Coronavirus UK news update – Cases and deaths PLUNGE all over England ahead of lockdown lift as Scotland unveils roadmap

COVID COMA MUM ‘SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO DIE’

A woman who gave birth to a son a month ago and has Covid-19 should be allowed to die against her family’s wishes, a Court of Protection judge has decided.

Mr Justice Hayden has ruled that doctors can lawfully stop providing life-support treatment to the woman, who is in her early 30s.

A specialist told him that everything had been tried and the woman’s chances of recovery were “zero”.

The judge considered the case at an urgent virtual hearing this evening.

ISRAEL’S THEATRES REOPENS FOR THOSE WITH VACCINE PASSPORT

It has reopened cultural hubs for people with a “green badge” vaccination certificate after they were closed for months.

An app shows the certificate for people who have received two doses.

VIRUS DANGER LIST

BOY, 10, TRAPPED IN COVID QUARANTINE HOTEL 

Antonio Caraballo has been forced to fork out a whopping £2,400 to stay with his son Sami.

He is isolating with his young boy at a DoubleTree by Hilton airport hotel for 11 nights.

And they only have 15 minutes of fresh air every day during an escorted car park tour.

The youngster flew to Edinburgh to see his dad and three year old sister from Helsinki, Finland, where his mum lives.

WHAT ARE LONG COVID SYMPTOMS?

• Fatigue or muscle weakness – 63%
• Sleep difficulties: 26%
• Anxiety or depression: 23% 
• Hair loss: 22%
• Smell disorder: 11%
• Palpitations: 9%
• Joint pain: 9%
• Decreased appetite: 8%
• Taste disorder: 7%
• Dizziness: 6%

QUARTER OF COVID PATIENTS SUFFER HAIR LOSS 

Researchers studying a range of long-term symptoms found 359 out of 1,655 patients hospitalised in Wuhan, China, suffered with hair loss.

The findings, published in The Lancet, found that hair loss was a primary long-term symptom of Covid-19, alongside fatigue, shortness of breath, dizziness and joint pain.

The authors of the paper who wanted to investigate the long-term effects of the virus say the symptoms remain “largely unclear”.

The patients who were examined for this study had been discharged from Jin Yin-tan Hospital in Wuhan between January 7 and May 29, 2020 after suffering with Covid-19.

COVEXIT

FEARS FOURTH WAVE COULD SCUPPER SUMMER OF FREEDOM

The roadmap out of lockdown has given hope for a world without restrictions by June 21 at the earliest – with even the return of packed nightclubs.

But scientists say it’s unlikely the fun will last very long because of a resurgence in cases. 

Modelling shows that even with the slow unlocking planned, there will be an unavoidable third wave which could see several thousand die.

And this could drag on for months, potentially causing a fourth wave in the autumn when schools and universities return.

Even with all adults invited for their jab by July, there will still be a proportion of the population who are unvaccinated – enough to allow the virus to make a comeback once restrictions are lifted.

IRELAND EXTENDS VIRUS LOCKDOWN BY ONE MONTH

Its third Covid-19 lockdown will be extended by a month, Prime Minister Micheal Martin said Tuesday, blaming a virus variant first identified in the UK for decision.

Current lockdown measures — in place since late December — were due to expire on March 5 but will now be prolonged until April 5.

Non-essential businesses, restaurants, pubs and gyms are to remain shut, government “stay home” advice has been renewed and a five kilometre (three mile) limit travel limit will continue, the Irish premier said in a televised address.

“We need to use the month of March to really drive down case numbers and get them as low as possible,” Martin said.

FRENCH NEW COVID CASES KEEP TICKING UP

It reported 20,064 new confirmed cases today up not only from Monday’s traditionally low figure of 4,646 but also from the previous Tuesday’s 19,590, the latest sign that the disease is spreading again.

The number of people treated in intensive care units (ICUs) for Covid increased for the third day running, standing at 3,435, the highest since December 2.

The total cumulative number of cases rose to 3.63 million, the sixth-highest in the world.

The number of people in France who have died from Covid infections rose by 431 to 85,044 — the seventh-highest death toll globally — versus a seven-day moving average of 319.

HOW THE VACCINE ROLL OUT IS SHAPING UP

MATT HANCOCK SAYS IT WILL BE ‘QUIETER’ WEEK AS JAB ROLLOUT SLOWS

The Health Sec told LBC’s Nick Ferrari it was “all about supply schedules” — and the nation will bounce back in March.

IN OTHER NEWS…

• Scotland’s stay at home order to end on April 5 and pubs should be open by end of that month
• Rishi Sunak is set to extend furlough until at least July as businesses remain shut
• Boris sets England on snail-paced return to freedom with restrictions not fully lifted until at least June 21
• Foreign holidays banned until May 17 at the earliest but ministers won’t decide until April if travel allowed
• Summer of freedom could be brought to crashing end by FOURTH Covid wave, scientists warn

CASES AND DEATHS OVER TIME

UK COVID CASES AT LOWEST LEVEL SINCE START OF OCTOBER

The number of new infections recorded today is smaller than it was last Tuesday (10,625).

It is also the lowest daily rise the nation has seen since October 2, when 6,968 new cases were confirmed.

Today’s rise in deaths (548) is lower than it was this time last week (799).

It is bigger than it was yesterday (178) although this is likely to be due to a lag in reporting over the weekend.

A total of 4,134,639 have now tested positive for Covid in the UK since the start of the outbreak.

CHARITY HELPING MUSLIMS SEES DEMAND MORE THAN DOUBLE WITHIN A YEAR

A charity providing grants to struggling Muslims has seen demand for help more than double within a year in the light of the coronavirus pandemic.

The National Zakat Foundation (NZF) received 19,244 applications for financial support in 2020, more than 2.5 times the 7,348 applications in 2019.

And it distributed £3.8 million in grants, a 27 per cent  rise from the previous year when £2.9 million was given out.

Of the applications received last year, 11,740 (61 per cent) were from asylum seekers.

At the end of 2020 demand had risen so much the charity was receiving more than 70 requests a day on average, up from 15 a day before the first lockdown.

EU LEADERS CALL FOR EXTENSION TO TRAVEL BAN FROM All COUNTRIES

Millions of Brits may be banned from European holidays this summer — even if our Covid rates continue to go down.

The bloc’s PMs and presidents will call for a ban on non-essential travel from outside the EU to be extended, dealing a blow to Brits’ holiday hopes.

Sickly Europe will have to stay in lockdown while Britain breaks free – with EU leaders publicly turning on Brussels over its bungled vaccine rollout.

The bloc’s leaders will admit during a video call on Thursday that the pandemic there is too “serious” to start lifting restrictions.

‘I AM NOT AT ODDS WITH OTHER CMOS ON SCHOOL REOPENING’

Northern Ireland’s chief medical officer has insisted he is not at odds with other UK CMOs on his approach to schools reopening.

Dr Michael McBride defended his advocacy of a phased return to face-to-face learning as he warned that a rush out of lockdown could trigger the worst wave of Covid yet.

Dr McBride made clear his advice to the Stormont executive, recommending a gradual return to classes, had not changed since he briefed ministers last week ahead of their decision on the issue.

Last Thursday, ministers unanimously backed a plan to bring some primary school children back on March 8, with some secondary school children returning to class two weeks later.

However, last night First Minister Arlene Foster said she wanted to revisit that decision.

ENGLAND’S LATEST CORONA JAB STATS

A total 15,631,937 Covid vaccinations were given in England between December 8 and February 22, according to provisional NHS England data.

This figure includes first and second doses, which is a rise of 160,428 on the previous day’s figures.

Of this tally, 15,113,158 were the first vaccine dose of a vaccine, a rise of 155,084 on February 21, while 518,779 were a second dose, an increase of 5,344.

ANOTHER 372 COVID PATIENTS DIE IN ENGLAND

A further 372 people who tested positive for coronavirus have died in hospital in England.

This brings the total number of confirmed deaths reported in hospitals to 81,854, NHS England said on Tuesday.

Patients were aged between 28 and 99. All except 16, aged between 44 and 99, had known underlying health conditions.

The deaths were between December 9 and February 22.

There were 34 other deaths reported with no positive Covid test result.

OFF-SONG BARBERS FACE HUGE FINE FOR PARTY

Twenty-two barbers’ shop revellers are facing large fines after a lockdown party was disrupted by police at their unusual venue.

Cops were called just before midnight last Friday to a large gathering with booming music coming from the barber’s shop.

Officers found a total of 22 people at the salon in Surrey who were all clearly breaching the national lockdown rules.

They will all face a fine and the organiser will be slapped with a £10,000 penalty.

Inspector Kathy Morteo, of the Metropolitan Police’s South Area Command, said: “Everyone knows it is neither lawful nor safe for such events to take place while the country is dealing with the Covid pandemic.”

JO WHILEY UPDATE ON SISTER FRANCES’ CORONA BATTLE

Jo Whiley says her sister Frances “would like to say a huge thank you” to everybody who has helped her after she contracted coronavirus.

The broadcaster, 55, revealed last week that her sister, 53, who has learning disabilities and diabetes, was admitted to hospital with Covid after an outbreak in her Northamptonshire care home.

On Tuesday, she wrote on Twitter: “It’s hard to believe we’ve gone from discussing palliative care on Friday night to sitting on her favourite bench drinking cups of tea.”

She added: “Covid has brought with it further complications. We’re now dealing with worrying diabetes and high blood pressure issues, and my parents are exhausted beyond belief.”

Alongside a video of Frances giving a thumbs-up and a round of applause, Whiley said her sister “would like to say a huge thank you to everybody who has helped her, especially the amazing doctors and nurses of the NHS, and her many MANY well-wishers.”

COVID-STRICKEN MUM SEES BABY FOR FIRST TIME AFTER COMA

A mum who gave birth to her baby while unconscious and critically ill with Covid has seen her baby for the first time – eight weeks after she was born.

Tiny Shifa Begum was delivered six weeks early by emergency Caesarean in Milton Keynes Hospital, Bucks.

Immediately after her birth, doctors put her mum, Shamshad, in an induced coma – on a ventilator – where she remained fighting for her life.

The 44-year-old new mother was in intensive care for almost five weeks while nurses in the hospital’s neonatal unit initially cared for her baby.

Today Shamshad was finally well enough to leave hospital and return to the family home in Milton Keynes, where she held her infant for the first time.

ALARM AMID DROP IN COVID VACCINATIONS

Covid jabs have fallen every day to just over 150,000 on February 21 – a dramatic drop from the nearly 500,000 doses reported on February 17.

The PM’s official spokesman said: “We continue to ensure that hundreds of thousands of people each day receive the vaccines.

“As we said from the start, there will be daily fluctuations in the number of people who receive it day on day, but you are aware of our target to vaccinate all those within the first phase by mid-April and we are confident in our supply to be able to do that.”

That means offering a first dose to 32million people across the UK by April 15.

The spokesman added that the Moderna vaccine will be available in the UK “in spring”, alongside the Pfizer and Oxford/AstraZeneca jabs, to ensure that all adults can be offered a dose by the end of July.

MISTAKE FOR PEOPLE TO REFUSE VACCINE – PM

Boris Johnson has warned it’s a “mistake” for people to refuse to have a coronavirus vaccine amid warnings that failure to protect all communities could risk a wave of infections.

The PM said some people “genuinely refuse” to receive a jab but he believed that everyone should have a jab if they are able to.

On a visit to a school in south London, Mr Johnson acknowledged there were medical reasons why some people could not have a vaccine.

NHS chief Sir Simon Stevens has previously acknowledged there is a “real concern” about hesitancy in some black and South Asian communities to accept a vaccine and efforts have been targeted at those groups.

The PM’s spokesman said today: “We will continue to work closely with local authorities and community groups, including faith leaders and other representatives, to continue to promote the vaccine.”