That’s it from me, Samantha Lock, for today.
Please join us a little later for when we launch our next Covid blog.
In the meantime follow along with all the latest global headlines here.
Australians fired for refusing Covid vaccine search social media for new jobs
Unvaccinated Australians who have lost their jobs for refusing to comply with Covid vaccine mandates are using social media to find and share employment opportunities at workplaces where the new rules are not being enforced.
Telegram and Facebook have had an influx of people searching for paid jobs after states and territories implemented mandates covering a range of industries from health and aged care workers, teachers and police to construction and hospitality workers.
On some job boards, businesses that are happy to accept unvaccinated people advertise that they are “welcoming of everyone”.
Beauty therapists, childcare workers, disability support workers and accountants are among 20,000 people who are members of the largest group for unvaccinated jobseekers in Australia.
Read the full story here.
Updated
Brazil registers 98 new Covid-19 deaths on Monday, the lowest number since April 2020.
The Health Ministry also reported 3,838 additional confirmed cases of the coronavirus on Monday.
Brazil has reported 607,922 deaths due to the virus, the world’s second highest tally behind only the United States.
Hawaii holds on to virus restrictions even as Covid cases plummet.
Hawaii remains among the most restrictive US states for Covid-19 mandates, despite having one of the highest vaccination rates in the country.
Various state and county rules have changed often, leaving some businesses, travellers and residents confused and frustrated.
Hawaii Governor David Ige said earlier this year that all restrictions would end once 70% of the population was fully vaccinated. But a surge of delta variant cases filled hospitals and extended rules to guard against Covid-19.
Now, case counts have dropped and about 83% of eligible Hawaii residents are fully vaccinated. But many rules remain in place.
In early July, most US states had scaled back mask and other coronavirus restrictions. The delta variant surge pushed some jurisdictions to reinstate rules, but many are again easing as cases currently plummet.
Good morning from sunny Sydney, Australia.
I’m Samantha Lock and I’ll be bringing you the latest Covid headlines for the next short while.
Over here in Australia it’s promising news for Victoria, the state most embattled by Covid. Victoria has recorded 989 new Covid-19 cases as lockdown is eased. It is the lowest daily case number since 986 infections were recorded for 27 September.
There are 19,409 active cases in the state and the death toll stands at 1134.
I’m handing over to my colleague Samantha Lock now, here’s a summary of the evenings news.
Summary
The United States is rolling out Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccines for children aged 5 to 11 this week, but most of the 15 million shots being shipped initially are unlikely to be available before next week
In Tennessee in the United States the state’s general assembly has passed laws that will make it harder for bodies like schools to bring in measures to restrict the spread of Covid – including masks for children.
In Australia the state of New South Wales is looking to take advantage of lifted travel restrictions in the run-up to Christmas as the tourism and hospitality sectors seek to make up for losses endured during months of Covid-19 lockdown.
Cambodia’s prime minister, Hun Sen, declared the country open and ready for a new way of life after hitting vaccination targets that made it one of the most vaccinated countries in south Asia.
In the United States, as deadlines for jabs approach, military leaders are wrestling with the decision of how to treat soldiers who choose not to be vaccinated.
A total of 49,987,325 first doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been delivered in the UK by 31 October, a rise of 27,402 on the previous day, government figures show.
Of the 377 local areas in the UK, 64 have seen a week-on-week rise in rates while the majority – 313 – have seen a fall.
In Greece, officials alarmed by the steep rise in Covid-19 infections are poised to implement a new round of restrictive measures for those who remain unvaccinated.
As Australia begins to reopen its international borders for fully vaccinated citizens, politicians are debating about the ongoing restrictions on internal travel.
The US government has begun assembling and shipping millions of Covid-19 vaccines in preparation for getting the go-ahead to jab children aged five to 11.
Updated
The United States is extending Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccinations to children aged 5 to 11 this week, but most of the 15 million shots being shipped initially are unlikely to be available before next week, the White House said today.
Millions of doses specifically formulated for children of that age group will start arriving at distribution centres over the next few days, Reuters reports
Updated
In the US, Tennessee’s general assembly has passed laws that will make it harder for bodies like schools to bring in measures to restrict the spread of Covid – including masks for children.
The strict new rules are part of a sweeping bill Republicans signed off on in the middle of the night over the weekend.
Tennessee continues to experience some of the lowest Covid-19 vaccination rates in the United States even after recording some of the highest case counts, deaths and hospitalisation rates in the nation.
Under the proposal, government entities – including schools – would largely be prohibited from implementing mask mandates. Those entities would only be allowed to require masks if they lived in a county with a rolling average 14-day Covid-19 infection rate of at least 1,000 per 100,000 resident while the state is under a state of emergency. The state is currently far below that threshold.
Updated
In Australia the state of New South Wales (NSW) is looking to take advantage of lifted travel restrictions in the run up to Christmas as the tourism and hospitality sectors seek to make up for losses endured during months of COVID-19 lockdown.
Tourism & Transport Forum CEO Margy Osmond told the Australian Associated Press that the industry has been losing close to $4 billion a month with virtually no international visitors for almost two years.
On Monday NSW began welcoming Australians home without quarantine and fully-vaccinated people are now free to travel anywhere in the state, triggering the revival of of the hard-hit regional tourism and hospitality sectors.
“What makes this Christmas very different from last Christmas is the fact that there’s joy in the air,” Ms Osmond told the Nine Network on Tuesday.
“I think there’s a different kind of spirit this Christmas. It’s going to be a very celebratory one,” she said.
However, states like Queensland, WA and the Northern Territory that have yet to open up to international tourists will miss out.
“They are not going to be getting the sort of Christmas summer holiday boost they might have expected because their opening is going to so late,” Ms Osmond said.
“If we have any chance of getting international tourists back, you are hoping to come to lovely Sydney, of course, but you’re hoping to go to the Great Barrier Reef or Uluru or Ningaloo or the Barossa.
“We need certainty around borders for people to be planning those long-distant trips.”
Qantas flight QF1 left Sydney on Monday night bound for London via Darwin carrying outbound vaccinated Australians.
Flights also arrived at Sydney International Airport from the US, Singapore, Japan, Vietnam, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia, Hong Kong, Fiji and Dubai on the first day of quarantine-free travel for vaccinated Australian citizens, permanent residents and their immediate families.
Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen declared the country reopen and ready for a new way of life today after hitting vaccination targets that made it one of the most vaccinated countries in south Asia.
Today alone around 300,000 school children were jabbed, with 86% of its population now vaccinated, Reuters reports.
Hun Sen, said it was time to get on with life. “From now on, the full reopening of the country in all areas and living with COVID-19 in a new way of life starts from today,” he said.
Cambodia has recorded more than 118,522 coronavirus cases and 2,788 deaths overall, the vast majority this year. The country, among the poorest in Asia, has been lauded for its early success in administering vaccines.
Hun Sen said the government had a supply of 10 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine for boosters and more were on order.
The country reopened its theatres and museums at the weekend, reflecting a decline in new coronavirus cases.
It will also reopen three tourist locations to vaccinated visitors from the end of this month, with quarantine reduced to five days in Sihanoukville, nearby Koh Rong and Koh Kong provinces.
In the United States, military leaders are wrestling with the decision of how to treat soldiers who choose not to be vaccinated the Associated Press reports.
Deadlines loom for military and defense civilians to get the Covid jab and while the vast majority of the active duty force has received at least one shot, tens of thousands have not. For some it may be a career-ending decision. Others could face transfers, travel restrictions, limits on deployments and requirements to repay bonuses.
Exemption decisions for medical, religious and administrative reasons will be made by unit commanders around the world, on what the Pentagon says will be a “case-by-case” basis. That raises a vexing issue for military leaders who are pushing a vaccine mandate seen as critical to maintaining a healthy force, but want to avoid a haphazard, inconsistent approach with those who refuse.
Brig. Gen. Darrin Cox, surgeon general at Army Forces Command, said commanders want to ensure they are following the rules. “Because of some of the sensitivities of this particular vaccine, I think that we just wanted to ensure that we were consistent and equitable” in meting out a punishment that would be “a repercussion of continuing to refuse a valid order.”
Military vaccination rates are higher than those of the general population in the United States but unlike most civilians, military personnel are routinely required to get as many as 17 vaccines, and face penalties for refusing.
The military services are reporting between 1%-7% remain unvaccinated. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has called for compassion in dealings with those troops, which totals nearly 60,000 active duty service members, according to data released last week. Officials say the numbers change daily, and include those who may have gotten or requested an exemption. They have declined to say how many troops are still seeking an exemption or refused the vaccine.
The Air Force may be the test case, because they are the first to hit a deadline. The more than 335,000 airmen and Space Force guardians must be fully vaccinated by Tuesday, and the Air Guard and Reserve by Dec. 2. According to Air Force data, as many as 12,000 active duty airmen and guardians were still unvaccinated as of late last week. Some have requested or gotten exemptions, others have refused outright. They have until Monday to request exemptions.
The nearly 350,000 Navy sailors and more than 179,000 Marines must be fully vaccinated by Nov. 28, and the reserves by Dec. 28. The Army, the military’s largest service at nearly 490,000, has given active duty soldiers until Dec. 15 to be fully vaccinated.
A total of 49,987,325 first doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been delivered in the UK by October 31, a rise of 27,402 on the previous day, Government figures show. Some 45,712,351 second doses have been delivered, an increase of 13,449.
A combined total of 8,115,229 booster and third doses have also been delivered, a day-on-day rise of 163,949.
The Press Association has released figures that look at which parts of the UK have the highest Covid rates at the moment.
Of the 377 local areas in the UK, 64 have seen a week-on-week rise in rates while the majority - 313 - have seen a fall.
The rate is expressed as the number of new cases per 100,000 people.
Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire continues to have the highest rate in the UK, with 803 new cases in the seven days to October 28 - the equivalent of 831.1 per 100,000 people. This is down from 1,216.1 in the seven days to October 21.
Stroud in Gloucestershire has the second highest rate, down from 1,206.8 to 771.7, with 933 new cases. Torfaen in Wales has the third highest rate, down from 1,059.8 to 769.8, with 730 new cases.
Clackmannanshire has the highest rate in Scotland (633.7) and Antrim & Newtownabbey has the highest rate in Northern Ireland (571.1).
In Greece, officials alarmed by the steep rise in Covid-19 infections are poised to implement a new round of restrictive measures for those who remain unvaccinated. On Monday – hours after the Greek government spokesman confirmed “the adjustments” – the public health body, EODY, announced that the country had set a new record of 5,449 cases in the previous 24 hours.
With a further 52 Covid-related fatalities, the death toll fell just short of 16,000, less than four weeks after it crossed the 15,000 mark.
Epidemiologists are now talking of an epidemic among the unvaccinated in a nation where just 60.5 % have had the shot.
Of the 430 patients in intensive care, 84.7% are only partially inoculated or haven’t had the jab at all. The new measures, which are expected to be unveiled on Wednesday, are likely to be applied in areas of high transmissibility and will affect unvaccinated citizens most, Giannis Oikonomou, the government spokesman, said.
“The state has done everything possible for life to return to normal. The refusal to vaccinate is an act that is potentially suicidal for the people who refuse to protect themselves and at the same time is socially damaging and irresponsible.”
In what would amount to a night-time lockdown for those who have not had the jab, further restrictions at eateries and entertainment venues are among some of the measures being contemplated. A text message campaign to persuade hesitant Greeks to have the vaccine is also on the cards, as is the prospect of vaccinations being made mandatory in sectors where interaction is commonplace.
Updated
As Australia begins to reopen its international borders for fully vaccinated citizens, politicians are debating the ongoing restrictions on internal travel.
“It is absurd that you can travel to Singapore but not to Perth,” government treasurer Josh Frydenberg said, criticising the harsh border stance of Western Australia’s Premier Mark McGowan.
He added: “We need to bring an end to that and make sure all borders are open at the first possible opportunity.”
Mr McGowan has refused to budge on reopening WA to the rest of the country.
Covid travel restrictions have been eased in many jurisdictions as key vaccine targets are reached, with state and territory leaders setting out road maps for border measures to be relaxed.
The western state is the least vaccinated jurisdiction in the country, with just 63.3 per cent of its over 16s being fully immunised.
“We have a virtually unique opportunity to get to very high levels of vaccination before such time as we have Covid come in,” Mr McGowan said.
“Really, it’s a matter of a few months. We’re heading towards the end of this, we’re just going to remain safe whilst we get there.”
Acting Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce hit out at Mr McGowan’s refusal, indicating those in Western Australia would soon want to have free travel arrangements like other jurisdictions.
“We’re all going to be jumping on planes and flying to other parts of the world,” Mr Joyce told reporters.
“If you want to live and stay in Western Australia forever more, I don’t think (Western Australians) will, (they) will want to go overseas with us.”
It comes as the medical regulator cleared the way for more travellers from overseas to come to Australia.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration on Monday approved the Indian-made Covaxin and the Chinese-made BBIBP-CorV vaccine.
As part of the reopening plan, only travellers immunised with a TGA-recognised vaccine will be able to come to Australia without having to quarantine.
Currently, international travel is limited to flights out of Sydney and Melbourne, but that will expand to other cities once vaccination rates increase.
Updated
The US government has begun assembling and shipping millions of Covid-19 vaccines in preparation for getting the go-ahead to jab children aged five to 11. The White House said today that children could start being vaccinated as soon as the middle of this week.
“We are not waiting on the operations and logistics,” said coronavirus coordinator Jeff Zients.
On Tuesday, a special advisory panel to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will meet to consider detailed recommendations for administering the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to younger children.
The FDA has already approved the use of the vaccine in young children and since then workers at the drug company and at distribution centres have been preparing and packing 15 million doses, said Zients.
Pfizer’s vaccine has already has been authorised for use in older children.
The goal is for parents to have a range of options for getting children vaccinated, from paediatricians’ offices to clinics and pharmacies.The director of the CDC, Dr Rochelle Walensky, stressed that clinical trials of the Pfizer vaccine for children have found it highly effective in preventing serious disease, with no severe adverse reactions in safety and efficacy trials.
Separately, Zients announced that about 70% of US adults are now fully vaccinated, while 80% have received at least one vaccine dose.
Updated
A summary of today's developments
That’s it from me, Léonie Chao-Fong, for today. I’m handing over to my colleague Harriet Grant. Here’s a quick roundup of what’s been happening so far:
- The global death toll from Covid-19 has hit five million, 19 months after the pandemic was first declared, according to figures released from the Johns Hopkins University. Some experts, including a number from the World Health Organization, believe the true toll may be two to three times higher than official figures suggest.
- Indonesia has given the world’s first emergency use authorisation for the Covid vaccine produced by Novavax. The company’s protein-based vaccine could prove hugely important for lower-income countries and the WHO-backed vaccine access scheme Covax.
- Greece recorded 5,449 new coronavirus infections in the latest 24-hour period, the highest single-day figure since the pandemic began.
- One in four people in their mid-30s to mid-50s in England are no longer following the full rules for self-isolation after a positive Covid test, according to a survey that suggests compliance with the requirements has slipped since the summer.
- Thailand has reopened to fully vaccinated tourists, with tens of thousands of travellers expected to touch down in Bangkok and Phuket as the country reboots its tourism industry after 18 months of Covid restrictions.
- Any government plan for mandating vaccinations for NHS workers should be delayed until April to avoid shortages of healthcare workers during the winter, Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers in England, has said.
- Nearly 34,000 people were locked into Shanghai’s Disneyland on Sunday without warning and tested for Covid after a single confirmed case was linked to the park. It comes as China reported 59 locally acquired cases on Monday – a new daily high since the latest outbreak began on 17 October.
- US President Joe Biden tested negative for Covid-19 on Sunday as part of the entry requirements to visit Cop26 in Glasgow in Scotland. There had been concern as White House press secretary Jen Psaki had tested positive for Covid-19 on Sunday, raising potential concerns that the US president was a close contact.
Updated
Some companies in Germany are reportedly making unvaccinated employees eat their lunch in a separate area of the office cafeterias.
The Times reports that workers who have been double-jabbed can sit together as they please under the “two-class canteen” system. Those who have not must stay in a designated zone behind Perspex panels where they must wear masks when not eating and observe stricter social distancing rules.
The schemes are being piloted by the major pharmaceutical company Bayer, the electricity provider Eon, and Alltours, the Düsseldorf travel group, according to a report in the local Rheinische Post newspaper.
UK records 40,077 new Covid cases
The UK recorded 40,077 new positive Covid tests on Monday, up from 38,009 the previous day. Cases have been rising but have not reached the mid-month peak of 56,658 new cases on 18 October.
A further 40 deaths were recorded in the past 24 hours, compared with yesterday’s 74 deaths. The drop in reported figures is down to a “data issue” where the number of Covid deaths was not received from NHS England, according to the government’s coronavirus dashboard.
A little more on Novavax receiving approval for its Covid vaccine in Indonesia. The green light marks the first time a regulator has approved a protein-based vaccine for Covid-19, and the first time a regulator has approved any vaccine produced by Novavax.
It is hoped that the Novavax vaccine will form a critical part of the effort to vaccinate the developing world and the company has signed an agreement to provide 1.1bn doses to Covax, the UN-led initiative to get vaccines to poorer countries.
Speaking to Reuters following the announcement today, Novavax’s chief executive Stanley C. Erck said the World Health Organization is currently reviewing Novavax’s regulatory filing with results expected in the coming weeks.
Approval from the WHO would allow Novavax to begin shopping doses to the Covax programme. “I think we’ll get some doses to Covax this year,” Erck said. “But I think (Novavax is) going to really start being able to ship large quantity to COVAX in the first quarter” of 2022.
Updated
People eligible for a booster jab in England are reportedly facing a “postcode lottery” of vaccination centre locations which could be a key reason behind the relatively slow rollout of the booster jab scheme.
The i reports that out of the more than 2,500 vaccination centres offering jabs, many are chemists in cities and larger vaccination centres often found in built-up areas.
In the City of London, there are 53 vaccination centres per hundred thousand people over the age of 50, while in North Kevenston in the East Midlands, there is just one centre per hundred thousand people over 50.
As a result, people living in more rural areas have struggled to reach the nearest vaccination centres where they are eligible for their booster shots.
One 88-year-old woman from Alderley Edge, a village in Cheshire, told the paper that she must wait until mid-November for her booster jab as the local medical centre where she received her first two doses in January and March is no longer administering vaccines.
Greece reports highest ever daily infections
Greece has recorded 5,449 new coronavirus infections in the latest 24 hour period, the highest single-day figure since the pandemic began.
A further 52 deaths were also reported, taking the total to 15,990, Reuters reports.
Giannis Oikonomou, a spokesman for the government, said it was “pressing” to increase the number of vaccinations. Just 60.5% of Greeks are vaccinated against Covid.
“We’re not done with Covid yet,” he told reporters this afternoon. “As long as there are unvaccinated people, the virus finds a suitable ground to spread.
“We mourn the loss of human lives due to non-vaccination, and this cannot, and should not, continue.”
Schoolchildren returned to classrooms across Iraq today for the first time in a year and a half, marking one of the global pandemic’s longest school closures. Some 11m students were affected.
Associated Press reports that learning levels in Iraq are among the lowest in the Middle East and North Africa, amid warnings from the World Bank that “students in Iraq are facing more than a lost year of learning”.
Iraq’s Ministry of Education did provide online learning throughout the school closures, but pupils have struggled to catch up as they have faced poor internet connection, regular power cuts and many families’ dire economic conditions.
Chronically underfunded and overcrowded, Iraq’s public schools are ill-equipped to properly enforce safety measures. Many parents were still relieved to see their children back in school from Monday.
One parent told AP: “I’m optimistic. I hope to get rid of this damn pandemic.”
Updated
Vladimir Putin has said Russia may need the army’s help to build field hospitals for Covid patients as officials battle rampant outbreaks that have led to a nationwide workplace shutdown, Reuters reports.
Speaking to the defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, and other top brass, the Russian president said the situation was “very difficult”.
“More than 40,000 cases [a day]. This has never happened,” he said. “I ask you to … continue to provide support to the civil medical service if needed. Maybe use your construction abilities because there is a need to keep building prefabricated medical facilities.”
His remarks came as Russia reported 40,993 new Covid infections, its highest single-day case tally since the start of the pandemic.
The Russian army has announced plans to set up a coronavirus hospital in the Moscow region. The “specialised hospital” would be staffed by “brigades of doctors and nurses”, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement quoted by state media.
On Thursday, authorities in Moscow shut down non-essential services for 11 days, two days before the start of a week-long nationwide paid holiday. Schools and many offices have been closed in the capital, and restaurants told to offer a takeaway service only.
Updated
Here’s more on the recent study showing that one in four people in their mid-30s to mid-50s are no longer following the full rules around self-isolation after a positive Covid test.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures, based on a survey of 881 people in England in late September and early October, show that only 75% of respondents aged 35 to 54 complied with the full rules around self-isolation for the 10 days after testing positive for coronavirus.
The number is down substantially from the 86% compliance reported by the ONS in July and suggests that those in that age group are now the least able, or least likely, of any to abide by the full requirements of self-isolation after a positive result.
Hints of lower compliance were also seen in people aged over 55, but evidence for an opposing trend was seen in younger people, with 82% of 18-to-34-year-olds reporting full compliance with self-isolation rules in the latest survey, up from 75% in the summer.
Updated
The UK health secretary, Sajid Javid, is facing legal action over the Immensa testing fiasco, in which about 43,000 people have been given false negative Covid results since September.
The Good Law Project, led by Jo Maugham QC, has sent a pre-action letter to Javid, seeking answers over the scandal and demanding to terminate Immensa’s contracts immediately, compensate the individuals affected and take action to properly regulate private testing firms.
Immensa was founded in May 2020 by Andrea Riposati, a former management consultant and owner of a DNA testing company. Three months later, the Department of Health bypassed the normal competitive procedures and awarded it a £119m PCR testing contract. Immensa was subsequently given a further £50m testing contract in August 2021.
Since the scandal broke it has emerged that Immensa was not fully accredited with the UK Accreditation Service. It was already the subject of an investigation into its sister company, Dante Labs, by the Competition and Markets Authority into its travel tests. Riposati is also the founder of Dante Labs.
Downing Street has denied claims that the false Covid test results from the Wolverhampton lab were to blame for a sharp rise in cases in south-west England, saying the region may have been catching up with the rest of the country.
Read more of Rowena’s report here:
Updated
Thousands of New York City municipal workers are expected to be told to stay home from Monday for failing to be vaccinated against Covid.
From today, the city is enforcing its vaccine mandate for all its employees, including sanitation workers and members of the police and fire department. Those who refuse to get vaccinated without a medical or religious exemption will be placed on unpaid leave.
City officials have been scrambling to deal with potential staff shortages as a result of the vaccine mandate, which has faced opposition from unions for both the fire and police department.
The New York police department has estimated that as many as 2,500 employees could be placed on leave while a source told CNN that the fire department was preparing for a 20% reduction in service.
After Covid success, what next for mRNA vaccines?
It is one of the most remarkable success stories of the pandemic: the unproven technology that delivered the Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines in record time, helping to turn the tide on Covid-19.
The vaccines are based on mRNA, the molecule that instructs our cells to make specific proteins. By injecting synthetic mRNA, our cells are turned into on-demand vaccine factories, pumping out any protein we want our immune system to learn to recognise and destroy.
Pre-pandemic, the technology was viewed with scepticism – a clever concept, but not guaranteed to deliver. Now there is growing confidence that mRNA vaccines could have far-reaching applications in tackling diseases from flu to malaria.
England to scale back testing hours - report
All NHS test and trace Covid testing sites in England will reportedly begin scaling back their opening hours from today.
According to the Telegraph, NHS test and trace has ordered all regional and local test sites to stop offering a service after 6pm.
Officials told the paper they had taken the decision because “demand for tests reduces significantly” in the evenings.
At the time of its launch, Boris Johnson claimed the government’s flagship test-and-trace system would be “world-beating”, but a recent report by the Commons spending watchdog found it had failed to achieve “its main objective” to cut infection levels and help Britain return to normal despite being handed an “eye-watering” £37bn in taxpayers’ cash.
Updated
Indonesia has given the world’s first emergency use authorisation for the Covid vaccine produced by Novavax, Reuters reports.
The two-dose vaccine is made with lab-grown copies of the spike protein that coats the coronavirus, unlike mRNA vaccines such as Pfizer and Moderna that deliver genetic instructions for the body to make its own spike protein.
The Novavax vaccine is stored at 2C to 8C, which could allow it to play an important role in boosting supplies in hard-to-reach areas and poorer countries around the world.
In a large US-based clinical trial, the Novavax vaccine was shown to be more than 90% effective, including against a variety of concerning variants of the coronavirus at the time.
For Indonesia, the shot will be manufactured by the Serum Institute of India and sold under the Indian company’s brand name, Covovax.
Novavax said it has already filed for authorisation of the vaccine in the UK, EU, Canada, Australia, India and the Philippines.
Updated
Shanghai locked Disneyland to test for Covid
Nearly 34,000 people were locked into Shanghai’s Disneyland on Sunday without warning and tested for Covid after a single confirmed case was linked to the park.
The mass testing came after one person who visited the theme park on Saturday tested positive after returning to nearby Hangzhou over the weekend.
Visitors to the resort’s Halloween carnival were forced to wait for hours before they were allowed to leave the park. All tested negative. They will be required to get tested again over the course of the next two weeks and monitor themselves for health reasons.
Shanghai Disneyland announced it would be closed on Monday and Tuesday. It comes as China reported 59 locally acquired cases on Monday – a new daily high since the latest outbreak began on 17 October.
Updated
One in four people in the UK aged between 35 and 54 who test positive for Covid do not self-isolate for 10 days, a survey suggests.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) study shows that the number of older adults adhering to isolation requirements has fallen since last summer. In comparison, a higher proportion of young adults are now following the rules.
Updated
Hello! It’s Léonie Chao-Fong here, taking over the live blog for the next few hours.
The number of new infections has surged in Germany over the past week, surpassing 150 per 100,000 people for the first time since May, Agence France-Presse reports.
The latest figures come as health professionals have reported seeing a new influx of infected people in hospital.
In an interview on Sunday with the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper, the outgoing chancellor Angela Merkel said she was “very saddened” that as many as 3 million Germans aged over 60 have still not had the jab.
About a third of Germans have yet to be vaccinated and a recent survey showed 65% of unvaccinated respondents said there was “no way” they would take a Covid jab.
Updated
Today so far
- The global death toll from Covid-19 has hit five million, 19 months after the pandemic was first declared, according to figures released from the Johns Hopkins University. Some experts, including those from the World Health Organization, believe the true toll may be two to three times higher than official figures suggest.
- The death toll is about equal to the populations of Los Angeles and San Francisco combined. The US, Brazil, India, Mexico and the UK disproportionately account for more than half of all deaths worldwide.
- Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, has said any government plan for mandating vaccinations for NHS workers should be delayed until April next year, to avoid shortages of healthcare workers during the winter.
- Covid booster jabs are being given at walk-in clinics in England as the NHS aims to increase vaccine uptake before what is expected to be a challenging winter.
- New Zealand will extend coronavirus curbs for another week in its largest city of Auckland, but ease some after that, prime minister Jacinda Ardern, after another day of record new infections.
- People protesting against Italy’s health pass sparked controversy after comparing themselves to prisoners of Nazi concentration camps. The protesters wore striped bibs and held placards saying “No dictatorship” as they marched through Novara, in northern Italy, on Saturday.
- Russia has today confirmed another 40,402 Covid-19 infections and 1,155 further deaths.
- US President Joe Biden tested negative for Covid-19 on Sunday as part of the entry requirements to visit Cop26 in Glasgow in Scotland. There had been concern as White House press secretary Jen Psaki had tested positive for Covid-19 on Sunday, raising potential concerns that the US president was a close contact.
- Thailand has reopened to fully vaccinated tourists, with tens of thousands of travellers expected to touch down in Bangkok and Phuket as the country reboots its tourism industry after 18 months of Covid restrictions.
- Singapore could see as many 2,000 Covid-19 deaths annually over time, mainly among the elderly, a government minister has said as the country battles its biggest surge in infections.
- Also worth noting, in today’s episode of our Today in Focus podcast, Michael Safi speaks to Mark Valentine about his efforts to carry out his brother’s dying wish – Phil Valentine was a Tennessee-based conservative talk radio host who was sceptical about the US government’s response to the coronavirus crisis. Before he died from Covid, he asked Mark to tell others to get the vaccine to make amends for the message he had spread on his show. The episode also features reporter Sirin Kale talking about how you should approach conversations about the vaccine with hesitant loved ones.
That it is it from me, Martin Belam, today. I will see you tomorrow. Léonie Chao-Fong will be along shortly to continue our live coverage of coronavirus developments in the UK and around the world.
Updated
A quick snap from Reuters here to confirm that on his way to the Cop26 conference in Glasgow, US president Joe Biden tested negative for Covid-19 on Sunday.
The spokeswoman, speaking to reporters on board the US presidential plane Air Force One on Monday, said the PCR test was taken as part of entry requirements for attendance.
The White House press secretary Jen Psaki had tested positive for Covid-19 on Sunday, raising potential concerns that the president was a close contact, however in a statement she had last seen Biden on Tuesday.
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I have seldom had cause to mention Chris de Burgh during my stints on the Covid live blog, but all that is about to change, as the singer has been on ITV’s Good Morning Britain today and said he feels thankful for having had his booster vaccination after catching coronavirus earlier this year.
PA Media quotes the Lady in Red singer saying: “I had two jabs and, like so many other people I have come across, I got another little dose. Thank God I had been vaccinated. It was like a mild cold. I was shocked, actually. I was about to do a solo tour in Europe and I had to defer it for a few weeks.
“But living in Africa, as I was as a child, I had to have all of them – yellow fever, polio, et cetera et cetera, and I never got any of them. Vaccinations work. Sorry, folks, but they do work.”
De Burgh said the virus has not affected his singing voice.
Another musician reflecting on their Covid experiences today is Tori Amos. We have an interview with her this morning where she spoke about the impact of lockdown upon her and her family, and I was struck by this quote here:
By the third lockdown, however, in January of this year, I was not at my best. I was grieving not playing live for the longest time in my life, not doing what musicians do. There isn’t the spiritual ceremony of the collaboration with a live audience. We’re talking about a voltage that I can’t achieve by myself. That was gone, and there was no way to recreate that. I became despondent and sad, and filled with loss. You’re trying to find different coping mechanisms at 50-some years old, and sometimes not even realising that that’s what you’re needing to do.
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I will be carrying on here with the latest developments on coronavirus from the UK and around the world on this blog, but we do have two other live blogs running this morning which might pique your interest. Kevin Rawlinson has UK politics live, which is quite dominated by the Brexit fishing row at the moment.
We also have live coverage from the Cop26 conference in Glasgow, which is being helmed at the moment by my colleague Alan Evans.
People protesting against Italy’s health pass sparked controversy after comparing themselves to prisoners of Nazi concentration camps.
The protesters wore striped bibs and held placards saying “No dictatorship” as they marched through Novara, in northern Italy, on Saturday.
There have been several, at times violent, protests in Italy over the so-called ‘green pass’, which the government made mandatory for all workers in October.
“For months, the no-vax movement has continued to use the memory of the Holocaust in a distorted or shameful way,” said Rossella Bottini Treves, president of the Jewish Community of Vercelli. “The latest alarming case being that of Novara, where anti-vaccine and green pass demonstrators raved about being ‘prisoners of Auschwitz’.”
The anti-fascist organisation, Anpi, described the episode on Twitter as “the shame of ignorance”
The Italian health minister, Roberto Speranza, expressed his shock, adding: “What I saw in Novara is out of the grace of God.”
Meanwhile, 900 people gathered in Predappio, the birth town of the fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, on Sunday to mark the anniversary of his march on Rome and to protest against the green pass.
Italians must present proof of vaccination, immunisation or a negative test when entering their workplaces and for dining inside at bars or restaurants, travelling by plane or long-distance train and entering museums, theatres, cinemas, nightclubs and stadiums. As of Monday, almost 83% of the population aged over 12 were fully vaccinated.
Since the Zimbabwean government partly reopened church gatherings in August, Apostolic members, known for their open-air worship, can be seen every weekend around the capital.
The government has asked religious groups to endorse the Covid-19 vaccine. The Catholic church, evangelical and adventist groups have done so.
But with a tradition of not seeking or trusting medical help, some of the “white garment” churches are refusing to encourage congregations to get vaccinated.
With millions of followers across southern Africa, the church’s stance could undermine Zimbabwe’s attempts to vaccinate 60% of the population by December.
“We believe in God, and science is entirely subject to God’s will,” says Gramaridge Musendekwa, of the Vadzidzi Apostolic church.
“I grew up on my parents’ prayers and I am passing it down to my children. My family will not take the vaccine because we are protected by prayers,” says Musendekwa, 38.
“I believe we should not be forced to get vaccinated. For us who grew up without medicine, vaccinations are an insult to our faith and religion. Surely the authorities can achieve whatever they want to do without involving us.”
Read more of Nyasha Chingono’s report here: ‘We are protected by prayers’: the sects hampering southern Africa’s vaccine rollout
Just back to that global death toll again for a moment, Associated Press have some quotes from Dr Wafaa El-Sadr, director of ICAP, a global health centre at Columbia University in the US.
She says “What’s uniquely different about this pandemic is it hit hardest the high-resource countries. That’s the irony of Covid-19.”
Wealthier nations with longer life expectancies have larger proportions of older people, cancer survivors and nursing home residents, all of whom are especially vulnerable to Covid-19, El-Sadr noted. Poorer countries tend to have larger shares of children, teens and young adults, who are less likely to fall seriously ill from the coronavirus.
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Russia has today confirmed another 40,402 Covid-19 infections and 1,155 further deaths.
The Moscow Times notes that all of Russia’s 85 regions across 11 time zones have now mandated vaccines for certain categories of workers. Israel recently announced that it would recognise the Sputnik V vaccine and allow vaccinated Russians into the country from 15 November.
As the global death toll from coronavirus hits five million Dr Albert Ko, an infectious disease specialist at the Yale School of Public Health, said “This is a defining moment in our lifetime. What do we have to do to protect ourselves so we don’t get to another 5 million?”
The death toll, as tallied by Johns Hopkins University, is about equal to the populations of Los Angeles and San Francisco combined. It rivals the number of people killed in battles among nations since 1950, according to estimates from the Peace Research Institute Oslo. Globally, Covid-19 is now the third leading cause of death, after heart disease and stroke.
Carla K Johnson for Associated Press writes that hot spots have shifted over the 22 months since the outbreak began, turning different places on the world map red. Now, the virus is pummeling Russia, Ukraine and other parts of Eastern Europe, especially where rumours, misinformation and distrust in government have hobbled vaccination efforts. In Ukraine, only 17% of the adult population is fully vaccinated; in Armenia, only 7%.
Global death toll from Covid-19 hits five million – Johns Hopkins University
The global death toll from Covid-19 has hit five million, according to figures released from the Johns Hopkins University, 19 months after the pandemic was first declared. Some experts, including those from the World Health Organization, believe the true toll may be two to three times higher than official figures suggest.
The number of deaths from Covid-19 far outstrip that of other viral epidemics in the 21st century and most from the 20th century, with the notable exception of the Spanish flu.
Since it was first recorded in China in late 2019, the coronavirus spread quickly to almost every corner of the world and was declared a pandemic in March 2020.
The virus has since mutated into more than a dozen new variants, including the highly infectious Delta strain. Dozens of countries have recorded more than 1,000 deaths, while case counts now stand at well over one million in some countries.
The US, Brazil, India, Mexico and the UK disproportionately account for more than half of all deaths worldwide.
Phil Valentine was a Tennessee-based conservative talk radio host who was sceptical about the US government’s response to the coronavirus crisis. He was not completely “anti-vax”, but he did not think he was vulnerable to Covid and talked on air about his decision not to be vaccinated. He even performed a song called Vaxman, a parody of the Beatles’ Taxman. Shortly after the song was released, he contracted the virus.
Before Valentine died, he sent a message to his brother Mark from hospital about his regret. He asked him to tell others to get the vaccine to make amends for the message he had spread on his show.
In today’s episode of our Today in Focus podcast, Michael Safi speaks to Mark Valentine about his efforts to carry out his brother’s dying wish and to reporter Sirin Kale about how you should approach conversations about the vaccine with hesitant loved ones.
You can listen to it here: Today in Focus – The regrets of the unvaccinated: why Covid-bereaved families are speaking out
Singapore could see as many 2,000 Covid-19 deaths annually over time, mainly among the elderly, but it was focused on avoiding excess mortality, a minister said this morning, as the country battles its biggest surge in infections.
Reuters report that at 0.2%, Singapore’s Covid-19 case fatality rate is similar to the rate of deaths from pneumonia before the pandemic struck.
Janil Puthucheary, a senior minister of state in parliament, said “It does mean that over time, the absolute number of deaths from Covid-19 will rise despite the best possible medical care,” he said. “We could have perhaps 2,000 deaths per year from Covid.”
The minister did not specify for how many years that estimate might apply. Singapore had 4,000 deaths per year due to influenza and other respiratory diseases pre-pandemic, he said.
More than 80% of Singapore’s 5.45 million population has been fully vaccinated and almost all its cases are asymptomatic or mild. Puthucheary said the country was trying to live with Covid as endemic without excess mortality.
NHS chief: UK government should delay mandatory vaccine rule for NHS staff until 2022
Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, has just told BBC Breakfast this morning in the UK that any government plan for mandating vaccinations for NHS workers should be delayed until April next year, to avoid shortages of healthcare workers during the winter. PA Media quote him saying:
If we lose staff over the winter period our ability to provide care is compromised. We’ve got a very, very difficult winter coming up and we know the NHS is going to be at full stretch, so it makes sense to set that deadline once that period has passed. If we lose very large numbers of unvaccinated staff, particularly over the winter period, then that also constitutes a risk to patient safety and quality of care.
Thailand reopens to some vaccinated tourists after 18 months of Covid curbs
Thailand has reopened to fully vaccinated tourists, with tens of thousands of travellers expected to touch down in Bangkok and Phuket as the country reboots its tourism industry after 18 months of Covid restrictions.
The coronavirus pandemic has hammered the kingdom’s economy, with tourism making up almost 20% of its national income. Last year saw its worst performance since the 1997 Asian financial crisis with arrivals down more than 80%.
From 1 November, Thai authorities will allow vaccinated tourists from more than 60 “low-risk” countries to skip hotel quarantine - providing the sector a much-needed lifeline.
Previously, vaccinated tourists had to undergo at least seven days hotel quarantine.
Read more here: Thailand reopens to some vaccinated tourists after 18 months of Covid curbs
New Zealand keeps pandemic curbs for another week in Auckland
New Zealand will extend coronavirus curbs for another week in its largest city of Auckland, but ease some after that, prime minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday, another day of record new infections.
As New Zealand battles the spread of the infectious Delta variant of Covid, it has agreed on a 10 November reopening date for retail stores and institutions such as libraries and museums, Ardern told a news conference.
“Because of the high vaccination rates in Auckland we can move with greater confidence,” Ardern said. “These decisions are carefully balanced and allows us to release some of the pressure and fatigue that we know exists in Auckland.”
Reuters report the city’s limit on the size of outdoor gatherings was lifted to 25 people.
Daily cases have been rising to record highs in the last few days, with 162 on Monday. Of these, 53 people were in hospital, with four in intensive care. Cases are expected to keep rising in a model of the outbreak released to the media.
But Ardern said high vaccination rates gave protection to keep down hospital admissions. “Previously we worked hard to eliminate every case. While Delta has forced us to change our approach, vaccines ensure we have the same goal,” she added.
More than 75% of New Zealand, or about 3.1 million people, have now been fully vaccinated, while 88% have had one dose.
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Covid booster jabs offered at NHS walk-in clinics in England
Covid booster jabs are now being given at walk-in clinics in England as the NHS aims to increase vaccine uptake before what is expected to be a challenging winter.
From Monday, anyone in an eligible group who had their second dose of a coronavirus vaccine at least six months ago can turn up at one of hundreds of sites to get their top-up without making an appointment. The walk-in centres are also offering vaccinations to 12- to 15-year-olds.
The move follows criticism of the booster campaign, with only about half of the 12 million people in England eligible so far for a third vaccine dose having received one. The vaccine rollout to teenagers has lagged behind that of countries including France, Italy and Spain.
People entitled to a booster jab are: those aged 50 and over, people who live and work in care homes; frontline health and social care workers; people aged 16 and over with a health condition that puts them at high risk of getting seriously ill from Covid-19; those aged 16 and over who are a main carer for someone at high risk from the virus, and; people aged 16 and over who live with someone who is more likely to get infections.
Nikki Kanani, a GP and the deputy lead for the NHS Covid-19 vaccination programme, said: “NHS staff are making it as easy as possible for people to get their top-up vaccination, and from today people can now go online, find their nearest site and go and get their booster without delay.
Read more of our science correspondent Hannah Devlin’s report here: Covid booster jabs offered at NHS walk-in clinics in England
As expected, foreign secretary Liz Truss’s first media appearance of the day on Sky News was entirely dominated by Cop26 and the Brexit fishing row, and coronavirus didn’t get a look in. Here’s a quick status check on the latest situation in the UK.
For a bit of wider context, here’s the longer view on the UK government’s own data dashboard, so you can get a view of how the current caseload compares to other phases of the pandemic in the UK.
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One of those countries lifting restrictions is Australia, with citizens able to fly home and walk straight out of the airport for the first time in 583 days. As fully vaccinated passengers on the first flights from Singapore and Los Angeles walked into the arrivals terminal shortly after 6am, they were greeted by family members. In many cases, they had been separated for years – since before the pandemic began. “It’s a little bit scary and exciting,” traveller Ethan Carter said. “I’ve come home to see my mum ‘cause she’s not well. So it’s all anxious and excitement and I love her heaps and I can’t wait to see her”
Hello, it is Martin Belam in London stepping in now. I’ll be with you for the next four hours or so. Having a look across the news landscape this morning before I started, I can tell you that there will be a lot of posts coming today explaining that “country X is lifting restrictions, just as nearby country Y starts imposing restrictions.”
The UK government minister doing the media round this morning is foreign secretary Liz Truss, and I’ll have any Covid lines that emerge from her first appearances soon, though I suspect Cop26 is likely to dominate any questioning.
Indonesia has authorised the Sinovac vaccine for children aged 6-11, following the FDA’s authorisation of the Pfizer vaccine for children aged 5-11 in the US. It also authorises the Novavax vaccine.
Indonesian tourism officials also held a regular briefing as more countries in the Asia-Pacific reopen to foreign visitors
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Hello and welcome back to our global Covid blog.
I’m Samantha Lock and I’ll be reporting from Sydney, Australia, to bring you all the latest developments from around the world.
First up, it’s welcome news for recently returning Australians and their families - many of whom have not seen each other for almost two years due to strict Covid-19 quarantine and lockdown measures.
Sydney airport was the scene of tearful reunions as fully vaccinated Australians flew in and walked straight into the arms of loved ones for first time in 583 days.
On the other side of the world less hopeful news is unfolding as French health authorities say the number of people hospitalised because of Covid-19 went up by 48 over the past 24 hours to reach 6,572, the highest daily increase since 6 September.
Daily new infections stood at 6,329, a 26.5% rise from a week ago, and the seven-day moving average of daily new cases reached a five-week high of 5,858, Reuters reports.
For everything else you might have missed read our summary below.
A summary of today’s developments
- Thailand has reopened to fully vaccinated tourists from more than 60 “low-risk” countries as the nation reboots its tourism industry after 18 months of Covid restrictions.
- The UK recorded 38,009 new infections, but the rise in weekly cases is down 13.5%. A further 74 deaths saw the weekly average Covid deaths a day climb 15.8% on last week.
- Covid booster jabs are being offered at NHS walk-in clinics in England for people who have had their second dose at least six months ago.
- New Zealand will extend coronavirus curbs for another week in its largest city of Auckland after another day of record new infections.
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Russia reported 40,993 new Covid-19 infections, its highest single-day case tally since the start of the pandemic.
- The US jabbed the most vaccine doses into arms in 5 months,
delivering 1,412,416 doses of Covid vaccines in the last 24 hours. - US regulators are delaying their decision on Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine for 12- to 17-year-olds while they study the rare risk of heart inflammation, the company said on Sunday. The FDA is looking into a rare heart inflammation called myocarditis after vaccination.
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White House press secretary to US president Joe Biden, Jen Psaki, tested positive for the coronavirus on Sunday, but said she last saw Biden on Tuesday in masks and outside.
- France saw new infections surge by 26.5% on the previous week.
- Taiwan will receive a total of 4 million vaccine doses from the US, up 1.5 million from the former amount, Reuters reported.
- Singapore recorded 3,163 Covid-19 cases, a high tally for the city state during the pandemic which until recently pursued a zero-Covid strategy.
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New York City’s municipal worker vaccine requirements come into force on Monday, and officials said 2,000 fire department workers took medical leave to protest the measures. But officials said the part-vaccinated rate had jumped to 91% on Saturday from 76% on Thursday.
- Italy saw 26 more Covid-related deaths, taking the country’s death toll to 132,100 – the highest tally in Europe behind the UK.
- Poland reported 7,145 new Covid cases as the Eastern European epidemic continued to grow.
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