More school closures could happen if infections among school aged children rise, the chief medical officer hinted last night. Professor Chris Whitty said the Government’s policy on schools may be ‘looked at again’ if the coronavirus crisis deepens. His comments come as at least three schools closed due to Covid-19 outbreaks this week, while dozens more … Read more
Outbreaks of coronavirus-like illnesses in care homes have dropped to a six month low, according to Public Health England. Between August 24 and August 30 there were 58 outbreaks of coughs or ‘acute respiratory infections’ in England, said PHE, marking a 38 per cent fall on last week’s 94 cases. But the number recorded is … Read more
Britain has confirmed 1,813 new coronavirus infections – 596 more than last Saturday’s total – with 124 new hospitalisations and 69 on ventilator beds. Twelve people died from coronavirus in the UK within 28 days of a positive test today, bringing the country’s total number of deaths to 41,549. Meanwhile, two-thirds of new coronavirus infections in the … Read more
Coronavirus tests could be picking up dead virus cells from weeks’ old infections, study finds, meaning ‘false positives’ could lead to an exaggeration of the current scale of the pandemic. Despite coronavirus only being infectious for around a week, the tests used to diagnose the disease could still show a positive reading for weeks after … Read more
Two-thirds of new coronavirus infections in the UK are in the under-40s, while the rate among older people has fallen sharply in an ‘extraordinary’ shift. The number of over-50s testing positive for Covid-19 now represents just a fifth of those nationwide, compared with three quarters in the spring. Just three per cent are now made … Read more
Brazil became the second country to reach four million cases of coronavirus last night amid hopes that infections are starting to slow. The latest rise of 43,773 cases brought the total to 4.04million, while another 834 fatalities took the death toll to more than 124,000. On Monday, average daily cases fell below 37,000 for the … Read more
Covid infections have continued rising at an alarming rate with 1,108 people testing positive in the last 24 hours – as the UK recorded 12 more deaths to bring the tally up to 41,498. The nation’s total number of cases has risen to 332,752 as data shows there are now an average of 1,173 new cases … Read more
South Korea reported 441 new cases of coronavirus on Thursday – its highest daily increase for four months – making strict lockdown measures very likely. The country has added nearly 4,000 infections to its caseload while reporting triple-digit daily jumps in each of the past 14 days, prompting health experts to warn about hospitals possibly … Read more
A strategy meeting of a Massachusetts-based drug company played a much greater role in spreading the novel coronavirus than previously believed, a new study finds. The international Biogen Inc conference, held at the Boston Marriott Long Wharf hotel in late February, led to roughly 20,000 cases of COVID-19 across the US in two months. That … Read more
Teachers’ union demands ‘plan B’ from Government on what to do if Covid infections rise when schools reopen Teaching union demanded a ‘plan B’ from the Government on school reopenings NEU said schools should hire more staff and provide extra teaching space Comes as school pupils in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are due to return … Read more