Liverpool's trial events 'undoubtedly a success,' public health director Matt Ashton said. AFP
Liverpool's trial events 'undoubtedly a success,' public health director Matt Ashton said. AFP
Liverpool's trial events 'undoubtedly a success,' public health director Matt Ashton said. AFP
Liverpool's trial events 'undoubtedly a success,' public health director Matt Ashton said. AFP

Liverpool pilot events show no detectable spread of coronavirus


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Four trial events held in Liverpool in April and May did not cause any detectable spread of the coronavirus, the city’s health chief said.

More than 13,000 people attended two nightclub events, a music festival and business conference in April and May.

Eleven people later tested positive for coronavirus, although fewer than half of all those attending returned a PCR test.

Liverpool public health director Matt Ashton said the trials were "undoubtedly a success".

The latest government figures show the city has an infection rate of 7.4 cases for every 100,000 people in the week leading to May 21, down from 9.8 for every 100,000 seven days before.

People who went to the three-day business festival, which began on April 28, the two club nights on April 30 and May 1, or the Sefton Park festival on May 2 did not need to socially distance or wear face coverings.

They were encouraged to take a PCR and lateral flow test on the day of the event and five days later.

Five people were unable to attend after testing positive, four were identified as possibly having the virus at an event and seven had the virus four to seven days after they attended.

Of those who tested positive, two people had been to the gig at Sefton Park and nine had attended the club events.

Mr Ashton said it was "definitely groups of people who were infected afterwards", but they "were known to each other, so it is also possible that those people got it after the events".

Prof Iain Buchan from the University of Liverpool, who assessed the tests, said: "Timely data and quick action to trace and test contacts of people testing positive, both before and after events, was key to containing potential outbreaks."

Prof Buchan said the events had between 25 and 43 per cent of those attending returning a PCR test.

He said scientists and the Liverpool City Council had identified room for improvement, which included maximising ventilation even in large indoor spaces, incentives to return PCR tests for research and issuing tickets only after a negative test the day before the event.

Mr Ashton said reopening the entertainment economy remained "incredibly complex and difficult" but it was also "incredibly important".

He said the data showed lateral flow tests "will be a key part of the jigsaw", but collaboration between promoters, local public health teams "and a range of partners" would also be central to ensuing events ran safely.

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Regular contact with wildlife is the most appealing part of her role at the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi.

She loves to explore new destinations and lives by her motto of being a voice in the world, and not an echo.

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Her favourite book, Moby Dick by Herman Melville helped inspire her towards a career exploring  the natural world.

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Community volunteers have swung into action delivering food packages and toiletries to the men.

When provisions are distributed, the men line up in long queues for packets of rice, flour, sugar, salt, pulses, milk, biscuits, shaving kits, soap and telecom cards.

Volunteers from St Mary’s Catholic Church said some workers came to the church to pray for their families and ask for assistance.

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“Especially in this year of tolerance we consider ourselves privileged to be able to lend a helping hand to our needy brothers in the Actco camp," Father Lennie Connully, parish priest of St Mary’s.

Workers spoke of their helplessness, seeing children’s marriages cancelled because of lack of money going home. Others told of their misery of being unable to return home when a parent died.

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The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades. 

“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.

"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."

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"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.

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Important questions to consider

1. Where on the plane does my pet travel?

There are different types of travel available for pets:

  • Manifest cargo
  • Excess luggage in the hold
  • Excess luggage in the cabin

Each option is safe. The feasibility of each option is based on the size and breed of your pet, the airline they are traveling on and country they are travelling to.

 

2. What is the difference between my pet traveling as manifest cargo or as excess luggage?

If traveling as manifest cargo, your pet is traveling in the front hold of the plane and can travel with or without you being on the same plane. The cost of your pets travel is based on volumetric weight, in other words, the size of their travel crate.

If traveling as excess luggage, your pet will be in the rear hold of the plane and must be traveling under the ticket of a human passenger. The cost of your pets travel is based on the actual (combined) weight of your pet in their crate.

 

3. What happens when my pet arrives in the country they are traveling to?

As soon as the flight arrives, your pet will be taken from the plane straight to the airport terminal.

If your pet is traveling as excess luggage, they will taken to the oversized luggage area in the arrival hall. Once you clear passport control, you will be able to collect them at the same time as your normal luggage. As you exit the airport via the ‘something to declare’ customs channel you will be asked to present your pets travel paperwork to the customs official and / or the vet on duty. 

If your pet is traveling as manifest cargo, they will be taken to the Animal Reception Centre. There, their documentation will be reviewed by the staff of the ARC to ensure all is in order. At the same time, relevant customs formalities will be completed by staff based at the arriving airport. 

 

4. How long does the travel paperwork and other travel preparations take?

This depends entirely on the location that your pet is traveling to. Your pet relocation compnay will provide you with an accurate timeline of how long the relevant preparations will take and at what point in the process the various steps must be taken.

In some cases they can get your pet ‘travel ready’ in a few days. In others it can be up to six months or more.

 

5. What vaccinations does my pet need to travel?

Regardless of where your pet is traveling, they will need certain vaccinations. The exact vaccinations they need are entirely dependent on the location they are traveling to. The one vaccination that is mandatory for every country your pet may travel to is a rabies vaccination.

Other vaccinations may also be necessary. These will be advised to you as relevant. In every situation, it is essential to keep your vaccinations current and to not miss a due date, even by one day. To do so could severely hinder your pets travel plans.

Source: Pawsome Pets UAE