30-12-2020

WednesdAY, december 30, 2020
11
More England Covid patients
in hospital than at April peak
LONDON : England is "back in the eye" of
the coronavirus storm, health chiefs warned
Tuesday, with as many patients in hospital as
during the initial peak in April.
A new strain of the virus appears to be
behind the recent upsurge in cases, heaping
further pressure on the state-run National
Health Service during its busiest winter period.
NHS England figures showed there were
20,426 Covid patients in the country's hospitals
on Monday, compared to the 18,974
peak recorded during the first wave.
The number of positive tests recorded over
a 24-hour period also hit a new high of
41,385 Monday, according to government
figures, although testing is now much more
extensive.
However, case figures do not include
Scotland and Northern Ireland, which did
not report over the Christmas period.
"Many of us have lost family, friends, colleagues
and - at a time of year when we
would normally be celebrating - a lot of people
are understandably feeling anxious, frustrated
and tired," said NHS England chief
executive Simon Stevens.
"And now again we are back in the eye of
the storm with a second wave of coronavirus
sweeping Europe and, indeed, this country."
Britain is pinning its hopes on its mass vaccination
programme, with the
Oxford/AstraZeneca jab expected to receive
approval shortly, according to reports.
"We think that by late spring with vaccine
supplies continuing to come on stream we
will have been able to offer all vulnerable
people across this country Covid vaccination,"
said Stevens.
"That perhaps provides the biggest chink
of hope for the year ahead."
Health trusts have been told to begin planning
for the use of Nightingale field hospitals,
the temporary facilities created during
the first wave that have largely gone unused.
London and southeast England are currently
bearing the brunt of the outbreak, with
paramedics in the capital saying they are
receiving up to 8,000 emergency calls each
day.
London Ambulance Service said Boxing
Day - December 26 - was one of its "busiest
ever days".A further 357 people testing positive
for the virus were announced on
Monday to have died, bringing the UK total
to 71,109, the second worst toll in Europe.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been
under fire for his government's handling of
the pandemic, and is now under pressure to
introduce even more social restrictions,
including school closures after the Christmas
break.
Natundhara Bangladesh (NDB) organized a street rally yesterday to reduce the daily
necessaries price.
Photo : TBT
we`ÿ r/Rb- 463(2)/29/12/2020
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Soldier charged with murder after
three dead in US shooting
WASHINGTON : A US
Green Beret has been
charged with murder after a
shooting at a bowling alley
over the weekend left three
dead in Illinois, the state
attorney said Monday.
A further three people
were injured when a man
opened fire in Rockford's
Don Carter Lanes bowling
alley on Saturday night.
Duke Webb, 37, has been
charged with three counts of
first-degree murder and
three counts of attempted
first-degree murder and
denied bail, State Attorney J.
Hanley said in a press conference.
The highly decorated
Green Beret was assigned to
the US Army's 7th Special
Forces Group, based in
Florida, and had served four
Afghan tours.
Hanley named those killed
as Thomas Furseth, 65, from
Machesney Park in Illinois,
Jerome Woodford, 69, and
Dennis Steinhoff, 73, who
were both from Rockford.
Of those wounded, the
state attorney said a 16-yearold
girl was stable, while
another teen - a 14-year-old
boy - and a 62-year-old man
remain in a critical condition
in hospital.
"The defendant admitted
to the shootings, and directed
officers to the locations of
the firearms he used,"
Fiji reviews quarantine
processes before
reopening border
SUVA : Inbound passenger
flights to Fiji will resume on
Tuesday with new adaptations
to border quarantine protocols,
according to the COVID-19
Risk Mitigation Taskforce.
The Fiji Broadcasting
Corporation reported that in
light of the discovery of a potentially
more contagious strain of
coronavirus in Britain, Fiji's
Health Ministry has completed
its extensive review of its border
quarantine processes.
The Health Ministry said the
entry swab test will be conducted
over day three and four as
this will reduce the risk of a false
negative result and improve the
ability to identify cases of
inflight transmission.
Stricter in-room quarantine
protocols will be enforced, with
no outdoor activity for new
arrivals until a negative entry
swab test result is received and
heightened COVID-safe measures
will be implemented for all
border health unit personnel
and hospital isolation unit
frontline staff. The COVID-19
Risk Mitigation Taskforce said
the new strain of virus appears
to be more transmissible.
However, it is transmitted in
the same manner as the existing
strain, and it is not considered
more dangerous to
human beings.
Hanley told the press conference.Two
weapons were
recovered at the scene.
Webb was on leave and
reportedly visiting family at
the time of the attack.
He is due to appear again
in court on February 16, and
could face life imprisonment
without parole if convicted.
A decorated Special Forces
assistant operations and
intelligence sergeant, Webb
finished his most recent tour
of Afghanistan in July, US
media said.
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