Morning headlines as there is a record number of coronavirus patients in Wales hospital



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These are the morning coronavirus headlines for Friday, November 13, as there are more patients in Wales hospitals with Covid-19 than at any time, including the peak of the pandemic.

The latest figures show there are 1,529 beds occupied with suspected, confirmed, or recovering coronavirus patients – 20% of all hospitalized patients.

They include 983 beds occupied by Covid-19 patients who have been confirmed to be currently battling the disease.

However, the number of patients in intensive care or ventilators with coronavirus has only reached 40% of the levels at the height of the first wave.

It comes as the latest figures show that another 34 people have died of coronavirus in Wales and more than 850 new cases have been confirmed. In total, more than 300 people have already died from coronavirus in Wales in the second wave. You can see the latest infection data here.

Public Health Wales (PHW), in its daily update on Thursday, November 12, announced that 867 more people have been diagnosed with Covid-19 after a laboratory test. This was a decrease from 928 the day before.

The NHS body also confirmed that 34 more people had lost their lives to the virus to bring the total to 2,142.

Merthyr Tydfil continues to be the local authority with the most cases per 100,000 in an average of seven days with 421 cases, compared to 497.3 on Wednesday.

Rhondda Cynon Taf (ECA) has the second highest incidence rate with 341.1 cases per 100,000, compared to 400.8 the day before.

Blaenau gwent is third with 292 , a drop of 333.5 the previous day.

Welsh as a whole now averages 175.6 houses per 100,000 people, a drop of 193.8 on Tuesday.

UK records highest number of daily coronavirus cases

It comes as the UK recorded its highest daily number of coronavirus cases since the pandemic began amid concerns that infections are increasing rapidly among the elderly.

Another 33,470 laboratory-confirmed Covid-19 cases were recorded in the 24 hours prior to 9 a.m. Thursday, according to the latest government figures.

Another 563 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for coronavirus as of Thursday.

Dr Yvonne Doyle, Medical Director of Public Health England, said the highest rates of infections were among the younger generations.

But he said: “It is worrying that it is increasing rapidly in those over 80 who are most at risk for poor results.”

“Current measures are in place to help protect all of us, and anyone can become seriously ill from this virus.”

However, Professor Stephen Powis, medical director of the NHS England, played down the increase at a press conference in Downing Street on Thursday night.

He said: “It is important to look at the number of cases reported over several days and not take just one day in isolation.

“Clearly, infection rates have increased. The really important thing is to reduce those infection rates.”

He said it was “too early to tell” if England’s national blockade was taking effect, but warned people not to expect life to return to normal when restrictions are lifted on December 2. The first signs of the Welsh Firewall lockdown, which ended on Monday (November 9), has been good.

Grandma details the ‘horrible’ struggle for life

A woman fighting for her life in hospital with coronavirus has described the horrible symptoms she has experienced.

Sharon Kingdom of Llantrisant was hospitalized with coronavirus on Thursday, November 5 after testing positive for the virus on Monday.

His entire family was hit by Covid after his 23-year-old son started showing symptoms and was the first to test positive.

“I could feel my chest getting worse and the pain creeping up my lungs. I’ve already had pneumonia and a plural stroke twice this year and I have lung scars.”

When Sharon received her positive test on Monday, she was taken to the ER by ambulance and an X-ray and blood work revealed that she had Covid-19 and had developed pneumonia as a result. Read their experience here.

Former chief medical officer claims UK was prepared for ‘wrong pandemic’

The country was ill prepared for the coronavirus pandemic as officials felt that a virus would “never get that far,” said England’s former medical director.

Dame Sally Davies said she questioned whether the country should rehearse for a coronavirus outbreak in 2015, but was told by England Public Health officials it would not “get to us properly”.

She told the Daily Telegraph that officials focused on the threat of an influenza pandemic and therefore were prepared for the “wrong pandemic.”

But Public Health England said this is not true, adding: “Dame Sally Davies participated in exercises that were specifically planned for a MERS coronavirus scenario in the UK, among other health threats.”

Nearly 67,000 Covid-19-related deaths have occurred in the UK, the latest figures show, while, as of 9am Thursday, another 33,470 laboratory-confirmed coronavirus cases had been recorded in the UK, the daily figure. highest recorded since the outbreak began.

Dame Sally, who left office last October, told the newspaper that the country “was not as well prepared as we should have been.”

She added: “I asked during a conversation in my office around 2015, should we do Sars? But they said no, because it wouldn’t get to us properly. They said it would die out and it would never travel that far.”

“So I asked, but it was the people from Public Health England who said we didn’t need to, and I will tell Parliament.”

“That advice meant we never sat down seriously and said, ‘Will we have a massive pandemic of something else?”

A government spokesman said: “This is an unprecedented pandemic and we have taken the right steps at the right time to combat it, guided at all times by the best scientific advice, to protect the NHS and save lives.”

“There is a great deal of work behind the scenes, all of which would not be possible without the years of preparation undertaken for a pandemic, including influenza and other infectious diseases such as MERS, SARS and Ebola.”

Vaccine could be flown to avoid Brexit border disruption

Coronavirus vaccines could be flown to the UK to avoid potential disruptions at the border when Britain leaves the single market and customs union by year-end, the Health Secretary said.

Matt Hancock said he was “confident” that a no-deal Brexit would not delay supplies, amid concerns that the Pfizer vaccine, which is made in Belgium, could be affected by Britain’s departure from the EU.

The cabinet minister told BBC Question Time: “We have a plan for the vaccine that is being manufactured in Belgium and if necessary we can fly to avoid these problems … we have a plan for all eventualities.”

It comes after the head of British firm Croda International, which supplies a crucial ingredient in the candidate vaccine Pfizer-BioNTech, warned that avoiding the disruption of the border will be “a crucial step” in ensuring it is available to millions of people. .

Earlier on Thursday, Cabinet Minister Alok Sharma repeatedly failed to rule out that the supply of a coronavirus vaccine would not be affected by problems when the new agreements take effect on January 1.

The Secretary of Commerce was questioned on the matter at a press conference in Downing Street.

“This is a problem … in many sectors, but that is precisely why we have been investing hundreds of millions of pounds in terms of border infrastructure and we have been investing in subsidies for customs brokers,” he said.

“That is why we are making a great effort to communicate with companies to make sure they are ready, so they can clear customs.

“All of that work is ongoing. If we all prepare, we will be absolutely in the right place after the transition.”

‘Circuit breaker’ lockout in Northern Ireland widened

The circuit breaker lockout in Northern Ireland has been extended for a week, and the hotel industry will partially reopen next Friday.

Close contact services, such as barbers, beauty salons, and driving classes, may reopen on November 20 by appointment only.

Cafes and coffee shops can open the same day, with restricted hours at 8 pm.

All other sections of the hospitality industry, such as hotels, pubs and bars, can reopen on November 27.

Democratic Unionists and ministers from smaller parties backed the proposal by Economy Minister Diane Dodds.

Sinn Fein voted against and the nationalist SDLP abstained.

Before the announcement, it emerged that the political parties had been working on the wrong deadline.

European countries say it’s too early for Christmas travel plans

Several European countries have warned that it is too early to plan Christmas trips, as coronavirus cases continue to rise across the continent.

In Sweden, people have been told to prepare for possible travel restrictions during the holiday period.

Meanwhile, Irish and French authorities said it was too early to say whether people would be able to make travel arrangements.

Six weeks into the holiday season, closures and other measures are in effect in several countries.

Portugal has significantly expanded the number of places subject to night curfew. Starting Monday, three-quarters of the country will be subject to the strictest government restrictions.

Irish Deputy Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said he would not yet advise Irish citizens living abroad to book flights home, adding that it is “too early” to give such advice.

A similar sentiment was shared by French Prime Minister Jean Castex, who said it was “too early” to say whether citizens could buy train tickets to travel on Christmas.

Cases in your area:

Virus Rise in the US

School systems in several U.S. states are giving up face-to-face classes and some governors are re-imposing strict social distancing measures as the coast-to-coast resurgence of the coronavirus causes deaths, hospitalizations and new ones. infections skyrocket.

The crisis has deepened especially in hospitals, with the situation so bad in North Dakota that the governor said this week that nurses who test positive but have no symptoms can still work.

Idaho clinics struggled to handle the flood of phone calls from patients. And one of Utah’s largest hospital systems is bringing in nearly 200 mobile nurses, some of them from New York City.

On Thursday, California became the second state, behind Texas, to dwarf one million known cases, while the country has passed 10 million infections, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

The virus is blamed for more than 242,000 deaths and more than 10.5 million confirmed infections in the US, and the country is facing what health experts say will be a dark winter due to disregard for the wearing masks and other precautions, the onset of cold weather and crowded holiday gatherings.

U.S. stocks fell on Thursday amid mounting concerns about worsening coronavirus counts across the country.



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