This blog is now closed. You can find the latest Covid news at the link below:
Two US cruise ship passengers test positive for Covid
Cruise operator Royal Caribbean said on Thursday two guests onboard its Celebrity Millennium ship have tested positive for Covid-19, but are asymptomatic and currently in isolation.
The guests, who were sharing a room, are being monitored by the company’s medical team, the cruise operator said, adding that it was conducting contact tracing, expediting testing for all close contacts of the individuals.
Celebrity Millennium was one of the first cruises in North America to restart sailing last week, after more than a year.
Royal Caribbean started sailing in June after meeting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) comprehensive guidelines that included a fully vaccinated crew and everyone over 16 presenting proof of vaccination against Covid.
Cruise operators are among the last to return to their pre-pandemic operations as the CDC laid out strict guidance earlier this year for the cruise industry for resuming trips, after some ships became hotbeds for the virus last year.
The US administered 305,687,618 doses of Covid-19 vaccines and distributed 372,830,865 doses in the country as of Thursday morning, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
The figures are up from the 304,753,476 vaccine doses the CDC said had gone into arms by June 9, out of 372,495,525 doses delivered.
The agency said 172,423,605 people had received at least one dose, while 141,583,252 people were fully vaccinated as of Thursday.
The UK will start donating vaccines to countries in need within weeks, with at least 100 million surplus doses being distributed in the next year, Boris Johnson announced as G7 leaders gathered in Cornwall.
The group of seven leading industrialised nations are expected to collectively agree to provide a billion doses of vaccine in an effort to end the pandemic in 2022.
The summit, in Carbis Bay, begins on Friday with leaders of wealthy nations under pressure to do more to share the burden of protecting the world from the virus.
US President Joe Biden has already promised to donate half a billion Pfizer vaccines for 92 low- and lower middle-income countries and the African Union.
Under the Prime Minister’s plan, the UK will provide five million doses by the end of September, with 25 million more by the end of 2021.
Venezuela’s government has been unable to complete a payment required to receive coronavirus vaccines because transfers to the global COVAX vaccine program had been blocked, Reuters reports.
The government of President Nicolas Maduro for months said it was unable to pay for the COVAX program because of U.S. sanctions, and then in March announced that it had made almost all the required $120 million payment. Vice President Delcy Rodriguez in a televised broadcast on Thursday said the government had been unable to pay down the remaining $10 million because four operations had been blocked. “The financial system that also hides behind the U.S. lobby, has the power to block resources that can be used to immunize the population of Venezuela,” Rodriguez said. Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza later tweeted a copy of a letter from COVAX saying it had received information from Swiss bank UBS that four operations, totaling $4.6 million, “were blocked and under investigation.” It was not immediately evident who blocked the operations or why. UBS said for legal and regulatory reasons it is “unable to comment on matters relating to potential client relationships.”
Brazil has had 88,092 new cases of coronavirus reported in the past 24 hours and 2,504 deaths, the country’s health ministry said.
The South American country has now registered 17,210,969 cases since the pandemic began, while the official death toll has risen to 482,019, Reuters reports.
Here is the latest on the Covid situation in Australia:
Brazil’s president Bolsonaro says his government is preparing a measure that vaccinated people or prople previous infected with Covid-19 no longer need face masks, Reuters reports.
Bolsonaro, who has opposed lockdowns and social distancing despite his country having the second-deadliest coronavirus outbreak, said in a speech that quarantines should only be for infected people.
Speaking at a tourism event, he said the pandemic put Brazil’s tourism sector in “intensive care” but it was recovering now .
Pfizer has cut July deliveries of its Covid-19 vaccine to Norway by 400,000 doses, delaying the country’s vaccine rollout, Reuters reports.
Pfizer, a major provider of vaccines to Norway which has dropped Astrazeneca’s jab and only offering J&J’s Jenssen vaccine under certain conditions, will now provide 800,000 doses in July, from the earlier estimated 1.2 million doses.
Norway’s vaccination programme will now be delayed by one to two weeks compared to its earlier estimate.
Prime minister Erna Solberg said in May the government aimed to offer a first dose to all those aged 18 and over by July 25.
Mexico reported 3,672 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the country and 227 more fatalities on Thursday.
It brings the total infections to 2,445,538 and the death toll to 229,580, according to health ministry data.
Separate government data recently published suggested the real death toll may be at least 60% above the confirmed figure, Reuters reports.
A summary of today's developments
- The US will purchase half a billion Covid-19 vaccine doses for lower income countries with no strings attached, US President Joe Biden said on Thursday. “Half a billion vaccines will start to be shipped in August, as quickly as they roll off the manufacturing line,” Biden said at a news conference before the G7 summit in Britain.
- South Africa has entered its third wave of Covid-19 infections as the continent’s worst-hit country registered 9,149 new cases, Reuters reports. The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NCID) said South Africa had exceeded the national 7-day moving average incidence of 5,959 cases as defined by the ministerial advisory committee (MAC).
- Covid-19 case rates have increased across every region in England with a sharp rise in the North West, new figures show. The latest weekly surveillance report from Public Health England (PHE), published on Thursday, shows that rates in north-west England increased to 149.6 cases per 100,000 people in the seven days to June 6, up week-on-week from 89.4, PA news reports. This is the highest for the region since the week ending February 21 and is also the highest of any region in England.
- The discovery of several thousand unreported deaths in the state of Bihar, India, has raised suspicion that many more coronavirus victims have not been included in official figures. The health department in Bihar revised its total Covid-19 related death toll to more than 9,429 from about 5,424 on Wednesday. The newly-reported deaths had occurred last month and state officials were investigating the lapse, a district health official said, blaming the oversight on private hospitals.
- The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said it was necessary to know the origins of Covid-19 and investigators needed to have full access to sites which could shed lights on the matter
- A rather bleak report from the EU’s Fundamental Rights Agency says that the coronavirus pandemic has had an unprecedented and profound effect on human rights, fuelling racism and child abuse. The annual report says: “The pandemic and the reactions it triggered exacerbated existing challenges and inequalities in all areas of life, especially affecting vulnerable groups.”
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Ukraine has reiterated that it will not allow foreigners inoculated with the Russian Covid-19 vaccine Sputnik into the country if they do not also provide a negative test for the coronavirus.
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Bulgaria plans to lift the compulsory wearing of face masks in gyms, hairdressing salons, small shops and offices where all workers are vaccinated as coronavirus infections decrease.
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Denmark will ditch the use of masks in most public spaces and allow 25,000 fans to attend European Championship matches in Copenhagen
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Russia’s Covid numbers have been at a remarkably steady uniform level for months on end, but this week the official case tally is seeing a steady rise, and today was the highest number for three months at 11,699
- The EU decided not to take up an option to buy 100m doses of the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine in March, European officials have said.
- A 52-year-old woman from New South Wales who died after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine is “likely” Australia’s second death from a rare and severe blood clotting syndrome linked to the Covid vaccine, Australia’s drugs regulator says.
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Hong Kong’s government said this morning that it would review its plan for a travel bubble between Hong Kong and Singapore in early July, after the proposal was derailed for a second time in May due to a surge of cases in Singapore.
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Singapore will start a phased easing of its Covid-19 restrictions from Monday its health ministry said, after domestic transmission of the virus slowed and the number of new cases declined.
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South Korea is considering plans to vaccinate workers at key businesses including chip and electronics firms to prevent disruptions to production, an official at the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.
- A cluster of infections across four Taiwan semiconductor factories is still growing, with 43 new cases reported today.
- A delay in Covid-19 vaccine deliveries to the Philippines has forced some cities in the capital region to close vaccination sites, complicating Manila’s efforts to ramp up its immunisation drive.
New Ontario modelling projects COVID-19 cases will continue to decline in the short to mid-term. But officials say they expect the Delta variant to be the dominant strain by summer. They say getting 2nd doses to people in hot spots will be critical to be preventing a new wave.
— CBC News Alerts (@CBCAlerts) June 10, 2021
The Edinburgh festivals in Scotland have been offered millions of pounds in emergency funding in the face of widespread fears they may never fully recover from the severe impacts of the Covid pandemic.
The Fringe, international and book festivals, which help make up the world’s largest annual arts season, have been forced to very significantly curtail this August’s events, the second year running it has done so. One of the most famous, the military tattoo staged at Edinburgh castle, has again been cancelled.
Many senior figures in the August festivals now believe it is unlikely the events will ever return to their record-breaking scale of 2019, when they sold more than 4m tickets over a four-week run, with well over a million people attending events.
British Airways has furloughed thousands of its staff, citing delays to travel as the reason behind its decision.
The airline confirmed a large number of its workers - including management staff - have been put back onto the scheme, PA reports.
Workers were being brought off furlough ahead of the summer holiday period after the government set May 17 as the date for the restart of international travel.
However, no top holiday destinations are on the green list, meaning travellers returning from places such as France, Spain and Italy must quarantine at home for 10 days.
A large number of BA staff were already on furlough before the latest furlough decision took place, it is understood.
The firm has called for the UK’s government to open international travel “as soon as possible” and add “low-risk” nations such as the US to its green list.
It confirmed reports that more members of staff are to go onto the flexible furlough scheme and work part-time.
A BA spokesman said: ?”Like many companies we’re using the furlough scheme to protect jobs during this unprecedented crisis.
“However, it’s vital the Government follows its risk-based framework to reopen international travel as soon as possible, putting more low-risk countries, like the US, on its green list at the next available opportunity”.
A higher-than-expected number of young men have experienced heart inflammation after their second dose of the mRNA Covid-19 jabs from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said.
The CDC is still assessing the risk from the condition and has not yet concluded that there was a causal relationship between the vaccines and cases of myocarditis or pericarditis, Reuters reports.
While some patients required hospitalisation, most have fully recovered from their symptoms, the CDC said.
More than half of the cases reported to the U.S. Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) after people had received their second dose of either the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna vaccines were in people between the ages of 12 and 24, the CDC said.
Pfizer said it supports the CDC’s assessment of the heart inflammation cases, noting that “the number of reports is small given the number of doses administered.”
“It is important to understand that a careful assessment of the reports is ongoing and it has not been concluded that the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines cause myocarditis or pericarditis,” the company said in a statement.
Moderna said it has not established a causal association with the condition and its vaccine. It said it is actively working with public health and regulatory authorities to further assess the issue.
South Africa enters third wave of Covid cases
South Africa has entered its third wave of Covid-19 infections as the continent’s worst-hit country registered 9,149 new cases, Reuters reports.
The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NCID) said South Africa had exceeded the national 7-day moving average incidence of 5,959 cases as defined by the ministerial advisory committee (MAC).
The MAC advisory reported the latest wave of cases had a 7-day moving average threshold that was 30% of the peak incidence of the previous wave, which reached around 10,000 infections driven by a new variant.
A hotel, which media reported was being used by members of Germany’s delegation to a Group of Seven summit in England, has closed because members of staff tested positive for Covid-19.
The Pedn Olva hotel in St Ives, a seaside town adjacent to the location of the three-day G7 leaders’ meeting in Cornwall had shut temporarily on advice from health officials and the local authority, the owners said.
“Following extensive discussions over the last few days with PHE (Public Health England) and Cornwall Council, we have taken the decision to fully close the hotel,” said a spokesperson for the owners, St Austell Brewery.
“We fully appreciate the inconvenience given the limited accommodation options available in the area at the moment but the safety and security of our team and guests is our upmost priority.”
The spokesperson said the hotel would reopen once a full Covid-19 deep clean had taken place and there were enough staff to run it.
When something goes terribly wrong, it is human instinct to look for the human hand – perhaps to reassure ourselves that life is not wholly beyond our control. As the flu pandemic reached the US just over a century ago, some blamed German agents.
“So it wasn’t surprising when people claimed that coronavirus had leaked from – or was even manufactured in – a laboratory in Wuhan, China, where the outbreak began.
“Nor was it surprising when Donald Trump and his allies promoted the story as they sought to pass the buck for the mounting death toll in the US and embellish the then president’s China-hawk credentials.
The Euro 2020 fan zone in Glasgow, Scotland, will be one of the safest places to watch the tournament, an official said.
Up to 6,000 people a day, split into two sessions, will gather in the fan zone in Glasgow Green to watch matches on every day of the football tournament.
Concerns have been raised about the safety of the event amid the pandemic with fans not required to take a lateral flow test before attending.
Chris Weitz, senior sport development officer at Glasgow Life, told the PA news agency: “We’re expecting people to come to the fan zone and enjoy the games in what I would describe as one of the safest places they could come to watch the football matches, we’re outside, the tables are separated, two metres social distancing.
“We’ve adhered to guidance, we’ve worked closely with the Scottish Government and other partners taking advice on what measures we need to have in place, and we will continue to do so.”
Updated
The United States will purchase half a billion Covid-19 vaccine doses for lower income countries with no strings attached, US President Joe Biden said on Thursday.
“Half a billion vaccines will start to be shipped in August, as quickly as they roll off the manufacturing line,” Biden said at a news conference before the G7 summit in Britain.
Tune in as I give an update on our COVID-19 vaccination program and the effort to defeat COVID-19 around the world. https://t.co/mjobpuWjKH
— President Biden (@POTUS) June 10, 2021
An extra 20 million will be invested in the rollout of the coronavirus vaccine in England, it has been announced, amid a rise in Covid-19 cases across the country.
The NHS has said the cash will be used to provide extra support for GPs, pharmacists and local services at vaccination sites around the nation, PA news reports.
It will also help increase staffing numbers at sites over the next month to help with the ongoing jabbing efforts, with NHS England calling it the “drive for the finish line”.
NHS England medical director of primary care Dr Nikki Kanani said:
Our local GP and pharmacy sites have been an integral part of the vaccination programme, delivering around 75% of the jabs administered so far, and we are incredibly thankful for them going above and beyond to keep our families and communities protected from Covid-19.
This additional funding gives these essential local institutions, like general practices and pharmacies, the resources to bring more staff on board and help the country drive for the finish line as we enter the final stages of the vaccine rollout.
Local vaccination sites are also being urged to ensure second dose appointments are brought forward for those over 50 where possible.
It comes as around six in every seven people in England aged 50 and over are now fully vaccinated against Covid-19, according to new figures.
An estimated 85.8% of people in this age group had received two doses of a vaccine by June 6, with government setting a target to offer both jabs to all over 50s by June 21.
The NHS has also said that a record-breaking number of vaccine appointments were booked on Tuesday as those aged 25 to 29 in England were able to book an appointment for the first time.
Up to 100,000 appointments were being booked every hour.
Britain said it agreed a partnership with the United States on Thursday to tackle new pandemics by bolstering disease surveillance and genomic sequencing worldwide, on the eve of a G7 leaders’ summit.
Britain used its presidency of G7 to pledge to improve global preparedness against emerging health threats in light of the coronavirus pandemic, Reuters reports.
Health minister Matt Hancock said:
To send this virus into retreat and stop the advances of future diseases, it is vital the whole world has access to the UK and U.S.’s sophisticated surveillance and sequencing technologies.
Through this new landmark partnership with our closest ally, we are sharing our expertise with the world, so together we can unite and take action to prevent the spread of future pandemics to keep people safe everywhere.
Covid-19 cases on the rise in every region in England
Covid-19 case rates have increased across every region in England with a sharp rise in the North West, new figures show.
The latest weekly surveillance report from Public Health England (PHE), published on Thursday, shows that rates in north-west England increased to 149.6 cases per 100,000 people in the seven days to June 6, up week-on-week from 89.4, PA news reports.
This is the highest for the region since the week ending February 21 and is also the highest of any region in England. South-west England has the lowest rate: 20.8, up week-on-week from 9.7.
Meanwhile, PHE also said that case rates have risen among almost all age groups in England, with a spike in rates amongst 20 to 29-year-olds, going from 54.0 in the week ending May 30 to 121.0 in the seven days to June 6.
This is the age group with the highest rate and the biggest week-on-week increase, while the second highest rate is among 10 to 19-year-olds, up from 73.7 to 99.4.
The latest figures come as Health Secretary Matt Hancock told MPs that the Delta variant first identified in India now comprised 91% of cases of coronavirus in the UK.
PHE medical director Dr Yvonne Doyle said:
Once again we are seeing cases rapidly rise across the country and the Delta variant is now dominant.
The increase is primarily in younger age groups who are yet to receive the vaccine and we are seeing more hospital admissions.
The vaccine rollout is a huge success, however there are many millions who still need one or two doses and protection is not immediate.
Therefore, follow the guidance and remember it is safer outside. Practise good hand hygiene and wear face coverings in enclosed spaces.
The government said that as of 9am on Thursday, there had been a further 7,393 lab-confirmed cases in the UK.
It added that seven more people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Thursday, bringing the UK total to 127,867.
Separate figures published by the Office for National Statistics show there have been 153,000 deaths registered in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.
The number of Covid-19 patients in hospital in England stood at 906 as of 8am on Thursday June 10, according to the latest figures from NHS England.
This is up from 779 a week earlier and is the highest number since May 12. The seven-day average currently stands at 845 patients, the highest since May 16, PA news reports.
In north-west England the number of patients is currently 271, the highest since April 19.
A total of 147 hospital admissions of people with Covid-19 in England were reported for June 8, NHS England also said.
This is up from 115 a week earlier and is the highest number since April 14. The seven-day average for admissions currently stands at 112, the highest since April 24.
The figures cover all patients admitted in the previous 24 hours who were known to have Covid-19, plus any patients diagnosed in hospital with Covid-19 in the previous 24 hours.
France will work with South Africa to help African countries secure access to Covid-19 vaccines, French President Emmanuel Macron told a news conference on Thursday ahead of a G7 summit.
Macron also told a news conference that having access to vaccines should not be hampered by disputes over intellectual property rights.
Italy reported 88 coronavirus-related deaths on Thursday, against 77 the day before, the health ministry said, while the daily tally of new infections was down to 2,079 from 2,199, Reuters reports.
Italy has registered 126,855 deaths linked to Covid-19 since its outbreak emerged in February last year, the second-highest toll in Europe after Britain and the eight-highest in the world. The country has reported 4.24 million cases to date.
Patients in hospital with Covid-19 - not including those in intensive care - stood at 4,153 on Thursday, decreasing from 4,382 a day earlier.
There were 30 new admissions to intensive care units, up from 24 on Wednesday. The total number of intensive care patients fell to 626 from a previous 661.
Some 205,335 tests for Covid-19 were carried out in the past day, compared with a previous 218,738, the health ministry said.
Updated
UK government data up to June 8 shows that of the 69,743,980 jabs given in the UK so far, 40,886,878 were first doses - a rise of 176,559 on the previous day.
Some 28,857,102 were second doses, an increase of 316,258, PA news reports.
The UK government said seven more people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Thursday, bringing the UK total to 127,867.
Separate figures published by the Office for National Statistics show there have been 153,000 deaths registered in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.
The government also said that, as of 9am on Thursday, there had been a further 7,393 lab-confirmed cases in the UK, PA news agency reports.
Updated
The UK health secretary, Matt Hancock, has said he never lied to the prime minister and defended himself against a slew of allegations made by Dominic Cummings, from care homes to testing and PPE, saying it was “telling” the former aide had not provided evidence.
At a parliamentary hearing the health secretary barely mentioned Cummings by name but made a series of veiled digs at his conduct in government.
During his evidence:
- He denied there were national shortages of PPE, saying though there had been individual cases of difficulty, no area had run out of stocks.
- Defended his 100,000 testing target, which Cummings said interfered with the system but which Hancock said had worked.
- Claimed all patients had received the Covid treatment they needed, despite Cummings’ claim that the chief scientific adviser had said otherwise.
He also defended the government’s actions in the run-up to the November lockdown, a time when according to Cummings the prime minister was forcefully against another lockdown. He said the spread of the virus had been far more regional, rather than the initial wave when the spread had been across the country.
“Decisions are made through discussion,” he said. “Of course, people have a tendency for one side of the argument or the other at times, but actually at the moment everybody is very aligned.”
Read the full story here:
Updated
A total of 53.7% of social care staff in England working in independent Care Quality Commission-registered younger adult care homes and domiciliary care providers have received a second dose of Covid-19 vaccine, NHS England said.
For social care staff working in other settings in England, including non-registered providers, the figure is 24.6%.
Some 88.8% of people classified as clinically extremely vulnerable had received both doses of coronavirus vaccine by 6 June, according to NHS England figures.
The proportion of people aged 16 to 64 in an “at-risk group” or who are unpaid carers to have received a second jab by this date was 68.7%, the data suggests.
People are identified as at risk or a carer in a number of ways, including through GP records, those receiving carer’s allowance or on the GP Learning Disability Register, and those identified as unpaid carers by local authorities, NHS England said.
People included in these figures may have been vaccinated as part of another high-priority group such as the clinically extremely vulnerable or healthcare workers, it added, PA Media reports.
Updated
Nearly one in three older adult care home workers in England have not been fully vaccinated against coronavirus, new figures show.
The latest data from NHS England, published on Thursday, shows that 68.7% of eligible staff at older adult care homes had been given both doses of vaccine by June 6, PA news agency reports.
Between 8 December 2020 until 6 June, 83.7% of eligible staff had been given a first jab, the figures show.
This compares to 95.3% of eligible older adult care home residents who have received a first jab and 90.5% who have had both.
Residents in a care home for older adults and their carers are the top priority group in the vaccination programme.
Meanwhile, the data also showed that 82.7% of residents at younger adult care homes in England had received both dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.
The region with the highest rate was the east of England at 86.2% while the lowest was the Midlands at 80.0%, the figures show.
Updated
Jon Henley has more from the WHO on prospects for Europe:
Covid-19 infections, hospitalisations and deaths are falling fast across Europe, but the risk of a deadly autumn resurgence remains high as societies open up and the more transmissible Delta variant advances, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said.
Urging people and governments to exercise “caution and common sense” over the summer, the WHO Europe’s regional director, Hans Kluge, said on Thursday that community transmission was still widespread and would continue as travel and social gatherings increased.
“We’ve been here before,” Kluge said. “Last summer, cases gradually rose in younger age groups, then moved into older age groups, leading to a devastating … loss of life in the autumn and winter of 2020. Let’s not make that mistake again.”
Katy Smallwood, a senior emergency officer, said the Delta variant first detected in India was of particular concern. “It is not yet prevalent in the European region but in some countries has already displaced the dominant Alpha variant,” she said.
“We’ve seen very significant evidence of significantly higher transmissibility, we’ve seen initial basis for increased risk of hospitalisation, and we’ve seen some evidence of immune escape, especially after only one dose of vaccine. Our assessment is that this does pose a significant risk in terms of community transmission.”
About 90% of African countries will miss a September target to vaccinate at least 10% of their populations against Covid-19 as a third wave of the pandemic looms on the continent, Reuters reports.
Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa, said the continent required an extra 225 million doses to be able to vaccinate a tenth of its people by September this year.
Africa has hit 5 million COVID-19 cases, with the southern Africa region the worst affected, accounting for 37% of total cases, according to a Reuters tally. South Africa is the worst affected African country, with about 34% of the total cases and about 43% of all deaths.
Rachel Hall here taking over from Nicola Slawson - please do email over your thoughts and tips to rachel.hall@theguardian.com.
Updated
Leaders at the G7 summit will call for a new, transparent investigation by the World Health Organization into the origins of the coronavirus, according to a leaked draft communique for the meeting.
The call was initiated by Joe Biden’s administration and follows the US president’s decision to expand the American investigation into the origins of the pandemic, with one intelligence agency leaning towards the theory that it escaped from a Wuhan laboratory.
The broad consensus among scientific experts remains that the most likely explanation is that Covid-19 jumped to humans from an animal host in a natural event. An on-the-ground investigation by WHO experts earlier this year concluded t it was “extremely unlikely” the pandemic began in a laboratory.
According to Bloomberg News, which said it had sight of the draft communique, the G7 will also commit to deliver 1bn extra doses of the Covid-19 vaccine over the next year to accelerate global protection against the disease.
The move may disappoint aid agencies that want most of the world’s 8 billion people to be vaccinated, but the communique will argue that the fresh commitment will dramatically increase the number of people in the developing world offered a vaccine.
Ahead of his arrival at the summit, Biden said the US would commit to buying 500m doses of the vaccine for distribution to developing countries.
Read more here:
The US will not seek favours in exchange for some 500m Pfizer Covid-19 vaccines that it is donating to the 100 lowest income countries, a senior Biden administration official said on Thursday.
The US will pay Pfizer about $3.5bn for the doses and the contract will be finalised in coming weeks, the official said.
On the 500m doses, the official described the gesture as a “major step forward that will supercharge the global effort” with the aim of “bringing hope to very corner of the world”.
The official said:
We really want underscore that this is fundamentally about a singular objective of saving lives.
The United States is not seeking favours in exchange for these doses, we are not making demands. We are not imposing conditions, political or economic or otherwise on countries for receiving these doses.
The official said the US expects to deliver 200m doses this year, starting in August, and 300m in first half of next year, Reuters reports.
Updated
Just a reminder that my colleague Andrew Sparrow is covering UK Covid news today.
Today his live blog is dominated by the health secretary, Matt Hancock, appearing before a committee of MPs in parliament answering questions about the UK’s handling of the pandemic.
You can follow that with him here:
Updated
In the UK, Matt Hancock has defended that practice of discharging patients to care homes without testing for Covid-19 in the early weeks of the pandemic, as well as numerous allegations made by Dominic Cummings, saying it was “telling” the former aide had not provided evidence.
Giving evidence to the parliamentary inquiry, Hancock was also asked to justify the government’s decision to stop community testing in the early weeks of the pandemic, but denied there were national shortages of PPE and said testing capacity was always being increased.
Despite verbal assurances, Cummings did not provide written evidence for a number of serious allegations against Hancock and others, including the prime minister, according to the committee’s co-chair Greg Clark, who said the allegations should be “counted as unproven without it”.
Hancock said it was “telling that no evidence has been provided” about some of the claims Cummings made. “I can be quite forceful when I’m trying to get something through if it needs to happen,” he said. “But that’s what you have to do, and crucially, you have to bring the team with you.”
Hancock said he had “no idea” why Cummings held such a negative view of him, but said he knew the aide had wanted the prime minister to fire him, adding “he briefed the newspapers at the time”. He said he had “of course” raised objections about this and that he had had “the prime minister’s wholesome support all the way through”.
“The best thing to say is that government has operated much better over the last six months,” he said, a reference to Cummings’ departure in November.
Read more here:
Updated
India’s daily tally of coronavirus deaths has topped 6,000 after a single state dramatically revised its data for fatalities during the second wave, stoking fears that the country’s toll is much higher than reported.
While the daily total would be a global record for a single day, it appears that Bihar’s addition of some 4,000 extra deaths after a court challenge, accounts for deaths that occurred throughout the country’s devastating second wave of infections.
The new total comes as official figures for nationwide infections in India showed a third day under 100,000, suggesting the latest surge may be declining.
According to health ministry figures, 6,148 people died in the previous 24 hours, taking total fatalities to almost 360,000, the world’s third highest.
The previous world record according to an AFP tally was 5,527 in the US on 12 February, although this was also due to an upwards revision of earlier deaths.
Read more here:
Updated
Indonesia reported 8,892 new daily coronavirus infections on Thursday, the highest since February 23, taking its overall number of cases to 1,885,942.
Data from its coronavirus taskforce also showed 211 Covid-19 deaths reported on Thursday, taking total fatalities to 52,373, Reuters reports.
US president, Joe Biden, plans to buy and donate 500m doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine to more than 90 countries, while calling on the world’s democracies to do their part to help end the deadly pandemic, the White House said.
The announcement of the vaccine donation – the largest ever by a single country – comes before Biden meets leaders of the other G7 advanced economies in England.
The White House said:
The goal of today’s donation is to save lives and end the pandemic and will provide the foundation for additional actions to be announced in the coming days.
US drugmaker Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech will provide 200m doses in 2021 and 300m doses in the first half of 2022, which the United States will then distribute to 92 lower-income countries and the African Union.
The shots, which will be produced at Pfizer’s US sites, will be provided at a not-for-profit price.
Pfizer chief executive, Albert Bourla, said:
Our partnership with the US government will help bring hundreds of millions of doses of our vaccine to the poorest countries around the world as quickly as possible.
Updated
A Covid-19 vaccine developer in Taiwan is seeking a speedy emergency use authorisation (EUA) from the government after safely completing phase 2 trials, Reuters reports.
Developing its own vaccine has been a major goal of Taiwan’s government, though it also has ordered some 20m shots from Moderna, AstraZeneca and the Covax global sharing scheme for lower income countries.
Only about 3% of Taiwan’s 23.5 million people have received at least one shot, with further supplies held up by global production problems, as the island deals with a spike in domestic cases after months of relative safety.
Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp’s chief executive, Charles Chen, told a briefing they were pleased with the phase 2 results and would be submitting an EUA request to Taiwan’s food and drug administration soon.
“Safety is very important, and our vaccine is very safe,” he said, adding he was “very optimistic” about getting EUA.
Chen said that ultimately the company was preparing to produce 100m doses, and export them to the small number of countries with which Chinese-claimed Taiwan has diplomatic relations after the vaccine gets international regulatory approval.
Last month Taiwan’s government signed deals with Medigen, and another local firm, United Biomedical Inc, for 5m doses each, and has agreements for another 5m each, for a total of 20m shots.
Medigen says that more than 4,000 people participated in its second phase clinical trial and received two shots, and that it had seen no serious adverse reactions, with a placebo given to one in every seven participants.
The recombinant protein vaccine has been developed in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health in the US.
Taiwan’s government hopes to start administering the domestically developed vaccines next month.
The government, however, has come under criticism from opposition parties after President Tsai Ing-wen pledged last month to start administering domestically developed vaccines in July before results of the second clinical trial were released.
Tsai later said her government would strictly scrutinise the process under international scientific norms and put safety first.
Updated
A jump in coronavirus cases on Indonesia’s two most populous islands has health experts worried that the worst could be yet to come, with few curbs on movement at a time when dangerous variants drive record fatalities elsewhere in south-east Asia.
Case numbers have risen sharply in Java and Sumatra three weeks after holidays that followed the Islamic fasting month, when millions ventured across the archipelago, ignoring a temporary travel ban, Reuters reports.
In Kudus, central Java, where healthcare reinforcements have been brought in, cases skyrocketed 7,594% according to Wiku Adisasmito of Indonesia’s Covid-19 taskforce. Hospital capacity had hit 90% there, local media reported.
Defriman Djafri, an epidemiologist from Andalas University in Pandang, said fatalities in West Sumatra in May were the highest on record.
In Riau, on Sumatra, daily cases more than doubled from early April to over 800 by mid-May, while the positivity rate was at 35.8% last week, said Wildan Asfan Hasibuan, an epidemiologist and provincial taskforce advisor.
Wildan attributed the rise to increased mobility and possible spread of coronavirus variants, which have driven big surges in many countries.
The impact of the variants of concern are hard to determine in Indonesia, which has limited genomic sequencing capacity.
It also has testing and tracing shortfalls and its immunisation drive has progressed slowly, with one in 18 people targeted for inoculations fully vaccinated so far.
Recent studies have also indicated cases could be far higher than the nearly 1.9 million known infections, among Asia’s highest caseloads.
Dicky Budiman, an epidemiologist from Australia’s Griffith University, said Indonesia should take COVID-19 variants more seriously, particularly the Delta variant, which he said was in its early stage of spreading.
He said:
If we don’t change our strategy, we will face an explosion of cases in the community, mortality will increase,” he said.
It means sooner or later it will reach the more vulnerable ... we will face an explosion of cases which we cannot contain or respond to in our health facilities.
Updated
Covid-19 infections, hospitalisations and deaths are falling fast across Europe but the risk of a deadly autumn resurgence remains high as societies open up and the more transmissible Delta variant advances, the World Health Organization has warned.
Urging people and governments to exercise “caution and common sense” over the summer, WHO Europe’s regional director, Hans Kluge, said community transmission was still widespread and would continue as travel and social gatherings increased.
Kluge said:
We’ve been here before. Last summer, cases gradually rose in younger age groups, then moved into older age groups, leading to a devastating … loss of life in the autumn and winter of 2020. Let’s not make that mistake again.
Katy Smallwood, senior emergency officer, said the Delta variant first detected inIndia was particularly concerning.
She said:
It is not yet prevalent in the European region, but in some countries has already displaced the dominant Alpha variant.
We’ve seen very significant evidence of significantly higher transmissibility, we’ve seen initial basis for increased risk of hospitalisation, and we’ve seen some evidence of immune escape, especially after only one dose of vaccine.
Our assessment is that this does pose a significant risk in terms of community transmission.
Kluge said a new WHO campaign, Summer Sense, wanted people to “enjoy the summer, but safely … If you want to travel, think about the need. If you decide to, do it safely”.
Governments must “make use of a better epidemiological situation to further increase testing, tracing, hospital capacity. Learn the lessons from last year”.
Both officials warned that while the region was now vaccinating at a much faster rate, with 30% of people having received at least one dose and 17% fully vaccinated, coverage “was still far from sufficient to protect the region from a resurgence” and “many among vulnerable populations above the age of 60 remain unprotected”.
Kluge said the region had so far recorded 55 million infections and 1.2million deaths, but had now seen cases, hospitalisations and deaths fall for two consecutive months, with 368,000 new cases were reported last week, barely 20% of the April weekly figure.
Thirty-six of the region’s 53 countries were now easing restrictions, he said. “But we are by no means out of danger,” he warned, calling for “everyone to exercise caution, reduce risks and keep safe” while they enjoy the summer.
Kulge said:
If you choose to travel, do it responsibly. Be conscious of the risks. Apply common sense and don’t jeopardise hard-earned gains. Wash your hands, keep a distance, choose open settings, wear a mask.
To avoid a repeat of last year, he said, governments must “stick firmly to protective measures … even as cases decline” by acting fast on any signs of increasing cases, expanding testing and sequencing and stepping-up contact tracing.
Government’s top priority must be to “continue protecting the elderly, people with comorbidities and frontline workers”, he said, noting that the risk of severe disease or death in children is up to 800 times lower than in people aged 70 years or over.
Updated
Today so far …
- The discovery of several thousand unreported deaths in the state of Bihar, India, has raised suspicion that many more coronavirus victims have not been included in official figures. The health department in Bihar, one of India’s poorest states, revised its total Covid-19 related death toll to more than 9,429 from about 5,424 on Wednesday. The newly-reported deaths had occurred last month and state officials were investigating the lapse, a district health official said, blaming the oversight on private hospitals.
- The Biden administration plans to donate 500m Pfizer coronavirus vaccine doses to nearly 100 countries over the next two years. The US is likely to distribute 200m shots this year and another 300m in the first half of next year to 92 lower-income countries and the African Union, they said.
- The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said it was necessary to know the origins of Covid-19 and investigators needed to have full access to sites which could shed lights on the matter
- A rather bleak report from the EU’s Fundamental Rights Agency says that the coronavirus pandemic has had an unprecedented and profound effect on human rights, fuelling racism and child abuse. The annual report says: “The pandemic and the reactions it triggered exacerbated existing challenges and inequalities in all areas of life, especially affecting vulnerable groups.”
- Ukraine has reiterated that it will not allow foreigners inoculated with the Russian Covid-19 vaccine Sputnik into the country if they do not also provide a negative test for the coronavirus.
- Bulgaria plans to lift the compulsory wearing of face masks in gyms, hairdressing salons, small shops and offices where all workers are vaccinated as coronavirus infections decrease.
- Denmark will ditch the use of masks in most public spaces and allow 25,000 fans to attend European Championship matches in Copenhagen
- Russia’s Covid numbers have been at a remarkably steady uniform level for months on end, but this week the official case tally is seeing a steady rise, and today was the highest number for three months at 11,699
- The EU decided not to take up an option to buy 100m doses of the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine in March, European officials have said.
- A 52-year-old woman from New South Wales who died after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine is “likely” Australia’s second death from a rare and severe blood clotting syndrome linked to the Covid vaccine, Australia’s drugs regulator says.
- Hong Kong’s government said this morning that it would review its plan for a travel bubble between Hong Kong and Singapore in early July, after the proposal was derailed for a second time in May due to a surge of cases in Singapore.
- A political party in Hong Kong – the New Power Party – is offering HK$1m in prizes and vouchers for a lucky draw for vaccinated Hongkongers.
- Singapore will start a phased easing of its Covid-19 restrictions from Monday its health ministry said, after domestic transmission of the virus slowed and the number of new cases declined.
- South Korea is considering plans to vaccinate workers at key businesses including chip and electronics firms to prevent disruptions to production, an official at the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.
- A cluster of infections across four Taiwan semiconductor factories is still growing, with 43 new cases reported today.
- A delay in Covid-19 vaccine deliveries to the Philippines has forced some cities in the capital region to close vaccination sites, complicating Manila’s efforts to ramp up its immunisation drive.
- The governor of Chiba prefecture in Japan has cancelled plans for an outdoor Olympic viewing site in a park that would have drawn thousands of people.
Andrew Sparrow is covering UK Covid news today, which is being dominated by health secretary Matt Hancock appearing before a committee of MPs in parliament. You can follow that with him here…
Updated
Ukraine has reiterated that it will not allow foreigners inoculated with the Russian Covid-19 vaccine Sputnik into the country if they do not also provide a negative test for the coronavirus
Reuters report that current border crossing rules require a negative Covid-19 test or documentary proof of receiving a vaccine approved by the World Health Organization.
“In the last two days, there have been cases of foreigners trying to enter from abroad at checkpoints across the state border of Ukraine with documents on immunisation with the Sputnik V vaccine,” the border service said in a statement.
“We emphasize that such a document does not give the right to enter Ukraine, as this vaccine is not included in the WHO list,” it added.
Updated
Bulgaria plans to relax mask requirements in places where all workers are vaccinated
Bulgaria plans to lift the compulsory wearing of face masks in gyms, hairdressing salons, small shops and offices where all workers are vaccinated as coronavirus infections decrease, a deputy health minister said.
“We have seen a drop in new infections and given the coming summer heat, we plan to take steps to ease the wearing of masks in some indoor spaces,” deputy minister Alexander Zlatanov told reporters.
Bartenders in small restaurants and cafes will also be allowed to work without masks if fully vaccinated, he said.
Tsvetelia Tsolova reports for Reuters that the wearing of face masks will remain obligatory in big shops, large administrative buildings and public transport.
Bulgaria has seen a significant drop in new infections since the third coronavirus wave peaked in April. On Thursday it reported some 131 new infections cases.
The country has the lowest vaccination rate in the European Union, with only 665,000 people of its 7 million population fully vaccinated. The interim government has opened special units in city parks to make access to anti-Covid vaccines easier.
Bulgaria has reported a total of 419,990 coronavirus cases, including 17,872 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
A reminder that right now Andrew Sparrow is covering UK health secretary Matt Hancock’s appearance before a parliamentary committee looking at the UK’s preparedness for the pandemic. You can follow that here…
The EU decided not to take up an option to buy 100m doses of the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine in March, European officials have said.
The decision appears to show a drop in confidence in the one-dose shot, which was initially touted as crucial for a successful vaccination drive in Europe, but has been largely relegated to a back-up choice after safety and supply problems.
The EU at the end of March let the term to order 100m extra doses lapse, three European officials with direct knowledge of contracts with vaccine makers told Reuters, revealing a confidential clause of the contract with Johnson & Johnson which had not been previously disclosed.
Under the contract, the EU ordered 200m doses of the vaccine, and had options to buy another 200m in two separate tranches.
The deadline for the second option for the remaining 100m doses expires at the end of June but no decision has yet been made about whether to exercise it, the officials said.
Francesco Guarascio and Elvira Pollina report for Reuters that a spokesperson for the European Commission declined to comment on the matter.
Updated
A 52-year-old woman from New South Wales who died after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine is “likely” Australia’s second death from a rare and severe blood clotting syndrome linked to the Covid vaccine, Australia’s drugs regulator says.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration said on Thursday the woman had a severe form of the syndrome “with a blood clot in the brain known as a cerebral venous sinus thrombosis”.
“We extend our sincere condolences to her family,” the regulator said in a statement.
It is the second death in Australia likely linked to the rare condition known as thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS). The condition is specific to those who have received the AstraZeneca vaccine and occurs when a person has blood clots as well as low platelet counts. The first Australian death occurred in a 48-year-old woman in April.
Read more of Melissa Davey’s report here: ‘Extremely rare’ – Australia records second death ‘likely linked’ to AstraZeneca vaccine blood clots
We’ve got a live stream of WHO’s Europe briefing going on right now. You might need to refresh the page and press play on the top image to get it running 👍
A quick Reuters snap here about the much-heralded but long-delayed travel bubble between Hong Kong and Singapore. Hong Kong’s government said this morning that it would review its plan in early July, after the proposal was derailed for a second time in May due to a surge of cases in Singapore.
Both governments would review the target date “taking into account the latest development of the Covid-19 epidemic situation in Singapore, which has been stabilising since early June,” Hong Kong’s government said in a statement, adding that an announcement on the way forward would be made in early July.
Updated
A delay in Covid-19 vaccine deliveries to the Philippines has forced some cities in the capital region to close vaccination sites, complicating Manila’s efforts to ramp up its immunisation drive.
Reuters report that presidential spokesperson Harry Roque on Thursday appealed for understanding, while assuring the public “we will have more supply in the coming months and everyone will be vaccinated”.
Only 4.5m of the 7m doses of Covid-19 vaccines that were scheduled to arrive in May were delivered, Carlito Galvez, the head of the government’s vaccine procurement programme, told DZMM radio.
The delay came just as the government opened up vaccinations to around 35 million people working outside their homes, to curb Covid-19 transmission and open up the economy.
Joy Belmonte, the mayor of Quezon city, said some vaccination sites in her city were being forced to close because of “erratic” supplies.
“If we are on full force, we can activate 15 sites already but given the supply we are activating only eight vaccine sites,” Belmonte told CNN Philippines.
As of 7 June, authorities had fully vaccinated 2.3% of the 70 million people they aim to inoculate against Covid-19 this year.
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It is a regular refrain on this blog that Russia’s Covid numbers have been at a remarkably steady uniform level for months on end, but this week the official case tally is seeing a steady rise. Reuters report that there were 11,699 new cases recorded yesterday. That is up from 10,407 the day before. The previous tallies have been pretty much in the range of 7,000-9,500 cases per days since March.
Updated
Andrew Sparrow has kicked off his UK live blog for the day. UK health minister Matt Hancock is about to be up before MPs in the UK to be questioned about neglected care homes, and he’ll be covering that there…
Hong Kong has plenty of vaccines but not enough people who want them. Oh, to have that kind of problem elsewhere.
Because of the danger that vaccines may soon expire (and just the general danger of people being unvaccinated), some interesting incentive drives have been launched to try and convince people to get the jab - we’ve previously reported on major hotel chains offering staff bonuses for vaccines. Residents can also win a Tesla or actual gold.
Now a political party - the New Power Party - is offering HK$1 million in prizes and vouchers for a lucky draw for vaccinated Hongkongers. There’s a catch though - it’s limited to NPP staff, party members, or “friends of the NPP” who have expressed an interest in the party and agreed to receive updates, according to RTHK.
NPP chairwoman Regina Ip has donated a 1990s 18K gold Rolex watch.
I donated my Rolex Cellini 1991 18K gold ladies wristwatch set with diamonds and tourmalines to a raffle draw organized by my Party to boost Hong Kong people's vaccination rate. pic.twitter.com/mVjQTffvjm
— Regina Ip Lau Suk Yee (@ReginaIplau) June 9, 2021
Ip said the campaign was not about promoting the party, or related to next year’s elections.
“Although I think our presents are quite attractive, they are limited in numbers, so we thought it would be better if we limit the eligible persons to people who have a connection with us. There is no need to join NPP as members. You can just join as a friend – no political commitment.”
The discovery of several thousand unreported deaths in the state of Bihar has raised suspicion that many more coronavirus victims have not been included in official figures in India.
The health department in Bihar, one of India’s poorest states, revised its total COVID-19 related death toll to more than 9,429 from about 5,424 on Wednesday.
The newly reported deaths had occurred last month and state officials were investigating the lapse, a district health official said, blaming the oversight on private hospitals.
“These deaths occurred 15 days ago and were only uploaded now in the government portal. Action will be taken against some of the private hospitals,” said the official, who declined to be identified as he is not authorised to speak to the media.
Manas Mishra and Neha Arora report for Reuters that health experts say they believe both coronavirus infections and deaths are being significantly undercounted across the country partly because test facilities are rare in rural areas, where two-thirds of Indians live, and hospitals are few and far between.
Many people have fallen ill and died at home without being tested for the coronavirus.
“Under-reporting is a widespread problem, not necessarily deliberate, often because of inadequacies,” Rajib Dasgupta, head of the Centre of Social Medicine and Community Health at New Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University, told Reuters.
“In the rural context, whatever states may say or claim, testing is not simple, easy or accessible,” Dasgupta said.
The main opposition Congress party said that other states must follow Bihar’s example and conduct a review of deaths over the past two months.
“This proves beyond a doubt government has been hiding COVID deaths,” said Shama Mohamed, a spokeswoman for Congress, adding that an audit should also be ordered in the big states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.
Singapore to start easing Covid restrictions from Monday
Singapore will start a phased easing of its Covid-19 restrictions from Monday its health ministry said, after domestic transmission of the virus slowed and the number of new cases declined.
Authorities will from Monday allow up to five people to gather, up from two currently, and then from 21 June they will allow restaurants to resume dine-in services if infections remain under control.
Reuters report that the ministry also said regulators had approved four coronavirus self-testing kits.
'Investigators need complete access' to find Covid origins – von der Leyen
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said it was necessary to know the origins of Covid-19 and investigators need to have full access to sites which could shed lights on the matter, report Reuters.
“It is of utmost importance that we learn about the origins of the coronavirus,” von der Leyen told a news conference ahead of a G7 summit in Britain.
“Investigators need complete access to whatever is necessary to really find the source of this pandemic,” she added.
A cluster of infections across four Taiwan semiconductor factories is still growing, with 43 new cases reported today.
Taiwan authorities have just held their daily press conference, reporting a total 263 new local cases, including the 43 in Miaoli - the county home to the factories - and 112 in New Taipei city, where there are some hospital clusters. The capital city Taipei recorded 58. Another 28 people have died.
One death and at least 11 cases have been reported at a TV station office in Taipei, but it wasn’t clear if those cases were included with Thursday’s numbers. The CECC also revealed that one of the imported cases reported today was a person who had received two doses of the BioNtech vaccine, in April.
While the total is higher than yesterday, that’s evidently driven by the worsening cluster in Miaoli among factory workers. Numbers in the two major cities in the north, Taipei and New Taipei, are declining.
After criticism over the lack of capacity for mass testing in Taiwan - which until recently was living a largely normal, Covid-free life - authorities have ramped up arrangements for rapid test stations, private sector procurement of tests, and boosting PCR test capabilities to around 80,000 a day. Health and welfare minister Chen Shih-chung also flagged increased opportunities for self-paid tests.
There’s a lot of talk about vaccine procurement in Taiwan - which does not currently have enough for its population.
An interesting detail from the press conference - Taiwan was in talks with AstraZeneca about setting up production, but AstraZeneca wanted 300 million doses produced per year, which was too much so the deal fell through, the CECC said.
In the UK, domestic coronavirus news is pretty thin on the ground, as the morning media round has been dominated by chatter about Brexit trade and the imminent G7 summit in Cornwall.
One thing has cropped up – on LBC one of the UK’s trade ministers, Greg Hands, was asked about a cruise ship on a “round Britain” tour being refused permission to dock in Scotland. Hands said:
I haven’t seen that specific report, and I’m not exactly sure what rule is being invoked there from the Scottish Government, but I would say it’s very important for us to keep the free flow of people within the United Kingdom as an essential part of being in the United Kingdom.
"We are one United Kingdom."
— LBC (@LBC) June 10, 2021
International Trade Minister Greg Hands reacts to hundreds of cruise ship passengers being refused entry into Scotland due to Covid restrictions.@NickFerrari | Read more: https://t.co/0IV7NvHlEN pic.twitter.com/KDgRpOuj5P
Chiba cancels plans for outdoor Olympic viewing park over Covid fears in Japan
Just another quick indication of how the prospect of hosting the Olympic Games next month is causing disquiet in Japan. Tim Kelly reports for Reuters that the governor of Chiba prefecture has cancelled plans for an outdoor Olympic viewing site in a park that would have drawn thousands of people.
“We have decided to cancel plans for the live site,” Toshihito Kumagai said at a press briefing broadcast by local media. Chiba prefecture neighbours Tokyo, and is due to host four Olympic events - surfing, fencing, wrestling and taekwondo - and four Paralympic events.
On Wednesday, the prefecture recorded 106 new Covid cases.
Fraser Nelson – a man who you might say has had a constant bee in his bonnet about the accuracy of models during the pandemic – has just posted this graph claiming that hospitalisations in the UK are currently tracking much lower than any of the predicted scenarios from the government’s advisory panel.
Covid cases rising fast, but hospitalisation still lower than any of the SAGE scenarios sketched out when roadmap and 21 June date was set.
— Fraser Nelson (@FraserNelson) June 10, 2021
Latest: https://t.co/potWZQyIkc pic.twitter.com/pIM0fds9xf
A very quick snap from Reuters here that Denmark will ditch the use of masks in most public spaces and allow 25,000 fans to attend European Championship matches in Copenhagen, the Danish government has said.
That possibility of a third wave across the UK is leading to some very close scrutiny of the figures on the government’s coronavirus dashboard.
The latest numbers show that the seven-day average of cases is up 66%, but crucially the seven-day average of hospitalisations remains stable, backing up the statement by NHS Providers chief executive Chris Hopson yesterday that vaccines had “broken” the link between them.
The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has become the latest voice warning against delaying the much-touted lifting of restrictions in England from 21 June, saying it will have a debilitating effect on the economy. Suren Thiru, head of economics at the BCC, told Sky News:
The squeeze on activity and the damage to confidence from a marked delay to the full lifting of restrictions or further restrictions to combat COVID variants would materially slow the recovery.
The UK economy is in a temporary sweet spot with the boost from the release of pent-up demand, if restrictions ease as planned, and ongoing government support expected to drive a substantial summer revival in economic activity, underpinned by the rapid vaccine rollout.
However they still warn that any economic recovery would be uneven.
Their figures, of course, don’t take into account the possibility that England might come out of restrictions with a patchwork of local “guidance” – as for example is in place in the north-west of England at the moment. Nor do they account for the potential impact of a subsequent lockdown if restrictions being lifted leads to a third wave.
Good morning, it is Martin Belam in London here. It hasn’t been the most uplifting morning news-wise so far, and that theme continues with a rather bleak report from the EU’s rights agency, which says that the coronavirus pandemic has had an unprecedented and profound effect on human rights, fuelling racism and child abuse.
The Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) annual report says “The pandemic and the reactions it triggered exacerbated existing challenges and inequalities in all areas of life, especially affecting vulnerable groups.”
“It also sparked an increase in racist incidents,” the FRA added, calling the pandemic’s effects on rights “profound”.
Marginalised groups such as Roma, refugees and migrants were not only at higher risk of contamination, but also lost jobs owing to strict lockdown measures. In addition, they were the targets of “racist and xenophobic incidents, including verbal insults, harassment, physical aggression and online hate speech”, according to evidence collected by the FRA and other groups.
In 2020, domestic violence and sexual abuse also increased, the report said. It cited sources in the Czech Republic and Germany as saying that calls to national domestic violence hotlines rose by 50 percent in the former and by 20 percent in the latter between March and June last year.
Child sexual abuse online also increased, FRA said, citing Europol.
The agency urged countries to tackle the pandemic and its “unprecedented collective challenge” to human rights with “balanced measures that are based on law” and which were “temporary and proportional”.
AFP note that the report covers the 27 European Union member states, along with North Macedonia and Serbia.
With that dire news, that’s it from me, Helen Sullivan, for today. My colleague Martin Belam will be bringing you live updates for the next while.
Indian state of Bihar revises total Covid deaths up by 4,000
India reported 6,148 deaths on Thursday, after a big eastern state revised its figures to account for people who previously succumbed to the disease at home or in private hospitals, Reuters reports.
The health department of Bihar, one of India’s poorest states, revised its total Covid related death toll on Wednesday to more than 9,400 from about 5,400.
Leaders of the world’s seven leading industrialised nations will meet in Cornwall this weekend to agree a communique on how to redraw the world post-Covid, but also to pursue their own agendas and try to forge new personal relations after nearly 18 months apart.
Here is what the leaders will be hoping to achieve:
South Korea considers vaccinating workers at major companies
South Korea is considering plans to vaccinate workers at key businesses including chip and electronics firms to prevent disruptions to production, an official at the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.
Reuters: The labour ministry has sent letters to companies including Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, SK Hynix Inc and LG Electronics Inc seeking information on their Covid vaccination needs, the Maeil Business Newspaper reported on Wednesday, citing government and industry sources.
The KDCA and labour ministry said they were discussing such options with government agencies but no specifics had been decided.
Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and LG Electronics said they had received the letter.
The move comes amid a global chip shortage that has affected manufacturers around the world, particularly carmakers. Samsung and SK Hynix are the world’s top two memory chip makers.
The South Korean government is trying to ramp up its inoculation drive after a slow start.
One plan under consideration is to provide vaccines for workers at units that run non-stop, and for those deemed essential to the economy.
The government plans to vaccinate 70% of its 52 million population by the third quarter, starting with kindergarten and primary school teachers, with the aim of achieving herd immunity before November.
South Korea reported 611 new confirmed coronavirus cases on Thursday, bringing the total tally to 146,303 infections, with 1,979 deaths.
Matt Hancock faces questions over Cummings claims
The British Health Secretary is expected to face further questions about accusations made by Dominic Cummings as he appears in front of a select committee on Thursday.
Matt Hancock was accused by the Prime Minister’s former chief aide of lying to Boris Johnson over coronavirus plans and being “disastrously incompetent”, Press Association reports.
Among the explosive claims from Mr Cummings last month was that Mr Johnson was furious to discover that untested hospital patients had been discharged to care homes, alleging that Mr Hancock had told them both that people being discharged would be tested.
It comes as the Guardian reports that several of the UK’s biggest care home operators say they repeatedly warned the Department of Health about the risks of not testing such people in March 2020:
Updated
Biden administration to donate 500m Pfizer doses to nearly 100 countries
The Biden administration plans to donate 500 million Pfizer coronavirus vaccine doses to nearly 100 countries over the next two years, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.
The United States is likely to distribute 200 million shots this year and another 300 million in the first half of next year to 92 lower-income countries and the African Union, they said.
The donations will go through the COVAX vaccine program that distributes COVID-19 shots to low- and middle-income countries. The program is led by the World Health Organization and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI).
GAVI did not respond to a request for comment.
U.S. President Joe Biden will announce the deal on Thursday at the Group of Seven meeting of the world’s wealthiest countries in Britain, one of the people said.
Updated
Summary
Hello and welcome to today’s live coronavirus coverage with me, Helen Sullivan.
The Biden administration plans to donate 500 million Pfizer coronavirus vaccine doses to nearly 100 countries over the next two years, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.
And in the UK, the Health Secretary is expected to face further questions about accusations made by Dominic Cummings as he appears in front of a select committee on Thursday. Matt Hancock was accused by the Prime Minister’s former chief aide of lying to Boris Johnson over coronavirus plans and being “disastrously incompetent”.
Among the explosive claims from Mr Cummings last month was that Mr Johnson was furious to discover that untested hospital patients had been discharged to care homes, alleging that Mr Hancock had told them both that people being discharged would be tested.
Here are the key developments from the last few hours:
- French prime minister Jean Castex is self-isolating for seven days after his wife Sandra tested positive for Covid-19, the prime minister’s office said. The prime minister, who had received his first shot of the AstraZeneca vaccine on March 19, tested negative on Wednesday evening. However as a contact of a person who tested positive, he is self-isolating for seven days, his office said.
- Spain’s health ministry has scrapped a nationwide plan to gradually reopen nightlife just a week after introducing it, following widespread complaints from regional authorities who dismissed it as either too strict or too loose.
- The Czech health ministry has recommended only people over 60 should receive Covid-19 vaccines from AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson due to a potential risk of blood clots, Reuters reports.
- Canada is prepared to relax quarantine protocols for fully vaccinated citizens returning home starting in early July, Reuters reports.
- Intensive care beds for Covid patients in Malaysia have reached full capacity, according to the country’s health director general, who said the country’s pandemic remained at a critical level. The country’s king started a series of meetings with leaders of political parties amid public discontent over the government’s handling of the pandemic.
- The World Trade Organization’s members have agreed to talks on boosting global vaccine supplies, though there is still opposition to the idea of waiving patents, in particular from the EU which will propose its own plan.
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There were 1.2 million new cases in the Americas over the past week, according to the Pan American Health Organization. It warned that Covid-19 could remain a problem for the region for years unless the current spread is slowed.
- The UK is facing a “substantial third wave” according to new data presented to the government, Prof Neil Ferguson told reporters. He said that the scale of the problem would depend on how effective vaccines are against the Delta variant, originally found in India. Meanwhile according to new data, 8 in 10 adults in the UK are likely to have Covid-19 antibodies through either vaccination or previous infection.
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NHS Providers chief executive Chris Hopson has told Times Radio this morning that vaccines appear to have “broken” the link between infections, hospital admission and deaths in the UK.
- A judge has ruled that the UK government acted unlawfully when it awarded a contract for polling the public about Covid messaging without a tender last March. The company was owned by friends of Dominic Cummings, then British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s chief adviser.
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Confidence in the EU’s ability to handle crises has taken a hit from Covid-19, a major survey shows, but dissatisfaction with national political systems is even higher and most people still support EU membership and want a stronger, more cooperative bloc.
- In the US, a pharmacist has been jailed for three years after pleading guilty to trying to spoil hundreds of doses of the Moderna vaccine because he was skeptical about them.
