Covid-19 Daily Bulletin

23 Apr

23 April 2021

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

Key Announcements:

  • Government data shows 2,729 people tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday, and 18 people died within 28 days of a positive test. A total of 33,257,651 people had received a first dose of a Covid vaccine up to and including 21 April, and 11,192,601 had received a second dose.
  • Lateral flow Covid tests are being trialled across 200 schools in England to study their accuracy following criticism that they do not spot cases early enough.
  • India has been added to the UK’s travel red list following a surge in coronavirus cases in the country.
  • UK public sector borrowing in the year to March was highest since the end of Second World War, official data shows.
  • New MHRA data show cases of serious blood clots following AstraZeneca jabs have risen from 79 to 168 since April 8, and deaths from 19 to 32, which points to a higher risk than thought, but the regulator said the benefits still outweigh the risks.

Devolved

  • In a BBC Question Time election special, the Scottish National Party’s Keith Brown said the SNP would allocate further funding to the health service if it was forthcoming from the UK government. Scottish Conservative leader Douglass Ross said he “absolutely” supported a 4 per cent salary rise for NHS staff, while the Greens argued for a jobs guarantee for oil and gas workers transferring into renewable industries.
  • From 17 May, Welsh pubs and restaurants will be able to open indoors for the first time since Christmas.
  • Close-contact services such as hairdressers can reopen today in Northern Ireland. Driving lessons, outdoor attractions and competitive sport also resume.

International

  • The European Commission said no decision has yet been taken on whether to launch legal action against AstraZeneca after Ireland’s health minister said a case had been started.

Stakeholders

  • The chances of becoming infected with Covid fell sharply after the first dose of either AstraZeneca or Pfizer, according to research by the ONS and the University of Oxford. This supports the decision to extend the gap between doses.
  • Dr Koen Pouwels, senior researcher in University of Oxford’s Nuffield Department of Population Health, said that figures show there is still a chance vaccinated people could get Covid again and transmit it to others, emphasising the need for social distancing and masks.
  • The Labour party has argued that exchanges between the Treasury, Cameron and Greensill showed the company was in financial trouble and should not have been allowed to give government backed Covid loans to firms.
  • University of Glasgow has found two cases where humans are thought to have passed Covid-19 to their cats. It is studying whether pets can play a role in infecting humans.