O19 - 24th February 2021 - Wilson James
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o19
24th February 2021
HIGHLIGHTS
Worldwide cases of COVID-19 are at 112,726,316 with deaths totalling 2,498,395 as of 24th February
according to Worldometer. So far, 88,298,471 people have recovered from the virus.
The WHO has designated 2021 as the International Year of Health and Care Workers (YHCW) “in
appreciation and gratitude for their unwavering dedication in the fight against the COVID-19
pandemic”. Their website advises the key message of ‘Protect. Invest. Together’ reinforces the need
for ‘appropriate protection and conditions of work… additional investments in health and care
workers’ education and employment… and a shared vision for investing in people as the foundation of
Health for All’. Read more here.
The government have pledged that under expedited plans, all adults in the UK are due to receive their
first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine by the end of July. Adults aged 50 and over as well as those who are
at high risk are to receive the vaccination by April 15.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced a four-stage plan, which could see all restrictions in
England lifted by 21st June. Mr Johnson emphasised that stages could reverse if data suggests it to be
appropriate.
From 8 March, all schools will reopen and outdoor recreation will allow two people from different
households to meet socially and not just for exercise.
From 29 March, the “rule of six” will apply. Outdoor gatherings will allow up to six people or two
households to gather including in private gardens. Outdoor sports e.g. golf will be allowed.
From 12 April, outdoor hospitality, non-essential shops and indoor sports facilities can reopen.
From 17 May, Social contact rules lifted outdoors, two households or six people can meet indoors and
indoor hospitality/hotels can reopen. The 17th May is also the earliest date for permitted international
travel.
BREXIT
Police officers from over 30 other UK constabularies have been redeployed to Kent to assist with traffic
management. Officers from as far away as Wales are managing the flow of freight traffic in order to
mitigate disruption around channel ports such as Dover.
The Welsh port of Holyhead has seen freight traffic drop by 50% in response to Brexit. Traditionally
the fastest and cheapest route from the continent to Ireland would be via the UK. To avoid customs
delays traffic is now routing via Cherbourg and Dunkirk direct to Ireland. Likewise, intra UK freight is
avoiding using the port of Dublin.
The European commission has announced it intends to commence work, which will allow the free
movement of police and financial data between the EU and the UK. Post Brexit, the UK is no longer
bound by EU data protection laws. The EC has said that the free flow of personal data is vital for
businesses and citizens living on both sides of the channel.
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WORLD NEWS/RAS/24th February 2021
COVID – 19
TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES TOTAL DEATHS PATIENTS RECOVERED
112,726,316 2,498,395 88,298,471
24.02.2021 Worldometer
COVID-19 – UK
Seven–day rolling rate of new cases Seven–day rolling rate of new cases
by specimen date ending on by specimen date ending on
11 Feb 2021 18 Feb 2021
Patients weekly admission data as of 23/02/2021
3
WORLD NEWS/RAS/24th February 2021COVID-19 – UK
The total confirmed UK COVID-19 cases as of 23rd February is 4,134,639 with 121,305 deaths according
to GOV.UK.
As of 23rd February, over 17,916,181 people have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccination in
the UK and 642,788 have received their second dose according to GOV.UK.
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is to consider exempting Scottish offshore oil workers from
quarantining in hotels on their return to the country. Oil workers returning from abroad could face
spending only a few days with family after isolating and 1 oil worker advised it would cost £10,000 a
year for him to travel to Oman and back under the current restrictions.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said that the number of cases of the Brazilian and South African
strains of Covid-19 are falling. Mr Hancock has stated that there is evidence that enhanced contact
tracing and strict quarantine measures were helping reduce the number of people contracting the virus.
Covid-19 restrictions in Wales remain largely unchanged, on Friday 19th February First Minister Mark
Drakeford held a press conference. Schools have reopened for children aged 3 -7 and people from two
different households can meet for socially distanced exercise.
Northern Ireland First Minister Arlene Foster is to publish her government’s pathway out of lockdown
on 1 March. Ms Foster has described the approach as being pragmatic and that only restrictions that
are proportionate and necessary will remain in place going forward.
COVID-19- OTHER COUNTRIES
Australia
Anti-vaccine protests have taken place across Australia with several arrests made. The protests were timed to
coincide with start of the vaccinate programme on Monday. Australia aims to inoculate 4 million people by early
March.
Brazil
The adult population of Serrana are to be immunised over a 3-month period. The aim of the study where 30,000
people will receive their vaccination is to see a reduction in Covid-19 cases and to monitor how the virus evolves.
Denmark
The Dutch Senate has taken measures to ratify their 9pm to 4.30am curfew laws by passing legislation
ensuring it stays in place until at least March. Although some rioting occurred when the curfew begun in
January. The curfew has successfully aided to reduce infection rates.
France
President Macron has called on the EU and the USA to allocate 5% of current vaccine supplies to Africa. Mr
Macron made the request while attending the online G7 meeting in Paris. 5% of doses would ensure that all
13,000 health workers in Africa could be inoculated.
Israel
Authorities have begun to reopen shops and other business after 45% of the population received their first
dose of the vaccine. Gyms and theatres are open to those who can provide proof of their status via an app,
Green Pass, introduced by the ministry of health. The app links to people’s personal health records and shows
their vaccination status or if they are immune to Covid-19 post recovery. To encourage people to take up the
vaccination the government are offering a free drink at a bar where they will receive their first shot.
4
WORLD NEWS/RAS/24th February 2021Italy
Ceremonies have taken place in Northern Italy to mark the first anniversary of the country’s first recorded
case of native Covid-19. On 20th February 2020 in Codogno, a 38-year-old man with no links to China had
tested positive for Covid-19. Pope Francis has announced that 20 February will become a new national day
in honour of Italy’s healthcare workers.
Kuwait
Kuwaiti citizens returning home must spend two weeks in quarantine, one week must be spent in approved
hotel and the following week may be spent at home.
Mexico
The Mexican Government announced on Saturday 20th February that it is set to receive both the Russian
COVID-19 vaccine Suptnik V shot and the Chinese vaccine Coronavac enabling them to commence a vaccine
drive in the low-income suburbs of Mexico City this week. Mexico has already distributed 1.6 million doses
of either the Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccine so far.
New Zealand
Health authorities in New Zealand have begun their official vaccine roll out. Of the first groups to receive the
Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine will be 12,000 border workers and managed quarantine staff. New Zealand expects
that to vaccinate the entire population will take a year.
United States of America
Scientists in the US announced last week the discovery of a heavily mutated hybrid version of the CVOID-19
virus. This ‘recombination event’ is the result of the highly transmissible B.1.1.7 variant discovered in the UK
combining genomes with the B.1.429 antibody resisting variant originating in California as some experts
predict we are entering a ‘new phase of the pandemic’.
Useful Information Sources
UK wide – Public Health England
Scotland – Scottish Government
Northern Ireland – NISRA
COVID-19 deaths in England & Wales – ONS
COVID-19 Statistics – Worldometer – Johns Hopkins University
5
WORLD NEWS/RAS/24th February 2021WORLD NEWS
Afghanistan
500 vehicles caught fire on the border with Iran on 20 February. The blaze was the result of a fuel tanker
explosion at a customs checkpoint. Afghani officials enlisted the help of Iranian resources to assist in
extinguishing the blaze. Iran is a major supplier of goods to Afghanistan with many tankers often queuing to
cross the border.
France/the Netherlands
The airline partnership Air France/KLM (Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij, Royal Dutch Airlines) have
posted a loss for 2020 of EUR 7.1bn. Passenger numbers fell by 67% and revenue 59%. Travel restrictions
over the Christmas holidays have not helped the company in the first quarter of 2021.
MIVILUDES, the French state agency responsible for tackling sectarian movements, announced on Saturday
20th of February ‘the highly concerning development’ of the emergence of the QAnon movement having
received a number of reports recently suggesting its presence is increasing in France. Minister for Citizenship
Marlène Schiappa was quoting as saying the French Government was “keeping its eye on QAnon”.
Germany
Three parcel bombs were sent to 3 food and drink manufacturers in Germany last week with 2 devices
exploding when handled by staff and 1 defused by army disposal experts at a distribution centre in Munich.
Hipp, a Bavarian baby food manufacturer, supermarket Lidl and a beverage manufacturer in Eppelheim were
targeted in what is presume to be a coordinated attack, the motive, as yet remains unclear.
Indonesia
In result of floodwaters in the city reaching levels of 1.8m, more than 1300 residents have evacuated Jakarta.
Indonesia is in the middle of Monsoon season, 226mm of rain fell in Jakarta in the 24hr period from Friday.
Meteorologists are forecasting further heavy rain and for the situation to worsen before it gets better.
Japan
Seiko Hashimoto has taken over as head of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games (re-scheduled for summer 2021).
Ms Hashimoto is a seven time Olympian turned politician and takes over from Yoshiro Mori who step down
over sexist remarks he made about woman.
Myanmar
Security forces opened fire in Mandalay, Myanmar killing 2 and injuring 30 on 20th February as protests
against the military coup continue. Despite the use of live ammunition by security forces the protests are
continuing to grow.
Nigeria
7 people have been killed after a military aircraft crashed on approach to Nnamdi Azikwe International
airport in Abuja. The Beach King Air turboprop was returning to Abuja shortly after take-off when the pilot
reported engine failure. The aircraft narrowly missed commercial properties and make shift settlements.
Russia
Putin critic Alexi Navalny has lost his appeal against his two year and eight month jail sentence. Mr Navalny
convicted in early February for allegedly not attending parole hearings, including one, scheduled while he
was in Germany recovering from nerve agent poisoning.
Spain
Riots have taken place in the Catalan cities of Barcelona and Girona. People had gathered to protest of the
arrest of rapper, Pablo Hasel who has begun a 9-month prison sentence for insulting the Spanish Monarchy
6
WORLD NEWS/RAS/24th February 2021and praising terrorist violence. Police have been pelted with missiles and businesses ransacked. The Spanish
government announced that it would change the law for offences involving the freedom of speech.
Taiwan
The defence force in Taiwan has activated its missile defence system. Eight Chinese fighter jets and an
electronic warfare aircraft entered the country’s air defence. The move came shortly after Taiwanese
President announced they were upgrading its defence equipment, including the purchase of F-16 fighter jets
from the USA.
Thailand
Prime Minister Prayuth Chanocha has survived a no confidence vote, the second since he took office in 2019..
The Prime minister has shown intent to use his position to establish a cybercrime unit to shield government
criticism on social media,
United Arab Emirates
The daughter of Dubai ruler Sheikh Mactoum has accused her family of holding her hostage against her will.
Princess Latifa tried to flee the UAE in 2018 in an effort to claim asylum in the USA. Princess Latifa captured
by UAE Special Forces in international waters has until now been seen. A spokesperson for Sheikh Mactoum
stated that the Princess is safe at home.
United Kingdom
The Supreme Court has upheld a ruling that classes Uber drivers as workers, instead of independent
contractors. The ruling means that drivers will now be entitled to the same rights as other British Employees
including holiday pay and being able to claim the minimum wage. The ruling will also have an impact on
others working in the “gig economy”, the industry has benefitted significantly with the increase in home
deliveries due to the impact of the pandemic.
United States of America
The US Justice Department has deported Friedrich Karl Berger, 95, to Germany to face interrogation over
war crimes, namely voluntarily serving as a Nazi concentration camp guard at the expansive Neuengamme
concentration camp in 1945. His collusion came to light through the discovery of documents in his name on
a sunken ship discovered in 1950. This prompted an investigation into his whereabouts eventually finding
him in Tennessee where he had been living since 1959.
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WORLD NEWS/RAS/24th February 2021INSIGHTS
Our Risk Advisory Service regularly publish articles and advisories covering a myriad of subjects. These
publications can be found within our Insights section on our Risk Advisory Service website.
Could a cross-Irish Sea link be a bridge too far?
A new report, commissioned by the Prime Minister and headed up by Network Rail Chair Sir Peter Hendy, will
shed light on the ‘cost, practicality and demand’ of a Scottish-Northern Ireland link, as well as review transport
connections across the UK in general.1 Here, we hope to find out what purpose such a link would serve, the
criticisms levied against the idea, and the feasibility of such a project. As demonstrated by Sir Hendy’s
imminent report, improvement of transport links between all four countries of the Union is desperately
needed and has been described as being ‘systematically neglected’ by High Speed Rail Group (HSRG) board
member Jim Steer.2
Whilst efforts to improve connectivity are in place between each constituent nation on the mainland through
projects such as the ‘Northern Powerhouse’ and HS2, the same efforts are not present to connect Northern
Ireland with the mainland. To remedy this, a proposed cross-Irish Sea link would significantly cut the crossing
time from two-and-a-half hours on a ferry to 40 minutes via a tunnel.3 It would appear that a cross-Irish Sea
link would be economically advantageous, not just for Northern Ireland and Scotland but also for the North of
England, especially post-Brexit, with the creation of a ‘Celtic powerhouse’ having previously been touted.4 In
support of this, both HSRG and the transport think tank ‘Greengauge 21’ have been vocal about how such a
link would help to open up and develop south west Scotland. As part of this development, the most popular
of the proposed routes, a 31-mile-stretch between Stranraer and Larne, could see additional investment in
the Dumfries Railways and Stranraer to support the connection, including additional infrastructure at an
airport which could be used as an entry point to the route.5 The link could then become part of a larger ‘capital
cities axis’ linking Dublin, Belfast, Glasgow and Edinburgh, in turn aiding the development of key border hubs
such as Carlisle due to its connections to Leeds and Newcastle.6
There are challenges to building a link across a 25-mile stretch of sea, foremost of which are the 200-metre
deep waters.7 In addition to this, the most direct route crosses a 300m trench, Beaufort’s Dyke, previously
used as a munitions dump by the Ministry of Defence and estimated to contain one million tonnes of volatile
chemical and conventional munitions.8 Alongside the depth of the sea, and the munitions dump, the use of a
single bridge to connect the two countries also poses the issue of ship collisions. Whilst technically feasible,
the consensus has been that an underwater tunnel for sections of the route would be most suitable, with a
bridge alone being ‘eye wateringly expensive’.9 Despite previous experience in the form of the 31-mile
Channel Tunnel (23.5-miles of which is underwater), a similar design under the Irish Sea would be both time
consuming and expensive, due to the harder materials under the Irish Sea as opposed to the relatively soft
chalk between Britain and France.10 A more cost-effective alternative would be a ‘floating tunnel’ concept,
currently promoted by Heriot-Watt University, that would involve a ‘submerged floating tube bridge’
anchored to the sea bed and tethered by pontoons on the surface.11 Any finished design would most likely
draw upon both bridge and tunnel sections to utilise the respective advantages and disadvantages of each,
using other similar projects, such as the Øresund Bridge between Denmark and Sweden, for inspiration.
Inevitably, political consideration will also play a role in the future of a cross-Irish Sea link, with Westminster
already criticised for undermining the devolution process by both Scotland’s Transport Secretary and Northern
Ireland’s Minister for Infrastructure due to ‘virtually no consultation’ being offered on the project.12
The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) has placed the cost of a rail-only tunnel between Stranraer and Larne at
£12bn, and a road-only bridge at £24bn. However, ICE have said that completion of a bridge could take 15 to
20 years, with costs increasing to £40-50bn.15 Whilst the building of a cross-Irish Sea link post-Brexit certainly
has its advantages, there is a fine tightrope that needs to be approached with care between prioritising long
and short-term investment and development, with public value-for-money and the involvement from
Westminster and all devolved parliaments as paramount in this decision.
8
WORLD NEWS/RAS/24th February 2021COVID19@wilsonjames.co.uk / riskadvisory@wilsonjames.co.uk @WJltd @WJ_Ltd www.linkedin.com/company/wilson-james
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