9.05am EST
09:05
Perched on a rock surrounded by a vast nature reserve, the hilltop hamlet of Trevinano sent tremors across the Lazio region when it was announced this month that it and its 142 residents were in line for €20m (£16.73m) from a Covid recovery fund to save small villages on the verge of extinction – equal to a whopping €140,845 per resident.
“This initiative is generating a lot of envy and bad feeling,” said Alessandra Terrosi, the mayor of Trevinano, who has the responsibility for spending the millions before 2026, when the funding programme ends.
The hamlet’s good fortune has fuelled rancour among its neighbours who missed out, raised questions over how efficiently Italy will invest some of the €191bn coming its way from the EU’s post-pandemic recovery fund and had critics asking if €20m is just too much money for one small village.
Trevinano was pitted against 14 other candidates in Lazio, including the region’s better-known gem, the fortress-like Civita di Bagnoregio, for a slice of the €420m fund.
Updated
at 9.34am EST
6.24am EST
06:24
Sweden ‘should have clamped down harder as Covid hit’
Sweden’s no-lockdown strategy to deal with Covid was broadly correct but early measures should have been more rigorous and intrusive, a government-appointed commission said on Friday in its final report on the country’s pandemic response.
Sweden polarised opinion at home and abroad with its handling of the pandemic, opting against the lockdowns implemented by many countries and adopting a largely voluntary approach of promoting social distancing and good hygiene.
“The government should have assumed leadership of all aspects of crisis management from the outset,” the commission said in the report, adding that the government had too one-sided a dependence on assessments made by the Public Health Agency.
“In February-March 2020, Sweden should have opted for more rigorous and intrusive disease prevention and control measures.”
Updated
at 7.07am EST
6.08am EST
06:08
In the UK, almost 5m Covid shots have been thrown away, according to an official report.
The Daily Telegraph reported this morning that AstraZeneca vaccines were the most likely to be wasted.
It estimates that the cost of the wasted jabs could be as much as £70.5m, according to the National Audit Office (NAO).
The Telegraph reported:
An evaluation by the NAO of the Government’s vaccination programme up to the end of October 2021 found it “met stretching and unprecedented targets”.
Some 85 per cent of over-18s in England had received two doses of a Covid-19 jab by the end of October. Evidence shows the programme “saved lives and reduced the incidence of serious illness and hospitalisation”, the report said.
But it also found some 4.7 million vaccine doses were wasted in England during the rollout, including 1.9 million AstraZeneca jabs.
Updated
at 7.02am EST
3.14am EST
03:14
Emergency room visits for eating disorders among 12- to 17-year-old girls doubled during the coronavirus pandemic, according to new research from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – a troubling existing trend that was likely worsened by the stress of living through the prolonged crisis.
“We are seeing such a high volume of patients in need of eating disorder care as well as worsening severity,” said Tracy Richmond, a physician and the director of the eating disorder program at Boston Children’s Hospital, who was not involved in the CDC study.
“It feels really clear for those of us who take care of teenagers that there is an absolute second pandemic of mental health needs in adolescents.”
After a decade of increasing concern, the American Academy of Pediatrics declared a national mental health emergency among children and teens in 2021, and the US surgeon general warned in December of a youth mental health crisis that began building before the pandemic.
In 2020, kids actually made fewer visits to emergency departments than the year before – a decline of 21%, the CDC report found. In 2021, there was a decrease of 8% compared to 2019.
But the reason for those visits changed dramatically during the early months of the pandemic, with the proportion of emergency visits for mental health among kids rising by 24% in 5- to 11-year-olds and 31% in 12- to 17-year-old, as compared with the year before.
2.43am EST
02:43
Hong Kong has contracted mainland firm China State Construction International Holdings Ltd to build eight isolation and treatment facilities to help the global financial hub fight a worsening Covid outbreak, its government said.
The temporary facilities, with a combined capacity of 50,000 beds, will be spread across Hong Kong, including on private land lent for free by developers.
The move follows promises of “staunch support” from mainland Chinese authorities, with city leader Carrie Lam doubling down on the official goal of bringing infections down to zero, Reuters reported.
Authorities are expected to report a new record of about 10,000 confirmed infections over the past 24 hours, up from Thursday’s 8,798, broadcaster TVB reported, citing an unidentified source. University of Hong Kong researchers predict new infections could peak at 180,000 a day next month.
“The target is to maximise the site utilisation and complete the relevant works as soon as possible, equipping Hong Kong for the fight against the epidemic,” the government said in a statement late on Thursday.
Sun Hung Kai Properties, New World Development and Henderson Land Development are among the developers that contributed to the scheme.
2.43am EST
02:43
US to ease face mask guidelines
Hello. Tom Ambrose here for the next few hours, bringing you all the latest Covid news from around the world as it happens.
We start with the news that, in the United States, mask-wearing guidelines will be relaxed on Friday, according to two people familiar with the matter.
It means most Americans will no longer be advised to wear masks in indoor public settings.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will announce a change to the metrics it uses to determine whether to recommend face coverings, shifting from looking at Covid case counts to a more holistic view of risk from the coronavirus to a community, AP reported.
Under current guidelines, masks are recommended for people residing in communities of substantial or high transmission — roughly 95% of US counties, according to the latest data.
The new metrics will still consider caseloads, but also take into account hospitalisations and local hospital capacity, which have been markedly improved during the emergence of the Omicron variant.
That strain is highly transmissible, but indications are that it is less severe than earlier strains, particularly for people who are fully vaccinated and boosted. Under the new guidelines, the vast majority of Americans will no longer live in areas where indoor masking in public is recommended, based on current data.
The new policy comes as the Biden administration moves to shift its focus to preventing serious illness and death from Covid, rather than all instances of infection, as part of a strategy adjustment for a new “phase” in the response as the virus becomes endemic.
