This week’s coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic from Research Professional News
Funding Insight: As the country was struggling with the first wave of the coronavirus at the end of March, UK Research and Innovation launched a multidisciplinary rolling call for ideas to address the pandemic. The funder has now said that this will start winding down at the end of the year.
Opportunity profile: Last orders for UKRI’s Covid-19 rolling call
Europe
The EU research, innovation and education commissioner Mariya Gabriel has started participating in virtual work appointments again, following a week in which her appointments were cancelled after she announced testing positive for Covid-19 on 10 October.
An EU-funded research project has received the green light from Italy’s pharmaceuticals regulator to start a clinical trial of a possible treatment for Covid-19.
The European Commission has a plan to bring experts on Covid-19 from different European countries together to facilitate better sharing of information on how to combat the pandemic, as hospitalisation rates across the EU soar in the wake of a second wave of cases.
Students across France have been ordered to stay at home for a month rather than attend classes, following the beginning of a second nationwide ‘lockdown’ intended to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic.
UK
UK Research and Innovation has announced an £88 million investment to modernise and expand research laboratories and facilities.
The Covid-19 pandemic could lead to a shortfall of nearly £8 billion in funding for medical research in the UK over the next few years, a leading think tank has warned ahead of the government’s one-year spending review.
The University and College Union is launching a legal challenge over the government’s decision to reject the Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies’ advice to move most teaching online to slow the spread of Covid-19. And staff at Manchester Metropolitan University could be asked to strike after university leaders told lecturers to prepare for in-person teaching, despite the city entering the highest level of Covid-19 restrictions.
New Zealand
New Zealand’s pandemic plan lacked features that could have helped the country avoid its March lockdown, a study has found.
Africa
South Africa government officials say they have received reports of coronavirus outbreaks at the country’s universities.
Worldwide
The United Nations’ health, science and human rights agencies have declared access to science a fundamental right as they accelerate work on open science due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
An interdisciplinary collaboration called i-sense, led by researchers at University College London, has developed a data visualisation dashboard for Covid-19 that collates data from the Office for National Statistics, Public Health England and the NHS in one place.