UK Today in Coronavirus
It has now been denied by the government that a large expansion of the self-isolation support payment scheme will happen. It comes after a leaked government plan brought about the possibility of anyone having to self-isolate due to the coronavirus getting a one-off £500 payment, seen as a potential way to combat people avoiding testing and self-isolation due to loss of work income. This means the system will remain only giving one-off £500 payments to those who have to self-isolate, are on certain benefits, low work income, and cannot work from home, instead of anyone who self-isolates – extra payments provided by councils was also highlighted, although there is evidence to suggest many are also denied this extra payment.
The government also said the majority do abide by rules and self-isolate when asked, they also said to look at the number of tests conducted each day, that they are high and insisted most do get tested, despite evidence suggesting otherwise.
In some possibly worrying coronavirus related news the Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a press briefing that the now dominant new variant of the Coronavirus that originated in England could possibly be more deadly, according to suggested evidence. The Chief Scientific Officer said that the older variant killed 10 out of 1,000 over the age of 60 who were infected while the newer variant may kill 13-14 out of 1,000 over the age of 60. A number of scientists and experts have said that it is too early yet to make a definitive determination on this, and some have said it’s even possible data could instead eventually show the new variant as less deadly, and that releasing such early information to the public that is yet to be fully determined through further study may have been a tactic to get more people to follow the current lockdown rules.
The good news is that the current vaccines still remain effective against the new England variant.
Another of the newer coronavirus variants, specifically the one from South Africa, could be up to 50% more resistant to current vaccines on the other hand according to a remark made by the Health Secretary Matt Hancock from a leaked webinar with business leaders and travel agents, although he did also say that they are not sure of the data and so would not repeat it in public. Such a concern had been stated by the Chief Scientific Officer about the South Africa as well as the Brazil new variants, although there is nothing definitive and it is too early to be sure on any possible increased resistance from such new variants. So far though the spread of the South Africa variant in the UK is only estimated to have infected around 71 people in the UK as of now. The threat of these variants could lead to tighter border restrictions being introduced to prevent them from entering the country more and possibly getting out of control.
In other coronavirus news the Chief Scientific Officer has also said we will probably be living with coronavirus forever but that it’d be controlled. This if you really think about it makes sense as eradication of a disease is very rare, one of the most recent diseases to be eradicated from public spread (but is still kept for study in labs) was smallpox. But viruses such as coronavirus would be far more difficult to eradicate due to how quickly they mutate and how fast they spread. It could be that one day once we reach a certain point of control it’d become more of a seasonal sort of thing with annual booster shots for certain groups, similar to how it is with the flu. Although it is yet to be seen how coronavirus will specifically be handled in the future once the pandemic comes to an end.
People who have been vaccinated have also been warned to keep abiding by coronavirus lockdown rules as although they should be protected against the virus themselves it is also possible they may still be able to carry the virus without knowing and spread it to others, according to the Deputy Chief Medical Officer. So far there have been over 6,350,000 vaccines administered, most of which are first doses. 32 new vaccine sites are opening from today to further speed up the process, they will vaccinate health and social care staff first and then other priority-list patients.
Many businesses who are unable to work at-home will also be offered laterel-flow tests to use on workers who do not show symptoms to make sure it is safe for them to come in to work again, such sectors that are set to be offered these are those in the food, manufacturing, energy, retail, transport and military.
There will also be government discussions today on whether to tighten border restrictions due to new variants of the virus, although a complete border shutdown is unlikely but will still be considered. Another thing being considered are so-called COVID hotels for foreigners travelling into the UK to stay in and self-isolate, they would need to pay for a room themselves rather than it being fully funded by the state – such schemes are already taking place in Australia and New Zealand. All travel corridors have already been suspended and people are required to test themselves 72-hours before journey into the UK, but many want to see tougher restrictions.
Trump Senate Trial Date
Trump’s trial in the Senate which was set to go ahead after he became the first ever US President to be impeached again is set to happen from the 8th-9th February, also making him the first ever US President to have two Senate trials and first ever former US President to have a Senate trial. The Senate trial will investigate the article of impeachment that was passed on insurrection against the US Government after the US Capitol breach on 6th January during the Electoral College certification process in Congress. The trial will culminate with a vote on whether to convict Trump or not, if convicted he would have been removed from office, but since he is already out of office the real danger from conviction would be another vote on barring him from running for a future 2nd term, the first vote of conviction would require a two-thirds majority which is seen as unlikely unless at least 17 Republican’s turn on Trump.
If Trump were to be convicted by the Senate he’d be the first ever to be convicted and also the first ever US President to be convicted by the Senate while out of office and as such from then would likely become the first ever US President to be barred from running for a 2nd term. But again it’s a long shot, but it could be that some Republican’s may want to distance the party from Trumpism, which has heavily defined it over the last four years.
Also since Democrats have control over the Senate this time, unlike under Trump’s last Senate trial, they will be able to pass rules that will govern and expand the trial, last time such attempts were blocked by Republican’s limiting the trials scope. Such a trial could go on for well over a month before a final vote on conviction. Others are concerned that this time could instead be used by Democrats to work on other pledges and legislation, and that such will likely be held up due to the trial, but it’s likely many more would rather see the trial go ahead and conclude.
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