Here are the latest morning coronavirus headlines for Friday, October 8, as Wales is to remain on Covid-19 alert level 0 for the next three weeks despite the First Minister warning of a “challenging” winter ahead.
It comes as the Welsh Government has said that all businesses in Wales are likely to be able to remain open throughout the winter.
Ministers said the most likely scenario is that Wales slowly moves out of the pandemic to a position where coronavirus becomes a seasonal illness.
Mark Drakeford will announce his plans on how to control the spread of the virus over the next few months in a press conference on Friday. You can follow our live updates here.
While no changes are being brought in, the First Minister will lay out what could change in a worst-case scenario for Wales. Referred to as ‘Covid Urgent’, it will explain what could happen if there were sudden changes, such as a new variant or if vaccine immunity levels fall which could both “risk overwhelming the NHS”.
Mr Drakeford said: “We are facing a challenging winter ahead – coronavirus hasn’t gone away and flu is forecast to return this winter.
“Vaccination is the best defence we have against coronavirus – the more people who are fully vaccinated, the better our chances of controlling the spread of this awful virus.”
The ‘Covid Stable’ plan involves the country remaining on alert level 0 through the autumn and winter with all businesses remaining open.
If cases begin to rise, existing measures will be strengthened as part of the alternative ‘Covid Urgent’ plan.
Covid Urgent would see the return to the alert level system and restrictions in order to prevent the NHS from becoming overwhelmed
The Government said the plan, if triggered, would be “used proportionately, but as a last-resort”.
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Infection rate in Wales continues to fall
Eight more people have died with coronavirus in Wales according to latest figures from Public Health Wales.
The data published on Thursday, October 7 also revealed there were 3,400 new positive cases, bringing the total number since the pandemic began to 372,029.
The latest seven-day infection rate across Wales based on the cases for every 100,000 people (seven days up to October 2) has begun to fall and now stands at 489.4 – a significant drop on the 507.3 reported on Wednesday.
The local authority with the highest infection rate in Wales is now Torfaen with 682.2 cases per 100,000 population over seven days, followed by Vale of Glamorgan with 626.6 and Denbighshire with 594.6. Cases for your area here.
South Africa, Thailand and Mexico among 47 countries moved from red list
A total of 47 countries including South Africa, Mexico and Thailand will be removed from England’s red list on Monday, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has announced.
Travellers arriving from those destinations will no longer need to spend 11 nights in a quarantine hotel at a cost of £2,285 for solo travellers.
Just seven countries will remain on the red list following the changes – Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti, Panama, Peru and Venezuela. More details on announcement here.
Wales sets its own travel rules but have recently mirrored announcements made in Westminster. Welsh health minister Eluned Morgan said her government has urged Mr Shapps to take a “more precautionary approach” to international travel but will keep her nation’s restrictions in line with England’s for reasons of practicality.
After the announcement on Thursday, she said: “As most people travelling overseas will do so from English airports and ports and, as Wales shares an open border with England, although we are concerned about the risks related to travel, it is not practical develop its own border health policy in isolation from the other nations of the UK.”
She added: “We are concerned about the cumulative impact of the risk being carried in relation to opening up travel particularly from higher risk countries.
“This includes the radical reduction in the number of red list countries and the suggestion the UK Government is contemplating considerably relaxing the rules around quarantine from red list countries and introducing the use of lateral flow tests for returning travellers.
“All of these measures, when taken together, considerably increase the risk of a new variant being introduced into Wales and the UK.”
Mr Shapps said: “With half-term and winter sun around the corner, we’re making it easier for families and loved ones to reunite by significantly cutting the number of destinations on the red list, thanks in part to the increased vaccination efforts around the globe.
“Restoring people’s confidence in travel is key to rebuilding our economy and levelling up this country. With less restrictions and more people travelling, we can all continue to move safely forward together along our pathway to recovery.”
Mr Shapps also announced that the Government would recognise vaccines for arrivals from a further 37 countries and territories including Brazil, Ghana, Hong Kong, India, Pakistan, South Africa and Turkey.
The decision means fully vaccinated people entering England from these locations will be exempt from quarantine, the pre-departure test and the day-eight post-arrival test.
No date has been set on when eligible fully-vaccinated arrivals will be able to use a lateral flow test for their day-two test, rather than the more expensive PCR version.
The Government said its “ambition” is for this to be in place “for people returning from half-term breaks by the end of the month”.
Travellers will be able to verify they have completed a lateral flow test by sending a photograph.
British Airways announced it will resume services and increase frequencies to a number of winter sun destinations being removed from the red list, such as Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa; Mexico City and Cancun, Mexico; Sao Paulo, Brazil; and Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The airline’s chief executive Sean Doyle said: “It finally feels like we are seeing light at the end of a very long tunnel.
“Britain will benefit from this significant reduction in red list countries and now it’s time to turn our attention to eradicating testing for fully-vaccinated travellers to ensure we don’t lose our place on the global stage.”
110 military personnel to help the Welsh Ambulance Service as drivers
The Welsh Ambulance Service is set to be supported by 110 members of the military who will work as non-emergency drivers, it has been confirmed.
The Ministry of Defence said the armed forces personnel will be deployed from October 14 and will stay with the NHS trust until the end of November.
The aim is to help to ease pressures caused by the pandemic and ensure that ambulance crews across Wales can continue to attend life-threatening calls quickly.
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The UK Government said the military will “augment” the ambulance service with non-emergency drivers who will not operate under blue light conditions.
They will attend lower-priority calls to help to free up resources for emergency calls where there is an immediate risk to life, such as cardiac arrests.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: “I am proud of the tireless work of all our service personnel during this pandemic. They continue to provide important support, working alongside our dedicated emergency services across the UK.
“The deployment of 110 personnel to support the ambulance service will ensure WAST can continue to deliver their life-saving services.”
Long Covid given official definition as WHO lists three common symptoms
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has officially defined long-Covid for the first time during the pandemic.
Health experts have been baffled by the condition which is said to have impacted more than one million people across the UK.
In a paper titled “A clinical case definition of post-Covid 19 condition”, it describes so-called long Covid as something that occurs in individuals that have come down with the virus.
WHO says that the ‘post Covid-19 condition’ usually happens three months after onset Covid, with symptoms lasting for at least two months, the Mirror reports.
Common symptoms of long-Covid include fatigue, shortness of breath and cognitive dysfunction.
The condition should be diagnosed if the symptoms “cannot be explained by an alternative diagnosis”, the paper reads.
It adds that coming up with a definition is an important first step to ensure that health officials can spot and treat the condition as effectively as possible.
The WHO said a separate definition may be applicable for children.
It comes as 1.1million people in the UK are estimated to be experiencing self-reported Long Covid, according to the data from the Office for National Statistics.
The ONS data is for the four weeks to September 5, which is up from 970,000 in the previous survey.
People in England urged to get flu and covid booster vaccines to help NHS cope
People are being urged to have their flu and Covid-19 booster vaccines after experts predicted the viruses could push the health service to breaking point this winter.
The Government has launched the biggest flu programme in the NHS’s history in England, with more than 35 million people eligible for a free vaccine.
Covid booster jabs are also being rolled out, with around 1.7 million people given these third jabs so far and around 28 million people in England eligible.
The Covid booster must be given no earlier than six months after a second dose of any coronavirus vaccine, according to guidance from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).
As the weather gets cooler, experts are calling on people to take up the offer of a flu and/or Covid booster when the NHS contacts them, and not to delay having either jab.
In some regions, people may be offered the Covid jab in one arm and the flu vaccine in the other on the same day, although this will not be available in every area.
Last winter, there were very few hospital admissions for flu as people social distanced but the health service is braced for a big surge in the coming months due to a lack of population immunity, people meeting more indoors and cooler temperatures helping the virus spread.
Mental health charity warns of rising demand from parents worried about children
Parents and carers are increasingly seeking support for their child’s mental health, a charity has warned.
YoungMinds said there had been a 48% rise in demand over the last two years – covering the Covid pandemic – for support via its email, web chat and crisis text services.
Ahead of World Mental Health Day on Sunday, some classrooms and workplaces are taking part in Hello Yellow on Friday, where people wear something yellow in support of YoungMinds.
Retailers and restaurants including Wagamama and Wickes are backing the day, alongside thousands of schools.
In a survey of parents and carers at the height of the pandemic for YoungMinds, two thirds (67%) said they were deeply worried about the long-term impact on the young people in their care, and said they did not know where to turn for advice and support.
Tom Madders, director of campaigns at the charity, said: “We know from parents who have been using our digital helpline services how hard life has been for many children over the last year.
“Some have struggled to cope with isolation, anxiety, fears about the future, bereavement or traumatic experiences – and others are finding the return to school and previous routines really challenging.
“Children who are already experiencing inequalities are likely to continue to be disproportionately affected.
“Often it can be the little things we do in our day to day lives that can make a big difference to young people’s mental health to remind them that they’re not alone.”
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Social distancing to end in hospitality venues in Northern Ireland
Stormont ministers have agreed to remove a legal requirement for social distancing in bars and restaurants in Northern Ireland.
The one-metre rule will be removed for the hospitality sector on October 31.
From the same date, nightclubs in the region can also reopen.
Customers will be able to move around all hospitality premises freely again and dancing will be permitted once more.
The Executive will ask event organisers and venues to voluntarily introduce entry systems requiring patrons to either prove full vaccination or a negative lateral flow test, or evidence of a Covid infection within the previous six months.
The decisions were taken as ministers convened on Thursday to consider the remaining Covid-19 rules in Northern Ireland.
They also agreed a number of other relaxations.
Those include increasing the cap on the number of people who can gather in indoor domestic settings. The current limit of 15 people from no more than four households will increase to 30 people in total on October 14.
On the same date, audience members will no longer need to be seated when watching indoor performances.
The October 31 date for the other relaxations affecting hospitality has been set to give Stormont officials sufficient time to engage with the sector on implementing mitigation measures.
Mask could return to classrooms in England
Mask-wearing for pupils could return to schools under contingency plans to keep coronavirus at bay in the classroom over winter.
Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi said he did not want to see the return of bubbles, where whole classes or year groups could be sent home after a positive Covid test.
But he said that it was right to have plans in place to tackle the pandemic in schools.
Mr Zahawi also defended the slow rollout of carbon dioxide monitors which were first promised by the Department for Education (DfE) in August.
Speaking to Sky News, Mr Zahawi said he was concerned about the impact Covid-19 measures had on attendance.
He said: “The good news is that – and thanks to the brilliant teachers and support staff and parents and children – 99% of schools are open.
“Attendance has gone up, the last set of figures I looked at was about 90%, which obviously will fluctuate depending on infection rates.
“But my priority is to protect education, keep those schools open.”
But he said he was not looking to return to the bubble system to do so, “because actually, you saw the fall off in attendance which really does harm mental wellbeing, mental health of children”.
Mr Zahawi did not, however, rule out the return of the wearing of masks in the classroom in England.
In Wales, secondary school and college pupils will be advised to take daily lateral flow tests for seven days if someone in their household tests positive for coronavirus, the Welsh Government has announced.
Pfizer asks US to allow Covid vaccine for children aged five to 11
Pfizer has asked the US government to allow use of its Covid-19 vaccine in children aged five to 11.
If regulators agree, shots could begin within a matter of weeks.
Many parents and paediatricians there have been clamouring for protection for children younger than 12, the current age cut-off for the vaccine made by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech.
Pfizer announced in a tweet that it had formally filed its application with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Now the FDA will have to decide if there is enough evidence that the shots are safe and will work for younger children like they do for teenagers and adults.
An independent expert panel will publicly debate the evidence on October 26.
In one big change, Pfizer says its research shows that younger children should get a third of the dose now given to everyone else.
After their second dose, the five to 11-year-olds developed virus-fighting antibody levels just as strong as teenagers and young adults get from regular-strength shots.
While children are at lower risk of severe illness or death than older people, Covid-19 does sometimes kill children and cases in youngsters have skyrocketed as the extra-contagious Delta variant has swept through the US.
Germany finds millions more people have had Covid jab than previously thought
Germany has vaccinated millions more people against coronavirus than previously thought, the country’s health minister said.
Almost 80% of adults in Germany are fully vaccinated and about 84% have received at least one shot, according to the country’s disease control centre, the Robert Koch Institute.
That is some 3.5 million people higher than previously stated.
“The discrepancy between the numbers that had been reported so far and those that the Robert Koch Institute now found out about in surveys is due to the fact that some vaccinations may not have been reported,” health minister Jens Spahn told reporters in Berlin.
He added that vaccinations of employees at big companies and those given shots by mobile vaccination teams in nursing centres and elsewhere, in particular, may not have been fully reported.
The new figures by the Robert Koch Institute are based on surveys and did not include people under the age of 18, which is why the agency did not yet give a new overall number of vaccinated people in Germany, but has so far only adjusted the number of vaccinated adults.
Anybody aged 12 and older is eligible for a coronavirus vaccination in Germany.
Mr Spahn said the higher-than-thought number of fully vaccinated people in Germany would give the country more security in the pandemic as autumn and winter are approaching – a period during which people spend more time inside leading to possible higher Covid-19 infection rates again.
Russian Covid cases continue to soar
Russia’s daily coronavirus infections have soared to their highest level this year as authorities struggle to control a surge in cases amid a slow pace in vaccinations and with few restrictions in place.
The daily Covid-19 death toll exceeded 900 for a second straight day, with 924 new deaths reported – a day after reaching a record 929.
Russia already has Europe’s highest death toll in the pandemic – topping 213,000 – and the authorities’ conservative way of recording Covid-19 fatalities suggests the actual number could be even higher.
On Thursday, the government’s coronavirus taskforce reported 27,550 new confirmed cases, a nearly 10% rise from the previous day. New infections in Moscow soared by nearly 50% to 5,404.
A quick rise in infections and deaths began in late September, with authorities blaming it on the low vaccination rate.
As of Tuesday, almost 33% of Russia’s 146 million people had received at least one shot of a coronavirus vaccine, and 29% were fully vaccinated.
But the Kremlin has shrugged off the idea of imposing a new nationwide lockdown, delegating the power to tighten restrictions to regional authorities.
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