These are the stories of the British coronavirus that you need to know today.
Traffic light system for overseas travel
British people are said to be able to start thinking about booking vacations abroad this summer.
Grant Shaps, Secretary of Transportation, Announcement Today, traffic light systems will be introduced to classify destination countries according to the risks from COVID.
He said key factors in the assessment were the proportion of the vaccinated population, the prevalence of infection, the prevalence of mutations of concern, and the country’s access to reliable scientific data and genomic sequencing.
Chaps told BBC Radio 4 Today’s program: “This is the first time I can say that I do not recommend coming and opposition to booking a foreign holiday.”
The announcement continued Report by the Global Travel Task Force It investigated how overseas travel resumes.
Under the proposed scheme, restrictions on inbound passengers will continue to apply, including 10 days of controlled quarantine, home quarantine, and rigorous testing. However, the method of applying the rule differs depending on whether the destination is classified as “green”, “amber”, or “red”.
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Green: Arrivals must take the pre-departure test and the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test on or before the second day of arrival back in the UK, but do not need to be quarantined upon return (no positive results). as long as).Or take additional tests
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amber: Arrivals should be quarantined for 10 days, tested pre-departure, PCR tested on days 2 and 8, and self-quarantine should be terminated early by selecting “test to release” on day 5. There is.
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Red: Arrivals are subject to the restrictions currently in place in the “Red List” countries, including a 10-day stay at a controlled quarantine hotel, pre-departure tests, and PCR tests on days 2 and 8.
Ministers said they would reveal which countries would be on which list early next month and see if they could resume traveling abroad from May 17.
Farewell R?
National Bureau of Statistics (ONS) Infection investigation Here’s the latest quote for the week up to April 3rd:
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1 in 340 in the UK had COVID-19
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1 in 410 people in Scotland was infected with COVID-19
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1 in 800 people in Wales was infected with COVID-19
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1 in 300 people in Northern Ireland was infected with COVID-19
Sarah Crofts of ONS said: “Although infection rates are declining across the UK, they are flat in Northern Ireland.
“In the last few weeks, the prevalence of infectious diseases has largely leveled off in the UK. This is not so surprising given the fluctuating rates of infection in different age groups and regions over the last few weeks. No. This week, for example, the number of people aged 50-69 is increasing, decreasing in the southwest and northeast, and increasing in the southeastern region.
“Next week, as shops and restaurants begin to reopen, further blockade restrictions will be relaxed in the UK, so it is important to monitor infection levels to see the impact of these changes in the coming weeks. is.”
UK R numbers are usually updated on Fridays.But this afternoon SAGE website Said: “R and UK estimates of growth rate have not been agreed by Sage.. ”
Kevin McConway, Professor Emeritus of Applied Statistics at The Open University, commented through the Science Media Center, saying: , And in fact, they now say that such numbers are “no longer produced.” I think it’s rational. The behavior of the pandemic varies from country to country, and control decisions are primarily made by the relevant government. Combining data from all four countries now doesn’t make much sense, and definitely doesn’t make much sense, because it’s not the same in different countries. ”
Regular COVID inspection
British people are being encouraged to start routine testing of COVID-19 with the availability of free immunochromatography testing kits.
According to the Department of Health (DHSC), campaigns targeting television, radio and social media will allow the general public to be tested twice a week.
The move takes place a few days before the blockade restrictions in the UK are significantly relaxed, allowing non-essential retailers, hairdressers, pubs and restaurants with outdoor seating to resume.
Matt Hancock, Secretary of Health and Welfare, UK, said: I missed everything. “
Starting Sunday, April 11th, the “Hands, Faces, Space, Fresh Air” campaign has changed to use the NHS COVID-19 app to check in to outdoor hospitality, beauty salons, gyms and other facilities. You will be prompted.
According to DHSC, a recent analysis by the NHS Test and Trace showed that there were less than one false positive result for every 1000 high-speed cross-flow tests performed. The test said it was very effective in finding people who had no symptoms of COVID-19 but were very likely to infect it.
Wales Accelerates Blockade Regulation Relaxation
The Welsh government has submitted a plan to ease pandemic restrictions for a week in response to the decline in COVID-19 cases.
From April 26th, Welsh people will be able to participate in organized outdoor activities and hold outdoor wedding receptions.
Starting May 3, a week earlier than previously announced, gyms, leisure centers and fitness facilities will be available for individual or one-on-one training. From that day, two households can meet indoors.
Other blockade restrictions will be lifted on Monday, April 12, allowing children to fully return to the classroom, reopen all non-essential retail stores, and lift travel restrictions to and from Wales.
Mark Drakeford, the first Welsh Minister, Said: “The number of cases of the virus is decreasing, and our incredible vaccination program is becoming more and more powerful.”
According to the Welsh government, the number of COVID-19 cases has decreased from 37 to 21 per 100,000.
On Wednesday, Wales became the first country in the United Kingdom to begin rolling out the Moderna COVID vaccine.
Vaccine program “Save lives”
According to new figures, the COVID-19 vaccination program has prevented the deaths of 10,400 people over the age of 60 in the United Kingdom.
The· Analysis by UK Public Health Services By the end of March, (PHE) suggested that 9,100 people aged 80 and over, 1,200 people in their 70s, and 100 people aged 60-69 had been prevented from dying.
From December 8, 2020 to the end of March this year, people over the age of 60 were vaccinated more than 15 million times. Of these, 13 million were the first dose and 2 million were the second dose.
The PHE analysis estimated the impact of the vaccination program by combining data on vaccine efficacy and vaccine coverage on mortality. The observed mortality was then adjusted by impact to estimate daily expected mortality in the absence of vaccination.
Vaccine efficacy against mortality was based on a combined efficacy PHE estimate for 81% mortality after vaccination. We also assumed that it would take 31 days for the effects of vaccination on death to be seen.
Dr. Mary Ramsay, Head of PHE Immunization, commented: “This latest analysis is further evidence that COVID-19 vaccination continues to prevent the deaths of hundreds of people every day. Vaccinated people are advised to take it as soon as possible. .. “
Mental health “crisis” for children and teenagers
According to the Royal University of Psychiatrists (RCP), young people are most affected by mental health problems during a pandemic.
Between April and December last year, 80,226 children and adolescents were referred to mental health services, up 28% to 372,438 in 2019, according to an analysis using NHS Digital data.
We also found that 600,628 treatment sessions were provided to children and adolescents, a one-fifth increase in 2019 to reach 3.58 million.
According to the RCP, a total of 2.2 million adults sought help on mental health issues during the pandemic.
It demanded an additional £ 500m in government funding to help address the issue.
Dr. Bernadka Dubicka, chair of the RCP’s Children’s and Adolescent Teachers, said: “Our children and adolescents are at the mercy of the mental health crisis caused by the pandemic and are at risk of lifelong mental illness.
“As a front-line psychiatrist, I have seen the devastating effects of school closures, the collapse of friendships, and the uncertainties caused by pandemics on the mental health of our children and adolescents. It was.
“The service was already struggling to deal with the number of children in need of help before the pandemic occurred. [the] The government guarantees that the promised money will be at the forefront soon. ”
Government urged to deal with body image anxiety
Parliamentarians criticized the government obesity Strategy after hearing evidence that the blockade had a “catastrophic” effect on the negative body image.
Ann Survey by the Commons Women’s Equality Committee We also called for the use of BMI as a tool to measure whether a person’s weight is healthy to be discarded.
The report states that pandemic restrictions increased body image anxiety and increased the risk of eating disorders. The government’s approach “is ineffective at best and, in the worst case, perpetuates unhealthy behavior,” he said.
“The use of BMI as a measure of healthy weight has become a kind of surrogate or justification for weight shame,” said Chairman Caroline Nokes (Kon, Romsey & Southampton North). It must not be. “
The report called for the adoption of a “health of all sizes” approach to prioritize lifestyle choices over weight correction. It also called for media doctors to act on photography, stating that it promoted representative and unavailable body images.
“The pressure will increase as gyms and hairdressers reopen on Monday,” Nokes said. “This may be exciting for some, but difficult for those who experience body image anxiety.”
Sunshine linked to better COVID results
New studies suggest that living in more sunny areas may be associated with fewer deaths from COVID-19 than under cloudy skies.
Researchers at the University of Edinburgh said that obtaining UVA rays could be a useful preventative measure for people if further research confirms the findings.
They have lower mortality rates under more sunny skies, higher levels Vitamin DThis is because the study included only areas where UVB levels were inadequate to produce significant vitamin D in the body.
the study, Published in the British Journal of Dermatology. The reduction in mortality suggested that nitric oxide was released from the skin during exposure to sunlight, reducing the ability of the SARS-CoV-2 virus to replicate.
Previous studies in the same group have shown that increased exposure to sunlight is associated with improved cardiovascular health and lower blood pressure.
In an observational study, all COVID-19 deaths in the United States from January to April 2020 were recorded at solar UV levels in 2474 US counties over the same period. Confounding factors such as age, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status were considered.
Professor Chris Diven, chair of Health Geography at St. John’s Land and co-author of the study, said: “The relationship between COVID-19 mortality, season and latitude is very impressive. Here we provide another explanation for this phenomenon.”
See more global coronavirus updates in Medscape’s Coronavirus Resource Center.
