News Round-Up

• “No 10 draws up contingency plans for ‘firebreak’ lockdowns over winter” – Downing Street confirms it is prepared for “local, regional or national” lockdowns to ensure “there is no danger” of the NHS being overwhelmed, reports i news.
• “Boris Johnson won’t isolate after sharing flight with infected civil servant” – Boris Johnson will not go into self-isolation despite sharing a flight with a civil servant who tested positive for Covid later that day, reports the Times.
• “Britain is suffering a pandemic of political hypocrisy” – Whether it’s travelling abroad or getting back to the office, it is one rule for them, another for us, writes Camilla Tominey in the Telegraph.
• “Covid infection level in England falls to one in 75 people” – A drop in the Covid infection level in England has been matched by a drop in the R number, which has fallen to between 0.8 and 1.1, compared with last week’s reported range of 1.1 to 1.4, reports the Guardian.
• “‘Secretive’ Scottish Government plans to extend Covid restrictions to 2022 under attack” – Critics are hitting out after official advice said “it may be necessary to keep some precautionary measures in place” until next year, reports the Telegraph.
• “No plans for vaccine passports in Wales, says First Minister” – Some good news from Wales, where First Minister Mark Drakeford says there are no plans to introduce vaccine passports. He will, however, continue to “weigh up” whether they are necessary, reports the Evening Standard.
• “Those who put the panic in Covid pandemic must apologise for the cock-ups which blighted the lives of millions” – “Not for the first time, the doomsters were proved wrong, but only after the public had been needlessly terrified,” writes Trevor Kavanagh in the Sun. “So who put the ‘panic’ into ‘pandemic’?”
• “The NHS has never been the ‘envy of the world’” – The NHS has slipped down the rankings of the Commonwealth Fund “Mirror Mirror” study. But should it have been that high in the first place, asks Kate Andrews in the Spectator.
• “In wake of Wuhan, spies focus on detecting ‘nefarious’ meddling with nature” – Security agencies are funding scientific research into the risks of man-made or enhanced pathogens, as well as autonomous drones and ‘swarm robotics’, reports the Telegraph.
• “Dancing still prohibited under latest hospitality rules while Communions and Confirmations may be permitted from September” – If Kenny Loggins is still alive, maybe he could be cajoled into recording the theme song for an updated Irish version of ‘Footloose’.
• “Is Covid being used as an excuse to stop cheap travel?” – “Covid may now have become an excuse for doing what some of our elitist leaders have perhaps dreamed of for years: putting an end to the cheap package holiday,” writes Ross Clark in the Telegraph.
• “Thank You, NHS” – “While Brits thanked the NHS, erected murals, and clapped into the abyss, the country plunged further into catastrophe,” writes Thomas McKenna in his latest Bournbrook Magazine column.
• “South Korea to compensate nurse paralysed after AstraZeneca vaccine” – A nursing assistant has been paralysed after getting the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine and will receive compensation from the South Korean state due to having been recognised as a victim of an industrial accident, reports RT.
• “86% of Youth Getting First Pfizer Covid Shot Experienced Adverse Reactions According to FDA Data” – TrialSite cites some worrying findings on the vaccination of children against Covid.
• “Why so many Americans are refusing to get vaccinated” – With so many organisations adopting mandatory vaccination policies, it is now more important than ever that the decision makers creating these invasive policies understand why nearly half of America is against vaccination with the current Covid vaccines, writes ‘VaccineTruth’ in TrialSite.
• “What If China Never Reopens?” – Keeping the borders closed may make it easier to govern China near-term, but the broader consequences would be tragic and potentially dangerous, writes Eyck Freymann in Wire China.
• “Covid in Iceland: Vaccination Has Not Led to Herd Immunity, Says Chief Epidemiologist” – While data shows vaccination is reducing the rate of serious illness due to Covid in Iceland, the country’s Chief Epidemiologist Þórólfur Guðnason says it has not led to the herd immunity that experts hoped for, reports Iceland Review.
• “I’m with Jennifer Aniston – anit-vaxxers are not my real Friends” – Far too many people still think they’re invincible – and all too often because they’ve been taken in by the deluded propaganda of the anti-vaxxers, writes Amanda Platell in the Mail. 
• “Playing the wild card” – “Britain can never be a pristine wilderness. Whether we like it or not, the human imprint is on the quilt of Britain’s countryside,” writes Matt Ridley in the Critic.
• “Woke censors put offensiveness warning on classic ‘Allo ‘Allo episodes” – A message appears on the screen before each episode of ‘Allo ‘Allo on Britbox, which reads: “This classic comedy contains language and attitudes of the time that may offend some viewers,” reports Mail Online.
• “Does Owen Jones have a woman problem?” – “So high on certainty is Owen Jones that he consistently uses his considerable social media platform to denounce ‘transphobes’, who invariably end up being women,” writes Douglas Murray in UnHerd.
• “The trade unionist sacked for speaking at a pro-Brexit rally” – The witch-hunting of Paul Embery shames the labour movement, writes Tom Slater in Spiked.
• “Florida is a place for freedom, not a ‘biomedical security state’” – Florida Governor Ron DeSantis lambasts President Joe Biden for forcing children to wear face masks in school rather than leaving the decision to parents and for working to make Covid vaccination a proviso for living a normal life.