Covid-19 Daily Bulletin

19 Mar

19 March 2021

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

Key Announcements:

  • According to government statistics, the number of new confirmed cases of Coronavirus yesterday was 6,303. A total of 95 people died having tested positive for the virus in the last 28 days.
  • A total of 25,735,473 people have now had their first dose of the vaccine, with 1,879,054 having also had a second dose.
  • The Prime Minister Boris Johnson will today have his first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
  • At last night’s Covid press conference, the Prime Minister said that the expected month-long shortfall in vaccine supply is not India’s fault, despite the supplier insisting that the holdup was due to the Indian Government temporarily stopping exports.
  • Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden yesterday told the Sun that Wembley Stadium would be packed with “as many people as we can” for the Euros final. He said that he was working with UEFA and using “COVID certification” to make it more viable for events to go ahead with “less or no social distancing” hinting at the significance of Covid certificates in future.
  • According to figures from the ONS today, the public sector borrowed more last month than during any other February since 1993. In total, £19.1bn was borrowed in the last month alone.

Devolved/Regional

  • In Scotland, the NHS Louisa Jordan temporary hospital in Glasgow is set to close at the end of March following a decrease in cases. Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said it had been used to treat more than 32,000 patients, train more than 6,900 healthcare staff and students, and has delivered 175,000 vaccines since December.
  • The Welsh Government has announced a bonus payment for all NHS and social care workers in Wales. Health Minster Vaughan Gething said most workers would receive £500.
  • Northern Irish Health Minister Robin Swann has said that every adult in Northern Ireland will still get their first vaccine dose by the end of July. He added that he did not expect any changes to the lifting of Northern Ireland’s coronavirus restrictions in light of the vaccine supply.

International

  • European countries are set to restart their Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccinations from today, following the all clear from the European Medicines Agency. Emer Cooke, executive director of the EMA, said the safety committee had concluded that the vaccine was “not associated with an increase in the overall risk of thromboembolic events or blood clots”.
  • US President Joe Biden has said that the country is expected to hit its goal of 100m vaccinations today. This comes after the White House announced last night that the US was now in a position to help supply neighbours Canada and Mexico with millions of doses.
  • French Prime Minister Jean Castex announced yesterday that several regions of France, including Paris, will be going into lockdown for four weeks starting this weekend.
  • India has reported its highest infections since November, with 39,726 new coronavirus cases.
  • The Philippines has approved Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, becoming the 52nd country to do so. The country also recorded its biggest daily increase in infections today, with 7,103 new cases.

Stakeholders

  • Prof Francesco Rubino, King’s College London, is leading the call for a full investigation into a possible link between Covid-19 and diabetes. This comes as scientists across the world believe that there is a growing body of evidence that Covid can cause diabetes in some patients.

Unconfirmed reports

  • The Mail reports that the government is having “secret talks” with India in a bid to ease vaccine export restriction