Covid-19 Daily Bulletin

15 Feb

15 February 2021

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

Key Announcements:

  • The Government confirmed yesterday that they had met their first vaccine target to offer all vulnerable groups the vaccine, with 15,062,189 people having now received their first dose.
  • Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, told Sky News this morning that “the letters have now already been sent to over a million over 65-year-olds asking them to come forward, and also the next group after that is those who have underlying health conditions and are carers.”
  • Boris Johnson will unveil his roadmap for lifting lockdown next week. Many of the Sunday papers outlined speculated announcements. The Sunday Times reported that schools will reopen on 8th March; and a “four speed” plan would be drawn up to allow the Government to move through different stages depending on the R rate.
  • New quarantine measures come into force in England today, with British or Irish citizens arriving from one of the 33 “red list” countries being required to quarantine in a hotel for 10 days at their own expense.
  • Matt Hancock told BBC Radio 4 Today that the government is not looking to introduce vaccine passports.

Devolved

  • Northern Ireland will be given a further £300m to tackle the Covid 19 pandemic, with flexibility to spend it immediately or carry it over to the next financial year.
  • Wales will be given a further £650m to tackle the Covid 19 pandemic.
  • From today, all international travellers flying into Scotland will have to self-isolate in a hotel for 10 days.

International

  • Auckland, New Zealand, is in a short lockdown after the UK variant of the virus was detected there.
  • The South Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency have said they will initially exclude people over 65 from receiving the AstraZeneca vaccines, saying there was a lack of data proving its efficacy in this age group.

Stakeholders

  • The Treasury Committee has published the third report of its inquiry into the Economic Impact of Coronavirus – ‘Gaps in Support and Economic Analysis’.
  • Heathrow has called on the Government to give the aviation sector tailored support, after suffering the impact of national lockdown, travel bans, blanket quarantine and compulsory testing.
  • Bill Gates has argued in a new book that ending the Covid pandemic is “very, very easy” compared to solving Climate Change.

Unconfirmed reports

  • The Prime Minister may hold a press conference this afternoon.