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Top scientists call for herd immunity approach – as government's 'soft touch' criticised
Senior politicians from four major northern councils have warned the government that existing coronavirus restrictions are “not working”, describing some as confusing and others as counter-productive.
Their intervention reflects growing divisions in politics and in the scientific community over how to tackle the growing number of infections.
The letter to Health Secretary Matt Hancock was signed by Leeds City Council leader Judith Blake, Manchester City Council leader Sir Richard Leese, Newcastle City Council leader Nick Forbes, and Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson.
The four centres are among the worst-affected areas as the pandemic worsens – the UK reported 14,542 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, almost 2,000 more than the previous day. Hospital admissions in England also hit a four-month high.
It comes as a new declaration, signed by thousands of scientists, calls for a herd immunity approach while protecting the most vulnerable populations.
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In the letter, the four leaders said they were “extremely concerned” about the sharp increase and the “national responses”.
“The existing restrictions are not working, confusing for the public and some, like the 10pm (curfew) rule, are counter-productive,” they said.
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Insisting they do not support further economic lockdowns, they instead called for additional powers to punish those who break rules and for any further restrictions to be developed by police, council, and public health experts.
They also called for a locally controlled test and trace system and financial support for those who needed to isolate with a payment that recognises additional needs in areas of deprivation.
“It is critical to the future of our local – and therefore the nation’s – economic wellbeing that we look to work together to deliver a joined up and effective response for our cities and the country in the coming days,” the letter said.
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Also mentioned was the need for improved support for businesses, something Liverpool’s mayor emphasised in an interview with Sky News.
Joe Anderson said: “When we had the national lockdown, we had a furlough scheme that was national.
“It seems to me to be common sense and also consistent that if we’re having a local lockdown that impacts on businesses, we should have a local scheme that supports those very businesses. Because otherwise they won’t come back.
“It’s alright the government talking about putting money into retraining packages but we’ve got to stop the jobs from being lost and that will then stop people needing training packages because we’ve prevented those jobs from going.”
He added: “I think the government are in a halfway house here. I don’t think they’ve done enough and they hope it will go away. The bottom line is you have to make a choice – there has to be stricter measures that actually bring the virus to a halt…and that’s why there has to be an economic package of support where that is happening.”
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Meanwhile, Professor John Edmunds, who sits on the scientific advisory group for emergencies (Sage), also criticised local measures and said new national restrictions were needed immediately.
Professor Edmunds said the government’s current “light touch” measures are just “delaying the inevitable”.
“We will at some point put very stringent measures in place because we will have to when hospitals start to really fill up,” he told the BBC.
“Frankly, the better strategy is to put them in place now.”
International Trade Secretary Liz Truss told Sky News that the government didn’t want to “have to go back to a national lockdown, where we effectively end up closing down the economy as well as severely restricting people’s lives”.
“So that is why we are having these different series of local lockdowns or local restrictions to make sure that we are tailoring the restrictions to the specific circumstances of each area,” she said.
“Of course that introduces an element of complexity… but these restrictions are based on the best scientific and medical advice.
“We do work with the local mayors – keeping them involved in that process.”
The views of scientists such as Professor Edmunds who support stricter measures are at odds with other academics.
The new declaration, signed by top scientists from the universities of Oxford, Nottingham, Edinburgh, Exeter, Cambridge, Sussex and York, suggests herd immunity as a way forward.
The so-called Great Barrington declaration states: “The most compassionate approach that balances the risks and benefits of reaching herd immunity, is to allow those who are at minimal risk of death to live their lives normally to build up immunity to the virus through natural infection, while better protecting those who are at highest risk.
“We call this Focused Protection.”
Ms Truss said the government was striving to “keep the balance” between those wanting tougher restrictions and those wanting looser measures.
“I think we’ve got the balance right,” she told Sky News.
“Of course we need to be constantly reviewing it as time goes on, making sure the policies are right for each local part of the country.”
“But the fact is, if somebody younger catches coronavirus, then the danger is, of course, them passing it onto somebody else.
“This is a societal disease, this is not something that only affects individuals.”
But the government’s own MPs are also divided over the coronavirus rules.
Fourteen Conservative backbenchers were joined by five DUP MPs in voting against the government over its “rule of six”, which limits social gatherings.
They were outnumbered, but a bigger challenge is expected next week over the government’s 10pm curfew for pubs, bars, and restaurants, after MPs demanded more say over the emergency measures.
Facebook bans 'dangerous' QAnon groups amid surging misinformation
Facebook is banning all QAnon conspiracy theory groups after classifying them as dangerous due to a surge of online misinformation.
QAnon – a far-right conspiracy theory – alleges that President Donald Trump is a secret warrior against a supposed child-trafficking ring run by celebrities and government officials. No part of the theory is based on fact.
In a blog post, Facebook said it is removing QAnon groups and pages on the platform as well as Instagram accounts that claim to be representatives.
What is QAnon? The bizarre pro-Trump conspiracy theory growing ahead of the US election
Image: Facebook has begun removing QAnon pages and groups
The move escalates a policy from August which removed nearly 800 QAnon groups for promoting violence, showing intent to use weapons, or attracting followers with patterns of violent behaviour.
However, it allowed the majority of QAnon groups to stay, albeit with content appearing less often in news feeds.
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Twitter also banned thousands of QAnon-affiliated accounts in July and changed its algorithms to reduce the theory’s spread.
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Facebook staff will now find and delete the groups and pages themselves instead of relying on user reports, the company said.
The company said it is starting to enforce the policy as of Tuesday but added it “will take time and will continue in the coming days and weeks”.
iPhone 12 release date: Apple announces launch of new handset with 'Speed' themed event
Apple has announced the launch date of the new iPhone 12.It will show off the phone at an event on 13 October, at 10am local pacific time, it said in an invitation.Normally, Apple’s phones are put on sale a week and a half after they are revealed, which would suggest that the phone would be released around 23 October. But this year has seen the company deviate from its usual schedule, and the release date could be changed accordingly.The only indication of the nature of the event was a message reading “Hi, Speed”. That could be a reference to the extra internet capabilities provided by the first 5G iPhone, the power of the new chips that are expected to arrive, something else entirely – or nothing at all, since Apple invitations are notoriously teasing in their wording.It did also include an illustrating showing concentric circles, and an orange and blue colouring. The colours could be an indication of the new hues that are expected to be introduced with the new iPhones – though, again, they could mean nothing at all.
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Nine in 10 adults think buying latest smartphone is ‘waste of money’, report shows
Nearly nine in 10 adults think buying the latest smartphone is a “waste of money”.Research polling 2,000 Britons revealed more than half are “bored” of trying to keep up-to-date with the latest tech.And three in four are no longer willing to pay a fortune to get it.As a result, almost a third intend to spend less on smartphones and other gadgets over the next two years.Almost three quarters also claimed they are content with buying cheaper, older models, while half will purchase refurbished or second-hand tech in order to save money.Read moreThe research was commissioned by musicMagpie as figures from its Annual Phone Depreciation Report found mobile phones can lose up to 68 per cent of their original purchase value in the first six months.Liam Howley, from musicMagpie, said: “With mounting prices and an increasing number of new releases, it’s become really challenging for people to keep up with the latest tech.“As the research shows, consumers are tired of the expense of new tech, being told ‘you need this now’ and being expected to meet the hefty price tag.”The study also found 62 per cent even feel “forced” to buy the newest release because the lifespan of tech has decreased.And eight in 10 don’t like feeling pushed by manufacturers to keep up with the times – opting to get their tech as and when they need it instead.Read moreA further 72 per cent will avoid newer types of tech as they believe there’s a tendency for them to have bugs.But four-fifths of those polled even admitted they can’t really see the difference between older models compared to newer ones.The study, conducted via OnePoll, found 42 per cent also find it difficult to learn how to use new tech and would rather stick to what they’re familiar with.So when the new iPhone hits the shelves, 42 per cent won’t bat an eyelid – with just 10 per cent “excited” for the latest release from the brand.It also emerged 62 per cent of adults are concerned about the impact the constant churn of new tech releases is having on the environment.
Facebook deletes Trump post falsely claiming flu more deadly than Covid
Facebook has removed a post by Donald Trump in which he falsely stated that Covid-19 is less dangerous than the flu.The long post broke Facebook’s rules on coronavirus misinformation, the company said.The same post remains live on Twitter, though it has been placed behind a warning indicating that it could be dangerous. Users have to click on a link to confirm they want to view the tweet before they are able to read the text.“This Tweet violated the Twitter Rules about spreading misleading and potentially harmful information related to COVID-19,” the warning reads. “However, Twitter has determined that it may be in the public’s interest for the Tweet to remain accessible.”In the post, Mr Trump had suggested that the flu could be less lethal than covid, and appeared to suggest that further lockdowns would be mistaken as a result.While the flu continues to prove fatal in large numbers, covid-19 has a considerably larger fatality rate than flu. Mr Trump also included false claims suggesting that the death rate from the flu is “sometimes over 100,000” – but the last time that many Americans died as a result of influenza was in 1968, during a major pandemic.Read more“Flu season is coming up! Many people every year, sometimes over 100,000, and despite the Vaccine, die from the Flu,” he wrote. “Are we going to close down our Country? No, we have learned to live with it, just like we are learning to live with Covid, in most populations far less lethal!!!”Both Twitter and Facebook have struggled to deal with both coronavirus misinformation and potentially misleading or inflammatory posts by Donald Trump. Each has rolled out new policies in an attempt to deal with both, though they have continued to receive criticism.Twitter has repeatedly argued that Mr Trump’s posts will sometimes be exempted from otherwise stringent policies, both on misinformation and other issues, as a result of his newsworthiness.The company did remove one of Mr Trump’s tweets on Monday, and replaced it with a message indicating that it had been deleted for violating Twitter’s rules. That appeared to be a result of the president including the email address of a New York Post columnist whose article he had shared.
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