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Coronavirus morning headlines for Wednesday, December 16, as stricter Christmas guidelines are expected to be announced today.
Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove will resume talks with the leaders of delegated administrations on plans for up to three households to mix between Dec. 23-27 on Wednesday morning.
Boris Johnson is understood to be resisting mounting pressure to remove the easing of coronavirus restrictions over Christmas amid warnings that the move could overwhelm the NHS and contribute to the loss of “many lives” as cases continue. increasing.
The infection rate in Welsh now you are in 416.5 per 100,000 inhabitants based on the seven days until December 10.
A UK government source acknowledged that the four nations of the UK may take different approaches.
Leaders are said to continue discussions on strengthening the warnings, including recommending that people stay put and reconsider whether they should spend Christmas with the elderly and the clinically vulnerable.
The talks began Tuesday after two major medical journals warned that a reduction in restrictions would “cost many lives,” and the British Medical Association (BMA) echoed Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer in demanding an urgent rethink.
In Wales, Drakeford told the Senedd that “the election is grim” but said the current plans were a “hard-won deal” that he would not set aside “lightly”. Everything Mark Drakeford said as plans for Christmas was discussed.
Scotland’s Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon has previously argued that there is a case to reduce planned freedoms to combat a surge in infections and indicated that it could break with the four-nation approach.
She told the Scottish Parliament: “I think there are reasons for us to see if we further tighten the flexibilities that were given, both in terms of duration and the number of people gathered.”
The meeting took place when the government said another 506 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19, bringing the UK total to 64,908. Another 18,450 infections were also confirmed in labs as of 9 a.m. Tuesday.
Sir Keir had urged the Prime Minister to convene an emergency meeting of the Government’s high-level Cobra committee within 24 hours to assess the situation.
In a letter to Mr Johnson, the Labor leader accused ministers of having “lost control of infections” and warned that “the situation has clearly worsened since the decision on Christmas was made.”
Stern message from respected medical journals
The talks come as the British Medical Journal and the Health Service Journal published a rare joint editorial calling for the “hasty” decision to relax social distancing measures during the holiday period to be dropped.
They said Mr. Johnson “is about to make another big mistake that will cost many lives.” Read more of what they had to say here.
“The government was too slow to introduce restrictions in the spring and again in the fall,” the joint editorial said.
“It should now reverse its hasty decision to allow domestic mixing and instead extend levels over the five-day Christmas period to reduce numbers in advance of a possible third wave.”
The BMA backed the warning, saying the combination of a third wave in the new year and typical winter pressures is a “recipe for catastrophe.”
Council Chairman Chaand Nagpaul said: “In addition to reviewing the rules for Christmas, the government should also look at what happens when the tinsel is cleaned.
“Now is the time for everyone to follow the rules and guidance until the vaccine can be implemented to protect many more and allow us to mix freely once more.”
The prime minister’s official spokesman said ministers “keep all councils under constant review” in response to suggestions that Christmas arrangements could be restricted to three days or two households.
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Launch of the vaccine to nursing homes in Wales
Covid vaccinations for nursing home residents in Wales will begin on Wednesday.
A pilot for the Pfizer / BioNtech jab will start at a nursing home in North Wales, and teams will go to other health boards in Wales later in the week.
The transfer of the Pfizer vaccine to nursing homes unable to attend clinics has been delayed until now due to logistical problems in storing it at ultra-low temperatures.
At the Welsh government press conference on Monday, Gething said 6,000 people, mostly health and social care personnel, have so far received the first dose of the vaccine since its launch began last Tuesday.
Nursing home owners said they were “the first steps on a great journey,” but cautioned that vaccination did not mean an open-door policy for residents’ families.
Initially, the vaccine will be administered in nursing homes near hospital pharmacies and the pilot will begin at a nursing home in the Mold area of Flintshire on Wednesday morning before a possible launch.
Cases in your area
Merthyr Tydfil remains the local authority with the highest infection rate in Wales with a seven-day rate of 822.2 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, down from the 870 reported the day before.
Neath Port Talbot has the second highest rate with 742.4 per 100,000 inhabitants, compared to 770.3.
Bridgend now he is third with 659.6 cases per 100,000, down from 698.4. More details here.
There are now a total of eight local authorities with rates exceeding 500 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
Rhondda Cynon Taf has the highest number of new cases on Tuesday with 81, followed by Neath Port Talbot with 58, Bridgend with 56, Swansea with 55, Caerphilly with 52 and Cardiff with 49.
Other local authorities that reported a high number of positive cases include Newport with 39, Wrexham with 34, Torfaen with 27, Carmarthenshire with 24 and Denbighshire with 21.
Number of employees who tested positive at the mass vaccination center
Staff at a mass vaccination center in Wales tested positive for coronavirus, NHS chiefs confirmed.
Cardiff and the Vale University Board of Health said some workers tested positive and continue to test other employees.
The number of workers and how many people could isolate themselves has not yet been revealed.
A spokesperson said: “We are implementing staff testing at the center and anyone who is identified as a close contact will be asked to isolate himself. Currently, no additional risk has been identified for anyone who has been vaccinated at the center.
Cardiff and Vale University Health Board has three mass vaccination centers; at Splott, Pentwyn Leisure Center and Holm View Leisure Center in Barry.
How many cases are there in your area? Find out with your zip code:
Over 900 employees miss work at a Welsh health board
More than 900 health workers are currently out of work in West Wales as the local health board admits it is dealing with unprecedented pressures.
The Hywel Dda University Board of Health, which runs hospitals in Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire, has confirmed that around 930 of its staff are currently away due to illness or self-isolation.
Additionally, more than 150 people are currently in those hospitals with Covid-19, a significantly higher number than during the first wave of coronavirus in the spring.
The health board has said the situation, which it described as “very difficult”, was creating staffing problems, with support staff under “significant pressure” while treating patients.
Across the health board region, the seven-day infection rate (for the seven days to December 9) was 316.3 per 100,000 population, higher than in London and Birmingham.
In Carmarthenshire, the rate for that seven-day period came to 448.2.
A quarter of the world’s population ‘will not receive the Covid vaccine until 2022’
Nearly a quarter of the world’s population will not have access to a Covid-19 vaccine until 2022, according to new research.
Experts from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, USA, said that high-income countries have already secured billions of doses, with uncertainty surrounding access for low- and middle-income countries.
Writing in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), they noted that, of the 48 Covid-19 vaccines currently approved or in development, 13 manufacturers have signed deals for at least 7.48 billion doses.
“High-income countries, including the European Union bloc, have reserved 51% of these doses, or about 3.85 billion doses, although they comprise only 13.7% of the world’s population,” they said.
“Of the 13 manufacturers, only six have sold to low- and middle-income countries.”
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