A summary of today's developments
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Brazil had 20,503 new cases of coronavirus reported in the past 24 hours and 464 deaths, the country’s health ministry said on Sunday. The South American country has now registered 19,938,358 cases since the pandemic began, while the official death toll has risen to 556,834, Reuters reports.
- Mexico’s health ministry has reported 6,740 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 and 128 more fatalities, Reuters reports. It brings its total to 2,854,992 infections and 241,034 deaths.
- Thousands turned out in Berlin on Sunday to protest the German government’s anti-coronavirus measures despite a ban on the gatherings, leading to clashes with police and about 600 arrests.
- The UK has registered 24,470 new Covid cases in the past 24 hours. There were 911 further hospitalisations and 65 more people have died within 28 days of a positive test.
- Italy reported five coronavirus-related deaths on Sunday, down from 16 the day before, the health ministry said. The daily tally of new infections fell to 5,321 on Sunday compared with 6,513 the previous day.
- A day after it recorded the most new daily cases since the start of the pandemic, Florida on Sunday broke a previous record in the US for current hospitalisations, as the number of patients in hospitals because of Covid-19 once again broke through the 10,000-person threshold.
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US president Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser Dr Anthony Fauci has told ABC News he does not expect the US will be returning to lockdowns, despite the growing risks of Covid-19 infections posed by the Delta variant.
- Health authorities in China are battling to contain the country’s most widespread coronavirus outbreak in months and several cities have rolled out mass testing of millions of people and imposed fresh travel restrictions. China reported 75 new coronavirus cases with 53 local transmissions, with a cluster linked to an eastern airport now reported to have spread to over 20 cities and more than a dozen provinces.
- Tunisia, which has one of the world’s highest coronavirus death rates, received 1.5m Covid-19 vaccine doses from Italy on Sunday, the president’s office announced.
Mexico’s health ministry has reported 6,740 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 and 128 more fatalities, Reuters reports.
It brings its total to 2,854,992 infections and 241,034 deaths.
Brazil death toll rises by 464
Brazil had 20,503 new cases of coronavirus reported in the past 24 hours and 464 deaths, the country’s health ministry said on Sunday.
The South American country has now registered 19,938,358 cases since the pandemic began, while the official death toll has risen to 556,834, Reuters reports.
You can follow the latest Covid developments in Australia on our blog here:
Britain will offer Covid-19 booster vaccines to 32 million Britons starting early next month with up to 2,000 pharmacies expected to deliver the programme, the Daily Telegraph has reported.
The campaign could start as soon as 6 September, which would see the rollout completed by early December if it goes to plan, the report added.
Updated
The New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian said the state plans to break vaccination records this month in an effort to control Covid, as 239 new cases were recorded on Sunday.
“I am an optimist, it is a month for all of us to come forward and get the vaccine,” she said.
NSW is aiming to have 80% of the state vaccinated, but Berejiklian said even having 60% of eligible adults vaccinated “gives you a whole lot more options”.
“That is not a way to live, which is why we have been saying in NSW we would like this to be our last lockdown, so long as people get vaccinated.”
Updated
A summary of today's developments
- Thousands turned out in Berlin on Sunday to protest the German government’s anti-coronavirus measures despite a ban on the gatherings, leading to clashes with police and about 600 arrests.
- The UK has registered 24,470 new Covid cases in the past 24 hours. There were 911 further hospitalisations and 65 more people have died within 28 days of a positive test.
- Italy reported five coronavirus-related deaths on Sunday, down from 16 the day before, the health ministry said. The daily tally of new infections fell to 5,321 on Sunday compared with 6,513 the previous day.
- A day after it recorded the most new daily cases since the start of the pandemic, Florida on Sunday broke a previous record in the US for current hospitalisations, as the number of patients in hospitals because of Covid-19 once again broke through the 10,000-person threshold.
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US president Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser Dr Anthony Fauci has told ABC News he does not expect the US will be returning to lockdowns, despite the growing risks of Covid-19 infections posed by the Delta variant.
- Health authorities in China are battling to contain the country’s most widespread coronavirus outbreak in months and several Chinese cities have rolled out mass testing of millions of people and imposed fresh travel restrictions. China reported 75 new coronavirus cases with 53 local transmissions, with a cluster linked to an eastern airport now reported to have spread to over 20 cities and more than a dozen provinces.
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Tunisia, which has one of the world’s highest coronavirus death rates, received 1.5m Covid-19 vaccine doses from Italy on Sunday, the president’s office announced.
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Thousands turned out in Berlin on Sunday to protest the German government’s anti-coronavirus measures despite a ban on the gatherings, leading to clashes with police and about 600 arrests.
Local authorities had banned several different protests this weekend, including one from the Stuttgart-based Querdenker movement, but protesters in Berlin defied the ban, Associated Press reports. Berlin’s police department deployed more than 2,000 officers to try to disperse the protests, but it said officers who sought to redirect protesters or disband larger groups were “harassed and attacked”.
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A day after it recorded the most new daily cases since the start of the pandemic, Florida on Sunday broke a previous record for current hospitalisations, as the number of patients in hospitals because of Covid-19 once again broke through the 10,000-person threshold.
It had 10,207 people in hospital with confirmed Covid-19 cases, according to data reported to the US Department of Health & Human Services, Associated Press reports.
The previous record came on 23 July, 2020, more than a half-year before vaccinations started becoming widespread, when Florida had 10,170 hospital admissions.
Florida is now leading the US in per capita hospitalisations for the virus, as hospitals around the state report having to put emergency room visitors in beds in hallways and others document a noticeable drop in the age of patients.
Updated
France has reported 1,137 people in intensive care with Covid-19, an increase of 38, Reuters reports.
Two Sumatran tigers are recovering at a zoo in Indonesia after being infected with coronavirus, officials said.
Nine-year-old Tino and 12-year-old Hari tested positive in mid-July after they experienced flu-like symptoms, trouble breathing and appetite loss, AFP reports.
But the male tigers are on the mend after treatment.
“Both animals are healthy now,” Suzi Marsitawati, head of Jakarta’s Parks and Forest Service, said in a statement. “Their appetite has returned to normal and they are active again.”
Updated
Lewis Hamilton believes he may still have not fully recovered from contracting Covid-19 after he experienced fatigue and dizziness at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
The British driver finished third in a monumental effort to come back from last place at the Hungaroring but admitted he fears he may be suffering from long Covid.
After his immense recovery drive, Hamilton missed the start of the post-race press conferences as he was being attended to by his Mercedes team doctor for fatigue.
Afterwards, he admitted that he did not feel he had fully recovered from the effects of the virus he contracted in December last year.
Updated
France has reported 18 new deaths from coronavirus in hospital, Reuters reports. The country has had more than 111,000 deaths overall.
It has also recorded 19,600 new Covid-19 cases. France has had more than 6.1 million cases overall.
Employers are offering signing-on fees of up to £10,000 to tempt “gold dust” applicants as more than 1.1m jobs in the UK remain unfilled, with the pingdemic worsening a shortage of workers caused by Brexit and a lack of skills.
Care home operator HC One is offering a £10,000 “welcome bonus” on two jobs for registered night nurses, both in Scotland, as private health care providers battle with a shortage of workers partly caused by EU citizens returning home.
Tunisia, which has one of the world’s highest coronavirus death rates, received 1.5m Covid-19 vaccine doses from Italy on Sunday, the president’s office announced.
President Kais Saied, who a week ago dismissed the prime minister and suspended parliament, was on hand to receive the consignment and launched a stinging attack on the performance of the ousted government.
“More than a year has gone by, meeting after meeting has been held, and yet people are being hospitalised and dying by the hundreds each day,” he said.
The North African country of almost 12 million inhabitants has suffered close to 20,000 Covid-related deaths, AFP reports.
Updated
The US will not lock down again to curb Covid-19 but “things are going to get worse” as the Delta variant fuels a surge in cases, mostly among the unvaccinated, top infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci said.
A sufficient percentage of Americans have now been vaccinated to avoid lockdowns, Fauci said on ABC’s This Week, Reuters reports.
“Not enough to crush the outbreak, but I believe enough to not allow us to get into the situation we were in last winter,” he said.
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Last August, it was “eat out to help out”, launched by a beaming and maskless chancellor in Wagamama on London’s South Bank, carrying plates of noodles to nonplussed customers. This year, it’s “fly out to help out”.
With just a few weeks left of the school summer holidays, the airline and tourism industries are facing another bleak summer.
As the threat of possible new restrictions hangs over holidays, and the costs of testing prove prohibitive for many families, many have decided to take their vacation in the UK, even though travel restrictions will ease for fully vaccinated travellers from 16 August.
Sunak is preaching to the choir in his letter to the prime minister demanding an even greater relaxation of travel rules to save summer holidays abroad, despite notes of caution from scientists and some in the Department of Health about the perils of possibly importing new variants.
Thousands of anti-lockdown demonstrators defied a court-ordered protest ban on Sunday and gathered in the streets of Berlin, resulting in scuffles with police.
Police said some protesters had “harassed and attacked” officers and ignored roadblocks, disrupting traffic in parts of the German capital, AFP reports.
“They tried to break through the police chain and pull out our colleagues. This led to the use of irritants, batons and physical violence,” Berlin police tweeted.
Several people were arrested, they added.
The protest was called by the “Querdenker” (Lateral Thinkers) movement, which has emerged as the loudest voice against Germany’s coronavirus restrictions.
Judges had banned several of its planned demos this weekend, including one for Sunday that was expected to draw about 22,500 people.
Updated
Scientists have said that the lifting of restrictions for fully vaccinated arrivals to the UK from the EU and US, which begins from Monday, is not without risk.
From 4am on Monday, those who have been fully vaccinated in the US and Europe will be treated the same as British residents, meaning arrivals from amber list countries will not have to quarantine when entering England, or test on day eight after arrival.
Instead, they will only be required to complete a pre-departure test and PCR test on or before the second day after arrival – although different rules will apply to those travelling from France.
While the shift is likely to be welcomed by travellers, scientists have sounded a note of caution.
Prof Rowland Kao, an epidemiologist at Edinburgh University, said the risk lies in simultaneously opening up borders to fully vaccinated people while allowing the virus to spread so that large numbers of the population in the UK are infected.
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Germany plans to start offering Covid-19 booster shots to the elderly and at-risk from 1 September, according to a draft document seen by AFP.
The plan also recommends promoting vaccination for those aged 12-17, which would go further than earlier guidance issued by the country’s vaccine regulator.
Health minister Jens Spahn and Germany’s 16 regional health ministers are expected to finalise the plans, drawn up by ministry officials, in a meeting Monday.
Mobile vaccination teams will be sent into care and nursing homes to offer Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna booster shots to residents, regardless of which vaccine they had originally, says the document.
Updated
Some more data from Italy:
Patients in hospital with Covid-19 - not including those in intensive care - stood at 1,954 on Sunday, up from 1,851 a day earlier.
There were 22 new admissions to intensive care units, down from 25 on Saturday, and the total number of intensive care patients increased to 230 from a previous 214, Reuters reports.
Some 167,761 tests for Covid-19 were carried out in the past day, up from a previous 264,860, the health ministry said.
Italy records further 5,300 cases
Italy reported five coronavirus-related deaths on Sunday, down from 16 the day before, the health ministry said.
The daily tally of new infections fell to 5,321 on Sunday compared with 6,513 the previous day.
Italy has registered 128,068 deaths linked to Covid-19 since its outbreak emerged in February last year, Reuters reports.
The country has reported 4.355 million cases to date.
Updated
UK reports 24,470 new Covid cases and 65 further deaths
The UK has registered 24,470 new Covid cases in the last 24 hours.
There were 911 further hospitalisations and 65 more people have died within 28 days of a positive test.
#COVID19 VACCINE UPDATE: Daily figures on the total number of COVID-19 vaccine doses that have been given in the UK.
— Department of Health and Social Care (@DHSCgovuk) August 1, 2021
As of 1 August, 85,196,986 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been given in the UK.
Visit the @PHE_uk dashboard for more info:
▶️ https://t.co/cQkuLQglz1 pic.twitter.com/a4ujFqJZTI
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A fall in case numbers last month raised hopes that Britain may be reaching herd immunity, but experts warn against complacency, given uncertainty about new variants and autumn’s return to school.
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Dominic Raab said the UK’s spare donated vaccine doses were starting to be used after being shipped out last week.
The foreign secretary tweeted: “Pleased to see the first of nine million Covid-19 vaccines the UK sent overseas this week going in arms in Jamaica.”
He added that vaccines were also on the way to Kenya, Guyana, Belize, Laos and elsewhere.
Pleased to see the first of 9 million #COVID19 vaccines the UK sent overseas this week going in arms in Jamaica. Jabs are also on their way to clinics in Kenya, Guyana, Belize, Laos & elsewhere, thanks to the quick work of @FCDOGovUK & @crownagents. pic.twitter.com/fkMM8n00Hi
— Dominic Raab (@DominicRaab) August 1, 2021
More than 85 million COVID-19 vaccines administered across the UK
More than 85 million doses of a Covid-19 vaccine have been administered across the UK, the latest figures show.
A total of 85,196,986 doses have been administered in the UK, with 46,851,145 people receiving a first dose (88.6%) and 38,345,841 people receiving both doses (72.5%).
The latest data from Public Health England (PHE) and Cambridge University shows that around 60,000 deaths, 22 million infections and 52,600 hospitalisations have been prevented by vaccines up to 23 July.
Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said:
In under eight months, health services across the UK have delivered more than 85 million doses – this is a phenomenal achievement. It has shown Britain at its best.
From our NHS administering the jabs, to the armed forces, thousands of volunteers and civil servants, you have all played an important role in getting us to this life-saving milestone - and I want to thank you all for your tireless efforts.
Please get both of your jabs if you haven’t already to protect yourself and your loved ones.
Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi added:
Our Covid-19 vaccination programme has been an enormous success and has allowed us to cautiously ease restrictions.
Getting both doses of the vaccine is one of the most important things people can do to help build a wall of defence around yourself, your loved ones and our country.
I urge everybody to get their jabs so we can carry on doing the things we’ve missed.
The NHS in England is facing pressure to redistribute tens of thousands of vaccine doses nearing expiry as demand from younger adults drops.
An internal email seen by the Guardian warned of 170,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine at risk of expiry within the next fortnight, as doctors across England have raised alarm at the unpredictability of vaccine take-up among young people meaning more doses will go to waste.
The government is to unveil a raft of new initiatives to increase vaccine uptake among young people, including discounts on car-hailing companies such as Uber and Bolt, as well as the delivery service Deliveroo.
It is understood the NHS has managed to redistribute 40,000 of the spare Moderna jabs. However, concerns have been raised about the number of jabs wasted as uptake slows among younger people eligible for the Moderna and Pfizer jabs.
The Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation recommends an interval of eight to 12 weeks between doses, initially as a way to offer more people first doses because of limited supply, but studies have since shown that the larger gap could give longer protection.
One NHS doctor in the north-east, Dr Alison George, said colleagues had been forced to routinely discard Pfizer doses, rather than give second shots early to people who requested them. “We have very high rates of infection here and the local hospital is already under significant pressure with some elective surgery cancelled,” the GP said.
“Wastage at this stage of unlocking is wholly unjustified and to turn young people away as well is, in my opinion, completely unforgivable.”
Read the full story here:
In the UK, Labour shadow transport secretary Jim McMahon accused the government of being “in chaos over their border policy” following reports the Chancellor has written to Boris Johnson to call for travel restrictions to be eased.
McMcahon said:
The Tories are in chaos over their border policy with families stuck between the Prime Minister and the Chancellor who are in open disagreement.
Rishi Sunak’s latest self-promotion campaign will just create more anxiety for people.
Rather than brief the Sunday newspapers against each other, the Tories need to get a grip and bring this summer of chaos to an end.
Not only have ministers failed to protect our borders, allowing Covid cases to rocket - they also refuse to be straight with the public and give them the information they need to book travel with confidence, with clear information on the direction of travel of infections in each country.
Families who have booked holidays in good faith now risk losing out - 10-day quarantine is simply not an option for many people who are already struggling financially thanks to the pandemic.
I’m back covering the liveblog for the next hour. Do get in touch if you think I’ve missed anything. My email address is nicola.slawson@theguardian.com.
Updated
“I don’t think we’re going to see lockdowns,” said Fauci, who is Chief Medical Avisor to US President Biden.
“I think we have enough of the percentage of people in the country – not enough to crush the outbreak – but I believe enough to not allow us to get into the situation we were in last winter.”
Although Fauci does not think the United States will need to shut down again as it did last year, he warned on ABC that “things are going to get worse” as the Delta variant continues to spread.
An internal report compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the Delta variant spreads much faster, is more likely to infect the vaccinated, and could potentially trigger more severe illness in the unvaccinated compared with all other known variants.
Fauci added: “We have 100 million people in this country who are eligible to be vaccinated who are not getting vaccinated.”
No return to lockdowns for US says Fauci
US President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci has told ABC News he does not expect the United States will be returning to lockdowns, despite the growing risks of Covid-19 infections posed by the Delta variant.
In Italy and France, vaccine passport proposals have prompted thousands to take to the streets – clashing with police in some places – to show their opposition to plans that would require vaccination cards for normal social activities such as dining indoors at restaurants, visiting museums, and cheering in sports stadiums.
Protests continued in both countries this weekend, with thousands demonstrating in Paris and other French cities on Saturday, while Italy saw marches in Rome, Milan and Naples for a second consecutive week.
See below for the full story:
Updated
Alex Mistlin here covering Nicola’s lunch break.
Spotted a mistake? Feel free to get in touch with tips at alex.mistlin@theguardian.com
Several hundred Israelis have demonstrated in Tel Aviv against new coronavirus restrictions and vaccination as positive cases and hospitalisations rise to levels not seen in months.
The health ministry reported on Saturday that 2,435 new Covid cases had been recorded the day before – the highest number since March – driven by the more contagious Delta variant.
There were 326 hospitalisations, the highest since April, although well below the January peak when more than 2,000 people were being hospitalised daily.
Israel has in recent days rolled out a booster vaccine shot for older citizens, reimposed mask requirements indoors and restored “green pass” restrictions requiring vaccine certificates for entering enclosed spaces such as gyms, restaurants and hotels.
The rise in infections is a step back after Israel’s world-leading vaccine campaign drove down new Covid-19 cases from 10,000 a day to fewer than 100.
Protesters on Saturday flew a banner that read “There’s no pandemic, it’s a con”. They held up placards denouncing coronavirus vaccines, with one poster linking vaccines to the Nazis.
Read more here:
Boris Johnson is facing a renewed backlash within his party over the “threat” of domestic vaccine passports, with demands for MPs to be recalled from their holidays to debate the proposal.
Andrew Bridgen, one of 43 Conservative MPs to sign a declaration opposing vaccine passports, said Parliament should be recalled from its summer recess if ministers are “serious” about asking people to show proof of their vaccine status to gain entry to domestic venues and events.
The call means cross-party backing is emerging for the Commons to return before September, PA news reports.
Last week, the Liberal Democrats, said a change rolled out to the NHS app, allowing users to prove they had been double-jabbed to access domestic settings - as well as for international travel - warranted a recall.
Conservative grandee Sir David Lidington, who was de facto deputy prime minister under Theresa May, added his voice to growing numbers in the Tory Party who are concerned about the prospect of vaccine passports, which are being used in some European countries, including Denmark and France.
The former cabinet minister told Times Radio that introducing a “Government certificate of approval” to access certain events would set a “dangerous precedent”.
The prime minister has announced that he intends to change the rules in September so that only those who are fully vaccinated can attend nightclubs, in a move designed to increase the take-up of vaccination among young people.
According to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), about two-thirds of people aged 18 to 29 in England have received a first dose.
The nightclub stipulations would be stricter than the coronavirus status certificates used at some mass events in recent months, with clubbers not allowed to use proof of a negative Covid-19 test or evidence of having had the virus to gain entry.
But Johnson was warned by one of his backbenchers that he faced an “embarrassing defeat” if he put the “authoritarian” proposal to a vote in the Commons.
North West Leicestershire MP, Bridgen, told LBC:
I think if the Government is serious about the threat of bringing in domestic vaccine passports then, of course, Parliament should be recalled.
This is a very serious infringement on people’s liberties, it is basically unprecedented in this country, and I and a number of colleagues would oppose it.
Pfizer and Moderna raise prices of Covid jabs for EU, reports say
Pfizer Inc and Moderna Inc have raised the prices of its Covid-19 vaccine in the latest European Union supply contracts, The Financial Times reported on Sunday.
The new price for the Pfizer shot was 19.50 euros (£16.64) against 15.50 euros (£13.22) previously, the newspaper said citing to the portions of the contracts seen.
The price of a Moderna vaccine was $25.50 (£18.33) a dose, the contracts show, up from 19 euros (£16.21) in the first procurement deal but lower than the previously agreed $28.50 (£20.49) because the order had grown, the report said, citing one official close to the matter.
Updated
Sky News Australia has been banned from uploading content to YouTube for seven days after violating its medical misinformation policies by posting numerous videos which denied the existence of Covid-19 or encouraged people to use hydroxychloroquine or ivermectin.
The ban was imposed by the digital giant on Thursday afternoon, the day after the Daily Telegraph ended Alan Jones’s regular column amid controversy about his Covid-19 commentary which included calling the New South Wales chief health officer Kerry Chant a village idiot on his Sky News program.
News Corp told Guardian Australia the ending of Jones’s column did not mean the company does not support the “compelling” broadcaster.
YouTube has not disclosed which Sky News program the videos were from but said there were “numerous” offending videos which have now been removed.
The Sky News Australia YouTube channel, which has 1.85m subscribers, has been issued a strike and is temporarily suspended from uploading new videos or livestreams for one week.
The ban will impact Sky News’s revenue stream from Google, which started after News Corp signed a historic multi-year partnership with Google in February under the media bargaining code.
Read more here:
Conservative grandee Sir David Lidington, who was de facto deputy prime minister under Theresa May, said introducing domestic vaccine passports would set a “dangerous precedent”.
The former MP told Times Radio:
I’m much more cautious about the Government laying down a law that people should actually have access to particular events in civil society only if they’ve got some sort of government certificate of approval.
I think that’s a pretty dangerous precedent and it also raises all sorts of really difficult practical problems about implementation.
I mean, whose responsibility is it to actually carry out these checks? What sanctions do they have against an individual who resists having a check?
He added that he thought there were “better ways of persuading young people to take up the vaccine” than denying them entry to nightclubs.
Lidington, who stood down from the commons in 2019, continued:
I’d like to see the government working out who it is that the young people, the audience they’re targeting, listen to that – is it sports stars, is it bands, is it YouTube influencers? – but try to enlist the support of the people that the young people who you’re trying to reach themselves trust and want to hear from.
As cases of the Delta coronavirus variant have risen and vaccination rates slowed, several US businesses and institutions have announced they will now require vaccinations from employees.
Major companies like Walmart and Disney said this week all employees must be vaccinated, while Joe Biden said all federal employees must be vaccinated or face masking, testing and distancing requirements.
Schools, universities, hospitals, financial services, tech companies, retailers, entertainment industries and local governments have announced similar policies.
The efforts are supported by an opinion from the US Department of Justice, which says employers can require vaccines under emergency-use authorization.
“Overall, it’s legal to require vaccinations in the midst of an active, dangerous epidemic,” said Ross Silverman, professor of public health and law at the Indiana University.
In France last week, President Emmanuel Macron said entrance to many public places would require a “health pass” showing proof of vaccination, prior infection or a negative test.
The US government won’t mandate vaccines but states, cities and businesses can.
The US has a long history of requiring vaccines. In winter 1777, George Washington required smallpox inoculations for all soldiers fighting the British. In 1809, Massachusetts passed a law requiring proof of inoculation against smallpox.
Dr Ruth Faden, founder of the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics, said: “If we look at the history of the ability of human beings to control infectious diseases, it’s hard to imagine how we would have been able to accomplish what we’ve accomplished in the absence of mandates of one sort or the other.”
With measles and diphtheria, for example, “it was not merely the advent of the vaccine but the requirement that the vaccine be received … that made the difference.”
Read more from Melody Schreiber here:
Updated
Hackers have attacked and shut down the IT systems of the company that manages Covid-19 vaccination appointments for the Lazio region surrounding Rome, the regional government said on Sunday.
“A powerful hacker attack on the region’s CED (database) is under way,” the region said in a Facebook posting.
It said all systems had been deactivated, including those of the region’s health portal and vaccination network, and warned the inoculation programme could suffer a delay, Reuters reports.
Lazio region’s health manager Alessio D’Amato said:
It is a very powerful hacker attack, very serious... everything is out. The whole regional CED is under attack.
According to ANSA, Italy’s postal police and Rome prosecutors are looking into the matter and could open an investigation to find out who is behind the attack.
Italy recently followed France in announcing that proof of vaccination or immunity from Covid-19 would become mandatory for an array of activities.
The move triggered a series of protests across the country against introduction of the so-called Green Pass which shows people have been vaccinated, tested negative or recovered from Covid-19.
In the UK, shadow cabinet member Luke Pollard said he was not convinced that the government’s incentives rollout, with companies offering discounted takeaways and taxi rides if they get a coronavirus jab, would work in encouraging the final 30% of young people to get vaccinated.
Speaking to LBC, Labour’s environment spokesman said:
Kebabs for jabs? If it is an initiative that helps increase the number of people coming forward, then let’s give it a go.
We do need everyone double jabbed, especially with the big stick the ministers are proposing using in terms of restricting access to certain services, which I’m very cautious about in terms of these domestic Covid passports, and Labour certainly is as well
I do want to see a different approach here. If this is going to work to get more people to take up a jab, that’s brilliant.
But I don’t think it is going to be enough to get that last 30% of young people and that is where ministers just need to loosen up a little bit here and allow young people to be the main communicators of this, and keep that encouragement going because we need everyone to get double jabbed.
Pollard said it should be remembered that young people were at the “very end of the queue to be vaccinated” and that the “vast majority” are “taking up the jabs, are trying to be vaccinated”, but called for young people to lead efforts to encourage their peers to take up the inoculation offer.
Updated
Ethics expert Professor Dominic Wilkinson, asked about the UK government’s intention to demand clubbers show proof of being double-jabbed to gain entry to night spots, told radio station LBC:
I’m not sure if they are the right thing to do, but there are a couple of reasons why they might be useful.
One is that if cases go up and nightclubs are going to be closed again, then the nightclub owners might well say, ‘can we at least remain open for those who are double vaccinated?’ That would seem sensible.
Another possibility is that some nightclubs might say, ‘Well, look there are many people who are nervous about coming into a crowded space, with lots of people coming and bouncing around.
‘We’re going to make our place safe by only opening it up to those who have been double vaccinated - we think we can get a market advantage by doing that’.
That would seem a plausible reason for a club to do that.
Updated
Dominic Wilkinson, a professor of medical ethics, has said there is a “strong case” for vaccine passports in allowing the fully vaccinated in England to return to socialising “in a more normal way”.
The Oxford University academic told LBC Radio:
I think the idea of using vaccine passports as a stick to beat people up and punish them if they haven’t been vaccinated is ethically flawed.
But there is a strong case for vaccine passports, which is the other way round, which is that those who are vaccinated, or potentially have other evidence that they are at low risk of passing on the virus, should not be unduly restricted from enjoying the normal things in everyday life.
They are no longer at serious risk of passing on the virus so, ethically, they ought to be able to travel, go to work, go out and socialise in a more normal way.
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Andrew Bridgen, one of 43 Conservative MPs in the UK to sign a declaration opposing vaccine passports, said Parliament should be recalled from its summer recess if ministers are “serious” about asking people to show proof of their vaccine status to gain entry to domestic venues and events.
Speaking to LBC radio, the North West Leicestershire MP said:
I think if the Government is serious about the threat of bringing in domestic vaccine passports, then of course Parliament should be recalled.
This is a very serious infringement on people’s liberties, it is basically unprecedented in this country, and I and a number of colleagues would oppose it.
I think it is a very blunt instrument, to threaten people with domestic Covid passports. I personally don’t think it would get through the House of Commons in any event and that’s why the Government has moved on to this ‘carrot’ inducements for young people.
Bridgen, who predicted a vote on vaccine passports in the Commons would result in an “embarrassing defeat” for Boris Johnson’s administration, added:
I’ve pointed out to the Government they are trying to aggressively coerce these young people.
In the next few years, we are going to have another general election and we are going to be asking them for a vote – this is not a sensible policy.
Thailand has extended tighter containment measures in the capital and high-risk provinces until the end of August, government sources said, to slow the spread of Covid-19 as the country deals with its biggest outbreak to date.
The restrictions, including travel curbs, mall closures and curfews, will be expanded to 29 provinces from 13, the sources told Reuters.
Restaurants in shopping malls will be allowed to open only for deliveries.
Statistics suggest that very little seems to have changed since 19 July, when the government ended all restrictions on socialising in England.
In London, people travelled less after so-called “freedom day” than during the weeks before, according to Transport for London figures. Elsewhere in the UK, where restrictions vary, there appeared little change in public transport activity. Restaurants and pubs saw a slight increase, but are still a long way off pre-pandemic levels.
CGA, the hospitality research agency, found that some people who had been happy to go out after the third lockdown ended in April had been put off by the fear of busy venues after 19 July.
Over-35s were less confident about going to pubs, bars or restaurants. Only 53% of 35-to-54s felt confident, according to CGA’s latest Consumer Pulse survey – down by seven percentage points since May – and just 39% of over-55s, a fall of nine points.
Jonathan Jones, CGA’s managing director for UK and Ireland, said it was clear confidence remained “fragile as Covid-19 cases remain high, especially among older age groups”. “Businesses will need to make it easy for hesitant consumers to plan their visits in advance, check availability and be sure they will have sufficient space,” he said.
Gary Murphy had hoped that “freedom day” would be the salvation of his pub. But on Friday, after 13 years in charge of Ye Olde Mitre Inne in High Barnet, north London, Murphy handed back the keys.
“Recovery is going to take years,” he said. “Trade has gone up a bit, but it’s still a slog. It became very clear that there are still a number of people who don’t want to go out – they’re still scared of the virus.”
Murphy said he had decided to retire as a licensee because he did not believe the situation would change for at least a couple of years. “When we had inside restrictions we were operating at about 60% to 70%,” he said. “Since we opened fully, we’ve gone up to 80%, but that 20% is going to be really hard.
“I know loads of people who used to be in here every day or every evening but will now only come in on Mondays when it’s really quiet.
“There’s a huge difference to last summer when people hadn’t got used to having their own parties or building their own bars. This time it’s very clear that people’s habits have changed considerably.”
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Russia reported 22,804 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday, including 2,484 in Moscow, taking the official national tally since the pandemic began to 6,288,677.
The government coronavirus task force said 789 people had died of coronavirus-linked causes in the past 24 hours, pushing the national death toll to 159,352, Reuters reports.
The federal statistics agency has kept a separate count and has said Russia recorded around 290,000 deaths related to Covid-19 from April 2020 to May 2021.
Cheap taxi rides and discounts from the biggest takeaway companies are to be deployed by the government in a desperate effort to boost Covid vaccination rates among the young, amid growing legal and political pressure on Boris Johnson over the use of vaccine passports.
With figures inside the cabinet concerned about the plans already in place to enforce vaccine passports in some settings, the government’s focus has turned to using incentives to drive up vaccination rates over the summer to head off another Covid wave as offices, schools and universities reopen.
Car-hailing companies Uber and Bolt, as well as delivery service Deliveroo, are all involved in plans to offer consumers discounts. Latest take-up figures suggest that 60% of 18- to 25-year-olds have received at least one jab, but ministers are concerned that demand from younger age groups is levelling off.
It comes as Johnson backed away from making full vaccination a condition for allowing students to live and be taught on their university campuses, amid Tory unrest.
The Observer has learned that the government was last week delivered a stark briefing from university lawyers, outlining a series of legal obstacles to the plan that would leave them open to a slew of cases, many of which could apply to other sectors should passports be considered in other areas.
Johnson has already set out plans to make vaccine passports mandatory in some indoor venues such as nightclubs. However, companies are warning that they could face legal action should they implement “no jab, no job” policies.
Ministers have so far rejected calls to pay the young to have a vaccine, after US president Joe Biden called for $100 payments to be offered to the newly vaccinated in the United States. However, ministers are now working with popular cab-hailing and takeaway companies to introduce incentives, though the firms will not ask for or hold any health data.
Under the scheme, Uber will offer discounted rides and meals on Uber Eats for young adults who get the jab. Bolt will offer free ride credit to vaccination centres. Other incentives being discussed could include vouchers or discount codes for people attending pop-up vaccine sites . Sajid Javid, the health secretary, called on the young to “go out and take advantage of the discounts” when they become available.
Incentives are desperately being sought by ministers amid growing concern over attempts to force the young into being vaccinated. After universities were privately warned early last week that the use of vaccine certificates was an option being examined by the government, a detailed memo was delivered to the cabinet office warning that institutions risked breaching consumer law by effectively changing the terms of the contract handed to students who had already received an offer of a place in September. Lawyers also warned that legislation would need to be changed to allow universities to compel students to take a vaccine – a vote the government could struggle to win.
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Newly reported Covid-19 cases in Tokyo came in at 3,058 on Sunday, the metropolitan government announced, as infection spreads in the Olympic host city.
Cambodia will begin offering a booster shot against Covid-19, switching between the AstraZeneca and Chinese Covid-19 vaccines in an effort to fight the spread of the coronavirus in the Southeast Asian country.
Prime minister Hun Sen, launching the vaccination campaign for 12-17 years old, said on Sunday that the third dose will be offered to between 500,000 to one million frontline workers as a priority, Reuters reports.
Hun Sen said in a speech which was broadcast on social media:
People who have already been vaccinated with Sinopharm and Sinovac should be given AstraZeneca as the third booster dose.
For Cambodians who have been vaccinated with AstraZeneca, Sinovac should be given as the third dose,” he added.
Hun Sen also said the country will purchase more AstraZeneca vaccines through Covax for the booster shots and the recent U.S funded Johnson & Johnson vaccines will be used to vaccinate indigenous peoples in northeastern Cambodia.
Cambodia has launched a lockdown in eight provinces bordering Thailand this week in a bid to prevent the spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus in the Southeast Asian country.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said this week that the Delta variant has been detected amongst migrants returning from Thailand through land borders and is now in the local community.
Li Ailan, WHO Representative to Cambodia said in a statement:
We are racing against new variants. We must act today, and we must act fast to have no regrets tomorrow.
Cambodia managed to largely contain the virus for most of last year, but an outbreak first detected in late February has driven up total cases to 77,919, with 1,420 deaths.
Mass testing and travel restrictions in China amid biggest outbreak in months
Health authorities in China are battling to contain the country’s most widespread coronavirus outbreak in months and several Chinese cities have rolled out mass testing of millions of people and imposed fresh travel restrictions.
China reported 75 new coronavirus cases with 53 local transmissions, with a cluster linked to an eastern airport now reported to have spread to over 20 cities and more than a dozen provinces.
The outbreak is geographically the largest to hit China in several months after the country’s successes in largely snuffing out the pandemic within its borders last year, AFP reports.
That record has been thrown into jeopardy after the fast-spreading Delta variant broke out at Nanjing airport in eastern Jiangsu province in July.
Authorities have now conducted three rounds of testing on the city’s 9.2 million residents and placed hundreds of thousands under lockdown, in an effort to curb an outbreak Beijing has blamed on the highly-contagious Delta variant and the peak tourist season.
Officials are now scrambling to track people nationwide who recently travelled from Nanjing or Zhangjiajie, a tourist city in Hunan province which has locked down all 1.5 million residents and shut all tourist attractions.
Fresh cases were reported Sunday in Hainan island - another popular tourist destination - as well as Ningxia and Shandong provinces, authorities said.
The country is also battling a separate rise in cases in the flood-ravaged city of Zhengzhou in Henan province after two cleaners at a hospital treating coronavirus patients coming from abroad tested positive.
27 locally transmitted cases have been detected, with authorities Sunday ordering mass testing of all 10 million residents. The head of the city’s health commission has also been sacked.
And after reports that some people sickened in the latest cluster were vaccinated, health officials have said this was “normal” and stressed the importance of vaccination alongside strict measures.
Feng Zijian, virologist at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said:
The Covid vaccine’s protection against the Delta variant may have somewhat declined, but the current vaccine still has a good preventative and protective effect against the Delta variant.
More than 1.6 billion vaccine doses have so far been administered nationwide as of Friday, Beijing’s National Health Commission (NHC) said. It does not provide figures on how many people have been fully vaccinated.
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UK chancellor pushes Boris Johnson to relax travel rules, reports say
Rishi Sunak has warned the prime minister that the UK’s travel restrictions are “out of step” with its international rivals as he pushes for holiday rules to be relaxed, according to reports.
The Sunday Times reported that Rishi Sunak has written to Boris Johnson about the damage that the current border rules are doing to the country’s economy, particularly its tourism and hospitality sector.
He is said to be calling for Britain to take advantage of its successful vaccination programme by opening up further.
The No 11 Downing Street incumbent has reportedly told Johnson that the UK’s entry and exit rules are “out of step with our international competitors”.
The newspaper quotes a source, who it claims is familiar with the letter, as saying: “Rishi has called time on the travel restrictions.”
The report comes before ministers are due to meet next week to set the travel rules that will be in place for most of August.
Treasury sources did not deny Sunak had written to his Downing Street neighbour but said the communication was not related to next week’s review.
The UK government has faced criticism over changes to its border policy during the coronavirus pandemic, with France the latest to be irked after it was placed on a newly-created “amber-plus” list as part of the so-called traffic light system.
The fresh designation, in response to suggestions of growing cases of the Beta variant that was first discovered in South Africa, saw the quarantine exemption for the fully vaccinated scrapped, meaning those returning from France had to quarantine for 10 days.
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