Covid-19 Daily Bulletin

15 Jun

15 June 2021

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

Key Announcements:

  • Yesterday, a total of 7,742 people tested positive for Covid-19 and 3 people died having tested positive within 28 days.
  • As of the 13 June , 41,698,429 people had received the first dose of a vaccine in the UK and 29,973,779 people had received a second dose of vaccine.
  • The Prime Minister has announced that the final stage of easing lockdown restrictions in England is to be delayed by four weeks until 19 July, amid rising cases driven by the more transmissible Indian variant.
  • Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove has described the 19 July as the “terminus date” for lifting the remainder of England’s lockdown restrictions. He commented that it would take an “unprecedented and remarkable” change in circumstances to derail the new timeline.
  • Official figures from the Office for National Statistics show “signs of recovery” in the job market, with the unemployment rate falling and the number of job vacancies rising.
  • NHS England is to launch a Long Covid service for children, as concerns grow about the number of young people experiencing long-term symptoms. Fifteen paediatric hubs will be created in England.
  • Researchers have warned that a headache, sore throat and runny nose are now the most commonly reported symptoms linked to Covid infection in the UK, with the Delta variant reportedly feeling “more like a bad cold” for younger people. A loss of smell did not appear in the top ten symptoms reported in the study.
  • A member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), Professor Graham Medley, has warned that the UK could “easily” return to seeing hundreds of Covid deaths per day despite the delay in easing lockdown restrictions.

Devolved

  • Public Health Wales has confirmed that the Delta variant, first identified in India, is now the most commons strain of new Covid-19 cases in Wales, with case numbers involving the variant rising more than 70 percent in four days since 10 June.
  • Clinical trials have begun in Glasgow to see which Covid vaccine works best as a third “booster” jab. The Cov-boost study will give people a third dose of a vaccine to see whether it offers extra protection against the virus.

International

  • The World Health Organisation has warned that coronavirus cases are outpacing vaccine efforts around the world, as WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus accused the G7 of offering too little support too late.
  • A third wave of Covid-19 has hit Uganda, where vaccines and oxygen supplies are running out amid a 2,800 percent rise in cases in just one month.

Stakeholders

  • Industry leaders in the events sector have described the delayed easing of restrictions as a “hammer blow,” as the entertainment sector appeals for urgent financial support. Around 5,000 concerts will be reportedly forced to cancel as a result of the delayed reopening.
  • Crowds are expected to return to major sporting events this summer, with “capacity crowds” anticipated for the tennis finals at Wimbledon, 12,000 spectators set to attend each day of Royal Aspect this week and around 40,000 fans permitted at four Euro 2020 matches in Wembley. The Formula 1 British Grand Prix could also become a “pilot event.”
  • Travel insurers have been criticised over the extent of their Covid cover, with consumer group Which? finding that policies offering “complete” cover for Covid-related disruption are barely available.