Vaccine expert slams EU’s ‘hopeless’ tracking of Covid outbreaks

Vaccine expert slams EU’s ‘completely hopeless’ tracking of Covid outbreaks as he warns ‘biggest risk’ to UK is importing South African variant from Europe Professor Sir John Bell is leading member of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine team He said ‘biggest risk’ to the UK is importing South African variant from Europe He said Europe has been ‘completely … Read more

Coronavirus UK: Study finds no evidence schools drive Covid outbreaks

There is no evidence that having schools open drives the spread of coronavirus in the wider community in the UK, SAGE scientists have found. In a study of pupil and teacher absences caused by positive Covid tests, researchers said confirmed infections in schools did not lead to bigger outbreaks. Instead, they said there were small … Read more

Offices saw more than 500 Covid outbreaks in six months last year

All but five local authorities in England saw coronavirus infections fall last week, official data shows in the clearest sign yet that cases are trending downwards across the country during lockdown.  Public Health England figures published today reveal 144 out of 149 areas (97 per cent) recorded a drop in weekly positive tests in the … Read more

Care home Covid cases TRIPLE in a month: MOST outbreaks are among elderly residents

Covid outbreaks in care homes have more than trebled in a month meaning infection levels are now similar to the peak of the first wave amid growing fears residents are not being given the vaccine fast enough.  Date from Public Health England (PHE) reveals that in the week to January 14, there were 977 outbreaks … Read more

New coronavirus variant has triggered ‘explosive’ outbreaks in London schools

New coronavirus variant has triggered ‘explosive’ outbreaks in schools in London and the South East, says ‘Professor Lockdown’ Neil Ferguson as he warns the strain has likely spread all over Europe already Prof Ferguson said there’d been ‘anecdotal reports’ of ‘more explosive’ clusters Data has suggested children more susceptible to new, rapidly-spreading variant  By Connor Boyd Assistant … Read more

Rapid Covid tests used in Operation Moonshot ‘will CAUSE outbreaks in schools’

Professor Jon Deeks, a biostatistician from the University of Birmingham, said rapid coronavirus tests will cause outbreaks in schools if the Government presses on with plans to roll them out nationally because they are so inaccurate Rapid coronavirus tests will cause outbreaks in schools if the Government presses on with plans to roll them out … Read more

Confirmed Covid-19 cases and outbreaks were low in schools and nurseries in England in summer

There were ‘very few’ coronavirus outbreaks in schools and nurseries that re-opened during the summer term, Government research has found. Only 55 clusters of Covid were recorded in educational settings across England in the seven weeks to July 17, when No10 began the phased reopening of schools. Researchers led by a team at Public Health England … Read more

Care homes hit by coronavirus outbreaks are being locked down for MONTHS at a time

Heartbreak for relatives as care homes hit by coronavirus outbreaks are being locked down for MONTHS at a time  National guidance means entire homes have to be closed to visitors for 28 days  Care homes in England hit by successive outbreaks have been shut for months  Managers are confining residents to their rooms for the … Read more

Test and Trace was hit by ‘huge’ IT problems that led to ‘delays in squashing care home outbreaks’

The bungling NHS Test and Trace system was hit by ‘huge IT problems’ in October that led to delays in squashing coronavirus outbreaks in care homes, it’s been claimed.  Leaked NHS emails reveal an IT failure occurred in mid-October at a crucial point of the second wave of the pandemic, when infections were rising across … Read more

Are Covid-19 outbreaks slowing down in university towns? Analysis

Half of England’s major university towns are already coming out of the other side of their coronavirus outbreaks, analysis of official data suggests. Major university towns, defined as having more than 20,000 students but excluding London, saw infections skyrocket at the end of September when students and teachers returned to education in their droves.  The arrival … Read more