Covid, Phase II. Commonsense is the order of the day. | Page 77 | Vital Football

Covid, Phase II. Commonsense is the order of the day.

I have just interviewed a young Asian girl; she lives in Dunstable where there is a large Asian community, I was staggered to hear she had lost 10 members of her close family in the last 8 months due to covid, aged from 15 to 65, this included her Dad and her sister.

I was lost for words.
 
And the search for intervention treatments goes on...let's hope that a large scale trial can confirm these early smaller ones


Ivermectin: Tests show cheap drug may reduce Covid-19 death toll

Tom Whipple, Science Editor
Monday January 04 2021, 12.01am, The Times
Health
Coronavirus

Ivermectin cut deaths by 80 per cent among patients in hospital, according to a leaked presentation

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/...drug-may-reduce-covid-19-death-toll-zb27lx8wt

A cheap and widespread drug has shown the potential for “transformative” changes in Covid-19 mortality rates, according to an early analysis.
A leaked presentation from a closed scientific meeting claims that ivermectin, originally an antiparasitic, cut deaths by 80 per cent among patients in hospital. The findings come from the combined results of 11 trials.
However, other scientists were sceptical of the data and said that more results would be required before it could be considered as a treatment. They pointed to other drugs that have shown early promise, such as hydroxychloroquine and tocilizumab, an anti-inflammatory, only to then underperform in large-scale trials.
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The presentation was given by Andrew Hill, from Liverpool University, who had been commissioned by the World Health Organisation to evaluate the drug. He looked only at the so-called “gold-standard” randomised controlled trials, in which patients were randomly assigned the drug or a placebo.

He and his colleagues found that in 11 trials involving more than 1,000 patients, conducted mainly in the developing world, patients appeared to clear themselves of the virus in about half the usual time. Of those taking the drug, eight patients died. Of those given a placebo, 44 did.

Dr Hill, who is due to publish his analysis this month, said that if ivermectin did work it would be an important weapon against Covid-19, especially in the developing world. “It’s very attractive, because it costs between $1 and $2 for a treatment course,” he said.
Ivermectin, which is used for headlice treatment, among other things, was considered to be a promising antiviral after laboratory experiments suggested that it interfered with the coronavirus life cycle. Scientists who support its use now believe that it might in fact be more useful as an anti-inflammatory, dampening down the immune response.

The drug has been controversial, however, with some researchers viewing it as yet another purported wonder treatment. After its use was suggested late last year at a US Senate hearing, David Gorski, a Wayne State University professor and editor of the website Science Based Medicine, said that it was part of a pattern of drugs promoted “as a cure-all” by people who claimed that the government was covering up the truth.
Peter Horby, the Oxford University professor who helped to set up the UK’s largest Covid-19 clinical trials, said that the new data was “interesting, perhaps encouraging, but not yet convincing”. He said that he was worried that the mortality data involved too few cases, and that many of the trials analysed had themselves not been peer reviewed.



At present trials investigating the drug involving more than 5,000 patients have yet to report their results, but they are expected soon. Dr Hill said that for regulators in countries coping with a second wave, their findings could be crucial.
“The combined data may be large enough to get to World Health Organisation recommendations for treatment being used worldwide,” he said, although other researchers think that a single large trial might still be required. “If we see these same trends consistently across more studies, then this really is going to be a transformative treatment.”
 
Boris Johnson to announce new Covid lockdown tonight
Measures likely to go beyond tier system

updated
Oliver Wright, Policy Editor | Francis Elliott
Monday January 04 2021, 3.00pm, The Times
Boris Johnson
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/topic/conservative-party

Boris Johnson will announce a new lockdown tonight as he warns that rapidly increasing cases of Covid-19 threaten to overwhelm the NHS.
The prime minister will set out “further steps” in a televised address at 8pm after Matt Hancock, the health secretary, admitted that the existing tiers were failing to stop the spread driven by a new variant.
MPs are to be recalled on Wednesday in a clear sign that they will be required to vote through measures beyond merely the universal application of Tier 4 across England.
A Downing Street spokesman said: “The spread of the new variant of Covid-19 has led to rapidly escalating case numbers across the country. The prime minister is clear that further steps must now be taken to arrest this rise and to protect the NHS and save lives. He will set those out this evening.”

The formal review point of the existing tier allocations was not due until later in the week but it is clear that decisions have been brought forward.

The universal application of Tier 4 restrictions across England had been considered a minimum response to the pandemic’s most dangerous developments. It appears the latest data has convinced Mr Johnson to go further.
He hinted that secondary schools would not reopen as planned next week, acknowledging that they were helping to spread infection. He said, however, that primary schools were “safe”.
Mr Hancock told Sky News this morning: “We don’t rule anything out, and we’ve shown repeatedly that we will look at the public health advice and we will take the public health advice in terms of what is needed to control the spread of the disease.
“This new variant is much easier to catch, it is much more transmissible, and we’re now seeing the effect of that in lots of different parts of the country, unfortunately.



“And it means that, whereas the old Tier 3 was able to contain the old variant, that is proving increasingly difficult in all parts of the country.”
In a downbeat assessment Mr Johnson warned yesterday of “very difficult” weeks and months ahead until enough people had been vaccinated to start bringing infection rates down. He said he was “fully reconciled” to yet more tough restrictions.

In other developments:

• Britain recorded a further 454 Covid deaths, putting the official coronavirus death toll above 75,000. Government figures also showed a further 54,990 Covid infections — the sixth day in a row that the number exceeded 50,000.
• A cheap and widespread drug used to treat parasites has shown potential for “transformative” changes in Covid mortality, according to early analysis.
• Mr Johnson pledged to review “absurd” rules that have made it difficult for retired health professionals to help with the vaccine programme.

• A key member of the Oxford University vaccine team has questioned whether it would work against a variant of the virus identified in South Africa.

The latest NHS data revealed that the number of hospital beds in England occupied by confirmed coronavirus patients climbed by 33 per cent between Christmas Day and January 2.

Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents hospital trusts in England, said that this was an increase of 5,800, telling Sky News that it was the equivalent of “12 extra full hospitals, full of Covid patients” in just eight days. “So you can imagine why people in the NHS are worried about how quickly this virus is spreading,” he added.

Mr Johnson told The Andrew Marr Show on BBC One yesterday: “It may be that we need to do things in the next few weeks that will be tougher in many parts of the country. I’m fully, fully reconciled to that.”
He urged parents to send their children back to school this week in areas where they remained open, but did not rule out further closures, saying that the situation was under constant review.

“The priority has got to be children’s education,” he said, adding: “We’ve got to be humble in the face of the impact of this new variant of the virus.”
Amid a growing revolt, a number of councils pledged to back schools that decided to stay closed. The biggest teaching union warned staff that their workplaces were unsafe and they should stay at home. Some primary schools that were due to open in Essex, Berkshire and Kent will now shut their doors for at least two weeks. A number of councils have asked the Department of Education to be included on the list of areas where schools will not reopen.

Senior epidemiologists said that Mr Johnson was likely to have little choice but to order schools in large parts of the country to close. “I have been and still am an advocate of schools being the last thing to close,” said Alan McNally, a professor at Birmingham University who has worked on the government’s Covid testing programme. “But the Covid situation now is as bad or worse than March. [We] will see huge amounts of Covid being taken into homes by schoolchildren.”

Sir Mark Walport, a former chief scientific adviser who is a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, said it was “pretty clear” that tougher measures were needed. “It’s the Tier 4 restrictions — it’s obeying them. It is thinking about breaking essentially every possible route of transmission we possibly can,” he said.

Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, said that a new national lockdown should be declared within 24 hours. Accusing Mr Johnson of presiding over “chaos”, he insisted it was “inevitable” that more schools would need to shut. “The virus is clearly out of control,” he said. “We can’t allow the prime minister to use up the next two or three weeks and then bring in a national lockdown, which is inevitable. Let’s not have the prime minister saying ‘I’m going to do it, but not yet’ — that’s the problem he has made so many times.”
He added: “I don’t want to call for the closure of schools and add to the chaos, but we do need to recognise that it is inevitable that more schools will close, and we need a plan in place to deal with it.”
In response to the comments, a No 10 source said: “The prime minister has been consistently clear that we are driven by the need to protect the NHS and save lives — unlike Labour, who have spent the last ten months playing party politics.
“We have moved more areas into Tier 4 to bear down on the new variant and escalated other areas into Tier 3. This targeted approach is the right one, and is kept under review based on the latest data.”
 
Part II


The options for tighter English regulations


Put more areas in Tier 4
Cities including Liverpool, Bristol and York remain under Tier 3, meaning non-essential retail, gyms, sports facilities and services such as hairdressers can stay open. This looks set to change as the virus spreads.
Likelihood rating 4/5
Closing schools
Schools and colleges are not automatically required to close in Tier 4 areas. However, last week the government announced that all primary schools in London and other parts of the southeast would not reopen from today in an attempt to reduce the rate of infections.
Despite claims yesterday by Boris Johnson that he wanted to keep schools open where possible, further school closures are now viewed as inevitable. The question for ministers is whether to make school closures a de facto part of Tier 4 restrictions or whether to effectively introduce a new Tier 5 for the worst-affected areas such as London.
Cities including Birmingham are already calling for schools in their area to shut and closures could rapidly become nationwide.
Likelihood rating 4/5
A new nationwide lockdown
Mr Johnson could attempt a repeat of November’s nationwide lockdown, scrap the tier system and put the whole country into the tightest form of restrictions, including closing all schools. Downing Street says the prime minister is committed to the existing tier structures, but this could change as the government begins to assess what effect Christmas has had on case numbers nationwide.
Likelihood rating 3/5
Curfews
Last week France announced plans for a 6pm to 6am curfew in 15 areas of the country in an attempt to reduce infections. Britain has not followed this route but ordered bars and restaurants to shut at 10pm in the autumn. Senior government sources suggested that such a move was not being considered.
Likelihood rating 1/5
Compulsory wearing of masks outside
In October Italy announced that it would be mandatory to wear masks outside. The UK’s scientific advisers, who were initially sceptical about the efficacy of wearing masks, believe such a measure would only make a marginal difference to transmission rates. However, as more is known about the new variant and how it spreads, this could change — just as the advice on wearing masks indoors was reviewed.
Likelihood rating 2/5
 
Spursex said:
I have just interviewed a young Asian girl; she lives in Dunstable where there is a large Asian community, I was staggered to hear she had lost 10 members of her close family in the last 8 months due to covid, aged from 15 to 65, this included her Dad and her sister.

I was lost for words.
Click to expand...
Jesus EX, tear in my eye, so sorry for the young lady, I cannot imagine how she must feel.
 
South African variant may evade vaccines and testing, warn scientists

Former health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, voices fears over mutation and calls for a 12-week lockdown


By Sarah Knapton, Science Editor 4 January 2021 • 4:07pm

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Ambulance workers assist a patient outside the Royal London Hospital. In the wake of the South African variant of coronavirus, Jeremy Hunt, the former health secretary, has called for an immediate 12-week lockdown and a closure of Britain’s borders and schools Credit: Facundo Arrizabalaga/Shutterstock


The South African variant of coronavirus may be resistant to vaccines and more difficult to pick up through testing, scientists have warned, as they called for the immediate closure of borders.
Health Secretary, Matt Hancock said he was "incredibly worried" about the new mutation saying it was "even more of a problem than the UK variant."
The variant was picked up in Britain in December, and there are fears it may spread even more quickly than the Kent mutation which has caused an alarming spike in cases, hospital admissions and deaths.
Jeremy Hunt, the former health secretary, has called for an immediate 12 week lockdown and a closure of Britain’s borders and schools.
He said: “To those arguing winter is always like this in the NHS: you are wrong. I faced four serious winter crises as health secretary and the situation now is off-the-scale worse than any of those.”
The South African variant carries two mutations at key areas of the gene which builds the spike protein – a projecting arm that the virus uses to attach to human cells.

The spike protein is also produced by vaccines so that the body knows what to look for and what to fight off. But any significant changes to the spike protein may mean the body cannot spot the virus even after vaccination or a previous infection.
Worryingly, the changes may mean that it is harder to pick up cases through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing.
Dr Simon Clarke, associate professor in cellular microbiology at the University of Reading, said: “The South African variant has a number additional mutations including changes to some of the virus’s spike protein which are concerning.
“They cause more extensive alteration of the spike protein than the changes in the Kent variant and may make the virus less susceptible to the immune response triggered by the vaccines.
“While it is more infectious, it currently remains unclear whether it causes a more severe form of the disease.
"Moreover, the South African variant is a more difficult virus to track as it lacks some mutations in the spike found in the Kent virus which make it easily detectable by the PCR test used by the NHS.”
Scientists are carrying out urgent work to check if the vaccines will still work on the new variants.
There are also fears that people who have already had the virus may not be protected from the new mutated virus.
Francois Balloux, professor of computational systems biology at University College London (UCL), said: “The E484K mutation has been shown to reduce antibody recognition.
“As such, it helps the virus SARS-CoV-2 to bypass immune protection provided by prior infection or vaccination. It is not anticipated that this mutation is sufficient for the South African variant to bypass the protection provided by current vaccines.
“It’s possible that new variants will affect the efficacy of the Covid-19 vaccines, but we shouldn’t make that assumption yet about the South African one.”
Variants of coronavirus have been around since the beginning of the pandemic and are a natural evolutionary process by which viruses adapt to their hosts as they replicate.
Although most of these mutations have no effect, occasionally they can improve the ability of the virus to infect or become more resistant to the body’s immune response.
The South African variant is known to spread rapidly and is already dominant in the Eastern and Western Cape provinces and scientists are worried it may be able to evade the immune system far more effectively than the UK variant.
Scientists said that further restrictions must be brought in to prevent the further spread.
Lawrence Young, virologist and professor of molecular oncology, at Warwick Medical School at the University of Warwick, said: “While changes in the UK variant are unlikely to impact the effectiveness of current vaccines, the accumulation of more spike mutations in the South African variant are more of a concern and could lead to some escape from immune protection.
“The move to harsher levels of restriction across the country is inevitable. It is essential that we do everything possible to prevent the South African variant from spreading to the UK population.
“Quarantine measures and restricting travel from and to South Africa are imperative.”
Professor James Naismith, director of the Rosalind Franklin Institute, a national institute funded by the UK Government through UK Research and Innovation, added: “Further social restrictions are required if we wish to avoid overloading the NHS before the vaccines stop spread.
“Those who advocate reducing social restrictions really should make clear the costs in lives of their policy. In our democracy we elect politicians, not scientists, to take decisions. We expect politicians to make decisions based on facts, not fantasy.”
 
I think it's becoming increasingly clear why we're taking the vaccine change in the second dose time period.

It's got to get out as fast as we can or risk being overtaken by the new strain.

Just went you think we might be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel, it sadly really could just be a covid train coming straight at us.
 
Why the race to roll out the Oxford vaccine is testing supply chains

As Covid-19 cases spiral out of control, GPs face difficult deadlines in battle to safeguard millions and reopen the economy


By Hannah Boland 4 January 2021 • 9:06am

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The Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine came as welcome news but now the focus turns to its distribution Credit: John Cairns/AFP

Matt Hancock had good news and bad news. On Wednesday, he announced Britain had approved its second Covid-19 vaccine - one which he said offered a “route out of the pandemic”. After all, Oxford and AstraZeneca’s jab was much cheaper and easier to distribute than the earlier-approved Pfizer vaccine. If all went to plan, things could even return to normal by spring.
Yet hours later, the Health Secretary struck a more sombre note. Millions more Britons were being placed under tougher Covid-19 restrictions, New Year’s Eve celebrations across the majority of the country cancelled. For millions it only underlined the need to get the vaccines into arms as soon as possible.
Work has been underway for months to put in place a supply chain so that GPs can begin mass inoculations this week. From Monday, the vaccines will start being given to priority groups such as care home residents and staff and those over 80 years old.
It is moment that those involved with the Oxford-AstraZeneca trial have been poised for since publishing their efficacy data in late November. The wait has proved costly as Covid cases have spiralled out of control.
“It’s going to be really close [on whether we can get ahead of it],” says Sir John Bell, who sits on the UK’s vaccine taskforce. “I’m worried about the case numbers, they’re really shooting up every day.”
When the data from the trial was published, there were 15,000 daily reported Covid cases in Britain. By Wednesday, there were more than 50,000. “The new strain is very infectious, and there’s a South African strain that, I think, is even more infectious,” Sir John says.

“We just have to skate really fast to see if we can stay ahead of it. The most important thing is to put a lid on this expansion of the disease and the only real way to do that is going to be with vaccines.”
Alone, this may have proved a tall ask for Pfizer. But, together with AstraZeneca’s vaccine, there may be a real chance.
Even before the London-listed company received data from the trial showing the vaccine worked, doses were being pumped out. Initially, this was in Germany and the Netherlands, where production capacity was able to get up to pace much quicker.
Now, a supply chain has also been set up across the UK, a mesh of organisations which sees AstraZeneca preparing small groups of cells to then be sent out to grow at manufacturing partners including Oxford Biomedica, and later sent on to warehouses to be finished by combining with other liquids. In the UK, this final stage is being done by an Indian company called Wockhardt at its North Wales plant for £50m.

Things could have been smoother. Britain’s national vaccine manufacturing facility, for example, was fast-tracked last year, but is still not expected to come online until the middle of 2021. In the meantime, Oxford Biomedica helped establish a “virtual vaccine manufacturing and innovation centre”, the equipment from the planned Harwell, Oxford site being instead deployed at Biomedica’s OxBox facilities.
The output appears, at first glance, disappointing. According to soures, around a million doses will be available from tomorrow, out of a total UK order of 100 million doses - significantly below the 30 million doses AstraZeneca had in spring said it would have ready for use in the UK by September. A major hold-up is the stringent safety checks on the doses demanded by the regulator the MHRA. An estimated four million doses of the vaccine are ready for deployment and a further 15 million are waiting to be put in vials, but are being delayed by the review.
Still, the doses which are ready to go will be spread further. The Government last week changed tack and decided against holding back second doses for those receiving first doses.
It was a decision that Sir John says took much deliberation. With the Government fielding advice from consultants such as PA Consulting, Boston Consulting Group, Deloitte, and Baringa Partners, it ultimately decided such a route was needed to bring down the surging Covid-19 cases - in turn setting a ticking clock for those receiving first doses to then receive the next within 12 weeks.
“This idea of three months [between doses] is because the trial got data at three months, but that is not to say that it won’t work after four months, if you had to do that [and have a larger gap between doses],” Sir John says.
AstraZeneca appears confident it will not need that extra time. Boss Pascal Soriot last week tabled ambitions to get to “one million a week and beyond that very rapidly”.
“We can go to two million. In January we will already possibly be vaccinating several million people and by the end of the first quarter we are going to be in the tens of millions.”
Rolling out the Oxford vaccine as well as the Pfizer vaccine means Britain should be able to “do two million vaccinations a week”, says Sir John, although in his view, “to be honest, it needs to be more than that”.
 
French vaccination campaign a 'state scandal' as just 500 receive jabs

French ask why country has only vaccinated 516 people compared to a million-odd in the UK and 240,000 in Germany


By Henry Samuel 4 January 2021 • 2:51pm

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President Emmanuel Macron told an emergency meeting with ministers that he was he was furious with the pace of the rollout Credit: STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN /AFP

President Emmanuel Macron came under intense pressure on Monday to ramp up France's snail-paced Covid vaccination campaign, which one top regional leader dubbed a "state scandal".
France, a country that prides itself on its world-class health system, launched nationwide vaccinations in late December starting with care home residents and older health workers.
But little more than a week later, a piddling 516 French had received jabs compared to around 240,000 in Germany and one million in Britain, according to health ministry figures.
"What we have seen is a state scandal," Jean Rottner, the head of France's hard-hit Grand Est eastern region told France 2 television.
"Things need to accelerate," said the member of the Right-wing Republicans (LR) opposition party and a doctor.
"Getting vaccinated is becoming more complicated than buying a car. The French need clarity and firm messages from a government that knows where it is going. It is not giving this impression." He called for France's centralised vaccination policy to be divested to regional authorities.
"Is France getting the dunce's hat in Europe for vaccinations?" asked Le Monde.
"If the art of government lies in implementation... then we are living through a political crisis," added an editorial in Le Figaro.
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President Emmanuel Macron of France has let it be known he is unhappy with the country's sluggish Covid vaccination campaign Credit: JEAN-FRANCOIS MONIER/AFP
The slow rollout is being blamed on mismanagement, end-of-year staffing shortages, and a complex consent policy to avoid litigation in a vaccine-sceptical country in which 60 per cent of the population say they won't get a jab, according to the latest poll. The vaccine consent form is 45 pages long.
Only French doctors can currently administer doses and the government has ruled out opening "vaccinodromes" in stadiums or sports halls.
France has also vehemently denied it has fallen behind neighbours because it wanted to hold out for a homegrown vaccine. One developed by French-owned Sanofi and Britain's GSK is only expected to be ready later in the year.
Dominique Le Guludec, head of France's medical regulator, said there was still insufficient data to approve the AstraZeneca vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca.
"We prefer to wait another 15 days if necessary to have all the data we need on safety and efficacy," Le Guludec told BFM TV.
With criticism snowballing, Mr Macron called a crisis meeting on Monday with prime minister Jean Castex and other ministers at the Elysée to discuss the vaccine roll-out.
He let it be known on Sunday that he was furious with the pace, which he likened to a "family stroll" not "worthy of the moment nor of the French," according to Le Journal di Dimanche.
"I am at war in the morning, noon, evening and night," Mr Macron is cited as saying. "I expect the same commitment from all. This won't do. It must change quickly and firmly."
But critics accused Mr Macron of passing the buck.
"The president appointed himself the generalissimo of the war against Covid but puts the blame on those in the frontline,", said prominent French Green politician Yannick Jadot. He accused the government of banking on the Sanofi vaccine whose lateness he described as a "French industrial fiasco".
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Germany has been far quicker off the mark than France in rolling out vaccinations Credit: Robert Michael/DPA
France has ordered 500,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, the only one so far approved by the EU. It is expected to approve the Moderna vaccine this week.
Gabriel Attal, the government spokesman, said France would receive a further 500,000 vaccine doses each week and would inoculate 14 million people by the summer. Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, the transport minister, put the figure at 26 million.
On Monday, the government insisted it was speeding up and extending phase one vaccinations to health workers over 50.
"You can't judge the success of a six-month vaccination campaign after seven days," said Mr Attal.
Epidemiologist and government adviser Arnaud Fontanet said: "It's going too slowly".
"But the real deadline is to reach 5-10 million (vaccinations) by the end of March," he told France Info, "because that's the point at which you have a real impact on the spread of the virus".
The coronavirus has killed more than 65,000 people in France, the seventh-highest national toll globally. Among other measures to stem the pandemic, 15 northeastern and southeastern departments have imposed 6 pm curfews.
Mr Fontanet said that the infection rate was still too high to ease restrictions.
Restaurants, bars, museums and cinemas remain shut and it is unlikely they will re-open as initially planned on January 20.
However, France on Monday sent 12 million pupils back to school after the Christmas holidays as planned.
 
Germany heading towards extension of hard lockdown
By Reuters Staff
3 Min Read

BERLIN (Reuters) - The German government and the country’s 16 federal states have agreed to extend a strict lockdown until Jan. 31 in an effort to bring coronavirus infections under control, Bild newspaper reported on Monday, without providing a source.

FILE PHOTO: Police officers block the boulevard 'Strasse des 17. Juni' on which the New Year's Eve celebrations with thousands of people have usually taken place in previous years, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Berlin, Germany, December 31, 2020. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke
Chancellor Angela Merkel and the state premiers are scheduled on Tuesday to discuss a possible extension of the lockdown beyond Jan. 10. Some, including Bavaria’s premier Markus Soeder, have already spoken in favour of an extension.
Speaking after the Bild report, a government source told Reuters: “All but two federal states support (a lockdown extension until) Jan. 31. However, the formal decision will be made on Tuesday.”
Germany was more successful than many European countries in keeping the coronavirus in check during the first wave in the spring but has seen a surge in new infections since the autumn.

It imposed a second hard lockdown on Dec. 16, closing schools, shops and restaurants after a partial lockdown introduced in early November did not bring the hoped-for reduction in new infections.
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany, which has a total population of around 83 million, increased by 9,847 to 1.76 million in a day, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Monday. The reported death toll rose by 302 to 34,574.
The situation in Germany’s hospitals has become “extremely difficult”, a government spokesman told a news conference on Monday.

The federal states will take the decision on when and how schools will reopen, the education ministers agreed on Monday.
They recommend a three-step procedure, which would see the first six grades return first, flexible teaching times for pupils from the seventh grade in a second step and a broad return to classrooms in a third step.
Like other European Union countries, Germany started vaccinating its population against COVID-19 in late December, but officials and media have expressed frustration with the slow rate of progress.
Only 265,986 people had received a first shot by Monday, according to the RKI. This compares with more than a million people in Britain, which approved the vaccine developed by Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech earlier than the EU and also began innoculating with Oxford University and Astrazeneca’s vaccine on Monday.
 
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