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These are the morning coronavirus headlines for Thursday, October 8, as much of the north of England is reported to face the prospect of tough new coronavirus restrictions, including the possible closure of pubs and restaurants.
It comes amid fears the disease is spiraling out of control, and follows an announcement in Scotland on Wednesday that restrictions are being tightened.
Ministers were said to be considering the new measures, which could come as early as Monday, as infection rates continue to rise in cities such as Manchester, Liverpool and Newcastle.
The move, if confirmed, would be another blow to the body for the struggling hotel industry in regions already reeling from the imposition of the controversial 10 p.m. curfew.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak is finalizing a financial support package for the sector, the Financial Times reported, amid fears of a new wave of job losses.
Downing Street and the Department of Health and Welfare declined to comment on the reports. There is still no indication that similar measures have been introduced in Wales.
The most stringent restrictions ever introduced in Scotland
Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced a further tightening of restrictions in Scotland starting at 6pm on Friday.
Under the new rules, indoor hospitality venues will only be allowed to operate between 6 a.m. M. And 6 p.m. M. Every day, selling food and non-alcoholic beverages only, while the outdoor bars will be able to serve alcohol until 10 p.m.
In the five regions with the highest number of cases, including Glasgow and Edinburgh, licensed premises will be required to close for a period of 16 days, although they may offer take-out services.
Speaking in the Scottish Parliament, Ms Sturgeon warned that without the “short and sharp” package of measures, the disease could be “out of control” by the end of the month. See more details here.
Trump tells Americans Joe Biden will turn America into Wales
The President of the United States has used his Twitter account to retweet a derogatory suggestion that America’s future under Joe Biden would make the country similar to Wales.
Trump, who is currently suffering from coronavirus, retweeted Fox News anchor Laura Ingraham, who wrote “Your Future Under Biden” along with a link to a story titled: “Closed closures will become the norm in Wales.”
The article referenced comments from Wales Medical Director Frank Atherton, who said that people here could be in and out of such restrictions in the coming months.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump released a video in which he attributed to an experimental drug treatment that helped him recover from Covid-19 and suggested that his diagnosis could be a “blessing in disguise” for the battle of the nation against the pandemic.
Cases in Wales continue to rise
Three more people have died of coronavirus in Wales and more than 750 new positive cases have been identified, the latest figures have revealed. You can see all the figures here.
The latest figures from Public Health Wales (PHW) for Wednesday 7th October show that 752 new positive cases have been diagnosed after a lab test, a big increase from 425 on Tuesday.
That’s the highest number ever recorded in a single day in Wales and brings the overall total of confirmed Covid-19 cases to 27,624 since the outbreak began last March.
Merthyr Tydfil currently has the highest rate of infections in Wales with 200.6 cases per 100,000 people based on a seven-day moving average, compared to 180.7 on Tuesday.
Rhondda Cynon Taf closely follow this figure in 178.2 per 100,000 inhabitants, compared to 170.8 the day before.
The other areas of the local authority that registered more than 100 cases per 100,000 included Swansea with 130.8, Wrexham with 126.5, Flintshire with 125.6, Bridgend with 123.8, Cardiff with 120.2 and Blaenau gwent with 108.8.
Each local authority had an increase in cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
the Welsh the overall infection rate is 92.6 per 100,000, which is a big jump from 81.9 recorded the day before. Find out where cases are increasing the fastest here.
Some Welsh municipalities highlight ‘local access points’
Three Welsh municipalities have published new maps highlighting local coronavirus “hot spots” for each of their areas.
The Rhondda Cynon Taf, Bridgend and Merthyr Tydfil council maps, owned by the Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Board of Health, show the spread of reported cases over the past seven days.
However, it should be noted that because each community has such a small population, the hotspots tend to change and fluctuate every week. You can find the maps here.
Scotland reveals exam plan
Scotland has become the first UK home country to announce how it will take the exams next summer.
All of your ‘national 5 grades’, which are roughly equivalent to GCSEs, will be done by assessed grades rather than exams.
This will cut the number of exams to be taken next summer by half and allow higher A-level students to proceed as written exams with a two week delay.
National 5 scores will be primarily assessed through courses and in-class exams.
If higher grades cannot be taken, there would be a contingency plan to use grades “based on teacher judgment.”
Scotland’s Education Secretary John Swinney said it might not be “business as usual” for exams, but also that “there will be no algorithm.”
200 jobs to go to University of Wales
Hundreds of jobs are being cut at Bangor University as it faces a £ 13 million shortfall caused by international students staying away thanks to Covid.
A spokeswoman said the university is looking to shed 200 full-time equivalent positions. The unions, which are in talks with the university, said the scale of the cuts will damage Bangor’s level of student support and welfare, as well as its academic reputation.
In a joint statement, Unison, University College Union (UCU) and Unite said 120 support staff positions will be eliminated, affecting IT workers, exams, academic records, libraries, properties, housing and student support, along with with 80 academic works.
They said the cuts were “a major blow to the local economy” with Bangor University as one of the top three employers in Gwynedd. The unions said they will raise the matter with the Government of Wales.
Closing schools increases Covid-19 – study
Closing schools during the Covid-19 pandemic could actually increase the overall death rate from the disease, the researchers have said.
A new analysis reviewed the work of Professor Neil Ferguson and his colleagues at Imperial College London who predicted that hundreds of thousands of deaths would occur if steps were not taken to stop the spread of Covid-19.
The Imperial study, also known as Report 9, prompted the far-reaching social restrictions implemented in March, including school closings for most students.
Now researchers at the University of Edinburgh have reevaluated the model used.
The new study examined and reproduced the main results in Report 9 using the information available at the time.
The effect of school closings was specifically examined: Report 9 found that school closings reduced the number of Covid-19 replications but had the unexpected effect of increasing the number of deaths.
Hundreds more students and staff in Welsh schools have been told to isolate themselves as concern about the effect on education grows.
Some annual groups have been sent home for two weeks for the second time since the quarter began. And a senior education official has asked parents to help curb the spread, saying that children from different schools should not mix. Find all affected schools here.
Doctors say it is necessary to recognize the key symptom of the coronavirus
A group of medical experts has asked the government to add a skin rash to the list of key Covid-19 symptoms.
They say rashes should be taken as seriously as a high temperature, a continual new cough, and loss of taste or smell, and they say they can occur in the absence of other symptoms.
Notice what the rash looks like here.
The information comes from an online survey, from King’s College London and the health sciences company ZOE, which collected images and information from nearly 12,000 people with skin rashes and suspected or confirmed Covid-19.
Working with the British Association of Dermatologists, they have now launched a website to raise awareness of the symptom.
Cases in your area:
Most people who test positive for coronavirus ‘have no key symptoms’ on test day
Most people who test positive for coronavirus do not have any ‘key symptoms’ on the day of the test, a study suggested.
About 77% of the people involved in the study who tested positive had no symptoms on the day of the test, while 86% had no cough, temperature, or loss of taste or smell.
Researchers led by Professor Irene Petersen of University College London (UCL) analyzed data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) coronavirus infection survey, which has been evaluating thousands of homes each week, regardless of whether people have symptoms. .
The analysis looked at data from 36,061 people who were tested between the end of April and the end of June.
Of these, 115 (0.32%) had a positive test result, the study found, of which 27 (23.5%) were symptomatic and 88 (76.5%) were asymptomatic on the day of the test. See the full test results here.
Parliamentarians launch an investigation to analyze the government’s response to the pandemic
Parliamentarians have launched an investigation to analyze the government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Health and Social Care Committee will hold trial sessions in conjunction with the Science and Technology Committee to examine the effectiveness of the action taken by the Government and the advice it has received from experts.
Members will hear from witnesses on the impact the coronavirus pandemic has had on the social care sector, as well as on the BAME (Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority) communities.
Both committees will also look at the effectiveness of testing and contact tracing, as well as government communications and public health messages.
Greg Clark, who is the Chair of the Science and Technology Committee, said: “We are very focused on being able to find and learn lessons during the course of the pandemic that can be applied to decisions that may emerge later.
“The Prime Minister has pledged to carry out a public inquiry but obviously there is still a long way to go before it starts, let alone it ends, and whatever lessons and conclusions are drawn from that, it is likely to be seen to be too late for the weeks and months to come.
“So we want to be able, in a constructive way, to feed back what we learn from witnesses in this country and around the world.”
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