Coronavirus live news: Trump passes Covid aid package; China jails journalist over pandemic reporting




6.21am EST06:21

Summary of recent events

I’m going to be handing over to my colleague Kevin Rawlinson shortly, but before I go, here is a brief summary of some of the key developments in the coronavirus pandemic so far this Monday:

  • Donald Trump has signed a $900bn coronavirus relief package to help the US economy recover from the pandemic, after threatening to reject the bill last week.
  • It is likely to be summer before herd immunity is reached through a coronavirus vaccine programme in the UK, respiratory disease expert Prof Calum Semple has said. Semple said between 70% and 80% of the population needed to be vaccinated before herd immunity could be achieved.
  • GCSE and A-Level exams will “absolutely” go ahead next year in England, cabinet minister Michael Gove has said, despite other UK nations either reducing or cancelling exams. England is still planning a staggered return for secondary school pupils after the Christmas holidays, but this may change following the spread of a new variant of coronavirus in England.
  • Indonesia is set to ban international visitors for two weeks, beginning on 1 January, amid a spread of new strains of coronavirus elsewhere in the world.
  • China has jailed a citizen journalist who reported on the early spread of coronavirus in Wuhan, where it broke out. A Chinese court handed a four-year jail term to Zhang Zhan on grounds of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” her lawyer said. She is the first such person known to have been tried on this account, Reuters said.
  • Ireland is likely to retain maximum Covid-19 restrictions for months until the most vulnerable population groups are vaccinated.
  • The current Covid restrictions in Wales will need to be in place for at least three weeks to halt the exponential growth of the virus, Public Health Wales has said.

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6.09am EST06:09




6.00am EST06:00

The current Covid restrictions in Wales will need to be in place for at least three weeks to halt the exponential growth of the virus, Public Health Wales has said.

Dr Giri Shankar, incident director for the Covid outbreak response at PHW, said the alert level 4 would need to remain even longer than that to bring cases back to “reasonably manageable levels”.

Speaking on BBC Radio Wales, he said: “We do have to brace ourselves for an incredibly challenging couple of months in January and February.”

Shankar said the picture in Wales’ hospitals remained “incredibly concerning” with large numbers of patients suffering from Covid and other conditions – plus a “significant proportion” of staff off sick.




5.47am EST05:47

Ireland is likely to retain maximum Covid-19 restrictions for months until the most vulnerable population groups are vaccinated.

Leo Varadkar, the deputy prime minister, signalled on Monday that the current level five restrictions, the highest tier, may continue until spring.

“With the vaccine now being available, I think there would be a case of saying to the Irish people that we should keep these restrictions in place until such a time that we have protected our healthcare workers and most vulnerable,” he told RTE.

The restrictions are to be reviewed on 12 January but Varadkar said he did not envisage relaxations because infections levels were not expected to start falling until mid January. Ireland’s first vaccinations are to start on Tuesday in acute hospital settings, then expand to nursing homes on 4 January.

Northern Ireland last week started a six-week lockdown. The health minister, Robin Swann, urged people to stay home and shun new year’s eve parties which he said could be “super-spreader” events.

Ministers in both jurisdictions were to hold separate meetings on Monday to discuss the Brexit deal’s impact on trade across the Irish Sea.




5.26am EST05:26

China jails journalist over pandemic reporting

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4.27am EST04:27

Indonesia to ban foreign travellers for two weeks

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3.25am EST03:25

Trump signs $900bn coronavirus relief package

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Hello everyone, I’m Molly Blackall. I’ll be bringing you the latest updates in the coronavirus pandemic in the UK and around the world over the next few hours.

If you spot something you think we should be reporting on in this blog, you can drop me a message on Twitter. Tips and pointers are always much appreciated, so thanks in advance!