Covid live: France lifts outdoor mask-wearing and curfew rules; London could be in ‘foothills of third wave’ | World news
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10:43
With Covid vaccination penetration in the US likely to fall short of Joe Biden’s 70% by Fourth of July target, pandemic analysts are warning that vaccine incentives are losing traction and that “two Americas” may emerge as the aggressive Delta variant becomes the dominant US strain.
Efforts to boost vaccination rates have come through a variety of incentives, from free hamburgers to free beer, college scholarships and even million-dollar lottery prizes. But many of the efforts to entice people to get their shots have lost their initial impact, or failed to land effectively at all.
“It’s just not working,” Irwin Redlener at the Pandemic Resource and Response Initiative at Columbia University, told Politico. “People aren’t buying it. The incentives don’t seem to be working – whether it’s a doughnut, a car or a million dollars.”
In Ohio, a programme offering five adults the chance to win $1m boosted vaccination rates by 40% for more a week. A month later, the rate had dropped to below what it had been before the incentive was introduced, Politico found.
Oregon followed Ohio’s cash-prize lead but reported a less dramatic uptick. Preliminary data from a similar lottery in North Carolina, launched last week, suggests the incentive is also not boosting vaccination rates there.
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10:33
Inspired by a group set up in Britain during the pandemic, several of the world’s leading scientists plan to launch an independent expert group this week to advise, warn and criticise global policymakers about the climate and nature crises.
The body has been inspired by Independent Sage – the cluster of British scientists who have held UK ministers and civil servants to account for their lack of transparency and mishandling of the Covid pandemic.
The Climate Crisis Advisory Group, comprising 14 experts from 10 nations and every continent, aims to have more of an international reach and provide the global public with regular analysis about efforts to tackle the global heating and biodiversity crises.
Headed by the former UK chief scientific adviser Sir David King, the group will issue monthly updates about the state of the global environment at meetings that will be open to the media and the public. These online gatherings will be chaired by the BBC presenter Ade Adepitan.
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09:38
Sharp rise in UK gaming addiction referrals, stats reveal
The number of children and young adults in the UK entering treatment for gaming addictions and disorders tripled over the last year, with experts believing that the pandemic and lockdowns play a key role in the increase.
The clinic, part of the National Centre for Behavioural Addictions, opened in 2019 as a specialist clinic to treat children and young adults who are addicted to playing video games. The clinic opened a year after the World Health Organization recognised “gaming disorder” as a medical condition.
The figures, obtained by the Guardian via freedom of information requests, show that 17 people entered treatment between January and May 2020, but over the same period in 2021 the number rose to 56.
The Nightingale hospital, a private hospital that specialises in treating mental health disorders, also saw a rise in referrals and individuals seeking treatment for gaming and technology addictions.
The hospital said that between March to June and July to September 2020, the number of inquiries received regarding technology addiction doubled, with the majority of them regarding parents seeking support for their children. In 2021, the hospital has seen a fourfold increase in inquiries.
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09:17
French curfew and mandatory mask wearing ending
Mandatory mask-wearing outdoors is being lifted and and an eight-month nightly coronavirus curfew is ending in France today.
Le Monde reports, however, that vigilance is still being called for, as health protocols for public places and event will remain in place until 30 June.
The lifting comes as France is voting in the first round of regional elections that could see Marine Le Pen‘s far-right party make gains and step further into the political mainstream.
The Financial Times cites forecasting by polling group Ipsos that turnout would reach only about 41%.
A low turnout – with polling showing voters are more concerned about crime, immigration and unemployment than Covid-19 is tipped to assist Le Pen.
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08:52
Body of soldier who threatened virologist found in Belgium
Police in Belgium say they have found what is believed to be the body of a fugitive far-right soldier who had threatened a top virologist involved in the country’s efforts to counter Covid-19.
Hundreds of security forces scoured a swath of northeast Belgium after the 17 May disappearance of Jurgen Conings, who was the target of a huge manhunt and and was believed to have hoarded heavy weaponry.
A body was found on Sunday by people walking in the woods near the town of Dilsen-Stockem. Initial evidence indicates it is Conings and that he killed himself, but further examination is under way, Belgian federal police said in a statement.
Conings, 46, had hidden anti-tank missile launchers and other heavy arms in an army barracks before disappearing. He had threatened several people in recent months, including the virologist, and landed on the federal anti-terrorism watch list in February.
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08:38
Covid vaccines manufactured by the Chinese company Sinovac are being administered to people in Singapore even though the city-state’s authorities have been casting doubt on their effectiveness, reports the New York Times.
Singapore allowed 24 private health clinics to administer the vaccine following authorisation by the World Health Organization for emergency use this month. It has yet to be added to Singapore state-run scheme.
The Times reports that Kenneth Mak, Singapore’s director of medical services, expressed concern about reports from other countries of people becoming sick with Covid-19 despite receiving a Sinovac jab.
He cited the situation in Indonesia, where more than 350 doctors have contracted Covid-19 despite being vaccinated with Sinovac and dozens have been hospitalised.
08:18
The BBC has upgraded its security protocols after the targeting of a senior journalist and apparent death threats.
A message from Fran Unsworth, director of news and current affairs, sent to staff on Friday morning, and seen by the Observer, revealed the corporation had set up a working group to examine staff safety online, acknowledging the “abuse of journalists is a growing problem”. She urged staff to complete training on how to react to “an in-person attack”.
It follows the haranguing of Newsnight’s political editor, Nicholas Watt, by demonstrators outside Downing Street on Monday and subsequent online trolling of BBC journalists.
The protesters, a mixture of anti-vaxxers and opponents of lockdown, shouted “traitor” at Watt and accused him of “lying” about lockdowns.
Unsworth wrote: “We know these attacks are more often aimed at women and journalists of colour, so we want to make sure we have particular support for those groups and are looking at what this could be.”
Since the Whitehall incident, the Observer has seen apparent death threats from members of anti-lockdown groups on the messenger app Telegram, some of whom have swapped details of journalists, including their addresses, and have attempted to organise abuse.