Health News at Your Fingertips

In the UK, about one in 25 people working in social care, teaching and education were likely to have been self-isolating because of coronavirus last month, according to figures published by the Office for National Statistics.

On 29 January, 4.0% of social care workers were self-isolating, up from 2.3% two weeks earlier. Some 3.9% of teaching and education staff were self-isolating because of Covid-19, up from 2.0% two weeks earlier. Levels of self-isolation among health care workers rose from 2.1% to 3.6%.

The figures, reported by PA news agency, are the first of their kind to estimate the proportion of people self-isolating in different types of employment. They also show that at the peak of the Omicron wave on 3 January, nearly one in 20 – 4.7% – of the entire working-age population in England were likely to be in self-isolation.

Hello everyone. It’s Léonie Chao-Fong here, taking over the live blog from Tom Ambrose to bring you all the latest global developments on the coronavirus pandemic.

We start in Germany, where the government’s Covid restrictions are set to end as case numbers have dropped slightly, according to a draft official plan seen by Agence France-Presse.

As a first step, contact restrictions will ease to allow people to meet privately. Currently private gatherings are limited to 10 people, or two households if an unvaccinated person is present. Access to shops will no longer be dependent on vaccination status.

From 4 March, access to restaurants will no longer be restricted to people who have received a booster jab as long as an unvaccinated person shows a negative test.

Finally, “broad restrictions of social, cultural and economic life should be gradually lifted by the start of spring on March 20, 2022,” the plan states.

Rules requiring employers to allow staff to work from home if possible will also be lifted at that date. Germany will then rely on “basic protection measures” including “in particular the wearing of medical masks” in public.

The plan is expected to be approved by the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, and the heads of the federal states on Wednesday.

Germany reported 76,465 new daily coronavirus cases on Monday, down 20% from the same day last week.

Here is a brief round-up of today’s top Covid news stories:

• South Korea will begin giving out fourth doses of Covid vaccines this month and supply millions of additional home test kits to ease shortages amid a surge in Omicron infections, authorities confirmed on Monday.
• The busiest US-Canada border crossing has reopened after protests against Covid restrictions closed it for almost a week. The Sunday night reopening of the Ambassador Bridge between Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, Michigan came as Canadian officials held back from a crackdown on a larger protest in the capital, Ottawa.
• Anti-vaxxers in France are buying fake vaccine passes online to get around the country’s Covid restrictions. These are often promoted on mainstream social media platforms, research has revealed. Many buying the forgeries, which can be used across the European Union (EU), are being redirected from websites such as Instagram and Facebook to the Telegram encrypted messenger where they can be bought discreetly, according to a study by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD).
• In the UK, families bereaved by Covid want Boris Johnson to relinquish control over which issues will be investigated in the pandemic public inquiry, alleging he is compromised by allegations of lockdown-breaking at Downing Street.
• Coronavirus case numbers have dropped slightly in Germany, as the government’s Covid expert panel called for a gradual easing of restrictions in Europe’s biggest economy.
• Moderna is reportedly in late stage talks with the UK government about investing in research and manufacturing and collaborating with the NHS on clinical trials, the Financial Times reports.
• New Zealand’s prime minister has said protesters who oppose coronavirus mandates were using “intimidation and harassment”, as authorities appeared to take a harsher stance toward the convoy of demonstrators that has disrupted the capital of Wellington for nearly a week.
• Sweden’s health agency recommended on Monday that people aged 80 or above should receive a second booster shot of Covid vaccine, the fourth jab in total, to ward off waning immunity amid the rampant spread of the Omicron variant.
• Hundreds of cars, campervans and trucks are on their way to a protest against Covid regulations in Brussels today where Belgian officials have already banned a demonstration following a weekend attempt in Paris.
• Hong Kong will extend the suspension of face-to-face classes by two weeks until 7 March, local broadcaster RTHK said on Monday.
• Taiwan aims to ease its strict Covid quarantine policy from next month as it needs to gradually resume normal life and reopen to the world, the government said on Monday.
• Japan’s government said on Monday it has agreed to buy an additional 10m doses of Covid vaccine from Pfizer to be delivered in March.

That’s it from me, Tom Ambrose, for today. My colleague Léonie Chao-Fong will be along shortly to continue bringing you all the latest coronavirus headlines throughout the rest of the day.

South Korea’s parliament on Monday approved plans to provide a special time for Covid patients to vote during the 9 March presidential election as the country grapples with a record-breaking Omicron surge.

The proposed revision of an election-related law will take effect if it is endorsed by the Cabinet Council and signed by the president — steps widely considered a formality since the governing and opposition parties have already agreed on the measure.

Voters diagnosed with highly infectious diseases such as Covid and others placed in quarantine would be allowed to visit polling stations and cast ballots after regular voting closes at 6pm, according to a copy of the legislation on the website of the National Assembly. The special voting time would close at 7.30pm.

Virus patients who have already applied for postal ballots in a now-ended registration period can still vote by mail, according to the National Election Commission.

Commission officials said they will work out details such as whether to install separate polling booths for sick voters and what protective gear polling officers would wear.

Hong Kong will extend the suspension of face-to-face classes by two weeks until 7 March, local broadcaster RTHK said on Monday.

It comes as as the global financial hub grapples to contain a surge in Covid infections, Reuters reported.

Hong Kong reported 2,071 new daily Covid infections on Monday, a new record, with 4,500 preliminary positive cases, authorities said.

Japan’s government said on Monday it has agreed to buy an additional 10m doses of Covid vaccine from Pfizer to be delivered in March.

Japan is already contracted to purchase 120m doses from Pfizer this year.

Including the extra shots and acceleration of shipments, Japan will import 46m Pfizer doses in March to aid in its booster shot program, health minister Shigeyuki Goto told reporters.

South Korea will begin giving out fourth doses of Covid vaccines this month and supply millions of additional home test kits to ease shortages amid a surge in Omicron infections, authorities confirmed on Monday.

The surge has pushed daily cases to records, but widespread vaccination, with first booster shots received by more than 57% of the population of 52 million, has helped limit deaths and serious infections, Reuters reported.

High-risk groups will be the first to get the fourth dose, in effect a second booster shot, health minister Kwon Deok-cheol told a Covid response meeting.

“We’re planning to provide fourth shots to those who live in nursing homes and care facilities and others with declined immunisation, in light of a recent increase of infections among people aged 60 or older,” he said.

At least 44.22 million people, or 86.2% of the population, are considered fully vaccinated. Sunday’s 54,619 new cases took the tally of infections to 1,405,246, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The country’s death toll rose by 21 to 7,102.