The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and the ChemRar Group are to deliver the doses of avifavir, approved in Russia as a COVID-19 therapeutic, to Russian hospitals. Avifavir has received a registration certificate from the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, making it the first favipiravir-based drug approved for treating COVID-19.The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) – Russia’s sovereign wealth fund – and the ChemRar Group have announced they will deliver 60,000 courses of avifavir to Russian hospitals in June.
Avifavir, originally developed to combat severe forms of influenza, demonstrated the ability to disrupt the reproductive mechanisms of COVID-19 in clinical trials. It has also been approved for use against influenza in Japan since 2014, so its safety is well established and studied.
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The final stage of avifavir clinical trials involving 330 patients is ongoing at 35 medical centres across Russia.
Brussels Airport selected for COVID-19
monitoring programme
Now part of EASA’s COVID-19 programme, Brussels Airport has introduced a wide range of new health measures in order to keep passengers safe. Brussels Airport (BRU) has been selected as one of the pilot airports by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for implementing operational recommendations linked to COVID-19.
EASA has set up a monitoring programme of its recommendations in which several airports set the example in implementing and following certain measures and, thus, helping to develop new best practices in the face of COVID-19. The pioneering airports commit to abiding by the EASA guidelines that are drawn up in consultation with both European aviation and public health authorities (including the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC)) and to look for practical solutions for the aviation industry in this unprecedented crisis.
Brussels Airport is ready for the safe restart of commercial aviation. The health measures implemented at the airport are in line with EASA’s recommendations and the airport continues to work on improving sanitary safety, including looking for new technologies and measures that can offer a solution during this unprecedented COVID-19 crisis.
London’s buses to return to front-door boarding
To further ensure the safety of customers and bus drivers, new limits to the number of customers on board at any one time will also be introduced.
London’s buses to return to front-door boarding
London’s buses are to begin returning to front-door boarding, with customers required to touch in with Oyster, contactless and concessionary cards, Transport for London (TfL) has confirmed.
The move follows work by a multidisciplinary team from UCL’s Centre for Transport Studies and Department of Civil, Environmental & Geomatic Engineering to assess the risks for drivers in their cabs and close work with bus operators and the UNITE union to develop improvements to the screens beside bus drivers.
The UCL analysis found that the steps that TfL has taken – by adding a film layer to screens and sealing off gaps around the screen as a whole, including around the Oyster reader – substantially reduces the risk to drivers of contracting coronavirus from customers.
This is on top of the cleaning regime, which sees cabs and handrails, along with other regularly touched areas, treated with hospital-grade anti-viral disinfectant.
Front-door London bus boarding will therefore be reinstated on further routes as soon as possible, and it is anticipated that all London buses will have returned to front-door boarding by mid-June.
Reverting to pre-pandemic arrangements aims to improve social distancing for customers entering or exiting the bus by reinstating the traditional flows on and off the bus, and while queuing at stops or stations, as well as giving TfL accurate information to ensure it is providing the service needed to enable safe travel for all.
To further ensure the safety of customers and bus drivers, new limits to the number of customers on board at any one time will be introduced. This will help customers to observe the national guidance to maintain a two-metre distance between them and others wherever possible.
