Brazil records almost 58,000 deaths in a month; French schools to close for three weeks – as it happened
P1 variant said to be partly driving cases in Brazil; French president extends measures in 19 French departments to rest of country
- France to close schools and stop domestic travel after Covid surge
- Pfizer/BioNTech finds vaccine safe and effective for children 12 to 15
- Outdoor mask decree met with dismay by Spain’s tourism industry
- Germany restricts use of AstraZeneca jab to over-60s
- This blog is now closed: see all our coronavirus coverage
We will close this liveblog now before opening a new one in a few hours. To finish, a summary of the day’s major developments:
Rates of stillbirth and maternal deaths rose by around a third during the Covid-19 pandemic, with pregnancy outcomes getting worse overall for both babies and mothers worldwide, according to an international data review published on Wednesday.
Reuters reports the review pooled data from 40 studies across 17 countries, and found that lockdowns, disruption to maternity services, and fear of attending healthcare facilities all added to pregnancy risks, leading to generally worse results for women and infants.
Read the original article at The Guardian