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Coronavirus live: Germany sees highest ever seven-day incidence rate; UK ‘long way’ from winter lockdown
Coronavirus live: Germany sees highest ever seven-day incidence rate; UK ‘long way’ from winter lockdown
(31 minutes later)
Germany’s Robert Koch Institute records incidence rate of 201.1; scientist advising UK government says country not thinking about locking down
Germany’s Robert Koch Institute records incidence rate of 201.1; scientist advising UK government says country not thinking about locking down
Ukraine’s Greek Catholic Church has opened a Covid vaccination centre in one of its Kiev cathedrals - the first religious institution to do so in a country where infections have surged.
Ukraine recently reported record numbers of daily Covid deaths and cases, while only 25% of its population is fully vaccinated.
Religious institutions in the country had been cautious to urge people to get vaccinated, let alone allow their premises to be used as vaccination points.
But clerics of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, the third-largest in the country, on Sunday opened the doors of their main Kiev cathedral to those wanting a jab.
“The church sees no reason to refuse the vaccine,” Father Taras Zheblinsky, head of the Greek Catholic Church’s media department, told AFP.
“Taking the vaccine is a way to save your life and health,” he said, standing inside the large Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in eastern Kiev.
Ukraine reported a further 793 deaths on Saturday - a record for the country, which has an under-resourced health care system.
New daily cases hit a pandemic record of 27,377 last week and were at more than 13,000 on Monday.
“We are getting vaccinated so that if we get sick, then it will be a mild illness,” Nazar Kozak, one of dozens waiting for a jab told AFP.
“When trouble comes to a country, any community, including a religious one, should help people,” said the 32-year-old lawyer.
Ukrainian authorities initially struggled to source vaccine doses and have since fought to convince vaccine-sceptic Ukrainians to get inoculated.
But new restrictions requiring vaccinations have seen people across the country flock to vaccine centres, with inoculations now running at about 250,000 people a day.
Since the start of the pandemic, Ukraine has recorded more than 3 million coronavirus cases and 72,000 deaths.
French health authorities said on Monday the number of people hospitalised because of Covid went up by 156 over the past 24 hours, the highest daily rise since 23 August, to reach a one-month peak of 6,865.
The number of patients in intensive care units (ICUs) for the disease increased by 40 to 1,141, a ninth rise in 10 days.
The French president Emmanuel Macron will speak to the nation on Tuesday about the resurgence of Covid infections as well as his economic reform programme, the government said last week.
France also registered 55 new deaths in hospital from the epidemic, the highest daily increase since 5 October, taking the total to 91,053.
Including nursing homes fatalities, the French Covid death toll is close to 118,000.
The European Union’s medicines regulator said on Monday it will give region-wide recommendations for the Covid antiviral pill jointly developed by Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics in the “shortest possible” time-frame.
The European Union’s medicines regulator said on Monday it will give region-wide recommendations for the Covid antiviral pill jointly developed by Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics in the “shortest possible” time-frame.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said it was reviewing the available data as the watchdog seeks to help member states before possible approval, Reuters reports.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said it was reviewing the available data as the watchdog seeks to help member states before possible approval, Reuters reports.
Denmark’s government aims to reinstate the use of digital certificates known as “corona passports”, to verify that the holder is vaccinated or has tested negative for the coronavirus, broadcaster TV 2 reported on Monday citing sources.
Denmark’s government aims to reinstate the use of digital certificates known as “corona passports”, to verify that the holder is vaccinated or has tested negative for the coronavirus, broadcaster TV 2 reported on Monday citing sources.
The number of daily infections in the country has risen steadily to more than 2,000 in recent days from a low of just over 200 in mid-September.
The number of daily infections in the country has risen steadily to more than 2,000 in recent days from a low of just over 200 in mid-September.
This is from the American Academy of Pediatrics, encouraging parents in the US to vaccination their children aged 5-11 against Covid
This is from the American Academy of Pediatrics, encouraging parents in the US to vaccination their children aged 5-11 against Covid
The European Union is negotiating with Merck & Co and Pfizer over possible contracts to supply their experimental Covid drugs, an EU official told Reuters, adding that talks with Merck were more advanced.
The European Union is negotiating with Merck & Co and Pfizer over possible contracts to supply their experimental Covid drugs, an EU official told Reuters, adding that talks with Merck were more advanced.
Both US drugmakers have developed antiviral pills that have shown promising efficacy in trials of adults with Covid who are at high risk of serious illness, with Pfizer’s at 89% and Merck’s around 50%.
Both US drugmakers have developed antiviral pills that have shown promising efficacy in trials of adults with Covid who are at high risk of serious illness, with Pfizer’s at 89% and Merck’s around 50%.
“Contacts are ongoing with both,” the EU official familiar with the discussions said on Monday, asking not to be named as the negotiations are confidential.
“Contacts are ongoing with both,” the EU official familiar with the discussions said on Monday, asking not to be named as the negotiations are confidential.
Talks with Merck were more advanced because it has already begun submitting data to the European Union’s drugs regulator, the official added.
Talks with Merck were more advanced because it has already begun submitting data to the European Union’s drugs regulator, the official added.
Pfizer has yet to submit any data because preliminary results of its trials were published only last week, a month after Merck’s first results.
Pfizer has yet to submit any data because preliminary results of its trials were published only last week, a month after Merck’s first results.
A spokesperson for the European Commission, which coordinates talks with drugmakers on behalf of EU states, declined to comment on negotiations.
A spokesperson for the European Commission, which coordinates talks with drugmakers on behalf of EU states, declined to comment on negotiations.
Merck was not immediately available for comment. Pfizer declined to comment.
Merck was not immediately available for comment. Pfizer declined to comment.
EU officials discussed procuring Covid drugs at a meeting last week, the EU source said, stressing the bloc of 27 member states wanted to move as fast as possible to buy new treatments, but wanted to have further guarantees on their safety.
EU officials discussed procuring Covid drugs at a meeting last week, the EU source said, stressing the bloc of 27 member states wanted to move as fast as possible to buy new treatments, but wanted to have further guarantees on their safety.
So far, the only approval is for Merck’s drug in the UK.
So far, the only approval is for Merck’s drug in the UK.
Both drugs treatments are given for five days. Pfizer’s regimen is for three pills taken in the morning and three at night. Merck’s is four pills in the morning and four at night.
Both drugs treatments are given for five days. Pfizer’s regimen is for three pills taken in the morning and three at night. Merck’s is four pills in the morning and four at night.
Asked whether the higher efficacy shown by Pfizer’s treatment could affect talks with Merck, the EU official said they could not be compared for now and more data was needed.
Asked whether the higher efficacy shown by Pfizer’s treatment could affect talks with Merck, the EU official said they could not be compared for now and more data was needed.
A rush to secure the initial, limited courses of both pills is under way. The UK has procured 480,000 courses of Merck’s pill and 250,000 courses of Pfizer’s.
A rush to secure the initial, limited courses of both pills is under way. The UK has procured 480,000 courses of Merck’s pill and 250,000 courses of Pfizer’s.
Meanwhile, Joe Biden said last week that the US had secured “millions” of courses of the Pfizer treatment, and has also bought 1.7 million courses of Merck’s.
Meanwhile, Joe Biden said last week that the US had secured “millions” of courses of the Pfizer treatment, and has also bought 1.7 million courses of Merck’s.
Australia and several Asian countries have also secured courses of the new drugs or are in the process of doing so.
Australia and several Asian countries have also secured courses of the new drugs or are in the process of doing so.
Indonesia’s drug regulator said on Monday that it was reviewing Merck’s pill, ahead of a possible purchase of up to 1 million courses of it next month.
Indonesia’s drug regulator said on Monday that it was reviewing Merck’s pill, ahead of a possible purchase of up to 1 million courses of it next month.
Thailand, which has been in talks with Merck to buy 200,000 treatments since October, is also in negotiations with Pfizer for its pill, a medical adviser told Reuters.
Thailand, which has been in talks with Merck to buy 200,000 treatments since October, is also in negotiations with Pfizer for its pill, a medical adviser told Reuters.
Pfizer expects to produce more than 180,000 courses of its therapy by the end of 2021, whereas Merck plans output of 10 million courses. Both plan to ramp up production in 2022.
Pfizer expects to produce more than 180,000 courses of its therapy by the end of 2021, whereas Merck plans output of 10 million courses. Both plan to ramp up production in 2022.
One in ten people in the UK have expressed their regret over buying items ranging from hot tubs to DIY tools during the pandemic, according to a survey conducted by insurer Aviva.
One in ten people in the UK have expressed their regret over buying items ranging from hot tubs to DIY tools during the pandemic, according to a survey conducted by insurer Aviva.
During lockdowns, some people used money which would normally have been spent on commuting, holidays and socialising, to treat themselves to items for the home or garden, or to get fit or start new hobbies.
During lockdowns, some people used money which would normally have been spent on commuting, holidays and socialising, to treat themselves to items for the home or garden, or to get fit or start new hobbies.
A survey of 4,000 people found some are now experiencing buyers’ remorse, with many expensive items now either sold, given away or gathering dust, Aviva said.
A survey of 4,000 people found some are now experiencing buyers’ remorse, with many expensive items now either sold, given away or gathering dust, Aviva said.
Gaming equipment, DIY tools, home gym equipment, bikes, clothing and jewellery, musical instruments, kitchen appliances such as bread makers, garden furniture, pizza ovens and hot tubs all appeared on the regret list.
Gaming equipment, DIY tools, home gym equipment, bikes, clothing and jewellery, musical instruments, kitchen appliances such as bread makers, garden furniture, pizza ovens and hot tubs all appeared on the regret list.
The BBC has the story.
The BBC has the story.
*I regret buying Nintendogs, I’m sure my poor puppies ran away and left me circa lockdown 2.0.
*I regret buying Nintendogs, I’m sure my poor puppies ran away and left me circa lockdown 2.0.
Pfizer and BioNTech are expected to seek authorisation for their Covid vaccine booster shot for people aged 18 and above as soon as this week, the Washington Post reported on Monday, citing officials familiar with the situation.
Pfizer and BioNTech are expected to seek authorisation for their Covid vaccine booster shot for people aged 18 and above as soon as this week, the Washington Post reported on Monday, citing officials familiar with the situation.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in September authorised the extra shot for those aged 65 and above, people at high risk of severe disease, and others regularly exposed to the virus.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in September authorised the extra shot for those aged 65 and above, people at high risk of severe disease, and others regularly exposed to the virus.
Pfizer and US health officials have argued that the boosters prevent hospitalisations and deaths and that emerging data indicates they can slow mild infections as well.
Pfizer and US health officials have argued that the boosters prevent hospitalisations and deaths and that emerging data indicates they can slow mild infections as well.
Pfizer did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
Pfizer did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
After being hospitalised for 28 days with Covid-19, a man returned to the Seattle hospital that saved his life – to apologise for not getting vaccinated.
Richard Soliz, a 54-year-old graphic artist, developed blood clots on his lungs after contracting coronavirus. Admitted to Harborview medical center in late August, he spent close to a month on a ventilator and heart monitor, as doctors worried one of his blood clots might transfer to his brain or his heart.
Soliz pulled through, and in October he returned to the hospital to thank the staff for saving his life – and to say sorry.
“I deeply regret, you know, not making the decision to get vaccinated,” Soliz told Dr James Town, a pulmonologist and director of the medical intensive care unit.
“No one blames you or judges you,” Town told Soliz. “Everyone is just happy that you are willing to share the story, I think. And happy that you’re better.”
Soliz is now fully vaccinated but has been left with scarred lungs, which cause him to become winded even after slight physical activity. He has difficulty sleeping and struggles with a foggy memory and thoughts.
Doctors have told him he could begin to see improvements in his lungs in six months.
Maya Yang has the story:
Russia’s one-dose Sputnik Light vaccine had a good safety profile and induced strong immune responses especially in people who had already encountered Covid, according to the results of phase 1 and 2 trials published in The Lancet Regional Health – Europe medical journal.
The vaccine, a single-dose version of the two-dose Sputnik V vaccine unveiled last year, has already entered later phases of studies and is widely used in Russia, but the publication of the early research in a top western journal is a milestone as Russia moves towards making Sputnik Light its main vaccine for export.
Scientists from the vaccine’s developer, the Gamaleya Institute, oversaw 110 volunteers aged 18-59 in St Petersburg, who were inoculated in January 2021, looking at the response of the immune system and the main side-effects.
The results analysed virus neutralisation against the original variant and showed a slight but statistically significant decrease in the antibody response for the Alpha and Beta strains. Russia’s dominant strain is now the Delta variant.
Russia has already said that subsequent research showed Sputnik Light demonstrated 70% effectiveness against the Delta variant three months after injection.
“Sputnik Light might be considered not only for primary vaccination, but also could be useful as an efficient tool for further revaccination or vaccination after previous Covid-19 infection,” the study said.
Last week, the health minister Mikhail Murashko said that with the spread of the Delta variant, the ministry recommended the usage of Sputnik Light for re-vaccination only.
The Kremlin later said Sputnik Light was a standalone Covid vaccine, but some Russian regions reported that they had begun to administer it only to people with antibodies.
Sputnik Light was approved for clinical use in Russia on 6 May based on the results of trials published in The Lancet and Gamaleya has started an international and placebo-controlled phase 3 study with 6,000 participants.
“We believe Sputnik Light vaccine could contribute towards accelerating the pace of vaccination in Russia as well as in other countries that are lacking sufficient vaccine supply,” the scientists wrote.
The UK is “a long way away” from thinking about a winter lockdown, a leading scientist advising the government has said, but it is vital that anyone eligible gets their booster vaccine.
Dr Mike Tildesley, a member of the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Modelling group (Spi-M), said “we are not out of the woods yet” as he urged people to have their flu and Covid booster vaccines. Asked about the prospect of a winter lockdown, he told Sky News:
It comes as the prime minister Boris Johnson urged those eligible to book their booster vaccinations. He told broadcasters during a visit to a hospital in Hexham, in the North East:
The NHS has opened bookings for those needing a booster if five months have passed since their second dose so they can have a top-up jab at the six-month point.
Elsewhere, the education secretary Nadhim Zahawi suggested that Covid booster jabs will become an annual vaccination programme. “We will, I hope, be the first major economy to transition from pandemic to endemic, and have an annual vaccination programme,” he told the Sun.
Asked about the prospect, Dr Tildesley said he agreed it may become the case that people need booster jabs every year.
Dr Tildesley said the booster programme is “going in the right direction but there clearly is work to do for the people over 50, for vulnerable adults”.
As of Thursday, there were 9,160 people in hospital with Covid-19 across the UK, while, as of Sunday, 1,174 deaths had been recorded in the last week, up 6.8% on the week before.
The number of Covid cases after a positive test are falling, with 30,305 recorded on Sunday. Over the last week, the figures have fallen 12.9%.
Prof Peter Openshaw, a member of the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag), said on Monday that the need for boosters has become “very clear”. The professor of experimental medicine at Imperial College London told Times Radio:
He said the NHS is in a serious situation and coronavirus “is not over”.
Over the weekend, a senior government scientist said older people who are double-jabbed are dying of Covid because they are not taking up the offer of a booster.
Dr Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser at the UK Health Security Agency, urged more over-50s to come forward for a third dose to cut the risk of “a long and difficult winter” for the NHS. “Increasingly, because of immune-waning effects, there are deaths in the vaccinated group,” she told the BBC.
Elsewhere, Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents England’s NHS trusts, told Times Radio that hospitals in England are under “unprecedented” pressure but NHS staff realise that the country must now live with Covid.
He added, however, that vaccines are having a dramatic impact.
Travellers excited at the prospect of seeing family and friends for the first time since the Covid pandemic began took off for the US on Monday as it lifted travel restrictions slapped on much of the world for the best part of two years.
The travel ban, first imposed in early 2020, had barred access to non-US citizens travelling from 33 countries - including China, India and much of Europe - and had also restricted overland entry from Mexico and Canada.
The US lagged many other countries in lifting the curbs, made possible by the rollout of vaccines despite rising infections in many countries and critical to reviving tourism around the globe.
Months of pent-up demand triggered a major rise in bookings on Monday, with travellers only required to show official proof of vaccination and a recent, negative viral test.
Alice Keane, travelling to Miami to see her sister, said at London’s Heathrow airport, told Reuters: “I mean, I was meant to go just before Covid happened, and obviously it’s been delayed this long, so it’s really exciting to finally be able to go.”
Long-term rivals British Airways and Virgin Atlantic carried out simultaneous take-offs from Heathrow’s parallel runways just before 9am GMT, a stunt aimed at highlighting the importance of the transatlantic market to the UK’s aviation market.
The flights were full, Virgin Atlantic CEO Shai Weiss said, while passenger volume was expected to remain high in coming weeks with the approach of Thanksgiving and Christmas.
“It’s a major day of celebration,” Weiss said, adding that planes were “filling up nicely”, in what he called a significant tipping point for an industry brought to its knees by the pandemic.
The US was preparing for long lines and delays on Monday, with United Airlines alone expecting about 50% more total international inbound passengers compared to last Monday when it had about 20,000.
Delta Air Lines chief executive Ed Bastian warned travellers should be prepared for long waits. “It’s going to be a bit sloppy at first. I can assure you, there will be lines unfortunately,” Bastian said, adding that “we’ll get it sorted out”.The prospect of long queues did little to dent the enthusiasm of those preparing to be reunited with loved ones.
“I think we might just start crying,” Bindiya Patel, who was going to see her one-year-old nephew in New York for the first time, said at Heathrow, where jugglers dressed in the colour of the US flags greeted travellers.
US land borders also reopened to non-essential travel on Monday, though some inoculated Mexicans will not be able to enter the country immediately if they received vaccines in Mexico that have not been approved by the World Health Organization, such as China’s CanSino and Russia’s Sputnik V.
“I never imagined that because I got the CanSino vaccine I wouldn’t be able to cross,” lamented Donato Suarez, a driver at a private university in Tijuana who had hoped to visit relatives in the US he has not seen for nearly two years.
Hundreds of migrants have arrived at Mexican border cities such as Tijuana in recent days, hoping the reset will make it easier to cross and seek US asylum and despite warnings from advocates that the re-opening is for people who have papers.
In Canada, long lines formed overnight at US border points for an early rush of travellers but a Canadian requirement that all returning travellers have a negative PCR test is expected to dampen travel.
Canada, which allowed fully vaccinated Americans to cross the land border in August, is under pressure to drop the negative test requirement from businesses and travellers, who say showing proof of vaccination should be enough.
At the land border crossings from Mexico and Canada, US Customs and Border Protection will ask travellers if they have been vaccinated and will spot-check some documentation.
Under-18s are exempt from the new vaccine requirements. Non-tourist travellers from nearly 50 countries with nationwide vaccination rates of less than 10% are also eligible for exemption.
Schoolchildren in large parts of France have been ordered to again wear face masks in class, less than a month after being allowed to remove them, as the country tries to tamp down a surge in Covid cases.
Primary schools in 40 of France’s 101 departments, which had been mask-free for weeks, are affected by the order, which comes a day before the president Emmanuel Macron addresses the nation about the health crisis, AFP reports.
Under the government’s Covid protocol, primary school pupils have to wear masks when the incidence rate rises above 50 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants over five consecutive days.
With nearly 75% of the population inoculated against the coronavirus, France is one of Europe’s vaccine leaders.
But the pace of new vaccinations has slowed since the summer, when millions rushed to get shots after the introduction of a Covid pass to enter bars, restaurants, gyms and other entertainment and sporting venues.
The latest government edict brings to 61 the number of departments where schoolchildren have to cover their noses and mouths. They include the areas surrounding Paris as well as the southern city of Marseille.
In secondary schools, masks remain compulsory irrespective of the number of Covid cases.
On Tuesday evening, Macron will address the nation about the health crisis for the first time since 12 July.
He is expected to discuss the booster shot campaign under way among over-65s and those with underlying health conditions.
So far only half of those eligible for a top-up shot have received the jab.
The prime minister Jean Castex told AFP on Friday that the government was considering updating the Covid pass to include a mandatory booster shot.
The World Health Organization has expressed “grave concern” over soaring Covid cases in Europe, warning that the continent could see another half a million deaths by early next year.
Germany last week set a new record for daily cases, with nearly 34,000 new cases over the previous 24 hours. France, by comparison, has been spared a steep rise in infections, with health authorities reporting 8,547 new cases between Saturday and Sunday.
In the absence of a fourth wave of infections, many parents and teachers have expressed dismay over the reimposed restrictions on younger children.
The secretary general of France’s biggest primary teachers union, the SNUIPP-FSU, warned that the “yo-yo effect” would have a detrimental effect on students. “This to-ing and fro-ing risks creating a sense of instability in schools,” Guislaine David said.
The education minister Jean-Michel Blanquer told France Info radio that while the new mask mandate was “unpleasant” it was “necessary”.
It will be “impossible” for Nigeria to meet its target of vaccinating 40% of its population by the end of the year because Covid is not being taken seriously, health experts have warned.
Fewer than 1.5% of the country’s 206 million population has been fully vaccinated. But with more people killed in conflict last year and substantially more recorded deaths from malaria than Covid in Nigeria, experts believe it is further down the list of concerns for many in the country.
In September, the World Bank’s International Development Association approved a $400m (£300m) credit to speed up Nigeria’s Covid vaccination programme. The money, the World Bank said, was for safe and effective vaccine acquisition and deployment.
Days later, the World Health Organization announced a strategy to help poorer countries achieve 40% vaccination coverage by the end of 2021, although WHO Africa regional director Matshidiso Moeti said that was unlikely in Africa.
Moeti said:
The feasibility of Nigeria’s vaccination plan was questioned when it was announced in January by Faisal Shuaib, head of the country’s primary healthcare agency.
Now, it looks impossible, said Prof Isa Abubakar Sadiq, director at the Centre for Infectious Diseases Bayero University Kano.
Abubakar Adam Ibrahim has the story:
Biden administration plans to get US companies with more than 100 or more workers to vaccinate their staff or bring in regular tests have been welcomed by public health groups but criticised by Republicans and trade groups, who claim government overreach with negative economic consequences.
Such divided reaction to the rules announced last week mirrors much of America’s problematic vaccine rollout, where social and political headwinds have seen vaccination take-up slow down worryingly. US vaccination rates are some of the lowest in industrialised countries where the vaccine is readily available.
Subject at least to a temporary stay issued by a circuit court in New Orleans on Saturday, the new rule from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Osha) will take effect on 4 January.
It requires that large companies either ensure employees have been vaccinated or regularly administer Covid-19 tests and require masks at work for those who refuse to get the shot.
The rule will affect an estimated 84 million workers.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services also issued a rule requiring healthcare workers to be vaccinated by the same deadline, with no option for weekly testing rather than vaccination. That will affect 76,000 providers and more than 17 million workers.
The administration also extended a deadline for federal contractors to comply with the same sort of rule – vaccination without the testing option – from 8 December to 4 January.
Joe Biden said in a statement:
Read the full story from Eric Berger here:
Australia has pledged more than 3m Covid vaccine doses to Cambodia, the prime minister Hun Sen said, which would help the country give booster shots to its people.
The assurance came during a visit by the Australian foreign minister Marise Payne aimed at expanding bilateral ties, Reuters reports.
Cambodia has vaccinated 87% of its more than 16 million people, one of Asia’s highest inoculation rates.
“The Australian government has decided to provide Cambodia with 3,250,000 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, of which 1 million will be delivered to Cambodia before the end of this year,” Hun Sen said on his official Facebook page on Monday.
The country has already given 2m booster shots and begun inoculating children. Payne met Hun Sun and her counterpart Prak Sokhonn.
Hun Sen declared Cambodia fully open last week and the government has said tourist locations for vaccinated travellers will also be reopened by the end of this month.
Good morning from London. I’m Lucy Campbell, I’ll be bringing you all the latest global developments on the coronavirus pandemic for the next eight hours. Please feel free to get in touch with me as I work if you have a story or tips to share! Your thoughts are always welcome.
Germany’s Covid incidence rate – measuring the number of new coronavirus infections per 100,000 people over the last seven days – has risen to 201.1 today. This is the highest official figure recorded by the Robert Koch Institute.
In the eastern state of Saxony, where the incidence rate is more than twice the national average at 491.3, unvaccinated people face new restrictions. Access to indoor dining and other indoor events will be limited to those who are fully vaccinated or can show proof of recovery. The new rules are the toughest state-wide restrictions in Germany against non-inoculated people.
Flights carrying the first UK leisure travellers to the US since the pandemic began have taken off from Heathrow, after Joe Biden permitted a reopening of the US border. Setting aside a longstanding rivalry, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic planes took off simultaneously in what the bosses of the two airlines described as a “pivotal moment” for the battered industry.
All Aer Lingus flights to the US from Dublin were full on Monday. Delta Airlines warned passengers to be patient as the airports re-open to international travel.
Dozens of crossings at the Mexico-US border reopened to non-essential travel on Monday after a 20-month closure. At Tijuana, ahead of the reopening, hundreds of cars formed lines stretching back kilometres from the border, while queues at pedestrian crossings grew steadily.
In the UK, Prof Peter Openshaw, chair of the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag), said the need for boosters had become “very clear”. Dr Mike Tildesley, a member of the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Modelling group (Spi-M) advising ministers in the UK, has said “we are not out of the woods yet” but the UK was not facing a winter lockdown.
NHS workers in England must be legally required to get Covid vaccinations before the winter, former UK health secretary Matt Hancock has said, in his first intervention since leaving government.
Northern Ireland’s health minister is suing Van Morrison after the singer accused him of being “very dangerous” over his handling of Covid restrictions.
Russia has ended the national week long paid holiday that it hoped would break the Covid transmission chain. Today the country reported 39,400 new Covid cases, including 4,982 in Moscow. There were 1,190 further official deaths. Several regions, including Smolensk, Kursk, Chelyabinsk, Novgorod, Tomsk and Bryansk are extending restrictions.
Hungary’s pharmaceutical company Richter Gedeon has made Covid-19 vaccinations mandatory for its over 12,ooo workers to ensure business continuity after a government decision allowing companies to do so.
Singapore and Malaysia will allow quarantine-free travel between both countries for individuals vaccinated against Covid-19 from 29 November.
Indonesia plans to give booster shots to the general public after 50% of its population has been fully vaccinated.
Japan recorded no daily deaths from Covid-19 for the first time in 15 months on Sunday, according to national broadcaster NHK.
In the US, first lady Dr Jill Biden and surgeon general Dr Vivek Murthy are set to visit the Franklin Sherman Elementary School in McLean, Virginia, to launch a nationwide campaign to promote child vaccinations. The school was the first to administer the polio vaccine in 1954. The visit comes just days after federal regulators recommended the Covid-19 vaccine for those aged five to 11.
Auckland’s near-three-month lockdown is likely to end later this month with some coronavirus restrictions eased from Tuesday, according to prime minister Jacinda Ardern.
School students could undertake daily Covid tests rather than quarantine at home under a “test to stay” approach being considered by Australia’s state and territory leaders.
For live coverage across the Guardian at the moment, Andrew Sparrow has our UK politics live, and Patrick Greenfield is bringing you the latest from Cop26 from Glasgow. Lucy Campbell will be here shortly to continue with our UK and global Covid coverage, and I will see you again tomorrow.
