COVID-19 Pandemic (Coronavirus)
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South Africa coronavirus variant: 77 cases found in UK
South Africa coronavirus variant: 77 cases found in UK
Published
12 minutes ago
Related Topics
image copyrightReuters
The UK has identified 77 cases of the coronavirus variant first detected in South Africa, the health secretary has said.
Cases are linked to travellers arriving in the UK, rather than community transmission, Matt Hancock added.
He told the BBC's Andrew Marr cases were under "very close" observation and enhanced contact tracing was under way.
Ministers are due to meet on Monday to consider imposing tougher restrictions on people arriving from abroad.
Scientists have said there is a chance the South African variant may harm the effectiveness of current vaccines.
Meanwhile, Mr Hancock said 75% of over-80s and three quarters of care homes in the UK have received a first Covid jab.
Both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines require two doses, and figures so far reflect those given the first dose.
Mr Hancock said that it was "far too early to say" what proportion of the population needed to be vaccinated before lockdown restrictions could be eased.
The South Africa variant has been found in at least 20 other countries, including the UK.
Mr Hancock said that all the South Africa variant cases in the UK were linked to travel.
"That's why we have got such stringent border measures in place against movement from South Africa," he added.
The UK closed all travel corridors last week until at least 15 February, with almost all travellers arriving in the country now required to show proof of a negative Covid-19 test to be allowed entry.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has not ruled out bringing in tougher measures at UK borders, telling a Downing Street news conference on Friday: "We don't want to put that (efforts to control Covid) at risk by having a new variant come back in."
Ministers are set to discuss whether to tighten border restrictions further, including the possibility of hotel quarantines for travellers.
Mr Hancock said: "We have got to be cautious at the borders."
Asked for a date on when lockdown restrictions might end, Mr Hancock said it was "one of the many things that we don't yet know the answer to".
media captionMatt Hancock on easing restrictions: "We don't know the answer"
Government data on 14 January showed there were 35 confirmed cases of the South Africa variant identified in the UK, and a further 12 "probable" cases.
Mr Hancock said nine cases of the Brazil variant had been found in the UK, adding "we are monitoring each and every one very closely".
Shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show that Labour had been "pushing the government to take tougher measures at the border since last spring".
She said: "We would fully expect the government to bring in tougher quarantine measures, we would expect them to roll out a proper testing strategy and we would expect them as well to start checking up on the people who are quarantining.
"Only three out of every hundred people who are asked to quarantine when they arrive into the UK actually face any checks at all - that's just simply not sufficient."
On Friday, Mr Johnson said there was "some evidence" the UK variant may be associated with "a higher degree of mortality".
The UK government's chief scientific officer, Sir Patrick Vallance, said there was "a lot of uncertainty around these numbers" but that early evidence suggested the variant could be about 30% more deadly.
The PM said on Friday that there was evidence that both the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine and Oxford-AstraZeneca jab were effective against the variant first detected in the UK.
Sir Patrick has warned that the variants in South Africa and Brazil might "have certain features which means they might be less susceptible to vaccines".
But he said "there is no evidence" that the two variants have transmission advantages over those already in the UK and so having cases here doesn't mean "they will take off".
Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, Prof Jonathan Van-Tam stressed that scientists "do not yet know the impact of the vaccine on transmission".
He said vaccines offer "hope" but infection rates must come down quickly.
Can vaccinated people spread coronavirus?
It's a key question but the fact is that no one can be sure.
That's because the trials of the vaccines explored the safety of the drugs and how well they prevent people from becoming ill - with good results for both.
But they did not investigate whether vaccination also stops infection and therefore whether people who've been immunised can still spread the virus to others.
If a vaccinated person did become infected, they probably wouldn't realise because they wouldn't have any symptoms. That's why health officials and ministers are so concerned.
It's possible that the antibodies boosted by the vaccine suppress the effects of the virus but don't eliminate it from the upper airway.
Many scientists are cautiously hopeful that in this scenario, the amount of virus would be reduced but they're waiting for the results of studies under way now.
And until there's an answer, it's difficult to calculate how and when it's safe to ease restrictions and allow people to mix again.
A further 610 deaths within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test were reported in the UK on Sunday - down from 671 deaths last Sunday - in addition to 30,004 new infections.
The number of positive cases has fallen for the fourth day in a row and is the lowest figure since before Christmas.
The death figures tend to be lower on a Sunday and Monday because of weekend lags in reporting of the data.
Meanwhile, more than six million people have had their first dose of a Covid vaccine - with the figure now standing at 6,353,321.
There were 4,076 Covid patients on mechanical ventilators in UK hospitals as of Friday, according to government data.
That is higher than during the first wave, when the peak was 3,301 on 12 April.
In other developments:
South Africa coronavirus variant: 77 cases found in UK
Published
12 minutes ago
Related Topics
The UK has identified 77 cases of the coronavirus variant first detected in South Africa, the health secretary has said.
Cases are linked to travellers arriving in the UK, rather than community transmission, Matt Hancock added.
He told the BBC's Andrew Marr cases were under "very close" observation and enhanced contact tracing was under way.
Ministers are due to meet on Monday to consider imposing tougher restrictions on people arriving from abroad.
Scientists have said there is a chance the South African variant may harm the effectiveness of current vaccines.
Meanwhile, Mr Hancock said 75% of over-80s and three quarters of care homes in the UK have received a first Covid jab.
Both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines require two doses, and figures so far reflect those given the first dose.
Mr Hancock said that it was "far too early to say" what proportion of the population needed to be vaccinated before lockdown restrictions could be eased.
- South Africa coronavirus variant: What's the risk?
- How worrying are the new variants?
- Scientists play down 'more deadly variant' claim
The South Africa variant has been found in at least 20 other countries, including the UK.
Mr Hancock said that all the South Africa variant cases in the UK were linked to travel.
"That's why we have got such stringent border measures in place against movement from South Africa," he added.
The UK closed all travel corridors last week until at least 15 February, with almost all travellers arriving in the country now required to show proof of a negative Covid-19 test to be allowed entry.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has not ruled out bringing in tougher measures at UK borders, telling a Downing Street news conference on Friday: "We don't want to put that (efforts to control Covid) at risk by having a new variant come back in."
Ministers are set to discuss whether to tighten border restrictions further, including the possibility of hotel quarantines for travellers.
Mr Hancock said: "We have got to be cautious at the borders."
Asked for a date on when lockdown restrictions might end, Mr Hancock said it was "one of the many things that we don't yet know the answer to".
media captionMatt Hancock on easing restrictions: "We don't know the answer"
Government data on 14 January showed there were 35 confirmed cases of the South Africa variant identified in the UK, and a further 12 "probable" cases.
Mr Hancock said nine cases of the Brazil variant had been found in the UK, adding "we are monitoring each and every one very closely".
Shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show that Labour had been "pushing the government to take tougher measures at the border since last spring".
She said: "We would fully expect the government to bring in tougher quarantine measures, we would expect them to roll out a proper testing strategy and we would expect them as well to start checking up on the people who are quarantining.
"Only three out of every hundred people who are asked to quarantine when they arrive into the UK actually face any checks at all - that's just simply not sufficient."
- LOOK-UP TOOL: How many cases in your area?
- SOCIAL DISTANCING: Can I give my friends a hug?
- JOBS: Can my boss force me to go to work?
On Friday, Mr Johnson said there was "some evidence" the UK variant may be associated with "a higher degree of mortality".
The UK government's chief scientific officer, Sir Patrick Vallance, said there was "a lot of uncertainty around these numbers" but that early evidence suggested the variant could be about 30% more deadly.
The PM said on Friday that there was evidence that both the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine and Oxford-AstraZeneca jab were effective against the variant first detected in the UK.
Sir Patrick has warned that the variants in South Africa and Brazil might "have certain features which means they might be less susceptible to vaccines".
But he said "there is no evidence" that the two variants have transmission advantages over those already in the UK and so having cases here doesn't mean "they will take off".
- Meet the UK's vaccine volunteers
- How will the UK vaccinate millions of people?
- Why won't vaccinating the vulnerable end lockdown?
Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, Prof Jonathan Van-Tam stressed that scientists "do not yet know the impact of the vaccine on transmission".
He said vaccines offer "hope" but infection rates must come down quickly.
Can vaccinated people spread coronavirus?
It's a key question but the fact is that no one can be sure.
That's because the trials of the vaccines explored the safety of the drugs and how well they prevent people from becoming ill - with good results for both.
But they did not investigate whether vaccination also stops infection and therefore whether people who've been immunised can still spread the virus to others.
If a vaccinated person did become infected, they probably wouldn't realise because they wouldn't have any symptoms. That's why health officials and ministers are so concerned.
It's possible that the antibodies boosted by the vaccine suppress the effects of the virus but don't eliminate it from the upper airway.
Many scientists are cautiously hopeful that in this scenario, the amount of virus would be reduced but they're waiting for the results of studies under way now.
And until there's an answer, it's difficult to calculate how and when it's safe to ease restrictions and allow people to mix again.
A further 610 deaths within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test were reported in the UK on Sunday - down from 671 deaths last Sunday - in addition to 30,004 new infections.
The number of positive cases has fallen for the fourth day in a row and is the lowest figure since before Christmas.
The death figures tend to be lower on a Sunday and Monday because of weekend lags in reporting of the data.
Meanwhile, more than six million people have had their first dose of a Covid vaccine - with the figure now standing at 6,353,321.
There were 4,076 Covid patients on mechanical ventilators in UK hospitals as of Friday, according to government data.
That is higher than during the first wave, when the peak was 3,301 on 12 April.
In other developments:
- Israel's health minister Yuli Edelstein said some people "still get sick" with coronavirus after getting the first dose of the vaccine, but that there are "some encouraging signs of less severe diseases, less people hospitalised after the first dose"
- Ministers have been urged to intervene after 500 staff at the UK vehicle licensing agency's contact centre in Swansea contracted coronavirus.
- Fines amounting to more than £15,000 have been issued after 300 attended a rave in Hackney, and a student party in Birmingham broken up by police attracted people from up to 200 miles away
One thing I wish the media would do is report only on the total deaths, new and active cases, like today I see the headline is “25 Million Cases for the U.S!!” But they don’t tell you that only about 9 million of those are active cases and that 15 million have recovered
Still terrible of course but tell the whole story
Still terrible of course but tell the whole story
Legislator who questioned Black hygiene to lead health panel
Legislator who questioned Black hygiene to lead health panel
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A Republican lawmaker and doctor who questioned whether members of “the colored population” were disproportionately contracting the coronavirus because of their hygiene is drawing new criticism from Black lawmakers after his appointment to lead the state Senate Health Committee.
“Could it just be that African Americans – or the colored population — do not wash their hands as well as other groups? Or wear masks? Or do not socially distance themselves?” state Sen. Stephen Huffman asked a Black health expert
in June 11 testimony. “Could that just be the explanation of why there’s a higher incidence?”The comments resulted in calls from Democrats and the ACLU of Ohio for him to resign from the GOP-controlled Senate.
Huffman, of Tipp City, was appointed last week by Senate President Matt Huffman, his cousin, to chair the committee even after he was fired from his job as a Dayton-area emergency room physician for his comments.
In a letter Wednesday, the Ohio Black Legislative Caucus demanded a health committee leader who understands and can respond to the inequities of healthcare in Ohio “without political influence.”
“If the Senate leadership will not replace Sen. Huffman as Chair, then we will expect Sen. Huffman to use his position to improve the health of Ohio’s African-American population by working with OLBC to pass legislation that effectively addresses health disparities in the state of Ohio,” director Tony Bishop said in a news release.
Huffman remains a licensed medical doctor in Ohio.
“Senator Huffman is a medical doctor and highly qualified to chair the Health Committee,” spokesperson John Fortney said Friday in a written statement. “He has a long record of providing healthcare to minority neighborhoods and has joined multiple mission trips at his own expense to treat those from disadvantaged countries.
Fortney added that Huffman apologized at the time “for asking a clumsy and awkwardly worded question.”
“Sincere apologies deserve sincere forgiveness, and not the perpetual politically weaponized judgement of the cancel culture,” he said.”
___
Farnoush Amiri is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
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GOP Lawmaker, Who Questioned Black Hygiene In The Contraction Of COVID-19, To Lead Health Panel
A white Ohio Republican lawmaker who questioned whether members of “the colored population” were disproportionately contracting COVID-19 because of their lack of hygiene will now lead the state’s Senate Health Committee.
Ohio State Sen. Stephen Huffman received heavy criticism from Black lawmakers after his testimony at a committee hearing in June 2020, where he asked whether cleanliness played a role in the disproportionate number of Blacks contracting the coronavirus, according to The Associated Press.
“Could it just be that African Americans – or the colored population — do not wash their hands as well as other groups? Or wear masks? Or do not socially distance themselves?” Huffman. “Could that just be the explanation of why there’s a higher incidence?”
Huffman, who was fired from his job as a Dayton-area emergency room physician for the comments, was appointed to chair the committee by his cousin, Senate President Matt Huffman, in Jan. 2021. His offensive comments pushed Democrats and the ACLU of Ohio to call him to resign from the Senate.
The Ohio Black Legislative Caucus (OLBC) wrote in a letter on Wednesday (Jan. 20) urging for a new health committee leader, The AP notes.
“If the Senate leadership will not replace Sen. Huffman as Chair, then we will expect Sen. Huffman to use his position to improve the health of Ohio’s African-American population by working with OLBC to pass legislation that effectively addresses health disparities in the state of Ohio,” director Tony Bishop said in a news release.
John Fortney, a spokesman for Huffman, released a statement Friday (Jan. 22), saying the legislator had previously apologized “for asking a clumsy and awkwardly worded question.”
Further, he said the apology “deserves sincere forgiveness, and not the perpetual politically weaponized judgement of the cancel culture.”
Yup, no racism to see here, "Black folk just don't wash themselves." Then they go ahead and put that man in charge of the fukking Senate health committee.
GOP Lawmaker, Who Questioned Black Hygiene In The Contraction Of COVID-19, To Lead Health Panel
A white Ohio Republican lawmaker who questioned whether members of “the colored population” were disproportionately contracting COVID-19 because of their lack of hygiene will now lead the state’s Senate Health Committee.
Ohio State Sen. Stephen Huffman received heavy criticism from Black lawmakers after his testimony at a committee hearing in June 2020, where he asked whether cleanliness played a role in the disproportionate number of Blacks contracting the coronavirus, according to The Associated Press.
“Could it just be that African Americans – or the colored population — do not wash their hands as well as other groups? Or wear masks? Or do not socially distance themselves?” Huffman. “Could that just be the explanation of why there’s a higher incidence?”
Huffman, who was fired from his job as a Dayton-area emergency room physician for the comments, was appointed to chair the committee by his cousin, Senate President Matt Huffman, in Jan. 2021. His offensive comments pushed Democrats and the ACLU of Ohio to call him to resign from the Senate.
The Ohio Black Legislative Caucus (OLBC) wrote in a letter on Wednesday (Jan. 20) urging for a new health committee leader, The AP notes.
“If the Senate leadership will not replace Sen. Huffman as Chair, then we will expect Sen. Huffman to use his position to improve the health of Ohio’s African-American population by working with OLBC to pass legislation that effectively addresses health disparities in the state of Ohio,” director Tony Bishop said in a news release.
John Fortney, a spokesman for Huffman, released a statement Friday (Jan. 22), saying the legislator had previously apologized “for asking a clumsy and awkwardly worded question.”
Further, he said the apology “deserves sincere forgiveness, and not the perpetual politically weaponized judgement of the cancel culture.”
Yup, no racism to see here, "Black folk just don't wash themselves." Then they go ahead and put that man in charge of the fukking Senate health committee.
Maybe someone mention that to the media.
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There are a number of variants and the media is using old information.
This (quote
Variants of SARS-CoV-2 - Wikipedia
BlackDiBiase
Superstar
new NHS campaign, shyt is real hopefully people start abiding rules.
ryda518
Randy Orton=Legend Killer
Is there an update to the article now that we are in a new administration?
I don’t trust anything they have to say from the trump era
Kyle C. Barker
Migos VERZUZ Mahalia Jackson
First person I’ve personally known recently died from Covid. Guy was only 44 with 4 kids, pre existing heart condition. His sister stated his feet turned purple at some point. Everyone reacts differently to this, it’s crazy.