welcome to The Independents live blog on the Covid-19 pandemic from Saturday 29 January.

the Pennsylvania The news agency provided an update of Covid-19 case rates for every UK local authority for the seven days to January 24.

It found that of the 377 local areas, 226 (60%) saw a week-over-week increase in rates, 150 (40%) a decrease, while one remained unchanged.

The rate is expressed as the number of new cases per 100,000 inhabitants.

Newry, Morne & Down in Northern Ireland continues to have the highest rate in the UK, with 3,667 (2,018.5 per 100,000 population) new cases that week.

Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon ​​in Northern Ireland rank second, dropping from 1,422.0 to 1,984.5, with 4,311 new cases.

Lisburn & Castlereagh, also in Northern Ireland, has the third highest rate, rising from 1,196.3 to 1,841.6, with 2,697 new cases.

Peterborough in Cambridgeshire has the highest rate in England (1,757.9, compared to 1,606.4), Newport for Wales (889.8, compared to 683.3) and Aberdeen City for Scotland ( 581.5, versus 601.6).

Some people with long-term Covid my have developed lung abnormalities, a UK study has found.

The researchers used xenon gas to detect possible lung damage in patients who were not admitted to hospital but were experiencing periods of shortness of breath after contracting the virus.

Fergus Gleeson, the study’s lead researcher and professor of radiology at the University of Oxford, said: “What we’ve found now is that although their CT scans are normal, xenon MRIs have detected similar abnormalities in patients with long-standing Covid. .

“These patients were never hospitalized and had no serious acute illness when they had their Covid-19 infection.

“Some of them have been experiencing their symptoms for a year after contracting Covid-19.

He added: “Now there are important questions to answer. For example, how many patients with long Covid will have abnormal scans, the significance of the abnormality we detected, the cause of the abnormality and its longer term consequences.

“Once we understand the mechanisms behind these symptoms, we will be in a better position to develop more effective treatments.”

Ukraine reported a daily record of 37,351 new Covid-19 infections on Saturday, the health ministry said.

The previous record of 34,408 cases was a day earlier.

Ministry data showed 149 new linked deaths, bringing the total to more than 100,000.

The number of infections in Ukraine in the pandemic stands at 4.02 million, with 100,031 deaths.

A total of 36 new coronavirus infections have been detected among Olympic Games-related personnel, the organizing committee announced in Beijing today.

According to 2022 Winter Games officials, 19 of those cases were either athletes or team officials who tested positive after arriving at the airport on Friday.

A notice on the official Games website said 29 were found among new arrivals at the airport, while seven were already among those already in the ‘closed loop’ bubble that separates staff from the public event.

South Korea reported another daily record of 17,542 new coronavirus cases on Friday, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said on Saturday.

It comes after posting 16,096 the day before, amid the spread of the highly infectious Omicron variant.

Joni Mitchell says she will remove her music from Spotify after accusing the platform of allowing ‘irresponsible people’ to spread misinformation about Covid that is ‘costing people’s lives’.

It comes shortly after Neil Young pulled his own catalog from Spotify, reportedly over his hosting of The Joe Rogan Experience podcast – which is known for airing skeptical views on vaccines.

“I have decided to remove all my music from Spotify,” Mitchell said in a statement on his official website.

“Irresponsible people are spreading lies that are costing people’s lives.

“I stand in solidarity with Neil Young and the global scientific and medical communities on this issue.”

Russia today joins Ukraine and South Korea in reporting a daily record for new Covid-19 infections.

Coronavirus cases topped 100,000 on Saturday for the first time since the start of the pandemic, Russia’s coronavirus task force announced today.

Russia has confirmed 113,122 new daily infections, setting a record for a ninth consecutive day, which authorities blame on the spread of the Omicron variant.

Another 668 Covid-related deaths have also been confirmed in the past 24 hours.

Standing outside the National Covid Memorial Wall in Westminster, central London, the widow of a Met Police officer who died of Covid-19 says he would be ‘horrified’ by the force’s handling of the party survey No. 10.

Fran Hall, from the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice campaign group, said: “He would have been horrified to see what is happening now, how the police – the Met in particular – are seen as complicit in covering up the behavior of politicians, which leaves us, as bereaved, feeling like we don’t matter.