Stay-at-home orders and mandatory testing notices have been issued to several Shanghai residents as authorities race to trace contacts linked to a COVID-positive woman whose visit to the city's Disney resort prompted its temporary lockdown. The Shanghai Disney Resort on Monday became the latest major venue to shut its gates due to China's strict zero-COVID policy, locking in all visitors and only allowing them to leave, hours later, after they had tested negative for the virus. Several families said on Tuesday they had been told by officials they must stay at home if they had visited the attraction since Thursday - and to take COVID-19 tests for the next three days. One resident of the city told Reuters news agency she was informed her family might have to go into … 阅读全文

A 15-year-old schoolgirl died after deteriorating "astonishingly quickly" from a rare case of heart inflammation caused by coronavirus, an inquest has heard. Jorja Halliday, from Portsmouth, started to feel unwell in the early hours of 24 September 2021 and tested positive for COVID later that day. She had a telephone appointment with her GP on 27 September who prescribed her antibiotics for her sore throat - as she had a history of tonsillitis. The following day, however, her condition worsened and she started to vomit. She was given another appointment on 28 September, which revealed her heartrate was 147 beats a minute and prompted the doctor to refer her to hospital as an emergency. Her mother Tracey Halliday drove her to Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth as the wait for … 阅读全文

The government is not planning to open an inquiry solely into the safety of coronavirus vaccines, a health minister has said. Caroline Johnson added the vaccines will be reviewed as part of the wider UK COVID-19 inquiry. However, Dr Johnson insisted the jabs are safe and encouraged those eligible to come forward for autumn boosters. She was speaking during a Westminster Hall debate in parliament - held in response to a petition calling for a public inquiry into COVID-19 vaccine safety, which has been signed more than 107,000 times. A few MPs raised concerns during the debate about the vaccines' possible side effects, including what some described as data showing a correlation with increased levels of cardiovascular problems. The NHS website says "reports of serious side effects are very rare" … 阅读全文

COVID-19 cases are continuing to rise, but could be nearing a peak, the latest data suggest. The weekly infection survey from the Office for National Statistics shows an estimated 2,012,400 people had the virus in the UK in the week ending 10 October. That's around one in 30 people and a rise of 15.4% on the week before. But there are hints that the spread of coronavirus is beginning to slow in many parts of England, which accounts for the bulk of cases. In London, the North East and the South West rates have levelled off. And in the East Midlands, the North West and east of England they're beginning to fall. Rates are rising in people aged between 50 and 69, but they are level or falling in children … 阅读全文

The head of the COVID inquiry has said one word - "loss" - sums up the pandemic, as she promised bereaved families the investigation into the UK's preparedness and response to the outbreak "would not drag on for decades". Former Court of Appeal judge Baroness Heather Hallett said those who have suffered will be at the "heart" of the independent public inquiry, and pledged she would conduct a "thorough" and "fair" hearing. Just before a minute's silence was held for those who lost their lives, she said: "There's one word that sums up the pandemic for so many, and that is the word 'loss'." She opened the inquiry in London saying she was "determined" that it "would not drag on for decades", but insisted it would still be "as thorough … 阅读全文

A new autumn wave of coronavirus has seen the number of patients in hospital with the virus hit the highest level since August, the latest NHS data suggests. Figures show 7,024 people were in hospital with coronavirus in England as of 8am on 28 September. This is up 37% from 5,142 the previous week - and is the highest number seen since 19 August. With universal free testing wound down at the beginning of this year, health officials rely mainly on hospital data and the weekly ONS infection survey to understand how COVID is spreading. Read more:COVID-19 pandemic changed our personalities, claims study The latest NHS figures, which are published every Thursday, show an upward trend in hospital admissions across all regions, with the South West at the same level … 阅读全文

An MP who travelled between London and Scotland in 2020 in breach of COVID rules has been told by a court to undertake a 270-hour community payback order. Last month, in a hearing at Glasgow Sheriff Court, Scottish MP Margaret Ferrier admitted that she culpably and recklessly exposed the public to risk of COVID-19 infection. Former SNP MP Ms Ferrier, who now sits as an independent after having the whip removed, pleaded guilty to breaching COVID rules despite knowing she ought to self-isolate early on in the pandemic. The 62-year-old admitted she broke the rules by travelling on a train between Scotland and London after failing to self-isolate in September 2020 and wilfully exposing people "to the risk of infection, illness and death" by visiting various places in the Glasgow … 阅读全文

Former Tory minister Liam Fox has strongly denied any wrongdoing after receiving a donation from a COVID testing firm he recommended to the government during the pandemic. Sky News has seen an email from Dr Fox to the then-Health Secretary Matt Hancock, dated 22 June 2020, saying the Derbyshire-based company SureScreen Diagnostics was "exporting huge numbers of antibody tests" to Germany, Spain and Sweden, and had "performed extremely well in internationally conducted trials". Dr Fox included an email to him from the firm's director, David Campbell, appealing to "proceed with government approval in the UK", before the MP added: "Would it be possible to send this on to PHE [Public Health England] and ask them to be in touch with the company. "As we enter the next phase I don't … 阅读全文

British travellers were left struggling to board flights after the NHS COVID pass became temporarily unavailable. Users trying to access proof of their vaccination status via the NHS App and website found that the service was inaccessible from about 3.50pm on Thursday. "We are sorry the NHS COVID pass is currently unavailable. At this time there is no alternative route for accessing this information via the NHS App or online," an error message read. "If you have already downloaded the information, then your access should not be affected." On social media, several travellers said they had been unable to check in at airports because they were unable to prove their vaccination status. The requirement for people to show the NHS COVID pass to visit indoor and outdoor events and venues … 阅读全文

A COVID jab which targets both the original strain and Omicron will be rolled out across England from 5 September as part of the autumn booster programme. Care home residents and people who are housebound will be among the first to be jabbed when the rollout gets underway, NHS England has said. A wider rollout is due to begin on 12 September. The UK became the first country in the world on Monday to approve Moderna's vaccine which targets both the original strain of COVID and the Omicron variant. Vaccines that work for two infections are known as bivalents and have been developed by global manufacturers since the emergence of the Omicron variant. Ministers have said the 26 million people across England who are eligible for an autumn booster will … 阅读全文