Vaccination not sufficient to keep COVID-19 under check: UK scientists

A group of scientists which advise the UK government over the handling of the Coronavirus outbreak have warned against lifting restrictions as the coming weeks ldquomay lead to a small surge of cases and deathsrdquoMinutes from a meeting with members of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies Sage published on Tuesday warned there could be a rise in cases ldquoof a similar scale to January 2021 after later stagesrdquo of the route out of lockdown reports dpa news agencyThe warning was made despite the UKrsquos success with its vaccine rollout which has seen more than 315 million people receive their first dose of the vaccine and 54 million receive both doses so farScientists from the university Imperial College London said due to eligibility vaccine hesitancy and the high transmissibility of the circulating COVID19 variant ldquovaccination alone will not be sufficient to keep the epidemic under controlrdquoThey advised the best way for Britain to keep hospitalisations and deaths at a low level would mean keeping restrictions at stage two the planned easing beyond April 12 but it depends on people sticking to the rulesStage two allows for groups of six people to meet outdoors nonessential retail to reopen pubs and restaurants to reopen outdoors only gyms and salons to reopen However international travel is not allowed and events such as plays and concerts remain suspended England is due to enter stage two on April 12 while Wales Scotland and Northern Ireland have already allowed some businesses to reopenOnly vaccinated pilgrims to get Umrah permitsOnly pilgrims and worshippers who have been vaccinated against the novel Coronavirus or have recovered will be allowed into the Grand Mosque in Mecca Saudi Arabiarsquos Ministry of Hajj and Umrah announced Permits for Umrah Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca and to visit the Grand Mosque will be granted to those who have received two COVID19 vaccine jabs those who have received a first dose at least 14 days before their visit to Medina and Mecca and those who have had the virus and recovered Arab News quoted the Ministry as saying on MondayCOVAX has shipped over 36 mn dosesCOVAX a WHOled initiative aimed at ensuring equal access to COVID19 vaccines has so far shipped more than 36 million doses of the jabs to 86 countries a UN spokesman said ldquoAlgeria received over 36000 doses over the weekend from COVAX These doses will help accelerate the vaccination campaign already underway in the countryrdquo Xinhua news agency quoted Stephane Dujarric spokesman for UN SecretaryGeneral Antonio Guterres as sayingAustralian PM welcomes NZrsquos decision on travelAustralian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Tuesday welcomed New Zealandrsquos decision to open its borders to travellers from the country Earlier in the day New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that Australians will be allowed to enter the country without mandatory quarantine from April 19 It comes about six months after Australia opened its borders to New Zealand travellers in October 2020283672No of new cases reported globally in the past 24 hours131944345Total no of cases worldwide2863045Total no of deaths worldwideSource WHOJohns HopkinsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever