That’s it from the blog today. Thank you for your time.
Italy reported seven coronavirus-related deaths on Sunday compared with five the day before, the health ministry said, while the daily tally of new infections fell to 4,743 from 5,140 on Saturday.
Italy has registered 127,949 deaths linked to Covid-19 since its outbreak emerged in February last year, the second-highest toll in Europe after Britain and the eighth-highest in the world.
The country has reported more than 4.3 million cases to date.
In Tunisia violent demonstrations broke out on Sunday in several cities as protesters expressed anger at the deterioration of the North African nation’s health, economic and social situation, AP reports.
Thousands of people defied virus restrictions and scorching heat to demonstrate in the capital of Tunis and other cities. The largely young crowds chanted slogans calling for the dissolution of parliament and early elections.
The protests were called on the 64th anniversary of Tunisia’s independence by a new group called the July 25 Movement.
Security forces deployed in force, especially in Tunis where police blockades blocked all streets leading to the main artery of the capital, Avenue Bourguiba. Police also deployed around the parliament, preventing demonstrators from accessing it.
Police used tear gas to disperse some demonstrators throwing projectiles at officers and made several arrests. Clashes also took place in several other towns, notably in Nabeul, Sousse, Kairouan, Sfax and Tozeur. Protesters also stormed the offices of the Islamist movement Ennahdha, the dominant force in parliament.
Tunisia has reimposed lockdowns and other virus restrictions because it’s facing one of Africa’s worst virus outbreaks.
Top U.S. infectious disease official Anthony Fauci said on Sunday that Americans who are immune compromised may end up needing COVID-19 vaccine booster shots, Reuters reports.
“Those who are transplant patients, cancer chemotherapy, auto-immune diseases, that are on immunosuppressant regimens, those are the kind of individuals that if there’s going to be a third booster, which might likely happen, would be among first the vulnerable,” Fauci said during a CNN interview.
Citing recent studies that show there might be waning immunity in vaccinated people, Fauci said U.S. health officials are reviewing data to determine when boosters might be needed.
*It*s a dynamic situation. It*s a work in progress, it evolves like in so many other areas of the pandemic,* said Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Summary
Some key developments so far today:
- UK health secretary Sajid Javid has apologised for a tweet which suggested the nation need not “cower” from coronavirus.
- In the UK, it is being reported that only fully-vaccinated football fans may be able to attend Premier League matches and other events with more than 20,000 spectators from October under government plans
- Young people are getting “seriously ill” from Covid-19, a member of the UK’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has warned, as he urged them to get vaccinated.
- In Australia, New South Wales logged its second-highest daily increase of the year in locally acquired Covid-19 cases on Sunday amid fears of a wave of new infections after thousands of people joined an anti-lockdown protest.
- Malaysia’s total coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic surpassed 1 million on Sunday after the country’s health ministry reported a record 17,045 new cases.
- Indonesia has extended its Covid-19 restrictions by a week to Aug. 2 to try to curb infections, President Joko Widodo announced on Sunday, after the government said it would add more intensive care units amid a rise in deaths.
- Russia reported 24,072 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday, including 3,406 in Moscow, taking the official national tally since the pandemic began to 6,126,541.
- South Korea is to tighten social distancing rules across most of the country this week, warning that its worst-ever Covid-19 wave might spread further in the summer holiday season.
- Fresh concerns have been raised in the UK over police being forced into isolation over Covid-19 contacts after it was said the number of absent Metropolitan Police officers reached nearly one in five.
- Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike met on Sunday to discuss the Olympic Games being held in the capital and anti-coronavirus measures,
Indonesia extends Covid-19 restrictions by a week
Indonesia has extended its Covid-19 restrictions by a week to 2 August to try to curb infections, President Joko Widodo announced on Sunday, after the government said it would add more intensive care units amid a rise in deaths (see earlier post at 09.42).
“I’d like to thank all Indonesians for their understanding and support for the curbs that have been effective for 23 days,” the president, known as Jokowi, said, adding that Covid infections and hospital bed occupancies had declined, without specifying by how much, Reuters reports.
Jokowi said the government would gradually adjust some restrictions on “some activities”, while allowing traditional markets and restaurants with outdoor areas to open, with some limitations. Some businesses, from salons and laundries to vehicle repair shops, are now allowed to open.
Indonesia last week reported record-high deaths on four separate days, the last of which was 1,566 deaths on Friday, bringing cumulative deaths to more than 83,000.
Total infections have climbed to more than 3.1 million, though health experts say both deaths and case numbers have been undercounted.
The average number of COVID-19 deaths reported each day in Indonesia has been increasing for 10 days straight, a Reuters tracker shows.
Updated
South Korea is to tighten social distancing rules across most of the country this week, warning that its worst-ever Covid-19 wave might spread further in the summer holiday season.
The curbs will be increased to Level 3 on a four-level scale, which will mean a 10 p.m. dining curfew and ban on gatherings of more than four people, from Tuesday for two weeks for most areas except for some small counties, Reuters reports.
“What’s most concerning is the virus’ recent spread in the non-capital areas,” President Moon Jae-in told an intra-agency meeting reviewing efforts in the campaign against coronavirus
“There has been an increase in movements nationwide, especially around vacation spots.”
South Korea managed to largely avoid major COVID-19 outbreaks with an extensive testing and tracing campaign for the first year of the pandemic.
But the latest spikes in infections have dented public confidence even though there have been relatively few critical cases and deaths.
The government early this month imposed the toughest Level 4 curbs, which include a ban on gatherings of more than two people after 6 p.m., in the capital Seoul and neighbouring areas.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on Sunday reported 1,487 cases for Saturday, the highest increase recorded on any weekend.
South Korea’s total infections have risen to 188,848, with 2,073 deaths.
The United States is considering giving more coronavirus vaccines to Vietnam, its ambassador to the United States said on Sunday, as the Southeast Asian country struggles to control outbreaks of the fast-spreading Delta variant of the virus.
Vietnam has been facing rapid outbreaks of infections, with daily cases repeatedly hitting new highs.
The country’s health ministry reported 7,531 coronavirus infections on Sunday, down from Saturday’s record daily increase of 7,968. Most of the cases are in Ho Chi Minh City and its neighbouring provinces in southern Vietnam, according to the ministry.
It took delivery of a shipment of 3 million Moderna doses from the United States on Sunday, taking the amount given by the United States, via the global COVAX vaccine scheme, to 5 million doses, Reuters reports.
“The U.S. side has said it is also considering more vaccine donations to Vietnam soon,” the ambassador to the United States, Ha Kim Ngoc, said speech posted on a government web site.
Vietnam is also in talks with the United States on domestic production of mRNA vaccines, its foreign ministry said on Thursday, adding that production could begin in the fourth quarter or early in 2022.
Vietnam kept the virus at bay for the first year of the pandemic but infections have been spreading quickly since late April.
In all, it has recorded nearly 95,000 infections and at least 370 deaths, most in the southern commercial hub of Ho Chi Minh City. Nearly half of the latest shipment of Moderna vaccines will be sent to that city, the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi said on Saturday.
Russia reported 24,072 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday, including 3,406 in Moscow, taking the official national tally since the pandemic began to 6,126,541.
The government coronavirus task force said 779 people had died of coronavirus linked causes in the past 24 hours, pushing the national death toll to 153,874.
Russia has been in the grip of a surge in cases that authorities blame on the more contagious Delta variant, though some officials have suggested in recent days that cases, at least in Moscow, have started to decline, Reuters reports.
Fresh concerns have been raised in the UK over police being forced into isolation over Covid-19 contacts after it was said the number of absent Metropolitan Police officers reached nearly one in five, the PA reports.
Policing minister Kit Malthouse said on Sunday there has been a “challenge” but insisted changes to isolation rules for critical workers will help ease the so-called “pingdemic”.
He suggested calls from businesses and MPs for the wider exemption for fully vaccinated individuals to be brought forward from August 16 would be rejected.
Ken Marsh, the chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation representing rank-and-file officers in the capital, said there is confusion over the exemptions for critical workers.
He said “a huge strain” was being heaped on officers on the frontline, with 15% in the capital being off on Saturday, down from a high of 17% last week.
But Marsh said the critical workers exemption introduced amid widespread criticism is not responsible for the slight reduction in absence rates.
He told the PA news agency: “It has no bearing whatsoever on this new Government nonsense around exemptions - we’re not even sure we’re on the list.
“We’re being told that officers have to apply for it if they’re specialist drivers and all sorts, it’s not just a carte blanche all police.”
Malthouse said that the 200 new daily testing sites being introduced from Monday in order to facilitate isolation exemptions would help, particularly for critical roles.
“We have had a challenge across the whole of policing on what’s been called the pingdemic,” he told Times Radio.
“Not least because there are particular functions of course where police officers do gather together in close groups, often inside.
“So as you might have seen there has been an announcement where there will be more availability of this daily testing for those who have been double-vaccinated so they can go about their business, particularly in critical roles where we need to maintain capacity like control rooms, like armed response.”
But he suggested the wider relaxation of isolation rules for all fully vaccinated people would not be brought forward from August 16.
Scotland Yard declined to comment on the number of officers who are absent due to Covid-19. “Despite the challenges of Covid-19, the Met is continuing to provide a resilient and strong policing service to London. We are not providing details on sickness or isolation,” a spokesman said.
Here is our story on Sajid Javid’s apology.
In the UK, Professor Adam Finn, from the University of Bristol and a member of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, said young people are getting “seriously ill” due to Covid.
Speaking on LBC on Sunday, he said there have been close to 200 admissions in Bristol with a mean age of 40 and added:
We have had people under 30 on our intensive care unit and also requiring high-level oxygen therapy.
This is not always trivial in young adults. There are younger people really getting seriously ill at the moment, so that’s one good reason to think about having the vaccine.
But the other one is these vaccines now, it’s clear, do reduce the risk of not only getting the infection but passing it on to other people.
Getting immunised is going to reduce the risk of spreading this infection around amongst young people and enable them to get back to normal.
The Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group, which criticised Sajid Javid’s initial tweet as “deeply insensitive”, said the health secretary was right to apologise.
The group also repeated an earlier request for Javid to walk the National Covid Memorial Wall with it “to understand the hurt and insult his poor choice of word still remains”.
Scientists are working on developing a pill to treat coronavirus symptoms in the future, Angela Hwang, group president of the Pfizer Biopharmaceuticals Group today told the One Young World summit.
On current plans for Pfizer, she told 1,300 young leaders from 190+ countries:
We know that not everyone’s going to get vaccinated, we know that there’s going to be breakthrough disease around the world, so we are also in parallel, working on anti viral. And so, this is going to be a treatment that is, if you develop Covid or you have symptoms of Covid you can then quickly take a pill to resolve those symptoms.
She also said that she expects the pandemic to last well into 2022:
“It’s going to take 2022 to be able to continue work, get the whole world vaccinated and release the anti-viral.
Commenting on the efforts to contain the pandemic, Hwang said:
By definition, a pandemic is global in nature, which means that none of us are safe anywhere until everyone is safe … That’s why the remit and this goal of having the entire world vaccinated has to be something that we all share. Because until we do that, we won’t be able to contain this virus and be able to ensure that we can keep everyone protected and safe.
:
In Guatemala, just 1.6% of the population has been fully vaccinated, and amid corruption allegations critics are calling on the president to quit.
You can read Sandra Cuffe’s report from Guatemala City here:
UK health secretary apologises over 'cower' tweet
In the UK, health secretary Sajid Javid has apologised for a tweet which suggested the nation needs to not “cower” from coronavirus saying: “I was expressing gratitude that the vaccines help us fight back as a society, but it was a poor choice of word and I sincerely apologise.”
He said on Sunday: “I’ve deleted a tweet which used the word “cower”. I was expressing gratitude that the vaccines help us fight back as a society, but it was a poor choice of word and I sincerely apologise. Like many, I have lost loved ones to this awful virus and would never minimise its impact.”
Javid had been criticised as “deeply insensitive” by those who have lost loved ones to Covid-19. Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice joined opposition MPs in branding the cabinet minister’s remark insulting to people who have shielded and those who stayed at home to protect society.
Javid said on Saturday he had made a “full recovery” and that his “symptoms were very mild, thanks to amazing vaccines”, of which he had received two doses. “Please, if you haven’t yet, get your jab, as we learn to live with, rather than cower from, this virus,” he wrote on Twitter.
Updated
On the idea of vaccine passports becoming mandatory at football stadiums and other venues with capacities of 20,000 and above in the UK, policing minister Kit Malthouse told Times Radio:
No doubt they will have looked at some of the impact of the virus that came out of the Euros recently. There was also checking there as well on the Covid app on the phone, but we’ll be having a look at how that works and setting out for the future, but at the moment I think that’s all speculative.
Malthouse also suggested the wider relaxation of isolation rules for all fully vaccinated people will not be brought forward from August 16.
He told Times Radio:
“No, I don’t think so, no.
First of all we want to make sure as many people as possible actually get jabbed.
Also we need to have the kind of natural firebreak, if you like, of the start of the school holidays where people separate a little bit more, there’s a bit more atomisation, before we get to August 16.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike met on Sunday to discuss the Olympic Games being held in the capital and anti-coronavirus measures, the Kyodo news agency reported on Sunday. Koike visited the prime minister’s official residence, according to the report. The meeting comes as Tokyo reported 1,763 new COVID cases in the capital on Sunday, Reuters reports. Infections have been on the rise in recent weeks, reaching 1,979 on Thursday, the highest since January.
Two coronavirus patients died at a hospital in Amman, Jordan , on Sunday after a short circuit knocked out power at the facility’s intensive care unit, the country’s health minister said.
The private Gardens Hospital is being rented by the Jordanian government to treat coronavirus patients.
Health minister Firas Al-Hawari told state media Sunday that two people were confirmed dead at the hospital after the incident, and that investigators were determining the cause of the accident and whether the power outage was responsible for the deaths.
Angry people gathered outside the hospital and security forces cordoned off the facility and prevented relatives of patients from entering, AP reports.
Earlier this year, Jordan’s former health minister Nathir Obeidat resigned after several COVID-19 patients died at a government hospital in Salt when their oxygen supply ran out.
Jordan’s Health Ministry has recorded more than 763,000 cases of coronavirus and at least 9,948 deaths. The country has administered two doses of COVID-19 vaccine to just over 19% of its 10 million people.
UK policing minister apologises over border delays
In the UK, policing minister Kit Malthouse has apologised for delays at the borders as he suggested airline staff could also receive isolation exemptions to relieve the “pingdemic”.
He told Times Radio:
I know Border Force are one of the frontline services that will be able to access more of this test and release.
And I think at Heathrow yesterday we had a technical issue with the e-gates where they went down for 90 minutes or so that caused a problem and I’m very sorry about that and I’m sorry for the people that were inconvenienced.
Hopefully Border Force will be relieved of some of the aspects of the pingdemic.
Asked whether airline staff could receive exemptions as well, he said:
Yes, we would be in conversation with employers.”
Updated
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 1,387 to 3,755,898, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Sunday. The reported death toll rose by 4 to 91,524, the tally showed.
Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s chief of staff fears the number of new cases will soar in the next few weeks and could hit 100,000 a day by the end of September, causing big problems for many businesses.
Helge Braun, told Bild am Sonntag cases were increasing by 60% per week, even though nearly half the population has been fully vaccinated, Reuters reports.
He said:
If the Delta variant were to continue to spread at this rate and we don’t counter it with a very high vaccination rate or change in behaviour, we would have an incidence of 850 (per 100,000 people) in just nine weeks. That would equate to 100,000 new infections a day.
The impact on work processes in factories would be massive. We are already seeing this in the UK.
Mexico’s health ministry on Saturday recorded 15,823 new confirmed coronavirus cases and 362 fatalities, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 2,741,983 and the reported death toll to 238,316.
In the UK, Malcolm Clarke, chairman of the Football Supporters’ Association, said the idea of only fully vaccinated fans being able to attend Premier League matches is a “risk” that will need to be “managed very carefully”.
He told Times Radio:
Some of our members are totally opposed to this and think that it’s an infringement of their civil liberties or they don’t want to be vaccinated, whereas others say this is perfectly reasonable.
I think my major concern is to ensure that this is operationally okay. I think if they’re going to do this with big football crowds then they need to have the resources to do the checks. I’m not convinced that all football clubs will be able to manage that in a way that doesn’t cause some chaos.
There will certainly be some football supporters for whom this will be an incentive, who are desperate to get back in the ground and watch their teams.
There may be others who will say you know what, I’ve got used to being without going to the games and this is the last straw, I’m not coming back. How it breaks down between those two groups and everything in between, I wouldn’t like to predict.
But I think that there is something of a risk that football will lose some of its paying customers unless this is managed very carefully.”
Updated
Malaysia’s cases total passes 1 million
Malaysia’s total coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic surpassed 1 million on Sunday after the country’s health ministry reported a record 17,045 new cases.
The total number of infections in the country stood at 1,013,438
Updated
Indonesia is preparing more intensive care units after logging several days of record-high Covid-19 deaths last week, while the country waits to see whether the government will extend or loosen tough restrictions due to expire on Sunday.
“Deaths have risen due to a number of factors: full hospitals, patients admitted with low saturation, or dying unmonitored in self-isolation,” Senior Minister Luhut Pandjaitan said in a statement late on Saturday, Reuters reports.
Luhut, who oversees the Covid response on the islands of Java and Bali, said ICU capacities would be added in areas that have reported the highest fatalities.
Bali, famous for its tourist beaches and temples, has been grappling with oxygen shortages.
Indonesia last week reported record-high deaths on four separate days, the last of which was Friday’s 1,566 fatalities, bringing cumulative deaths to more than 82,000. Total case infections have climbed to over 3.1 million, though health experts say both deaths and case numbers have been undercounted.
Just under 7% of its population of 270 million has been fully vaccinated, with Southeast Asia’s largest country primarily reliant on shots produced by China’s Sinovac Biotech .
China reported 32 new Covid-19 cases in the mainland on July 24, down from 35 cases a day earlier, the National Health Commission said in a statement. Five of the new cases were local infections, down from 13 the day before. Two were in the eastern province of Jiangsu, and there was one each in Liaoning, Yunnan and Guangdong provinces, Reuters reports.
The number of new asymptomatic cases, which China does not classify as confirmed cases, fell to 17 from 20 the day before.
The total number of confirmed Covid -19 cases in mainland China stands at 92,529, while the death toll unchanged at 4,636.
China has administered a total of 1.5387 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines as of July 24, data from the National Health Commission showed on Sunday.
Australia’s Victoria state reported 11 locally acquired Covid-19 cases on Sunday, down from 12 a day earlier, raising hopes the state will end a hard lockdown imposed 10 days ago. State Premier Daniel Andrews said it was too early to say whether restrictions will be eased on Tuesday, but: “At this stage, though, things are going well.”
Still in Australia, prime minister Scott Morrison, who is under fire for a slow vaccine rollout, said more vaccine supply was not going to ensure New South Wales gets out of lockdown, but what was needed was an effective, properly enforced lockdown.
He told reporters at a televised media conference:
Let me be clear - there’s not an alternative to the lockdown in New South Wales to get this under control. There is no other magic bullet that’s going to do that.
While Berejiklian and other state leaders have blamed Canberra for the slow vaccine rollout, critics have said NSW did not enforce its stay-at-home orders, which has led to Delta variant leaks to other states, Reuters reports. At least 38 of the new cases in NSW had spent time in the community while infectious, state health authorities said.
Numbers of cases have stayed high even after four weeks of lockdown in Sydney, now expected to be extended beyond July 30. The state reported two deaths overnight, including a woman in her 30s with no pre-existing conditions.
To help speed up vaccinations in Sydney, the government’s official adviser, the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI), on Saturday changed its advice on the AstraZeneca vaccine, urging anyone in the city under the age of 60 to strongly consider getting vaccinated with it. ATAGI had previously advised against the AstraZeneca vaccine for people under 60 due to concerns about blood clots.
Morrison said on Sunday the government has secured an additional 85 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine, but they will only be delivered in 2022 and 2023. “To have those booster shots pre-ordered means we can go into 2022 with confidence,” he said.
Australia has managed to keep its epidemic largely under control with a total of about 32,600 cases and 918 deaths.
Australia logs more cases
In Australia, New South Wales logged its second-highest daily increase of the year in locally acquired Covid-19 cases on Sunday amid fears of a wave of new infections after thousands of people joined an anti-lockdown protest.
There were 141 Covid-19 cases reported, down from 163 a day earlier, Reuters reports.
The outbreak, which began in June, is being driven by the highly contagious Delta variant of the virus, and has now infected 2,081 people in New South Wales. There are 43 people in intensive care, up from 37 a day earlier.
NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian said: “In relation to yesterday’s protests, can I say how absolutely disgusted I was. It broke my heart.” She added: “I hope it won’t be a setback, but it could be.”
Prime minister Scott Morrison called the anti-lockdown protests in Sydney reckless and self-defeating.
Updated
India reports 39k new cases
India has reported 39,742 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, a government statement said on Sunday.
The Covid-19 death toll rose by 535 deaths in the last 24 hours, with the total reaching 420,551, health ministry data showed, Reuters reports.
Updated
UK could extend vaccine passports to sports events
Welcome to the coronavirus live blog. I’m Caroline Davies and here are some key developments to kick off today.
In the UK, it is being reported that only fully-vaccinated football fans may be able to attend Premier League matches and other events with more than 20,000 spectators from October under government plans. PA reports that talks are in an early phase with the Premier League to discuss whether supporters who have not been double-jabbed could be barred from entry, the news agency understands.
It adds that prime minister Boris Johnson risks provoking further criticism from backbench Conservatives as ministers seek to extend the future use of vaccine passports from nightclubs to sporting stadiums. The use of vaccine passports could also be extended to lower divisions and other sports in England as ministers seek to reduce the surge of Covid-19 cases as other restrictions are ended.
While no final decisions have been made, it is currently being discussed whether vaccine passports could be introduced for seated events with a capacity of 20,000 people and over, the PA reports.
Meanwhile summer holiday plans for nearly six million Britons could be ruined if Spain and Greece follow France onto the “amber plus” list requiring isolation on return, according to an analysis. Labour said an estimated 5,857,558 people face the prospect of last-minute quarantine requirements to protect against the spread of coronavirus after booking trips over the “summer of chaos”.
The government introduced an exemption for the requirement to isolate at home for 10 days for fully-vaccinated holidaymakers returning from countries on the amber list. But ministers removed the exemption for France amid concerns over the Beta variant, creating what critics call an “amber plus” designation on the traffic light system for foreign travel.
There has been speculation that Greece and Spain could face the same measures as France, though the UK government has not confirmed this.
As always, you can get in touch on caroline.davies@theguardian.com
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