Covid: Five things we still need to keep an eye on, and Covid Status app criticised over privacy failings

Here are five things you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic this Saturday morning. We’ll have another update for you tomorrow.

This week all remaining legal restrictions in England were removed. However, the lifting of measures does not mean the pandemic is over. Covid is here for the long term. So, as we learn to “live with” the virus, what are the key things we need to be aware of in the months and years ahead? From new variants to waning immunity, here are five things we need to watch carefully. And read more about what the UK’s “Living with Covid” plans are.

“Everybody needs to access healthcare,” says Hannah Woolnough, who chairs the British Dental Association’s English Council. “If you are a vulnerable person with pre-existing medical conditions, you can make a decision not to go to the supermarket, not to go to a restaurant or pub, you can avoid public transport. But you can’t avoid going to your hospital or dental appointment.” Although Covid restrictions have been removed in England, what does it mean in reality for those working in the health service who deal with the clinically vulnerable?

The Scottish government and NHS National Services Scotland have been reprimanded by the UK’s data watchdog over privacy failings in the NHS Scotland Covid Status app. The app was found to have failed to provide people with clear details about how their personal information was being used. Ministers have accepted that the privacy information could have been clearer.

“We played some carols, which she loved, and then we all got in the car and went our separate ways to celebrate Christmas,” Nicola Gregson said. Her mother, Susan, died with Covid-19 in a care home in 2020 with no family around her and had a socially distanced funeral. Ms Gregson said the isolation that followed her mother’s death made the loss feel worse. Researchers have found that people who were bereaved during lockdown coped less well with their grief afterward, with restrictions in hospitals, care homes and at funerals increasing anxiety.

Most people who catch Covid don’t become severely ill and get better relatively quickly. However, the Office for National Statistics estimates about 1.3 million people in the UK have “long Covid”, with symptoms lasting more than four weeks. A clinic set up in Jersey to help people with the long-term effects of Covid has seen up to 15 people a week since it opened. Clinical lead Dr Matt Doyle said most people would “naturally recover”. Find out more about the symptoms of long Covid and how common it is.

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