Covid-19 Daily Bulletin

23 Feb

23 February 2021

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

Key Announcements:

  • The Prime Minister Boris Johnson addressed the Commons yesterday and delivered a press conference later in the evening, in which he outlined England’s roadmap out of lockdown.
  • The number of people who tested positive for the virus yesterday in the UK was 10,641. Sadly, 178 people lost their lives within 28 days of testing positive for the virus.
  • The number of people who have received their first dose of a vaccine was 17,723,840 and the figure for the second dose was 624,325, as of 21 February.
  • According to ONS figures , the UK’s unemployment rate rose to 5.1 percent in the three months to December – a five-year high, up 0.4 percent on the previous quarter and up 1.3 percent on a year earlier.
  • Business leaders and trade bodies are saying more support is needed as England exits lockdown, with many firms and workers facing an uncertain future.
  • All schoolchildren in England will be back in the classroom from 8 March under the new roadmap, but teaching unions have warned against a ‘big bang’ return to school.

Devolved

  • First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is preparing to unveil details of Scotland’s path out of lockdown later today, with the return of a tiered restrictions approach.
  • The unemployment rate in Wales has fallen to 4.4 percent , which is now lower than the rate of the UK as a whole.
  • The Welsh Government have outlined plans for a post-pandemic economic recovery, with a focus on town centres and the high street.
  • First Minister Arlene Foster has said she wants the Stormont executive to discuss reopening dates for schools in Northern Ireland.

International

  • President Joe Biden has led a candlelit ceremony for Covid-19 victims as the US passed 500,000 deaths.
  • The PM of South Korea has told the BBC that the country will achieve herd immunity by the autumn.
  • Italy allegedly misled the WHO on its readiness to face a pandemic less than three weeks before the country’s first locally-transmitted case was confirmed.
  • All of New Zealand is in alert level 1 after a cluster of coronavirus cases in the community in Auckland was successfully contained, but PM Jacinda Ardern is under renewed pressure to reassess the country’s border controls.
  • The Australian Government has announced a permanent increase in jobseekers payments of $50 per fortnight.
  • Air New Zealand will trial a digital vaccine passport in April on flights between Auckland and Sydney, with Qantas investigating similar technology.

Stakeholders

  • Under the PM’s new roadmap, fans could be back at sporting events from 17 May, with the FA Cup Final being used as a test event for the new rules.
  • Airlines are reporting they have already seen a surge in holiday bookings following the PM’s announcement of the roadmap out of lockdown, in which he said international holidays could take place after 17 May.