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Mexico on Tuesday reported 11,146 new confirmed cases of Covid and 835 more deaths, Reuters reports.
It brings the total number of infections in the country to 3,352,410 and the death toll to 259,326, according to health ministry data.
The latest on the Covid situation in Australia:
Downing Street has confirmed it intends to press on with plans to introduce vaccine passports for nightclubs from the end of September.
The proposals have previously been met with criticism from politicians on both sides as well as leaders in the night time hospitality industry.
The scheme would see members of the public required to show proof of their vaccine status to gain entry to domestic venues and events, PA reports.
But on Tuesday the prime minister’s official spokesman said the government’s plans remained in place.
“We set out broadly our intention to require our vaccination for nightclubs and some other settings and we’ll be coming forward in the coming weeks with details for that,” he said.
But Sir Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, said his party would oppose the scheme, while Labour previously called it “costly, open to fraud and ... impractical”.
Updated
The front page of Wednesday’s Guardian:
Guardian front page, Wednesday 1 September 2021: ‘Why did they come if they wanted to leave us like this?’ pic.twitter.com/vlHPvCKdbG
— Guardian news (@guardiannews) August 31, 2021
Brazil recorded 24,589 new confirmed cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours along with 839 deaths, the country’s health ministry said on Tuesday.
Brazil has registered more than 20 million cases since the pandemic began, while the official death toll has risen to 580,413, according to ministry data, Reuters reports.
Ireland will drop almost all pandemic restrictions in October after one of the continent’s most successful vaccine rollouts, prime minister Micheál Martin said.
From 22 October, the requirement for vaccine certificates in bars and restaurants will be dropped, as will all restrictions on the numbers attending indoor and outdoor events.
As part of a phased easing of restrictions, the government is recommending the reopening of theatres and cinemas at 60% capacity next week and a return of non-essential workers to offices from 20 September, Reuters reports.
Updated
Rock band Kiss have cancelled four tour dates after co-lead singer Gene Simmons tested positive for Covid-19.
The group were forced to axe a performance in Pennsylvania last week after frontman Paul Stanley also contracted the virus.
At the time, Kiss, known for their distinctive on-stage makeup and outfits, said all members of the band and the crew on tour were fully vaccinated.
The band announced Simmons, 72, has tested positive and is “experiencing mild symptoms”.
Its members and tour crew will now isolate for the next 10 days, PA Media reports.
Kiss said they should be able to resume touring on 9 September with a performance in Irvine, California.
The postponed dates are stops in Michigan, Ohio, Illinois and Wisconsin.
All purchased tickets will be honoured for when new dates are announced, Kiss said.
Updated
A summary of today's developments
- The UK government will press ahead with plans to introduce vaccine passports for nightclubs and other crowded indoor venues in England from the end of next month, the Guardian reports. Officials also restated their intention to roll out a Covid-19 booster programme from September.
- Around 14 million people in the US received their first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine in August, about 4 million more than in July, officials said on Tuesday as the government pushes inoculation as infections rise.
- The US State Department has raised its travel advisory alert for Canada to a “level 3: reconsider travel” status amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, it said.
- The Irish government has announced plans to remove all Covid-19 restrictions by 31 October.
- Seven in 10 (70%) of the European Union’s adult population has been fully vaccinated against Covid, hitting a target it had set at the beginning of the year. The figure masks the contrast among EU countries, with some nations being well above the 70% goal while others in the poorer eastern region of the bloc are far behind.
- Italy reported 75 coronavirus-related deaths on Tuesday, up from 53 the previous day, while the daily tally of new infections rose to 5,498 from 4,257, the health ministry said.
- Israel has recorded its highest daily coronavirus case tally of nearly 11,000 new infections, amid a surge caused by the highly transmissible Delta variant as schools prepare to reopen.
Updated
Around 14 million people in the US received their first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine in August, about 4 million more than in July, officials said on Tuesday as the government pushes inoculation as infections rise.
The US vaccination rate still lags other developed countries. Only around 52% of U.S. residents are fully vaccinated, including about 63% of adults, according to federal data. U.S. President Joe Biden has urged businesses to mandate vaccinations for their staff in a bid to drive up vaccination rates.
Puerto Rico has announced it would close some private businesses and prohibit alcohol sales after midnight effective on Thursday, Reuters reports.
The Caribbean island also said it was requiring mandatory use of masks in open places where 50 people or more are gathered and prohibiting elective surgeries, subject to medical criteria, which require the use of post-operative intensive care units.
The U.S. State Department has raised its travel advisory alert for Canada to a “level 3: reconsider travel” status amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, it said.
The department, along with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, warned on Monday against travel to Switzerland, among other countries because of rising cases of coronavirus, Reuters reports. The CDC also raised its Covid-19 travel warning to “level 4: very high” for the U.S. island territories of Puerto Rico and Guam.
Italy’s foreign minister Luigi Di Maio denounced a “climate of hatred” against the Covid-19 vaccination campaign after receiving death threats on social media.
Protests are planned on Wednesday against the government’s health pass, which restricts access to an array of services to those who cannot show they have received at least one does of the vaccine, have recently tested negative or recovered, Reuters reports. “This is a worrying escalation, a climate of hatred which harms the country but will not stop the vaccination campaign,” Di Maio wrote on Facebook of the threats.
Demonstrators have said they will gather in front of many train stations in Italy and block the railways, to protest against the health pass obligation on trains.
Violence and threats against journalists and health operators have been reported several times in Italy in recent days. “The threats journalists, medical doctors and common citizens have received in the last days cannot be tolerated,” Di Maio said.
A union in the US representing Southwest Airlines pilots has filed a lawsuit challenging forced time off and other changes to working conditions imposed by the airline during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Southwest Airlines Pilots Association filed a complaint in federal court in Dallas claiming Southwest should have collectively bargained with the union instead of giving itself “force majeure” rights when air travel plummeted during the pandemic, Reuters reports. The union claims Southwest implemented an “emergency time off” program, altered schedules, and scaled back prescription drug and retirement benefits without bargaining, in violation of federal labour law.
Updated
Australia’s prime minister is pushing a plan to end lockdowns and reopen Australia – insisting that “Covid normal” can begin when national adult vaccination rates reach to 70% to 80%.
The government insists the plan is safe, and is based on “the best medical, science and economic research in the world”.
Updated
Summary
That’s all from me, Alex Mistlin on the Guardian’s global coronavirus live blog.
Hope it’s been a good one wherever you are. I’m leaving you in the capable hands of my colleague Nadeem Badshah.
- The UK government will press ahead with plans to introduce vaccine passports for nightclubs and other crowded indoor venues in England from the end of next month, the Guardian reports. Officials also restated their intention to roll out a Covid-19 booster programme from September.
- The Irish government has announced plans to remove all Covid-19 restrictions by 31 October.
- Seven in 10 (70%) of the European Union’s adult population has been fully vaccinated against Covid, hitting a target it had set at the beginning of the year. The figure masks the contrast among EU countries, with some nations being well above the 70% goal while others in the poorer eastern region of the bloc are far behind.
- Italy reported 75 coronavirus-related deaths on Tuesday, up from 53 the previous day, while the daily tally of new infections rose to 5,498 from 4,257, the health ministry said.
- Israel has recorded its highest daily coronavirus case tally of nearly 11,000 new infections, amid a surge caused by the highly transmissible Delta variant as schools prepare to reopen.
Australian health authorities are warning against mixing Covid vaccine types, amid concerns raised that some people may be cancelling their second AstraZeneca dose hoping to obtain a shot of Pfizer instead.
As outbreaks of the Delta variant affect New South Wales and Victoria, people are being urged by state premiers and health authorities to get vaccinated as soon as possible with whatever vaccine is available, and to show up to their existing first and second-dose appointments.
You can read the full report from Guardian Australia’s medical editor, Melissa Davey, here:
The Alphabet Inc-owned Google is extending its voluntary return-to-office policy through to 2022 amid rising Delta variant cases, reports Reuters.
The internet search giant’s top boss Sundar Pichai told employees in an email that the policy would run through until 10 January 2022.
A number of big US tech and finance firms, including Facebook, have indicated they will be extending work from home policies into the autumn as Covid cases continue to surge in many parts of the country.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been forced to issue a warning against using a drug called ivermectin to treat coronavirus after several people ended up in hospital.
Ivermectin is a drug used on horses to prevent them from getting any parasites.
But the FDA claims it has “received multiple reports of patients who required medical support and been hospitalised after self-medicating with ivermectin”.
“There seems to be a growing interest in a drug called ivermectin to treat humans with COVID-19,” it wrote.
“Using any treatment for COVID-19 not approved or authorised by the FDA, unless part of a clinical trial, can cause serious harm.
“Never use medications intended for animals on yourself. Ivermectin preparations for animals are very different from those approved for humans.”
US epidemiologist Dr Eric Feigl-Ding tweeted to say: “Don’t do horse deworming meds. That is all.”
2) don’t do horse deworming meds. That is all. https://t.co/cXy4GyjEfo
— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) August 31, 2021
Updated
The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen announced earlier that seven in 10 (70%) of the European Union’s adult population have been fully vaccinated against Covid, hitting a target it had set at the beginning of the year.
But the disparity in vaccination rates between countries, often along west-east lines, has raised concerns from the European executive Commission in Brussels and the World Health Organisation.
AFP reports:
To date, at least 845.5m doses have been administered in Europe, an area which includes Russia and Turkey, according to an AFP tally.
But Europe’s figures overall hide wide disparities between richer and poorer countries.
According to the World Bank, 34 European countries out of 51 are considered high income, including the vast majority of the EU’s 27 countries, as well as the United Kingdom, Norway and Switzerland.
These countries have administered an average of 122 doses per 100 inhabitants. Two thirds of their population (66 %) have received at least one dose and 60% are fully vaccinated.
The other European countries, all considered middle income by the World Bank, have administerd two times fewer shots - 63 per 100 inhabitants. On average only 34% of these countries’ inhabitants have received at least one dose, while 27% are fully vaccinated.
The European Union’s health commissioner on Tuesday spoke of a “worrying gap” in the rate of vaccination between member states. The bloc’s only middle income member Bulgaria, is by far the least vaccinated, with only 17% of its population completely protected.
A new coronavirus variant, C.1.2, that was first detected in South Africa in May “does not appear” to be spreading, the World Health Organisation said earlier, adding it was monitoring the variant as the virus evolves.
“It does not appear to be increasing in circulation,” WHO spokesperson Margaret Harris told a U.N. briefing, adding the variant labelled C.1.2. was not currently classified as a “variant of concern” by the U.N. health agency.
On Monday the National Institute for Communicable Diseases in South Africa issued an alert about the “C.1.2 lineage”, saying it had been detected in all provinces in the country, but at a relatively low rate.
C.1.2 was first detected in May, the alert said, but Delta is still the dominant variant spreading in South Africa and the world.
You can read Melissa Davey’s full report here:
The UK recorded 50 deaths today up from 48 on Monday.
The UK recorded 32,181 cases today up from 26,476 on Monday.
Updated
Italy reported 75 coronavirus-related deaths on Tuesday, up from 53 the previous day, while the daily tally of new infections rose to 5,498 from 4,257, the health ministry said.
A total of 129,221 deaths linked to Covid-19 have been registered in Italy since its outbreak emerged in February last year. That is the second-highest tally in Europe behind Britain and the eighth-highest globally.
Italy has reported 4.5m cases to date.
UK government ministers intend to roll out a Covid-19 booster programme from September, officials have said.
Experts from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) are preparing to make a final decision about the booster campaign, with the NHS in England poised to start the campaign from 6 September, reports PA.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “We are still awaiting the final advice from JCVI on boosters. It is still very much our intention to roll out the booster programme during September.”
The spokesman also said the government will press ahead with plans to introduce vaccine passports for nightclubs and other crowded indoor venues in England from the end of next month.
“We set out broadly our intention to require vaccination for nightclubs and some other settings. We will be coming forward in the coming weeks with detail for that,” he said.
Summary
I’m Alex Mistlin on the Guardian’s global coronavirus live blog.
If you’ve spotted a mistake or a story I’ve missed, you can get in touch with me via Twitter: @amistlin
- The UK government will press ahead with plans to introduce vaccine passports for nightclubs and other crowded indoor venues in England from the end of next month, the Guardian reports.
- The Irish government has approved plans which would see all Covid-19 restrictions removed by 31 October. The taoiseach, Micheál Martin, will publicly announce the plans this evening.
- Seven in 10 (70%) of the European Union’s adult population has been fully vaccinated against Covid, hitting a target it had set at the beginning of the year. The figure masks the contrast among EU countries, with some nations being well above the 70% goal while others in the poorer eastern region of the bloc are far behind.
- Contrary to earlier reports, Canada remains on level 3 of the state department’s travel advisory list. The associated warning urges people to “reconsider” travel to Canada. Level 4, advises against travel to the country or region in question.
-
Australia will ramp up its vaccination programme this week after prime minister Scott Morrison announced it is set to receive 500,000 doses of the Pfizer jab in a swap deal with Singapore.
- Israel has recorded its highest daily coronavirus case tally of nearly 11,000 new infections, amid a surge caused by the highly transmissible Delta variant as schools prepare to reopen.
- A new Covid variant, C.1.2, detected in South Africa has made headlines around the world. C.1.2 was first detected in May, the alert said, but Delta is still the dominant variant spreading in South Africa and the world.
Updated
The UK government will press ahead with plans to introduce vaccine passports for nightclubs and other crowded indoor venues in England from the end of next month, reports our political editor, Heather Stewart.
Johnson first put forward the idea in July, days after clubs and other venues were allowed to reopen.
He said: “We are planning to make full vaccination the condition of entry to nightclubs and other venues where large crowds gather. Proof of a negative test will no longer be sufficient.”
You can read the full report here:
Updated
Virgin Media News political correspondent Gavan Reilly reports the Irish government has approved plans in which would all Covid-19 restrictions would be removed by 31 October.
The Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, will publicly announce the plans this evening.
It’s done.
— Gavan Reilly (@gavreilly) August 31, 2021
The Government has approved plans which would see all COVID-19 restrictions, except for mask wearing in some settings, removed in just over 50 days.
The Taoiseach will address the nation this evening; we’re live with an extended @VirginMediaNews at 5:30. pic.twitter.com/JJ4tI8UGo5
Updated
A senior figure in the Edinburgh festivals has said it could take the rest of the decade before the events fully recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I don’t think 2022 is the destination,” Barley said. “The destination is 2025 or even 2030. That’s how long it’s going to take for us to properly recover from the pandemic.”
The Edinburgh International Festival, which chiefly presents classical music, dance and opera, said it sold 51,200 tickets to live events, two-thirds down on 2019, with 350,000 viewers from 50 countries watching events online.
The fringe, which sold 4m tickets in 2019, refused to release its audience figures for this year’s event. Last week, as it launched a £7.5m funding appeal, it said it had produced a fifth of its normal number of shows and sold 12,500 online tickets.
You can read Severin Carrell’s full report here:
Updated
Kosovo on Tuesday postponed the beginning of the school year for students by two weeks following a surge of infections due to the Delta variant, and new precautions were taken in other western Balkan countries including Albania and Serbia.
AP reports:
The preventative moves have been welcomed by teachers and parents in Kosovo who fear that the delta variant has created a more dangerous situation for students and families.
In neighbouring Albania, school was postponed until 27 September. The Tirana government is urging people to get their vaccine shots, warning that otherwise it may make vaccines compulsory for health workers, teachers, professors and students. About one-third of Albania’s 2.8 million people have been vaccinated.
In Serbia, teachers protested Tuesday outside the parliament building in Belgrade demanding fewer students in classes and better salaries. Schools in Serbia will start as normal on Wednesday, except in south-western Serbia, where some classes will be online due to the high numbers of new coronavirus infections.
Fifty per cent of the population has been vaccinated in Serbia, a country of 7 million, and authorities have started administering a third booster dose to people who had received jabs at least six months ago.
Updated
Northern Ireland’s deputy first minister, Michelle O’Neill, is self-isolating after contracting Covid-19.
I have contracted Covid-19. I am thankful to have had two doses of the vaccine. I’ll remain in self-isolation, and hope to return to my public duties next week. Executive Office Minister Declan Kearney, will take forward Departmental business in the meantime.
— Michelle O’Neill (@moneillsf) August 31, 2021
PA Media: Meanwhile, one of O’Neill’s ministerial colleagues has called on the Stormont executive to “set out a path” for ending remaining Covid restrictions in Northern Ireland.
DUP economy minister Gordon Lyons told the BBC:
We need to start moving on these issues, we have to take into account the impact on the economy, the health service and society more generally.
Some Covid restrictions remain in place in Northern Ireland.
No more than 10 people from three households allowed to meet indoors at a private home and hospitality businesses required to operate table service only for drinks, and must record customer details for contact tracing.
Updated
Contrary to the earlier reports that Canada had been added to Level 4 “do not travel” status by the US State Department, Canada remains on Level 3 which urges people to “reconsider” travel to Canada.
Clarification: A previous tweet saying the U.S. State Department recommends not travelling to Canada has been deleted. It was based on a Reuters report attributing it to a department statement. However, on its website, the dept. still advises travel to Canada be 'reconsidered.'
— CBC News Alerts (@CBCAlerts) August 31, 2021
Updated
Contrary to a Reuters report, the US State Department has not raised its travel advisory alert for Canada to Level 4 “do not travel” status.
The department, along with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), warned against travelling to Canada and Switzerland, among other countries because of rising Covid cases.
On Monday, Canada and Germany were moved up to level 3 by the US state department and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with potential travellers urged to “reconsider travel” owing to “a high level of Covid-19”.
Updated
Summary
Alex Mistlin here with a brief round-up of the day’s biggest coronavirus news:
- Seven in 10 (70%) of the European Union’s adult population has been fully vaccinated against Covid, hitting a target it had set at the beginning of the year. The figure masks the contrast among EU countries, with some nations being well above the 70% goal while others in the poorer eastern region of the bloc are far behind.
-
Australia will ramp up its vaccination programme this week after prime minister Scott Morrison announced it is set to receive 500,000 doses of the Pfizer jab in a swap deal with Singapore.
- Israel has recorded its highest daily coronavirus case tally of nearly 11,000 new infections, amid a surge caused by the highly transmissible Delta variant as schools prepare to reopen.
- A new Covid variant, C.1.2, detected in South Africa has made headlines around the world. C.1.2 was first detected in May, the alert said, but Delta is still the dominant variant spreading in South Africa and the world.
- The Irish cabinet are meeting to sign off plans that would see all remaining Covid-19 restrictions removed prior to 31 October. It is understood the current plan would see requirements or mandates for physical distancing scrapped, as well as mask wearing outdoors and indoors in private settings.
-
Britain’s GlaxoSmithKline and South Korean pharmaceutical firm SK Bioscience have begun a phase 3 trial of their combined Covid vaccine.
- Taiwan has confirmed that 900,000 doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine will arrive in the country “soon”. The arrival of the first batch of vaccines has proved a controversial issue on the island, with ministers blaming China blocking an order earlier this year.
- Two leaders of the anti-lockdown movement have been arrested in Australia and New Zealand in separate incidents, on the same day protests were held in defiance of stay-at-home orders in both countries.
Updated
The Irish cabinet are meeting now to sign off on a plan that would see all remaining Covid-19 restrictions removed prior to 31 October.
It is understood the current plan would see requirements or mandates for physical distancing scrapped, as well as mask wearing outdoors and indoors in private settings.
The plans are subject to 90% of the population being fully-vaccinated and coronavirus cases staying at controllable levels.
The final move to end restrictions will include easing requirements for physical distancing and mask wearing in many settings, as well as removing testing or vaccination as a grounds for accessing many service.
Ireland’s current move towards easing restrictions would see workers returning to the office on a phased basis from 20 September. Live music at weddings and pubs is set to return from Monday.
Reuters: Only vaccinated people will be allowed to travel to Oman in an effort to stop the spread of Covid-19.
The Omani state news agency said the decision would be applied to all countries without exception.
Oman announced earlier that vaccination would be a mandatory condition of access to Muscat International Airport.
However, Oman Airports announced on Tuesday that the restriction does not apply to travellers.
Oman Airports would like to emphasize that:
— مطارات عُمان (@OmanAirports) August 31, 2021
“Vaccination” is mandatory to access the Airports premises but does not apply to travelers. The requirements for Travelers to the access of Airport premises will be limited to the travel requirements of your destination. https://t.co/eU2QqvtFaa pic.twitter.com/Tkk0x3tkXN
The Spanish government has sent 6m doses of anti-Covid vaccine to Latin America out of the 7.5m doses it had promised, its spokesperson Isabel Rodriguez confirmed to Reuters.
“The government has sent six million of these vaccines,” Rodriguez told reporters.
Updated
Covid-19 vaccine booster shots will be made widely available to Americans in September, while several other countries including Israel, Germany and France have decided to offer boosters to older adults and people with weak immune systems, reports Reuters.
The vastly different approach taken by different nations reflects the fact there is not yet a scientific consensus around the need for a third dose of Covid vaccine.
In the US, federal health authorities are discussing shortening the timeline for Covid-19 booster shots to allow additional doses sooner than the eight-month window officials have been targeting.
While in the EU, countries that decide to administer booster shots may face increased legal risks because the additional dose has not yet been recommended by the EU drugs regulator.
Britain has begun planning for a booster campaign starting later this year after top vaccine advisers said it might be necessary to give third shots to the elderly and most vulnerable from September.
With the populations of richer nations increasingly meeting vaccination thresholds (usually 70-80% of the adult population receiving two doses) attention, and controversy, turns to the need for booster jabs.
Even the World Health Organization has expressed uncertainty on the issue. In an 18 August press briefing, senior WHO officials reiterated the need to vaccinated vulnerable people worldwide before administering booster jabs in higher-income nations.
But yesterday, Dr Hans Kluge, the WHO’s regional director for Europe, said:
A third dose of vaccine is not a luxury booster taken away from someone who is still waiting for a first jab … It’s basically a way to keep the most vulnerable safe.
Updated
Zoom shares continued to fall as people returned to in-person work and school.
Zoom Video Communications’ shares fell by 11% despite generating $1.02bn against expected quarterly revenues of $990bn.
The company’s chief financial officer, Kelly Steckelberg, saying: “We had expected that [the slowdown] towards the end of the year, but it’s just happened a little more quickly than we expected.”
And Zoom said it expected to see a decline in revenues from business customers with 10 or fewer employees.
The company is a poster boy for pandemic growth stocks as businesses and academic institutions became highly reliant on video communications from March 2020.
Updated
Singapore has reported 156 new local coronavirus cases today, its highest number in almost six weeks.
Singapore had fully vaccinated 80% of its population against Covid-19 as of Sunday, one of the highest rates in the world, reaching a threshold for the city-state to further ease its restrictions.
Tuesday’s local cases were the highest since 22 July, reports Reuters.
Singapore’s progress comes in sharp contrast to most of its neighbours, which have been struggling with low inoculation rates while battling deadly outbreaks driven by the highly transmissible Delta variant.
The rise in cases in Singapore comes as the country brokered a “dose swap” for 500,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine with Australia.
Updated
Scotland’s finance secretary, Kate Forbes, is self-isolating after being identified as a close contact of a family member who has Covid-19.
She will self-isolate for up to 10 days because she received her second dose of a coronavirus vaccine less than two weeks ago, she said.
Late this afternoon, a family member tested positive. As a close contact, I will now self-isolate for the full period as I am not fully vaccinated (it’s been less than a fortnight since my second vaccine). /1
— Kate Forbes MSP (@_KateForbes) August 30, 2021
Updated
Israel records nearly 11,000 new cases, highest daily case tally
Israel has recorded its highest daily coronavirus case tally of nearly 11,000 new infections, amid a surge caused by the highly transmissible Delta variant as schools prepare to reopen.
The previous high came on 18 January, with 10,118 cases.
Despite today’s 10,947 confirmed cases, AFP reports Israel is pressing ahead with plans to fully open its school system tomorrow as it tries to boost vaccination rates.
Prime minister Naftali Bennett, a critic of the cycle of lockdowns implemented by his predecessor, Benjamin Netanyahu, has maintained that the surge can be controlled through inoculation and protective measures such as masks.
His government has encouraged all residents aged 12 and above to get a third get jab of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.
About 60% of Israel’s 9.3 million residents have received two vaccine doses, including 80% of adults.
Updated
In Greece, a British-trained respiratory specialist who has played a leading role in the country’s battle against Covid-19, has been appointed deputy health minister as part of a wide-ranging cabinet reshuffle.
Prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis also replaced Vassilis Kikilias as health minister in what was interpreted as a new push to deal with the pandemic ahead of the autumn.
Halfway through its four-year term, the centre-right government announced Dr Mina Gaga would assume the key post as it struggles with a sharp rise in confirmed coronavirus cases. Last week, Greece held the unenviable record of having the second highest number of fatalities – 23,14 deaths per 1 million population – in the European Union after Cyprus, according to the European Centre for Disease Control.
Greek epidemiologists have expressed mounting concerns over the spread of the now predominant Delta variant with doctors also voicing anxiety over pressures placed on the nation’s increasingly stretched health system.
“The extent of the pressure that we have witnessed in the middle of the summer has really surprised us,” Dr Nikos Kapravelas, who heads the intensive care unit at the Papanicolaou hospital in Thessaloniki, told Open TV.
More than 90% of admissions to intensive care units are of non-vaccinated patients with the government recently unveiling measures that will see all those who have not had the jab against Covid-19 being banned from tavernas, restaurants, cafes, bars and clubs as of 13 September.
Among the few women to hold a ministerial position in Mitsotakis’ cabinet, Gaga, a clinical research fellow at the UK’s Royal Brompton hospital, had previously helped coordinate efforts against the virus as head of a pneumology department at one of the Greek capital’s Covid referral hospitals.
Updated
Thailand’s elderly population lags behind in terms of vaccination rates, data shows.
Government data analysed by Reuters shows Thailand has fully vaccinated just 6.7% of its elderly population (people 60 and older) compared with 15% of adults aged 18 to 59 and 10.2% of the total population.
Thailand was the only one of 30 countries for which Reuters reviewed data that had a lower percentage of seniors vaccinated than those in younger age groups.
Since April, people aged 60 and over have accounted for at least 62% of deaths in Thailand and about 8.7% of cases. The proportion of elderly deaths has risen, pointing to the possible impact of slow vaccinations.
Neighbouring Malaysia had fully vaccinated at least 82% of its senior citizens by Aug. 22, according to government data, compared with 45.6% of its total population to date. In Indonesia, only 17% of the elderly have been fully vaccinated, but that is still higher than the 13% for the total population.
Updated
More on the news that 70% of the European Union’s adult population has been fully vaccinated against Covid-19.
In January, the European Commission said that “by summer 2021, member states should have vaccinated a minimum of 70% of the adult population.”
This was interpreted as meaning that each of the 27 EU member states should hit that target by September.
The bloc has now cumulatively has vaccinated 70% of its adult population but the situation differs vastly between countries. Malta has fully vaccinated over 90% of its adult population, while Ireland and Portugal have also immunised more than 80% of their adult population.
However, Bulgaria has fully vaccinated just one fifth of its adult population, and Romania about 30% of adults. Croatia, Latvia, Slovenia and Slovakia have immunised about half of those aged above 18.
Alex Mistlin here taking over from my colleague Tom Ambrose on the Guardian’s global coronavirus blog.
If you’ve spotted a mistake or a story I’ve missed then feel free to get in touch via Twitter: @amistlin
Summary
Here is a brief round-up of this morning’s top coronavirus headlines:
-
Australia will ramp up its vaccination programme this week after prime minister Scott Morrison announced it is set to receive 500,000 doses of the Pfizer jab in a swap deal with Singapore.
-
Britain’s GlaxoSmithKline and South Korean pharmaceutical firm SK Bioscience have begun a phase three trial of their combined Covid vaccine.
- Taiwan has confirmed that 900,000 doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine will arrive in the country “soon”. The arrival of the first batch of vaccines has proved a controversial issue on the island, with ministers blaming China blocking an order earlier this year.
- In the UK, a new “centre of excellence” and training facility specialising in the technology used to create the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines is to be launched.
-
Two leaders of the anti-lockdown movement have been arrested in Australia and New Zealand in separate incidents, on the same day protests were held in defiance of stay-at-home orders in both countries.
- Seven in 10 (70%) of the European Union’s adult population has been fully vaccinated against Covid, hitting a target it had set at the beginning of the year.
That’s it from me, Tom Ambrose, this morning. My colleague Alex Mistlin is taking over now to bring you all the latest breaking Covid news throughout the afternoon.
70% of the European Union's adult population now fully vaccinated
Seven in 10 (70%) of the European Union’s adult population have been fully vaccinated against Covid, hitting a target it had set at the beginning of the year.
The announcement marks an important milestone in the EU vaccination strategy after a slow start.
It also masks the contrast among EU countries, with some nations being well above the 70% goal while others in the poorer eastern region of the bloc are far behind.
“70% of adults in EU are fully vaccinated. I want to thank the many people making this great achievement possible,” the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said on Twitter.
70% of adults in EU are fully vaccinated.
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) August 31, 2021
I want to thank the many people making this great achievement possible.
But we must go further!
We need more Europeans to vaccinate. And we need to help the rest of the world vaccinate, too.
We'll continue supporting our partners. pic.twitter.com/VxdvZlrwYv
Updated
Pressure is mounting on the Hong Kong government to reopen borders or face losing executives an investment.
Business lobby groups are calling on the government to relax its quarantine programme, which has seen bankers working on billion-dollar deals while locked away in hotel rooms for three weeks.
Hong Kong’s decision to increase mandatory hotel quarantine to three weeks for arrivals from most countries prompted a backlash from banks, hedge funds and traders.
By contrast, their counterparts in London and New York are able to go straight back into the office after travelling.
City leader Carrie Lam said on Tuesday many people had complained that quarantine policies were “excessively strict” but maintained that restrictions were needed to open up to the Chinese mainland.
She added at a weekly press briefing:
The more you relax on overseas arrivals, the lesser you will have a chance to go into the mainland … we will try to make our measures more humanistic whenever possible, but to relax altogether the restrictions on arrivals is not a wise move.
Updated
Two leaders of the anti-lockdown movement have been arrested in Australia and New Zealand in separate incidents, on the same day protests were held in defiance of stay-at-home orders in both countries.
On Tuesday morning, New Zealand police arrested 19 people during what they described as a series of “small” demonstrations outside government and local council buildings.
Among those arrested was Karen Brewer, an Australian-born conspiracy theorist who has pushed a series of fringe and baseless ideas throughout the pandemic.
NZ police did not respond to questions about the reason for Brewer’s arrest or whether she had been charged. She remained in custody at the time of publication.
In a separate arrest on Tuesday afternoon, Monica Smit, the founder of the anti-lockdown group Reignite Democracy Australia, was arrested while driving in the Melbourne suburb of Brighton.
Smit had not been charged at the time of publication and Victoria police did not respond to questions about the reasons for her arrest.
Updated
In the UK, a new “centre of excellence” and training facility specialising in the technology used to create the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines is to be launched.
It will be based in north-east England and will work with the British government, as well as industry, to help protect the world against future pandemics and infectious diseases.
The facility will be based at an existing site in Darlington but with an expanded capacity. It is estimated to be ready to open in November, with courses to train technicians and scientists from January, according to PA Media.
Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines use mRNA, which carry instructions telling the body to produce a specific tool that can be used to fight disease.
As well as coronavirus, the technology can be used in the treatment of HIV, cancer and heart disease, scientists involved in the new centre said.
Dr Lucy Foley, the director of Biologics at CPI – the technology innovation organisation behind the new facility – said:
I think that industry is really shining a light on RNA and these chemically synthesised products now, saying ‘these are much, much faster to manufacture, if we can get the cost of goods down, this is a much more promising way to treat disease in the future’.
Updated
On the subject of mental health during Covid, the actor Stephen Fry has called for a network of mental health walk-in centres for UK children and young people who he said have been hit worst by the pandemic.
Writing in the Telegraph, the actor and comedian, who is also president of Mind, voiced the charity’s appeal to ministers for hubs through which children can access support without a referral from a doctor or their school.
To read more, see the full story here:
Nike has given its head office employees in the US a week off to “destress” and recover from the pressures of the Covid pandemic.
The sportswear and trainers brand said workers at its headquarters in Oregon would be “powering down” until Friday, with senior leaders encouraging staff to ignore all work responsibilities to aid their mental health.
Nike senior manager of global marketing science, Matt Marrazzo, said in an open message to staff posted on LinkedIn:
Take the time to unwind, destress and spend time with your loved ones. Do not work.
In a year (or two) unlike any other, taking time for rest and recovery is key to performing well and staying sane.”
He acknowledged that “this past year has been rough”, adding that staff should recognise that “we’re all human” and living through a traumatic event.
South Korean officials have expressed “cautious hope” that Covid transmissions are starting to slow, after battling the country’s worst wave of infections for weeks.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency reported the country’s lowest daily jump in about two weeks with 1,372 cases on Tuesday.
The Associated Press reported:
Officials have been enforcing the strongest social distancing restrictions short of a lockdown in the capital of Seoul and other large population centres, including banning private social gatherings of three or more people after 6pm.
A senior health ministry official pleaded for citizens to remain vigilant ahead of next month’s Chuseok holidays, the Korean version of Thanksgiving, when millions usually travel across the country to meet relatives.
Less than 30% of South Korea’s population have been fully vaccinated.
In Australia, the New South Wales (NSW) government has refused to take responsibility for what it admits is the “disappointing” vaccine rollout in Aboriginal communities in the west of the state.
This comes despite being warned last year of a potential catastrophe in the Covid-hit town of Wilcannia, as reported by Guardian Australia in an exclusive yesterday.
The NSW health minister, Brad Hazzard, said the vaccination rollout to Aboriginal communities has been challenging, but that it was a federal government responsibility.
Hazzard was responding to claims made by the Maari Ma Aboriginal health service in the far west of NSW, revealed exclusively by Guardian Australia, that it warned both state and federal governments in March 2020 that they needed to urgently prepare for an outbreak.
As of Tuesday, Wilcannia had recorded 73 coronavirus cases in a population of 720, the highest transmission rate in NSW.
Updated
Taiwan has confirmed that 900,000 doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine will arrive in the country “soon”.
The arrival of the first batch of vaccines has proved a controversial issue on the island, with ministers blaming China blocking an order earlier this year.
However, Beijing – which claims Taiwan as its own territory – has always vehemently denied these claims.
Taiwan’s government subsequently allowed major Apple Inc supplier Foxconn – formally Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd – as well as its billionaire founder, Terry Gou, along with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd, to negotiate on its behalf for the jab.
A $350m deal for 10m shots was agreed last month, which will be donated to the government for distribution, reports the Reuters news agency.
Health minister Chen Shih-chung told reporters today that he was not able to give an exact timetable for the arrival of the shots but confirmed “the time mentioned is very close”.
Chen said that the arrival of the vaccines had “great meaning” for Taiwan, and he would definitely go to the airport to receive them.
Taiwan is getting the shots earlier than expected as a delay in regulatory approval of the shot for use in mainland China made a surplus available for the island.
The vaccine is approved for use in Chinese-run Hong Kong and Macau.
Updated
Britain’s GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and South Korean pharmaceutical firm SK Bioscience have begun a phase three trial of their combined Covid vaccine.
GSK confirmed “positive” interim results from its first two rounds of studies and said the partners are aiming for the product to be available through Covax in the first half of 2022, reports PA Media.
The rollout of the new coronavirus vaccine will be subject to data and regulatory reviews.
Thomas Breuer, chief global health officer, GSK, said:
While many countries have made good progress with vaccination, there remains a need for accessible and affordable Covid-19 vaccines to ensure equitable access and to protect people across the world.
We are pleased to contribute with GSK’s pandemic adjuvant and to be working with SK to deliver the vaccine at scale via Covax if it is approved.
About 4,000 participants from various countries will be monitored to evaluate the vaccine candidate’s safety and immunogenicity compared with the AstraZeneca vaccine.
GSK said the study will be one of the first global late-stage trials to compare two different vaccine candidates.
SK Bioscience chief executive Jaeyong Ahn added:
We are grateful that we were able to advance to the phase three study with the unprecedented support of global initiatives, including GSK, Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Initiative, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Taking this important step towards overcoming the global pandemic situation, SK and GSK will bring our technical expertise together for the development of an adjuvanted protein-based vaccine candidate, GBP510.
Updated
Australia will ramp up its vaccination programme this week after prime minister Scott Morrison announced it is set to receive 500,000 doses of the Pfizer jab in a swap deal with Singapore.
Canberra struck the deal, which will see Australia return the same amount of vaccine doses to Singapore in December, as daily cases reached near record levels for the country, the Reuters news agency reported.
Morrison told reporters today:
That means there are 500,000 doses extra that will happen in September that otherwise would have had to wait for several months from now, accelerating our vaccination program at this critical time as we walk towards those 70% and 80% target.
A slow rollout of the vaccine has left Australia particularly vulnerable to the highly transmissible Delta coronavirus variant, despite initial success in containing the virus by implementing a strict lockdown and quarantine system.
With just under 28% of Australia’s population fully vaccinated, compared with 80% in Singapore, several states and territories have had to reintroduce strict lockdowns as cases soared, hitting businesses and the domestic economy.
Updated
Summary
That’s it from me, Helen Livingstone, for today. I’m handing over to my UK colleague Tom Ambrose.
Before I go, here’s a quick roundup of what’s been happening over the past 24 hours:
- New cases of Covid-19 have continued to drop in New Zealand, in a promising early indication that the country’s strict lockdown is working and its latest outbreak may be coming under control. The country reported 49 new cases on Tuesday, down from 53 a day earlier.
-
Australia’s capital, Canberra, has extended its hard lockdown by a further two weeks as it struggles to contain a surge in the highly infectious Delta variant. New South Wales, meanwhile, reported 1,164 new infections, down slightly from a record 1,290 cases the day prior.
- Japan’s health minister says it is highly likely that foreign matter found in Moderna Inc Covid-19 vaccines in the southern prefecture of Okinawa came about when needles where stuck incorrectly into vials.
- Australia has reported a huge increase in illegal importations of ivermectin, which is typically used to deworm livestock, prompting health authorities to warn people against using it as a treatment for Covid-19.
- The EU has removed six countries, including the US, from a Covid “white list” of places whose tourists should be permitted entry without restrictions such as mandatory quarantine.
- The number of solid organ transplants fell dramatically around the world between 2019 and 2020, a study published in the Lancet Public Health journal has found, highlighting the widespread impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on health services and patients.
- South African scientists have detected a new coronavirus variant that may have increased transmissibility. Scientists are yet to establish whether it is more contagious or able to overcome the immunity provided by vaccines or prior infection.
- Schools across Europe must stay open and be made safer for staff and children, the WHO and Unicef have demanded, as a new term gets under way with the highly transmissible Delta variant still dominant in the region.
- A third-dose booster shot of the Covid-19 vaccine is a way to keep the most vulnerable safe and “not a luxury”, the WHO has said. It urged European countries with excess vaccines to share them with other countries, particularly those in eastern Europe and Africa.
- Senior WHO officials fear there could be 236,000 more Covid deaths in Europe between now and 1 December on account of stagnating vaccination rates and low uptake in poorer countries.
- The UK has reported 26,476 new cases of Covid-19 between 24 August and 30 August, bringing reported cases up by 1.8% compared with the previous seven days.
- Two counties in the US state of Oregon, hit hard by Covid-19, are running out of space to hold bodies amid an intense surge in cases that is overwhelming the state’s healthcare system, forcing authorities to request refrigerated trucks to help handle the overflow.
- The Czech government will offer a booster Covid-19 vaccine to any previously vaccinated person. The jabs will be available from 20 September.
- France will provide 10m doses of AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines for Africa over the next three months, President Emmanuel Macron’s office has announced.
- The Scottish first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, tested negative for Covid-19 after being identified as a close contact of a person with the virus. Sturgeon was self-isolating pending a PCR test result but she was no longer doing so in accordance with current regulations.
Updated
Racing off for a Covid test at any opportunity, rushing to donate blood or ambling to three different takeout venues on a Saturday night? Australian parents are apparently getting creative in their bid to find alone time during lockdown. The Guardian’s Alexandra Carlton reports:
A new Covid variant has made headlines around the world after the National Institute for Communicable Diseases in South Africa issued an alert about the “C.1.2 lineage”, saying it had been detected in all provinces in the country, but at a relatively low rate.
C.1.2 was first detected in May, the alert said, but Delta is still the dominant variant spreading in South Africa and the world.
A pre-print, non peer-reviewed paper published about the variant said C.1.2 “… has since been detected across the majority of the provinces in South Africa and in seven other countries spanning Africa, Europe, Asia and Oceania”.
The C.1.2 lineage has drawn the attention of scientists because despite its low rate in the population, it possesses mutations within the genome similar to those seen in variants of interest and variants of concern, like the Delta variant, as well as some additional mutations.
So what do we know about the new variant, and how concerned should we be?
Japan blames vaccine vial contamination on incorrect needle use
Japan’s health minister says it is highly likely that foreign matter found in Moderna Inc Covid-19 vaccines in the southern prefecture of Okinawa got into vials when needles were stuck in, Reuters reports.
Some Moderna shots were temporarily halted in Okinawa on Sunday after foreign materials were discovered in vials and syringes. The health ministry said later needles may have been incorrectly inserted into vials, breaking off bits of the rubber stopper.
“Whatever the reason (for the foreign matter) we have heard that there is no safety or other issues,” health minister Norihisa Tamura told reporters on Tuesday, adding that it was not uncommon for foreign material to enter a vial with other vaccines.
“We will continue to gather information and report back,” he added.
Japan is facing its biggest wave of Covid-19 infections so far during the pandemic, driven by the highly transmissible Delta variant.
A race to boost inoculations has been hampered by delays in imported vaccines and the discovery of the contaminants in some Moderna doses that prompted the suspension of three batches last week.
Taro Kono, the minister in charge of the inoculation campaign, said on Tuesday he wanted to speed up shipments of vaccines to municipalities that had been forced to put a halt reservations due to shortages.
The government is considering when and how to give out booster shots that may be needed to maintain immunity against the virus but is focusing for now on completing the first two shots for the public, Kono told reporters.
Updated
Welcome
Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s rolling coverage of the coronavirus pandemic with me, Helen Livingstone.
New cases of Covid-19 have continued to drop in New Zealand, in a promising early indication that the country’s strict lockdown is working and its latest outbreak may be coming under control. The country reported 49 new cases on Tuesday, down from 53 a day earlier.
In other developments:
- Japan’s health minister says it is highly likely that foreign matter found in Moderna Inc Covid-19 vaccines in the southern prefecture of Okinawa came about when needles where stuck incorrectly into vials.
- Australia has reported a huge increase in illegal importations of ivermectin, which is typically used to deworm livestock, prompting health authorities to warn people against using it as a treatment for Covid-19.
- The number of solid organ transplants fell dramatically around the world between 2019 and 2020, a study published in the Lancet Public Health journal has found, highlighting the widespread impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on health services and patients.
- South African scientists have detected a new coronavirus variant that may have increased transmissibility. Scientists are yet to establish whether it is more contagious or able to overcome the immunity provided by vaccines or prior infection.
- Schools across Europe must stay open and be made safer for staff and children, the WHO and Unicef have demanded, as a new term gets under way with the highly transmissible Delta variant still dominant in the region.
- A third-dose booster shot of the Covid-19 vaccine is a way to keep the most vulnerable safe and “not a luxury”, the WHO has said. It urged European countries with excess vaccines to share them with other countries, particularly those in eastern Europe and Africa.
- Senior WHO officials fear there could be 236,000 more Covid deaths in Europe between now and 1 December on account of stagnating vaccination rates and low uptake in poorer countries.
- The UK has reported 26,476 new cases of Covid-19 between 24 August and 30 August, bringing reported cases up by 1.8% compared with the previous seven days.
- Two counties in the US state of Oregon, hit hard by Covid-19, are running out of space to hold bodies amid an intense surge in cases that is overwhelming the state’s healthcare system, forcing authorities to request refrigerated trucks to help handle the overflow.
- The Czech government will offer a booster Covid-19 vaccine to any previously vaccinated person. The jabs will be available from 20 September.
- France will provide 10m doses of AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines for Africa over the next three months, President Emmanuel Macron’s office has announced.
- Scottish first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, tested negative for Covid-19 after being identified as a close contact of a person with the virus. Sturgeon was self-isolating pending a PCR test result but she was no longer doing so in accordance with current regulations.
