Starting Monday, hairdressers, spas, beauty salons, manicure parlors and tattoo parlors will open in England.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported a record daily increase in the number of people infected with the coronavirus.
The results of a new study show that immunity to Covid-19 does not last longer than a few months in most patients.
Hair salons and spas are reopening in England, while a quarantine has been announced in the Palestinian territories.
Get the latest news on the coronavirus pandemic in our daily roundup.
The World Health Organization has reported 230.3 thousand new cases of Covid-19 infection in the past 24 hours. This is the highest daily increase since the beginning of the pandemic. The statistical site worldometer provides more modest data: about 195 thousand cases. The United States, Brazil, and India account for more than half of these. In Russia, 6615 new cases have been reported in the last 24 hours, which is about the same level of infection as in previous days. However, the number of new cases has again exceeded the number of daily cures. The situation in Latin America is dire. In addition to Brazil, Peru, Chile and Mexico are among the top ten countries with the highest number of infected people. In terms of the number of deaths, Mexico moved up to fourth place in the world on Sunday, overtaking Italy.
The situation is particularly difficult in Latin American countries. China, where it all started, currently ranks 23rd in the world in terms of the number of people infected. According to official data, the daily number of new cases is measured in units, and there are 320 patients in hospitals. On Monday, the number of people infected worldwide since the beginning of the pandemic exceeded 13 million. The death toll from Covid-19 has reached 572 thousand people, with nearly 60 thousand currently in severe and critical condition.
A group of researchers from King’s College London studied 90 patients who had recovered from coronavirus. Sufficient amounts of antibodies produced by the body were found in 60% of patients immediately after recovery, and in only 17% of patients after three months. In some cases, the antibodies disappeared completely.
If the results of the study are confirmed, it will cast doubt on the possibility of developing a vaccine against the virus. The obtained result leads to the disappointing conclusion that long-term immunity to the Covid-19 virus does not occur and a person can be infected again and again, with short intervals, like with the flu. This undermines the fundamental possibility of developing an effective vaccine against the coronavirus. However, the report has not yet been evaluated by other experts, and the authors themselves acknowledge that more research is needed. In particular, it is still not known what specific level of antibodies should be present in a person’s blood to protect them from infection.
Professor Peter Openshaw of Imperial College in London told the Telegraph that his clinic is conducting trials of artificial antibodies to fight coronaviruses. Natural antibodies, which help the body overcome disease, are extracted from the blood of people who have recovered. There is a catastrophic shortage of them, even in critically ill patients. Professor Opencho described the initial results as promising. If successful, the monoclonal antibodies produced in the Imperial College laboratory will be the world’s first direct treatment for Covid-19. According to Professor Openshaw, one of the UK government’s advisors on coronavirus control, the experimental treatment begins to have a positive effect within half an hour of being infused into the blood, helping to halt the deterioration of critically ill patients.
The tattoo with the end date of the lockdown is especially popular in England.