Coronavirus news: Brazil exceeds 600,000 deaths; Covid dramatically worsened global mental health – study | World news

The government is considering phasing out free Covid-19 testing in the UK to save money, it has been reported.

Right now, people can get an unlimited number of free lateral flow tests, with the public invited to self-test twice a week. If a person shows symptoms of the virus, they can request a free PCR test.

However, the Telegraph reported that as part of a new system, lateral flow testing will only be available for high-risk environments such as nursing homes, hospitals and schools.

It comes as other countries in Europe, like Germany, are ending free universal testing this month.

A source from Whitehall told the newspaper: “It is agreed that universal access is not sustainable or necessary given the high levels of immunization.

“We must now decide what should be the parameters that reasonably qualify access to free tests.”

Bali, a popular country for tourists from far away, has been hit hard by the pandemic and what it means for international travel. The Guardian has published a fascinating photographic essay, showing the fallout on various parts of the Indonesian province.

A scientist advising the UK government has warned of the level of coronavirus circulating among high school students as he suggested better access to vaccination centers may be needed.

Professor Calum Semple, a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), said there was an unwanted risk that children in this age group could achieve herd immunity through infection rather than vaccination.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today program: “There is a risk in this and it is not a good way to get collective immunity.

“Commentators would generally say that it is ludicrous to aim for herd immunity using natural wild-type infection, as it leads to disease and damage to children from both acute illness and potentially long Covid. ”

When asked if parents in England should have a greater ability to take children to vaccination centers, he replied: children inside vaccination centers.

As the international health authorities have not yet given their blessing to the Russian-had Sputnik V fired, locals travel to Serbia for alternative vaccinations in order to travel freely.

Serbia, which is not a member of the European Union, is a practical choice for Russians seeking vaccines because they can enter the allied Balkan nation visa-free and because it offers a wide choice of vaccines. Western-made.

Tours organized for there have skyrocketed and they can be spotted in the capital, Belgrade, in hotels, restaurants, bars and vaccination clinics.

“We took the Pfizer vaccine because we want to go around the world,” Nadezhda Pavlova, 54, told AFP after receiving the vaccine last weekend at a sprawling vaccination center in Belgrade.

Russians vaccination tours in search of globally approved snapshots Health The organization appeared on the market in mid-September, according to the Russian Association of Tour Operators. Sputnik V was launched in August 2020 and has been approved in some 70 countries, including Serbia. But the WHO said the global approval was still under review after raising issues at a production plant a few months ago.

Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko recently said administrative issues were among the main bottlenecks in the WHO review process.

Judy Twigg, a political science professor specializing in global health at Virginia Commonwealth University, expects Sputnik V to be finally approved, but not this year.

In Brazil, deaths topped 600,000, according to government data released Friday. Despite this, bars in the country’s financial center, Sao Paulo, are full again, as social distancing is no longer.

So far, the country has not faced the predicted destruction of another wave in the delta. The average daily death toll in the country hovered around 500 for a month, down sharply from more than 3,000 in April, AFP reports.

Almost 45% of the population is fully vaccinated and a booster is given to the elderly. A greater percentage of Brazilians are at least partially vaccinated compared to Americans or Germans, according to Our World in Data, an online research site.

Marcelo Queiroga, Brazil’s fourth health minister since the pandemic began, suggested at a press conference on Friday that masks should not be mandatory. “Why would I pass a law to force people to use condoms? Don’t even think about it, ”he said.

Rio’s mayor has announced plans to bring the city’s big New Year’s party back to Copacabana beach.

Some analysts remain concerned about the potential for the delta to spread. Among them is Miguel Lago, executive director of the Brazilian Institute of Health Policy Studies, which advises public health officials. He believes authorities are taking a risk by reopening too much and announcing celebrations, and that Brazil may soon see more hospitalizations.

“The pandemic has diminished, but 500 deaths a day is far from good. And we don’t even have half the population fully vaccinated, ”Lago said. “We just don’t know enough and we have this horrible step to consider now.”