Australia reports first virus death in 2021 as cases spike
Minister says people in UK are expected to continue wearing masks indoors from July 19 even though the legal requirement to do so would be dropped; a cup of coffee a day may keep COVID-19 away, shows study
Australia reported its first locally contracted COVID-19 death of the year on Sunday and a 2021 record 77 new cases of the virus in the state of New South Wales, which is batling an outbreak of the highly infectious Delta variant.
State Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the numbers in and around the country’s biggest city Sydney, already under a hard lockdown, are expected to rise.
“I’ll be shocked if it’s less than 100 this time tomorrow, of additional new cases,” Berejiklian told a televised briefing.
On Saturday there were 50 cases, the previous 2021 record high. The recent outbreak stands at 566 cases.
Of Sunday’s cases, 33 were people who had spent time in the community while they were infectious, raising the likelihood that the threeweek lockdown of more than 5 million people in Sydney and surroundings will be extended.
“Given where we’re at and given the lockdown was supposed to be lited on Friday, everybody can tell it’s highly unlikely at this stage,” Berejiklian said.
The neighbouring state of Victoria, which on Sunday recorded its 11th straight days without new infections, said it was closing its borders with New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory to prevent spreading of the virus.
In Sydney, there are 52 cases in hospital, or about one in 10 people infected in the current outbreak. Fiteen people are in intensive care, five require ventilation. The death, the country’s first locally contracted case since December, involved a woman in her 90s.
Australia has fared much beter than many other developed countries in keeping its COVID-19 numbers relatively low, seeing just over 31,000 cases since the start of the pandemic and 911 deaths.
The vaccination rollout, however, has been sluggish due to supply constraints and changing medical advice for its mainstay Astrazeneca shots.
Vaccinations are available for now only to people over 40 and groups at risk either due to their health or exposure to the virus at work. Of those hospitalised in Sydney, 11 are under the age of 35 and more than three-quarters of the patients have not had any doses, health authorities said.
Meanwhile, Britain’s vaccines minister said that people in England are expected to continue wearing masks indoors from July 19 even though the legal requirement to do so would be dropped.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson will confirm on Monday whether most coronavirus restrictions including social distancing and mandatory mask-wearing will be lited the following week as widely expected.
Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi said new guidance will be issued on Monday on maskwearing. He said there will be “an expectation of people to wear masks indoors, in crowded places, on public transport” instead of a legal requirement.
Earlier, a study claimed that drinking one or more cups of coffee per day was associated with about a 10 per cent decrease in risk of COVID-19, compared to less than one cup daily.
The study, led by researchers from the Northwestern University in the US, also found that the consumption of more vegetables, and less processed meats, could cut the risk of COVID-19 infection.
Coffee is known to contain antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
“Coffee consumption favourably correlates with inflammatory biomarkers such as CRP, interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumour necrosis factor I (TNF-I), which are also associated with Covid-19 severity and mortality,” said the study published in the journal Nutrients.
“Coffee consumption has also been associated with lower risk of pneumonia in elderly. Taken together, an immunoprotective effect of coffee against COVID-19 is plausible and merits further investigation,” it added.
For the study, the team analysed the records of 40,000 British adults in the UK Biobank. They looked at the link between diet factors including daily intake of coffee, tea, oily fish, processed meat, red meat, fruit, and vegetables, and COVID-19.
They found that consumption of at least 0.67 servings/d of vegetables (cooked or raw, excluding potatoes) was associated with a lower risk of COVID-19 infection.