Headlines
• UK fertility rates down 10.2% YoY in January, ONS
• Silverstone to allow capacity crowd at the British Grand Prix
• US FDA adds heart inflammation to Pfizer & Moderna side effects
• Hong Kong to ban passenger flights from Indonesia
• California has given away $116m in vaccine prizes
World news
• Fertility rates in England and Wales for December 2020 and January 2021 showed "relatively steep decreases" compared with the same month the previous year, down by 8.1% and 10.2% respectively, according to the Office for National Statistics. For the first three months of the year, the rate for 2021 is estimated to be 1.53 children per woman - down from 1.92 children per woman in 2011.
• The React study of half a million adults in England suggests around two million may have had some long-lasting symptoms after infection. 37% said they had experienced at least one symptom lasting 12 weeks or more; 15% said they had three or more symptoms.
• Spain has set a new daily record of more than 680,000 vaccinations; 50% of the population have now had at least one dose, 32% have had both doses.
• Three spectators at the Denmark vs Belgium match in Copenhagen are thought to have been infected with the Delta variant at the game, officials say. Health officials have asked 4,000 spectators who were in one section of the stadium to be tested.
• The head of the World Medical Association, Frank Ulrich Montgomery, has urged people not to travel to London for Euro 2020 matches.
• The UK’s Crown Court backlog hit a record in March of 59,000, cases up from 39,000 in 2019. For Magistrates’ courts, the backlog stands at 453,482 cases, up from 290,000 in 2019.
• Silverstone will be allowed to have a capacity crowd (140,000) for next month's British Grand Prix.
• Provisional statistics from the ONS shows there were 689,698 deaths across the UK in 2020, and 684,639 births, meaning an overall decline in the natural population of 5,059.
• Switzerland will remove most of its remaining restrictions this weekend, including for entry into the country, but non-Schengen arrivals must be vaccinated.
• The US FDA will add a warning to the vaccines produced by Pfizer and Moderna about rare cases of heart inflammation in adolescents and young adults.
• Hong Kong will ban passenger flights from Indonesia from Friday.
• Yesterday China administered 24.1m vaccine doses, bringing the official national total to 1.096bn.
• The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime analysis suggests that the pandemic has brought increasing economic hardship likely, making illicit drug cultivation more appealing to fragile rural communities. For example, top opium producer Afghanistan reported a 37% jump in the amount of land used for illicit poppy cultivation during 2020. Report
• Japan’s Emperor has voiced concern over the possible spread of coronavirus during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. A recent Kyodo poll showed about 86% of people in Japan are worried about the risk of a rebound in cases if the Olympics go ahead this summer.
• California has awarded $116.5m in vaccine prize money.
Company news
Transport
• Cathay Pacific – has told its aircrew they must get a vaccination by 31 August or risk losing their jobs. According to the airline, 90% of its pilots and 65% of its cabin crew have been vaccinated or have appointments to receive it.
