Omicron coronavirus variant was the dominant strain. https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/05/health/israel-fourth-dose-study/index.html 6th Apr 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Pharmaceutical Technology The US Food and Drug Administration FDA has updated the emergency use authorization EUA for GlaxoSmithKline GSK and Vir Biotechnologys sotrovimab and suspended its use to treat Covid19. Sotrovimab is an investigational monoclonal antibody that binds to the epitope of the SARSCoV2 virus to neutralise it. The regulatory authority noted that the antibody is unlikely to be effective against the Omicron BA.2 subvariant which is causing a rise in the number of Covid19 cases in the region. The proportion of the subvariantcaused Covid19 cases is more than 50 in all Health and Human Services HHS US regions the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC Nowcast data showed. https://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/news/fda-gsk-sotrovimab-covid/ 6th Apr 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

The BMJ The World Health Organization has suspended the supply of Covaxin through UN procurement agencies because of manufacturing irregularities. Covaxin is Indias indigenous covid19 vaccine produced by the Hyderabad based Bharat Biotech. A spokesperson for WHO told The BMJ that the suspension had come after a broader inspection of a few companies in India by the agency. In the case of Bharat Biotechs Covaxin manufacturing site problems were detected in some parts of the manufacturing process and changes were made after the emergency use listing was granted said the spokesperson. But these were not submitted to the national drug regulator and WHO for evaluation and validation. However the company is fully aware and cooperative. The move came a day after Bharat Biotech announced that it would be scaling down its production of Covaxin domestically as demand was dropping and infections were reducing alongside wider immunisation coverage in India. Covaxin received emergency use authorisation from Indias Central Drugs Standard Control Organization in January 2021 and was included in the nationwide immunisation drive. https://www.bmj.com/content/377/bmj.o902 6th Apr 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

CNN Covid19 has become a chronic condition for tens of millions of people and an expensive one as well. Long Covid a condition marked by lingering symptoms that can involve multiple bodily systems has cost a cumulative 386 billion in lost wages savings and medical expenses in the US alone as of January according to one estimate. On Tuesday the Biden administration announced that it was making long Covid a national priority. It unveiled a plan to accelerate efforts to prevent treat and detect long Covid through a national interagency research action program. In February the National Institutes of Health announced a 1.15 billion initiative to support research into the condition over four years. https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/06/health/long-covid-19-what-it-is/index.html 6th Apr 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters The duration of this epidemic depends on our prevention and control strategies and how strong we implement our prevention and control measures said Wu Zunyou chief epidemiologist at the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Chinas zeroCOVID stance known as dynamic clearance has come under growing scrutiny in recent weeks after the lockdown of the countrys most populous city of Shanghai amid an outbreak of the highly contagious Omicron variant. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinas-covid-outbreak-will-improve-if-existing-policies-implemented-better-2022-04-06/ 6th Apr 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters The U.S. health regulator said on Tuesday GlaxoSmithKline and Vir Biotechnologys antibody therapy was no longer authorized as a COVID19 treatment with data suggesting it was unlikely to be effective against the dominant Omicron subvariant in the country. The move by the agency which had already pulled its authorization for the sotrovimab therapy in much of the U.S. northeast last month sent shares in Vir Biotechnology 11.5 lower. The highly contagious BA.2 coronavirus subvariant is estimated to make up about three of every four COVID19 cases in the United States according to the latest government data https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/fda-says-gsk-virs-sotrovimab-no-longer-authorized-treat-covid-us-2022-04-05/ 6th Apr 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it is aiming to come up with a decision on coronavirus strain selection for the composition of future COVID19 boosters by June as a panel of its advisers met on Wednesday to discuss the issue. We should be thinking of a May to June time frame here said Peter Marks director of FDAs Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research during the meeting adding that there is some wiggle room. The panel of outside experts was convened to discuss how and whether to use additional vaccine boosters after data from Israel showed a fourth dose lowered rates of severe COVID among older people. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-fda-says-current-covid-vaccines-not-well-matched-against-ba2-variant-2022-04-06/ 6th Apr 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters Chinas Kintor Pharmaceutical said its potential COVID19 treatment proxalutamide effectively reduced the risk of hospitalization and death in a clinical trial involving outpatients with mild to moderate symptoms. The results came from a multinational clinical trial with over 700 subjects across the world mostly from the United States recruited during AprilDecember 2021 who were given either proxalutamide or a placebo the company said in a filing. It remains unclear how many patients contracted the Omicron variant. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/china-kintors-covid-drug-candidate-cuts-hospital-death-risk-trial-2022-04-06/ 6th Apr 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters A fourth dose of the PfizerBioNTech vaccine lowered rates of COVID19 among the elderly but the protection against infection appeared shortlived a large study in Israel has found. The second boosters protection against infection dwindled after four weeks Israeli researchers showed in their study published on Tuesday in the New England Journal of Medicine. Protection against severe illness did not wane during the six weeks after the dose but more followup study was needed to evaluate its longerterm protection the researchers said. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/second-booster-shields-elderly-covid-protection-wanes-quickly-study-2022-04-06/ 6th Apr 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Bloomberg The Biden administration is on the hook to pay Pfizer Inc. nearly 5 billion for pills its already ordered to treat Covid19 meaning as much as half of a scaledback pandemic funding bill the Senate is debating is already spoken for according to officials familiar with the matter. Senators announced a deal Monday to provide 10 billion in new Covid funding far less than the White House has requested. The true purchasing power of the package will be even less because of commitments the governments already made the officials said. They asked not to be identified to discuss internal deliberations. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-04-05/pfizer-s-5-billion-bill-for-u-s-takes-big-bite-from-covid-aid 6th Apr 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

Bloomberg Chinese drug maker Kintor Pharmaceutical Ltd. soared in Hong Kong after saying its pill was highly effective in reducing the risk of hospitalization or deaths related to Covid19 raising the prospect of a first homegrown antiviral treatment. Shares were up 141 as of 1106 a.m. local time after earlier surging as much as 229 the biggest jump since the companys Hong Kong listing in mid2020. The stock was also the best performer on the the Hang Seng Composite Index which slid 1.6. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-04-06/kintor-surges-229-after-saying-its-drug-reduces-covid-deaths 6th Apr 2022

Scientific Viewpoint

CIDRAP Maternal COVID19 vaccination in early pregnancy is not associated with fetal abnormalities detectable on ultrasound finds a study yesterday in JAMA Pediatrics. The retrospective study conducted by Northwestern University and Penn State College of Medicine researchers used electronic medical records to identify any link between COVID19 vaccination in early pregnancy and the risk of major fetal structural abnormalities on ultrasound. Major structural fetal abnormalities were defined as those identifiable on ultrasound in the second semester 18 to 24 weeks gestation that may affect the newborns life expectancy health or functioning. Examples included malformation of the heart or spine. Functional defects were excluded from the study because they cant be assessed using ultrasound the researchers said. If the babys heart isnt forming correctly that could lead to the baby needing major cardiac surgery or longterm medication senior author Emily Miller MD MPH said in a Northwestern University news release. https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2022/04/covid-vaccine-early-pregnancy-not-tied-birth-defects 5th Apr 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

The Wall Street Journal Families of patients who died recently at Shanghais biggest elderlycare facility are demanding to know whether a Covid19 outbreak that hit in the past few weeks led to their deaths with some refusing a request by the hospital to cremate the bodies. At least 20 patients died in recent weeks at the Donghai Elderly Care Hospital according to members of several families who said they are still trying to understand why. The facility asked for the families agreement in the past few days to cremate the bodies that were being kept in the hospital morgue the relatives said. Several relatives said while some families had agreed fearing the bodies would start to decompose they had refused demanding to protect evidence that might show how the deaths happened. One of the families said they had demanded an autopsy. https://www.wsj.com/articles/deaths-at-shanghai-elderly-facility-spark-a-dispute-over-cremation-11649262740 6th Apr 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters As Washington emerges from its COVID cocoon with tourists returning to the U.S. Capitol and officials attending a whitetie party that had been scotched for the past two years the coronavirus is again stalking the halls of power. At least a halfdozen senior officials including members of President Joe Bidens Cabinet and lawmakers have tested positive for COVID19 in recent days even as caseloads drop across the country. Days after the Gridiron dinner usually a highlight of the Washington social calendar Attorney General Merrick Garland Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Democratic Representatives Adam Schiff and Joaquin Castro tested positive. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/washingtons-unwelcome-party-guest-covid-crashes-capitals-reopening-2022-04-06/ 6th Apr 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

ABC News A growing number of Australians are catching COVID19 for a second time as the country grapples with another surge in infections but a lack of official data makes it hard to pinpoint exactly who is getting it twice. Raelene Roede is a 50yearold kindergarten teacher from Geelong southwest of Melbourne who caught COVID19 for the first time after New Years Eve in January. After an extended bout of isolation made longer due to Januarys infamous testing delays and a week spent feeling pretty sick Ms Roede made a full recovery and returned to her daily gym routine. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-04-06/covid-19-reinfections-increasing-in-australia/100967706 6th Apr 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

CBC.ca As the spring weather improves Montrealer Doug Bentley understands people feeling a pentup desire to return to prepandemic normalcy. Still as a parent with two kids attending elementary school he remains ill at ease about classrooms amid COVID19. I dont feel particularly comfortable about the situation in the schools he said. Theres a lot of denial going on about the sixth wave that has started. With capacity limits mask mandates and other restrictions lingering in some areas but gone in others Canadian regions remain in varying stages of easing pandemic mitigation measures. Yet as health experts warn again of rising new COVID19 infection and hospitalization rates in parts of the country parents and school officials are bracing for what a sixth wave may bring to classrooms. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/covid-sixth-wave-school-concerns-1.6408695 6th Apr 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters Indias first case of coronavirus variant XE was detected in Mumbai NDTV reported on Wednesday. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/india-reports-first-case-covid-variant-xe-report-2022-04-06/ 6th Apr 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters Mainland China reported 1415 new confirmed coronavirus cases on April 5 the countrys national health authority said on Wednesday compared with 1235 a day earlier. Of the new cases 1383 were locally transmitted the National Health Commission said compared with 1173 a day earlier. The number of new asymptomatic cases which China counts separately stood at 19199 compared with 15355 a day earlier. There were no new deaths leaving the death toll unchanged at 4638. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-reports-1415-new-confirmed-coronavirus-cases-april-5-vs-1235-day-earlier-2022-04-06/ 6th Apr 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters Quebec will require masks to be worn in indoor public spaces for all of April delaying a plan to relax the measure by the middle of the month as it and other Canadian provinces face a new COVID19 wave a top public health official said on Tuesday. The province the second most populous in Canada will become one of the last parts of North America to continue a mask mandate in public indoor places like stores with health officials projecting a rise in cases and hospitalizations. We do not expect the mask will be needed after the month of April Dr. Luc Boileau the provinces interim public health director told reporters. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/quebec-extends-mask-mandate-end-april-covid-hospitalizations-rise-2022-04-05/ 6th Apr 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters Taiwan is aiming for zero serious COVID19 infections and an effective control of the virus President Tsai Ingwen said on Wednesday responding to a gradual increase in the number of domestic cases as it pledges to keep its reopening on track. Unlike large parts of the rest of the world Taiwan has kept the pandemic well under control with strict and early control measures including an efficient contact tracing system and largely closing its borders. Since the beginning of this year Taiwan has reported 2061 domestic cases with only five people classified as being seriously ill and just one death. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/taiwan-aims-zero-serious-covid-cases-infections-edge-up-2022-04-06/ 6th Apr 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters England recorded its highest ever COVID19 infection prevalence in March and cases were still increasing in the over55s at the end of the month an Imperial College London survey said on Wednesday adding that Omicron subvariant BA.2 was now dominant. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has lifted all COVID19 restrictions in England citing the experience with a wave of Omicron infections over new year which saw record cases but did not produce an equivalent wave of deaths in Britains highly vaccinated population. Imperials study showed that the peak in infections in March surpassed the highs of the BA.1 Omicron wave in January reinforcing findings by the Office for National Statistics ONS that cases have hit an all time high. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/record-covid-rates-england-still-rising-over-55s-study-2022-04-05/ 6th Apr 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters Shanghai is distributing to residents millions of boxes of traditional Chinese medicine TCM such as herbal products and flu capsules which it says can treat COVID19 in the battle to control its largest virus outbreak. Chinas commercial capital now under an extended lockdown reported more than 17000 new COVID19 infections on April 5 including 311 symptomatic cases among a population of more than 26 million. Facing the extremely transmissible Omicron variant we should use TCM treatment as soon as possible said Fang Min president of the citys Shuguang Hospital. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-relies-traditional-medicine-fight-covid-surge-shanghai-2022-04-06/ 6th Apr 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters Activity in Chinas services sector contracted at the sharpest pace in two years in March as a surge in coronavirus cases restricted mobility and weighed on demand a private sector survey showed on Wednesday. The Caixin services Purchasing Managers Index PMI dived to 42.0 in March from 50.2 in February dropping below the 50point mark that separates growth from contraction on a monthly basis. The reading indicates the sharpest activity decline since the initial onset of the COVID19 pandemic in February 2020. The survey which focuses more on small firms in coastal regions tallied with an official survey which also showed deterioration in the services sector https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinas-services-sector-activity-squeezed-by-omicron-surge-caixin-pmi-2022-04-06/ 6th Apr 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters Traditional wooden coffins are running short in Hong Kong as authorities scramble to add mortuary space in the global financial hubs battle on COVID19 which is swamping funeral parlours. I have never seen so many bodies piled up together said funeral director Lok Chung 37 who has been working round the clock with about 40 funerals organised in March up from roughly 15 in an average month. I have never seen family members so upset so disappointed so helpless Chung wearing a sober grey suit with a black polo Tshirt told Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/so-many-bodies-piled-up-hong-kong-funeral-services-overwhelmed-by-covid-2022-04-06/ 6th Apr 2022

Coronavirus Resurgence

Bloomberg Covid19 infections in England reached their highest level in March since the pandemic began driven by the omicron subvariant BA.2 and waning immunity among older adults according to a new study. The overall Covid prevalence rate more than doubled last month from February when infection rates were falling from the omicronled January peak the React1 study led by Imperial College London found. Since then the emergence of BA.2 a moretransmissible version of omicron has accelerated new infections and become the dominant strain in England accounting for about 90 of the samples that tested positive. The higher infection rates may result in an increase in hospitalizations despite the higher levels of vaccination among the population said Paul Elliott director of the React program and chair in Epidemiology and Public Health Medicine Imperial College London. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-04-05/u-k-covid-cases-at-highest-level-as-immunity-wanes-study-finds 6th Apr 2022

New Lockdown

Reuters Chinese authorities on Tuesday extended a lockdown in Shanghai to cover all of the financial centres 26 million people despite growing anger over quarantine rules in the city where latest results show only 268 symptomatic daily COVID19 cases. In a major test of Chinas zerotolerance strategy to eliminate the novel coronavirus the government widened the lockdown to eastern parts of the city and extended until further notice restrictions in western districts which had been due to expire on Tuesday. The broader lockdown came after testing saw asymptomatic COVID19 cases surge to more than 13000. Symptomatic cases fell on Monday to 268 from 425 the previous day https://www.reuters.com/world/china/shanghai-lockdown-deepens-after-new-surge-asymptomatic-cases-2022-04-05/ 6th Apr 2022