Covid-19 Daily Bulletin

19 Jan

19 January 2021

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

Key Announcements:

  • All four of Her Majesty’s Justice Chief Inspectors have united to express “grave concerns” about the potential long-term impact of COVID-19-related court backlogs on the criminal justice system across England and Wales. In a report, the inspectorates say the unprecedented situation in the courts is having a ripple effect across all of criminal justice.
  • The Prince’s Trust warns that the pandemic has taken a “devastating toll” on young people’s mental health, with the unemployed significantly more likely to feel anxious and depressed.
  • Oxford University is opening a new research institute dedicated to tackling resistance to antibiotics.
  • The Office for National Statistics is set to release the latest antibody data this morning at 9.30 am.
  • Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, announced yesterday that 4,062,501 people in the UK have received the vaccine. The figures come after the Mail raised concerns about a vaccine postcode lottery.

Devolved

  • Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, will give a statement at Holyrood today to announce whether Scotland’s Covid-19 lockdown is to continue past the end of January.
  • Wales’ health minister, Vaughan Gething, has been forced to deny that vaccines are being held back after the First Minister commented that their supply had to last until February to prevent “vaccinators standing around with nothing to do”.

International

  • Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel is expected to extend and tighten a partial lockdown beyond January in the country.
  • US President-elect Joe Biden’s spokeswoman says the US will keep travel bans on the UK, much of the EU and Brazil – despite an order from President Donald Trump to lift them.
  • New Zealand has introduced a blanket testing regime for all flights arriving internationally, with passengers required to return a negative Covid test result before departure.

Stakeholders

  • A team of scientists at Bio-Diagnostics Ltd say they have developed a unique and highly accurate immunity test that detects the same antibodies vaccinations produce against Covid-19. MD Simon Mico, says the test “is increasingly being seen as the gold standard among immunity tests”.
  • In a submission for the Budget, the CBI have called for an immediate £7.6bn injection from the Treasury as part of a £17.9bn package.