New UK Covid Variant ‘Omicron XE’ Most Transmissible Yet

Bloomberg: China Covid Variants And Omicron XE In U.K. Put Fresh Focus On Virus Mutations
The disclosure of new Covid variants emerging in China and the rise of a potentially more transmissible strain in the U.K. has recast the spotlight on the ongoing risk of the virus, even as health experts say there’s no reason to panic. The World Health Organization said a hybrid of two omicron strains -- BA.1 and BA.2 -- that was first detected in the U.K. and dubbed XE could be the most transmissible variant yet. It is estimated to spread 10% more easily than BA.2, which itself was more transmissible than the original omicron famous for its ease of penetration. (Lew and Fay Cortez, 4/4)

ABC News: New COVID-19 Variant XE Identified: What To Know And Why Experts Say Not To Be Alarmed 
A new COVID-19 variant has been identified in the United Kingdom, but experts say there is no cause for alarm yet. The variant, known as XE, is a combination of the original BA.1 omicron variant and its subvariant BA.2. This type of combination is known as a "recombinant" variant. Public health experts say that recombinant variants are very common and often crop up and disappear on their own. (Kekatos, 4/5)

The Guardian: UK Covid Symptoms List Expanded With Nine More Signs Of Illness 
The official list of Covid-19 symptoms on the NHS has been extended to cover nine new symptoms, including sore throat, fatigue and headache. They join the three symptoms of a fever, a new and persistent cough, and a loss or change in taste or smell, according to nhs.uk. (Hall, 4/4)

AP: 10,000 Health Workers Sent To Help Control Shanghai Outbreak
China has sent more than 10,000 health workers from around the country to Shanghai, including 2,000 from the military, as it struggles to stamp out a rapidly spreading outbreak in its largest city under its zero-COVID strategy. Shanghai was conducting a mass testing of its 25 million residents Monday as what was announced as a two-phase lockdown entered its second week. Most of eastern Shanghai, which was supposed to re-open last Friday, remained locked down along with the western half of the city. (Moritsugu, 4/5)

Also —

USA Today: Who Died From COVID? Poor People Got Sick More Than Richer Americans
People living in poorer counties died of COVID-19 at nearly two times the rate of people in wealthier counties, casting more light on the "shameful'' impact of ongoing health and economic disparities, according to a report released Monday by a national civil rights group and research organizations. The report comes as the number of COVID-19 related deaths in the United States approaches nearly 1 million. “The finding of this report reveals neglect and sometimes intentional decisions to not focus on the poor,’’ said William Barber, II, co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign, a national program focusing on social justice issues that commissioned the report. “There hasn't been any systemic or systematic assessment of the impact of COVID-19 on the poor and low-income communities.’’ (Barfield Berry, 4/4)

In other global developments —

AP: WHO Says 99% Of World's Population Breathes Poor-Quality Air 
The U.N. health agency says nearly everybody in the world breathes air that doesn’t meet its standards for air quality, calling for more action to reduce fossil-fuel use, which generates pollutants that cause respiratory and blood-flow problems and lead to millions of preventable deaths each year. The World Health Organization, about six months after tightening its guidelines on air quality, on Monday issued an update to its database on air quality that draws on information from a growing number of cities, towns and villages across the globe — now over 6,000 municipalities. (Keaten, 4/4)

Bloomberg: Over 80 LGBTQ Groups Pull Out Of UK Conference After Conversion Therapy Backlash 
More than 80 organizations pulled out of the U.K. government’s international LGBTQ conference due to be held in June after Boris Johnson dropped a plan to ban so-called conversion therapy for transgender people. The government is wrong to “actively exclude” trans people from the ban, the LGBT+ Consortium, an umbrella body for groups in the U.K., said in a statement on its website on Monday. “We refuse to stand by and let this happen.” Johnson’s office sparked a widespread backlash last week when it said it would drop a key Conservative Party pledge to legally outlaw conversion therapy, the practice of trying to change a person’s sexual orientation from homosexual or bisexual to heterosexual. (Ashton, 4/4)

The Texas Tribune: Woman Fleeing Death Threats Ejected From U.S. Under Rule Biden Is Ending 
After Marleny demanded police in her home village in southern Guatemala arrest the men who had killed her father and two brothers, she said she got an anonymous note at her house, telling her if she didn’t stay quiet, she would join the men in her family. The 32-year-old housekeeper said she was terrified, and told her boss — whose home she had cleaned for two years — about the death threat. The woman loaned Marleny $4,000 so she could flee to the United States, Marleny said. The money was only enough to take one of her two sons with her, so she left her 18-year-old with his grandmother, telling him she would send for him when she could get more money. (Garcia, 4/5)

AP: In War-Torn Syria, A Charity Offers Hope To Kids With Cancer 
At the children’s cancer ward in a hospital in the Syrian capital of Damascus, children walk down brightly painted corridors, hooked up to IV needles delivering critical treatment into their bloodstream. urses tend to babies and teenagers getting chemotherapy sit in reclining chairs. Other children, in a nearby playroom, draw and color to pass the time. The beds fill up fast at the ward operated by BASMA, a private charity that supports children with cancer. Today, it is the biggest association across the war-shattered nation to offer full cancer diagnoses and treatment without charge — and for many among Syria’s impoverished population, it comes down to either that or no treatment at all. (Sanadiki, 4/3)