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Cases Surge: Mass Corona Vaccination Centres Open in UK

Elderly people and healthcare workers have begun to be immunised against COVID-19 at seven new mass vaccination sites across England.

The new centres in Bristol, Surrey (Epsom), London, Newcastle, Manchester, Stevenage and Birmingham will have the capacity to vaccinate four people a minute.

Moira Edwards, 88, was the first to receive a dose of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine at Epsom racecourse and said it was “extremely important” to get it.

The centres will be joined by hundreds more GP sites and a small number of new pharmacy-led centres this week, taking the total number of places offering the coronavirus vaccine to around 1,200, according to NHS England.

But with the number of COVID-19 patients in hospital at a record high and the NHS buckling under the pressure, government ministers are doing all they can to get people to stay at home.

They are considering tightening the national lockdown in England even further, according to reports in The Daily Telegraph, banning people from exercising with people they don’t live with.

The paper claims a government source said the current rules around physical activity are “being used as an excuse for people to go for a coffee in the park with their friends.

Every adult in the UK will be offered a coronavirus vaccination by the autumn, the Health Secretary has said.

Speaking to BBC1’s The Andrew Marr Show, Matt Hancock said the UK would have more than enough to vaccinate everyone, with 350 million doses on order across various vaccines and candidates.

He said the vaccines would still be offered “according to need”, first of all targeting the elderly and people with underlying health issues.

But Mr Hancock stressed: “Every adult will be offered a vaccine by the autumn.”

He said the Government was “accelerating the rollout” of the vaccine, with more people vaccinated in the last week than in the whole of December.

So far, more than 80,000 people have died from coronavirus, with the total number of cases in the UK now exceeding three million, at 3,017,409.

On target

Covid-19 vaccines being prepared for Health and social care workers at the Life Science Centre International Centre for Life in Newcastle, one of the seven mass vaccination centres, which will open on Monday to the general public as the government continues to ramp up the vaccination programme against Covid-19. PA Photo. Picture date: Saturday January 9, 2021. See PA story HEALTH Coronavirus. Photo credit should read: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire
Covid-19 vaccines being prepared for Health and social care workers at the Life Science Centre International Centre for Life in Newcastle, one of the seven mass vaccination centres, which will open on Monday to the general public as the government continues to ramp up the vaccination programme against Covid-19 (Photo: Owen Humphreys/PA)

Referencing the vaccination rollout, Mr Hancock added: “I really hope that everybody will take that up, and the take up so far has been absolutely fantastic – and the take up of the flu jab this year has been over 80 per cent… which is good news and a good indicator.”

The post Cases Surge: Mass Corona Vaccination Centres Open in UK appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

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Arrested woman pleads innocence to cameras

A woman has been charged in relation to the alleged murder of her neighbour, whose body was discovered inside a South Coogee unit in Sydney's east just before Christmas.

Retired solicitor Peter McCarthy, 77, was found dead with severe head injuries inside his Elphinstone Road, on December 20.

Today homicide detectives arrested Narelle Fiona Smith, 46, in the unit block next door to where Mr McCarthy lived.

READ MORE: Police release last CCTV footage of South Coogee man found murdered

As Ms Smith was led away in handcuffs she told 9News she had nothing to do with his death.  

"I didn't do this," Ms Smith said.

"Peter was my friend, I was there on my birthday," she said.

Ms Smith was taken to Maroubra police station where she was charged with murder and dishonestly obtain financial advantage by deception.

Neighbour Michelle Turneley said she was relieved police had made an arrest.

"Peter was a nice old guy, and he was very frail," Ms Turneley said.

A 46-year-old woman has been arrested and is expected to be charged after the alleged murder of an elderly man in South Coogee.

"I'm glad they've got someone because Peter didn't deserve that."

Mr McCarthy was last seen on security footage leaving Club York in Sydney on December 16.

He visited the club every day and after failing to show up for several days, his ex-wife went to his unit to check on him on December 20.

She discovered Mr McCarthy dead, his phone and satchel nowhere to be seen.

"Mr McCarthy suffered severe head and facial injuries but I won't go into circumstances of what was used," NSW Police Homicide Commander Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty told media this afternoon.

"There's very significant forensic and physical evidence to make this a strong and compelling case," he said.

Police informed Mr McCarthy's family of the arrest as Ms Smith was held in custody at Maroubra police station.

"It's mixed emotions for them, they've just gone through Christmas without a father and a grandfather," Superintendent Doherty said.

Ms Smith will appear in court tomorrow.

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Explainer: What is QAnon and how did it start?

Q-Anon banners were unfurled and hoisted high last week as the US Capitol was breached by a violent mob that left five people dead.

Several prominent supporters of the extremist movement were spotted inside the building.

Allegedly among those was "QAnon Shaman" Jacob Anthony Chansley.

Chansley was arrested yesterday. Authorities believe he is the man wearing a painted face, fur hat and horns; whose picture has since become synonymous with the riots.

A protester is seen inside the US Capitol Building.

So, what is QAnon?

QAnon all stems from a completely unfounded conspiracy theory about a global "Deep State" cabal of satanic pedophile elites.

According to the believers, President Donald Trump is waging a secret war against the Satan-worshipping paedophiles in government, business and the media.

READ MORE: How a dangerous virtual cult is going global

QAnon believers have been anticipating a day of reckoning led by Mr Trump, when thousands of members of the cabal will be arrested, including prominent Democrats such as Hillary Clinton and Hollywood celebrities

QAnon followers have also falsely claimed Robert Mueller's inquiry into Russian interference in the 2016 US election was really an elaborate cover story so he and Mr Trump could work together to expose paedophiles.

How did it all start?

In October 2017, someone put up a post on the message board 4chan.

The user claimed to have a level of US security approval known as "Q clearance" and signed off with the letter Q.

Q claimed to have access to classified information involving the Trump administration and its opponents in the US.

A man wearing a QAnon shirt jeers at a CNN reporter at a Donald Trump rally.

Three people then took the original Q post and spread it across multiple media platforms, according to NBC News.

What does Trump have to say about QAnon?

QAnon adherents began appearing at Trump re-election campaign rallies in August 2018.

While Mr Trump has never officially endorsed the conspiracy theory, he has described QAnon activists as "people who love our country" and said he appreciates their support.

"I know nothing about it," Mr Trump said of QAnon movement in a televised Town Hall event last October.

"I do know they are very much against pedophilia. They fight it very hard, but I know nothing about it," he added.

Donald Trump

The president's response was met with jubilation online from QAnon followers who saw it as a ringing endorsement.

Mr Trump has, whether knowingly or not, retweeted QAnon supporters many times.

Before the election his son Eric Trump posted a QAnon meme on Instagram.

More wild QAnon conspiracy theories

To delve into the world of QAnon is to go down a rabbit role of outlandish, and often contradictory, conspiracy theories.

Many of the prophecies put forward by QAnon followers never came to pass, but that has seemingly done little to dissuade the true believers.

The Atlantic executive editor, Adrienne LaFrance, wrote an in-depth analysis of the movement called "The Prophecies Of Q."

LaFrance said many QAnon believers were obsessed with John F. Kennedy Jr. – who was killed in a plane crash in 1999.

John F. Kennedy, Jr., and his wife Carolyn Bessette pictured before their wedding in 1995.

"One idea is that he didn't actually die in a plane crash but rather that Hillary Clinton had him killed because she was a political opponent," LaFrance said.

"Another idea is that he faked his own death and is actually alive and a secret Trump supporter.

"For a while, people were saying that he was going to reveal himself as Trump's running mate in this presidential election."

Unsurprisingly, layer upon layer of fabrications have been weaved into QAnon's messaging around the coronavirus.

At one point, many QAnon believers were fixated on a yellow tie Mr Trump wore to some of his coronavirus briefings, LaFrance said.

Some QAnon believers saw a yellow tie worn by Mr Trump as a secret message.

"(At) one of President Trump's daily briefings in the spring at a time when the death toll was really spiking, President Trump wears a yellow tie.

"And people seize on this in the Q crowd and say that yellow is a colour that, in maritime flags, signifies an all-clear. And therefore, the yellow tie is a signal that everything is OK and the virus isn't real."

How many people believe in this stuff?

While the conspiracy theories forming the basis of QAnon may sound ridiculous and far-fetched, its audience is growing rapidly.

As Corncordia University academic Marc Andre Argentino – who has studied the group for the past two years – pointed out in a piece for The Conversation, the 2020 pandemic has provided fertile ground for QAnon.

The growth of QAnon membership in Facebook groups and pages between January and September 2020, courtesy of CrowdTangle.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has played a significant role in popularizing the QAnon movement," Mr Argentino wrote.

"Facebook data since the start of 2020 shows QAnon membership grew by 581 per cent — most of which occurred after the United States closed its borders last March as part of its coronavirus containment strategy."

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Newcastle beaches closed after multiple shark sightings

Two Newcastle beaches have been closed after multiple sharks were seen in the area.

Lifeguards using a drone camera spotted two sharks in waters just 20 metres off Nobby's Beach about 10am today.

Swimmers were directed to come into shore as authorities worked to determine if any other sharks were in the area.

Newcastle beaches closed due to sharksNewcastle beaches closed due to sharks

Authorities say a third shark was sighted a short time later.

"They're perhaps an inquisitive type of shark and if you're in their territory they want to know why," Hunter Surf Life Saving President Henry Scruton said.

Both Nobby's Beach and neighbouring Newcastle Beach have been closed as a precaution and members of NSW Surf Life Saving spent the afternoon ushering the sharks back out to sea.

This is the first season NSW SLC has used the Department of Primary Industries shark drones to monitor for sharks.

"This technology, the drones, now give the opportunity to forewarn us or give us the heads up there is a possibility of an interaction," Mr Scruton said.

The beaches will remain closed for the rest of today at least.