pandemic - Page 18

Brexit Britain has helped Australia source vaccines after the European Union backed Italy’s seizure of doses bound for Down Under. 

The European Commission plans to ask the United States to allow the export of millions of U.S.-made doses of the coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University to the bloc — somewhat ironically, given its approval of Italy seizing EU-made AstraZeneca doses bound for Australia.

Former Labour prime minister and Iraq War architect Tony Blair’s reinvention as a Covid sage has suffered a setback after segments of his autobiography in which he boasts of doing “the minimum” to prepare for a “panpanic” resurfaced.

BERLIN (AP) – A lawmaker with German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party said Sunday he will give up his seat in parliament and leave politics after it emerged that his company profited from deals to procure masks early in the pandemic — drawing sharp criticism in an election year.

A recent survey commissioned by the Department of Health and Social Care found that just 72.5 per cent of black people in England either have received or would accept the vaccine. That compares with 87.6 per cent for Asians and 92.6 per cent for whites.

BRUSSELS (AP) – Europe’s vaccine solidarity got a shot in the arm Friday as France rallied to support Italy, saying it could follow suit in blocking exports of coronavirus vaccines outside the European Union if necessary to enforce its own contracts with drugs manufacturers.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson faces opposition from amongst his own Conservative MPs over the government’s recommendation that children wear masks in classrooms if they cannot socially distance, with leading backbencher Sir Graham Brady warning it will cause psychological damage and disrupt learning.

Carbon dioxide emissions need to fall by the equivalent of a lockdown every two years to save the planet, climate scientists have claimed.

Australia’s finance minister has suggested that a “desperate” European Union is “tear[ing] up the rule book” after the European Commission backed Italy’s request to block a shipment of coronavirus vaccines.

LONDON (AP) – Regulators in the UK and four other countries have announced new rules to fast-track the development of modified COVID-19 vaccines to ensure drugmakers can move swiftly to target emerging variants of the disease.

The massive $1.9 trillion spending package being considered by the Senate includes over $1 billion for “socially disadvantaged farmers” and $5 million for commissions to study racial equity issues inside the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak has said the furlough scheme was extended because “things might change”, suggesting that the UK might not see the full lifting of all coronavirus restrictions by June 21st.

MOSCOW (AP) – The European Medicines Agency said it has started a rolling review of Sputnik V, many months after the vaccine was first approved for use in Russia and after dozens of countries around the world have authorized it.

A parent has described to a major British newspaper the prospect of a “mask apartheid” when schools reopen next week, after some educators have determined that while they cannot legally force children to wear masks, they will be segregated from their peers.

The majority of Germans have said that the European Union has mishandled the rollout of vaccines — a shock result for citizens from the historically pro-EU member state.

Policemen on the migrant hotspot island of Lampedusa have complained they are not getting enough protection after ten officers tested positive for the Wuhan virus.

Alabama will become one of the next states to eliminate a government-imposed mandate that requires people wear masks in public, sources close to the matter told Breitbart News.

More than half of Britons have said that they would miss lockdown — despite the country experiencing multiple shutdowns and other restrictions for almost a year, coming at a cost of their civil liberties.

Conservative MP Desmond Swayne has said he has found it “unnerving” how Britons have embraced their civil liberties being taken away during lockdowns, expressing hope that public opinion will shift once citizens realise the costs to health, education, and society.

Rep. Lee Zeldin would not rule out campaigning for governorship of New York when asked if he would consider running against Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Susan Hopkins, a specialist in infectious diseases at Public Health England, said that Britons should wear masks made with at least two, or even three, layers, and left open the possibility that the UK might follow the U.S.’s lead and recommend double masking.

A member of the British government’s scientific advisory panel has implied that the prime minister’s timetable for lifting lockdown could be set back if Britons take advantage of any rare warm Spring weather and undertake allegedly risky business such as going to the beach or meeting up with friends.

The British government is advising that secondary school pupils wear masks when they reopen — but that they cannot be made compulsory. 

Europe’s best-selling tabloid has congratulated the UK for its coronavirus vaccine rollout, stating that Germany “envies” their neighbours.

The Faith Protection Act making Georgia a “sanctuary state for people of faith” is enacted into law, Gov. Brian Kemp (R-GA) said on Wednesday’s edition of SiriusXM’s Breitbart News Daily with host Alex Marlow.

The Member of Parliament for the Port of Dover has called for illegal migrants to be put on the same quarantine “red list” as legitimate travellers, including British citizens, entering the United Kingdom from high-risk countries. 

The last restrictions on public gatherings and businesses won’t be repealed until June at the earliest, Boris Johnson said Monday.

Barbers, hairdressers, gyms, pubs, and restaurants are expected to remain restricted when Boris Johnson announces a loosening of the national lockdown regulations in England. 

A High Court judge has ruled that Health Secretary Matt Hancock acted unlawfully in failing to publish multi-billion-pound COVID-19 government contracts within the 30-day period required by law.

LONDON (AP) — The British government announced a small step out of the nation’s lockdown on Saturday – allowing nursing home residents to have a single friend or family member visit them indoors.

The United Kingdom, which the EU compared to a “speedboat” in vaccine development, has committed to giving 80 per cent of its spare doses to the third world once all adults in Britain have been vaccinated.

Olivier Blanchard, a leading liberal economist, warned in a blogpost that the Biden administration’s $1.9 trillion spending bill risks sending inflation soaring.

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair has told Boris Johnson not to drop tiered coronavirus measures after the end of lockdown, publishing a report calling for the country to revert to a five-level traffic light system.

British government ministers are moving to scrap EU caps on aid to businesses forced to shut by lockdown, which have persisted despite Brexit. 

Parents will be expected to test secondary school children, aged 11 to 18, twice a week under government plans to reopen schools from next month, according to reports.

Government ministers are reportedly pressuring Prime Minister Boris Johnson to reconsider his personal objections to the introduction of immunity certificates for domestic use, which the senior MPs claim could help save the hospitality and entertainment industries.