UK Covid restrictions may be too lax, health experts warn
January 9, 2021, 12:07 pm

UK Covid restrictions may be too lax, health experts warn

Chris Whitty urges people to stay home in new Covid campaign

With infections at record level, government guidance is still enabling too much mixing

The current national lockdown restrictions could be too “lax” to curb rocketing infections, say experts, and police will focus on enforcing the rules rather than on explaining them, government sources said.

New infections and deaths in the UK reached record highs on Friday.

A government advertising campaign fronted by the UK’s chief medical adviser, Prof Chris Whitty, urges people to behave as if they have Covid-19 and “once more, stay home”, as hospitals across the country are getting close to capacity, particularly in London and the south-east, where in some areas as many as one in 20 people have the virus and the mayor, Sadiq Khan, has declared a state of emergency.

Boris Johnson described the latest surge in infections as “alarming”.Prof Susan Michie, a health psychologist who advises the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), told the BBC Today programme that there had been 90% compliance with the third lockdown, but that government guidance was still enabling too much mixing on public transport and busier streets.

“This is quite a lax lockdown. Because we’ve still got a lot of household contact, people go in and out of each other’s houses, if you’re a cleaner, a non-essential tradesperson, a nanny; you have mass gatherings in terms of religious events, nurseries being open,” Michie said.

Adam Kucharski, an associate professor of infectious disease and epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said cases would continue to rise in the coming weeks. “I think the key period is going to be the next week or so. Even if we get that reproduction number down to 1, if we get the epidemic flat, that’s an epidemic that’s going to be plateauing at this really high level of hospitalisations.”

He said data suggested there was more movement in the population than during the first peak in April, despite each social interaction now being much riskier than in the spring.

“To some extent, we can think of this as a new pandemic in a pandemic. New data is suggesting that the risk from every contact is probably 40-50% higher than it was.

“So both for the UK and for many other countries as well, we need to get away from this idea that we’re going to see a repeat of what happened last spring with our behaviours and really face the possibility that this is much riskier and we’re going to have to work much harder to reduce the impact.”Wendy Simon, the acting mayor of Liverpool, which now has more than 800 cases per 100,000 people, told Today: “I do think the majority of people do get what the threat is; the difficulty is some of the messages around, perhaps, not becoming so ill, particularly with younger people. <…> Particularly since Christmas, the age group between 20 and 40 are those that have been most impacted; we’ve seen a lot more people reporting feeling ill with the virus.”

Justin Varney, the director of public health in Birmingham, said: “We’re very worried. We still haven’t seen the impact on the NHS of the rapid rise that we saw around the 28 and 29 December after the Christmas bubble. So it is going to get a lot, lot worse, unless we really get this under control.”

The national lockdown, Varney said, was “the right move”, but it would take about another two weeks before the effects of lockdown would begin driving numbers down.

Prof Rupert Pearse, an intensive care consultant, told Today: “I’m very worried that we’ve reached the peak and we’re really not seeing the kind of behaviour that we saw in the first wave. I and many of my colleagues in medicine are extremely worried that the peak, this third wave, is just going to carry on rising and rising.”

Prof Kevin Fenton, the London regional director for Public Health England, said on BBC Breakfast that people doubting the seriousness of the situation needed to read and listen to the words of NHS staff, and Covid-19 patients who had had “this very severe disease and are suffering from the long-term effects of it”.

“This is the reality and that is the truth. So the advice would be listen, read, but stay at home. Protect yourself, protect your families.”

Fenton added that there were “things we could do better” to reduce the number of infections, including greater compliance with mask wearing and social distancing when using public transport and shopping for essential goods.

source: Jedidajah Otte

Levant

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BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the company’s headquarters in the Seef District.
During the meeting, shareholders approved all items listed on the agenda, including the ratification of the minutes of the previous AGM held on 26 March 2024. The session reviewed and approved the Board’s Annual Report on the company’s activities and financial performance for the fiscal year ended 31 December 2024, and the shareholders expressed their satisfaction with the company’s operational and financial results during the reporting period.
The meeting also reviewed the Independent External Auditor’s Report on the company’s consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2024. Subsequently, the shareholders approved the audited financial statements for the fiscal year. Based on the Board’s recommendation, the shareholders approved the distribution of a cash dividend equivalent to 10% of the paid-up share capital.
Furthermore, the shareholders endorsed the allocation of a total amount of BD 172,500 as remuneration to the members of the Board for the year ended 31 December 2024, subject to prior clearance by related authorities.
The extension of the current composition of the Board was approved, which includes ten members and one CBB observer, for a further six-month term, expiring in September 2025, pending no objection from the CBB.
The meeting reviewed and approved the Corporate Governance Report for 2024, which affirmed the company’s full compliance with the corporate governance directives issued by the CBB and other applicable regulatory frameworks. The AGM absolved the Board Members of liability for any of their actions during the year ending on 31st December 2024, in accordance with the Commercial Companies Law.
In alignment with regulatory requirements, the session approved the reappointment of Ernst & Young (EY) as the company’s External Auditors for the fiscal year 2025, covering both the parent company and its subsidiaries—Sinnad and Bahrain FinTech Bay. The Board was authorised to determine the external auditors’ professional fees, subject to approval from the CBB, and the meeting concluded with a discussion of any additional issues as per Article (207) of the Commercial Companies Law.
Speaking on the company’s performance, Mr. Mohamed Al Bastaki, Chairman BENEFIT , stated: “In terms of the financial results for 2024, I am pleased to say that the year gone by has also been proved to be a success in delivering tangible results. Growth rate for 2024 was 19 per cent. Revenue for the year was BD 17 M (US$ 45.3 Million) and net profit was 2 Million ($ 5.3 Million).

Mr. Al Bastaki also announced that the Board had formally adopted a new three-year strategic roadmap to commence in 2025. The strategy encompasses a phased international expansion, optimisation of internal operations, enhanced revenue diversification, long-term sustainability initiatives, and the advancement of innovation and digital transformation initiatives across all service lines.
“I extend my sincere appreciation to the CBB for its continued support of BENEFIT and its pivotal role in fostering a stable and progressive regulatory environment for the Kingdom’s banking and financial sector—an environment that has significantly reinforced Bahrain’s standing as a leading financial hub in the region,” said Mr. Al Bastaki. “I would also like to thank our partner banks and valued customers for their trust, and our shareholders for their ongoing encouragement. The achievements of 2024 set a strong precedent, and I am confident they will serve as a foundation for yet another successful and impactful year ahead.”
Chief Executive of BENEFIT; Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi commented, “The year 2024 represented another pivotal chapter in BENEFIT ’s evolution. We achieved substantial progress in advancing our digital strategy across multiple sectors, while reinforcing our long-term commitment to the development of Bahrain’s financial services and payments landscape. Throughout the year, we remained firmly aligned with our objective of delivering measurable value to our shareholders, strategic partners, and customers. At the same time, we continued to play an active role in enabling Bahrain’s digital economy by introducing innovative solutions and service enhancements that directly address market needs and future opportunities.”
Mr. AlJanahi affirmed that BENEFIT has successfully developed a robust and well-integrated payment network that connects individuals and businesses across Bahrain, accelerating the adoption of emerging technologies in the banking and financial services sector and reinforcing Bahrain’s position as a growing fintech hub, and added, “Our achievements of the past year reflect a long-term vision to establish a resilient electronic payment infrastructure that supports the Kingdom’s digital economy. Key developments in 2024 included the implementation of central authentication for open banking via BENEFIT Pay”
Mr. AlJanahi concluded by thanking the Board for its strategic direction, the company’s staff for their continued dedication, and the Central Bank of Bahrain, member banks, and shareholders for their valuable partnership and confidence in the company’s long-term vision.