Health News at Your Fingertips

Tom Wilkinson at PA media reports that a new type of coronavirus detector is being used in an experiment at Teesside International Airport in the north-east of England.

Manufacturers Kromek have developed the technology to trace levels of Covid-19 within 30 minutes, which could be used in shops, lobbies and other busy public places.

The firm, based in Sedgefield, County Durham, usually produces radiation detection technology for the medical, nuclear and security sectors, and has now developed what it claims is a biological threat detection system.

It works by drawing large volumes of air – 400 litres per minute – and analyses the biological content, which it then tests to detect the presence of coronavirus.

The developers said that by sensing the virus particles before individuals show symptoms, it can reduce exposure to the disease and limit the spread of localised outbreaks.

Kromek chief executive Dr Arnab Basu was “proud” the technology was being tested at Teesside International Airport.

He said: “The device we are trialling is the only technology of its kind which can autonomously detect the presence of Covid-19 from huge areas. The technology has the capacity to deliver near-real time monitoring of the presence and prevalence of the virus, enabling a return to normal life.”

Another quick Reuters note here that Singapore says it expects to administer up to 80,000 daily doses of coronavirus vaccine from 26 June, up from 47,000 currently. It might later ease some restrictions on gatherings and travel for those who are inoculated.

“If supplies continue to arrive as planned, we will be able to substantially cover most of our population with a first dose sometime in July,” its health ministry said.

Around 3 million people, or just over 50% of Singapore’s population, have received the first dose of a vaccine. About 2 million of those have received the second dose also.

A Pfizer official in Israel has said their vaccine is highly effective against the Delta variant of Covid. However, they may have jumped the gun slightly, as asked to comment on the claims, Sharon Alroy-Preis, head of public health at Israel’s Health Ministry, said the country still lacks enough data to provide any insight.

Maayan Lubell reports for Reuters that Alon Rappaport, Pfizer’s medical director in Israel, told local broadcaster Army Radio: “The data we have today, accumulating from research we are conducting at the lab and including data from those places where the Delta variant, has replaced the British variant as the common variant, point to our vaccine being very effective, around 90%, in preventing the coronavirus disease, Covid-19.”

A spokesperson for Pfizer did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment when asked to provide further details.

An earlier analysis by Public Health England (PHE) found that both the Pfizer/BioNTech and AstraZeneca vaccines provide more than 90% protection against hospitalization from the Delta variant.

Yesterday, Alroy-Preis told reporters that so far Israel had only seen around 200 cases of the Delta variant.

Quique Kirszenbaum and Peter Beaumont report for us:

Uruguay was once hailed for its model response to the pandemic, but its recent policies have delivered one of the world’s worst infection rates, with its government single-minded in avoiding new restrictions.

All of which has left the nation of 3.5 million – which last June was toying with the idea of declaring itself Covid-19-free – asking how things went so wrong – and offering grim lessons for other countries.

According to experts, the situation is the fruit of a decision by the government of Luis Lacalle Pou to abandon a successful policy of social restrictions in favour of a much more permissive regime that has instead relied almost exclusively on vaccination.

During the most recent wave, the president has rejected calls for a national lockdown, making veiled allusions to the “police state” in a country in which the military dictatorship ended only in 1985.

Instead Lacalle Pou, like some Republicans in the US and British Conservative politicians, has insisted on the importance of “responsible freedom” – insisting that a strategy of vaccination, which began only in March, would be enough, while rejecting calls by the country’s scientific advisory group for the reintroduction of social distancing requirements.

All of which has baffled many of the country’s health professionals who have been working on the frontline. After his shift at a Montevideo hospital, intensive care doctor Gustavo Grecco summarized the problem: “The government stopped listening to science, to its scientific advisory group, to its doctors, to the universities. Since February the government has been entirely divorced from the recommendations of the scientific community.”

Read more here: Uruguay accused of squandering early Covid success amid deadly surge

Speaking of Germany, chancellor Angela Merkel said this morning that Europe is “on thin ice” in its battle against the coronavirus, as the highly contagious delta variant threatens to undo progress made in reducing infections.

Associated Press report that in what may be her last government declaration to the German parliament, Merkel said the further response to the pandemic would be a main topic of discussion among European Union leaders at a meeting in Brussels on Thursday.

She noted that the number of Covid cases in the 27-nation bloc continue to decline, while vaccination rates climb.

“But even though there is reason to be hopeful, the pandemic isn’t over, in particular in the world’s poor countries,” she said. “But in Germany and Europe we’re also still moving on thin ice.”

“We need to remain vigilant,” Merkel added. “In particular the newly arising variants, especially now the Delta variant, are a warning for us to continue to be careful.”

EU health officials predicted Wednesday that the delta variant will make up 90% of all cases across the bloc by the end of August, showing the need for as many people to be fully vaccinated as possible.

In Germany, the delta variant now makes up about 15% of new cases, according to the country’s disease control agency.

Officials say a vaccination center was flooded during heavy storms in southwestern Germany overnight.

All appointments for Thursday at the vaccination centre in Tuebingen were canceled after the site was swamped by torrential rain late last night.

Associated Press report police said five people were injured in the nearby town of Reutlingen after they were struck and injured by hail the size of tennis balls.

A quick snap from Reuters: Russia has reported 20,182 new Covid cases. That is the most confirmed in a single day since 24 January. The government coronavirus taskforce also confirmed 568 coronavirus-related deaths in the last 24 hours