COVID-19 Coronavirus UK and World News weekend update 28th / 29th November 2020.
The UK added 12,155 cases today and now has reported a total of 1,617,327 positive cases of COVID-19.
15,712 people were in hospital on Thursday 26th, with 1,417 using a ventilator on Friday 27th November.
In the 24 hours up until 5pm yesterday, we officially reported the loss of another 215 people who have tested positive to COVID-19 within 28 days. We now very sadly have a total of 58,245 officially reported losses of life in all settings.
Rep. Of Ireland 71,942 cases and 2,050 losses of life. (Not yet reported today.)
There have now been a total of 62,882,389 reported cases worldwide. The number of people who have lost their lives worldwide to COVID-19 is 1,463,107. Already 43,431,307 people have recovered.
Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford has confirmed that since the Welsh 'Firebreak lockdown', cases have risen far more quickly than was expected, and more measures are necessary to bring the reproductive number back under one and stop cases rising exponentially. At the moment the R rate is 1.4, meaning each infected person is passing it to an average of 1.4 more. Cinemas, bowling alleys and other indoor entertainment venues will close ahead of Christmas, and pubs, bars and restaurants will face extra restrictions from Friday 4th December. Final decisions are yet to be made, an announcement will be along early next week.
There isn't any conclusive evidence that Vitamin D helps you fight COVID, but it was long ago proven to be essential for a healthy immune system. The UK Government will be offering supplements to millions of people, including all care home residents, and those people extremely vulnerable to COVID.
Most of our Vitamin D comes from sunlight, so if you have darker skin, low levels of sunlight in your area, or you've spent little time outside, you are more likely to be deficient. It you've been recommended to take supplements, do it.
Hospitals in England have been told to prepare for vaccine rollout from as early as December 7th. This came as official approval has been requested from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for the USA's Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine (which has an effectiveness of over 94%). As soon as the MHRA give the green light, it's on.
Despite what the Government previously said, it is expected NHS Staff will be first on the list, followed by care home residents and staff. Everyone needs 2 jabs, 2 weeks apart, and will only be fully protected around 2 weeks after the second dose.
"We’re buying a further 2 million doses of Moderna's vaccine to help the whole UK in our fight against coronavirus.
We've now secured 357 million vaccine doses & are ready to deploy a vaccine if approved by MHRA."
Matt Hancock, UK Health Secretary.
