Covid: Anti-fraud effort criticised, and contact-tracing ‘sex voicemail’on March 10, 2022 at 8:04 am

Here are five things you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic this Thursday morning.

Government work to tackle fraud of Covid loans during the pandemic was like a “Dad’s Army operation”, according to a former Treasury minister. Lord Agnew, who stepped down in January over the government’s performance on fraud, has told MPs the pandemic created “a happy time to be a crook”. The Treasury says it struck the right balance between issuing loans quickly and guarding against fraud. Read our report on Lord Agnew’s evidence.

An NHS Test and Trace call handler resigned after a member of the public reported getting a voicemail that “sounded like two people having sex”, the UK Health Security Agency has confirmed. The recipient, who had tested positive for Covid, says he was “disgusted” by the message, which was left in December.

A care home in Douglas has closed to visitors amid a near-50% weekly rise in Covid cases on the Isle of Man. Salisbury Street Care Home was shut following an outbreak affecting residents and staff, although some visits will be permitted on compassionate grounds. More than 185 new cases were reported on the island on Wednesday, bringing the total to 944 – up by 300 in the last seven days.

With the Covid testing regime winding down, analysis of sewage will play a bigger role in detecting outbreaks and new variants, scientists say. Queen’s University Belfast’s wastewater surveillance programme is analysing samples from 31 sites across Northern Ireland. “We can still learn about how the virus is circulating in the community, where the hotspots are, without the need for individual testing,” says programme co-lead Dr Deirdre Gilpin.

Children have been helping to create the air purifiers being used to prevent the spread of coronavirus in classrooms. Carmarthenshire doctor Dr Rhys Thomas teamed up with colleagues in the US to create a simple but powerful device that can remove virus particles from the air. And Ysgol Gymraeg Ffwrnes Llanelli decided to buy materials – a fan, filter card and tape – for the DIY machines, rather than shelling out on pre-made purifiers. Several schools in the county are now using them. “I have been amazed by the excitement and enthusiasm of the children who want to learn how to keep each other safe by cleaning the air and go build the machines themselves,” says Dr Thomas.

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