Adasigwuun Blog

 COVID-19: pandemic A Image caption The coastal region of Qingdao as confirmed a small number of COVID-19 cases on Sunday The Chinese city of Qingdao is testing its entire population of nine million people for Covid-19 over a period of five days. The mass testing comes after a dozen cases were found linked back to a hospital treating coronavirus patients arriving from overseas. In May, China tested the entire city of Wuhan - home to 11 million people and the epicentre of the global pandemic. The country has largely brought the virus under control. That's in stark contrast to other parts of the world where there are still high case numbers and lockdown restrictions of varying severity. Did China test a whole city in 10 days❓ How Wuhan went from quiet streets to packed pools❓ In a statement posted to Chinese social media site Weibo, Qingdao's Municipal Health Commission said six new cases and six asymptomatic cases had been discovered. All the cases were linked to the same hospit...

For most people, Covid-19 is a brief and mild disease but some are left struggling with symptoms including lasting fatigue, persistent pain and breathlessness for months. The condition known as "long Covid" is having a debilitating effect on people's lives, and stories of being left exhausted after even a short walk are now common. So far, the focus has been on saving lives during the pandemic, but there is now a growing recognition that people are facing long-term consequences of a Covid-19i nfection. Yet even basic questions - such as why people get long Covid or whether everyone will fully recover - are riddled with uncertainty. What is long Covid? There is no medical definition or list of symptoms shared by all patients - two people with long Covid can have very different experiences. However, the most common feature is crippling fatigue. Others symptoms include: breathlessness, a cough that won't go away, joint pain, muscle aches, hearing and eyesight problems, h...

.  Warning letters sent to those falling seriously behind on debts are to be toned down to make them less "thuggish", under government plans. Long-standing laws require warnings about potential court action to be written in bold or in block capitals. A campaign by the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute claimed the letters were counter-productive and worsened mental health problems. Now the Treasury has vowed they should be "less threatening". However, the changes may not be fully implemented until mid-2021. 'Complex and intimidating' Under the rules of the Consumer Credit Act from 1974, warnings in these letters should be written in capitals or in bold. For example, the letter states: "IF YOU DO NOT TAKE THE ACTION REQUIRED BY THIS NOTICE BEFORE THE DATE SHOWN THEN THE FURTHER ACTION SET OUT BELOW MAY BE TAKEN AGAINST YOU." The institute said that this "complex and intimidating" language risked adding further distress to those alrea...

 There could be a "tsunami" of cancelled operations this winter as the NHS copes with rising numbers of coronavirus patients, leading surgeons are warning. Members of the Royal College of Surgeons of England say they doubt the NHS can meet targets to restore surgery back to near pre-pandemic levels. Planned procedures such as hip replacements were paused to free up beds during lockdown in the spring. And hospitals have since been dealing with a backlog. In July, NHS England boss Sir Simon Stevens told trusts hospitals should by September 2020 be performing at least 80% of their September 2019 rates of: overnight planned procedures outpatient or day-case procedures And by October, this proportion should rise to 90%. But data suggests more than two million people have been waiting longer than 18 weeks for routine operations, with 83,000 waiting more than a year - up from 2,000 before the pandemic. TESTING: How do I get a virus test? SYMPTOMS: What are they and how to guard agai...

 For the past two years, the Democratic Republic of Congo has been grappling with the world's worst outbreak of measles, which has killed more than 7,000 children. The minister of health says the outbreak is over but experts say that with a relatively low rate of vaccination - just 60% - it is just a matter of time before there is another. Journalist Sara Assarsson and photographer Johannes Tegner meet the health workers going to great lengths delivering these vital but delicate supplies: Though you would not know it from his spotless shoes, Mulalu Lwesso often walks for up to six hours delivering vaccines to a rural health facility. "I started studying nursing but couldn't afford to complete my education - now I help out where it's needed. It's a long walk and I'm getting old. I've walked this route every month since 1987," he says. The 62-year-old makes the same journey from a hospital in the town of Mwenga - wiping his forehead, slinging the coolbox...

  Some pregnant women are so worried partners will not make it to the birth due to Covid-19 restrictions, they are opting for elective caesarean sections. According to Wales' coronavirus rules, a birthing partner can still only attend during "active" labour. But some mums-to-be say the unpredictability of labour may mean partners do not reach hospital in time. The Welsh Government said individual circumstances can be taken into account. Michelle Morgan Davies, from Abergavenny, had baby Finn Morgan by caesarean section on Tuesday, with father Darren standing by. "A lot of dads and birthing partners are sleeping in their cars and waiting for days in the hospital grounds, scared they will miss the birth if they travel home to be called back too late," she said. What are the coronavirus rules about partners at births? In July, rules stopping women from being accompanied to appointments and scans were eased, but not to include early labour. There are campaigns again...

"  A woman who   had termination alone because ofcovid-19restriction no-one else should have go through "Devastating" experience Emma Kemsley, from Saffron Walden, was told at a scan her baby boy was very unlikely to survive outside the womb. Her husband James was not allowed to attend the scan or the termination, leaving them "heartbroken". The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) said it hoped hospitals could be flexible. Restrictions have recently been lifted on many maternity wards to allow partners to attend scans and during labour, but this would not always include terminations. How will COVID-19 affect pregnancy , scans and the birth? Mrs Kemsley, who has endometriosis, said she was overjoyed to fall pregnant after six rounds of IVF and was told at her 12-week scan the baby was healthy. However, at an 18-week scan at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, in May, she found out his bladder was blocked and his lungs, kidneys and hear...