BRITAIN sets goal to vaccinate all adults by fall.

U.K. surge remains relentless

LONDON — Britain’s health secretary said Sunday that every adult in the country will be offered a covid-19 vaccine by the autumn as the U.K. ramps up its mass vaccination program amid a huge surge of infections and hospital admissions.

More than 600,000 people age 80 and over will begin receiving invitations this week to get the coronavirus shot at new large-scale vaccine centers around England. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that officials were “on track” to reach its target of inoculating about 15 million people in the most vulnerable groups by the middle of February.

The vaccination drive comes as the U.K. sees a steep increase in infections and record numbers of covid-19 patients being hospitalized, with many experts warning that the situation is more dire than it was when the country went into its first lockdown last spring. The Office of National Statistics estimated that 1 in 50 people in England had the virus in the most recent week.

Daily reported deaths hit a record high Friday, at 1,325, and in total around 81,000 people have died after testing positive for covid-19. That’s the highest in Europe and comes just behind the U.S., Brazil, India and Mexico.

Hancock said that more than 200,000 people are being vaccinated in England every day, and that by autumn, the entire adult population should have been offered a jab.

“We’ve got over 350 million doses on order — they’re not all here yet. We’re rolling them out as fast as they get delivered,” he told the BBC. “But we are going to have enough to be able to offer a vaccine to everyone over the age of 18 by the autumn.”

That’s distant hope for doctors, nurses and emergency workers experiencing unprecedented pressure right now. Tracy Nicholls, the chief executive of the College of Paramedics, said members have reported ambulances left lining up outside hospitals waiting for up to nine hours, unable to hand patients over to emergency rooms.

“This year particularly has seen incredible pressure because of the clinical presentation of the patients our members are seeing. They are sicker,” she told Sky News on Sunday. “We are seeing the ambulance handover delays at a scale we haven’t seen before.”

AFRICAN MILESTONE

Africa on Sunday passed the milestone of 3 million confirmed cases covid-19 on the continent, including more than 72,000 deaths, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

South Africa, with more than 1.2 million reported cases, including 32,824 deaths, accounts for more than 30% of the total for the continent of 54 countries and 1.3 billion people. The high proportion of cases in South Africa, could be because the country carries out more tests than many other African countries.

South Africa is battling a resurgence of the disease, driven by a variant of the virus that is more contagious and spreading quickly. Many hospitals are reaching capacity, yet the numbers of those infected are expected to continue rising, according to health experts.

South Africa’s seven-day rolling average of daily new cases has risen over the past two weeks from 19.86 new cases per 100,000 people on Dec. 26 to 30.18 new cases per 100,000 people on Jan. 9, according to Johns Hopkins University.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will meet with his Cabinet this week to consider if further restrictions should be taken to slow the spread of the disease, while balancing the need to encourage economic growth. The government has already reimposed measures including a ban on the sales of liquor, the closure of bars and restricting the number of people who can attend public gatherings.

Later in January, South Africa expects to receive its first delivery of a vaccine, 1.5 million doses of the AstraZeneca shot. The government said its first priority will be to inoculate the country’s 1.25 million health workers. It expects to receive more vaccines through the WHO’s COVAX initiative in April.

South African health minister Zweli Mkhize said that his aim is to see 67% of the country’s 60 million people vaccinated by the end of 2021, a goal that many health experts say is laudable but unrealistic.

CHINA OUTBREAK

In China, health authorities say scores more people have tested positive for coronavirus in Hebei province bordering on the capital Beijing.

The outbreak focused on the Hebei cities of Shijiazhuang and Xingtai is one of China’s most serious in recent months and comes amid measures to curb the further spread during next month’s Lunar New Year holiday. Authorities have called on citizens not to travel, ordered schools closed a week early and conducted testing on a wide-spread scale.

The National Health Commission said today that another 82 people had tested positive in Hebei and were showing symptoms. Around the country, another 36 people had tested positive without displaying symptoms, although it wasn’t immediately clear how many of those were in Hebei.

The Hebei outbreak has raised concern because of its proximity to the nation’s capital. Both Shijiazhuang and Xingtai have ordered millions tested, suspended public transportation and restricted residents to their communities or villages for one week. Parts of the province are under lockdown and interprovincial travel has been largely cut off, with those entering Beijing to work having to show proof of employment and a clean bill of health.

Hebei has recorded 265 confirmed cases and at least 181 asymptomatic cases over the past eight days. China does not include those who test positive but do not show symptoms in its official case count.

China has now recorded 87,536 total cases with 4,634 deaths. Hospitals were treating 673 people for covid-19 while 506 people were in isolation and under observation after testing positive without showing symptoms.

CURFEW IN QUEBEC

In Canada, a curfew meant to curb a surge in coronavirus infections took effect across Quebec on Saturday evening.

The measure is needed to prevent gatherings that have fueled the rampant spread of the virus, Premier Francois Legault said in announcing the rules last week. The French-speaking Canadian province has a population of more than 8.4 million.

“The situation is critical and a shock treatment is needed,” Legault said in a Facebook post earlier Saturday. “Our hospitals are filling with covid-19 patients. Hundreds of people are in intensive care, fighting for their lives. Tens of people die every day.”

The rules will see most residents face police questions or fines of up to $4,700 if they’re out between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. for the next four weeks.

There are exceptions for essential workers, people walking dogs, and those who have medical reasons to be out, such as a doctor’s appointment.

Under the terms of the curfew, grocery stores and convenience stores will have to close by 7:30 p.m. in order to allow workers and customers to get home. Stores connected to gas stations can stay open to serve essential workers.