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Economic Times | 06 Jan, 2023 | 11:16AM IST
Covid News LIVE Updates: Mainland China reports five COVID deaths for Jan 5
Covid News Live Updates: China reported five new COVID-19 deaths in the mainland for Jan. 5, compared with one death a day earlier, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday. The official death toll now stands at 5,264. From Sunday, Jan. 8, China will drop a requirement for inbound travellers to quarantine, the latest dismantling of its "zero-COVID" regime that began last month following historic protests against a suffocating series of mass lockdowns.
Earlier, officials and experts from China attended an online meeting with the World Health Organization (WHO), China's national health commission said in a statement.
During the meeting Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention officials and experts from Southeast University reported on China's latest COVID-19 prevention and control measures, its monitoring of mutated virus strains, vaccination efforts and the treatment of infections, the health commission said.
Earlier, officials and experts from China attended an online meeting with the World Health Organization (WHO), China's national health commission said in a statement.
During the meeting Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention officials and experts from Southeast University reported on China's latest COVID-19 prevention and control measures, its monitoring of mutated virus strains, vaccination efforts and the treatment of infections, the health commission said.
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Covid News Live: China seeks to minimize COVID-19 risk during travel rush
- China is seeking to minimize the possibility of a major new COVID-19 outbreak during this month’s Lunar New Year travel rush following the end of most pandemic containment measures.
- The Transportation Ministry on Friday called on travelers to reduce trips and gatherings, particularly if they involve elderly people, pregnant women, small children and those with underlying conditions.
- People using public transport should wear masks and pay special attention to their health and personal hygiene, Vice Minister Xu Chengguang told reporters at a briefing.
- The call stopped short of asking citizens to stay home entirely, as the government had since the pandemic began, although some local governments have urged migrant workers not to return home.
- China abruptly ended a strict regime of lockdowns, quarantines and mass testing in December amid growing concerns about the economic impact and rare public protests in a country that permits no open political dissent.
- China on Sunday is also ending mandatory quarantines for people arriving from abroad.The current outbreak appears to have spread the fastest in densely populated cities, putting a strain on the health care system.
- Authorities are now concerned about the possible spread to smaller towns and rural areas that lack resources such as ICU beds.
- Overseas, a growing number of governments are requiring virus tests for travelers from China, saying they are needed because the Chinese government is not sharing enough information on the outbreak, particularly about the potential emergence of new variants.
- The European Union on Wednesday “strongly encouraged” its member states to impose pre-departure COVID-19 testing, though not all have done so. The World Health Organization has also expressed concern about the lack of data from China, while the U.S. is requiring a negative test result for travelers from China within 48 hours of departure.
- China has criticized the requirements and warned it could impose countermeasures against countries using them. Spokespeople have said the situation is under control, and reject accusations of a lack of preparation for reopening.
- Despite concerns, Hong Kong announced it will reopen some of its border crossings with mainland China on Sunday and allow tens of thousands of people to cross every day without being quarantined.
- The city’s land and sea border checkpoints with the mainland have been largely closed for almost three years and the reopening is expected to provide a much-needed boost to Hong Kong’s tourism and retail sectors.
- China has also gradually opened up to visits by foreign officials, hosting Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. this week.
- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is tentatively due to make his first visit to Beijing in office this month or next, during which he will meet with newly appointed Foreign Minister Qin Gang, China's blunt-speaking former ambassador to Washington.
COVID potential of disturbing sleep and dreams, say reports
- By the end of 2022, more than 650 million COVID infections had been reported to the World Health Organisation.With the true number likely much higher, and the tally increasing by hundreds of thousands every week, the scientific community has been focused on understanding the impact of COVID on our physical health, mental health and brain function.
- In the early stage of the pandemic, sleep scientists charted the costs and benefits of lockdowns on sleep patterns. The main finding was that we slept more in lockdown but the quality of our sleep was worse.Now a second wave of data is beginning to explain how becoming infected with COVID is affecting our sleep and even intruding into our dreams.
- The most recent meta-analysis, a review of all the currently available scientific literature, estimates that 52% of people who contract COVID suffer from sleep disturbances during the infection.
- The most common type of sleep disturbance reported is insomnia. People with insomnia typically find it difficult to fall asleep or stay asleep, and often wake up early in the mornings.Worryingly, sleep problems sometimes persist even after recovery from the infection.
- A study in China found that 26% of people who were admitted to hospital with COVID showed symptoms of insomnia two weeks after discharge.
- And a US study showed that people who had been infected with COVID were more likely than people who had never been infected to have trouble sleeping, even up to a month after a positive COVID test.
- Sleep difficulties and long COVIDWhile most people recover from COVID quickly, some continue to have symptoms in the longer term. People suffering from long COVID seem very likely to face persistent sleep problems.
- A 2021 study surveyed more than 3,000 people with long COVID. Almost 80% of participants self-reported sleep problems, most commonly insomnia.A more recent study collected data on both sleep duration and quality using smart wristbands. Participants with long COVID slept less overall and got less deep sleep than participants who had never had COVID.
- Loss of deep sleep is particularly concerning, as this type of sleep reduces how tired we feel and strengthens concentration and memory. Lack of deep sleep may be partly responsible for the commonly reported "brain fog" during and after COVID.
- The fact COVID often interferes with sleep is also worrying because sleep helps our immune system to fight infections.Why does COVID affect our sleep?There are many reasons why a COVID infection might lead to poor sleep. One review identified physiological, psychological and environmental factors.COVID can have a direct impact on the brain, including the areas that control both wake and sleep states. We don't yet have a clear understanding of how this works, but possible mechanisms could include the virus infecting the central nervous system or affecting the brain's blood supply
- Typical symptoms of COVID include fever, coughing and breathing difficulties. These are also well known to disturb sleep.Poor mental health can lead to sleep problems and vice versa.
- There's a strong link between catching COVID and mental health issues, particularly depression and anxiety. This can be caused by worries about recovery, loneliness or social isolation. Such anxieties may make sleeping harder.
- Meanwhile, hospitalised COVID patients can face additional difficulties trying to sleep in busy hospital environments where sleep is often disturbed by noise, treatment and other patients.
- What about dreams?The International COVID-19 Sleep Study, a global research project involving sleep scientists from 14 countries, recently released its findings into dreaming.The study surveyed infected and uninfected participants about their dreams. Both groups had more dreams after the start of the pandemic than before.
- Intriguingly, the infected participants had more nightmares than the uninfected participants, while there was no difference between the groups before the pandemic.There's no simple explanation for why catching COVID may increase nightmares, but mental health may again play a role. Poor mental health is often accompanied by nightmares.
- The International COVID-19 Sleep Study team found the infected group showed more symptoms of conditions such as anxiety and depression.
- Getting help: The close links between sleep and both mental and physical health mean that prevention and treatment of disturbed sleep have never been more important, and will require creative solutions from governments and healthcare providers.
- If you've had trouble sleeping during or after COVID, or are having more bad dreams than you used to, you're not alone.
- Both short- and long-term insomnia can often be treated with cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) that you may be able to access through your doctor.
- For less severe sleep problems, the European Academy for Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment of Insomnia has compiled recommendations, some based on principles applied in CBT, that you can follow at home.
- These include:keeping a regular sleep-wake schedulerestricting thinking about things that make you feel stressed to specific times of dayusing your bed only for sleep and sexgoing to bed and getting up when you naturally feel inclined to do sosharing feelings of stress and anxiety with family and friendsreducing sleep disruption due to light exposure by making sure your bedroom is as dark as possibleexercising regularly in daylightavoiding eating close to bedtime.
Covid News Live: Not hiding Covid infections or death figures, claims China
- China has denied allegations that it is hiding Covid infection or death figures, saying the severe illness and death in the country compares favourably with other nations, the media reported on Friday.
- According to South China Morning Post, Beijing's embassy in Washington, DC, countered allegations after several countries, including the World Health Organisation (WHO), criticised China for withholding actual Covid figures, requesting the country to come clean on the infection surge and hospitalisations.
- "China has always shared its information and data responsibly with the international community," Liu Pengyu, spokesman for Beijing's Washington embassy, said in a news briefing.
- Chinese scientists are "now working with WHO to have further discussions about the data," he said, adding that in the last month, "we have two exchanges with the WHO".
- Last week, Mike Ryan, the WHO's emergencies director said that the current figures being published from China under-represented the numbers of hospital admissions, ICU admissions and "particularly in terms of death".
- The WHO had said that the curbs on travellers from China by various countries is "understandable" in the absence of comprehensive information from the ground.
- "In the absence of comprehensive information from #China, it is understandable that countries around the world are acting in ways that they believe may protect their populations," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had said in a tweet.
- China's National Health Commission (NHC) has stopped publishing daily Covid-19 case data, handing over the charge to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as nations, including India, ask the country to share actual Covid data on an urgent basis.However, it will still take days for the CDC to activate the epidemic monitor reporting system and allow the organisation to collect and report infection data effectively.
India Covid Cases: Active Covid cases decline to 2,503
- India logged 228 new coronavirus infections, while the active cases declined to 2,503, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Friday.
- The Covid case tally was recorded at 4.46 crore (4,46,79,547).The death toll stands at 5,30,714, with four deaths.
- Two deaths were reconciled by Kerala while one death each was reported from Bihar and Uttarakhand in last 24 hours, the data updated at 8 am stated.
- The daily positivity was recorded at 0.11 per cent while the weekly positivity was pegged at 0.12 per cent.
- The active cases comprise 0.01 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has increased to 98.80 per cent, the ministry said.
- A decrease of 51 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.
- The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,41,46,330, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent.
Covid News Live: Greece to require negative Covid tests for travellers from China
Air travellers to Greece from China must show they have tested negative for COVID-19 48 hours before arrival, a new requirement that will be announced shortly, two government officials said on Thursday. On Wednesday, the EU's Integrated Political Crisis Response group (IPCR) recommended that member states introduce restrictions. Its decisions are usually published within days but Friday is a public holiday in Greece.
India Covid Cases: Covid's XBB.1.5 variant cases rise to 7 in India: INSACOG
- The number of COVID-19's XBB.1.5 variant, responsible for the rise in cases in the US, rose to seven in India as new cases of the variant were found in Chhattisgarh and Telangana, according to INSACOG figures on Thursday.
- Of the seven cases, three were found in Gujarat and one each in Karnataka, Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) said.
- The XBB.1.5 strain is a relative of the Omicron XBB variant, which is a recombinant of the Omicron BA.2.10.1 and BA.2.75 subvariants. Combined, XBB and XBB.1.5 make up 44 per cent of cases in the US.
Covid News: With few entry tests, Southeast Asia may gain most from China's travel revival
Southeast Asia's tourist economies are set to be leading beneficiaries of China's scrapping of travel bans as they have steered clear of the COVID-19 tests before entry that Europe, Japan and the United States have imposed on Chinese visitors.Even as the virus tears through its 1.4 billion people, the world's second largest economy is opening its borders from Sunday, a move that promises to unleash a wave of travellers eager for diversion after three years of strict curbs at home.Such newly mobile Chinese tourists will opt for "minimal hassle" and head for destinations that do not demand testing, which in turn stands to benefit Southeast Asia, said CIMB economist Song Seng Wun.
Greece to require negative Covid tests for travellers from China
Air travellers to Greece from China must show they have tested negative for COVID-19 48 hours before arrival, a new requirement that will be announced shortly, two government officials said on Thursday. On Wednesday, the EU's Integrated Political Crisis Response group (IPCR) recommended that member states introduce restrictions. Its decisions are usually published within days but Friday is a public holiday in Greece.
NIH launches pilot COVID telehealth program
- The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) on Thursday launched a virtual program aimed at making antiviral treatments for COVID-19 available at home for those who test positive.
- Local and state officials from Berks County in Pennsylvania will be the first to pilot the program, known as Home Test to Treat, later this month, with up to 8,000 residents expected to participate, the NIH said.
Covid-19: Thailand adopts new rules for foreign visitors
- Thailand adopted a new requirement for foreign visitors to show proof of at least two doses of the Covid-19 vaccination, government officials have announced.
- Foreign arrivals are also required to have travel insurance that covers potential Covid-19-related expenses in case their next destination requires a negative RT-PCR result, Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health minister Anutin Charnvirakul was quoted by Xinhua news agency as saying.
China subjects Covid protesters to intense surveillance, interrogation
- The Chinese protesters who demonstrated against the zero-Covid policy were subjected to intense surveillance measures and aggressive interrogations in police custody, reported Cate Cadell and Christian Shepherd in The Washington Post.
- Even though China revoked its Zero Covid Policy following the protests, China unleashed its police equipped with the latest technology to go after people who had participated in the protests. Dozens of people who took part in the protests have paid heavily for the dissent.
- Some protesters from Beijing and Shanghai had mentioned that they had to face heightened digital surveillance, strip searches, threats to their families and physical duress during these interrogations by the Chinese police for participating in the protests, said Cadell and Shepherd.
