Speaking to Germany's Bundestag parliament on Wednesday, Health Minister Jens Spahn pointed to the approval of home coronavirus tests, known as antigen tests, as an important step on the return to normalcy. Though Spahn spoke of freedoms regained, he warned citizens not to let their guard down and called for patience about the availability of tests. Three such self-administered rapid antigen tests have been given special approval for use by Germany's Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices. Although he expressed confidence that more and more tests would be available in the days and weeks following approval, Spahn warned they would be in short supply initially. Spahn won't commit to government covering costs of antigen tests "It's exhausting," said Spahn of the pandemic , noting that the availability of tests would allow people to begin living their lives again. Speaking of the government's approach, he said, "We think we we're on the right path but this virus isn't … [Read more...] about Coronavirus: Home tests will give Germany ‘more freedom’
S8 case drop test
UK Covid death toll rises by 442 as daily figure drops by half in two weeks
The UK's coronavirus death toll has risen to 121,305 after a further 442 more fatalities were confirmed. This afternoon the Department of Health also said a further 9,938 people had tested positive for Covid in 24 hours. Covid-19 deaths are finally moving downward after topping 1,000 a day 23 times in January and February - but experts warn easing lockdown too fast could lead to another surge. A week ago 738 coronavirus deaths were announced, while a fortnight ago the figure was 1,001. One month ago, on January 24, 610 deaths were confirmed. In the past seven days there have been 2,815 coronavirus deaths, a 31 per cent fall compared to the week before. Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will auto-play soon 8 Cancel Play now The UK has the fifth highest Covid death toll in the world, even though it has the sixth highest lockdown restrictions, according to Oxford University researchers. … [Read more...] about UK Covid death toll rises by 442 as daily figure drops by half in two weeks
COVID cases in Africa were ‘underreported’
In Zambia, nearly one in every five recently deceased people brought into Lusaka's central morgue tested positive for the coronavirus, a study by the Boston University School of Public Health showed. The authors of the study said that challenges the view that Africa somehow "dodged" the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings, published in theBMJ global health journal, indicate that low numbers of reported infections and deaths across Africa may be from lack of testing, with the coronavirus taking a terrible but invisible toll on the continent. "Our findings cast doubt on the assumption that COVID-19 somehow skipped Africa or has not impacted the continent as heavily," says study co-author Dr. Lawrence Mwananyanda. Rapid spread However, in a recent interview with DW, the director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), John Nkengasong, said the coronavirus had spread rapidly in Africa too. That, he said, could be behind the discrepancies in the … [Read more...] about COVID cases in Africa were ‘underreported’
Boris Johnson eyes border controls when cases are ‘much lower’, amid hotel quarantine delay
Ireland 'open to extension of grace period' for protocol Far-Left ‘hijacking’ of race and climate movements to be investigated Palace denies Queen blocked law which would force her to disclose shareholdings Coronavirus latest news: Government remains 'confident' in Oxford vaccine Subscribe to The Telegraph for a month-long free trial B oris Johnson has insisted that tighter border controls are not effective until the UK's case rates are "really much lower", as it emerged that no hotels have signed a contract to provide quarantine yet. Speaking during a visit to a lateral flow test manufacturer in Derby, the Prime Minister stressed the UK has "among the toughest border controls of anywhere in the world... but they are most effective when you have got the rate of infection down in your country." He added: "At the moment we have greatly reduced rate of infection from peak a few weeks ago, but for border controls to really make that key difference... you … [Read more...] about Boris Johnson eyes border controls when cases are ‘much lower’, amid hotel quarantine delay
Teachers’ stark warning as they say ‘extremely unlikely’ all kids back on March 8
Pupils may not be back in the classroom within the week of March 8 as schools struggle to ramp up mass-testing. Heads across England are planning a staggered return over the course of the week as they test millions of secondary students. But some may be forced to delay the return to lessons even longer as they embark on the huge logistical operation. Education Secretary Gavin Williamson insisted: “They’ve got a week to bring all those pupils back, so they can be tested during that week.” But Downing Street was unable to guarantee that all pupils would have face-to-face learning by the end of the week. Boris Johnson ’s official spokesman said: “We want children to back in the classroom as soon as they can. “There is a bit of flexibility in terms of secondary schools, making sure the appropriate testing can happen.” Do you enjoy reading about politics? Sign up for all the best politics news from the Mirror Government sources admitted that “some schools” would be … [Read more...] about Teachers’ stark warning as they say ‘extremely unlikely’ all kids back on March 8