Britain's Health Secretary Matt Hancock speaks during a COVID-19 pandemic virtual press conference, inside 10 Downing Street in central London on January 18, 2021. (HANNAH MCKAY / POOL / AFP)
MILAN / ADDIS ABABA / ALGIERS / BUENOS AIRES / SAO PAULO / BOGOTA / HAVANA / QUITO / PARIS / ACCRA / RABAT / LISBON / MADRID / LONDON / NEW YORK / HARARE – The UK’s health minister warned that coronavirus vaccines may be less effective against new variants of the disease, such as those found in South Africa and Brazil, and that stricter border controls are therefore justified.
“We don’t know the degree of that,” Matt Hancock said in an interview on Sky News on Sunday, commenting on the extent of any potential reduced efficacy of the vaccines. “In the meantime, we’ve got to have a precautionary principle that says let’s not bring these new variants back to the UK.”
Hancock’s warning came as the UK reported it had vaccinated more than 5 million people, including three-quarters of those over 80. Hancock said the government is conducting a vaccine trial on the South African variant to study its response to the inoculation, and that he’s concerned about new variants developing elsewhere.
UK Health Minister Matt Hancock’s warning came as the UK reported it had vaccinated more than 5 million people, including three-quarters of those over 80. Hancock said the government is conducting a vaccine trial on the South African variant to study its response to the inoculation, and that he’s concerned about new variants developing elsewhere
“The new variant I really worry about is the one that’s out there but hasn’t been spotted,” he said, adding that the UK is offering its genome-sequencing capability to other countries to help them identify new strains. There are 77 known cases of the South African variant in Britain, and at least 9 cases of the Brazilian variant, Hancock said on the BBC’s “The Andrew Marr Show.”
The UK has already banned flights from South Africa and neighboring countries, plus all of South America, in a bid to stop the spread of the new variants. Hancock said the government didn’t rule out introducing even stricter international travel measures in the days ahead.
Britain is grappling with the highest death toll in Europe from the disease and battling to recover from its deepest recession in more than 300 years. The government is also on alert over signs that a local variant of the virus, which is as much as 70 percent more transmissible, may be more deadly than the original strain.
The supply of vaccines — not distribution by the National Health Service — is the rate-limiting factor in the UK’s vaccination effort, Hancock said.
He couldn’t confirm that schools would be open again by Easter, saying that the government would have to look at the data around the pandemic at the time. While the government also wants to lift social restrictions as soon as possible, Hancock added that it’s too early to give any more details on potential easing.
“There is early evidence that the lockdown is starting to bring cases down but we are a long, long, long way from being low enough,” Hancock said on Sky. “You can see the pressure on the NHS, you can see it every day.”
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'Wonder drug'
Oxford University researchers are planning a large-scale trial of an inexpensive drug that could help dramatically reduce COVID-19 deaths globally, according to a report in the Times.
The goal is to find treatments that could be used at home, shortly after symptoms appear, to catch the disease early and prevent serious illness.
This batch of medicines will include ivermectin, which for decades has been used to treat livestock and people infested with parasitic worms, the newspaper reported. Supporters call it a “wonder drug,” but others say it hasn’t been properly evaluated.
While the drug has potential antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties, “there’s a gap in the data,” Chris Butler, professor of primary care at the University of Oxford and a co-chief of the trial, told the Times. “There’s not been a really rigorous trial.”
The World Health Organization recently suggested it has encouraging effects, the newspaper said. The drug is approved in the UK as a topical agent for skin infections and inflammation.
Africa
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases on the African continent reached 3,393,591 as of Saturday evening, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.
According to the agency's data, the death toll related to the pandemic in Africa stood at 83,901 as of Saturday evening.
A total of 2,854,275 people infected with COVID-19 have recovered across the continent so far, the agency added.
Algeria
Algeria on Saturday reported 245 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total infections in the North African country to 105,369.
The death toll from the virus in Algeria rose to 2,861 after five new fatalities were recorded, said the Algerian Ministry of Health in a statement.
Argentina
Argentina registered 8,362 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, bringing the national tally to 1,862,192, the health ministry said.
The ministry also reported 162 more deaths from the disease, bringing the nationwide death toll to 46,737.
The province of Buenos Aires has registered a total of 776,538 cases and 3,265 deaths, and remained the most affected region in the South American country since the disease broke out in March last year.
The Argentine government has extended mandatory social distancing measures till Jan 31.
Brazil
Brazil reported 1,202 deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in the last 24 hours, making Saturday the fifth consecutive day of more than 1,000 deaths, bringing the death toll to 216,445, the ministry of health reported Saturday.
The ministry said that in the last 24 hours, 62,334 new COVID-19 cases were registered, bringing the total to 8,816,254.
Colombia
Colombia registered 15,551 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, taking the nationwide tally to 2,002,969, said the Ministry of Health and Social Protection on Saturday.
The country reported 396 more deaths, raising the national death toll to 50,982, said the ministry.
The Colombian government has extended health emergency till Feb. 28, urging people to avoid crowds and observe safety measures to curb the spread of the virus.
Cuba
The Cuban Ministry of Public Health reported on Saturday three more deaths and 567 new cases of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the country.
“We are mourning the deaths of three elderly people, two women and one man, all from Havana," said Francisco Duran, the national director of hygiene and epidemiology at the health ministry.
Cuba has registered a total of 191 deaths and 20,627 cases of COVID-19 so far.
Ecuador
Ecuador registered 1,074 new cases of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the last 24 hours for a total of 238,232 cases, the Ministry of Public Health reported on Saturday.
According to the ministry, the death toll from the virus rose to 9,943 after 30 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours, in addition to 4,653 "probable deaths" from the virus.
The province of Pichincha, where the capital of Quito is located, continues to be the epicenter of the pandemic in the country, with 83,288 cases registered so far, mostly in the capital city.
Ethiopia
The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Ethiopia rose to 133,298 after 417 new cases were reported, the country's Ministry of Health said on Saturday evening.
The number of COVID-19 related deaths in the country reached 2,063 as of Saturday evening, including three new deaths reported during the last 24-hour period, the ministry said.
Parisians are reflected in a closed restaurant window as the French Government continues to try to contain it’s covid numbers and speed up the country's vaccine rollout as experts raise fears over new COVID-19 strains spreading in France on Jan 12, 2021 in Paris, France. (PHOTO / BLOOMBERG)
France
France is set to go back into lockdown “within days” amid concerns over a new wave of contaminations driven by the UK variant of the coronavirus, Journal du Dimanche said, citing unidentified people with knowledge of the matter.
A decision is imminent, JDD wrote, saying French President Emmanuel Macron could announce the lockdown – the country’s third – on Wednesday night. It could start before the end of the week and last at least three weeks, according to the paper.
Officials at the Health Ministry weren’t immediately available for comment to Bloomberg. Health Minister Olivier Veran said on Thursday that a decision on a new lockdown or tighter curbs could be made within days or weeks.
Contaminations driven by the UK variant of the virus – a highly contagious and potentially deadlier strain first identified in Britain late last year – will probably surge in coming weeks in the country, scientists have warned. The current curbs in place include include a 6 pm curfew and closed restaurants, cinemas, museums and gyms.
France’s second lockdown, which began in late October, reversed a spike in COVID-19 cases. However, hospitalizations and intensive-care patients remain more than five times higher than in August, putting pressure on the health-care system.
In the event of a new lockdown, schools would remain open, Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer told JDD.
France on Saturday reported 23,924 new cases of COVID-19 infection in a 24-hour span, raising the country's cumulative number of confirmed cases to 3,035,181, official data showed.
In the 24 hours, a further 230 people had succumbed to the disease in France, bringing the total death toll to 72,877.
Ghana
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Ghana exceeded 60,000, with 635 new infections recorded on Saturday, said the Ghana Health Service (GHS).
The total number of infections in the West African country increased to 60,115, with 361 deaths, according to the latest GHS data.
The increase on Saturday capped a week in which the country recorded its highest level of infections in the new year with a seven-day average infection rate of 357.
Visitors view Sandro Botticelli's "The Birth of Venus" on Jan 21, 2021 at the Uffizi Galleries in Florence, Tuscany. (VINCENZO PINTO / AFP)
Italy
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte lashed out at suppliers of COVID-19 vaccines on Saturday, saying delays in deliveries amounted to a serious breach of contractual obligations.
Italy will have to rethink its whole vaccination programme if supply problems persist, a senior health official warned on Saturday, after Rome was forced to cut its daily rollout of COVID-19 shots by more than two thirds.
Pfizer Inc last week said it was temporarily slowing supplies to Europe to make manufacturing changes that would boost output.
On Friday, a senior official told Reuters AstraZeneca Plc had also informed the European Union it would cut deliveries of its COVID-19 vaccine to the bloc by 60 percent because of production problems.
“This is unacceptable,” Conte said in a Facebook post. “Our vaccination plan … has been drawn up on the basis of contractual pledges freely undertaken by pharmaceutical companies with the European Commission.”
Italy, which is using vaccines by Pfizer and Moderna Inc as AstraZeneca awaits clearance for use of its vaccines across the EU, says Pfizer deliveries were 29 percent lower than planned this week and would be down 20 percent next week.
The head of Italy’s higher health council, Franco Locatelli, told a press conference they were expected to return to agreed levels from Feb 1.
In the meantime, vaccinations in Italy have slowed to 20,000-25,000 a day from peaks of more than 90,000 around two weeks ago, Locatelli said.
Morocco
Morocco announced on Saturday 925 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total tally in the North African country to 465,769.
The number of recoveries from the coronavirus in Morocco increased to 441,693 after 1,041 more were added, while the death toll rose by 23 to 8,128, the ministry of health said in a statement.
Meanwhile, 772 patients are in intensive care units, the ministry added.
The COVID-19 fatality rate in Morocco stands at 1.7 percent while the recovery rate is 94.8 percent.
Portugal
Portuguese voters – largely confined to their homes due to a strict COVID-19 lockdown – will pick a new president on Sunday, but many fear going to the polls could worsen a surge in coronavirus cases and low turnout is expected.
The country of 10 million people, which fared better than others in the first wave of the pandemic, now has the world’s highest seven-day rolling average of new cases and deaths per capita.
Authorities reported a record daily toll of 274 deaths and more than 15,300 new cases on Saturday.
Almost two-thirds of voters think the election should be postponed, a poll by research institute ISC/ISCTE showed last week.
Delaying the ballot would have required changing the country’s constitution – something officials said was not possible at such short notice, but there has been widespread criticism of the decision to press ahead with the vote for the largely ceremonial president.
Voting is the only reason people are permitted to leave home for anything other than essential work or trips under the current nationwide lockdown rules.
Opinion polls show that the incumbent, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa of the centre-right Social Democratic Party, is likely to easily win re-election, with left-wing candidate Ana Gomes forecast in second at 13.5-14.5 percent and the leader of far-right party Chega Andre Ventura close behind at 10-12.5 percent.
Spain
Spain's Chief of Defense Staff, General Miguel Angel Villarroya, resigned on Saturday after it was claimed on Friday that he and other high-ranking military officers had received a first dose of the anti-coronavirus vaccine in breach of protocol.
Villarroya presented his resignation to Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles in a letter, in which he said he was stepping down to "preserve the image of the Armed Forces," according to a statement released by the Ministry of Defense.
People wait in line for Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines at the opening of a new vaccination site at Corsi Houses in Harlem New York on Jan 15, 2021. (KENA BETANCUR / AFP)
US
Total COVID-19 hospitalizations reached 8,802 on Friday in New York State, down from 8,846 on Thursday, tweeted Governor Andrew Cuomo on Saturday.
Of the 262,106 COVID-19 tests reported on Friday in the state, 13,786 were positive, or 5.26 percent of the total, down from 5.65 percent one day earlier, said Cuomo, adding that the fatalities fell to 144 on Friday, compared with 165 on Thursday.
New York City's COVID-19 test positivity rate on a seven-day average went down to 9 percent, compared with 9.03 percent one day earlier, Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted on Saturday.
Chicago and suburban Cook County are for the first time open for indoor dining on Saturday since late October of 2020 under COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, Chicago Tribune reported on Saturday.
But there is a 25-percent capacity or 25-people per space restriction, whichever is fewer, on restaurants and bars that reopen for indoor service.
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Zimbabwe
Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa said “help is on the way,” as the country reels from a rise in coronavirus infections and deaths that have claimed the lives of two members of his cabinet.
In a televised address on Saturday, Mnangagwa said government was engaging countries that have developed vaccines and once secured, they would be given first to health-care workers.
“Help and relief are on the way,” he said. “Our experts who have been assessing different vaccines are very close to finalizing the course to recommend to our nation.”
Mnangagwa said Saturday said that frontline staff will be the first ones to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, which he said would be rolled out as soon as experts determine which ones to take.
