Health News at Your Fingertips

There have been a further 2,297 lab-confirmed coronavirus cases in the UK, according to government data, compared with 3,862 cases last Sunday.

However, figures for Wales and Northern Ireland have not been updated on the dashboard.

A cumulative total of 4,359,388 people have tested positive since the pandemic began.

A further 10 deaths within 28 days of a positive test were reported, bringing the total to 126,836. There were 19 last Sunday.

The seven-day rolling average, which evens out reporting irregularities in the daily figures, shows that cases are down by 29.7% compared with the previous week (22-28 March).

Fatalities have decreased by 43.9% by the same measure.

There have been 149,168 deaths where Covid-19 is mentioned as a cause on the death certificate, registered up to 19 March.

As well as a lack of data related to Easter weekend, Sunday figures are often lower because of reporting delays over the weekend.

A London skyscraper is poised to become the UK’s most expensive office block after being put up for sale for £1.8bn, in an acid test for whether the move to remote working during the coronavirus pandemic is expected to last.

The deal for the 37-storey 100 Bishopsgate building in the heart of the financial district, which is home to the law firm Freshfields, the Royal Bank of Canada and the investment bank Jefferies, is expected to surpass the £1.3bn paid for the nearby Walkie Talkie building in 2017 despite an exodus from the City in the past year.

Portugal on Sunday extended restrictions on travel via land and sea to Spain that had been due to end this weekend until April 15 as it works to contain the spread of COVID-19, Victoria Waldersee of Reuters reports.

The two countries imposed the restrictions on Jan. 28.

The interior ministry said the restrictions would remain in place for a further 11 days, adding that the measures did not prevent citizens or residents of Portugal from entering the country.

Vehicles transporting goods, emergency vehicles and seasonal border workers are also exempt.

Nationals from Britain, Brazil and South Africa – where more contagious coronavirus variants were first detected – or any country with an infection rate above 500 cases per 100,000 people must quarantine for 14 days if they have entered via the land border, the statement said.

Portugal, which has so far reported 780,322 COVID-19 cases and 16,879 deaths, is slowly lifting some other restrictions after a three-month nationwide lockdown came into force early this year.

Meanwhile, Greece said on Sunday it was extending restrictions on domestic flights until April 12 and on international flights until April 19 as the number of new infections there continues to rise.

Scotland recorded 343 new coronavirus cases and no deaths of Covid-19 patients in the past 24 hours, according to the latest data.

Figures published by the Scottish Government on Sunday indicate the daily test positivity rate is 2.7%, up from 2.1% on Saturday.

A total of 2,553,837 people have received the first dose of a Covid-19 vaccination and 451,057 have received their second dose.

Sunday’s figures mean the death toll under this measure – of people who first tested positive for the virus within the previous 28 days – remains at 7,614.

The Scottish Government is only publishing updates on the above data during the Easter break and the remaining daily statistics – such as hospital and intensive care figures – will be updated on Tuesday.

Some schools in the UK are not giving teachers time off from work to receive their Covid-19 vaccine, a teaching union leader has said.

The Press Association reports:

Dr Patrick Roach, general secretary of the NASUWT teaching union, has called on ministers to act and “step in” when employers refuse to listen to teachers’ concerns amid the pandemic as he said they “deserve better”.

Addressing the NASUWT’s annual conference, Dr Roach highlighted “shoddy” practices where he said some employers have not put teachers’ safety first.
He said:

Ministers mustn’t only listen to the concerns of the profession – they need to act on them. Listen to teachers’ concerns about those employers who have felt emboldened to pursue ‘business as usual’.

Listen to teachers’ concerns about uncaring employers who seek to discipline teachers if they contract Covid, or tell teachers they can’t have time off to receive their Covid vaccine jab.

Dr Roach said reports of school staff being denied time off to get their vaccination were “widespread”.

Speaking to reporters, the union leader said:

I wish it was only a one-off but the number of times that’s come across my desk I cannot begin to tell you. It has been pretty widespread.

Dr Roach said the Education Secretary had issued further guidance to schools on the issue after concerns were raised by the NASUWT teaching union.
He warned that such practices could play into issues around “vaccine hesitancy” and “slow down the system for everyone else”.

In his speech to the conference, Dr Roach launched an attack on the Government over its handling of the pandemic and actions towards teachers.

He said staff “must not be coerced into working yet longer hours or delivering summer schools” to deliver the Government’s short-term fixes.

Dr Roach added:

Teachers’ commitment and resilience have already been tested to the limit. They don’t need more exhortation and empty words – they need action by Government which puts teachers first.

His comments came after the Education Secretary confirmed that a change to the summer holidays and longer school days are being considered as part of long-term recovery plans for pupils who have missed out on lessons.

In his speech on Sunday, Dr Roach said:

Government needs to stop looking for quick fixes and grabbing media headlines – instead of catch-up, they need to catch on, catch on to the long-term damage inflicted by their own policies.

Catch on to the need for much greater investment in all those services that will provide the foundation for the education recovery that children and young people need.

If we are to aspire to have the best country for children to grow up in, we will need more than catch-up and recovery. We need a plan for education renewal. And, we want a recovery, a renewal, that’s teacher-led too.

On Sunday, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer told the NASUWT conference:

The challenges of the pandemic have thrown into sharp relief the inequalities that were already embedded in our society.

That is why there can be no return to business as usual.

In a video message to delegates, Sir Keir said he knew “first-hand” that teachers had risen to the challenge as his children have been in school throughout the year due to his wife being an NHS worker.

Their teachers’ and all the school staff’s commitment and dedication has been nothing short of extraordinary. And I know that is the case in schools right across the country.

US President Joe Biden’s top economic adviser said on Sunday that the goal of the administration’s infrastructure proposal is investment that will foster job growth in both the short- and long-term, Reuters reports.

Appearing on on “Fox News Sunday”, White House economic adviser Brian Deese said:

What our plan says is, ‘let’s keep the economy going, let’s see more job creation’ – that’s a really good thing for the economy.

But let’s also think for the longer term, about where those investments that we can make that will really drive, not just more job growth but better job growth, not just job growth in the short term but job growth for long term, by investing in our infrastructure, by investing in our research and development, in a way that we haven’t since the 1960s.

The traditional showdown between UK universities Oxford and Cambridge has been moved from the River Thames in London to Ely in Cambridgeshire for the first time since World War Two, because of the coronavirus pandemic and safety concerns over Hammersmith Bridge.

The 166th Boat Race will take place on the River Great Ouse on Sunday 4 April.

The Carabao Cup final, the second FA Cup semi-final and the FA Cup final will serve as Wembley pilot events for the government’s ‘Covid status certification’ scheme.

The plan is to enable the safe return of mass gatherings and indoor events as lockdown restrictions ease in England, with officials preparing a series of trial events over the coming months as they look to find a way for fans to return to sporting venues.