COVID-19 News And Updates

Australia news live: thousands urged to evacuate in Sydney amid deluge, Victorian Labor MP dies

Residents of Sydney’s south-west and central coast told to leave as ADF remains on standby. Follow all today’s news, live

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Thousands of people in low-lying areas around Sydney are being asked to evacuate another an east coast low threatened to trigger the region’s third major flooding since March.

Heavier-than-forecast rain in Sydney’s west – including more than 230mm collected in less than 24 hours at Lucas Heights – has prompted authorities to reassess the flood risks. Major flooding was already happening at Menangle on the Nepean River and similar outcomes were expected in the Hawkesbury–Nepean River downstream.

from Coronavirus | The Guardian
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‘In one fell swoop they’re gone’: how Covid tore through Melbourne’s St Basil’s

The 2020 outbreak at the nursing home was the deadliest in the city’s second wave and is the subject of a coronial inquest

Every Sunday, for several decades, Paul Barboussas hosted a family barbecue. It was his favourite day of the week. He and wife Helen would begin preparations early in the morning. Helen would be in the kitchen, rolling out paper-thin sheets of pastry for spanakopita and chopping up tomatoes and cucumbers, fresh from the garden, for a salad. Paul would be outside, preparing the charcoal for the barbecue to ensure it was the perfect temperature to cook the meat – he usually bought enough to feed a small village.

By lunchtime, smoke would be wafting down the street, acting as a beacon to guide family and friends to their home. Paul had five brothers who lived nearby – they’d come with their families, bearing plates of food and maybe a slab of Victoria Bitter.

from Coronavirus | The Guardian
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UK scientists warn of urgent need for action on vaccines to head off autumn Covid wave

Expert fear that new variants will emerge and stress the need to prepare the best drugs to combat it

Health authorities need to act urgently to prepare for an autumn that could see further waves of Covid-19 cases spreading across the UK.

That is the clear warning from scientists and doctors after last week’s figures revealed another dramatic jump in cases. More than 2 million people across Britain were found to be infected for the week ending 24 June, a rise of more than 30% on the preceding week.

from Coronavirus | The Guardian
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End of special Covid leave for NHS staff branded ‘completely unacceptable’

British Medical Association says move will put patients and healthcare workers in England at significant risk

Scrapping special Covid leave for NHS staff is “completely unacceptable” and will put patients and healthcare workers at significant risk, the British Medical Association has warned.

From 7 July the government plans to withdraw the special paid leave for Covid-related sickness and isolation for NHS staff in England, meaning they will revert to normal contractual sick pay arrangements.

from Coronavirus | The Guardian
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Dashboard of decline: seven charts that explain Britain’s economic crisis

The UK looks set for a recession and a longer battle with inflation than many of its neighbours. This is why

The UK is sliding towards a recession. Only six months ago, a strong recovery was expected, but the impact of the pandemic, the slow return to pre-Covid work patterns and soaring inflation driven by the Ukraine invasion have depressed the economy.

Last week the governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, warned that Britons are likely to suffer a deeper and longer downturn than other major industrialised nations. He also said inflation would be more severe and persistent.

from Coronavirus | The Guardian
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Worried about holiday travel chaos? Make sure you have the right insurance

From illness to flight cancellations and lost luggage, check that your policy fits your needs

After being grounded by the coronavirus pandemic, many UK families are looking forward to going abroad this summer but the recent scenes of travel chaos at airports means buying travel insurance should be top of your to-do list.

The likelihood of widespread cancellations and delays means it has “never been more important” to ensure that you have adequate travel insurance from the moment you book your holiday, says Rory Boland, the travel editor of the consumer group Which?.

from Coronavirus | The Guardian
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Vulnerable Australians ‘filled with dread’ over telehealth cuts

Decision to end a range of services on 30 June will lead to ‘avoidable suffering and distress’, medical practitioners say

Living through Covid-19 with inflammatory arthritis, telehealth has been the only way for Eliza Sorensen to safely access her routine medical appointments.

Sorensen is considered severely immunocompromised due to the medication she takes to control her chronic disease. She also lives with asthma.

from Coronavirus | The Guardian
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Though all Australia felt the terror of Covid – this great trauma of 10,000 dead has not been shared | Brigid Delaney

The press conferences stopped. The roll call of the dead stopped. But the death didn’t stop. If anything, it accelerated

It was on the face of it an odd thing to say – just one of the many odd things Donald Trump said in his time as president.

It was March 29 2020. A deadly virus was sweeping the world; China, Italy, and now the US. Bodies of the dead were being stored in refrigerated trucks outside mortuaries in New York. Less than two weeks later, work would start on a new mass burial ground outside the city on Hart Island.

from Coronavirus | The Guardian
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To the sea or the trees? More Australians are choosing country life

For the first time, the population of capital cities has declined, with Covid the final straw for many to move to the regions

Jake Cassar grew up in the tiny seaside village of Port Fairy in Victoria. At 18, he packed his bags for overseas and swore he would never live in a small coastal town again.

It took a pandemic and a “ring of steel” lockdown policing movement in and out of Melbourne to convince him to reconsider regional life. Fast forward 18 months and he’s bought a house and started a business in Torquay on Victoria’s Surf Coast. Sure, he’s only braved the ocean once in that time, but he has no regrets.

from Coronavirus | The Guardian
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Nearly 44,000 unvaccinated US national guard troops could be penalized

The branch has the military’s lowest vaccination rate but official says ‘we’re not giving up on anybody’

About 43,600 national guard members face possible penalties for not receiving a Covid-19 vaccine before a federal deadline.

Approximately 10% of national guard troops have not provided documentation that they have received a Covid-19 vaccination, violating a direct order to get vaccinated, the New York Times said.

from Coronavirus | The Guardian
via COVID-19 Alerts