A summary of today's developments
- France has reported 7,360 new coronavirus cases, the first time it has surpassed the 7,000 mark since 21 September, Reuters reports.
- The UK has recorded 41,278 coronavirus cases, bringing the total to 9,019,962, government figures show. There were a further 166 deaths, bringing the total to 140,558.
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Theories that the coronavirus was created as a biological weapon are based on “scientifically invalid claims” and disseminated by proponents “suspected of spreading disinformation”, according to a study by US intelligence agencies.
- Tonga – formerly one of the last countries in the world to have remained Covid-free – has recorded its first coronavirus case. The prime minister, Pohiva Tu’i’onetoa, warned residents that the main island of Tongatapu could face lockdown next week.
- Russia has reported 40,251 Covid-19 infections in the last 24 hours, its largest daily case tally since the onset of the pandemic.
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The Scottish Greens co-leader Lorna Slater has tested positive for Covid-19, just hours before the start of the critical Cop26 climate summit.
- China’s local daily cases reached a six-week high on Friday, with most new cases concentrated in its northern provinces.
- Authorities in Thailand have issued a ban on rallies and other events considered a risk of spreading Covid as the country prepares to open for international tourists.
- The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, has warned against the return of a “certain recklessness” as she said Germany’s increasing coronavirus hospital admissions “worry me a lot”.
- Bulgaria, which has some of the lowest vaccination rates in Europe, has the highest number of Covid-related deaths per capita globally. The only other European country in the top five is Romania, in third place with a rate of 237.73 deaths.
- The UK will send 20m Covid vaccine doses to developing countries by the end of the year, Boris Johnson will announce to world leaders as they gather in Rome.
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Brazil recorded 232 new Covid-19 deaths and 10,693 cases in the last 24 hours, the country’s health ministry said on Saturday.
More than 607,000 people have now died from the virus in Brazil, the world’s second highest official tally after the U.S., Reuters reports.
You can follow the latest Covid developments in Australia here -
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Boris Johnson has warned double-vaccinated Britons against potential complacency over Covid, saying that waning immunity over time meant booster jabs were vital for continued protection.
The UK’s prime minister insisted, however, that there was no need yet for the government’s so-called plan B, which would reimpose restrictions such as mask wearing and home working, despite data showing infections in England at levels last seen at the height of the second wave in January.
Figures published by the Office for National Statistics on Friday estimated that around one in 50 people in England had Covid in the week ending 22 October, the highest level since late December and early January.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said unvaccinated foreign nationals under the age of 18 traveling to the US by air do not have to self-quarantine upon arrival.
On Saturday CDC director Rochelle Walensky signed a revised order clarifying that foreign national children who have not been vaccinated against Covid-19 do not need to isolate for seven days upon arrival in the US.
A CDC order issued on Monday had raised alarm among some foreign travellers that their children would need to quarantine for a week after arriving.
On 8 November, the US is lifting the extraordinary travel restrictions that have barred most non-US citizens who within the last 14 days have been in the UK, the 26 Schengen countries in Europe without border controls, Ireland, China, India, South Africa, Iran and Brazil.
It is also imposing new rules requiring nearly all foreign adult air visitors to be vaccinated against Covid-19, Reuters reports.
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The US administered 420,657,683 doses of Covid-19 vaccines in the country as of Saturday morning and distributed 518,701,225 doses, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
Those figures are up from the 419,020,753 vaccine doses the CDC said had gone into arms by 29 Oct out of 514,925,015 doses delivered.
The agency said 221,221,467 people had received at least one dose while 192,244,927 people were fully vaccinated as of 6.00am ET on Saturday, Reuters reports.
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With the promise of “free food” plastered in large print, Sikh Volunteers Australia vans have become a familiar sight in times of crisis, providing healthy vegetarian meals to people in need, from bushfire victims to the homeless.
So when Victoria was plunged into its sixth Covid lockdown at the start of August, the organisation ramped up its operation, beginning what would become its biggest relief effort yet.
Volunteer Simranjit Singh says the organisation cooked, packed and delivered nearly 80,000 free vegetarian meals in 81 days.
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At the G20 this weekend I’m focused on the big challenges facing the UK and the world.
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) October 30, 2021
– Action on climate change so we preserve the planet for future generations
– Defeating the pandemic by encouraging the rapid global distribution of vaccines#G20Italy pic.twitter.com/DdiK959dNf
Some more data from France. The seven-day moving average of daily new cases reached a more than one month high of 5,669.
The cumulative total of new cases now stands at 7.16 million.
Hospital cases - whose trend usually lags new case data by one to two weeks - were slightly down at 6,524 over 24 hours.
But compared to last Saturday’s figure, the total is up by almost 200.
The number of Covid-19 patients in intensive care rose by 5 in 24 hours to 1,039 and by 32 over a week.
A giant sculpture installed this week at the south-eastern corner of Central Park in New York City as a tribute to healthcare workers and Covid-19 victims has been taken down – an apparent casualty of confusion and red tape.
The Italian sculptor behind the large red heart, Sergio Furnari, said he was walking by Grand Army Plaza on Thursday afternoon with friends when he noticed that his Heroes Heart monument was gone.
France has reported 22 further coronavirus deaths in hospital, bringing the total to 90,759.
France has reported 7,360 new coronavirus cases, the first time it has surpassed the 7,000 mark since September 21st, Reuters reports.
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China’s president, Xi Jinping, has called for mutual recognition of Covid-19 vaccines based on the World Health Organization’s emergency use list, according to a transcript of his remarks delivered to leaders of the Group of 20 leaders’ summit, published by the official Xinhua news agency.
Speaking to the participants in Rome via video link, Xi said China had provided more than 1.6bn Covid shots to the world, and was working with 16 nations to cooperate on manufacturing doses.
“China is willing to work with all parties to improve the accessibility and affordability of Covid-19 vaccines in developing countries,” he said.
A total of 49,922,090 first doses of Covid-19 vaccine had been delivered in the UK by 29 October, a rise of 39,186 on the previous day, government figures show.
Some 45,672,948 second doses have been delivered, an increase of 21,726.
A combined total of 7,564,423 booster and third doses have also been delivered, a day-on-day rise of 270,785, PA reports.
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Singapore reported 3,112 Covid-19 cases on Saturday, compared to 4,248 the previous day, and a further 14 deaths, Reuters reports.
Italy has registered 132,074 deaths linked to Covid-19 since its outbreak emerged in February last year, the second-highest toll in Europe after the UK.
The country has reported 4.77 million cases to date.
Patients in hospital with Covid-19 - not including those in intensive care - stood at 2,707 on Saturday, up from 2,658 a day earlier, Reuters reports.
There were 20 new admissions to intensive care units, up from 18 on Friday. The total number of intensive care patients decreased to 346 from a previous 349.
Some 477,352 tests for Covid-19 were carried out in the past day, compared with a previous 474,778, the health ministry said.
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Italy recorded 4,878 coronavirus cases on Saturday and a further 37 deaths, Reuters reports.
The CNN anchor Jake Tapper reached across the political aisle on Friday to support Neil Cavuto, a Fox News host in the US who received death threats after pleading for viewers to get vaccinated against Covid-19.
Speaking to camera, Tapper said: “We don’t often mention our competitors but the Fox channel anchor opposite us from 4 [pm] until 5 eastern, Neil Cavuto, has been in the news.
“… Neil is a survivor. He has multiple sclerosis, he’s had open heart surgery, he beat stage four cancer and he’s now fighting Covid.
“Neil recently talked about the importance of vaccines on air, precisely to protect people like him who have compromised immune systems.
UK death toll increases by 166
The UK has recorded 41,278 coronavirus cases, bringing the total to 9,019,962, government figures show.
There were a further 166 deaths, bringing the total to 140,558.
Summary
Today’s key developments so far:
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Theories that the coronavirus was created as a biological weapon are based on “scientifically invalid claims” and disseminated by proponents “suspected of spreading disinformation”, according to a study by US intelligence agencies.
- Tonga – formerly one of the last countries in the world to have remained Covid-free – has recorded its first coronavirus case. The prime minister, Pohiva Tu’i’onetoa, warned residents that the main island of Tongatapu could face lockdown next week.
- Russia has reported 40,251 Covid-19 infections in the last 24 hours, its largest daily case tally since the onset of the pandemic.
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The Scottish Greens co-leader Lorna Slater has tested positive for Covid-19, just hours before the start of the critical Cop26 climate summit.
- China’s local daily cases reached a six-week high on Friday, with most new cases concentrated in its northern provinces.
- Authorities in Thailand have issued a ban on rallies and other events considered a risk of spreading Covid as the country prepares to open for international tourists.
- The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, has warned against the return of a “certain recklessness” as she said Germany’s increasing coronavirus hospital admissions “worry me a lot”.
- Bulgaria, which has some of the lowest vaccination rates in Europe, has the highest number of Covid-related deaths per capita globally. The only other European country in the top five is Romania, in third place with a rate of 237.73 deaths.
- The UK will send 20m Covid vaccine doses to developing countries by the end of the year, Boris Johnson will announce to world leaders as they gather in Rome.
That’s all from me for today – thanks for reading and getting in touch. I’m handing over to my colleague Nadeem Badshah who will keep you updated for the next few hours.
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Vietnam registered 5,224 new local Covid-19 cases on Saturday, a rise of 335 against Friday’s figure, the country’s ministry of health said.
With 1,042 infections, Ho Chi Minh City accounts for the most cases, followed by Dong Nai with 679 and Binh Duong at 665, according to the online newspaper VnExpress.
There were a further 64 deaths on Saturday, health authorities confirmed, including 30 in HCMC, taking the nation’s cumulative death toll to 22,030.
A total of 23.9 million of Vietnam’s population of 97.3 million have been fully vaccinated while 56.6 million have received at least one dose.
Updated
Child poverty rose in Romania last year for the first time in five years, a report by an international children’s charity has found, with the pandemic seriously affecting the most vulnerable children.
The risk of poverty and social exclusion increased by 0.5% among Romanian children to 36.3%, with the rate of severe material deprivation rising from 17.7% to 21.4% in 2020, according to a report in Romania Insider. Among children under six, this rose from 16% to 22%.
The report identified children with disabilities, especially those in rural areas and Roma children, as being at higher risk of social exclusion, including in terms of education.
Scottish Greens co-leader tests positive for Covid
The Scottish Greens co-leader Lorna Slater has tested positive for Covid-19, just hours before the start of the critical Cop26 climate summit.
The MSP for the Lothian region, who is double-vaccinated, said she had “cold-like symptoms” and would be self-isolating.
I had a positive Covid-19 test result. I feel very relieved to be double vaccinated and have only cold-like symptoms. I will be self-isolating following NHS advice.
— Lorna Slater (@lornaslater) October 30, 2021
The party co-leader’s positive test means she will miss events at the UN climate summit, which begins in Glasgow on Sunday.
Updated
Thailand bans rallies ahead of tourism reopening
Authorities in Thailand have issued a ban on rallies and other events considered a risk of spreading Covid as the country prepares to open for international tourists.
The new order comes just days before the 1 November reopening of 17 provinces, allowing quarantine-free entry to fully vaccinated tourists, the Bangkok Post reports.
Under the order issued by emergency decree by the chief of defence forces, Gen Chalermpol Srisawat, rallies and “risky” activities, are prohibited unless relevant authorities give their permission, with stringent enforcement expected in the 17 provinces designated for tourism reopening.
According to the new order, those who violate the ban may be handed a two-year jail sentence and/or a maximum fine of 40,000 baht.
Updated
The Chinese president, Xi Jinping, has called for Covid-19 vaccines to be treated equally and mutually recognised, according to the official Xinhua agency.
China has provided more than 1.6bn Covid vaccine doses to the world, Xi told the 16th G20 leaders’ summit by video link, adding that the country was working with 16 nations on the cooperative manufacturing of doses.
Two Chinese vaccines, one from Sinovac Biotech and one from Sinopharm, have been included in the WHO’s emergency use list.
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Merkel warns Germans against return of 'recklessness' amid rising hospital admissions
Angela Merkel has warned against the return of a “certain recklessness” as she said Germany’s increasing coronavirus hospital admissions “worry me a lot”.
AFP reports that the outgoing chancellor told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper that the rising admissions “should worry all of us” and that she is “very saddened” that 3 million Germans aged 60-plus have not been vaccinated.
“It could make a difference, for these people and the whole of society,” said Merkel, who is soon stepping down after 16 years in office.
On Saturday the Robert Koch health institute recorded 21,543 new cases in Germany and 90 more deaths.
So far nearly 67% of the country’s population of 83 million have been fully vaccinated.
Updated
More from China (see also 08:46) where a health official has said the Covid outbreak is “developing rapidly.”
Reuters reports National Health Commission (NHC) figures showing that there were 377 domestically transmitted cases with confirmed symptoms between 17 and 29 October. China has maintained a zero tolerance approach to Covid (see also 10:21).
“Within the past 14 days, 14 provincial areas have reported new locally transmitted cases or asymptomatic carriers,” Mi Feng, an NHC spokesperson, said. “The outbreak is still developing rapidly, and the virus control situation is severe and complicated.”
Another NHC official, Wu Liangyou, said the outbreak has “exposed the laxity of mind among some local authorities.”
Hi, it’s Miranda here covering for Clea for a while. Please get in touch with any tips or suggestions: miranda.bryant@guardian.co.uk
Some businesses in Moscow have ignored new lockdown restrictions imposed on Thursday to tackle rising cases and remained open amid a lack of robust state support.
Reuters reports that hospitality venues are only permitted to operate takeaway and delivery service, while only essential shops like supermarkets are allowed to remain open.
But some business owners said they had to make ends meet, and without state funding, they would have to remain open. An administrator at a Moscow beauty salon told Reuters: “To hell with them ... we’re going to work. We’ll just put up curtains ... During the last lockdown we sat there for almost a month and there was almost no help. We have to survive somehow.”
Although the government has pledged some help and cheap loans to small businesses, business associations say more is needed.
Updated
Bulgaria, which has some of the lowest vaccination rates in Europe, has the highest number of Covid-related deaths per capita globally.
The country has registered 338.83 deaths per 100,000 residents, with Brazil recording the second-highest rank with 287.46 fatalities, according to data from Johns Hopkins. The only other European country in the top five is Romania, in third place with a rate of 237.73 deaths.
Just one-fifth of Bulgaria’s nearly 7 million people are fully vaccinated.
“Each day Bulgaria loses the equivalent of one plane crash. It is really horrendous,” Ruzha Smilova, the programme director at the Centre for Liberal Strategies, told Euronews.
Updated
People observe tributes to the nearly 300,000 Mexicans who have died in the pandemic as the official global death toll approaches 5 million:
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Tonga records first Covid cases since start of pandemic
Tonga – formerly one of the last countries in the world to have remained Covid-free – has recorded its first coronavirus case.
The Pacific island nation’s first infection was detected in a vaccinated person in managed isolation who had arrived on a repatriation flight from New Zealand.
The prime minister, Pohiva Tu’i’onetoa, warned residents that the main island of Tongatapu could face lockdown next week.
“The reason the lockdown won’t happen this weekend is because I have been advised that the virus will take more than three days to develop in someone who catches it before they become contagious,” Tuionetoa said.
“We should use this time to get ready in case more people are confirmed they have the virus.”
Fewer than one-third of Tonga’s population of 106,000 have been vaccinated. Health officials said the infected person received their second dose in mid-October.
Updated
Russia reports record number of daily cases
Russia has reported 40,251 Covid-19 infections in the last 24 hours, its largest daily case tally since the onset of the pandemic.
The government’s coronavirus taskforce also reported 1,160 deaths, just under the record of 1,163 fatalities set the day before, according to Reuters.
It comes as Russia prepares to enter a nationwide “non-working” week in the first week of November in an effort to stymie its rising cases, while Moscow reentered a partial lockdown on Thursday, allowing only essential shops to remain open.
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China has enforced a tough zero-tolerance Covid policy since the pandemic began nearly two years ago, but the latest Delta outbreak appears to be testing the limits of people’s patience.
As most of the world begins to open up and live with the virus, China remains one of the few countries still pursuing an elimination trajectory. Helen Davidson and Vincent Ni report on growing frustrations with the policy:
Inspired by the Aids Memorial Quilt, which her mother worked on in the 1980s, a teenager in California has been stitching a quilt over the past 18 months to honour and remember people lost to Covid-19.
Madeleine Fugate started the memorial quilt in May 2020, then 13, as a seventh grade class project. She encouraged families in Los Angeles, where she lives, to send her fabric squares representing their lost loved ones, the Associated Press reports.
“I really want to get everyone remembered so that families can heal and represent these people as real people who lived,” she said.
It has grown to include about 600 memorial squares representing individuals or groups, such as New Zealand’s more than two dozen virus victims, stitched together by Fugate, her mother and a small group of volunteers.
Fugate said she would like to see a formal national memorial for Covid-19 victims.
“It would be amazing to see that happen, but we’re still technically fighting the war against this virus,” she said. “We’re not there yet, so we just have to keep doing what we’re doing. We are the triage. We’re helping stop the bleeding.”
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Beijing’s Universal Studios theme park tested all staff after close contacts of Covid cases visited the resort this week, it announced on social media.
The close contacts were isolating and had tested negative for Covid, the theme park said in a post on its official Weibo account, adding that it had increased health monitoring at the park.
The resort would enter “emergency pandemic prevention status”, state media reported, citing the Beijing government.
“Out of prudent consideration for the health and safety of visitors, we are fully cooperating with the disease control and prevention department to notify those who visited the park on 24 October to undergo nucleic acid tests and necessary health monitoring,” Universal Studios said in the post.
It comes as China recorded its highest daily number local cases in more than six weeks on Friday.
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Greece’s health ministry has struck deals with five private clinics to free up almost 300 beds as state hospitals reach capacity.
The agreement with the private clinics, which are in Thessaloniki, Larissa and Volos, will offer 296 beds and comes after Greece reported 3,643 new cases, 661 of which were in Thessaloniki. Attica, which has a population about four times Thessaloniki’s size, had just 599, the Kathimerini newspaper reported.
“The solution is to decrease demand by increasing mandatory vaccination,” the head of intensive care at Thessaloniki’s Papanikolaou Hospital said on Friday. “There is no other way, we need vaccination.”
Greece has a double vaccination rate of 61.7%, while 59.3% have had just one dose.
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Coronavirus bioweapon claims ‘scientifically invalid’, US intelligence reports
Theories that the coronavirus was created as a biological weapon are based on “scientifically invalid claims” and disseminated by proponents “suspected of spreading disinformation”, according to a study by US intelligence agencies.
While most of the 17 agencies also agreed that it had not been genetically engineered, they were split between whether the virus spread due to animal-to-human transmission or as the result of a lab accident.
“We remain skeptical of allegations that SARS-CoV-2 was a biological weapon because they are supported by scientifically invalid claims, their proponents do not have direct access to the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), or their proponents are suspected of spreading disinformation,” the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) study said.
Julian Borger has the story here:
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China's local cases reach six-week high
China’s local daily cases reached a six-week high on Friday, with most new cases concentrated in its northern provinces.
There were 59 new locally transmitted infections on Friday, according to the National Health Commission, via Reuters, an increase from 48 the previous day and the highest number since 16 September. There were no further deaths, meaning the official death toll remains at 4,636.
Infections were mainly reported in northern China, including Heilongjiang, Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Beijing and Ningxia. Including imported infections, there were 78 new cases for Friday, up from 64 the day before.
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UK to send 20m vaccine doses abroad by year end
Welcome to today’s global coronavirus live blog.
The UK will send 20m Covid vaccine doses to developing countries by the end of the year, Boris Johnson will announce to world leaders as they gather in Rome.
Leaders of the G20 countries are meeting in Rome in the run-up to the UN Cop26 summit, in the hope that progress can be made on securing commitments before the summit.
Earlier this year, the UK promised to provide at least 100m doses as part of a G7 aim to offer 1bn doses – a target criticised as too low. Johnson will call on leaders to vaccinate the world by the end of 2022.
“Like a waking giant, the world economy is stirring back to life. But the pace of recovery will depend on how quickly we can overcome Covid,” Johnson is expected to tell G20 leaders. “Our first priority as the G20 must be to press ahead with the rapid, equitable and global distribution of vaccines.”
It comes after 100 former leaders and ministers globally urged the Italian prime minister, Mario Draghi, who is hosting the G20 meeting, to ensure more equitable vaccine distribution. The US, EU, UK and Canada would be stockpiling 240m unused vaccines by the end of the month, the group said.
I’ll be running the blog for the next few hours. If you want to reach me, I’m on Twitter @cleaskopeliti, or you can drop me an email. Thanks.
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