This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2021/nov/21/coronavirus-live-dutch-anti-lockdown-riots-uk-england-covid-booster-jab-bookings-latest-updates

The article has changed 28 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 5 Version 6
Covid live: five police injured in Dutch riots; UK rules out mandatory jabs as over-40s told to book boosters Covid live: five police injured in Dutch riots; UK rules out mandatory jabs as over-40s told to book boosters
(32 minutes later)
Latest updates: 28 people detained in second night of anti-lockdown rioting; UK health secretary says vaccination must be voluntary as booking opens for adults over 40Latest updates: 28 people detained in second night of anti-lockdown rioting; UK health secretary says vaccination must be voluntary as booking opens for adults over 40
Fifth-wave coronavirus infections in France are rising at an alarming rate, the government reported Sunday, with new daily Covid cases close to doubling over the past week, AFP reports.
The seven-day average of new cases reached 17,153 on Saturday, up from 9,458 a week earlier, according to the health authorities, an increase of 81%.
“The fifth wave is starting at lightning speed,” government spokesman Gabrial Attal told media.
The latest seven-day increase is three times the average rise of cases recorded over the previous three weeks, indicating an exponential acceleration of infections.
For now the spike in infections has not led to a massive influx of Covid patients into hospitals, with the authorities attributing the limited number of intensive care patients to France’s high rate of vaccinations which appear highly effective against the most dangerous forms of Covid.
On Saturday, hospitals reported a total of 7,974 Covid patients in their care, with 1,333 of them in intensive treatment.
This compares to 6,500 and 1,000, respectively, a month earlier.
“There is a very strong increase in infections, but we also know that in France we have a very large vaccination cover,” he said. “We seem to be ahead of our neighbours concerning booster shots.”
France’s introduction of a health pass ahead of other countries in the summer was also helping to keep Covid in check, he said.
The health pass, required in French restaurants, cafes and many cultural venues, certifies that a person is fully vaccinated, has recently recovered from Covid, or has tested negative for the virus.
The government continues to stand by its choice to “bring the weight of restrictions to bear on non-vaccinated people rather than vaccinated people”, Attal said.
The pandemic has made it more difficult to send failed asylum seekers back to the countries from which they came, Sajid Javid has said, PA reports.
Shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds said on Sunday that at the current rate, more migrants will be travelling to Britain via the English Channel that there are voters in the Home Secretary’s constituency if the Government doesn’t act.
And hundreds more people, including very young children, have made the dangerous Channel crossing to the UK over the weekend.
The health secretary Sajid Javid defended efforts and said Covid had made things more difficult.
He told the BBC’s Andrew Marr programme:
Some Pacific countries will have less than a quarter of adults vaccinated by the end of the year, with predictions that Papua New Guinea will take five years to vaccinate just one-third of its population, undermining economic recovery and threatening huge loss of life across the region.
The predictions come from modelling released on Sunday by the Lowy Institute, which takes into account factors including access to vaccines, numbers of healthcare workers, urbanisation, topography and vaccine hesitancy to estimate when Pacific countries will hit key vaccine milestones.
The modelling reveals a divided region. Papua New Guinea, which is in the midst of a devastating Delta outbreak, currently has around 3% of its adult population vaccinated.
Solomon Islands is predicted to have just 23% of its adult population vaccinated by the end of the year, with Vanuatu predicted to have just 29% of adults fully vaccinated.
See the full story here:
Here’s a summary of the main developments so far today:
The health secretary Sajid Javid has warned that racial bias in medical devices, such as oximeters, may have caused unnecessary deaths from Covid. The issue will be investigated as part of a review Javid ordered into systemic racism and bias in medical devices, procedures and textbooks.
Javid has ruled out introducing mandatory Covid vaccination in the UK, as the government in Austria has imposed. He told the BBC: “We are fortunate in this country, although we have vaccine hesitancy, it’s a lot lower than other countries in Europe. It should be a positive choice”.
Five police officers were injured and at least 40 people were arrested in anti-lockdown protests in the Netherlands on Saturday. The worst violence occurred in the Hague on Saturday night following what the mayor of Rotterdam described as a “orgy of violence” in the country’s second city on Friday night.
Bayern Munich have finned unvaccinated players including the German international midfielder Joshua Kimmich. Bayern bosses summoned Kimmich and four other unvaccinated teammates to inform them of a pay cut when they are in isolation because they have not taken the jab.
From Monday, people aged 40-49 in England will be able to book a Covid jab, the Department of Health and Social Care has confirmed. Sixteen and 17-year-olds will also be able to book in for their second jab.
Russia has reported a 1,252 deaths from Covid - following a record 1,254 deaths on Saturday. Russia also reported 36,970 new cases compared to 37,120 on Saturday.
Booster jabs will now show up on the NHS Covid pass, the Department of Health and Social Care has confirmed.Booster jabs will now show up on the NHS Covid pass, the Department of Health and Social Care has confirmed.
The number of arrests of anti-lockdown protesters in the Netherlands on Saturday has reached at least 40, according to Reuters.The number of arrests of anti-lockdown protesters in the Netherlands on Saturday has reached at least 40, according to Reuters.
Another 13 arrests were reported by police in two towns in the southern province of Limburg, while disturbances were also reported in the northern province of Flevoland.Another 13 arrests were reported by police in two towns in the southern province of Limburg, while disturbances were also reported in the northern province of Flevoland.
Eight people were detained in the town of Urk, where a testing station was torched earlier this year.Eight people were detained in the town of Urk, where a testing station was torched earlier this year.
Dutch police have arrested more than 30 people during anti-lockdown unrest in The Hague and other towns in the Netherlands that followed an “ orgy of violence” the previous night, AP reports.Dutch police have arrested more than 30 people during anti-lockdown unrest in The Hague and other towns in the Netherlands that followed an “ orgy of violence” the previous night, AP reports.
The violence by groups of youths in The Hague and elsewhere Saturday night wasn’t as serious as Friday night in Rotterdam, where police opened fire on rampaging rioters and arrested 51 people.The violence by groups of youths in The Hague and elsewhere Saturday night wasn’t as serious as Friday night in Rotterdam, where police opened fire on rampaging rioters and arrested 51 people.
Police said Sunday that they arrested 19 people in The Hague and used a water cannon to extinguish a fire on a street.Police said Sunday that they arrested 19 people in The Hague and used a water cannon to extinguish a fire on a street.
Two football matches in the country’s top professional league were briefly halted when fans — banned from matches under a partial lockdown in force in the Netherlands for a week — broke into stadiums in the towns of Alkmaar and Almelo.Two football matches in the country’s top professional league were briefly halted when fans — banned from matches under a partial lockdown in force in the Netherlands for a week — broke into stadiums in the towns of Alkmaar and Almelo.
In The Hague, police said five officers were injured as they tried to break up unrest by a group of youths who set at least two fires on streets and threw fireworks. Police said in a tweet that one rioter threw a rock at an ambulance carrying a patient to a hospital.In The Hague, police said five officers were injured as they tried to break up unrest by a group of youths who set at least two fires on streets and threw fireworks. Police said in a tweet that one rioter threw a rock at an ambulance carrying a patient to a hospital.
In the southern towns of Roermond and Stein, police said they arrested a total of 13 people for setting fires and throwing fireworks, and in the fishing village of Urk police arrested eight people for public order offenses, Dutch broadcaster NOS reported.In the southern towns of Roermond and Stein, police said they arrested a total of 13 people for setting fires and throwing fireworks, and in the fishing village of Urk police arrested eight people for public order offenses, Dutch broadcaster NOS reported.
Officers in Rotterdam arrested 51 people, about half of them minor, police said Saturday afternoon. One police officer was hospitalized with a leg injury sustained in the rioting, another was treated by ambulance staff and “countless” others suffered minor injuries.Officers in Rotterdam arrested 51 people, about half of them minor, police said Saturday afternoon. One police officer was hospitalized with a leg injury sustained in the rioting, another was treated by ambulance staff and “countless” others suffered minor injuries.
Rotterdam Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb called the rioting in his city an “orgy of violence” and said that “on a number of occasions the police felt it necessary to draw their weapons to defend themselves.”Rotterdam Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb called the rioting in his city an “orgy of violence” and said that “on a number of occasions the police felt it necessary to draw their weapons to defend themselves.”
Coronavirus vaccines might have prevented around 300,000 deaths in the UK, a scientist who helped create the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab has said.Coronavirus vaccines might have prevented around 300,000 deaths in the UK, a scientist who helped create the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab has said.
Professor Sir Andrew Pollard told the BBC’s Andrew Marr:Professor Sir Andrew Pollard told the BBC’s Andrew Marr:
Pollard also called for more vaccine for lower income countries.Pollard also called for more vaccine for lower income countries.
He said:He said:
And Pollard reckons it is “unlikely: the UK will see a sharp rise in Covid cases in the UK over the next few months.And Pollard reckons it is “unlikely: the UK will see a sharp rise in Covid cases in the UK over the next few months.
Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich have finned unvaccinated players including the Germany-capped midfielder Joshua Kimmich, AFP reports citing Bild am Sonntag.Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich have finned unvaccinated players including the Germany-capped midfielder Joshua Kimmich, AFP reports citing Bild am Sonntag.
Kimmich was sent into a second round of isolation on Friday because of a new coronavirus exposure. He had just been released on Tuesday from quarantine arising from contact with team-mate Niklas Suele who tested positive last week.Kimmich was sent into a second round of isolation on Friday because of a new coronavirus exposure. He had just been released on Tuesday from quarantine arising from contact with team-mate Niklas Suele who tested positive last week.
Kimmich, 26, has sparked a debate in Germany since revealing he opted not to be vaccinated due to “personal concerns”.Kimmich, 26, has sparked a debate in Germany since revealing he opted not to be vaccinated due to “personal concerns”.
Bayern bosses reportedly summoned him and four other unvaccinated teammates on Thursday to inform them of the pay cut when they are in isolation because they have not taken the jab, Bild said, quoting unnamed sources from the team.Bayern bosses reportedly summoned him and four other unvaccinated teammates on Thursday to inform them of the pay cut when they are in isolation because they have not taken the jab, Bild said, quoting unnamed sources from the team.
Under new rules taking effect from 1 November, employees who miss work because of a quarantine are no longer entitled to receive compensation if they are unvaccinated.Under new rules taking effect from 1 November, employees who miss work because of a quarantine are no longer entitled to receive compensation if they are unvaccinated.
Besides Kimmich, his teammates Serge Gnabry, Jamal Musiala, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Michael Cuisance are also unvaccinated, Bild said.Besides Kimmich, his teammates Serge Gnabry, Jamal Musiala, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Michael Cuisance are also unvaccinated, Bild said.
For Kimmich, whose annual pay reaches €20m, a week’s quarantine means earning losses of about €384,000.For Kimmich, whose annual pay reaches €20m, a week’s quarantine means earning losses of about €384,000.
Javid also told Marr that racial bias in oximeters may have caused unnecessary deaths from Covid.Javid also told Marr that racial bias in oximeters may have caused unnecessary deaths from Covid.
He said:He said:
Marr asked whether people have died of such inaccurate readings.Marr asked whether people have died of such inaccurate readings.
Javid said: “I think possibly Yes. I don’t have the full facts.”Javid said: “I think possibly Yes. I don’t have the full facts.”
He added:He added:
There’s more here about the review:There’s more here about the review:
The health secretary Sajid Javid says he would never accept mandatory Covid vaccination in the UK.The health secretary Sajid Javid says he would never accept mandatory Covid vaccination in the UK.
Asked on the BBC’s Andrew Marr show whether the UK would follow Austria’s example of making jabs compulsory, Javid said no.Asked on the BBC’s Andrew Marr show whether the UK would follow Austria’s example of making jabs compulsory, Javid said no.
He added: “We are fortunate in this country, although we have vaccine hesitancy, it’s a lot lower than other countries in Europe. It should be a positive choice”.He added: “We are fortunate in this country, although we have vaccine hesitancy, it’s a lot lower than other countries in Europe. It should be a positive choice”.
Javid’s comments came as over-40s were told they could book their booster jab from Monday. Children aged 16 and 17 can also book their second vaccine dose.Javid’s comments came as over-40s were told they could book their booster jab from Monday. Children aged 16 and 17 can also book their second vaccine dose.
From Monday, people aged 40-49 in England will be able to book a Covid jab, the Department of Health and Social Care has confirmed. Sixteen and 17-year-olds will also be able to book in for their second jab.
Taking up the offer of a second or third dose will help protect the progress of the vaccine rollout in the face of waning immunity, and mean people can “enjoy Christmas safely”, the Department of Health and Social Care said.
Jabs should help to keep the coronavirus surge seen in parts of Europe “at bay”, Health Secretary Sajid Javid said.
People eligible for a booster can get the top-up jab from six months after having their second dose.
But they can book their appointment from 7am on Monday when the National Booking Service opens for people aged 40 and over, as well as for young people aged 16 and 17 in England.
Almost 200,000 teenagers in this category are currently eligible for a second jab, NHS England said.
It added that almost 500,000 people aged in their 40s are currently eligible for a booster, having had a second jab at least six months ago.Bookings can be made online or by calling 119.
Chris Hopson, the chief executive of NHS Providers, has warned the NHS is under “an unprecedented degree of pressure for this time of year.”
Speaking to Sky News he pointed out that we have yet to reach the traditional winter peak in early to mid January. He said:
Earlier, Javid revealed there are 5.9 million people currently waiting for elective procedures on the NHS waiting list. He conceded that this figure “will go up before it comes down” because up to 9 million people stayed away during the height of the pandemic.
The government has launched an investigation into one of the NHS’s main suppliers of personal protective equipment over its alleged use of forced labour.
Officials at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) are investigating Supermax, which won a £316m contract for 88.5m rubber gloves as the Covid pandemic began to unfold.
Last month the US forbade the Malaysian company from selling its products there after an inquiry found “ample evidence” that it had used forced labour in the manufacture of its rubber gloves. Customs officers were told to seize any disposable gloves made by Supermax as part of a government order banning the import into the US of any goods made by forced labour.
The UK government has instigated its own inquiry after Jeremy Purvis, a Liberal Democrat peer, demanded scrutiny of Supermax and action to ensure that products made using modern slavery are not used in Britain.
Read the full story here:
Five police officers were injured in the Netherlands and at least 28 people detained across three provinces as violent protests against Covid restrictions continued for a second night, Reuters reports.
Dutch authorities used water canon, dogs and mounted police to stop rioting youths who set fires and threw fireworks in the worst disturbances since a full lockdown led to widespread disorder and more than 500 arrests in January.
The latest unrest began on Friday night in Rotterdam, where police opened fire on a crowd that had swelled to hundreds during a protest the city’s mayor said had turned into “an orgy of violence”.
Three people believed to be hit by police bullets remained in hospital on Sunday, a statement by the authorities said.
The protests were sparked by opposition to government plans to restrict use of a national corona pass to people who have either recovered from Covid or have been vaccinated, excluding those with a negative test result.
The Netherlands reimposed some lockdown measures on its 17.5 million population last weekend for an initial three weeks in an effort to slow a resurgence of the virus, but daily infections have remained at their highest levels since the start of the pandemic.
Youths were also angered by a New Year’s Eve firework ban to avoid added pressure on hospitals that have already been forced to scale back care.
Some of the most serious confrontations on Saturday night were in The Hague, where five officers were hurt, one of them seriously, a police statement said. Police carried out charges on horseback and arrested seven people, one of them for throwing a rock through the windshield of a passing ambulance.
Another 13 arrests were reported by police in two towns in the southern province of Limburg, while disturbances were also reported in the northern province of Flevoland.
Eight people were detained in the town of Urk, where a testing station was torched earlier this year.
Russia has reported a 1,252 deaths from Covid - following a record 1,254 deaths on Saturday. The death toll from Covid in Russia now stands at 264,095 people.
Russia also reported 36,970 new cases compared to 37,120 on Saturday.
Javid also said England is “firmly” sticking with it current Plan A for tackling Covid and suggested moving to Plan B involving working from home, vaccine passports and mandatory masks was unlikely.
He said:
The health secretary, Sajid Javid, has confirmed plans to the review racial bias of pulse oximeters - medical devices that measure oxygen levels crucial to treating Covid.
Speaking to Sky News, Javid said false readings for people from black and minority ethnic backgrounds have been known for sometime.
He said: “What really got me was this was already known, there are research papers already on this, and we don’t do anything about it.”
He added:
Stopping “dangerous” crowding in emergency departments should be the government’s number one priority in hospitals as pressures mount on the NHS throughout winter, a health executive has warned.
The Royal College of Emergency Medicine’s chief executive, Gordon Miles, issued his warning after a report found thousands of deaths were caused by crowding in emergency departments.
Dr Miles said demand and capacity in emergency care are “severely mismatched”.
In a letter to the Sunday Times he added:
The college’s report published days earlier suggests at least 4,519 patients died as a result of crowding and 12-hour stays in A&E departments in England in 2020-2021.
It said the discovery adds to NHS England’s own findings that one in 67 patients staying in the emergency department for 12 hours comes to excess harm.
Thousands of people have taken to the streets in cities across Europe and Australia as anger mounted over fresh Covid restrictions imposed against a resurgent pandemic, according to a roundup by AFP.
And Dutch police faced a second night of rioting - this time in The Hague - after the previous night’s violence in the port city of Rotterdam.
Clashes erupted after a day of mainly peaceful protests elsewhere in the Netherlands, with rioters throwing stones and fireworks at police and setting fire to bicycles. Several people were arrested.
Europe is battling a fresh wave of infections and several countries have tightened curbs, with Austria on Friday announcing a nationwide partial lockdown - the most dramatic restrictions in Western Europe for months.
The Netherlands went back into partial lockdown last Saturday with at least three weeks of curbs, and is now planning to ban unvaccinated people from entering some venues, the so-called 2G option.
Several thousand protesters angry at the latest measures gathered in Amsterdam. Another thousand marched through the southern city of Breda near the Belgian border, carrying banners with slogans such as “No Lockdown”.
Organisers said they opposed Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s plans to exclude the unvaccinated from bars and restaurants.
“People want to live, that’s why we’re here,” said organiser Joost Eras.
But “we’re not rioters. We come in peace,” he said, distancing himself from the chaos the previous night in Rotterdam, in which police said they had fired both warning and targeted shots and used water cannon.
In Austria, around 40,000 came out to protest in central Vienna near the Chancellery, responding to a call from the far-right FPO party.
They held up banners decrying “Corona dictatorship” and slamming the “division of society”.
“It’s not normal that the government deprives us of our rights,” said 42-year-old teacher Katarina Gierscher, who travelled for six hours to attend the rally.
Some protesters wore a yellow star reading the words “not vaccinated”, a nod to the Star of David many Jews were forced to wear during the Nazi era.
Austria’s Interior Minister Karl Nehammer expressed his outrage, saying in a statement that it “insults the millions of victims of the Nazi dictatorship and their families”.
From Monday, 8.9 million Austrians will not be allowed to leave home except to go to work, shop for essentials and exercise. The restrictions will initially last 20 days with an evaluation after 10 days.
Vaccination against Covid-19 in the Alpine nation will be mandatory from February 1 next year.
Thousands also marched in Croatia’s capital Zagreb and in Denmark, around a thousand people protested against government plans to reinstate a Covid pass for civil servants going to work.
“Freedom for Denmark,” cried some of the marchers at a rally in Copenhagen organised by the radical Men in Black group, who believe Covid-19 is just a “scam”.
In Australia around 10,000 marched in Sydney and there were also protests in other major cities against vaccine mandates applied to certain occupations by state authorities.
“In Australia where a fanatical cult runs our health bureaucracies, they say it’s OK” to vaccinate children, right-wing politician Craig Kelly told the Sydney crowd to large cheers.
On Saturday, France dispatched dozens of elite forces to its Caribbean island of Guadeloupe after arson and looting overnight in the overseas territory, despite a newly imposed night curfew.
Welcome to a Sunday edition of our coronavirus live blog covering the latest on the outbreak in the UK and across the world.
These are the main developments overnight:
Dutch police faced a second night of anti-lockdown rioting. Unrest in The Hague follows a previous night’s violence in the port city of Rotterdam.
Sajid Javid has commissioned a review into possible racial and gender bias in medical devices as he vowed to “close the chasms that the pandemic has exposed”.
Bookings for coronavirus booster jabs are opening this week for people aged 40 and over in England. And 16 and 17-year-olds will also be able to book in for their second jab from Monday.
The United Nations has urged China to release a citizen journalist jailed for her coverage of the country’s Covid-19 response and who her family say is close to death after a hunger strike.