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

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

At the moment, people can get an unlimited number of free lateral flow tests, with the public urged to self-test twice a week. If someone has symptoms of the virus they can request a free PCR test.

However, the Telegraph has reported that under a new system, lateral flow tests will only be available for high-risk settings such as care homes, hospitals and schools.

It comes as other countries in Europe, such as Germany, end universal free testing this month.

A Whitehall source told the newspaper: “It’s agreed that universal access isn’t sustainable or necessary given high vaccination levels.

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

Bali, a popular country for tourists coming from far and wide, has been heavily affected by the pandemic and what it means for international travel. The Guardian has published a fascinating photo-essay, showing the fall-out on various parts of the Indonesian province.

A scientist advising the UK government has warned about the level of coronavirus circulating among secondary school pupils as he suggested greater access to vaccine centres may be needed.

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

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “There is a risk of that and it’s not a good way to get to herd immunity.

“Commentators would usually say it’s ridiculous to aim for herd immunity using natural wild-type infection because that brings with it disease and damage to children both from acute disease and potentially long Covid.”

Asked whether parents in England should have a greater ability to take children to vaccination centres, he said: “I do think some flexibility would be great, I’m sure there are people thinking about it but also thinking about the practicalities of having large numbers of children inside the vaccinations centres.”

As international health authorities have not yet given their blessing to the Russian-made Sputnik V shot, people in the country are travelling to Serbia for alternative vaccinations to travel freely.

Serbia, which is not a member of the European Union, is a convenient choice for vaccine-seeking Russians because they can enter the allied Balkan nation without visas and because it offers a wide choice of Western-made shots.

Organized tours for there have soared, and they can be spotted in the capital, Belgrade, at hotels, restaurants, bars and vaccination clinics.

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

Vaccination tour packages for Russians seeking shots endorsed by the World Health Organization appeared on the market in mid-September, according to Russia’s Association of Tour Operators. Sputnik V emerged in August 2020 and has been approved in some 70 countries, including Serbia. But the WHO has said global approval is still under review after citing issues at a production plant a few months ago.

Russian health minister Mikhail Murashko recently said administrative issues were among the main holdups in the WHO’s review process.

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

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

So far the country has not faced the predicted destruction of another wave from the delta varient. The country’s average daily death toll has 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 shot is being administered 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 hit, suggested in 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 of it,” he said.

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

Some analysts remain worried about delta’s potential to spread. Among them is Miguel Lago, executive director of Brazil’s Institute for 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 hospital admissions.

“The pandemic has waned, but 500 deaths per 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 horrific milestone to contemplate now.”