Coronavirus latest news: Oxford vaccine could see herd immunity by the summer, Sage expert says

Max Stephens
A mass vaccination drive was launched across Europe yesterday with the elderly and health workers being given priority - Martin Divisek/Shutterstock
A mass vaccination drive was launched across Europe yesterday with the elderly and health workers being given priority - Martin Divisek/Shutterstock

The Oxford University vaccine could see Britain achieve herd immunity by the summer, according to a leading scientist.

Professor Calum Semple, a respiratory disease expert and member of the Government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), said the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine is a "game changer" in the battle against coronavirus ahead of it's potential approval in the coming days.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Prof Semple said: "Obviously there is an urgency about this and we know that it is difficult to vaccinate lots of people at the same time - we've got a population of just under 70 million people and we're going to move through them in an orderly fashion vaccinating people most at risk.

"The people that have been vaccinated will be protected within a matter of weeks and that's very important.

"On an individual basis these vaccines are so good that they will protect individuals, so we don't have to wait for this nonsense about herd immunity developing through natural infection, we can start to protect the individuals.

"To get the wider community herd immunity from vaccination rather than through natural infection will take probably 70% to 80% of the population to be vaccinated, and that, I'm afraid, is going to take us right into the summer I expect."

A Government source has said that a vaccine army of “tens of thousands” of medics and volunteers have been recruited and are ready to administer millions of jabs each week from next month.

Follow the latest updates below.

11:11 AM

Japan PM says 'virus recognises no holidays', urges ministers' vigilance

 Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Monday asked his ministers to remain ready to implement measures to prevent the further spread of coronavirus infections, after daily case numbers hit a string of record highs in recent days.

"The virus recognises no year-end or New Year holidays. I ask each minister to raise the level of their sense of urgency and thoroughly carry out counter measures," Suga told a meeting of the government's Covid-19 taskforce. 

11:02 AM

Scottish clinicians reveal grave fears that NHS facing winter 'perfect storm'

Scotland’s NHS is close to breaking point and a surge of Covid-19 cases in the new year could leave the service overwhelmed, senior medical leaders have warned.

In a stark warning, members of the Scottish Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and Faculties said they feared coronavirus vaccines had come too late to save the NHS from a "perfect storm" of problems this winter.

The whole of mainland Scotland went into a level four lockdown on Boxing Day, meaning the closure of hospitality venues, non-essential shops and gyms.

However, experts are nervous about the impact a relaxation on Christmas Day will have on case numbers, after evidence emerged to suggest new strains of the virus are significantly more transmissible.

Daniel Sanderson has the full story here

10:50 AM

Trump signs $900bn coronavirus relief package

Donald Trump has signed a $900bn coronavirus relief package to help the US economy recover from the pandemic, after threatening to reject the bill last week.

The aid package was agreed by Democrats and Republicans in Congress late last Sunday, after months of negotiations.

But Trump unexpectedly demanded that the package, which had already been passed by the House and Senate and was believed to have Trump’s support, be revised to include larger relief checks and scaled-back spending on foreign aid.

Trump said: “As president, I have told Congress that I want far less wasteful spending and more money going to the American people in the form of $2,000 checks per adult and $600 per child."

What does the bill offer?

  • $286bn in direct economic relief, with more than half going on payments of $600 to individuals.

  • The US government will also restart pandemic unemployment benefits at $300 a week, which will last until 14 March. 

  • Additional funding for businesses, the arts, and foreign aid

10:43 AM

Germany's death toll passes 30,000

Germany's confirmed death toll in the pandemic has passed 30,000 as the country hopes its new lockdown will bring down case numbers.

The national disease control centre, the Robert Koch Institute, said today that another 348 deaths were reported over the past 24 hours, bringing the country's total to 30,126.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases by 10,976 to 1.65 million. That increase is much lower than a week ago, but lower testing and reporting over the Christmas period likely accounts for much of the difference.

Germany had a relatively low death rate in the first phase of the pandemic but has seen hundreds of deaths per day in recent weeks. Among major European nations, Italy, the U.K., France and Spain still have higher death tolls.

A national lockdown on December 16 with the closure of schools and most shops is scheduled to remain in place until January 10 and appears likely to be extended. 

10:33 AM

Keeping schools open is a price to pay even if it increases R number, Tory MPs say

Keeping schools open is a price that should be paid even if it increases the R number, Tory MPs have told the Prime Minister as they accuse scientists of “scaring” parents and children.

A number of backbenchers are understood to have urged Boris Johnson to him to keep schools open in the event of another national lockdown.

Their intervention comes ahead of crunch talks due to take place today between Number 10 and Department for Education officials about whether to delay the return to the classroom in January.

Downing Street has repeatedly said that keeping schools open is a "national priority" but scientists are warning that closures may be necessary to slow the spread of the new Covid-19 variant.

Camilla Turner has the full story here

10:26 AM

Thai governor of Covid hotspot infected

The governor of a province at the centre of an expanding Covid-19 outbreak in Thailand has been confirmed infected with the virus after meeting with public health officials, including the deputy prime minister.

The meeting, attended by governor Weerasak Wijitsaengsri and Deputy PM Anutin Charnvirakul was considered "low risk" because everyone wore masks, said Dr Taweesilp Visanuyotin, a spokesman for the Covid-19 response centre.

The governor did not have symptoms but would be treated at a hospital, Taweesilp said.

Anutin, who is also Thailand's public health minister, wrote on Facebook that he has tested negative for the virus and is isolating at home for 14 days.

Thailand reported 144 new cases Monday, most of them locally transmitted, and its total has reached 6,285.

10:16 AM

Chinese citizen journalist jailed for four years over Wuhan coronavirus reports

A Chinese court sentenced a citizen journalist to four years in prison on Monday for her reports from Wuhan during the early stages of the coronavirus outbreak.

Zhang Zhan, 37, was found guilty of picking quarrels and provoking trouble after a brief hearing in Shanghai, according to one of her defence lawyers, Ren Quanniu.

She had faced up to five years on the charge, which authorities regularly use to detain activists and other dissidents.  

Zhang Zhan, a 37-year-old former lawyer, has been held in detention since she was arrested in May
Zhang Zhan, a 37-year-old former lawyer, has been held in detention since she was arrested in May

Zhang, a former lawyer, had travelled to Wuhan in early February to chronicle the chaotic early stages and residents’ experiences of the coronavirus outbreak

She posted reports and livestreamed scenes from the city on WeChat, Facebook and Twitter, including evidence of crematoriums operating at midnight as the death toll rose. 

The former lawyer has been in detention since May and is in deteriorating health. She has been on a hunger strike for months to protest her detention, and has been subjected to force-feeding through a nasal tube, according to her lawyers.

10:07 AM

Philippines troops and ministers get Covid-19 vaccine before approval

Some Philippine soldiers and cabinet ministers have already received Covid-19 vaccine injections, officials said on Monday, despite an absence of regulatory approval. 

Interior minister, Eduardo Ano, said some cabinet members have already been inoculated and army chief, Lieutenant General Cirilito Sobejana, said some troops had been vaccinated but the number was not large.

Neither said what brand of vaccine was administered.

The health ministry in a statement said all vaccines must first be evaluated by experts, and "only vaccines which have been approved and found to be safe should be administered".

Food and Drug Administration head Rolando Enrique Domingo said Philippine regulators have yet to approve any Covid-19 vaccine, making any importation, distribution and sale of one illegal.

10:04 AM

Michael Gove says schools will reopen next week but warns of trade offs with wider lockdowns

Michael Gove has insisted primary pupils and some secondary schools will reopen next but warns there will be trade offs with potential wider lockdowns. 

The Cabinet Office minister said the Government was confident younger pupils and those in Years 11 and 13 in England would be able to return in the first week of January, with the rest going back later in the month.

He said: "It is our intention to make sure we can get children back to school as early as possible.  We are talking to teachers and head teachers in order to make sure we can deliver effectively. But we all know that there are trade-offs."

Mr Gove said that children returning to school had to be a priority  as he cautioned that this had to be balanced against the new strain of the virus. 

Danielle Sheridan has the full story here

09:54 AM

South Korea detects first coronavirus variant cases

Three cases of a particularly infectious coronavirus variant that recently emerged in Britain have been confirmed in South Korea, health authorities said Monday.

The three individuals are members of a London-based family who arrived in the country on December 22, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.

They have been placed in isolation since testing positive for Covid-19 on arrival, the KDCA statement said.

The new strain of the virus emerged earlier this month in Britain and has already reached several European countries, as well as Canada, Jordan and Japan.

Workers wearing PPE disinfect chairs at the arrival hall of the Incheon International Airport in South Korea - Kim Sun-woong 
Workers wearing PPE disinfect chairs at the arrival hall of the Incheon International Airport in South Korea - Kim Sun-woong

09:47 AM

Pfizer delays vaccine deliveries to eight EU nations

Pfizer has postponed the delivery of new batches of its coronavirus vaccine to eight European nations including Spain, the Spanish health ministry said Monday, a day after the EU began its immunisation campaign.

The Spanish branch of Pfizer informed Madrid on Sunday night of the delay in shipments to the eight nations due to a "problem in the loading and shipment process" at its plant in Belgium, the health ministry said in a statement.

It did not specify which European nations aside from Spain were affected.

Pfizer has informed the ministry that the problem "was already resolved" but the next delivery of vaccines "will be a few hours late" and arrive in Spain on Tuesday, a day later than expected, the statement said.

Healthworkers applaud as vials of the vaccine are delivered to the La Bonne Maison de Bouzanton care home in Mons, Belgium, - Francisco Seco 
Healthworkers applaud as vials of the vaccine are delivered to the La Bonne Maison de Bouzanton care home in Mons, Belgium, - Francisco Seco

09:39 AM

Indonesia bans international visitors for two weeks over new virus strain

International visitors will be barred from entering Indonesia for a two-week period in a bid to stem the spread of a new potentially more contagious strain of the virus, its foreign minister Retno Marsudi announced today.

The new regulation, effective from January 1, comes days after Indonesia banned travellers from Britain and tightened rules for those arriving from Europe and Australia to limit the spread of the new strain.

Earlier this year Indonesia had banned all visits from tourists all tourists with exemptions only made for business travellers.

The new restrictions will apply to all foreign visitors with the exception of high-level government officials, she said.

09:33 AM

Lag before benefits felt of Tier 4 restrictions, says medical chief

The president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine has said there will be a lag before the NHS feels the benefit of the Tier 4 restrictions imposed on London and the south east.

Dr Katherine Henderson told BBC Breakfast: "We will hope to start seeing the benefits in London of the Tier 4 restrictions and transmission rates but there is a big lag.

"All the people we are seeing at the moment were infected two weeks ago."

09:25 AM

Non-urgent care paused in Scotland due to Covid-19.

The President of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow said non-urgent care will have to be paused in Scotland due to Covid-19.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Dr Jackie Taylor said: "Everybody has been working over the last nine months to try and ensure that we catch up with the backlog, and we will continue to do that.

"But the harsh reality is that some places that are under pressure, some of that non-urgent work will have to be paused, we have to focus on urgent work and we have to be able to roll out the vaccination programme."

She added: "There are hidden harms from Covid both in terms of operations and all sorts of other social and mental health and economic harms which we are all very, very aware of."

09:20 AM

Close schools in January, warns Sage

Government scientists have told Boris Johnson in direct terms that he has to keep secondary schools closed in January and potentially order a stricter national lockdown than the one he implemented in November. 

The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), delivered the new advice at a meeting last week, sources have told Politico. 

Sage's advice was that the reproduction rate of the virus - knows as R - might be kept below 1 if schools stay closed in January.

The advisory body found that closing secondary schools would have a bigger impact than shutting primary schools.

09:13 AM

Government not ruling out all of England placed into Tier 4

Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove has not ruled out the whole of England being moved into Tier 4 restrictions.

He told BBC Breakfast: "We review which tiers parts of the country should be in on the basis of scientific evidence.

"The Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC) will be making a recommendation to ministers, but I can't pre-empt that because it obviously has to be a judgment based on the medical situation.

"As you quite rightly point out, the NHS is under pressure and these are difficult months ahead."

09:05 AM

'Cost' for allowing household mixing in Scotland on Christmas Day, warns medical chief

The President of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow has said there will be a "cost" for allowing household mixing in Scotland on Christmas Day.

Prof Jackie Taylor said: "When there is increased mixing we know there is likely to be increased transmission, (Scotland's) levels have never fallen to the kind of levels that we would have wished, so we are starting from a higher base.

"In addition, the new variant strain we are seeing does appear to be significantly more transmissible and that does give us great cause for concern, when we add that to the usual winter pressures we are really very anxious for the potential of a further huge surge of cases."

I think it is absolutely right that the restrictions were only flexed for that day but, inevitably, there will be a cost for this.

08:58 AM

Hospitals 'wall to wall' with Covid-19 patients on Christmas Day

The president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine has warned hospitals were "wall to wall" with Covid-19 patients on Christmas Day.

Dr Katherine Henderson told BBC Breakfast: "We see patients who are coming in who have Covid symptoms and then we have other people coming in with other symptoms who turn out to be Covid positive.

"Between that, there's a great deal of difficulty getting those patients through into the wards."

08:50 AM

Pfizer delays delivery of vaccine to Spain

Pfizer has postponed the delivery of a new batch of the coronavirus vaccine to Spain by one day to Tuesday due to a logistics hurdle, Health Minister Salvador Illa said on Monday.

The company suffered an incident related to the control of temperature in the process of loading and sending out the vaccines, the minister said, adding the incident is now solved.

"They (vaccines) will be available tomorrow first thing in the morning in vaccination points," Illa said in an interview to Cadena SER radio station. Spain started vaccinating people on Sunday.

He expected around 70 per cent of the country's population to be immunised by the end of the summer.

08:43 AM

Little sign of vaccine hesitancy among elderly, says GP

Practice GP Dr Fari Ahmad has said that so far there has been little sign of "vaccine hesitancy" among the first groups to receive the Pfizer jab.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, she said: "What's really interesting is a lot of the over-80s are very happy to have the vaccine.

"I think they do understand how much of a difference it will make to them individually and they're probably the ones that have been shielding, and it's had a massive impact on them.

"As we move through the age ranges I certainly think there will be some vaccine hesitancy, but I would hope that people will have seen the benefits of it."

Respiratory disease expert and Sage member Prof Calum Semple added the UK's existing mass-vaccination programmes will help speed up the process.

"The technology for identifying people and logistics is built into our system - it's going to have to be stepped up to do many, many more people in a shorter period of time, but that is feasible."

08:41 AM

Reopening of schools in January to go ahead, says Michael Gove

Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove has said the Government hopes the staggered reopening of schools in England will go ahead in January as planned.

"We always keep things under review but teachers and head teachers have been working incredibly hard over the Christmas period since schools broke up in order to prepare for a new testing regime - community testing - in order to make sure that children and all of us are safer," he told Sky News.

"We do keep things under review but that is the plan."

07:42 AM

Greg Norman in hospital - again - after testing positive

Greg Norman is back in hospital in Florida after the Australian golfing star tested positive for Covid-19, the 65-year-old said late on Sunday.

Norman, whose two major titles came at the British Open in 1986 and 1993,  said he tested negative at the exhibition PNC Championship in Orlando from December 19-20 but began to experience a fever and joint and muscle aches later in the week.

Greg Norman and son Greg Norman Jnr during the final round of the PNC Championship in Orlando, Florida - Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images
Greg Norman and son Greg Norman Jnr during the final round of the PNC Championship in Orlando, Florida - Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

He went to hospital on Christmas Day and returned home to self-isolate on Saturday while awaiting the results of another test.

"I hope this will be my final update on this Covid saga ... back in hospital after getting a positive result," he said on Instagram, adding he was receiving an infusion of antibodies.

"The path to full recovery. Hoping to be out later today."

Norman said that despite being fit and strong and having a high tolerance for pain, the "hideous" virus had "kicked the crap out of me like nothing I have ever experienced before".

"Muscle and joint pain on another level. Headaches that feel like a chisel going through your head scraping little bits off each time, fever, muscles that just did not want to work.

"Then my taste failed, where beer tastes bad and wine the same ... at times struggling with memory of names and things."

Norman's son, also named Greg, had played with his father at the PNC Championship and confirmed he and his wife had tested positive. 

His son re-shared Norman's Instagram post on Twitter (see below).

07:02 AM

News briefs from around the world

  • The United States government will require all airline passengers arriving from the UK to test negative for Covid-19 within 72 hours of departure starting on Monday.

  • Argentina will start vaccinations on Tuesday using the recently delivered Sputnik V vaccine from Russia.

  • Iran has reported the lowest daily fatalities in more than three months.

  • US President Donald Trump has signed into law a $2.3 trillion (£1.7 trillion) pandemic aid and spending package.

  • South Korea has extended social distancing measures for another six days - until January 3 - with the country reporting near-record numbers of new cases each day.

  • Brazilian vice-president Hamilton Mourão has tested positive for coronavirus.

06:42 AM

African nation records one million coronavirus cases

South Africa has logged its millionth case of Covid-19 as the pandemic shows no signs of letting up.

Global infections have raced past 80 million with nearly 1.8 million deaths, even as vaccination drives gather pace in North America and Europe, with a top US expert warning that the pandemic might get even worse in coming weeks.

The explosion of cases worldwide in recent weeks has prompted the return of many unpopular restrictions.

South Africa became the first African nation to log one million cases, official data showed on Sunday, as authorities considered reimposing restrictions to battle a second wave of infections driven by the new variant.

06:37 AM

For those who miss their grandmother's honest truths...

"This has been the year of Granny Appreciation," writes Shane Watson.

"Ten months without proper granny contact has left us craving those words of advice, beady observations and practical tips that we used to mildly resent."

For those who didn’t get their granny/mum fix this Christmas, click the link below for a quick reminder of what you probably missed...

READ MORE: Granny knows best: The advice that we missed in 2020

Words of wisdom from Gran - Diamond Dogs/iStockphoto
Words of wisdom from Gran - Diamond Dogs/iStockphoto

06:29 AM

NHS staff told to prepare for Oxford vaccine​

Frontline NHS workers have been told they will soon receive the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, as regulators look set to approve the coronavirus treatment this week.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency could give the go-ahead for the British vaccine as early as Monday, a decision which would rapidly speed up the vaccination rollout across the UK.

Although there were concerns that the Oxford jab may not be as effective as the Pfizer version, AstraZeneca said it was due to publish new data showing efficacy is now around 95 per cent.

Read the full story here.

06:21 AM

The true cost of Covid on our nation's retail soul

"The coronavirus pandemic, and the measures taken to try and bring it under control, have wreaked havoc across our high streets," writes Rosa Silverman in The Telegraph.

"With trade brought to a grinding halt and their life blood all but cut off, shops, restaurants, cafes, pubs, bars, hairdressers and beauty salons have struggled to stay afloat. 

"Many thousands haven’t prevailed. Shocking new figures compiled by the Local Data Company and published exclusively in The Telegraph lay bare the extent of the damage."

READ MORE: Lost Britain: the true cost of Covid on our nation's retail soul – revealed

We have gathered the stories of small business owners who have seen everything they had lovingly built crumble to nothing
We have gathered the stories of small business owners who have seen everything they had lovingly built crumble to nothing

06:06 AM

Volunteer army ready to distribute Covid vaccine

An army of more than 10,000 medics and volunteers has been recruited by the NHS to help deliver the Oxford Covid-19 vaccine, once it is given approval. 

The Telegraph has learnt that teams are trained and ready to begin giving the jab at sports stadia and race courses across the country, with a target of vaccinating at least a million people each week. 

The Oxford/AstraZeneca jab could be approved early next week, after the final cut of data was submitted by the Government last Monday.

Officials have pinpointed January 4, 2021, as the date the rollout of the mass vaccination programme will begin. 

READ MORE: 10,000 medics and volunteers recruited to administer jab

06:02 AM

Crowds banned for New Year fireworks on Sydney foreshore

This won't be happening this year -  Rick Rycroft/AP
This won't be happening this year - Rick Rycroft/AP

Sydney, one of the world's first major cities to welcome each New Year with a public countdown featuring a fireworks display over its well-known Opera House, has banned large gatherings that night amid an outbreak of coronavirus.

A mid-December resurgence in the city's northern beach suburbs has grown to 125 cases after five new infections were recorded on Monday. About a quarter of million of people there must stay in strict lockdown until January 9.

That has led to further restrictions of the already toned-down plans for New Year's Eve.

New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian banned most people from Sydney's CBD that night and limited outdoor gatherings to 50 people.

"We don't want to create any super-spreading events on New Year's Eve, which then ruins it for everybody across the state moving forward," Ms Berejiklian said.

NSW Police have issued 15 notices in Sydney for breaking public health orders since Christmas Eve.

"I would say to those people half contemplating doing anything stupid in the next few days, forget it," NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said.

05:42 AM

Cases of new strain reported in Norway and Canada

Mutant coronavirus strains spread further across the world this weekend, with new cases detected in countries including Portugal, Norway and Canada.

Health officials in Ontario said that two confirmed cases of the new and highly infectious coronavirus variant, which was first detected in the UK, had appeared in the Canadian province.

On the Portuguese island of Madeira, cases of the new strain have been found, according to local officials.

Norway confirmed that at least two people who returned recently from Britain were infected with the variant.

READ MORE: More cases of new coronavirus strain reported in Norway, Canada and Portuguese island

03:03 AM

UK variant reaches South Korea

Three cases of a particularly infectious coronavirus variant that recently emerged in Britain have been confirmed in South Korea, health authorities said on Monday.

The three individuals are members of a London-based family who arrived in the country on December 22, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.

A worker sprays disinfectant as a preventative measure against the spread of coronavirus, outside a makeshift clinic in Seoul, South Korea - KIM CHUL-SOO/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
A worker sprays disinfectant as a preventative measure against the spread of coronavirus, outside a makeshift clinic in Seoul, South Korea - KIM CHUL-SOO/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

They have been placed in isolation since testing positive for Covid-19 on arrival.

The new strain of the virus emerged earlier this month in Britain and has already reached several European countries, as well as Canada, Jordan and Japan.

READ MORE: Three cases of 'UK variant' of coronavirus detected in South Korea

02:26 AM

Today's top stories

Latest Stories

  • After naming bombing suspect, focus turns to motive

    With federal officials having identified the man believed to be behind Nashville's Christmas Day bombing, authorities now turn to the monumental task of piecing together the motive behind the explosion that severely damaged dozens of downtown buildings and injured three people. While officials on Sunday named Anthony Quinn Warner, 63, as the man behind the mysterious explosion in which he was killed, the motive has remained elusive. “These answers won't come quickly and will still require a lot of our team's efforts," FBI Special Agent Doug Korneski said at a Sunday news conference.

  • Seven killed in knife attack in China's Liaoning province

    At least seven people are killed in a stabbing frenzy in the city of Kaiyuan, with a suspect in custody.

  • Hundreds of British holidaymakers escape from quarantine in Verbier

    Hundreds of British skiers forced to quarantine in the Swiss resort of Verbier have escaped from their quarters, as a local politician complained it was nearly impossible to control the coronavirus due to Europe's porous borders. The holiday-makers were ordered to isolate for 10 days in their accommodation after the UK announced it had detected a mutation of the coronavirus. But on Sunday, hoteliers informed officials that breakfast trays were left untouched outside guests’ rooms and calls were unanswered. Of the 420 Britons identified by authorities as being in the luxury resort when the quarantine was hastily enforced, less than a dozen remained by Sunday. From midnight on December 20, Switzerland banned flights from the UK and put in place a retroactive 10-day quarantine for Britons who had arrived since December 14. On December 24, Swiss authorities then announced Britons were allowed to return home, even those in quarantine if special measures were taken which included informing cantonal authorities of their mode of transport. Christophe Darbellay, the President of the Valais government, defended his office against accusations that too little was done to enforce the quarantine. He said: “Some guests left by car and are now in quarantine in the UK. “There is a sense of personal responsibility. You can travel all over Europe without having to identify yourself. The border is a sieve.” He criticised the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), saying passenger information was delivered too late. He said: “Passenger data was missing. Our work was made unnecessarily difficult.” The FOPH denied this and said it had requested airline data for the 92 UK flights that had arrived since December 14 and gave the cantons data on Wednesday. Simon Wiget, the Director of Verbier Tourist Office, told The Daily Telegraph that the rules were confusing. He said: “It was a drip, drip of information that we had and we informed tourists about the rules as best we could. “We called all the hotels and tour operators and said that people who had travelled from the UK had to announce themselves to the Swiss authorities.

  • Scientists home in on potential cause of rare COVID-19 vaccine allergic reactions

    Scientists are homing in on the potential cause of allergic reactions to the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recorded six severe allergic reactions (all of which were treated successfully) out of the 272,001 doses administered through Dec. 19, and the compound polyethylene glycol, known as PEG, has become a leading suspect in the cases, The Wall Street Journal reports. While still speculative at this point — allergies to PEG are rare and the reactions may have been to something else, per the Journal — PEG is found in other drugs, cosmetics, and food and is known to trigger anaphylaxis on rare occasions, though not all forms of the compound are "equal" in terms of allergic potential.Part of the challenge of pinpointing PEG as the likely catalyst for the reactions is that the compound in the vaccines "is different than what has been previously associated with allergic reactions," James Baker, an immunologist who heads the Michigan Nanotechnology Institute for Medicine and the Biological Sciences at the University of Michigan, told the Journal.PEG is also found in the Moderna vaccine. A health care worker became the first known person to experience an allergic reaction to that shot on Thursday. Dr. Hossein Sadrzadeh, who said he has a history of allergies, reported tingling sensations, an elevated heart rate, and low blood pressure shortly after his inoculation. The symptoms were akin to a reaction he had previously had to shellfish, he said. He was discharged a few hours later.The incidents, while concerning, are rare — more than 1 million Americans have been vaccinated — and scientists and public health officials maintain the vaccines are safe, effective, and crucial to ending the pandemic. Read more at The Wall Street Journal and CNN.More stories from theweek.com Trump reportedly wants to 'inflict as much pain on Congress as possible' Congress signals it will mostly ignore Trump's post-signing demands on $2.3 trillion spending package The best movies of 2020

  • Piecemeal data releases threaten to undermine Sinovac's COVID-19 vaccine

    Fragmental releases of efficacy data for the COVID-19 vaccine developed by China's Sinovac could undermine confidence in the shot, experts warned, as several countries prepare for mass inoculations with the vaccine. Turkish researchers said on Thursday Sinovac's CoronaVac was 91.25% effective based on an interim analysis only to see a confusing readout the same day from Brazil which said the vaccine's efficacy was between 50% and 90%. Brazil has also delayed release of its efficacy data on the vaccine three times, as Sinovac seeks to consolidate data from global trials that include Indonesia, Turkey and Chile.

  • Hezbollah says it has doubled its arsenal of guided missiles

    The leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah said Sunday his group now has twice as many precision-guided missiles as it had a year ago, saying Israel's efforts to prevent it from acquiring them have failed. Hassan Nasrallah, in an end-of-year interview with the Beirut-based Al-Mayadeen TV, said his group has the capability to strike anywhere in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. Nasrallah said that when Israel threatened through a U.S. official to target a Hezbollah facility in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa region, his group warned it would retaliate for any such attack.

  • Suspect in Christmas explosion in Nashville died in blast, investigators say

    "We can tell you Anthony Warner is the man believed to be responsible for this horrible crime," a police official said.

  • Three cases of 'UK variant' of coronavirus detected in South Korea

    Three cases of a particularly infectious coronavirus variant that recently emerged in Britain have been confirmed in South Korea, health authorities said on Monday. The three individuals are members of a London-based family who arrived in the country on December 22, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. They have been placed in isolation since testing positive for Covid-19 on arrival, the KDCA statement said. The new strain of the virus emerged earlier this month in Britain and has already reached several European countries, as well as Canada, Jordan and Japan. The new strain, which experts fear is more contagious, prompted more than 50 countries to impose travel restrictions on Britain. South Korea was among them and has barred flights from Britain until the end of the year. South Korean authorities are also looking into the case of an elderly South Korean man who posthumously tested positive for Covid-19 after returning from Britain earlier this month. The announcement came as a third wave of the virus grips the country, with a resurgence centred on the greater Seoul area seeing daily cases climb to over 1,000 several times this month despite stricter distancing measures.

  • China can still salvage 'one country, two systems' in Hong Kong – here's how

    Authorities in Hong Kong may have hoped to start 2020 by putting a turbulent period of sustained, often violent protests behind them. Instead hundreds of thousands of protesters ushered in the new year by taking to the streets. Around 400 were arrested as protesters continued their push for political reform on the densely populated island.The clash between the government and demonstrators is now seven months long and has served to further erode Hong Kongers’ trust in China’s commitment to the “one country, two systems” formula. Under that principle, the region was granted a degree of autonomy over its own matters in 1997. But a perception that Beijing is increasingly imposing its authority has led not only to a more militant protest movement, but one that is eyeing separation from the mainland.As a political scientist who has closely followed political developments in Hong Kong over the last decade, I have watched trust in Beijing ebb away during the sustained unrest.If China wants to correct this course and convince Hong Kongers that their best hope lies in autonomy rather than independence, then I believe it must permit genuine democracy in the region. Cycle of unrestThe people of Hong Kong have not had much of a say in their own destiny. Not only did they lack political power as a colony of the British, but they also weren’t consulted in the drafting of the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration that set the terms for the 1997 handover of the territory from the United Kingdom to the People’s Republic of China. Nevertheless, that agreement offered an implicit bargain to Hong Kongers: They would submit to Beijing’s sovereignty in return for the promise of a “high degree of autonomy” on the basis of “one country, two systems.”Over the past two decades, major outbreaks of unrest in Hong Kong have followed attempts by Beijing to impose unwanted measures that violate this bargain. Large-scale protests beat back Beijing-directed legislative proposals dealing with sedition in 2003, national education in 2012 and extradition last year. The Umbrella Movement protests of 2014 succeeded in stymieing Beijing’s proposed revisions to Hong Kong’s system for selecting its chief executive, but protesters’ demands for universal suffrage and an open nomination process were rejected.Many Hong Kongers consider this interference a violation of the promised autonomy built into the terms of the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law, Hong Kong’s mini-constitution. This interference reinforces fears that the city will lose its autonomy entirely after 2047, the end point of commitments made under the Joint Declaration.With only limited and inadequate democratic mechanisms at their disposal, Hong Kongers have developed a vibrant and increasingly militant protest culture as a primary means for exercising political influence. Autonomy or independence?Efforts to steer Hong Kong toward greater integration with the mainland have backfired, undermining trust in Beijing’s promise of a “high degree of autonomy.” The result is an ongoing cycle of radicalization. The focal point for many protesters has moved away from any one particular issue to focus on the fundamental status of Hong Kong’s relationship to China. Growing numbers of people are questioning why they should keep their side of the bargain – accepting Beijing’s sovereignty over Hong Kong. According to a recent Reuters poll, 17% of Hong Kongers express outright support for independence from China, while another 20% express dissatisfaction with the “one country, two systems” model. Moreover, 59% of respondents said they supported the recent protests and over one-third had themselves attended a protest.According to a separate survey, support for eventual independence among young people approaches 40%. Many young people have also come to reject any “Chinese” identity in favor of a “Hong Kong” identity.The depth of discontent among Hong Kongers was reflected in the District Council elections held on Nov. 24. These low-level posts have traditionally been dominated by pro-Beijing political parties. The recent elections, however, brought a record turnout with pro-democratic parties winning close to 90% of contested positions. Beijing’s miscalculationTo blunt the growth of separatist sentiment in Hong Kong, Beijing must tackle what social scientists call a “commitment problem.” In any negotiation, each side will cooperate only if they believe that the other side is both willing and able to carry out any commitments made as part of the bargain. If either side believes the other side’s commitments lack credibility, then cooperation fails. What China needs to do now is show that it is committed to respecting the autonomy promises embodied in the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law.I believe the best way to do that is for Beijing to stop manipulating governance of the city. As long as selection of the chief executive and a majority of the Legislative Council lies in Beijing’s hands, it will be difficult for the mainland to resist meddling in Hong Kong’s affairs and for Hong Kongers to feel that autonomy offers them any real say over their fate.In other words, Beijing could undercut calls for independence and interrupt the cycle of mass protests by offering Hong Kongers the ability to select their leaders through free and fair elections.Beijing badly miscalculated in 2014 when it proposed electoral reforms that fell far short of the demands of Hong Kong’s pan-democratic camp, a coalition of parties that advocate universal suffrage. As a consequence, older, mainstream leaders lost control of the protest movement to younger, more militant activists. By 2019, young radicals resorted to violent street actions coupled with harsh anti-Beijing rhetoric. Yet a move toward democracy could still calm the waters provided the process allowed for genuine and effective local participation.This proposal may be far-fetched. Indeed, some accounts suggest that leaders in Beijing are laying plans to move in the opposite direction by taking more direct control over Hong Kong’s political and legal institutions. Moreover, Beijing worries that full democracy in Hong Kong might lead to demands for the same elsewhere in China.If a democratic solution to China’s Hong Kong problem appears unattractive to Beijing, the alternatives may be worse. The current cycle of provocation, protest, radicalization and rising separatism can lead to only one eventual result: a violent crackdown that would damage China’s reputation and leave it in costly occupation of a sullen and defiant population for a generation or more.[Deep knowledge, daily. Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter.]This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. Read more: * As Digital Earth gains momentum, China is setting the pace * Unrest in Latin America makes authoritarianism look more appealing to some * Decade of dissent: how protest is shaking the UK and why it’s likely to continueDavid Skidmore does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

  • Thailand records 3,000 foreign tourists in November as ban eases

    Thailand recorded 3,065 foreign tourists in November, official data showed on Monday, in its second month of receiving long-stay visitors after a ban was imposed in April to keep coronavirus infections under control. The state planning agency predicts only 5 million foreign visitors in 2021.

  • Warnock and Loeffler work to consolidate voters for runoff

    When Georgia Republican Kelly Loeffler and Democrat Raphael Warnock advanced to the Jan. 5 U.S. Senate runoff, they faced the immediate challenge of winning over the 2 million voters who chose one of the 18 other candidates in November's election. Polls show they have largely succeeded, and that could give Loeffler, the incumbent, a small advantage. Republican U.S. Rep. Doug Collins came in third in the November vote that ended with the Republican candidates winning 48,000 more votes than the Democratic candidates.

  • Doctor uses autoinjector, stems his allergic reaction to vaccine

    A physician with a severe shellfish allergy felt symptoms after his shot and was allowed to self-administer epinephrine, Boston Medical Center says.

  • Chinese citizen journalist jailed for four years over Wuhan coronavirus reports

    A Chinese court sentenced a citizen journalist to four years in prison on Monday for her reports from Wuhan during the early stages of the coronavirus outbreak. Zhang Zhan, 37, was found guilty of picking quarrels and provoking trouble after a brief hearing in Shanghai, according to one of her defence lawyers, Ren Quanniu. She had faced up to five years on the charge, which authorities regularly use to detain activists and other dissidents. Zhang, a former lawyer, had travelled to Wuhan in early February to chronicle the chaotic early stages and residents’ experiences of the coronavirus outbreak. She posted reports and livestreamed scenes from the city on WeChat, Facebook and Twitter, including evidence of crematoriums operating at midnight as the death toll rose. She also reported on the detentions of other citizen journalists. Zhang, a former lawyer, has been in detention since May and is in deteriorating health. She has been on a hunger strike for months to protest her detention, and has been subjected to force-feeding through a nasal tube, according to her lawyers. “She said when I visited her (last week): ‘If they give me a heavy sentence then I will refuse food until the very end.’... She thinks she will die in prison,” Ren told the AFP news agency. “It’s an extreme method of protesting against this society and this environment,” he added. Following early missteps and accusations of cover-ups, China has since brought Covid-19 largely under control within its borders. Chinese authorities insist that they responded promptly to the outbreak during its critical first weeks. However, the government has obstructed efforts for any independent investigation into the source of the virus that sparked the global pandemic. A team from the World Health Organisation is due to travel to Wuhan next month to investigate.

  • Authorities identify Nashville bomber, say he died in Friday's explosion

    Officials in Nashville said Sunday that Anthony Quinn Warner of nearby Antioch, Tennessee, is believed to be responsible for blowing up an RV in downtown Nashville early Christmas morning, and he is the only one who died in the blast. Warner, 63, was a self-employed IT consultant who kept to himself and rarely left his house, neighbors said. His motive is not known, and investigators are trying to figure out if he intentionally targeted the AT&T building he parked near and badly damaged, knocking out cellphone and internet communications to several Southern states. The explosion also damaged about 40 other buildings.> This is video of Friday morning's explosion recorded by an MNPD camera at 2nd Ave N & Commerce St. pic.twitter.com/3vaXhoUOAR> > — Metro Nashville PD (@MNPDNashville) December 28, 2020State, federal, and local officials identified Warner just 60 hours after the explosion. They positively identified his remains through DNA recovered from the scene, a VIN number from the RV uncovered in the wreckage, and tips from people who recognized the RV that had long been parked outside Warner's house. They have not yet determined what was used to cause the huge blast.Earlier Sunday, five of the police officers who responded to calls about the RV early Christmas morning, recounted their efforts to evacuate people from nearby buildings as a recording from the RV counted down 15 minutes until an impending blast. "That's stuff that I'll never forget, the sound of the announcement saying ... 'Evacuate now,'" said Amanda Topping, one of five officers. "Just odd. And I'm pacing back and forth because I kept on having to turn pedestrians around."Just before the blast, the warning was replaced by a recording of the 1964 Petula Clark hit "Downtown." The part of the song that echoed down Second Avenue, The Tennessean reports, was the beginning: "When you're alone and life is making you lonely you can always go downtown. When you've got worries, all the noise and the hurry seems to help, I know."Warner did not have any known political ideologies or any known presence on social media. "To describe him as a recluse would be an excellent word," said Rick Laude, a neighbor since 2010. He appears to have gotten his affairs in order over the past few months. In November, he transferred the deed to his house to a woman in California, and earlier this month he informed a longtime client he would no longer work for them.More stories from theweek.com Trump reportedly wants to 'inflict as much pain on Congress as possible' Congress signals it will mostly ignore Trump's post-signing demands on $2.3 trillion spending package The best movies of 2020

  • China exerts more pressure on Ant Group

    China is turning up the heat on the the country's tech giant Alibaba, its lending arm Ant, and billionaire Jack Ma. On Sunday, the central bank announced it had asked Ant to shake up its lending and consumer finance operations. This is just the latest volley from Beijing aimed at bringing Ma's sprawling financial empire to heel, after he publicly criticized the country's regulatory system in October for stifling innovation. Those comments are said to have prompted Chinese regulators to suspend Ant's IPO in Hong Kong and Shanghai in November. Ant was launched in 2004 and is China's biggest digital payments app with some 730 million monthly users, over time it has expanded into loans, insurance, and more. At $37 billion, its IPO had been set to be the world's largest stock market debut. Just last week, Chinese authorities also launched an antitrust investigation into Ma's e-commerce platform Alibaba. On the latest measures, Ant said in a statement it would establish a "rectification" working group and fully implement regulatory requirements. Representatives from the company met officials from the People's Bank of China over the weekend. Regulators are said to have accused Ant of poor governance, squeezing out competitors, and harming consumer interests.

  • British PM sold out fish in Brexit trade deal, fishermen say

    British fishermen said on Saturday that Prime Minister Boris Johnson had sold out fish stocks to the European Union with a Brexit trade deal that gives EU boats significant access to the United Kingdom's rich fishing waters. Some British politicians also said the deal added up to a sell-out. The United Kingdom will leave the EU's Common Fisheries Policy on Dec. 31, but under the trade deal agreed on Christmas Eve the current rules will remain largely in place during a 5-1/2-year transition period.

  • Azerbaijan reports attack on its troops in Nagorno-Karabakh

    Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry said Monday its army units have been attacked by “an illegal Armenian armed group" in Nagorno-Karabakh, killing one Azerbaijani serviceman and wounding another. The statement comes just hours after the Armenian Defense Ministry denied media reports of fighting in the neighboring Hadrut region and said the ethnic Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh were “strictly observing” the cease-fire. Neither Armenian or Nagorno-Karabakh officials have so far commented on Azerbaijan's statement.

  • Trump news – live: Millions lose benefits after ‘narcissistic’ president delays signing Covid bill

    Follow our live blog for all the latest from the White House and beyond

  • China lowers age of criminal responsibility to 12 after high-profile offences committed by children

    China has lowered the age of criminal responsibility for murder and some other serious crimes from 14 to 12 after some high-profile killings by children. The change means that children aged between 12 and 14 who commit crimes such as intentional homicide, or intentional injury that leads to death or severe disability, will now be held criminally liable. Before, they were exempt from criminal punishment, but could be ordered to undergo correctional education. Currently, the age of criminal liability in China is 16, but teenagers aged 14 to 16 can be charged and punished as criminals for serious crimes including intentional homicide, rape and robbery. The issue of whether to lower the criminal age of responsibility came to the fore after a case last year in which a 13-year-old boy confessed to police that he had killed a 10-year-old girl. State media reported that the girl failed to return home from a painting class one Sunday afternoon. The girl’s father said that the boy had tricked the girl into entering his home, sexually assaulted her, stabbed her to death and then dumped her body on the side of a road. Following the killing in Dalian city in northeastern China, the boy was sent to a juvenile rehabilitation centre for three years. There was public outrage over what was perceived to be his lenient treatment. In another case, a 13-year-old boy was allegedly beaten to death in August in Shaanxi province by six juveniles, including one who was under the age of 14, according to reports last month. The youngest has been placed under the supervision of a guardian, while the other five have been arrested on suspicion of intentional injury causing death. Authorities have previously announced an increase in the number of juvenile cases being handled by prosecutors. Last year, there was a 5 per cent increase year-on-year in the number of prosecutions of juveniles, with the most common crimes being theft, robbery, intentional injury, affray, creating disturbances and rape, according to a white paper released by the Supreme People’s Procuratorate in June.

  • Park rangers cite visitors to Hawaii volcano eruption site

    Park rangers have cited dozens of people who have gathered at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park to witness an ongoing eruption of the Kilauea volcano. The rangers said those cited had ventured into dangerous areas to take photos and videos of the volcano eruption that had created a lake of lava in its crater that was 554 feet (169 meters) deep on Thursday. “All it takes is a slight change in wind direction and these offenders could inhale a fatal dose of volcanic gas," said Chief Ranger Jack Corrao.