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Last update: Monday, January 04, 2021, 1:14 PM
- Scottish Parliament Reminded to Discuss New Measures Against Coronavirus
- 2,464 new Covid cases reported on Sunday
- 4,578 people who tested positive for the virus have died
Attack on a student ‘unprovoked and racially motivated’
An attack on a Singaporean law student by a 15-year-old boy with coronavirus was “racially motivated,” magistrates have found.
Jonathan Mok, 24, was left bloodied and bruised and required surgery on his face after he was assaulted by the teenager and his group of friends on Oxford Street on February 24 last year.
The teenager, who cannot be identified due to his age, was convicted of racially aggravated serious bodily injury (GBH) in Highbury Corner Juvenile Court on Monday.
He had previously admitted to injuring or inflicting GBH, but denied it was racially motivated, saying at his trial in December that he had not mentioned the coronavirus and was not racist.
But the court heard that several people had witnessed the word “disease” or “coronavirus” from a few meters away.
Dr. June Raine, executive director of the MHRA, said she is “really looking forward to the months to come” after the approval of two Covid-19 vaccines.
Medical leaders back delay of second dose of Covid vaccine
A group representing medical professionals in Scotland has welcomed initiatives to allow more people to receive their first injection of the Covid vaccine.
The Scottish Academy of Royal Colleges and Faculties of Medicine said it was “essential” that the number of vaccinated patients and staff increase as quickly as possible.
The new dosing regimen is intended to allow faster implementation of the Pfizer and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines.
It means that the second doses of the vaccines can be given within 12 weeks rather than in the shortest time possible.
What will Nicola Sturgeon announce for Scotland in her Covid-19 statement today?
Coronavirus schools: Bringing all students back to class could fuel the pandemic and put teachers at “serious risk” of getting sick, warned a coalition of education unions.
Boris Johnson: There is no question that tougher measures are needed to curb the spread of the coronavirus
Boris Johnson warned of the “tough, difficult” weeks ahead as the government came under pressure to announce another national shutdown amid concerns that the new variant of the coronavirus is spreading uncontrollably.
The Prime Minister said there is “no question” about the need for tougher measures to be announced “in due course”.
His comments came as the nationwide rollout of the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine began, and 82-year-old former maintenance manager Brian Pinker was the first person to receive the vaccine outside of clinical trials.
Johnson acknowledged concern about the growing number of coronavirus cases.
Boris Johnson: “We have the capacity, the issue has to do with the supply of the vaccine.”
Boris Johnson said the limiting factor in the expansion of the UK vaccine launch was not supply or personnel, but waiting for batch approval.
Boris Johnson: ‘There is no doubt that we will have to take tougher measures’
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said tougher measures to control the coronavirus will be announced soon.
Speaking during a visit to Chase Farm Hospital in north London to meet some of the first people to get the Oxford vaccine on Monday, Johnson said “tough, tough” weeks are coming.
He added: “If you look at the numbers, there is no doubt that we will have to take tougher action and announce them in due course.”
European markets skyrocket as UK launch of new vaccine begins
London’s main market reached its highest point in nine months on Monday as traders across Europe kicked off the new year by celebrating the launch of a new vaccine in the UK.
The FTSE 100 gained more than 200 points on its first day of trading after the Brexit transition period ended. However, analysts said a drop in the pound would suggest that the FTSE’s strong morning had little to do with Brexit.
The rise of more than 3% was followed by increases of 1.9% and 1.3% in the main indices of France and Germany.
All three likely responded to the news that the NHS is starting to roll out the new Covid-19 vaccine that has been developed by scientists at the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca.
The vaccine is less effective than the Pfizer vaccine that has been distributed so far. But each dose is cheaper, and the vaccine can be stored at much lower temperatures.
Nicola Sturgeon Update: What time will the Prime Minister make a statement setting out new measures to address the “ rapid rise in Covid cases ”?
Hancock refuses to rule out another nationwide shutdown
Health Secretary Matt Hancock has refused to rule out another national lockdown amid concerns the new variant of the coronavirus is spreading uncontrollably.
Hancock praised the launch of the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine when an 82-year-old former maintenance manager became the first person to receive the vaccine outside of clinical trials.
He said the NHS had the capacity to administer two million doses a week of the vaccine once it received supplies from manufacturers.
Jeremy Vine says having Covid was like ‘meeting Elvis’
Jeremy Vine has said that having coronavirus over Christmas after reporting on it for so long felt like “meeting Elvis.”
During his Channel 5 current affairs show, the presenter broadcast a series of videos that he had recorded while isolating himself at his family home during the holiday period.
He said: “I had a rare one, I had Covid. I felt a bit bad on December 22nd and then on the 23rd it was me ”.
Vine added: “When you’ve reported so much about a virus and you finally contract it, it’s like meeting Elvis, but actually by the third day, Christmas Day, he was a little better, although now he had a positive test result. .
“I followed all the rules. The isolated family. I had to isolate myself inside the house. “
Closing schools ‘not enough to control virus’ warns UK government adviser
Dr. Mike Tildesley, a member of the SPI-M modeling group that advises the government on the spread of the coronavirus, warned that closing schools would not be enough to control the virus without greater public adherence to existing rules.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today show that keeping students out of class might not get the R number, the virus’s reproduction rate, below one.
Dr Tildesley from the University of Warwick said the government needs a clearer message: “Communication has not been that good in recent months, some of the policy changes have been a bit vague.”
He added: “It’s not clear, really, with the work we’ve been seeing, that closing schools, for example, may be enough to bring the R number below one with the adherence levels we have now.
“So they need to think of alternative measures to get people back on their side and get the levels of compliance that we had before.”
He added that “we cannot have a situation where schools are closed for months,” so it should be done “in conjunction with something else, which is trying to increase adherence to control measures, making these subtle changes to treat. to reduce the incidence and, ultimately, hopefully in the long term, allowing children to return to school safely ”.
