|
 The U.S. states that won't cut testing
Several large U.S. states are not heeding new federal health
officials’ calls to reduce COVID-19 testing of some exposed to the
virus, joining a broad rebuke of the Trump administration by public
health leaders.
Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Texas, New
Jersey and New York all plan to continue to test asymptomatic people
who have been exposed to COVID-19, despite new guidance from the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggesting that
such tests may not be needed.
The CDC said this week that people exposed to COVID-19 but not
symptomatic may not need to be tested, shocking doctors and
politicians and prompting accusations the guidance was politically
motivated.
New reckoning for WHO vaccine plan
The World Health Organization will next week receive a raft of
pledges of support for its plan for COVID-19 vaccines for all. But
the agency has already had to scale back its ambition.
The United States, Japan, Britain and the European Union have struck
their own deals to secure millions of COVID-19 vaccine doses for
their citizens, ignoring the U.N. body’s warnings that "vaccine
nationalism" will squeeze supplies.
If other countries that can afford it pursue a similar approach, the
WHO's strategy for fighting the coronavirus pandemic globally and
equitably risks coming undone, experts warn.
"If that were to happen, it's fairly clear that there would be
insufficient volumes of vaccine available for any other countries,
particularly in the first six to nine months," said Alex Harris,
head of global policy at the Wellcome Trust health charity.
Merkel says pandemic will worsen
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the coronavirus pandemic is
likely to worsen in coming months, and that her government will
respond by prioritising the welfare of society as a whole, notably
its children, and the economy.
The government will be "doing everything so that our children are
not the losers of the pandemic. School and daycare need to be the
most important things", she told reporters at a news conference.
[to top of second column] |
Germany has managed to keep COVID-19 cases and deaths relatively low compared
with some other large European countries. But the number of new daily infections
has been rising since early July and has accelerated in recent weeks.
UK workers urged to return to the office
Britain's government will urge people to return to offices and other workplaces
where it is safe to do so to help the economy recover from the COVID-19
pandemic, transport minister Grant Shapps said.
"Our central message is pretty straightforward: we are saying to people it is
now safe to return to work."
According to data from the Centre for Cities, only 17% of workers in British
cities had returned to their workplaces by early August, underscoring the
challenge facing Prime Minister Boris Johnson in steering the country away from
its coronavirus shutdown.
Paris tries to clear up mask confusion
Cyclists and people taking exercise in Paris will be exempt from a new
requirement to wear masks outdoors to combat a surge in coronavirus infections,
police said.
The city's police department said officers would issue verbal warnings before
imposing fines as many people were confused by changes in the rules on face
coverings.
From Friday, authorities have made it compulsory to wear masks everywhere in
Paris. Until now, masks were mostly required in crowded areas of the city. The
new measures apply to pedestrians as well as people riding scooters and
motorcycles in Paris and its suburbs.
(Compiled by Linda Noakes; Editing by Giles Elgood)
[© 2020 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2020 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |
