Latest updates: a further 1,820 die in the UK within 28 days of a Covid test; Downing Street says police must wait for phase two of vaccine rolloutUK reports 1,820 Covid deaths in record daily highVaccines may need updating to protect against new variantPriti Patel says she wanted UK borders shut last MarchTalking can spread Covid as much as coughing, says researchCoronavirus – latest updates...
Neutralising ability of antibodies typically falls eight-fold with South African variantCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageCoronavirus vaccines may need to be redesigned this year to boost protection against a new variant that emerged rapidly in South Africa, research suggests, while past Covid sufferers may not be protected against reinfection.Research by South African...
Low uptake fuelled by fears over safety of vaccine and spread of misinformation Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageIndia’s Covid-19 vaccine drive has been hampered by turnout as low as 22% in some states, as fears over the safety of the vaccine and the spread of misinformation has fuelled widespread hesitancy.On Saturday, India launched the world’s largest...
Suspicions about army lab spread on social media after official’s tit-for-tat response to US claimCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageAttempts by Chinese authorities to shift the narrative around Covid-19’s origins have reignited on social media this week after a government spokesperson revived a conspiracy theory that it came from a US army lab.Hua Chunying, a...
New research centre to tackle overlap of livestock and human medicines, but campaigners fear “techno-fix” for factory farmingAn initiative to develop bespoke antibiotics for livestock has raised fears that it could be a “techno-fix” for more intensive farming.Mixed reactions have followed news that Ineos, a global petrochemical manufacturer, has donated £100m to establish the Ineos Oxford...
PHE says potential benefits of daily testing unclear in light of emergence of new variantCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe government has told schools to pause the daily coronavirus testing of students and staff in England, five weeks after it was announced as a “milestone moment” by the education secretary, Gavin Williamson.Public Health England (PHE) said the...
Lockdown may have given us more respect for the wild plants, and the work they do, in our urban areasWeeds have a public image problem – unloved, trodden on, dug up and sprayed with herbicides. But during lockdown, the weeds in towns and cities have given a contact with nature, no matter how humble their roots. These are, after all, wild plants growing under our feet and they deserve respect.A...
Director general says virus may become less deadly over time and warned of vigilance needed to keep out new variantsCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageCovid-19 is unlikely to ever die out, even with vaccination efforts, but it could become more transmissible and less deadly, New Zealand’s director general of health has warned. “If you think about influenza, which was...
Tiny aerosols of the virus emitted when speaking linger in air for longer than larger droplets from a coughCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageSpeaking to a friend when infected with the coronavirus could be as dangerous as coughing near them thanks to lingering particles, research has suggested.Covid can be spread through a number of routes, including virus-containing...