Five things you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic this Thursday morning.

Here are five things you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic this Thursday morning. We’ll have another update for you this evening.
Polls have opened on what is the Britain’s biggest voting day since the 2019 general election. Many of the elections – on what has been dubbed “Super Thursday” – were due to be held last year but the pandemic forced their delay, meaning that more than usual are taking place this time. Elections for the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Senedd, and 143 councils and 13 mayors in England are happening. A Westminster by-election is also taking place in Hartlepool.
The US has thrown its support behind an initiative at the World Trade Organization to waive intellectual property protections for coronavirus vaccines. India and South Africa put forward the proposal to set aside patents on vaccines six months ago, arguing it would increase production around the world. US Trade Representative Katherine Tai said “extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures”. But pharmaceutical companies insist patents are not the primary obstacle, and cautioned that the move could stifle innovation.
Almost all of 50 of the UK’s biggest employers questioned by the BBC have said they do not plan to bring staff back to the office full-time. Some 43 of the firms said they would embrace a mix of home and office working, with staff encouraged to work from home two to three days a week. Four firms said they were keeping the idea of hybrid working, working from home some of the time, under review. Currently, people who can work from home are still advised to do so.
media captionTara Tomes of East Village PR firm in Birmingham explains why she’s ditching the office
As the pandemic starts to ease, Dr Dan Gearon and many other doctors across the country are voicing the need to have better mental health services for medics. He created the charity, You Okay, Doc? after his cousin Liz, who was an anaesthetist at King’s College London, took her own life in 2016.
media captionAs the pandemic eases, doctors are left to deal with the impact it has had on their mental health.
Like many people, Chloe Dickenson’s travel plans ground to a halt last year when the world was thrown into lockdown. A so-called “digital nomad”, the 22-year-old was living and working from her laptop overseas. With improved wi-fi and flexible workspaces across the globe, digital nomadism has boomed over recent years. And while the global travel restrictions have temporarily grounded many such nomads, longer term the movement is expected to grow much further. Read more here.
image copyright Chloe Dickenson
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Hand sanitiser, plastic screens and one-way systems are some of the things you can expect at polling stations today. Things are a bit different this year so find out what it will be like when you go to vote – try to remember to take a pen or pencil for hygiene reasons (some should be available in the polling station, for anyone who forgets).
Find further information, advice and guides on our coronavirus page.
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