Scientists and well being professionals have raised doubts about Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s “moonshot” plan for mass coronavirus testing within the UK.
The PM hopes tens of millions of Covid-19 checks – together with some giving outcomes inside minutes – may very well be processed every day.
However consultants say there are points with laboratory capability for present checks, whereas the know-how for extra speedy checks “doesn’t, as but, exist”.
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The BMJ studies it has seen leaked memos that the plan may price £100bn.
Talking after his announcement that gatherings in England are to be restricted to 6 folks from Monday, Mr Johnson stated the federal government was “working exhausting” to extend testing capability to 500,000 checks a day by the top of October.
And he stated that “within the close to future” he needed to begin utilizing testing “to determine people who find themselves unfavourable – who haven’t got coronavirus and who will not be infectious – so we will enable them to behave in a extra regular approach, within the data they can’t infect anybody else”.
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Mr Johnson added: “We imagine that new sorts of check that are easy, fast and scalable will change into obtainable. They use swabs or saliva and might flip spherical ends in 90 and even 20 minutes.
“Crucially, it must be attainable to deploy these checks on a far greater scale than any nation has but achieved – actually tens of millions of checks processed each single day.”
Mr Johnson stated a mass-testing programme may very well be prepared by the spring and will assist the UK to keep away from a second nationwide lockdown.
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However Dr Chaand Nagpaul, council chairman of the British Medical Affiliation, stated it was unclear how the so-called Operation Moonshot would work – given the “large issues” at the moment seen with lab capability.
‘Flawed’ technique
At present, between 150,000 and 200,000 checks are processed every day – however testing capability is reported as being 350,000 a day. This contains antibody checks and people used to estimate how widespread the virus is.
Earlier this week a director of the federal government’s check and hint programme in England issued a “heartfelt” apology for issues with the testing system, explaining that laboratories, not the testing websites themselves, had been the “essential pinch-point”.
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Dr Nagpaul added the thought of opening up society primarily based on folks testing unfavourable for the virus must be “approached with warning” due to the excessive fee of “false negatives” and the potential to overlook those that are incubating the virus.
Dr David Pressure, scientific senior lecturer on the College of Exeter and chairman of the BMA’s medical tutorial employees committee, raised issues in regards to the know-how being mentioned.
“The mass-testing technique is essentially flawed, in that it’s being primarily based on know-how that doesn’t, as but, exist,” he stated.
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“The prime minister’s suggestion that this shall be so simple as ‘getting a being pregnant check’ that may give outcomes inside 15 minutes is unlikely, if not unattainable, within the timescale he was suggesting to get the nation again on observe.”
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Media captionThe prime minister stated the brand new measures had been “not one other nationwide lockdown”
The deputy chief medical officer for England stated the success of Operation Moonshot relied on the way it was dealt with.
Dr Jenny Harries instructed ITV’s Robert Peston: “Technically there are a variety of various checks obtainable. The issue is in attempting to judge all of them and work that via right into a programme.
“We do wish to get again to as a lot normality as we will and any alternative to try this via a brand new testing programme or utilizing totally different testing know-how is clearly a very good factor to be following, but it surely’s not fairly so simple as simply doing that.
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“So I feel it is each the check and the best way that it is dealt with and used that we should be working via.”
The UK has drawn up plans to ultimately perform as much as 10 million Covid-19 checks a day by early subsequent yr – at a price of greater than £100bn, which is approaching your complete annual price range for NHS England, according to a report in the BMJ.
The brand new speedy checks shall be piloted with audiences attending indoor and out of doors venues in Salford from subsequent month.
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The federal government’s chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, stated the know-how wanted to be “examined rigorously” and it could be “fully incorrect to imagine this can be a slam dunk”.
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The plans for mass testing come as Mr Johnson stated the UK “should act” to keep away from one other lockdown as virus instances rise in England.
He set out a brand new “rule of six”, restricting gatherings to a maximum of six people, enforced by police in a position to subject fines or make arrests, after the UK reported greater than 2,000 new coronavirus instances for the fourth consecutive day.
Mr Johnson stated the principles had “change into fairly difficult and complicated” and the federal government was “simplifying and strengthening” them after suggestions from police and the general public.
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However Labour chief Sir Keir Starmer stated the brand new guidelines on gatherings had been a mirrored image that “poor communications had been a big a part of the issue” with the unfold of the virus.
The brand new “rule of six” means:
Social gatherings of greater than six folks in England is not going to be allowed in regulation from Monday 14 September
The brand new rule applies to folks in personal houses, indoors and outside, and locations reminiscent of pubs, eating places, cafes and public out of doors areas
It applies to all ages
The rule doesn’t apply to colleges and workplaces, to folks residing collectively or in the identical assist bubble, or to weddings, funerals and organised crew sports activities
The complete checklist of exemptions additionally contains protests and political actions topic to “strict danger assessments”, jury service and offering emergency help
Individuals who ignore the police may very well be fined £100 – doubling with every offence to a most of £3,200
Passionate news enthusiast with a flair for words. Our Editorial Team author brings you the latest updates, in-depth analysis, and engaging stories. Stay informed with their well-researched articles.
Citizens of Alaska are going to receive an important stimulus check which will alleviate to a large extent their financial woes.
The $1300 Stimulus Check May program is a courtesy by the state’s Permanent Fund Dividend. It will be a great support for the residents of Alaska in their difficult times.
The Alaskan support program has been rolled out to reduce the financial difficulties of the people of Alaska who are finding it difficult to meet their basic expenses. The $1,300 stimulus check which will be rolled out in May 2024 is open for all Alaska permanent residents who do not have any recent criminal records and meet the eligibility requirements.
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The stimulus checks are aimed to improve the quality of life of residents of the state of Alaska by affording financial security and enabling them to get essential support when they need it most. The eligible candidates are advised to visit the official website of the Alaska Revenue Department to get to know about the latest updates.
Alaska $1300 Stimulus Check May 2024
$1300 Stimulus Check May 2024 is a gift from the Alaska Revenue Department to enable the eligible residents of Alaska to get vital and much needed support during the time of financial crisis. The project is especially beneficial for persons who are finding it difficult to pay for their bills and facing a financial emergency. The stimulus will serve as a timely infusion of funds that will reduce their burdens.
The Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) website has stated that eligible Alaskans can hope to get their next stimulus payments on 16th May 2024. The program is a part of the financial support initiative launched for the state of Alaska by the Government of America and the funds are channeled via the Permanent Fund Dividend program, which is managed by the Alaska Department of Revenue.
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Citizens can check their eligibility status on the official website from 8th May 2024 and in case their claim is marked as “eligible-not-paid,” they can expect to get the money directly into their Bank accounts on the specified dates. Citizens are encouraged to visit the Permanent Fund Dividend’s official website for more information and updates.
The New Hampshire House has passed a bill to raise the minimum age for marriage from the present 16 years to 18 years without any exceptions. The bill, which has been designated as SB 359, will now be sent to the Governor for his signature.
If approved by the Governor, New Hampshire will become the 12th state to have a law that bans marriage under the age of 18 with no exceptions.
New Hampshire To Raise Minimum Marriage Age to 18
The New Hampshire House voted 192-174 to pass the bill SB 359 on Thursday, raising the legal age for marriage from 16 years to 18 years. The bill has a long and eventful history and has been sent to Gov. Chris Sununu for approval.
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Bill 359 clearly states that
“no person below the age of 18 years shall be capable of contracting a valid marriage, and all marriages contracted by such persons shall be null and void.”
Presently, the legal age for marriage is 16 years.
The bill will also nullify the current legal options for minors to marry.
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The current laws, RSA 457:6, permit parents and guardians of persons between 16 and 18 to approach a family court to grant permission for the marriage.
The petition also requires the involvement of the Division for Children, Youth, and Families and allows the court to interview with each minor getting married without their parents present. SB 359 would eliminate this process.
If the law is signed by the governor, it will make New Hampshire one of 12 states that have banned marriage under 18 with no exceptions. The other states which have such a law in place include Washington, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and New York.
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Maine permits marriage for 16- and 17-year-olds with written consent from their parents, legal guardians, or custodians. However, this will become nullified in New Hampshire if SB 359 becomes law.
The bill was advocated for years by Rep. Cassandra Levesque, a Barrington Democrat. In 2018, the idea of raising the marriage age to 18 years from the then stipulated 14 years was first proposed by Levesque, then 19 and not yet a state representative. However, the House and Senate Republicans agreed to pass a bill to raise it to 16 instead. Levesque won her first election to the House and continued to advocate raising the marriage age to 18 years.
Levesque argued that raising the marriage age will prevent situations that can be exploited by others.
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Levesque, in the House Calendar introducing SB 359, said,
“The committee found that this bill is important to be in law because we know that age of majority does not amount to maturity, and that there is a greater risk of human trafficking and domestic violence without these protections.”
However, the bill was opposed by Republican lawmakers. Rep. Margaret Drye, a Plainfield Republican, argued that the marriage was a beneficial option for those under 18 in certain circumstances like an unexpected pregnancy.
Ontario Sunshine List is released every year and it reveals the salaries of public sector workers who take home a salary in excess of $100,000. This year the list features 300,570 names which is 30,000 higher than last year of public sector employees with salaries over $100,000. The Ontario Sunshine list also features five employees working at the Ontario Power Generation who are among the top 10 earners with the province’s highest salary nearing $2 million.
Ontario had passed the Public Sector Salary Disclosure Act in 1996 under the Mike Harris government and the stated aim of the act was to make the government more transparent and accountable. The $100,000 limit was a big deal then.
However the $100,000 in 1996 in relative terms in 2024 will be equivalent to $180,564.97. If you remove 300,570 people on this year’s Ontario Sunshine List for that salary threshold there you drop 279,781 names. In other words there will be many people who will not be able to own a house without help from family or an inheritance.
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In a nutshell it means that employees who take home a six figure salary package will still feel the pinch of Canada’s affordability crisis. The soaring inflation and rising cost of living a $100,000 salary doesn’t guarantee financial security in many parts of the country.
Also, to maintain the $100,000 threshold today, the province should have adjusted it to $55,381.73 in 1996. Ontario has fixed a threshold of $100,000, while the threshold varies in other provinces. Alberta, for example, has set a threshold of $125,888 for government employees and $150,219 for people in public sector bodies.
Not much information is available for the federal government, but a Canadian Taxpayers Federation access-to-information request revealed that 110,593 employees in the federal public service earned $100,000 or more in 2023.
There are a couple of options for Ontario and other governments with non-indexing disclosure requirements. Resetting the threshold to a number that makes more sense today and then continuing to index the threshold going forward seems feasible.
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We also don’t need to reveal the names of all individuals. The government could report aggregated salary ranges by job title rather than disclosing specific names below a second, lower threshold. This would maintain government accountability and transparency by still disclosing who the highest earners are.
As it stands, we have a list that publishes the names and salaries of potentially hundreds of thousands of people who could not afford to buy a house. This doesn’t seem aligned with the original intent of the disclosure act.
Some features of the Ontario Sunshine List 2024 are as follows:
The highest paid employee took a pay check of $1.9M
Public sector employees were paid salaries in excess of $100K
The Ontario Sunset list top position is held by Kenneth Hartwick, CEO of the electricity Crown Corporation with a salary of $1.93 million followed by chief strategy officer Dominique Miniere $1.2 million and chief projects officer Michael Martelli drawing $1 million as salary.
Public sector workers were paid counting in Bill 124 compensation
2024 budget revealed that Ontario deficit will triple
CEOs of the Hospital for Sick Children and the University Health Network figured in the top 10 list and each drew a salary of $850,000 each while CEO of the provincial transit agency, Metrolinx drew a salary of $838,097.
17 professors or associate professors at the University of Toronto drew a salary in excess of $500,000
Caroline Mulroney, president of the Treasury Board, stated in a release,
“The largest year-over-year increases were in the hospitals, municipalities, and services, and post-secondary sectors, which together represented approximately 80 percent of the growth of the list.”
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