Covid-19 Daily Bulletin

24 Nov

24 November 2020

A series of daily updates for CHO members regarding relevant updates pertaining to Coronavirus from home and abroad.

Key Announcements:

  • The world is moving a step closer to ending the coronavirus pandemic, the scientist behind Britain’s first vaccine has declared, as Boris Johnson said he hoped the majority of those most at-risk could be immunised by Easter .
  • Gyms and non-essential shops in all parts of England will be allowed to reopen when lockdown ends next month, the prime minister has announced. Boris Johnson told the Commons that the three-tiered regional measures will return from 2 December, but he added that each tier will be toughened.
  • The Government is poised to slash the quarantine time for overseas travellers arriving in England from 14 days to five under a new “test and release” scheme to be announced on Tuesday, according to Whitehall and industry figures.
  • Christmas travellers should plan journeys carefully and prepare for capacity restrictions on trains, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps says. He said there will be more freedom to visit loved ones next month as all four UK nations move “very close” to agreeing rules on festive gatherings.
  • Current Covid related figures stand at 15,450 new cases, down 3,212 on Sunday and down️ 5,913 on the previous Monday with 206 deaths, down 192 on Sunday and down 7 on the previous Monday.

Devolved

  • The UK nations are “very close” to agreeing co-ordinated restrictions over Christmas, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps says. Each nation is in a “slightly different phase of locking and unlocking”, he said, but an announcement would be made this week.
  • There have been no new coronavirus deaths recorded overnight in Scotland, the Scottish Government confirmed today. In the last 24 hours, there has been 949 fresh infections were recorded in the same time period.
  • Stormont ministers have agreed a new £300m support package for Northern Irish businesses that will be forced to close when tougher measures come into place on Friday.

International

  • The world’s most vulnerable must not be “trampled in the stampede” for vaccines, the World Health Organization warns.
  • Spain’s King Felipe VI has begun ten days of quarantine after coming into contact with a person who tested positive.
  • Germany’s 16 federal states plan to allow gatherings of up to 10 people for Christmas and New Year festivities, a draft proposal showed on Tuesday.
  • Japan’s Government is preparing to pause its domestic travel campaign in two cities following sharp rises in Covid-19 cases, the Minister handling the Government’s coronavirus response said on Tuesday.

Stakeholders

  • Breakthroughs in developing coronavirus vaccines have made the UK’s economic outlook brighter than the Bank of England forecast earlier this month, according to its chief economist. In evidence to the House of Commons Treasury select committee on Monday, Andy Haldane took a more positive view than colleagues on the bank’s monetary policy committee, saying his personal view was that the vaccine news had already helped to boost confidence, which should in time lead to a pick-up in economic activity .
  • AstraZeneca shares fell after the drug maker announced efficacy results for its Covid-19 vaccine that were below those reported by rivals Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna. The shares ended the day 3.8 per cent lower at £80 .

Unconfirmed reports

  • The Government has been accused of “killing Christmas” for hospitality businesses and their staff through tough new restrictions after England’s second coronavirus lockdown ends next week.