UK also records over 102,000 daily cases; Danish plan would mean most far-reaching easing among Nordic countries
The UK has reported a further 102,292 Covid infections and 346 deaths within 28 days of a positive test, according to the latest data from the government’s coronavirus dashboard.
That compares with 94,326 cases and 439 fatalities in the 24 hours prior.
Thanks for joining us and that’s all from me, Samantha Lock, for today.
We will be launching another live Covid blog a little later today but in the meantime you can catch up with all the latest developments here.
Thanks for following along and, as always, I appreciate your tips and reader insights. You can email me at samantha.lock@theguardian.com or via Twitter @Samantha__Lock
If you’ve just joined us here on the Covid blog, here is a wrap of all the latest international developments:
Europe:
Middle East:
United States:
Over in Kansas, US, a doctor-lawmaker who prescribed a parasitic worm treatment for Covid-19 symptoms has acknowledged that he is under investigation by the state medical board.
Conservative Republican state Senator Mark Steffen disclosed the Kansas Board of Healing Arts’ investigation of him during a Senate committee hearing. He was testifying in favour of a bill that would require pharmacists to fill prescriptions for both the anti-worm treatment ivermectin and the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine for potentially dangerous off-label uses in treating Covid-19, the Associated Press reports.
During the committee’s two days of hearings, several Kansas doctors reported having trouble getting ivermectin prescriptions filled by pharmacists. Committee Chair Richard Hilderband, a conservative Republican from southeast Kansas, said he expects the bill to win the panel’s approval after it is debated next week.
“That is something between a doctor and a patient, on what their best way forward on care is,” Hilderbrand said.
While medical groups and health experts have worked to stamp out the use of ivermectin for treating Covid-19, hospitals around the nation have faced lawsuits over their refusal to give it to patients.
Ivermectin is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration to treat infections of lice, roundworms and other tiny parasites in humans. The FDA has tried to debunk claims that animal-strength versions of the drug can help fight Covid-19, warning that large doses can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, seizures, delirium and even death.
Speaking of Australia and the surrounding Pacific area, Australian and British and navy ships arrived in Tonga on Wednesday and attempted to deliver contactless aid ashore to avoid spreading Covid in a nation which has so far never had an outbreak.
Nearly two dozen sailors aboard the Australian ship HMAS Adelaide were reported to be infected on Tuesday, raising fears they could bring the coronavirus to the small Pacific archipelago devastated by an undersea volcanic eruption and a tsunami on 15 January.
Since the pandemic began, Tonga has reported just a single case of Covid-19. It’s one of the few countries in the world currently completely virus free. About 61% of Tongans are fully vaccinated, according to Our World in Data.
Meanwhile, the US announced it would provide an additional $2.5 million in humanitarian assistance to Tonga through the US Agency for International Development. The aid was in addition to an initial pledge of $100,000.
The Australian government said its ship had completed the 3,300-km (2,050-mile) voyage from Brisbane and would deliver supplies without contact with the local population to avoid infections.
“We appreciate the decision of the government of Tonga to enable HMAS Adelaide to dock and offload the humanitarian and medical supplies, and the high priority it has placed on Covid safety throughout the recovery process,” the statement said.
“The ship is undertaking an entirely contactless delivery of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief supplies.”
Hello it’s Samantha Lock back with you on the blog as my colleague Tom Ambrose calls it a night in London.
I’ll be bringing you all the international headlines from over here in Sydney, Australia.
Let’s start with a quick look at how Covid is unfolding Down Under.
Australia’s most populous state of NSW has recorded 29 deaths and 17,316 cases while Victoria recorded 15 Covid deaths and 13,755 cases.
Moderna has started testing an Omicron-specific Covid booster in healthy adults.
The company announced on Wednesday that the first participant had received a dose. Earlier this week, competitor Pfizer began a similar study of its own reformulated shots.
The Associated Press reported:
It’s not clear whether global health authorities will order a change to the vaccine recipe in the wake of the hugely contagious omicron variant. The original vaccines still offer good protection against death and severe illness. Studies in the US and elsewhere show a booster dose strengthens that protection and improves the chances of avoiding even a milder infection.
Moderna pointed to a small study published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday that showed antibodies able to target omicron persisted for six months after a booster dose, although the levels were dropping.
Moderna’s new study will enrol about 600 people who already have received either two doses of the company’s original shots or two plus a booster dose. All the volunteers will receive a dose of the experimental omicron-matched version.
Brazil has reported 224,567 new cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours, breaking the country’s previous record for daily infections, according to data released by the health ministry.
The South American country also reported 570 deaths from Covid. The previous record for daily cases was 204,854 on January 19.
Brazil has now registered a total of 24,535,884 cases and 624,413 deaths.
Italy will ease Covid restrictions for all visitors from European Union countries starting from 1 February, its health ministry said on Wednesday.
Minister of health Roberto Speranza has signed an order stating that travellers from EU countries will only need a “green pass,” it said in statement.
The Green Pass, is a document showing proof of Covid immunity through vaccination, previous infection or a negative test. On 14 December, Italy had ruled that all EU visitors had to take a test before departure, amid concerns over the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
According to the ministry, Speranza’s order also renews the go-ahead for travel to a number of non-European tourist spots, widening it to six other destinations: Cuba, Singapore, Turkey, Thailand (limited to the island of Phuket), Oman and French Polynesia.
In September 2021, Italy had set up these so-called Covid-free tourist corridors: Maldives, Seychelles, Mauritius, Egypt (but only Sharm El Sheikh and Marsa Alam), Dominican Republic and Aruba.
Israel has broadened its eligibility for a fourth dose of the Covid vaccine to include adults under 60 with underlying medical conditions, their carers and others over 18 at significant risk of exposure to coronavirus.
An official statement said the health ministry’s director-general had approved the measures.
Earlier this month, as the Omicron variant swept the country, Israel began offering a fourth dose, meaning a second booster, of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine to people over 60.
The United States has donated more than 400m vaccine doses to 112 countries, marking a major milestone in the White House’s goal of donating 1.2bn vaccine doses under president Joe Biden’s direction.
In a press briefing on Wednesday, the White House Covid-19 response coordinator, Jeff Zients, said the donation is four times larger than that of any other country.
Zients also revealed that the country hit another major milestone this week, with 70% of eligible seniors in the US having now received their booster shot. Half of all eligible adults in the country are now boosted.
“This is significant progress, as the doctors and data have made crystal clear. Vaccinations and boosters provide the best protection,” Zients said.
The daily averages of cases and hospital admissions have fallen over the past week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The current seven-day daily average of Covid-19 cases is approximately 692,400 cases per day, a 6% decrease from the previous week, while the seven-day average of hospital admissions is around 19,800 per day, an 8% decrease.
Also in Denmark, the government announced today that it will scrap most pandemic restrictions next week, even as neighbouring Sweden extended its own measures for another fortnight.
Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen said that as of 1 February, Danes will enjoy free access to restaurants, cafes, museums and nightclubs, while mask use will cease to be mandatory.
“We say goodbye to the restrictions and welcome the life we knew before” the pandemic, Frederiksen said. “As of 1 February, Denmark will be open.”
Denmark currently requires face masks on public transportation, in shops, for standing clients in restaurant indoor areas, and for people entering hospitals, health care facilities and retirement homes. As of 1 February, the government will only recommend mask use in hospitals, health care facilities and homes for the elderly.
Frederiksen said that while the Omicron variant is surging in Denmark, it is not placing a heavy burden on the health system and the country has a high vaccination rate.
“It may seem strange that we want to remove restrictions given the high infection rates,” she said. “But fewer people become seriously ill.”
Hello. Tom Ambrose here, taking over the global Covid live blog for the next couple of hours. I’ll be bringing you all the latest coronavirus news as it happens.
Let’s start with the news that the BA.2 subvariant of the Omicron coronavirus variant appears more contagious than the more common BA.1 sub-lineage, Danish health minister Magnus Heunicke has said.
“There is no evidence that the BA.2 variant causes more disease, but it must be more contagious,” Heunicke told a news conference today.
The BA.1 lineage currently accounts for 98% of all cases globally but in Denmark has been pushed aside by BA.2, which became the dominant strain in the second week of January. The UK Health Security Agency has designated BA.2 a variant under investigation, saying it could have a growth advantage.
Preliminary calculations suggest BA.2 could be 1.5 times more infectious than BA.1, Denmark’s top infectious disease authority, Statens Serum Institut (SSI), said in a note on Wednesday. However, an initial analysis by the institute showed no difference in the risk of hospitalisation for BA.2 compared to BA.1.