Covid news - live: Hunt for missing patient narrowed to 379 households and third vaccine dose may be needed
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Your support makes all the difference.The search for a mystery missing patient with the more virulent Brazilian variant of Covid-19 has been narrowed down to 379 households in the South East, Matt Hancock has said.
The health secretary said just 0.1 per cent of people who take tests fail to fill in a registration card, after Downing Street was unable to confirm the extent of the problem.
Officials have been hunting for the individual, who is one of six people in the UK infected with the “variant of concern” from Brazil, but the only one who provided no information about themselves.
Mr Hancock told the House of Commons a third vaccine dose may be needed over the autumn to protect against new variants of the disease.
He said: “We know for sure that we seek to vaccinate with two doses every adult in the UK – there may well be a need for a third vaccination over the autumn against variants and there is currently a clinical trial considering the vaccination of under-18s.”
Joggers should wear face masks when running past others, scientists say
Joggers should wear face coverings because running past others while “puffing and panting” could pose a “danger”, scientists have said - however, they should be able to “run freely” in wide open spaces where they are not near other people.
Trish Greenhalgh, professor in primary care health sciences at the University of Oxford, told Good Morning Britain: “There is no doubt the virus is in the air, there is no doubt that you can catch it if you inhale, and that someone else has exhaled.”
My colleague Samuel Osborne has the full story:
Joggers should wear face masks when running past others, scientists say
‘There is no doubt the virus is in the air, there is no doubt that you can catch it if you inhale,’
Brazil variant more infectious and capable of evading natural immunity, Manaus study suggests
The coronavirus variant first detected in Brazil is estimated to be roughly twice as infectious as other mutated forms of the virus and can partially evade immunity elicited by previous infection, early research suggests.
Experts cautioned that the research cannot be used to predict what may happen in the UK, and say it does not suggest that vaccines will not work against the variant.
Samuel Lovett reports:
Brazil variant more infectious and capable of evading natural immunity, early research suggests
Scientists warn against generalising findings, based on Brazilian city of Manaus, which saw large second wave of infections driven by variant in late 2020
David Cameron receives vaccine jab
Former prime minister David Cameron has received a Covid vaccine jab today, he confirmed on Twitter.
Mr Cameron thanked the NHS and “all the amazing staff and volunteers” working on the vaccine rollout.
Funding for Covid catch-up teaching not sufficient, says government’s tsar
Funding for programmes to help children catch up on teaching missed due to coronavirus is not sufficient, particularly for the youngest children, the government’s education recovery tsar has said.
Education secretary Gavin Williamson committed £1.7bn to helping schools and colleges provide catch-up support - but Sir Kevan Collins, the expert appointed to oversee the programme, told MPs that the funding was a “good start” but not enough to do the job.
Our Political Editor Andrew Woodcock has more:
Funding for Covid catch-up teaching not sufficient, says government’s tsar
Warning that lost lessons in early years will hit exam results long after
Primary school pupils should not be asked to wear face coverings, Downing Street says
Downing Street has said primary school pupils should not be asked to wear face coverings when schools in England reopen on 8 March.
The prime minister's official spokesman said officials have been in contact with Redbridge Council in east London which has reportedly told primary schools under its control that pupils should be advised to wear masks.
He said the Department for Education was “in contact with the local council on the matter”.
One in four people in England estimated to have Covid antibodies, says Hancock
Health secretary Matt Hancock has said one in four people in England are now estimated to have antibodies against Covid-19.
He told the Commons: "This morning, the Office for National Statistics published new data on the levels of protection people have.
"They show that up to February 11, one in four people are estimated to have antibodies against coronavirus in England, up from one in five.
"The levels are highest in the over-80s, the first group to be vaccinated, showing again the protection from the vaccine across the country."
Surge testing to target two London areas after South African variant detected
Surge testing will be deployed in the areas of Wimbledon Park in Merton, southwest London, and East Finchley in Barnet, north London, where the South African Covid variant has been found, the Department for Health has said.
The increased testing is being introduced in addition to existing extensive testing.
Positive cases will be sequenced for genomic data to help increase scientists’ understanding of Covid-19 variants and their spread within these areas.
Enhanced contact tracing will also be used for individuals testing positive with a “variant of concern”. This will involve contact tracers looking back across an extended period to determine the route of transmission.
Search for missing patient narrowed to 379 households, Matt Hancock says
Health officials are closing in on the mystery missing patient with the more virulent Brazilian variant of Covid-19, Matt Hancock says.
The search has “narrowed down to 379 households in the south-east”, the health secretary told MPs, adding: “We are contacting each one.”
Follow our breaking news story for more details:
Search for missing Brazil Covid patient narrowed to 379 households, Matt Hancock says
Health officials are closing in on the mystery missing patient with the more virulent Brazilian variant of Covid-19, Matt Hancock says.
Not having contact details happens in ‘about 0.1% of tests’, says Hancock
Matt Hancock told the Commons: "Not having the contact details happens in about 0.1 per cent of tests. In this case, we think that the test was done as part of a home test kit where obviously it is incumbent on the individual to set out those details.
"Because home test kits can be both sent to your home, in which case, of course, we have the details of where it was sent, or in response to surges, they can be taken round by the local authority teams and dropped off and, therefore, we need to find out exactly where this one was dropped off.
"The team have done a very, very good job of narrowing down to 379 households where this may be. The call-out at the weekend has been answered with a number of leads and we're working hard to make sure that we can find the individual concerned."
Google announces new features so home workers don’t lose out if colleagues return to the office
Google is adding a range of new features to its Google Workspace functions, in order to ensure its users can continue to access its products in a post-pandemic world where many continue to work remotely.
Google says the tools and features are to help people manage their time better and “collaborate equally”.
Adam Smith has more details:
Google announces new work-from-home features
Google Assistant, Calendar, and Meet are all getting new functions
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