Britain's government is anxious about the spread of the COVID-19 variant first detected in India and rules nothing out to tackle a sharp rise in cases of it, Prime Minister&nbsp;Boris&nbsp;Johnson&nbsp;said on Thursday.

Johnson&nbsp;has laid out what he describes as a "cautious but irreversible" route out of lockdown for England, with the next step planned for next week. He has warned that new mutants, such as the B.1.617.2 variant, pose a risk to that plan.

Government agency Public Health England (PHE) said the total number of confirmed cases of the variant had more than doubled in the past week to 1,313 across the United Kingdom.

Officials fear the variant, one of three first found in India, is at least as transmissible as the so-called Kent variant identified in southeast England last year, which fuelled Britain's second wave of infections.

"We are anxious about it - it has been spreading,"&nbsp;Johnson&nbsp;said, adding that there would be meetings later on Thursday to discuss what to do. "We're ruling nothing out," he added.

There has been door-to-door testing in response to a surge in cases of the variant in north-west England, while extra vaccination facilities are being opened to boost uptake.

"Cases of this variant are rising in the community and we are continuously monitoring its spread," said Susan Hopkins, COVID-19 Strategic Response Director at PHE.

"We need to act collectively and responsibly to ensure that variants do not impact on the progress we have all made to drive down levels of COVID-19 and the increased freedom that brings."

After England's initial coronavirus lockdown,&nbsp;Johnson&nbsp;sought a regional approach to restrictions, which ultimately failed, and two further national lockdowns followed.

He wants a nationwide approach to the easing of restrictions this time, and reiterated that he hoped restrictions would end across the whole nation in June, despite the local surges in variant cases.

"At the moment I can see nothing that dissuades me from thinking we'll be able to go ahead on Monday and June 21 everywhere," he added, referring to further steps to ease lockdown.

Britain's government is anxious about the spread of the COVID-19 variant first detected in India and rules nothing out to tackle a sharp rise in cases of it, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Thursday.

Britain's government is anxious about the spread of the COVID-19 variant first detected in India and rules nothing out to tackle a sharp rise in cases of it, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Thursday. Johnson has laid out what he describes as a "cautious but irreversible" route out of lockdown for England, with the next step planned for next week. He has warned that new mutants, such as the B.1.617.2 variant, pose a risk to that plan. Government agency Public Health England (PHE) said the total number of confirmed cases of the variant had more than doubled in the past week to 1,313 across the United Kingdom. Officials fear the variant, one of three first found in India, is at least as transmissible as the so-called Kent variant identified in southeast England last year, which fuelled Britain's second wave of infections. "We are anxious about it - it has been spreading," Johnson said, adding that there would be meetings later on Thursday to discuss what to do. "We're ruling nothing out," he added. There has been door-to-door testing in response to a surge in cases of the variant in north-west England, while extra vaccination facilities are being opened to boost uptake. "Cases of this variant are rising in the community and we are continuously monitoring its spread," said Susan Hopkins, COVID-19 Strategic Response Director at PHE. "We need to act collectively and responsibly to ensure that variants do not impact on the progress we have all made to drive down levels of COVID-19 and the increased freedom that brings." After England's initial coronavirus lockdown, Johnson sought a regional approach to restrictions, which ultimately failed, and two further national lockdowns followed. He wants a nationwide approach to the easing of restrictions this time, and reiterated that he hoped restrictions would end across the whole nation in June, despite the local surges in variant cases. "At the moment I can see nothing that dissuades me from thinking we'll be able to go ahead on Monday and June 21 everywhere," he added, referring to further steps to ease lockdown.

Boris Johnson says UK anxious about coronavirus variant first detected in India

The National Health Service of England has rolled out a new technology to “rapidly improve” the rate at which patients are diagnosed with life-threatening coronary heart disease.

The revolutionary technology can turn a regular CT scan of the heart into a 3D image, allowing doctors to diagnose them in just 20 minutes, NHS England said.

It added that some 100,000 people will be eligible to use the HeartFlow technology over the next three years.

Currently, patients have an angiogram which involves going into the hospital for an invasive and time-consuming procedure. The innovation is part of the NHS goal to reduce heart attacks and strokes by 150,000 over 10 years.

This technology will mean patients can now be seen, diagnosed and treated much quicker, offering more convenient care, and helping NHS staff resume other services and tackle the backlog.

NHS Medical Director Stephen Powis said: “The NHS Long Term Plan has committed to cutting strokes, heart attacks and other major killers, as well as ensuring patients would benefit from cutting edge therapies and techniques.

“By rapidly improving the rate we diagnose and treat those with a heart condition we will save thousands of lives and ensure - as well as delivering the most successful vaccination programme in health service history - the NHS can deliver routine services even quicker than before the pandemic.”

(With inputs from agencies)

The National Health Service of England has rolled out a new technology to “rapidly improve” the rate at which patients are diagnosed with life-threatening coronary heart disease.

The National Health Service of England has rolled out a new technology to “rapidly improve” the rate at which patients are diagnosed with life-threatening coronary heart disease. The revolutionary technology can turn a regular CT scan of the heart into a 3D image, allowing doctors to diagnose them in just 20 minutes, NHS England said. It added that some 100,000 people will be eligible to use the HeartFlow technology over the next three years. Currently, patients have an angiogram which involves going into the hospital for an invasive and time-consuming procedure. The innovation is part of the NHS goal to reduce heart attacks and strokes by 150,000 over 10 years. This technology will mean patients can now be seen, diagnosed and treated much quicker, offering more convenient care, and helping NHS staff resume other services and tackle the backlog. NHS Medical Director Stephen Powis said: “The NHS Long Term Plan has committed to cutting strokes, heart attacks and other major killers, as well as ensuring patients would benefit from cutting edge therapies and techniques. “By rapidly improving the rate we diagnose and treat those with a heart condition we will save thousands of lives and ensure - as well as delivering the most successful vaccination programme in health service history - the NHS can deliver routine services even quicker than before the pandemic.” (With inputs from agencies)

Now, a 3D heart scan to fast-track diagnosis of heart disease

Thousands of doctors in the United Kingdom are planning to leave the country’s National Health Service owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, a new survey has revealed. The survey was undertaken by the British Medical Association and took into account 5,521 doctors working in the NHS.

The survey found that 31.9 per cent doctors said that their career goals had changed over the last year while adding that they were more likely to retire early. According to the study, a quarter doctors are planning to take a career break while a fifth are considering leaving the NHS to pursue a career in other fields.

The survey cited working conditions including long hours, increasing demand and unpleasant working conditions which have played a prominent role in the outlook shared by medical professionals in the country.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/sports/strawberries-and-cream-wimbledon-thanks-londons-nhs-and-front-line-workers-for-their-efforts-310250" hreflang="en">'Strawberries and cream': Wimbledon thanks London's NHS and front-line workers for their efforts!</a>

At least 25 per cent people are planning to take a career break, while 21 per cent want to leave the NHS to pursue something else. 17 per cent showed interest in working in a different country and 15 per cent showed interested in becoming a locus.

Half of the respondents were cited by The Guardian as saying that they are likely to reduce their working hours as the pandemic eases in the country.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/world/new-zealand-fires-nine-border-workers-who-refused-coronavirus-vaccines-382562" hreflang="en">New Zealand fires nine border workers who refused coronavirus vaccines</a>

45 per cent doctors cited workload while personal wellbeing was cited by 43 per cent medical professionals working in the NHS. In addition 29 per cent took pay into consideration while 22 per cent attributed their decision to the working conditions. Out of the respondents, 22 per cent blamed the culture in their workplace.

Critics fear that the doctors leaving the NHS in bulk would make it really difficult to manage the backlog of cases that currently plague the National Health Service in the United Kingdom. The Guardian estimates that 4.7 million patients are on the waiting list for treatment, the highest number ever.

Thousands of doctors in the United Kingdom are planning to leave the country’s National Health Service owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, a new survey has revealed.

Thousands of doctors in the United Kingdom are planning to leave the country’s National Health Service owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, a new survey has revealed. The survey was undertaken by the British Medical Association and took into account 5,521 doctors working in the NHS. The survey found that 31.9 per cent doctors said that their career goals had changed over the last year while adding that they were more likely to retire early. According to the study, a quarter doctors are planning to take a career break while a fifth are considering leaving the NHS to pursue a career in other fields. The survey cited working conditions including long hours, increasing demand and unpleasant working conditions which have played a prominent role in the outlook shared by medical professionals in the country. Also read: 'Strawberries and cream': Wimbledon thanks London's NHS and front-line workers for their efforts! At least 25 per cent people are planning to take a career break, while 21 per cent want to leave the NHS to pursue something else. 17 per cent showed interest in working in a different country and 15 per cent showed interested in becoming a locus. Half of the respondents were cited by The Guardian as saying that they are likely to reduce their working hours as the pandemic eases in the country. Also read: New Zealand fires nine border workers who refused coronavirus vaccines 45 per cent doctors cited workload while personal wellbeing was cited by 43 per cent medical professionals working in the NHS. In addition 29 per cent took pay into consideration while 22 per cent attributed their decision to the working conditions. Out of the respondents, 22 per cent blamed the culture in their workplace. Critics fear that the doctors leaving the NHS in bulk would make it really difficult to manage the backlog of cases that currently plague the National Health Service in the United Kingdom. The Guardian estimates that 4.7 million patients are on the waiting list for treatment, the highest number ever.

Thousands of doctors planning to leave UK's National Health Service after Covid pandemic, survey reveals

In England, more than 40,600 people have been infected with the deadly <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/coronavirus">coronavirus</a> while being treated at hospitals for other reasons.

The recent figures have raised concerns about NHS' inability to protect the patients. The figures revealed that at least a fifth of all patients in one in five hospitals got infected by the deadly coronavirus, while they were in the hospital for some other reason.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/pub-yes-haircut-no-boris-johnson-explains-covid-vaccine-certificates-while-painting-bananas-373179">'Pub? Yes, Haircut? No': Boris Johnson explains COVID vaccine certificates while painting bananas</a>

"These heartbreaking figures show how patients and NHS staff have been abysmally let down by the failure to suppress the virus ahead of and during the second wave," said Layla Moran MP, the chair of the all-party parliamentary group on coronavirus.

The survey reveals that, as a whole, 15 per cent (one in seven) of all patients, who were treated for the deadly coronavirus, between August 01, 2020, and March 21, had contracted the virus while in the hospital.

Experts believe that many of these infections were caused by the lack of beds and many more limitations posed by the condition of hospitals, including sanitation and ventilation.&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/uk-pm-johnson-suggests-pubs-might-require-customers-to-produce-vaccine-certificate-373216">Watch |</a>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/uk-pm-johnson-suggests-pubs-might-require-customers-to-produce-vaccine-certificate-373216/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

"It is simply staggering that one in seven hospital patients who developed Covid-19 caught the virus while being treated for another illness. This analysis also reveals deeply alarming regional disparities, with rates of hospital-acquired Covid in the north-west almost twice those in London," said Moran.

These figures have come as a shock at a time when the UK is hoping to&nbsp;bring relaxations in the coronavirus lockdown measures — which has been extended several times, bringing in frustration in citizens.

"Due to years of systemic understaffing and a cost-cutting approach to new hospital design we have far fewer beds available than our European counterparts, which has made it harder to separate out cases and led to an increase in the chances of hospital-acquired infection. Tragically, people will have caught Covid and inevitably died as a result of this shortsightedness," Dr Claudia Paoloni, the president of the Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association was quoted by Guardian.

In England, more than 40,600 people have been infected with the deadly coronavirus while being treated at hospitals for other reasons. The recent figures have raised concerns about NHS' inability to protect the patients.

In England, more than 40,600 people have been infected with the deadly coronavirus while being treated at hospitals for other reasons. The recent figures have raised concerns about NHS' inability to protect the patients. The figures revealed that at least a fifth of all patients in one in five hospitals got infected by the deadly coronavirus, while they were in the hospital for some other reason. Also read | 'Pub? Yes, Haircut? No': Boris Johnson explains COVID vaccine certificates while painting bananas "These heartbreaking figures show how patients and NHS staff have been abysmally let down by the failure to suppress the virus ahead of and during the second wave," said Layla Moran MP, the chair of the all-party parliamentary group on coronavirus. The survey reveals that, as a whole, 15 per cent (one in seven) of all patients, who were treated for the deadly coronavirus, between August 01, 2020, and March 21, had contracted the virus while in the hospital. Experts believe that many of these infections were caused by the lack of beds and many more limitations posed by the condition of hospitals, including sanitation and ventilation. Watch | "It is simply staggering that one in seven hospital patients who developed Covid-19 caught the virus while being treated for another illness. This analysis also reveals deeply alarming regional disparities, with rates of hospital-acquired Covid in the north-west almost twice those in London," said Moran. These figures have come as a shock at a time when the UK is hoping to bring relaxations in the coronavirus lockdown measures — which has been extended several times, bringing in frustration in citizens. "Due to years of systemic understaffing and a cost-cutting approach to new hospital design we have far fewer beds available than our European counterparts, which has made it harder to separate out cases and led to an increase in the chances of hospital-acquired infection. Tragically, people will have caught Covid and inevitably died as a result of this shortsightedness," Dr Claudia Paoloni, the president of the Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association was quoted by Guardian.

UK: More than 40,600 people contracted COVID while in hospital

A Banksy painting showing a young boy playing with a toy nurse as a superhero rather than Batman or Spider-Man sold for more than $20 million on Tuesday (March 23), setting an auction record for the elusive British street artist.

Banksy NHS tribute sells for record $20 million at auction

The United Kingdom has a history of colonising countries with dark-skinned natives.

Indian-origin Rashmi Samant was the first Indian woman to be elected the President of the Oxford University Students Union. However, her achievement was short-lived as she was forced to resign within a few days.

A student of MSc energy systems at Oxford University, Samant was forced to resign within five days of her appointment over several of her social media posts which were labelled to be anti-Semitic and racist.

While she did issue a public apology for 'unintentionally' hurting anyone's emotions, the Udupi-origin woman believes she was unfairly targeted as a 'conscious attempt'.

India's External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar expressed concern, asserting that the matter will be taken up with Britain with "great candour".

It comes after the British monarchy is facing allegations&nbsp;of racism by&nbsp;Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle.

Meghan, the wife of Prince Harry, accused Britain's royal family of raising concerns about how dark their son's skin might be and pushing her to the brink of suicide, in a tell-all television interview that will send shockwaves through the monarchy.

The 39-year-old, whose mother is Black and father is white, said she had been naive before she married into royalty in 2018, but that she ended up having suicidal thoughts and considering self-harm after pleading for help but getting none.

Meghan&nbsp;said her son Archie, now aged one, had been denied the title of prince because there were concerns within the royal family "about how dark his skin might be when he's born".

"That was relayed to me from Harry, those were conversations that family had with him,"&nbsp;Meghan&nbsp;recounted in an interview with Oprah Winfrey aired on CBS late on Sunday.

YMCA's Young and Black report found that 95 per cent&nbsp;of young Black people in the UK&nbsp;have heard or witnessed racist language at school. While&nbsp;49 per cent of people&nbsp;feel racism is the largest hurdle to academic attainment.

The British government has&nbsp;dedicated a website to the country's&nbsp;ethnicity facts and figures.&nbsp;It was established by the former Prime Minister Theresa May to tackle ''burning injustice.''

A report presented in the British parliament last year stated that over 60 per cent&nbsp;of black people in the UK do not believe their health is as equally protected by the NHS, compared to white people.

The death rate for Black women in childbirth is five times higher than for white women in the country.

85 per cent&nbsp;of Black people are not confident that they would be treated the same as white people.&nbsp;

The failings of successive governments to act in response to the successive reports and the review shows&nbsp;that something is wrong with the architecture which is supposed to protect&nbsp;human rights and promote racial equality.

Instead of correcting institutional wrongs, Britain's parliament is busy debating on the internal affairs of another country.

Last week, it spent 90 minutes talking about protests in India.

In&nbsp;1986, Prince Philip reportedly told a group of British students in China,&nbsp;''if you stay here much longer, you will be slitty-eyed.''

The United Kingdom has a history of colonising countries with dark-skinned natives. Indian-origin Rashmi Samant was the first Indian woman to be elected the President of the Oxford University Students Union.

The United Kingdom has a history of colonising countries with dark-skinned natives. Indian-origin Rashmi Samant was the first Indian woman to be elected the President of the Oxford University Students Union. However, her achievement was short-lived as she was forced to resign within a few days. A student of MSc energy systems at Oxford University, Samant was forced to resign within five days of her appointment over several of her social media posts which were labelled to be anti-Semitic and racist. While she did issue a public apology for 'unintentionally' hurting anyone's emotions, the Udupi-origin woman believes she was unfairly targeted as a 'conscious attempt'. India's External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar expressed concern, asserting that the matter will be taken up with Britain with "great candour". It comes after the British monarchy is facing allegations of racism by Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle. Meghan, the wife of Prince Harry, accused Britain's royal family of raising concerns about how dark their son's skin might be and pushing her to the brink of suicide, in a tell-all television interview that will send shockwaves through the monarchy. The 39-year-old, whose mother is Black and father is white, said she had been naive before she married into royalty in 2018, but that she ended up having suicidal thoughts and considering self-harm after pleading for help but getting none. Meghan said her son Archie, now aged one, had been denied the title of prince because there were concerns within the royal family "about how dark his skin might be when he's born". "That was relayed to me from Harry, those were conversations that family had with him," Meghan recounted in an interview with Oprah Winfrey aired on CBS late on Sunday. YMCA's Young and Black report found that 95 per cent of young Black people in the UK have heard or witnessed racist language at school. While 49 per cent of people feel racism is the largest hurdle to academic attainment. The British government has dedicated a website to the country's ethnicity facts and figures. It was established by the former Prime Minister Theresa May to tackle ''burning injustice.'' A report presented in the British parliament last year stated that over 60 per cent of black people in the UK do not believe their health is as equally protected by the NHS, compared to white people. The death rate for Black women in childbirth is five times higher than for white women in the country. 85 per cent of Black people are not confident that they would be treated the same as white people. The failings of successive governments to act in response to the successive reports and the review shows that something is wrong with the architecture which is supposed to protect human rights and promote racial equality. Instead of correcting institutional wrongs, Britain's parliament is busy debating on the internal affairs of another country. Last week, it spent 90 minutes talking about protests in India. In 1986, Prince Philip reportedly told a group of British students in China, ''if you stay here much longer, you will be slitty-eyed.''

Britain's history of racism spans across institutions

The situation is extremely concerning in the UK, especially with a surge in coronavirus cases after identification of a new variant.

While the Boris Johnson-led government has been asking locals to stay indoors and has tried to keep the country under strict lockdown, the Chief Executive of the National Health Service (NHS) has revealed the situation might be much worse.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/uk-cathedrals-converted-into-coronavirus-vaccination-centres-357269">UK: Cathedrals converted into coronavirus vaccination centres</a>

As per Simon Stevens, NHS Chief Executive, the pressure has been alarmingly increasing for the healthcare workers.&nbsp;

"The facts are very clear and I am not going to sugar-coat them. Hospitals are under extreme pressure and staff are under extreme pressure," he said.

He also admitted the situation became worse after the Christmas holidays. "Since Christmas Day, we have seen another 15,000 increase in the in-patients in hospitals across England. That’s the equivalent of filling 30 hospitals full of coronavirus patients," Stevens said.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/uk-invites-india-to-first-g7-summit-of-biden-era-to-be-held-in-june-357225">UK invites India to first G7 summit of Biden era to be held in June</a>

There have been more people having to retire in a hospital after testing positive for the deadly virus, than the last few months. Stevens claims that "every 30 seconds across England another patient is being admitted to hospital with coronavirus."

His statement has come a few days after Prime Minister Boris Johnson said nearly 37,000 people are already admitted in hospitals and the figures are expected to increase.

Meanwhile, the UK government has announced plans of vaccinating at least two million people a week, with priority being offered to the elderly, clinically vulnerable and frontline health and social care workers.

The UK government has also travellers&nbsp;to quarantine themselves and show a negative COVID-19 test before entering the country. "This means that if you come to this country you must have proof of a negative Covid virus test that you have taken in the 72 hours before leaving," Boris Johnson said.

The situation is extremely concerning in the UK, especially with a surge in coronavirus cases after identification of a new variant. While the Boris Johnson-led government has been asking locals to stay indoors and has tried to keep the country under strict lockdown, the Chief Executive of the National Health Service (NHS) has revealed the situation might be much worse.

The situation is extremely concerning in the UK, especially with a surge in coronavirus cases after identification of a new variant. While the Boris Johnson-led government has been asking locals to stay indoors and has tried to keep the country under strict lockdown, the Chief Executive of the National Health Service (NHS) has revealed the situation might be much worse. Also read| UK: Cathedrals converted into coronavirus vaccination centres As per Simon Stevens, NHS Chief Executive, the pressure has been alarmingly increasing for the healthcare workers. "The facts are very clear and I am not going to sugar-coat them. Hospitals are under extreme pressure and staff are under extreme pressure," he said. He also admitted the situation became worse after the Christmas holidays. "Since Christmas Day, we have seen another 15,000 increase in the in-patients in hospitals across England. That’s the equivalent of filling 30 hospitals full of coronavirus patients," Stevens said. Also read| UK invites India to first G7 summit of Biden era to be held in June There have been more people having to retire in a hospital after testing positive for the deadly virus, than the last few months. Stevens claims that "every 30 seconds across England another patient is being admitted to hospital with coronavirus." His statement has come a few days after Prime Minister Boris Johnson said nearly 37,000 people are already admitted in hospitals and the figures are expected to increase. Meanwhile, the UK government has announced plans of vaccinating at least two million people a week, with priority being offered to the elderly, clinically vulnerable and frontline health and social care workers. The UK government has also travellers to quarantine themselves and show a negative COVID-19 test before entering the country. "This means that if you come to this country you must have proof of a negative Covid virus test that you have taken in the 72 hours before leaving," Boris Johnson said.

'One coronavirus patient getting admitted in hospitals every 30 seconds': NHS

Test and test-and-trace chief Dido Harding has been told to self-isolate by the National Health Service app on her own mobile phone app.

"Nothing like personal experience of your own products ....got this overnight," she wrote on Twitter on Wednesday above a graphic from her phone with the message 'You need to self-isolate'.

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Nothing like personal experience of your own products ....got this overnight. Feeling well. Many hours of Zoom ahead. <a href="https://t.co/Ims9W9gbQh">pic.twitter.com/Ims9W9gbQh</a>
— dido harding (@didoharding) <a href="https://twitter.com/didoharding/status/1328988118708523008?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 18, 2020</a></blockquote>
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"Feeling well. Many hours of Zoom ahead," she added.

It comes a week after her husband, Conservative MP John Penrose, was told to isolate by the app, and days after Boris Johnson began self-isolating.

Johnson was asked&nbsp;to stay at home on Sunday after having a meeting last week with Tory MP Lee Anderson, who then tested positive for coronavirus.

Harding&nbsp;was appointed to run England's coronavirus tracing programme in May with the task of overseeing a team to locate contacts of those who tested positive for the virus.

However, there was criticism of her appointment because of her limited experience of health care and also as her husband, John Penrose, is a lawmaker from Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservative Party.

Official figures showed last week that the proportion of contacts of positive cases reached by her system remained at record lows, with about 60% of contacts reached, well below the 80% target.

Her system has managed to reach Johnson, who was told to self-isolate on Sunday, and her husband, who received the same instruction from his phone app on November&nbsp;9.

Test and test-and-trace chief Dido Harding has been told to self-isolate by the National Health Service app on her own mobile phone app. "Nothing like personal experience of your own products .

Test and test-and-trace chief Dido Harding has been told to self-isolate by the National Health Service app on her own mobile phone app. "Nothing like personal experience of your own products ....got this overnight," she wrote on Twitter on Wednesday above a graphic from her phone with the message 'You need to self-isolate'. Nothing like personal experience of your own products ....got this overnight. Feeling well. Many hours of Zoom ahead. pic.twitter.com/Ims9W9gbQh — dido harding (@didoharding) November 18, 2020 × "Feeling well. Many hours of Zoom ahead," she added. It comes a week after her husband, Conservative MP John Penrose, was told to isolate by the app, and days after Boris Johnson began self-isolating. Johnson was asked to stay at home on Sunday after having a meeting last week with Tory MP Lee Anderson, who then tested positive for coronavirus. Harding was appointed to run England's coronavirus tracing programme in May with the task of overseeing a team to locate contacts of those who tested positive for the virus. However, there was criticism of her appointment because of her limited experience of health care and also as her husband, John Penrose, is a lawmaker from Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservative Party. Official figures showed last week that the proportion of contacts of positive cases reached by her system remained at record lows, with about 60% of contacts reached, well below the 80% target. Her system has managed to reach Johnson, who was told to self-isolate on Sunday, and her husband, who received the same instruction from his phone app on November 9.

Head of NHS test-and-trace Dido Harding told to self-isolate by her own app

Jay knew he was different from a young age and when adolescence hit, his increasingly feminine body did not match the identity he was growing into.

He began researching what it means to be transgender and how others like him had transformed their bodies to reflect their true selves.&nbsp;

But the soft-spoken animation student from southwest England was devastated to find that transitioning could take years on the state-run National Health Service (NHS).

He is now turning to online fundraising for surgery for his chest, which costs at least £5,000 ($6,500, 5,500 euros) with a private surgeon.&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/uk-pm-johnson-to-speak-on-covid-19-as-anger-mounts-towards-curbs-331392">Also read:&nbsp;UK PM Johnson to speak on COVID-19 as anger mounts towards curbs</a>

"With the waiting list, it just gets to a point where it's unbearable... It's just really difficult," Jay, 19, told AFP, his voice breaking with emotion.

'Inhumane' wait times

An estimated 200,000 to 500,000 transgender people live in the UK, according to 2018 government data, and about 13,500 trans patients are on NHS waiting lists.&nbsp;

But the coronavirus outbreak has lengthened the wait, as the NHS stopped some services deemed "non-essential" to tackle the pandemic.&nbsp;

NHS doctor Adrian Harrop, a vocal advocate for transgender and LGBTQ healthcare, said the waiting list was now growing "exponentially" every month, calling it "inhumane".

The government recently promised to open three new gender identity clinics to meet heightened demand, and cut the consultation fee from £140 to "a nominal amount".

"Trans people tell us that waiting lists at NHS gender clinics are too long," equalities minister Liz Truss said last week.

"I agree and I am deeply concerned at the distress it can cause."&nbsp;

Harrop said the government plan does not go far enough. "Imagine what has been announced times at least by 100," he added, calling for more localised care.

At the same time, the broader system needs to change, given that transgender identities are increasingly politicised, debated and scrutinised, he said.&nbsp;

"They are invalidated and these messages are quite pervasive and... transcend into people working within the NHS," he added.

Violence and discrimination

Recent data indicated that transgender individuals were "significantly more likely" to have been a victim of crime compared to cisgender people — those whose gender identity matches the sex they were assigned at birth.

The Office for National Statistics said more than one in four trans people (28 percent) had experienced crime compared with 14 percent who are cisgender.&nbsp;

A 2018 survey by the Stonewall LGBT rights charity reported that 41 percent of trans men and women said they had experienced a hate crime or incident in the past year.&nbsp;

Transgender activist Alexis Meshida said she has faced discrimination and violence as a young trans woman growing up in Nigeria and Northern Ireland.&nbsp;

Fed up with NHS waiting times, the 26-year-old is now fundraising for facial feminisation surgery to feel "safe" in her daily life in London.&nbsp;

"It's either I wait 10 years to get facial feminisation on the NHS, or I work really hard," she said. "But I don't have 10 years."

'A threat to our lives'

Meshida said in addition to the threat of violence, longer waiting times were "a threat to our lives" because of the increased risk of mental health problems.

"We see self-harm, we see suicide, we see anxiety, stress, depression," said Helen Webberley, who founded the tele-medicine service GenderGP in 2015.&nbsp;

"They can see their bodies changing, they can't see an end to it. They want to restart their lives."&nbsp;

Physical changes are particularly difficult to face for many young people under the age of 18, who must first go through psychological consultations before receiving puberty blockers or hormone therapy.&nbsp;

Lizzie Jordan, who heads LGBTQ and sex education specialists Think2Speak, said self-harm was a real risk because of long waits.

"The system is severely flawed and this is not affirmative and it does not provide timely care," said Jordan, whose organisation helps transgender youth and their families.&nbsp;

"We have children who are really, really struggling and then that plays out in self-harm, that plays out in attempts of suicide and (young people) hurting themselves," she said.&nbsp;

Jay cannot stand to wait another decade and faces a daily battle.&nbsp;

"It builds to other things like anxiety going out, or depression," he said.

He has raised more than £900 of his £8,600 goal.&nbsp;

One day, he hopes it will allow him to take off his shirt at the beach and no longer use a restrictive binder around his chest.

In the meantime, he waits.&nbsp;

Jay knew he was different from a young age and when adolescence hit, his increasingly feminine body did not match the identity he was growing into. He began researching what it means to be transgender and how others like him had transformed their bodies to reflect their true selves.

Jay knew he was different from a young age and when adolescence hit, his increasingly feminine body did not match the identity he was growing into. He began researching what it means to be transgender and how others like him had transformed their bodies to reflect their true selves. But the soft-spoken animation student from southwest England was devastated to find that transitioning could take years on the state-run National Health Service (NHS). He is now turning to online fundraising for surgery for his chest, which costs at least £5,000 ($6,500, 5,500 euros) with a private surgeon. Also read: UK PM Johnson to speak on COVID-19 as anger mounts towards curbs "With the waiting list, it just gets to a point where it's unbearable... It's just really difficult," Jay, 19, told AFP, his voice breaking with emotion. 'Inhumane' wait times An estimated 200,000 to 500,000 transgender people live in the UK, according to 2018 government data, and about 13,500 trans patients are on NHS waiting lists. But the coronavirus outbreak has lengthened the wait, as the NHS stopped some services deemed "non-essential" to tackle the pandemic. NHS doctor Adrian Harrop, a vocal advocate for transgender and LGBTQ healthcare, said the waiting list was now growing "exponentially" every month, calling it "inhumane". The government recently promised to open three new gender identity clinics to meet heightened demand, and cut the consultation fee from £140 to "a nominal amount". "Trans people tell us that waiting lists at NHS gender clinics are too long," equalities minister Liz Truss said last week. "I agree and I am deeply concerned at the distress it can cause." Harrop said the government plan does not go far enough. "Imagine what has been announced times at least by 100," he added, calling for more localised care. At the same time, the broader system needs to change, given that transgender identities are increasingly politicised, debated and scrutinised, he said. "They are invalidated and these messages are quite pervasive and... transcend into people working within the NHS," he added. Violence and discrimination Recent data indicated that transgender individuals were "significantly more likely" to have been a victim of crime compared to cisgender people — those whose gender identity matches the sex they were assigned at birth. The Office for National Statistics said more than one in four trans people (28 percent) had experienced crime compared with 14 percent who are cisgender. A 2018 survey by the Stonewall LGBT rights charity reported that 41 percent of trans men and women said they had experienced a hate crime or incident in the past year. Transgender activist Alexis Meshida said she has faced discrimination and violence as a young trans woman growing up in Nigeria and Northern Ireland. Fed up with NHS waiting times, the 26-year-old is now fundraising for facial feminisation surgery to feel "safe" in her daily life in London. "It's either I wait 10 years to get facial feminisation on the NHS, or I work really hard," she said. "But I don't have 10 years." 'A threat to our lives' Meshida said in addition to the threat of violence, longer waiting times were "a threat to our lives" because of the increased risk of mental health problems. "We see self-harm, we see suicide, we see anxiety, stress, depression," said Helen Webberley, who founded the tele-medicine service GenderGP in 2015. "They can see their bodies changing, they can't see an end to it. They want to restart their lives." Physical changes are particularly difficult to face for many young people under the age of 18, who must first go through psychological consultations before receiving puberty blockers or hormone therapy. Lizzie Jordan, who heads LGBTQ and sex education specialists Think2Speak, said self-harm was a real risk because of long waits. "The system is severely flawed and this is not affirmative and it does not provide timely care," said Jordan, whose organisation helps transgender youth and their families. "We have children who are really, really struggling and then that plays out in self-harm, that plays out in attempts of suicide and (young people) hurting themselves," she said. Jay cannot stand to wait another decade and faces a daily battle. "It builds to other things like anxiety going out, or depression," he said. He has raised more than £900 of his £8,600 goal. One day, he hopes it will allow him to take off his shirt at the beach and no longer use a restrictive binder around his chest. In the meantime, he waits.

UK transgender patients turn to crowdfunding due to huge delays

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is to pour 3 billion pounds ($3.8 billion) into England's National Health Service (NHS) to try to ward off any resurgence of the coronavirus, as he sets out the next stage of his recovery plan for Britain.

UK PM Boris Johnson announces additional funding for NHS

The war veteran Sir Tom Moore who raised £30 million for health service charities by completing laps of his garden, was given a framed football shirt for the position by England skipper David Beckham.

Sir Tom Moore raised £30 MN for NHS: Honoured by David Beckham

Wimbledon has thanked the NHS and the frontline workers for their efforts to curb the coronavirus in the country by sending strawberries.&nbsp;

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/south-korean-triathlete-choi-suk-hyeon-kills-herself-after-coaching-abuse-reports-310167" hreflang="en">South Korean triathlete Choi Suk-Hyeon kills herself after coaching abuse: Reports</a>

The British Grand Slam was called off this year for the first time since World War II due to the coronavirus pandemic and to thanks the relief workers, the English club is donating 200 punnets of strawberries per day ahead of the 72nd anniversary of the National Health Service.

More than 26,000 strawberries that would have been sold during the fortnight are being hulled (de-stemmed) and portioned by a group of staff at the south-west London venue.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/younis-khan-held-a-knife-to-my-throat-grant-flower-on-his-stint-as-pakistan-batting-coach-310186" hreflang="en">‘Younis Khan held a knife to my throat’: Grant Flower on his stint as Pakistan batting coach</a>

"Since the cancellation of the championships, we have been very focused on doing what we can to help those in our local community who are undergoing hardship as a result of the coronavirus crisis," AELTC chief executive Richard Lewis said.

"Our staff have been particularly keen to do what they can to help during this time and we were pleased that so many of them volunteered to take part in the strawberry hulling operation during the Wimbledon fortnight."

The first batch of strawberries was delivered to St George's Hospital Charity on Monday.

"It was a lovely surprise gesture and a great token of appreciation for our amazing NHS staff who have been working tirelessly during this crisis," CEO Amerjit Chohan said.

Wimbledon has actively participated in helping the community during the time of crisis by providing 200 hot meals per day to those in need in local boroughs.

Those meals will now feature some fresh strawberries too.

Roughly 27,000 kilos of strawberries and 7,000 litres of cream are usually eaten during the English Grand Slam.&nbsp;

(Inputs from Reuters)

Wimbledon has thanked the NHS and the frontline workers for their efforts to curb the coronavirus in the country by sending strawberries. Also read: South Korean triathlete Choi Suk-Hyeon kills herself after coaching abuse: Reports The British Grand Slam was called off this year for the first time since World War II due to the coronavirus pandemic and to thanks the relief workers, the English club is donating 200 punnets of strawberries per day ahead of the 72nd anniversary of the National Health Service.

Wimbledon has thanked the NHS and the frontline workers for their efforts to curb the coronavirus in the country by sending strawberries. Also read: South Korean triathlete Choi Suk-Hyeon kills herself after coaching abuse: Reports The British Grand Slam was called off this year for the first time since World War II due to the coronavirus pandemic and to thanks the relief workers, the English club is donating 200 punnets of strawberries per day ahead of the 72nd anniversary of the National Health Service. More than 26,000 strawberries that would have been sold during the fortnight are being hulled (de-stemmed) and portioned by a group of staff at the south-west London venue. Also read: ‘Younis Khan held a knife to my throat’: Grant Flower on his stint as Pakistan batting coach "Since the cancellation of the championships, we have been very focused on doing what we can to help those in our local community who are undergoing hardship as a result of the coronavirus crisis," AELTC chief executive Richard Lewis said. "Our staff have been particularly keen to do what they can to help during this time and we were pleased that so many of them volunteered to take part in the strawberry hulling operation during the Wimbledon fortnight." The first batch of strawberries was delivered to St George's Hospital Charity on Monday. "It was a lovely surprise gesture and a great token of appreciation for our amazing NHS staff who have been working tirelessly during this crisis," CEO Amerjit Chohan said. Wimbledon has actively participated in helping the community during the time of crisis by providing 200 hot meals per day to those in need in local boroughs. Those meals will now feature some fresh strawberries too. Roughly 27,000 kilos of strawberries and 7,000 litres of cream are usually eaten during the English Grand Slam. (Inputs from Reuters)

'Strawberries and cream': Wimbledon thanks London's NHS and front-line workers for their efforts!

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson dismissed criticism on Wednesday of his government's plans to implement local lockdowns if there are flare-ups of the novel coronavirus and of an app to trace the spread of the virus.

At prime minister's questions in parliament, the opposition Labour leader Keir Starmer suggested both systems were not yet ready before England eases its coronavirus lockdown from July 4.

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In response, Johnson said: "We have a very effective cluster-busting operation which is designed to ensure that we keep those outbreaks under control.

"I am not going to pretend ... that this thing is beaten or that the virus has gone away ... We have to remain vigilant and local councils will be supported in doing their vital work in implementing local lockdowns," he added, challenging Starmer to find any other country that has a functioning tracing app.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/beware-second-wave-of-coronavirus-medics-warn-britain-308318" hreflang="en">Beware second wave of coronavirus, medics warn Britain</a>

A spokesman for Starmer pointed to Germany, which has had a large number of people downloading its app, and a number of countries "which are far ahead of us in terms of developing their apps", such as Singapore and South Korea.

"We've spent 12 million pounds on an app which hasn't even been launched," the spokesman told reporters. "I think it was another example of a dodgy answer from a prime minister who wasn't on top of the detail."

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson dismissed criticism on Wednesday of his government's plans to implement local lockdowns if there are flare-ups of the novel coronavirus and of an app to trace the spread of the virus.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson dismissed criticism on Wednesday of his government's plans to implement local lockdowns if there are flare-ups of the novel coronavirus and of an app to trace the spread of the virus. At prime minister's questions in parliament, the opposition Labour leader Keir Starmer suggested both systems were not yet ready before England eases its coronavirus lockdown from July 4. Also read: UK says no deadline for US trade deal, talks tough on terms In response, Johnson said: "We have a very effective cluster-busting operation which is designed to ensure that we keep those outbreaks under control. "I am not going to pretend ... that this thing is beaten or that the virus has gone away ... We have to remain vigilant and local councils will be supported in doing their vital work in implementing local lockdowns," he added, challenging Starmer to find any other country that has a functioning tracing app. Also read: Beware second wave of coronavirus, medics warn Britain A spokesman for Starmer pointed to Germany, which has had a large number of people downloading its app, and a number of countries "which are far ahead of us in terms of developing their apps", such as Singapore and South Korea. "We've spent 12 million pounds on an app which hasn't even been launched," the spokesman told reporters. "I think it was another example of a dodgy answer from a prime minister who wasn't on top of the detail."

British PM Johnson dismisses criticism on local lockdowns, coronavirus app

Captain Tom&nbsp;Moore, the 100-year-old war veteran&nbsp;who raised almost £33 million&nbsp;for the UK's National Health Service (NHS) by&nbsp;taking&nbsp;laps of his backyard, is to receive a knighthood after a special nomination from Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Boris Johnson said the centenarian had provided the country with "a beacon of light through the fog of coronavirus."

As an honorary colonel, his official title will be Captain Sir Thomas Moore under Ministry of Defence protocol.

Johnson personally recommended to Queen Elizabeth that Moore should be exceptionally honored, according to a Downing Street press release.

"Colonel Tom's fantastic fundraising broke records, inspired the whole country and provided us all with a beacon of light through the fog of coronavirus," said Johnson in the release.

The knighthood, which has been approved by the Queen, will be formally announced on Wednesday.

Moore received more than 125,000 birthday cards last month, with volunteers enlisted to help open them all.&nbsp;

The UK has been hit hard by the coronavirus, with a death toll of more than 35,000, the highest number outside of the US and the largest in Europe, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

The country's government is also set to give further details on plans for how "frontline heroes" who have been working to help the nation during the pandemic will be honored in the coming months and how the public will be able to play their part.

Captain Tom Moore, the 100-year-old war veteran who raised almost £33 million for the UK's National Health Service (NHS) by taking laps of his backyard, is to receive a knighthood after a special nomination from Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Captain Tom Moore, the 100-year-old war veteran who raised almost £33 million for the UK's National Health Service (NHS) by taking laps of his backyard, is to receive a knighthood after a special nomination from Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Boris Johnson said the centenarian had provided the country with "a beacon of light through the fog of coronavirus." As an honorary colonel, his official title will be Captain Sir Thomas Moore under Ministry of Defence protocol. Johnson personally recommended to Queen Elizabeth that Moore should be exceptionally honored, according to a Downing Street press release. "Colonel Tom's fantastic fundraising broke records, inspired the whole country and provided us all with a beacon of light through the fog of coronavirus," said Johnson in the release. The knighthood, which has been approved by the Queen, will be formally announced on Wednesday. Moore received more than 125,000 birthday cards last month, with volunteers enlisted to help open them all. The UK has been hit hard by the coronavirus, with a death toll of more than 35,000, the highest number outside of the US and the largest in Europe, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. The country's government is also set to give further details on plans for how "frontline heroes" who have been working to help the nation during the pandemic will be honored in the coming months and how the public will be able to play their part.

Captain Tom Moore to be awarded knighthood for NHS fundraising

Street artist Banksy paid a tribute to the British medics battling the coronavirus pandemic in the second hardest-hit country.

The street artist also posted an image of the work on Instagram, which shows a boy in dungarees playing with a figurine of a nurse in a superhero cape.

<img alt="Banksy" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="2fd8b816-d102-43b6-9814-a45ade067695" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Banksy.png" />

The largely monochrome artwork, which is one square metre, was hung in collaboration with the hospital's managers in a foyer near the emergency department.

Entitled 'Game Changer', it is the red cross on the nurse's uniform, while discarded Superman and Batman figures lie in a basket next to the boy.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/banksy-unveils-first-rat-infested-painting-made-inside-his-bathroom-during-lockdown-292800">Banksy unveils first rat infested painting made inside his bathroom during lockdown</a>

"Thanks for all you're doing. I hope this brightens the place up a bit, even if it's only black and white," the enigmatic artist said in a note for hospital workers.

The artwork which appeared at Southampton General Hospital will remain there&nbsp;until the autumn when it will be auctioned to raise money for the NHS.

Paula Head, CEO of the University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust said: "Our hospital family has been directly impacted with the tragic loss of much loved and respected members of staff and friends.

"The fact that Banksy has chosen us to recognise the outstanding contribution everyone in and with the NHS is making, in unprecedented times, is a huge honour."

She added: "It will be really valued by everyone in the hospital, as people get a moment in their busy lives to pause, reflect and appreciate this piece of art. It will no doubt also be a massive boost to morale for everyone who works and is cared for at our hospital."

The artwork is now on view to staff and patients on Level C of the Southampton General.

Street artist Banksy paid a tribute to the British medics battling the coronavirus pandemic in the second hardest-hit country. The street artist also posted an image of the work on Instagram, which shows a boy in dungarees playing with a figurine of a nurse in a superhero cape.

Street artist Banksy paid a tribute to the British medics battling the coronavirus pandemic in the second hardest-hit country. The street artist also posted an image of the work on Instagram, which shows a boy in dungarees playing with a figurine of a nurse in a superhero cape. The largely monochrome artwork, which is one square metre, was hung in collaboration with the hospital's managers in a foyer near the emergency department. Entitled 'Game Changer', it is the red cross on the nurse's uniform, while discarded Superman and Batman figures lie in a basket next to the boy. Also read: Banksy unveils first rat infested painting made inside his bathroom during lockdown "Thanks for all you're doing. I hope this brightens the place up a bit, even if it's only black and white," the enigmatic artist said in a note for hospital workers. The artwork which appeared at Southampton General Hospital will remain there until the autumn when it will be auctioned to raise money for the NHS. Paula Head, CEO of the University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust said: "Our hospital family has been directly impacted with the tragic loss of much loved and respected members of staff and friends. "The fact that Banksy has chosen us to recognise the outstanding contribution everyone in and with the NHS is making, in unprecedented times, is a huge honour." She added: "It will be really valued by everyone in the hospital, as people get a moment in their busy lives to pause, reflect and appreciate this piece of art. It will no doubt also be a massive boost to morale for everyone who works and is cared for at our hospital." The artwork is now on view to staff and patients on Level C of the Southampton General.

Street artist Banksy pays tribute to UK's health service

A study has revealed that nearly one in five children in the United States are not getting enough food to eat due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The Brookings Institution has found that more than 17 per cent of mothers with children less than 12 years of age reported that their kids were not eating enough due to lack of money.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/street-artist-banksy-pays-tribute-to-uks-health-service-297136" hreflang="en">Street artist Banksy pays tribute to UK's health service</a>

After recording over 10,000 cases for 4 days in a row, Russia on Thursday recorded another record jump in the number of cases. 11,231 new cases were recorded in 24 hours. Taking the total number of cases in the country to over 177,000.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/russia-reports-record-high-coronavirus-cases-infections-rise-in-moscow-297223" hreflang="en">Russia reports record high coronavirus cases; infections rise in Moscow</a>

Moscow has imposed new virus restrictions and ramped up testing.

Syria has postponed a parliamentary election for a second time to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

The Syrian government has recorded 44 cases, including three deaths in areas under its control, while the Kurdish administration in northeastern Syria has reported three cases, including one death.

The election scheduled for May 20 has now been pushed back to July 19.

Six members of the police force in Bangladesh have lost their lives due to COVID-19. Over a thousand are receiving treatment at the central police hospital in Dhaka. Another 1,260 are in quarantine at home and 1,089 are in isolation.

The police have promised to pay $12,000 to the families of any members who succumb to the disease. In addition to other government remuneration.

Firefighters have designed a disinfection station in northwestern Spain to contain the spread of the coronavirus. The portable station will make it easier for health staff to disinfect their protective equipment by simply standing under the structure. The station is made at a cost of under 300 euros.&nbsp;

A team of engineers in Indonesia have produced a compact ventilator in two months. Which will be sold at a fraction of the usual cost. The machines are the size of a mini-oven and have been assembled using household materials.

The team aims to sell the machines for less than $1,000 each which is way less than the typical $20,000 to $25,000. They hope that this will accelerate the fight against the virus and tackle the shortage of ventilators.

Priests in chile have been holding confession drive-throughs. Outside a catholic school in Santiago. Wearing face masks, the priests hear confessions while others wait for their turn in their cars.

A new Banksy artwork celebrates the contribution of health care workers. The mural by the anonymous artist shows a young boy choosing a nurse as his superhero -- over conventional superheroes like batman and spiderman. The painting was unveiled at the University Hospital Southampton in southern England on Wednesday.

A study has revealed that nearly one in five children in the United States are not getting enough food to eat due to the coronavirus outbreak. The Brookings Institution has found that more than 17 per cent of mothers with children less than 12 years of age reported that their kids were not eating enough due to lack of money.

A study has revealed that nearly one in five children in the United States are not getting enough food to eat due to the coronavirus outbreak. The Brookings Institution has found that more than 17 per cent of mothers with children less than 12 years of age reported that their kids were not eating enough due to lack of money. Also read: Street artist Banksy pays tribute to UK's health service After recording over 10,000 cases for 4 days in a row, Russia on Thursday recorded another record jump in the number of cases. 11,231 new cases were recorded in 24 hours. Taking the total number of cases in the country to over 177,000. Also read: Russia reports record high coronavirus cases; infections rise in Moscow Moscow has imposed new virus restrictions and ramped up testing. Syria has postponed a parliamentary election for a second time to contain the spread of the coronavirus. The Syrian government has recorded 44 cases, including three deaths in areas under its control, while the Kurdish administration in northeastern Syria has reported three cases, including one death. The election scheduled for May 20 has now been pushed back to July 19. Six members of the police force in Bangladesh have lost their lives due to COVID-19. Over a thousand are receiving treatment at the central police hospital in Dhaka. Another 1,260 are in quarantine at home and 1,089 are in isolation. The police have promised to pay $12,000 to the families of any members who succumb to the disease. In addition to other government remuneration. Firefighters have designed a disinfection station in northwestern Spain to contain the spread of the coronavirus. The portable station will make it easier for health staff to disinfect their protective equipment by simply standing under the structure. The station is made at a cost of under 300 euros. A team of engineers in Indonesia have produced a compact ventilator in two months. Which will be sold at a fraction of the usual cost. The machines are the size of a mini-oven and have been assembled using household materials. The team aims to sell the machines for less than $1,000 each which is way less than the typical $20,000 to $25,000. They hope that this will accelerate the fight against the virus and tackle the shortage of ventilators. Priests in chile have been holding confession drive-throughs. Outside a catholic school in Santiago. Wearing face masks, the priests hear confessions while others wait for their turn in their cars. A new Banksy artwork celebrates the contribution of health care workers. The mural by the anonymous artist shows a young boy choosing a nurse as his superhero -- over conventional superheroes like batman and spiderman. The painting was unveiled at the University Hospital Southampton in southern England on Wednesday.

Coronavirus tracker: Russia records highest cases in one day, Banksy Artwork thanks NHS!

Council and healthcare workers will be the first to try an NHS app that tracks the coronavirus outbreak.

They will use the contact-tracing app on Tuesday.&nbsp;If the trial is successful, the app will be rolled out across the whole of the UK by the middle of May, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/more-than-250000-die-of-coronavirus-worldwide-confirmed-recoveries-near-12-lakh-296685" hreflang="en">More than 250,000 die of coronavirus worldwide; confirmed recoveries near 12 lakh</a>

&nbsp;

<ul>
</ul>

It is part of the government's strategy for coming out of lockdown, which aims to have widespread testing and contact tracing in place to monitor and reduce any future outbreaks.

The new app will be published on Apple and Google's app stores. It works by using a Bluetooth connection.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/world-leaders-pledge-8-billion-to-fight-covid-19-but-us-steers-clear-296683" hreflang="en">World leaders pledge $8 billion to fight COVID-19 but US steers clear</a>

It records when two people who have the app are within a certain distance of each other for longer than a specified amount of time.

If one of those people later reports having symptoms, all the other app users they came into contact with over the last seven days will be alerted and told to self-isolate.

However, concerns have been raised over privacy, though ministers say the app has been designed with this "front of mind".

The app aims to quickly trace recent contacts of anyone who tests positive for the virus.

&nbsp;

Council and healthcare workers will be the first to try an NHS app that tracks the coronavirus outbreak. They will use the contact-tracing app on Tuesday. If the trial is successful, the app will be rolled out across the whole of the UK by the middle of May, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said.

Council and healthcare workers will be the first to try an NHS app that tracks the coronavirus outbreak. They will use the contact-tracing app on Tuesday. If the trial is successful, the app will be rolled out across the whole of the UK by the middle of May, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said. Also read: More than 250,000 die of coronavirus worldwide; confirmed recoveries near 12 lakh It is part of the government's strategy for coming out of lockdown, which aims to have widespread testing and contact tracing in place to monitor and reduce any future outbreaks. The new app will be published on Apple and Google's app stores. It works by using a Bluetooth connection. Also read: World leaders pledge $8 billion to fight COVID-19 but US steers clear It records when two people who have the app are within a certain distance of each other for longer than a specified amount of time. If one of those people later reports having symptoms, all the other app users they came into contact with over the last seven days will be alerted and told to self-isolate. However, concerns have been raised over privacy, though ministers say the app has been designed with this "front of mind". The app aims to quickly trace recent contacts of anyone who tests positive for the virus.

Council and healthcare workers first to try NHS app that tracks coronavirus

The United Kingdom on Monday reported 360 deaths due to <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/italy-to-reopen-factories-in-staged-end-to-europes-longest-coronavirus-lockdown-295135">coronavirus</a> in the last 24 hours which is the lowest daily total since last month.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/no-widespread-undetected-covid-19-community-transmission-we-have-won-that-battle-new-zealand-pm-jacinda-ardern-295147">Also Read:&nbsp;No widespread, undetected COVID-19 community transmission, says&nbsp;Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern</a>

The death toll due to COVID-19 in the UK rose to 21,092 as the country continued to battle the virus.

The total number of infected cases in the country has risen to 154, 038, according to Johns Hopkins coronavirus resource center's live tracker.

According to minister Matt Hancock, the latest death toll includes 82 staff from the National Health Service and 60 social care workers.

With UK's economy under the gun, British finance minister Rishi Sunak launched micro-loans of up to $62,000 for small businesses hit by coronavirus.

"Some businesses will not want to take on more debt which is why our focus has been on cash grants, tax cuts and tax deferrals -- but for others, loans will be part of the answer," Sunak said, adding,""So today we are announcing a new micro-loan scheme, providing a simple quick easy solution for those in need of smaller loans."

Britain's Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) watchdog had earlier warned that the COVID-19 pandemic could shrink the economy by 13 per cent this year.

Meanwhile, British PM Boris Johnson,55, reported back to work on Monday and said "we are now beginning to turn the tide".

On the lockdown, the British PM said: "I refuse to throw away all the effort and the sacrifice of the British people and to risk a second major outbreak, a huge loss of life and the overwhelming of the NHS."

Johnson who was struck by the virus had spent three nights in ICU but recovered sufficiently the past few weeks to come back to work even as British healthcare workers continue to complain about lack of masks and PPEs.

The United Kingdom on Monday reported 360 deaths due to coronavirus in the last 24 hours which is the lowest daily total since last month. Also Read: No widespread, undetected COVID-19 community transmission, says Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern The death toll due to COVID-19 in the UK rose to 21,092 as the country continued to battle the virus.

The United Kingdom on Monday reported 360 deaths due to coronavirus in the last 24 hours which is the lowest daily total since last month. Also Read: No widespread, undetected COVID-19 community transmission, says Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern The death toll due to COVID-19 in the UK rose to 21,092 as the country continued to battle the virus. The total number of infected cases in the country has risen to 154, 038, according to Johns Hopkins coronavirus resource center's live tracker. According to minister Matt Hancock, the latest death toll includes 82 staff from the National Health Service and 60 social care workers. With UK's economy under the gun, British finance minister Rishi Sunak launched micro-loans of up to $62,000 for small businesses hit by coronavirus. "Some businesses will not want to take on more debt which is why our focus has been on cash grants, tax cuts and tax deferrals -- but for others, loans will be part of the answer," Sunak said, adding,""So today we are announcing a new micro-loan scheme, providing a simple quick easy solution for those in need of smaller loans." Britain's Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) watchdog had earlier warned that the COVID-19 pandemic could shrink the economy by 13 per cent this year. Meanwhile, British PM Boris Johnson,55, reported back to work on Monday and said "we are now beginning to turn the tide". On the lockdown, the British PM said: "I refuse to throw away all the effort and the sacrifice of the British people and to risk a second major outbreak, a huge loss of life and the overwhelming of the NHS." Johnson who was struck by the virus had spent three nights in ICU but recovered sufficiently the past few weeks to come back to work even as British healthcare workers continue to complain about lack of masks and PPEs.

UK reports 360 more COVID-19 fatalities, NHS staff, social care workers among dead

A 99-year-old war veteran has&nbsp;raised more than £4 million&nbsp;for the National Health Service by walking in his&nbsp;back garden 100 times before his 100th birthday.

Captain Tom Moore, a second world war veteran man from Keighley in&nbsp;Yorkshire, had initially planned to raise £1,000 through the challenge.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/amid-coronavirus-enforced-lockdown-uk-to-face-sharpest-economic-downturn-in-centuries-292602" hreflang="en">Amid coronavirus-enforced lockdown, UK to face sharpest economic downturn in centuries</a>

He raised&nbsp;£70,000 in just 24 hours&nbsp;after launching his campaign on April 8 due to which&nbsp;he extended his fundraiser.

On Tuesday morning&nbsp;he hit the mark of £1 million&nbsp;followed&nbsp;by £2 million mark at 3.30 pm and passing the&nbsp;£3 million mark&nbsp;early in the evening.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/uk-coronavirus-death-toll-could-be-far-higher-than-previously-shown-292556" hreflang="en">UK coronavirus death toll could be far higher than previously shown</a>

Moore&nbsp;is walking 10 laps of the garden a day with the help of his walking aid, and had hoped to hit 100 laps in time for his birthday on 30 April.

But according to his daughter, Hannah, he is likely to reach his goal on Thursday.

''I really am pleased to be doing this and serving our nurses and our doctors and all our people in our national health service,'' Moore said.

The veteran’s wife was ill for several years and died in 2006, while Moore had been treated for a broken hip and skin cancer, so he continued to feel a close connection with the&nbsp;NHS, his daughter said.

A 99-year-old war veteran has raised more than £4 million for the National Health Service by walking in his back garden 100 times before his 100th birthday. Captain Tom Moore, a second world war veteran man from Keighley in Yorkshire, had initially planned to raise £1,000 through the challenge.

A 99-year-old war veteran has raised more than £4 million for the National Health Service by walking in his back garden 100 times before his 100th birthday. Captain Tom Moore, a second world war veteran man from Keighley in Yorkshire, had initially planned to raise £1,000 through the challenge. Also read: Amid coronavirus-enforced lockdown, UK to face sharpest economic downturn in centuries He raised £70,000 in just 24 hours after launching his campaign on April 8 due to which he extended his fundraiser. On Tuesday morning he hit the mark of £1 million followed by £2 million mark at 3.30 pm and passing the £3 million mark early in the evening. Also read: UK coronavirus death toll could be far higher than previously shown Moore is walking 10 laps of the garden a day with the help of his walking aid, and had hoped to hit 100 laps in time for his birthday on 30 April. But according to his daughter, Hannah, he is likely to reach his goal on Thursday. ''I really am pleased to be doing this and serving our nurses and our doctors and all our people in our national health service,'' Moore said. The veteran’s wife was ill for several years and died in 2006, while Moore had been treated for a broken hip and skin cancer, so he continued to feel a close connection with the NHS, his daughter said.

99-year-old war veteran raises £4 million for NHS by walking in his garden

Prime Minister Boris Johnson left intensive care on Thursday evening as he continues to recover from COVID-19, but he remains under close observation in hospital, his office said on Thursday.

Johnson, 55, was admitted to St Thomas' Hospital on Sunday evening with a persistent high temperature and cough, and was rushed to intensive care on Monday where he spent three nights receiving treatment.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/death-toll-from-covid-19-exceeds-90000-worldwide-291655" hreflang="en">Death toll from COVID-19 exceeds 90,000 worldwide</a>

"The prime minister has been moved this evening from intensive care back to the ward, where he will receive close monitoring during the early phase of his recovery," a spokesman from his office said in an emailed statement.

"He is in extremely good spirits."

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/imf-says-coronavirus-could-trigger-worst-fallout-since-the-1930s-291638" hreflang="en">IMF says coronavirus could trigger worst fallout since the 1930s</a>

Johnson was the first world leader to be hospitalised with the coronavirus, forcing him to hand control of the world's fifth-largest economy to foreign minister Dominic Raab just as Britain's outbreak approaches its most deadly peak.

Raab tweeted that the improvement in Johnson's condition was "the news we all wanted to hear". U.S. President Donald Trump described it as "great news".

Johnson's ongoing recovery prompted a small rise in the value of sterling against the dollar.

However, the government statement did not give any details on when Johnson may be able to resume leadership, and Raab - speaking before the latest announcement - had stressed the importance of allowing the prime minister to focus on recovery.

No further updates on Johnson's health were expected on Thursday.

Raab is deputising for Johnson during the most stringent shutdown in Britain's peacetime history.

Earlier he told a news conference it was too early to end the lockdown because Britain had not reached the peak of the outbreak yet.

The UK death toll in hospitals from coronavirus now stands at 7,978, a rise of 881 on the day but a smaller increase than the 938 seen in Wednesday's data.

With Johnson absent and the death toll still mounting, the British government is wrestling with two major issues - how to finance a vast increase in state spending to support the shuttered economy, and when to start easing lockdown measures.

With the economy facing potentially the worst hit since World War Two, the government said it had expanded its overdraft facility with the Bank of England.

The central bank has agreed temporarily to finance government borrowing in response to COVID-19 if funds cannot immediately be raised from debt markets, reviving a measure last widely used during the 2008 financial crisis.

The BoE said it was a short-term measure and both it and government said any borrowing from the Ways and Means facility - effectively the government's overdraft with the Bank - would be repaid by the end of the year.

The government has made pledges costing tens of billions of pounds to support businesses and workers hit by the virus. On Thursday, the government said an additional 1.2 million claims for welfare payments had been filed since March 16.

Raab said the peak of the virus outbreak had yet to be reached and that the government would not be able to say more about the duration of the lockdown until late next week, once experts have had chance to analyse data on how well it is working. It was introduced last month.

"The measures will have to stay in place until we've got the evidence that clearly shows we've moved beyond the peak," he said.

While Johnson's condition was improving, the likely length of his recovery remained unknown, with some political commentators saying there was a power vacuum in his absence.

Raab said on Thursday he had the power to make "necessary decisions" in the prime minister's absence and that government will continue to follow the strategy set out by Johnson. He said cabinet could take decisions collectively.

The United Kingdom is entering what scientists say is the deadliest phase of the outbreak, with deaths expected to continue to rise over the Easter weekend.

But in a sign the shutdown measures were working, health officials have said the number of coronavirus infections and hospital admissions had begun to show signs of flattening.

Police said they would be taking tougher action to do just that before the four-day Easter holiday weekend because many people were continuing to ignore the ban on social gatherings.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson left intensive care on Thursday evening as he continues to recover from COVID-19, but he remains under close observation in hospital, his office said on Thursday.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson left intensive care on Thursday evening as he continues to recover from COVID-19, but he remains under close observation in hospital, his office said on Thursday. Johnson, 55, was admitted to St Thomas' Hospital on Sunday evening with a persistent high temperature and cough, and was rushed to intensive care on Monday where he spent three nights receiving treatment. Also read: Death toll from COVID-19 exceeds 90,000 worldwide "The prime minister has been moved this evening from intensive care back to the ward, where he will receive close monitoring during the early phase of his recovery," a spokesman from his office said in an emailed statement. "He is in extremely good spirits." Also read: IMF says coronavirus could trigger worst fallout since the 1930s Johnson was the first world leader to be hospitalised with the coronavirus, forcing him to hand control of the world's fifth-largest economy to foreign minister Dominic Raab just as Britain's outbreak approaches its most deadly peak. Raab tweeted that the improvement in Johnson's condition was "the news we all wanted to hear". U.S. President Donald Trump described it as "great news". Johnson's ongoing recovery prompted a small rise in the value of sterling against the dollar. However, the government statement did not give any details on when Johnson may be able to resume leadership, and Raab - speaking before the latest announcement - had stressed the importance of allowing the prime minister to focus on recovery. No further updates on Johnson's health were expected on Thursday. Raab is deputising for Johnson during the most stringent shutdown in Britain's peacetime history. Earlier he told a news conference it was too early to end the lockdown because Britain had not reached the peak of the outbreak yet. The UK death toll in hospitals from coronavirus now stands at 7,978, a rise of 881 on the day but a smaller increase than the 938 seen in Wednesday's data. With Johnson absent and the death toll still mounting, the British government is wrestling with two major issues - how to finance a vast increase in state spending to support the shuttered economy, and when to start easing lockdown measures. With the economy facing potentially the worst hit since World War Two, the government said it had expanded its overdraft facility with the Bank of England. The central bank has agreed temporarily to finance government borrowing in response to COVID-19 if funds cannot immediately be raised from debt markets, reviving a measure last widely used during the 2008 financial crisis. The BoE said it was a short-term measure and both it and government said any borrowing from the Ways and Means facility - effectively the government's overdraft with the Bank - would be repaid by the end of the year. The government has made pledges costing tens of billions of pounds to support businesses and workers hit by the virus. On Thursday, the government said an additional 1.2 million claims for welfare payments had been filed since March 16. Raab said the peak of the virus outbreak had yet to be reached and that the government would not be able to say more about the duration of the lockdown until late next week, once experts have had chance to analyse data on how well it is working. It was introduced last month. "The measures will have to stay in place until we've got the evidence that clearly shows we've moved beyond the peak," he said. While Johnson's condition was improving, the likely length of his recovery remained unknown, with some political commentators saying there was a power vacuum in his absence. Raab said on Thursday he had the power to make "necessary decisions" in the prime minister's absence and that government will continue to follow the strategy set out by Johnson. He said cabinet could take decisions collectively. The United Kingdom is entering what scientists say is the deadliest phase of the outbreak, with deaths expected to continue to rise over the Easter weekend. But in a sign the shutdown measures were working, health officials have said the number of coronavirus infections and hospital admissions had begun to show signs of flattening. Police said they would be taking tougher action to do just that before the four-day Easter holiday weekend because many people were continuing to ignore the ban on social gatherings.

UK PM Johnson leaves intensive care, remains under observation

Architectural marvels of the world pay tribute to health workers

Three days after &#39;ransomware&#39; hit computers across the world, several computers in West Bengal&#39;s power distribution company offices were attacked by&nbsp;&#39;ransomware&#39;.

Officials from West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company (WBSEDCL) confirmed the development and said it has been detected at four offices in West Midnapore district affecting computers in four blocks of Belda, Datan, Narayngarh and Keshiyari.

Federal minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters that there was no serious impact on India, with only isolated incidents in parts of Kerala and Andhra Pradesh states, and the government was monitoring the situation.

However, West Bengal power minister Sovandev Chattopadhyay told Reuters that several billing centres of the state&#39;s Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (WBSEDCL) had been infected by the ransomware worm.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/science-tech/wannacry-what-is-ransomware-and-how-to-protect-yourself-from-it-15608">Also Read:&nbsp;WannaCry: What is ransomware and how to protect yourself from it</a>

The &#39;WannaCry&#39; ransomware is also suspected to have struck Kerala&#39;s Wayanad panchayat office. The authorities claim that the files could not be opened and there is a message demanding $300 dollars be put in the account within three days.

Aruna Sundararajan, secretary of India&#39;s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, told Reuters the government was constantly monitoring the situation and that a few stand-alone computers of a police department were &quot;back in action&quot; after being infected over the weekend.

India&#39;s National Informatics Centre, which builds and manages almost all government websites, and the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing, a premier research institute that has built supercomputers, have actively installed patches to immunise their Windows systems, Sundararajan added.

India&#39;s cyber security agency have alerted Internet users against damaging activities of &#39;WannaCry&#39; which critically infects workstations and locks them through remote access. A hacker sitting in a different country can easily operate on a string of computers, infecting it and easily disabling it.

In India, &#39;ransomware&#39; is made worse because many computers might still be on Windows XP, for which Microsoft had not issued security updates for some time. However, after the cyber attack, Microsoft issued a security patch to Windows XP to fix the security vulnerability as computers worldwide were affected by the virus.

Meanwhile, in Gujarat, the state government is now upgrading its computer systems with anti-virus software and updating the Microsoft OS as well.

The ransomware virus had struck Britain&#39;s national health service(NHS) on Friday evening shutting down computer services in at at least 16 hospitals initially, severely disrupting emergency services which had to be suspended.&nbsp;

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/science-tech/infographic-how-big-a-problem-is-ransomware-15613">Also Read:&nbsp;Infographic: How big a problem is </a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/science-tech/infographic-how-big-a-problem-is-ransomware-15613">ransomware</a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/science-tech/infographic-how-big-a-problem-is-ransomware-15613">?</a>

(WION with Agency&nbsp;inputs)

India's cyber security agency have alerted Internet users against damaging activities of 'WannaCry'

Three days after 'ransomware' hit computers across the world, several computers in West Bengal's power distribution company offices were attacked by 'ransomware'. Officials from West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company (WBSEDCL) confirmed the development and said it has been detected at four offices in West Midnapore district affecting computers in four blocks of Belda, Datan, Narayngarh and Keshiyari. Federal minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters that there was no serious impact on India, with only isolated incidents in parts of Kerala and Andhra Pradesh states, and the government was monitoring the situation. However, West Bengal power minister Sovandev Chattopadhyay told Reuters that several billing centres of the state's Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (WBSEDCL) had been infected by the ransomware worm. Also Read: WannaCry: What is ransomware and how to protect yourself from it The 'WannaCry' ransomware is also suspected to have struck Kerala's Wayanad panchayat office. The authorities claim that the files could not be opened and there is a message demanding $300 dollars be put in the account within three days. Aruna Sundararajan, secretary of India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, told Reuters the government was constantly monitoring the situation and that a few stand-alone computers of a police department were "back in action" after being infected over the weekend. India's National Informatics Centre, which builds and manages almost all government websites, and the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing, a premier research institute that has built supercomputers, have actively installed patches to immunise their Windows systems, Sundararajan added. India's cyber security agency have alerted Internet users against damaging activities of 'WannaCry' which critically infects workstations and locks them through remote access. A hacker sitting in a different country can easily operate on a string of computers, infecting it and easily disabling it. In India, 'ransomware' is made worse because many computers might still be on Windows XP, for which Microsoft had not issued security updates for some time. However, after the cyber attack, Microsoft issued a security patch to Windows XP to fix the security vulnerability as computers worldwide were affected by the virus. Meanwhile, in Gujarat, the state government is now upgrading its computer systems with anti-virus software and updating the Microsoft OS as well. The ransomware virus had struck Britain's national health service(NHS) on Friday evening shutting down computer services in at at least 16 hospitals initially, severely disrupting emergency services which had to be suspended. Also Read: Infographic: How big a problem is ransomware? (WION with Agency inputs)

'Ransomware' hits West Bengal state electricity company, Kerala panchayat office

A fast-moving wave of cyberattacks swept the globe Friday, apparently exploiting a flaw exposed in documents leaked from the US National Security Agency.

The attacks -- which experts said affected dozens of countries -- used a technique known as ransomware that locks users&#39; files unless they pay the attackers a designated sum in the virtual currency Bitcoin.

Affected by the onslaught were computer networks at hospitals in Britain, Russia&#39;s interior ministry, the Spanish telecom giant Telefonica and the US delivery firm FedEx and many other organizations.

Britain&#39;s National Cyber Security Centre and its National Crime Agency were looking into the UK incidents, which disrupted care at National Health Service facilities.

&quot;This is not targeted at the NHS, it&#39;s an international attack and a number of countries and organizations have been affected,&quot; British Prime Minister Theresa May said.

Russia&#39;s interior ministry said that some of its computers had been hit by a &quot;virus attack&quot; and that efforts were underway to destroy it.

The US Department of Homeland Security&#39;s computer emergency response team said it was aware of ransomware infections &quot;in several countries around the world.&quot;

Jakub Kroustek of the security firm Avast said in a blog post update around 2000 GMT, &nbsp;&quot;We are now seeing more than 75,000 detections... in 99 countries.&quot;

Kaspersky researcher Costin Raiu cited 45,000 attacks in 74 countries, saying that the malware, a self-replicating &quot;worm,&quot; was spreading quickly.

In a statement, Kaspersky Labs said it was &quot;trying to determine whether it is possible to decrypt data locked in the attack -- with the aim of developing a decryption tool as soon as possible.&quot;

&#39;Unequivocally scary&#39; 
&quot;It&#39;s unequivocally scary,&quot; said John Dickson of the Denim Group, a US security consultancy.

Dickson said the malware itself, which exploits a flaw in Windows, was not new but that adding the ransomware &quot;payload&quot; made it especially dangerous.

&quot;I&#39;m watching how far this propagates and when governments get involved,&quot; he said.

The malware&#39;s name is WCry, but analysts were also using variants such as WannaCry.

Forcepoint Security Labs said in a statement that the attack had &quot;global scope&quot; and was affecting networks in Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy and Mexico.

In the United States, FedEx acknowledged it had been hit by malware and was &quot;implementing remediation steps as quickly as possible.&quot;

Britain&#39;s National Health Service declared a &quot;major incident&quot; after the attack, which forced some hospitals to divert ambulances and scrap operations.

Message to users: &#39;Oops&#39; 
Pictures posted on social media showed screens of NHS computers with images demanding payment of $300 (275 euros) in Bitcoin, saying: &quot;Ooops, your files have been encrypted!&quot;

It demands payment in three days or the price is doubled, and if none is received in seven days, the files will be deleted, according to the screen message.

A hacking group called Shadow Brokers released the malware in April claiming to have discovered the flaw from the NSA, Kaspersky said.

Although Microsoft released a security patch for the flaw earlier this year, many systems have yet to be updated, researchers said.

&quot;Unlike most other attacks, this malware is spreading primarily by direct infection from machine to machine on local networks, rather than purely by email,&quot; Lance Cottrell, chief scientist at the US technology group Ntrepid.&nbsp;

&quot;The ransomware can spread without anyone opening an email or clicking on a link.&quot;

The sort of ransom demands have been growing precedent at medical facilities. In February 2016, a Los Angeles hospital, the Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center, paid $17,000 in Bitcoin to hackers who took control of its computers for more than a week.

&quot;Ransomware becomes particularly nasty when it infects institutions like hospitals, where it can put people&#39;s lives in danger,&quot; said Kroustek, the Avast analyst.

A spokesman for Barts Health NHS Trust in London said it was experiencing &quot;major IT disruption&quot; and delays at all four of its hospitals.

&quot;We have activated our major incident plan to make sure we can maintain the safety and welfare of patients,&quot; the spokesman said. &quot;Ambulances are being diverted to neighboring hospitals.&quot;

Two employees at St Bartholomew&#39;s Hospital, which is part of Barts Health, told AFP that all the computers in the hospital had been turned off.

Caroline Brennan, 41, went to the hospital to see her brother, who had open heart surgery.

&quot;They told us there was a problem. They said the system was down and that they cannot transfer anyone till the computer system was back up,&quot; Brennan said.

Some said the attacks highlighted the need for agencies like the NSA to disclose security flaws so they can be patched.

&quot;These attacks underscore the fact that vulnerabilities will be exploited not just by our security agencies, but by hackers and criminals around the world,&quot; said Patrick Toomey of the American Civil Liberties Union.

(AFP) 
&nbsp;

The ransomware locked users' files unless they paid up, in Bitcoin.

A fast-moving wave of cyberattacks swept the globe Friday, apparently exploiting a flaw exposed in documents leaked from the US National Security Agency. The attacks -- which experts said affected dozens of countries -- used a technique known as ransomware that locks users' files unless they pay the attackers a designated sum in the virtual currency Bitcoin. Affected by the onslaught were computer networks at hospitals in Britain, Russia's interior ministry, the Spanish telecom giant Telefonica and the US delivery firm FedEx and many other organizations. Britain's National Cyber Security Centre and its National Crime Agency were looking into the UK incidents, which disrupted care at National Health Service facilities. "This is not targeted at the NHS, it's an international attack and a number of countries and organizations have been affected," British Prime Minister Theresa May said. Russia's interior ministry said that some of its computers had been hit by a "virus attack" and that efforts were underway to destroy it. The US Department of Homeland Security's computer emergency response team said it was aware of ransomware infections "in several countries around the world." Jakub Kroustek of the security firm Avast said in a blog post update around 2000 GMT, "We are now seeing more than 75,000 detections... in 99 countries." Kaspersky researcher Costin Raiu cited 45,000 attacks in 74 countries, saying that the malware, a self-replicating "worm," was spreading quickly. In a statement, Kaspersky Labs said it was "trying to determine whether it is possible to decrypt data locked in the attack -- with the aim of developing a decryption tool as soon as possible." 'Unequivocally scary' "It's unequivocally scary," said John Dickson of the Denim Group, a US security consultancy. Dickson said the malware itself, which exploits a flaw in Windows, was not new but that adding the ransomware "payload" made it especially dangerous. "I'm watching how far this propagates and when governments get involved," he said. The malware's name is WCry, but analysts were also using variants such as WannaCry. Forcepoint Security Labs said in a statement that the attack had "global scope" and was affecting networks in Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy and Mexico. In the United States, FedEx acknowledged it had been hit by malware and was "implementing remediation steps as quickly as possible." Britain's National Health Service declared a "major incident" after the attack, which forced some hospitals to divert ambulances and scrap operations. Message to users: 'Oops' Pictures posted on social media showed screens of NHS computers with images demanding payment of $300 (275 euros) in Bitcoin, saying: "Ooops, your files have been encrypted!" It demands payment in three days or the price is doubled, and if none is received in seven days, the files will be deleted, according to the screen message. A hacking group called Shadow Brokers released the malware in April claiming to have discovered the flaw from the NSA, Kaspersky said. Although Microsoft released a security patch for the flaw earlier this year, many systems have yet to be updated, researchers said. "Unlike most other attacks, this malware is spreading primarily by direct infection from machine to machine on local networks, rather than purely by email," Lance Cottrell, chief scientist at the US technology group Ntrepid. "The ransomware can spread without anyone opening an email or clicking on a link." The sort of ransom demands have been growing precedent at medical facilities. In February 2016, a Los Angeles hospital, the Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center, paid $17,000 in Bitcoin to hackers who took control of its computers for more than a week. "Ransomware becomes particularly nasty when it infects institutions like hospitals, where it can put people's lives in danger," said Kroustek, the Avast analyst. A spokesman for Barts Health NHS Trust in London said it was experiencing "major IT disruption" and delays at all four of its hospitals. "We have activated our major incident plan to make sure we can maintain the safety and welfare of patients," the spokesman said. "Ambulances are being diverted to neighboring hospitals." Two employees at St Bartholomew's Hospital, which is part of Barts Health, told AFP that all the computers in the hospital had been turned off. Caroline Brennan, 41, went to the hospital to see her brother, who had open heart surgery. "They told us there was a problem. They said the system was down and that they cannot transfer anyone till the computer system was back up," Brennan said. Some said the attacks highlighted the need for agencies like the NSA to disclose security flaws so they can be patched. "These attacks underscore the fact that vulnerabilities will be exploited not just by our security agencies, but by hackers and criminals around the world," said Patrick Toomey of the American Civil Liberties Union. (AFP)

Fast-moving cyberattacks wreak havoc worldwide

A huge cyber attack leveraging hacking tools widely believed to have been developed by the US&nbsp;National Security Agency brought disruption to Britain&#39;s health system on Friday and infected dozens of other countries around the world, security researchers said.

British based cyber researcher Chris Doman of AlienVault said the ransomware &quot;looks to be targeting a wide range of countries&quot;, with preliminary evidence of infections from 14 countries so far, also including Russia, Indonesia and Ukraine.

Hospitals and doctors&#39; surgeries in parts of England were forced to turn away patients and cancel appointments. People in affected areas were being advised to seek medical care only in emergencies.

&quot;We are experiencing a major IT disruption and there are delays at all of our hospitals,&quot; said the Barts Health group, which manages major London hospitals. Routine appointments had been cancelled and ambulances were being diverted to neighbouring hospitals.

Around 1,000 computers at the Russian Interior Ministry have been affected by the huge cyberattack, a spokeswoman for the ministry told Interfax.

A source familiar with the matter told Interfax that the ministry did not lose any information in the attacks.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/telefonica-among-spanish-firms-hit-by-ransomware-attack-15514">Telefonica among Spanish firms hit by &#39;ransomware&#39; attack</a>

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
We are aware the NHS has experienced a major cyber attack, we are working with law enforcement and our advice will follow shortly!
&mdash; Action Fraud (@actionfrauduk) <a href="https://twitter.com/actionfrauduk/status/863042954683981825">May 12, 2017</a></blockquote>
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A number of hospitals have been hit by a large-scale cyber attack, NHS England has confirmed. (Agencies)
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FedEx said it was experiencing issues with some of its Microsoft Corp Windows systems in relation to a global cyber attack.

&quot;Like many other companies, FedEx is experiencing interference with some of our Windows-based systems caused by malware,&quot; a spokeswoman said in a statement. &quot;We are implementing remediation steps as quickly as possible.&quot;

A number of Scottish health boards have been affected by potential cyber incidents similar to those in England, Scotland&#39;s devolved government said on Friday.

The government was working to &quot;isolate systems which have been affected by a Ransomware cyber-attack of the kind which has also affected health trusts in NHS England,&quot; it said in a statement, adding that First Minister Nicola Sturgeon would chair an emergency meeting shortly.

&quot;We are taking immediate steps to minimise the impact of the attack across NHS Scotland and restrict any disruption,&quot; it added.

A spokesman for British Prime Minister Theresa May said she was being kept informed of the incident, which came less than four weeks before a parliamentary election in which national security and the management of the state-run National Health Service (NHS) are important campaign themes.

Prime Minister Theresa May said&nbsp;the attack is part of a wider &quot;international attack&quot;.

&quot;We are aware that a number of NHS organisations have reported that they have suffered from a ransomware attack. This is not targeted at the NHS, it&#39;s an international attack and a number of countries and organisations have been affected,&quot; May said, referring to the country&#39;s National Health Service.

A reporter from the Health Service Journal said the attack had affected X-ray imaging systems, pathology test results, phone systems and patient administration systems.

(WION with agency inputs)

British based cyber researcher Chris Doman of AlienVault said the ransomware "looks to be targeting a wide range of countries", with preliminary evidence of infections from 14 countries so far

A huge cyber attack leveraging hacking tools widely believed to have been developed by the US National Security Agency brought disruption to Britain's health system on Friday and infected dozens of other countries around the world, security researchers said. British based cyber researcher Chris Doman of AlienVault said the ransomware "looks to be targeting a wide range of countries", with preliminary evidence of infections from 14 countries so far, also including Russia, Indonesia and Ukraine. Hospitals and doctors' surgeries in parts of England were forced to turn away patients and cancel appointments. People in affected areas were being advised to seek medical care only in emergencies. "We are experiencing a major IT disruption and there are delays at all of our hospitals," said the Barts Health group, which manages major London hospitals. Routine appointments had been cancelled and ambulances were being diverted to neighbouring hospitals. Around 1,000 computers at the Russian Interior Ministry have been affected by the huge cyberattack, a spokeswoman for the ministry told Interfax. A source familiar with the matter told Interfax that the ministry did not lose any information in the attacks. Also read: Telefonica among Spanish firms hit by 'ransomware' attack We are aware the NHS has experienced a major cyber attack, we are working with law enforcement and our advice will follow shortly! — Action Fraud (@actionfrauduk) May 12, 2017 × A number of hospitals have been hit by a large-scale cyber attack, NHS England has confirmed. (Agencies) × FedEx said it was experiencing issues with some of its Microsoft Corp Windows systems in relation to a global cyber attack. "Like many other companies, FedEx is experiencing interference with some of our Windows-based systems caused by malware," a spokeswoman said in a statement. "We are implementing remediation steps as quickly as possible." A number of Scottish health boards have been affected by potential cyber incidents similar to those in England, Scotland's devolved government said on Friday. The government was working to "isolate systems which have been affected by a Ransomware cyber-attack of the kind which has also affected health trusts in NHS England," it said in a statement, adding that First Minister Nicola Sturgeon would chair an emergency meeting shortly. "We are taking immediate steps to minimise the impact of the attack across NHS Scotland and restrict any disruption," it added. A spokesman for British Prime Minister Theresa May said she was being kept informed of the incident, which came less than four weeks before a parliamentary election in which national security and the management of the state-run National Health Service (NHS) are important campaign themes. Prime Minister Theresa May said the attack is part of a wider "international attack". "We are aware that a number of NHS organisations have reported that they have suffered from a ransomware attack. This is not targeted at the NHS, it's an international attack and a number of countries and organisations have been affected," May said, referring to the country's National Health Service. A reporter from the Health Service Journal said the attack had affected X-ray imaging systems, pathology test results, phone systems and patient administration systems. (WION with agency inputs)

Multiple countries reporting ransomware cyber attacks

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