Covid-19 Daily Bulletin

26 May

26 May 2021

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

Key Announcements:

  • The number of people who tested positive for the virus yesterday in the UK was 2,493 and 15 people died within 28 days of testing positive.
  • The number of people who have received their first dose of a vaccine is 38,192,417 and the figure for the second dose is 23,228,511 as of 24 May.
  • After advising people not to travel into and out of eight areas in England worst hit by Indian coronavirus variant, the Government has now said travel should be minimised , clarifying local restrictions are not being imposed.
  • Former aide to the PM, Dominic Cummings, is set to appear before the health and science committees this morning as part of their ‘lessons learnt’ inquiry.
  • The vaccine rollout continues at pace in England with people aged 30 and 31 being invited to book their first dose of a Covid jab.
  • Moderna says its Covid vaccine is “highly effective” in adolescents aged 12 to 17.
  • A report published today by the Public Accounts Committee finds that the Department for Education had no plan for dealing with a pandemic.

Devolved

  • The First Ministers of Scotland and Wales have written to Boris Johnson calling on the proposed coronavirus recovery summit to be a “meaningful discussion with substantive outcomes” as they asked for more clarity and substance on the summit due to take place this Thursday.
  • First Minister Nichola Sturgeon held a briefing yesterday afternoon in which she said there may now be signs that cases in Glasgow – the only are in Scotland still under Level 3 – might be stabilising, as she signalled a “cautious optimism.”

International

  • The United States and other countries have called for a more in-depth investigation of the pandemic origins at the WHO’s main annual meeting of members states, after an international mission to China earlier this year proved inconclusive.
  • Asahi Shimbun newspaper, an official sponsor of the Japan Olympics, has said the Games must be cancelled and that public health must be a priority while the virus is still spreading.
  • The Acting premier of Victoria, Australian, says he is not ruling out tougher restrictions for Melbourne after six new locally acquired Covid cases were recorded overnight.

Stakeholders

  • The first centre of excellence for studying vaccine-preventable diseases outside the US has been launched. Funded by coronavirus vaccine manufacturer Pfizer and based at the University of Bristol, it is the second of a planned global network of sites.
  • Scottish Labour leader, Anas Sarwar, has said lockdowns in Scotland need to be more targeted, as he calls for urgent action after it was announced Glasgow was to remain in Level 3 restrictions.
  • The Construction Leadership Council has warned that building materials are all in short supply, blaming “unprecedented levels of demand” that are set to continue. The Federation of Master Builders said that some building firms may have to delay projects and others could be forced to close as a result.
  • Violence and abuse against shop workers is on the rise but the perpetrators are rarely prosecuted, new research finds. The retail trade body, the British Retail Consortium (BRC), says there were on average 455 incidents a day in 2019, up 7 percent on the previous year