Covid-19 Daily Bulletin

24 Aug

24 August 2020

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

Key Announcements:

  • Boris Johnson has warned that pupils’ ‘life chances’ will suffer if they don’t go back to school, Sky News reports.
  • The Telegraph reports that a study suggests that medication for high blood pressure lowers the risk of becoming seriously ill or dying from Covid-19 by one third.
  • England’s chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, has warned it is unlikely there will be an “effective and safe” coronavirus vaccine before the winter of 2021.
  • According to a study by the University of Bristol, anxiety levels among young teenagers dropped during the coronavirus pandemic.
  • The government has published a press release regarding a study which finds very low numbers of COVID-19 outbreaks in schools
  • Sky News reports that Dr Jenny Harries, England’s deputy chief medical officer, has stated that the risk of catching flu or being involved in a road accident are “higher” than contracting coronavirus for schoolchildren.
  • The UK will be battling Covid-19 forever, a member of the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) has warned as he reiterated predictions regular inoculations will be needed against the virus.
  • Poor regulation of antibodies tests – that could indicate if someone has had coronavirus – could be putting the public at risk, doctors have warned.

Regional/Devolved

  • Many pupils in years seven, twelve and fourteen are back at school in Northern Ireland today for the first time since March.
  • There has been a significant rise in the number of Covid-19 cases in Northern Ireland in the past 24 hours with 119 people testing positive, according to the Department of Health.
  • In Scotland, people of all ages will be able to take part in organised outdoor contact sports as a number of further lockdown restrictions are lifted from today.
  • Some of Aberdeen’s lockdown restrictions were set to be lifted today at 12am.
  • In Wales, there are calls for renters in Wales to get more protection from eviction over fears that homelessness services could “crack” under increased demand.
  • Stricter new measures designed to stop the spread of coronavirus in the North West of England have been branded “confusing”, according to the BBC.

International

  • The BBC is reporting that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given emergency authorisation for the use of plasma to treat coronavirus patients.
  • The Guardian is reporting that Chinese government has been administering a coronavirus vaccine candidate to selected groups of key workers since July, a senior health official has said.
  • New Zealand has extended lockdown measures in Auckland, the country’s biggest city until at least midnight on Sunday.
  • The Times is reporting that Sweden claims fall in coronavirus infection rate is down to immunity.
  • The Times is reporting that a study claims that coronavirus infections in India are far higher than thought.
  • The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) says he hopes the coronavirus pandemic will be over in under two years.
  • Researchers in Germany have held a pop concert for 1,500 people to see how those attending would spread coronavirus, the Evening Standard reports.

Stakeholders

  • The National Education Union has accused the government of letting down pupils, teachers and parents by failing to have a “plan B” if infections rise, reports the BBC.
  • Labour today reveals the scale of the jobs crisis across the UK as a result of the government’s withdrawal of furlough from businesses in struggling sectors, and the high proportion of people working in these sectors in some areas. Labour is warning that ministers’ indiscriminate severing of furlough support therefore risks deepening and entrenching regional inequality.