Covid live: Poland, Slovakia and Iceland latest countries set to end most coronavirus restrictions — as it happened

Here’s Wednesday’s top headlines on Covid from around the world.

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• The US Pentagon is expected to approve the deployment of 700 to 800 unarmed national guard troops to the nation’s capital, as trucker convoys plan protests against pandemic restrictions next week.

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• Hong Kong reported a record-breaking 8,674 new Covid infections, as the city state prepares for compulsory testing of its residents.

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• South Korea’s prime minister called for calm after a record 170,000 Covid cases, amid warnings that the latest surge had yet to peak.

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• Meanwhile, South Korean officials approved Pfizer’s Covid vaccine for children aged five to 11, expanding the country’s immunisation programme in the face of a massive Omicron outbreak.

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• Poland will lift most of its restrictions from 1 March, but will continue with mandatory face coverings indoors and isolation rules.

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• Iceland will lift all restrictions from Friday.

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• Novavax said it has started shipping doses of its Covid-19 vaccine to European Union member states, with France, Austria and Germany expected to be the first to receive shots.

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• The Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) warned the Caribbean was falling behind in its effort to fight Covid – as only 63% of its eligible population was vaccinated.

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• The World Heath Organization (WHO) set up a hub in South Korea to train low- and middle-income countries to produce their own vaccines and is expanding its vaccine project to a further five nations.

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• The tri-island state of Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique relaxed its entry requirements for vaccinated travellers.

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• The UK reported 39,656 new cases, a 41% drop on two weeks ago today. A further 164 people died from Covid-related causes.

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• Meanwhile, fraud and error cost the UK government as much as £16bn across the Covid-19 emergency loan schemes, according to parliament’s spending watchdog.

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• Italy will end its Covid state of emergency on 31 March, prime minister Mario Draghi said.

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That’s all for the blog today. Bye for now.

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• This post was amended on 24 February 2022. The WHO’s new training hub is in South Korea, not South Africa, as earlier posts at 23.02 and 19.04 GMT said.

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• Poland has said it will be lifting most of its coronavirus restrictions from 1 March, but will continue with mandatory face coverings indoors and isolation rules.

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• Iceland is to lift all coronavirus restrictions from Friday, local news outlets are reporting.

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• The World Heath Organization (WHO) has said it has set up a hub in South Korea to train low- and middle-income countries to produce their own vaccines and is expanding its coronavirus vaccine project to a further five nations.

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• The tri-island state of Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique has relaxed its entry requirements for vaccinated travellers and now accepts either a 24-hour negative antigen test result taken one day before travel to Grenada or a 72-hour pre-departure PCR test.

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• US health officials have said that some people getting Pfizer or Moderna coronavirus vaccines should consider waiting up to eight weeks between the first and second doses, instead of the three or four weeks previously recommended.

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• Novavax Inc has said it has started shipping doses of its Covid-19 vaccine to EU member states, with France, Austria and Germany expected to be the first to receive the shots in the coming days.

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• The UK has reported 39,656 new coronavirus cases today, compared to 41,130 recorded yesterday. 164 coronavirus deaths within 28 days of a positive test have also been reported, compared with 205 recorded the day previous, bringing the overall total to 160,979.

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• Italy has reported 49,040 new coronavirus cases, down from 60,029 the day previous, as well as 252 coronavirus deaths, down from 322 the day previous.

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• The Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) warned on Wednesday that the Caribbean was falling behind in its effort to fight Covid-19 as only 63% of its eligible population was vaccinated and large regional discrepancies persist.

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• France has reported 66,833 new coronavirus cases, and has reported 2,753 people are in intensive with coronavirus, a decrease of 89 compared to the previous day.

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• NHS England has said that patients will still be required to wear face masks in GP practices and hospitals.

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• This post was amended 24 February 2022. The WHO’s new training hub is in South Korea, not South Africa, as earlier posts at 23.02 and 19.04 GMT said.

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Iceland is to lift all coronavirus restrictions from Friday, local news outlets are reporting.

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The Reykjavic Grapevine reports that all coronavirus restrictions, domestic and at the border, will be lifted from midnight on Friday. The lifting of border restrictions will apply to arrivals to Iceland.

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In a statement, the Icelandic Health Ministry said that “widespread societal resistance to coronavirus is the main route out of the epidemic,” the ministry said in a statement, citing infectious disease authorities.

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“To achieve this, as many people as possible need to be infected with the virus as the vaccines are not enough, even though they provide good protection against serious illness,”

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The Reykjavic Grapevine reports:

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The announcement follows several days in a row of there being over 2,000 daily cases of the coronavirus reported and increased workload at area hospitals and health clinics, with hundreds of Landspítali staff in isolation and now 59 people hospitalised with the virus.

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In terms of daily numbers, there were 2,689 recorded domestic cases of the coronavirus in Iceland yesterday, with an additional 196 reported cases at the border. 241 are in border screening quarantine, with 12,273 in isolation. There are currently 59 people in hospital with the coronavirus and two in intensive care.

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289,020 people aged five and older have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus as of 23 February comprising 81% of this age group, or 78% of the total population. 202,818 have also received booster shots.

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Poland has said it will be lifting most of its coronavirus restrictions from 1 March, but will continue with mandatory face coverings indoors and isolation rules.

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The Associated Press reports:

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Adam Niedzielski, the Polish health minister, said the lifting of most of the restrictions was possible because the number of new daily infections and hospitalisations was falling significantly, and herd immunity was above 90% as a result of both vaccinations and infections.

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Discos and clubs can reopen on Tuesday, and the 50% capacity limit on the number of people on public transport and in malls, restaurants, theatres and sports venues will also be lifted.

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State and regional administration workers can return to work in the office.

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Niedzielski said mask-wearing in indoor public places will still be required, and those infected will still need to isolate for seven days to prevent transmission of Covid-19. The government will decide whether to lift the mandatory wearing of masks in coming weeks.

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Poland reported almost 20,500 new infections and 360 Covid-19 related deaths today. At the peak of the most recent infection rise in mid-January, almost 60,000 new daily infections were reported in this nation of 38 million. More than 22 million people have been fully immunised with vaccines.

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Slovakia will lift most of its coronavirus restrictions over the next month, according to plans approved by the government today.

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The first phase of the change in rules will begin with loosening measures for the unvaccinated, and cancelling crowd limits at a later date.

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The first phase of the loosening will begin on 26 February, and a second phase will follow on 26 March to end limits on crowds and opening hours.

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Here is a round-up of today’s Covid stories:

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• South Korean health officials have approved Pfizer’s Covid vaccine for children aged five to 11, expanding the country’s immunisation programme in the face of a massive Omicron outbreak.

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• The global project to share Covid vaccines is struggling to place more than 300m doses in the latest sign the problem with vaccinating the world is now more about demand than supply.

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• Hong Kong reported a record 8,674 new Covid infections on Wednesday, as the city prepares for compulsory testing of its residents after authorities extended the toughest social restrictions imposed since the pandemic began.

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• Mexico registered 18,309 new confirmed Covid cases and 706 more deaths from on Tuesday, according to health ministry data.

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• Fraud and error are likely to have cost the UK government as much as £16bn across the Covid-19 emergency loan schemes, according to parliament’s spending watchdog, which described the losses as “unacceptable”.

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• The Pentagon is expected to approve the deployment of 700 to 800 unarmed national guard troops to the nation’s capital, a US official said, as trucker convoys plan protests against pandemic restrictions next week.

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• Primary school-aged children produce about four times fewer aerosol particles when breathing, speaking or singing compared with adults, which could help explain why they seem to be at lower risk of spreading Covid.

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• Forcing people arriving in England in summer 2020 to quarantine for 14 days helped reduce the spread of coronavirus, according to research. Cambridge scientists found that the measure was particularly effective for travellers aged 16-20, PA Media reported.

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• The international community should form a strategy to provide North Korea with at least 60m doses of Covid vaccines to head off humanitarian disaster, an independent UN human rights investigator said on Wednesday.

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• Patient care may suffer as a result of cuts to the NHS budget to fund the continuing costs of Covid, NHS leaders and Labour have said, after Sajid Javid refused to say where the axe would fall.

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• A limited number of Moderna Covid vaccines will be made available to Spanish citizens in China, according to a statement on the website of the Spanish foreign ministry.

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That’s it from me, Tom Ambrose, for today. I’ll be back tomorrow but my colleague Tobi Thomas will be along shortly. Bye for now.

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Patient care may suffer as a result of cuts to the NHS budget to fund the continuing costs of Covid, NHS leaders and Labour have said, after Sajid Javid refused to say where the axe would fall.

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The Department of Health and Social Care is trying to make savings from its budget to fund free lateral flow tests for elderly people, Covid surveillance studies and genomic sequencing, after the Treasury refused its request for £5bn in extra funding.

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Although the government announced an end to most free mass testing and contract tracing on Monday, remaining Covid measures are expected to cost more than £1bn.

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The Treasury and the DHSC refused to say exactly how much cash would be needed or which services would have to be cut back, prompting fears the NHS could have to find savings at a time of a huge waiting list backlog.

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It is understood that DHSC officials are working on identifying savings in the department’s £178.5bn budget for 2022-23, to fund the measures agreed on Monday, including maintaining a “baseline” testing capability that can be scaled up if necessary.

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Hello. Tom Ambrose here and I’ll be bringing you all the latest Covid news over the next few hours.

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First off is the news that South Korean health officials have approved Pfizer’s Covid vaccine for children aged five to 11, expanding the country’s immunisation programme in the face of a massive Omicron outbreak.

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The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency reported a record 171,452 new virus cases on Wednesday, nearly a 40-fold increase from levels in mid-January when Omicron first emerged as the country’s dominant strain. The 99 new deaths were the highest daily tally since 31 December, when the country was grappling with a Delta-driven surge that buckled hospital systems.

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More than 500 virus patients are now in serious or critical condition, up from around 200 in mid-February, the Associated Press reported.

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In a long-awaited announcement, the Ministry of Drug and Food Safety said it approved the Pfizer vaccine as the country’s first shot to be used for children aged five to 11. The KDCA said it will announce a vaccine rollout plan for this age group in March.

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The Pfizer shot is already used for children aged five to 11 in more than 60 countries, including the United States and in the European Union, the MDFS said in a press release. The vaccine will help protect younger children from infections or serious illness amid South Korea’s fast-developing Omicron surge, it added.

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Teenagers and younger children have been linked to a rising number of infections in recent weeks, according to KDCA data.

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The country had earlier approved vaccinations for people 12 years and older. As of Wednesday, 86.4% of South Korea’s more than 51 million people have been vaccinated and nearly 60% have received booster shots.

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Fraud and error are likely to have cost the UK government as much as £16bn across the Covid-19 emergency loan schemes, according to parliament’s spending watchdog, which described the losses as “unacceptable”.

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A report from the public accounts committee published on Wednesday said the Treasury should by the end of the year come up with estimates of fraud and error losses across the individual schemes and how much it intends to recover.

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The government guaranteed or gave out loans worth £129bn to people and companies during the coronavirus pandemic to support them financially through lockdown restrictions. However, ministers were warned from the start that the speed of the schemes would open them up to fraud.

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Since then government agencies have found large-scale frauds across several parts of the system, ranging from the coronavirus job retention scheme (CJRS) for furloughed workers, the bounce back loan scheme (BBLS) for small companies, and the coronavirus business interruption loan scheme (CBILS) for mid-sized businesses.

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Reports from crime and bankruptcy agencies have shown some loans were used to fund gambling, luxuries and home improvements.

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Wednesday Summary

Here’s Wednesday’s top headlines on Covid from around the world.

• The US Pentagon is expected to approve the deployment of 700 to 800 unarmed national guard troops to the nation’s capital, as trucker convoys plan protests against pandemic restrictions next week.
• Hong Kong reported a record-breaking 8,674 new Covid infections, as the city state prepares for compulsory testing of its residents.
• South Korea’s prime minister called for calm after a record 170,000 Covid cases, amid warnings that the latest surge had yet to peak.
• Meanwhile, South Korean officials approved Pfizer’s Covid vaccine for children aged five to 11, expanding the country’s immunisation programme in the face of a massive Omicron outbreak.
• Poland will lift most of its restrictions from 1 March, but will continue with mandatory face coverings indoors and isolation rules.
• Iceland will lift all restrictions from Friday.
• Novavax said it has started shipping doses of its Covid-19 vaccine to European Union member states, with France, Austria and Germany expected to be the first to receive shots.
• The Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) warned the Caribbean was falling behind in its effort to fight Covid – as only 63% of its eligible population was vaccinated.
• The World Heath Organization (WHO) set up a hub in South Korea to train low- and middle-income countries to produce their own vaccines and is expanding its vaccine project to a further five nations.
• The tri-island state of Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique relaxed its entry requirements for vaccinated travellers.
• The UK reported 39,656 new cases, a 41% drop on two weeks ago today. A further 164 people died from Covid-related causes.
• Meanwhile, fraud and error cost the UK government as much as £16bn across the Covid-19 emergency loan schemes, according to parliament’s spending watchdog.
• Italy will end its Covid state of emergency on 31 March, prime minister Mario Draghi said.

That’s all for the blog today. Bye for now.

Lithuania detected 8,977 new Covid cases in the past 24 hours, national broadcaster LRT reports, a 25% fall on the 11,983 positive tests two weeks ago today.

The country’s Omicron wave spiked earlier in February, and has since fallen.

A further 16 people were reported to have died from Covid-related causes, LRT reports, a 6% fall on the 17 deaths on Wednesday two weeks ago.

Lithuania has a death toll of 8,316, the 67th highest worldwide. (The country has the 142nd highest population.)

Germany detected 209,052 new Covid cases in the past 24 hours, Deutsche Welle reports, a 17% drop on the 252,813 cases reported two weeks ago.

Germany’s record-breaking Omicron wave spiked earlier this month and has since begun to fall.

A further 299 people were reported to have died from Covid-related causes, a 26% jump on the 238 deaths two weeks ago.

The national seven-day incidence rate decreased again, DW reports, from 1,306.8 to 1,278.9 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants in the last seven days.

Germany has a death toll of over 122,000, the 14th highest worldwide. (The country has the 19th highest population.)

Denmark detected 29,040 new Covid infections in the past 24 hours, a 48% drop on the 55,120 new cases two weeks ago today.

Denmark’s Omicron wave peaked in late-January and early-February – seeing record-breaking case numbers – but infections have dropped off recently.

A further 47 people were reported to have died from Covid-related causes in the past 24 hours, more than double the 21 recorded on two weeks ago.

Denmark has recorded 4,422 total Covid deaths, 86th highest globally and less than China’s official death toll. (Denmark has the 115th highest population.)

Bulgaria reported 4,667 new Covid cases in the past 24 hours, state broadcast BNT reports, a 37% fall on the 7,263 new cases two weeks ago today.

Bulgaria’s Omicron wave spiked in late-January before falling in recent weeks.

A further 60 people died from Covid-related causes in the past 24 hours, BNT reports, 44% down on the 108 deaths two weeks ago.

The country – which has the lowest vaccination rate in the European Union – has a confirmed death toll of 35,245, the 27th highest in the world. (Bulgaria has the 107th highest population.)

Russia detected 137,642 positive Covid tests in the past 24 hours, the Moscow Times reports, a 24% decline on the 181,791 new cases reported two weeks ago.

Russia went through it’s biggest ever Covid wave in recent weeks, recording subsequent record-breaking daily infections. There are signs, however, cases have peaked and are falling.

But deaths are still climbing. A further 785 people died from Covid-related causes in the past 24 hours, the Moscow Times reports, a 19% jump on the 658 deaths two weeks ago.

Russia has a death toll of over 717,000, according to a Reuters analysis that suggests the country significantly under-reports its Covid deaths, making it second-highest tally in the world to only the US. (Russia has the 9th highest population worldwide.)

Ukraine reported 25,062 new Covid cases in the past 24 hours, public broadcaster Ukrinform reports, a 37% decline on the 39,569 new cases detected two weeks ago today.

Ukrine has experienced peak case levels recently, driven by Omicron, but there are signs the wave has spiked and is falling back.

A further 297 people died from Covid-related causes in the past 24 hours, an 18% rise on the 251 deaths two weeks ago.

The country has a death toll of over 105,000, the 16th highest globally. (Ukraine has the 35th highest population.)

Let’s take at the UK’s Covid figures in context during the pandemic. Here’s daily case numbers, which spiked a few weeks ago before falling:

Hospitalisations, which climbed amid the Omicron wave – although significantly less than last year’s wave – have also receded recently:

Deaths – significantly reduced after the impact of vaccination – climbed amid Omicron, but have fallen in recent weeks:

This is Jem Bartholomew in London taking charge of the international Covid blog for tonight. Do get in touch via email or Twitter with tips from around the world.

Summary

• Poland has said it will be lifting most of its coronavirus restrictions from 1 March, but will continue with mandatory face coverings indoors and isolation rules.
• Iceland is to lift all coronavirus restrictions from Friday, local news outlets are reporting.
• The World Heath Organization (WHO) has said it has set up a hub in South Korea to train low- and middle-income countries to produce their own vaccines and is expanding its coronavirus vaccine project to a further five nations.
• The tri-island state of Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique has relaxed its entry requirements for vaccinated travellers and now accepts either a 24-hour negative antigen test result taken one day before travel to Grenada or a 72-hour pre-departure PCR test.
• US health officials have said that some people getting Pfizer or Moderna coronavirus vaccines should consider waiting up to eight weeks between the first and second doses, instead of the three or four weeks previously recommended.
• Novavax Inc has said it has started shipping doses of its Covid-19 vaccine to EU member states, with France, Austria and Germany expected to be the first to receive the shots in the coming days.
• The UK has reported 39,656 new coronavirus cases today, compared to 41,130 recorded yesterday. 164 coronavirus deaths within 28 days of a positive test have also been reported, compared with 205 recorded the day previous, bringing the overall total to 160,979.
• Italy has reported 49,040 new coronavirus cases, down from 60,029 the day previous, as well as 252 coronavirus deaths, down from 322 the day previous.
• The Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) warned on Wednesday that the Caribbean was falling behind in its effort to fight Covid-19 as only 63% of its eligible population was vaccinated and large regional discrepancies persist.
• France has reported 66,833 new coronavirus cases, and has reported 2,753 people are in intensive with coronavirus, a decrease of 89 compared to the previous day.
• NHS England has said that patients will still be required to wear face masks in GP practices and hospitals.

• This post was amended 24 February 2022. The WHO’s new training hub is in South Korea, not South Africa, as earlier posts at 23.02 and 19.04 GMT said.

NHS England has said that patients will still be required to wear face masks in GP practices and hospitals,

PA reports:

In a letter published on Wednesday, NHS England highlighted rules that may be changing as a result of the Prime Minister’s plan, which he set out earlier this week.

There will be “no immediate changes” to infection prevention and control requirements, it said, adding: “This includes the requirement for staff, patients and visitors to wear a mask/face covering in healthcare settings.”

From Thursday, people who test positive for Covid are no longer legally obliged to self-isolate under Boris Johnson’s plan.

But NHS England said its workers should continue to stay home and follow previous rules if they are infected.

“Healthcare staff who have tested positive for Covid-19 should not attend work until they have had two negative LFD (lateral flow device) test results taken 24 hours apart,” NHS England said, adding that the first test should be taken no earlier than day five after the initial positive result.

GP practices “must ensure” that Covid-positive staff are not required to work, it added.

The letter said updated guidance for staff and patients exposed to the virus will be released by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) on Thursday.

With the Government axing free Covid testing for most of the general public in England from April 1, NHS England said it will write to staff “in the coming weeks” with details of testing protocols for patients and staff.

Current testing protocols will stay will be in place until then, with NHS staff still having to report the results of their twice-weekly asymptomatic tests.

Restrictions on visiting hospitals are being reviewed, NHS England said.

Colombia will no longer require the use of face masks outdoors in areas where more than 70% of the population has been vaccinated against Covid-19, the president Ivan Duque has said.

Reuters reports:

The move is a further softening of measures adopted by the country to curb the spread of the coronavirus, as well as an incentive for people to get vaccinated.

Colombia is aiming to vaccinate at least 80% of its 50 million inhabitants.

“Those municipalities with vaccination above 70% can lift the use of face masks in public spaces,” Duque told journalists.

More than 33 million people have been fully vaccinated in Colombia, according to the health ministry, while over 8 million have received a booster shot.

Colombia has reported more than 6 million coronavirus infections over the course of the pandemic with 138,285 COVID-19 deaths, according to official numbers.

The Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) warned on Wednesday that the Caribbean was falling behind in its effort to fight Covid-19 as only 63% of its eligible population was vaccinated and large regional discrepancies persist.

Reuters reports:

Out of 13 countries and territories in the Americas that have not yet reached the World Health Organization’s (WHO) goal of 40% coverage, 10 are in the Caribbean, the PAHO’s director, Carissa Etienne, said.

The region registered 2.2m new Covid cases last week, down 28% compared with the previous week.

“And, after six consecutive weeks of increases, we saw deaths fall for the first time since the beginning of the Omicron wave, to 29,000 new deaths reported in our region, a drop of 9%,” Etienne said.

She cautioned that while cases and deaths are dropping, the improvements have not been uniform across all countries and territories in the region.

“Many places are still in the midst of the Omicron surge, so we must stay vigilant and uphold the measures proven to save lives,” said Etienne.

France has reported 2,753 people are in intensive with coronavirus, a decrease of 89 compared to the previous day.

France has also reported 66,833 new coronavirus cases.

The Italian government will end the Covid-19 state of emergency on 31 March, the Italian prime minister, Mario Draghi, said on Wednesday, promising a gradual return to normal after more than two years of the health crisis.

Reuters reports:

The state of emergency, which allows officials to intervene swiftly and bypass bureaucracy, was first introduced on 31 January 2020 and has been repeatedly renewed since then.

“We will continue to closely monitor the pandemic situation, ready to intervene in case of an outbreak. But our goal is to reopen fully, as soon as possible,” said Draghi in a speech in Florence.

The Italian government has said it will gradually phase out the mandatory use of coronavirus heath passes, the Italian health minister has said.

Italy has reported 49,040 new coronavirus cases, down from 60,029 the day previous, as well as 252 coronavirus deaths, down from 322 the day previous.

Reuters reports:

Italy has registered 153,764 deaths linked to Covid-19 since its outbreak emerged in February 2020, the second-highest toll in Europe after Britain and the eighth highest in the world. The country has reported 12.6 million cases to date.

Patients in hospital with Covid-19 – not including those in intensive care – stood at 12,527 on Wednesday, down from 13,076 a day earlier.

There were 81 admissions to intensive care units, down from 82 on Tuesday. The total number of intensive care patients fell to 886 from a previous 896.

Up to 479,447 tests for Covid-19 were carried out in the past day, compared with a previous 603,639, the health ministry said.

The UK has reported 39,656 new coronavirus cases today, compared to 41,130 recorded yesterday.

164 coronavirus deaths within 28 days of a positive test have also been reported, compared with 205 recorded the day previous, bringing the overall total to 160,979.

Separate figures published by the Office for National Statistics show there have been 184,000 deaths registered in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.