Covid-19 Daily Bulletin

20 May 2021

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

Key Announcements:

• The number of people who tested positive for the virus yesterday in the UK was 2,696 and 3 people died within 28 days of having tested positive.
• As of the 18 May, 36,985,505 people had received the first dose of a vaccine in the UK and 20,870,453 people had received a second dose of vaccine.
• A new government-funded clinical trial looking at different Covid-19 booster vaccines has launched in the UK. Trials will also be held to determine whether a third dose of vaccine could protect against new variants.
• Health Secretary Matt Hancock has announced that surge testing and vaccinations have been deployed in six new areas of concern, as recorded cases of the Indian variant reach almost 3,000, a 28 percent rise since Monday.
• Professor Van-Tam has urged people living in areas with high Indian variant cases to “think carefully” about their new freedoms.
• Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said there is “increasing confidence” that current vaccines will be effective against all variants of the virus, including the Indian variant.
• Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said that a final decision on whether to continue with further unlocking will be taken on 14 June.
• The vaccine rollout could reach those in their early 20s in the first weeks of next month. People aged 34 and 35 in England will be offered a vaccine from today.
• A JCVI scientist, Professor Adam Finn, has said that achieving population immunity in the UK remains possible, despite mounting fears over the Indian variant.
• Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has urged people to “apply common sense” over whether to fly to amber list countries. Up to 270,000 people are expected to fly to ‘amber list’ countries by Sunday amid growing confidence among the vaccinated that it is safe to travel.

Devolved

• Wales’ new Health Minister, Eluned Morgan, has announced that an initial £100m will be spent to try to deal with a record backlog of NHS treatments caused by the pandemic.
• Three deaths in Scotland have been linked to adverse effects of coronavirus vaccines, as experts move to reassure the public as increasing numbers are feared to be refusing jabs.
• Northern Ireland’s vaccine rollout has been extended to include people aged between 25 and 29.

International

• Ambassadors from the 27 EU Member States have approved a European Commission proposal to loosen the definition of “safe” countries and allow fully vaccinated tourists to visit ahead of the summer tourist season.
• The US is also considering relaxing travel restrictions that currently bar much of the world’s population from visiting the country, although no decision has yet been made.
• Malawi has incinerated almost 20,000 expired doses of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine and has reassured the public that any vaccine they receive will be safe. The WHO initially urged countries not to destroy expired doses but has now changed its advice.
• India’s holiest river, the Ganges, is reportedly “swollen with bodies” following a devastating second wave of the pandemic over recent weeks.

Stakeholders

• The National Audit Office has urged ministers to come up with ideas to prevent widening inequality caused by the pandemic and has accused the government of not planning enough for a ‘threat on the scale of coronavirus’.
• Great Western Air Ambulance Charity is launching a fundraising appeal following a £250,000 drop in income due to Covid-19 and the cancellation of events.
• A QR code provider used for Covid-19 contact tracing has been fined £8,000 for allegedly using customers’ personal data to send more than 80,000 nuisance emails.