News Round Up – The Daily Sceptic

“A Covid Bounce?” – In case you missed it in yesterday’s newsletter, here is Toby’s note on the local election result again, this time in the Critic
“Britain will suffer another Covid ‘wave’ from next Monday’s lockdown easing, SAGE warns” – But the modellers don’t think it will be so bad, MailOnline reports, thanks to vaccines and warmer weather
“Even the gloomiest modellers admit it: Britain is not facing a third Covid wave” – The Telegraph‘s Sarah Knapton looks at how the models have shifted from predicting huge spikes in infections, hospital admissions and deaths to forecasting “a slight upswing once full restrictions are lifted”
“Revealed: Thousands more deaths in home care during the pandemic” – The Bureau of Investigative Journalism reveals figures which suggest that deaths among those receiving home care increased by nearly 50% between April 2020 and March 2021 as compared to the previous year
“‘Horrific’ impact of third lockdown on schoolchildren’s physical and mental health revealed” – The Telegraph points to a study by the Schools Active Movement which found that 84% of schools have identified a decline in children’s physical fitness during the third lockdown and two thirds thought that pupils had gained excessive weight
“Don’t hug any random people” – “Whatever’s happening in England, it’s not happening here in Wales,” says ITV Wales of England’s revised guidance on hugging. The Welsh find out if their rules change on Friday
“How did SAGE get it so wrong?” – Writing in the Spectator, Prof. Philip Thomas explains the gap between what the SAGE’s models predicted and what actually occurred
“It’s time to put young people first” – Professor Ellen Townsend discusses the impact of loneliness and social isolation on children in a piece for the second edition of Collateral Global which focusses on young people
“Are Meghan’s Covid claims correct?” – Ross Clark scrutinises Meghan’s recent statement that women “have been disproportionately affected by this pandemic” for the Spectator
“Why are we being lied to about Covid? There’s no good reason” – “Government and its advisers are telling us things that are manifestly untrue,” writes Dr. Mike Yeadon in the Conservative Woman, “and maintaining restrictive, damaging measures for which there’s no justification”
“The human fingerprints all over the virus” – Writing in the Conservative Woman, Neville Hodgkinson explains the evidence which suggests that Covid is a “chimeric virus, originally native to Chinese bats but manipulated in the laboratory to test its capacity to change into a threat to humans”
“The Green List Song” – In the Conservative Woman, Weaver Sheridan offers a “pick-me-up singalong” for the journey to a ‘green list’ approved holiday spot
“Loving Lockdown? You shouldn’t be” – “Lockdown-type mandates that have imprisoned most of the developed world don’t work,” writes Chris Bullick in a blog on LinkedIn
“Five things you need to know about the UK’s current lockdown” – An update from Big Brother Watch about the UK’s continuing abuse of civil liberties and human rights
“The Importance of Nurses Feeling Safe to Speak Out” – On the latest Pandemic Podcast, Dan Astin Gregory speaks to Jenna Platt, known on Instagram as “That Nurse Who Asks Questions”, about why it is important that nurses feel able to question the Government’s pandemic response
“Spain’s top health official warns of COVID-19 hangover after lockdown leaving parties” – Fernando Simon, the head of the Spanish Health Ministry’s Emergency Coordination Centre, says he’s unable to predict what might happen to the contagion rate after young Spanish people celebrated on streets and beaches, euronews reports
“Berliners go out as Germany lifts restrictions for vaccinated and recovered” – Germany has exempted the recovered and the vaccinated from some of the restrictions, but the new rules are hard to understand says Deutsche Welle
“Bahrain prepares to offer residents a third dose of Covid vaccine” – Health officials in Bahrain are offering people a third vaccine dose, according to the Times. Those over 60, or with specific vulnerabilities, will get it six months after their second dose, with others getting it a year later
“Nova Scotia church service raided by police, 26 fines issued” – Police broke up a church service in Weston, Nova Scotia and issued everyone over the age of 16 with a fine, the Post Millennial reports. The province is currently under a two-week lockdown and religious services are banned
“FDA authorises Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use in children aged 12-15” – The U.S. has given the go-ahead for the Pfizer vaccine to be given to children over the age of 12, the Daily Mail reports
“The Inevitable Yo-Yo Ride of Pandemic Fortresses” – The AIER’s Phillip W. Magness and Joakim Book examine the Covid experiences of Iceland, Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand, the island nations that closed their borders to the world
“China to draw ‘separation line’ on peak of Mount Everest” – China will draw a “separation line” atop Mount Everest to prevent the coronavirus from being spread by climbers ascending Nepal’s side of the mountain, AP news reports. Is this peak hysteria?
“Australian media slammed for twisting open book as ‘evidence’ of ‘China weaponising COVID-19‘” – A ferocious denunciation of the leaked report showing the Chinese military discussed weaponising coronaviruses six years ago from the CCP-controlled Global Times. The leaked document was for sale on Amazon, say the Commies
“Zero Covid man” – Australians “want to eliminate Covid”, says Prime Minister Scott Morrison. “Perhaps the great fear,” writes Paul Collits “is that he might be right”
“Answers to Questions from the Public Regarding Our Efforts to Keep Churches Open” – The Leadership Now podcast interviews Dr. Aaron Rock, a pastor at Harvest Bible Church Ontario, about efforts to keep churches open in the province
“Over-Certainties Of Science, Scientists, Experts, Quacks & Their Models” – Watch William Brigg’s presentation on the Attack of the Coronadoom models from the recent Truth over Fear summit
“CDC Issues New Mask Guidance” – An entertaining rant about the CDC’s complicated and often contradictory mask guidance from comedian Trevor Noah
“How dare SAGE scientists and the government say who we can and can’t hug?” – Mark Dolan is incensed by the pretensions of the Public Health experts