A summary of today's developments
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Austria became the first country in western Europe to reimpose a full national lockdown this autumn to tackle a new wave of infections and will require its whole population to be vaccinated as of February. The new lockdown is set to last until 12 December but could be reevaluated after 10 days if the pandemic situation has improved. Story here.
- Crowds of rioters torched cars and threw rocks at police who responded with warning shots and a water cannon as protests against Covid-19 measures turned violent in Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
- Germany’s Covid situation is now so grave that a lockdown, including for people who have been vaccinated, cannot be ruled out, the health minister Jens Spahn said.
- The southern German state of Bavaria cancelled all Christmas markets and imposed a lockdown on all districts that have a seven-day Covid incidence rate of over 1,000 per 100,000 people. Story here.
- The UK recorded a further 44,242 Covid cases and 157 deaths within 28 days of a positive test, according to the latest data from the government’s coronavirus dashboard.
- Mexico’s health ministry reported 3,837 new cases of coronavirus and 216 additional deaths on Friday. It brings the total number of confirmed cases to 3,858,831 and the death toll from the pandemic to 292,145, Reuters reports.
- Canada authorised the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for use in children aged 5 to 11, making it the first jab for young children in the country.
- US regulators opened up Pfizer and Moderna Covid-19 booster shots to all US adults, expanding the government’s campaign to shore up protection and get ahead of rising coronavirus cases that may worsen with the holidays. Story here.
Mexico’s health ministry reported 3,837 new cases of coronavirus and 216 additional fatalities on Friday.
It brings the total number of confirmed cases to 3,858,831 and the death toll from the pandemic to 292,145, Reuters reports. Officials have said the ministry’s figures likely represent a significant undercount of both Covid cases and deaths.
For more than a year, New Zealand’s “team of 5 million” stood largely united in the face of Covid-19.
This month, as the country expanded vaccine mandates and a tougher roadmap of restrictions for the unvaccinated, that mood has splintered and darkened.
Here are more details on the unrest during protests against Covid measures in Rotterdam:
Brazil registered 13,355 new coronavirus cases and 226 additional deaths in the last 24 hours, the country’s health ministry said on Friday.
Two people injured after Covid protest turns violent in the Netherlands
Crowds of rioters torched cars and threw rocks at police who responded with warning shots and a water cannon as protests against Covid-19 measures turned violent in Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
“We fired warning shots and there were also direct shots fired because the situation was life-threatening,” police spokesperson Patricia Wessels told Reuters.
“We know that at least two people were wounded, probably as a result of the warning shots, but we need to investigate the exact causes further.”
Several hundred people had gathered on Friday to voice opposition to government plans to restrict access to indoor venues to people who have a “corona pass”, showing they have been vaccinated or already recovered from an infection.
Updated
Authorities imposed a curfew on the French overseas territory of Guadeloupe following five days of civil unrest over Covid-19 protocols in which barricades have been burned in the streets and firefighters and doctors walked out on strike.
Guadeloupe’s prefect, Alexandre Rochatte, who represents the government on the Caribbean archipelago, said the nightly curfew would run from 6pm to 5am, Reuters reports. The sale of petrol in jerry cans would also be forbidden, he added.
“In light of the social unrest and acts of vandalism, the prefect of Guadeloupe has decided to impose a curfew,” Rochatte’s office said on Twitter.
Trade unions launched an indefinite strike on Monday to protest against the compulsory vaccination of health workers against Covid-19 and health pass requirements.
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More than 14 million people in the UK have now received their Covid booster jab, government figures show.
A total of 387,057 boosters and third doses were recorded on Friday, bringing the total to 14,266,368, with more than one million top-up jabs recorded since Tuesday.
The south-east, north-east and Yorkshire have now recorded more than 1.9 million top-up jabs, meaning they will soon join the Midlands, which this week reached the milestone of two million jabs delivered.
Updated
Newcastle United’s new head coach, Eddie Howe, will be absent from his first game in charge in the Premier League against Brentford on Saturday after testing positive for Covid-19 during a routine test on Friday, the club said.
Updated
You can follow the latest Covid developments in Australia here:
Advisers to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have voted to recommend expanding eligibility of booster doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines to all adults, Reuters reports.
The panel also voted to recommend that all people aged 50 years and over should get a booster dose.
Updated
Stellantis NV will require all US salaried non-represented employees to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 by 5 January, the automaker said, as it prepares for a phased reopening of its US offices next year.
Nearly 80% of its salaried US workforce self-reported that they are fully vaccinated, the company said. The Chrysler parent said all workers would need to submit proof of their vaccination status by 4 December and receive their final dose by 5 January, Reuters reports.
Updated
People in Victoria, Australia, who test positive to Covid-19 will be responsible for notifying close contacts themselves, in a measure that some epidemiologists say could help increase testing rates.
Under the new rules, announced by premier Daniel Andrews this week, people who test positive to Covid-19 will be required to notify their workplace, school, or childcare, which will in turn be required to notify employees or anyone who spent time in the workplace during the at risk period.
People who test positive will also be “strongly recommended” to tell their social contacts and encourage them to get tested, the Andrews government said in a statement on Thursday. But, except in circumstances of an emerging outbreak, the Victorian health department “will not trace or manage these contacts”.
Following the announcement that Austria is going into a national lockdown to contain a fourth wave of coronavirus cases on Monday, here is some reaction from locals.
“I was hoping that there wouldn’t be a general lockdown,” Markus Horvath told AFP as he prepared to shut his stall selling wooden jewellery at a Christmas market in Vienna.
Christian Edlmayr, selling glass ornaments at another Vienna Christmas market, said he would lose half his yearly revenue.
“This will be very, very bad for me,” he said.
Under the partial lockdown, only outlets deemed essential will remain open such as supermarkets, banks, pharmacies and post offices.
Andreas Schneider, a 31-year-old from Belgium who works as an economist in the Austrian capital, also described the lockdown as a “tragedy”, saying confining just the unvaccinated had been “reasonable” since they had a choice.
Covid infections have fallen across much of the UK, according to official figures, but remain high enough to put the health service under “significant strain” in the months ahead, scientists warn.
The Office for National Statistics estimates one in 65 people in England had Covid in the week ending 13 November, down marginally from one in 60 the week before. A small decline was also seen in Wales, with rates in Scotland and Northern Ireland broadly level.
The new figures, which are for community infections and exclude people in hospitals, care homes and other settings, come as a surge in cases on the continent sent Austria back into lockdown and led Germany’s health minister to warn that a further lockdown there could not be ruled out.
British pop singer Faye Tozer has tested positive for Covid-19 and will miss Steps’ arena tour in order to self-isolate.
Writing on Twitter, the singer-songwriter said: “I am baffled and gutted after being so tight on our preventative measures.
“Thankful for our daily testing to have been able to recognise it and so the show can still go on.
“Please give the guys the biggest love as they continue to smash the shows and I hope to be back soon.”
And here is my colleague Kate Connolly’s story on the sweeping new measures being brought in to stem the spread of coronavirus in Bavaria, Germany.
As we reported earlier, Covid infections have fallen across much of the UK, according to official figures. But, scientists are warning that levels remain high enough to put the health service under “significant strain” in the months ahead, Ian Sample and Heather Stewart report.
Cases have risen sharply since the summer in many European countries in a wave of infections that began in eastern nations and moved steadily west. But while the worst affected countries are bringing in major restrictions to contain the surge, UK ministers are holding off with plan B measures that would bring in vaccine passports, expand mask wearing and encourage more people to work from home.
Ministers hope immunity is higher in England than in some other countries because of the decision to open up earlier. “Covid has had more time to wash around in the UK,” said a government source.
It is understood Downing Street has been advised of two potential scenarios. Either the colder weather could bring a sharp increase in cases and hospital admissions, as on the continent – and “we have suddenly got a big problem” as a government source put it – or higher immunity levels could let Covid continue to circulate among unvaccinated populations including children, but without leading to a surge in hospital admissions and deaths. It will not be clear for some weeks which trajectory the UK is on.
Read the full story here:
Summary
Here is a quick recap of some of the main developments from oday so far:
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Austria became the first country in western Europe to reimpose a full national lockdown this autumn to tackle a new wave of infections, and will require its whole population to be vaccinated as of February. The new lockdown is set to last until 12 December but could be reevaluated after 10 days if the pandemic situation has improved. Lockdown rules would end for those vaccinated from 12 December but would stay in place for those who have decline to take the jab. The country has the lowest vaccination rate in western Europe, with 66% of its population fully vaccinated. Story here.
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Germany’s Covid situation is now so grave that a lockdown, including for people who have been vaccinated, cannot be ruled out, the health minister Jens Spahn said. He said the country was in a “national emergency”, adding “we can’t rule anything out”. Lothar Wieler, the head of the Robert Koch Institute, warned that with record-breaking infection levels, the nationwide curbs on the unvaccinated were insufficient. As cases have topped 300 per 100,000 people, the rules for public spaces “are no longer enough in the current situation,” he said, calling it an “absolute emergency”.
- The southern German state of Bavaria cancelled all Christmas markets and imposed a lockdown on all districts that have a seven-day Covid incidence rate of over 1,000 per 100,000 people. With one of the lowest vaccination rates in Germany, Bavaria is grappling with one of the country’s highest infection rates amid a ferocious fourth wave of the pandemic. Announcing the measures, the state premier Markus Söder called for mandatory Covid vaccination beginning next year, arguing that it will become an “endless cycle” otherwise. The state legislature is expected to approve the new measures on Tuesday and they will likely be in effect until 15 December. Story here.
- The UK recorded a further 44,242 Covid cases and 157 deaths within 28 days of a positive test, according to the latest data from the government’s coronavirus dashboard.
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Canada authorised the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for use in children aged 5 to 11, making it the first shot for young children in the country. “After a thorough and independent scientific review of the evidence, the department has determined that the benefits of this vaccine for children between five and 11 years of age outweigh the risks,” Health Canada said in a statement.
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Covid-19 infections have fallen in most parts of the UK, though levels remain high, latest figures suggest. About one in 65 people in private households in England (the equivalent of about 824,900 people) had Covid in the week to 13 November, down from one in 60 the previous week, according to the latest estimates from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Wales also reported a drop, with one in 55 people estimated to have had Covid in the week to 13 November, down from one in 45 the previous week. The ONS described the trend in Northern Ireland as “uncertain”, with an estimate of one in 65 people in the most recent week - up from one in 75, but below the record high of one in 40 in mid-August. For Scotland, the latest estimate is one in 95 people, down from one in 85 the previous week and below September’s peak of one in 45. Story here.
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US regulators opened up Pfizer and Moderna Covid-19 booster shots to all US adults, expanding the government’s campaign to shore up protection and get ahead of rising coronavirus cases that may worsen with the holidays. Pfizer and Moderna announced the FDA decision after at least 10 states already had started offering boosters to all adults. Story here.
Updated
Here is the moment the Austrian chancellor, Alexander Schallenberg, announced the country would be going into a national lockdown to contain a fourth wave of coronavirus cases.
It comes as new infections hit a record high amid a pandemic surge across Europe. Despite all the persuasion and campaigns, too few people had decided to get vaccinated, Schallenberg said, leaving Austria with no other choice but to introduce mandatory vaccinations in February.
The Austrian decision to lock down unvaccinated people and make vaccinations mandatory from 1 February 2022 has caused anger in some quarters.
Reuters writes that pushback to the new rules has been led by the far-right Freedom party, whose leader Herbert Kickl posted a picture on Facebook with the inscription: “As of today Austria is a dictatorship.”
The party is planning a protest on Saturday, but Kickl cannot attend because he has tested positive for Covid.
Roughly two-thirds of those eligible in Austria are fully vaccinated, one of the lowest rates in western Europe. Its infections are among the highest in Europe, with a seven-day incidence of 991 per 100,000 people.
“We have not succeeded in convincing enough people to get vaccinated,” Austria’s chancellor, Alexander Schallenberg, told a news conference, saying the lockdown would start on Monday. “It hurts that such measures still have to be taken.”
Italy has reported another 48 Covid-related deaths on Friday, Reuters reports.
The country’s health ministry also announced that new infections fell to 10,544 from 10,638.
Italy has registered 133,082 deaths linked to Covid-19 since its outbreak emerged in February last year, the second-highest toll in Europe after Britain and the ninth-highest in the world.
The country has reported 4.9m cases to date.
My colleague Philip Oltermann has been to Linz to see the impact Austria’s lockdown on the unvaccinated. He writes:
On a street of shops in the Austrian city of Linz, a stone’s throw from the winding Danube river, two police officers in navy-blue uniforms and peaked white caps stop random passersby to check their vaccine passports.
Elderly shoppers rummage around in their handbags and comply with a smile, but a fortysomething woman with a nose piercing is less forthcoming: she says she left her immunisation certificate on the kitchen table as she had to dash across town to see a dentist.
When the woman fails to provide proof of her medical appointment, the officers ask her to head home, though they decline to take down details. “This is a state of complete madness,” she says as she continues on her original northward journey.
You can read his full dispatch here:
Updated
UK reports another 44,242 cases and 157 deaths
The UK has recorded a further 44,242 Covid cases and 157 deaths within 28 days of a positive test, according to the latest data from the government’s coronavirus dashboard.
That compares to 46,807 infections and 199 fatalities in the 24 hours prior.
Vaccine passports enjoy substantial support across Europe, a YouGov survey suggests, as a fourth wave of infections prompts a growing number of countries to impose tougher restrictions on people who have not been fully vaccinated.
The annual YouGov-Cambridge Globalism Project suggests majorities in all 10 European countries surveyed back compulsory vaccine passes for large events, while in most, more people favour than oppose their use in cafes, restaurants and gyms.
The broad support for the constraint came despite the survey also finding that people are growing increasingly frustrated both with their governments’ performance in tackling the pandemic, and with Covid-related restrictions in general.
The YouGov survey, of more than 26,000 people in 26 countries, found majorities of the public in Europe and around the world in favour of vaccine passports in their country as a requirement for large events or to travel in and out of the country.
Support for a pass showing proof of vaccination to attend large sporting events and concerts ranged from 57% of respondents in France to 59% in Germany, 62% in Italy and 64% in Spain and Britain, with only Poland (45%) falling below 50%.
Outside the EU, 51% of respondents in the US and 69% in Australia said they backed a vaccine passport for large events. The survey found similar high levels of approval for the use of vaccine passports to travel into and out of respondents’ home countries.
Support was lower, but still often substantial, for compulsory vaccine passports as a prerequisite for a range of other activities, including travelling on public transport, eating in restaurants, going to bars or cafes or doing indoor exercise at gyms.
In all but three – Denmark, Hungary and Poland – of the 10 European countries surveyed, more people said they were in favour of requiring vaccine passes on public transport than were opposed or unsure, with pluralities or majorities ranging from 41% in Germany and Britain to 56% in Italy.
A similar pattern emerged for eating in restaurants, with more people in favour of vaccine passes than against in eight of the 10 countries and only Hungary and Poland opposed. Percentages supporting the measure ranged from 41% in the UK and 50% in France, to 54% in Germany and 58% in Italy.
Levels of support were similar for mandatory vaccine passports to enter cafes or bars and exercise in indoor gyms, but slightly lower – generally ranging between 30% and 40% in most European countries – for supermarkets and clothes shops.
Results in the US broadly mirrored those in Europe, while respondents in Australia were often more enthusiastic. Of the 26 countries surveyed, Russia stood out with consistently low support for passports in nearly all cases except international travel.
The full story is here:
A quick snap from Reuters reporting that the European Union’s drug regulator has advised Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics’ experimental Covid pill can be given within five days of first symptoms to treat adults who do not need oxygen support and are at risk of severe disease.
The European Medicines Agency said the capsules should be taken twice a day for five days. Its advice will help member state with decisions on possible early use ahead of wider approvals in light of rising coronavirus cases.
A British doctor who died of coronavirus while helping others battle infection has been described as a “tower of strength” by friends.
The death of Dr Irfan Halim came after a nine-week illness and just two months after he joined the Covid intensive care unit wards at Swindon hospital.
It is believed he contracted Covid at his place of work and collapsed during a shift on 10 September. He was in intensive care in Swindon before being transferred to the Royal Brompton hospital, where he received extracorporeal membrane oxygenation treatment.
Halim was a consultant general surgeon who worked across a variety of practices during his 25-year medical career. He specialised in laparoscopic surgery and spent time working on Harley Street.
His death occurred shortly after that of his father, Kamal, who also died from Covid, close friends of the family said.
His wife, Salia, said her husband gave her “15 magical years” of marriage and four beautiful children. “Irfan you were not only my best friend but a best friend to all our children and so many others,” she said.
The full story is here:
Updated
As Covid infection rates surged again across Europe, Boris Johnson spoke this week of “storm clouds gathering” over parts of the continent and said it was unclear when or how badly the latest wave would “wash up on our shores”.
The situation in some EU member states, particularly those with low vaccination rates, is indeed dramatic. In central and eastern Europe in particular, but also Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands, case numbers are rocketing.
But missing from the prime minister’s remarks, and from much of the media coverage of them, was the fact that Britain’s rolling seven-day average of daily new coronavirus cases is still higher than the average of the EU27, and has been since June.
According to figures from OurWorldInData, the EU’s average has quadrupled in recent weeks, from just over 110 daily new cases per million people on 1 October to 446 on Thursday.
The UK began that same period with a daily infection rate of 505 per million people, nearly five times the EU27 average. After peaking at nearly 700 in late October the rate fell to 495 on 10 November, but for the past week it has been climbing sharply again.
Read the full analysis from the Guardian’s Europe correspondent here:
Canada authorises Pfizer jab for children aged 5-11
Canada has said the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid vaccine was authorised for use in children aged 5 to 11 on Friday, making it the first shot for young children in the country, Reuters reports.
Officials had made clear for weeks that the decision would be favourable, noting that incidences of Covid are highest in those under 12.
“After a thorough and independent scientific review of the evidence, the department has determined that the benefits of this vaccine for children between five and 11 years of age outweigh the risks,” Health Canada said in a statement.
The prime minister Justin Trudeau said last month that Ottawa had signed a deal with Pfizer to quickly receive 2.9 million doses of the vaccine once it was approved.
The US Food and Drug Administration authorised emergency use of the vaccine for those aged five to 11 on 29 October.
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Dutch healthcare officials said on Friday they have begun delaying operations for some cancer and heart patients to free up space in intensive care units during a record wave of Covid infections.
“These are cancer patients that should actually be operated on within six weeks of diagnosis, and that won’t be met in all cases. It’s also heart patients,” a spokesperson for LCPS, the national organisation that allocates hospital resources, told Reuters. “It’s horrible, of course, for the patients.”
The National Institute for Health (RIVM) reported a record of more than 23,000 new cases in the previous 24 hours on Thursday, compared with the previous daily high of around 13,000 reached in December 2020.
With 85% of the adult population vaccinated, both hospital and intensive care unit (ICU) admission rates have so far remained lower than they were at the height of the initial wave in April 2020, although there is a delay between the date of infection and the date of admission to hospital.
With fewer than 200 beds remaining in Dutch ICU as of Thursday, hospitals are scrambling to add more capacity.
The government at the start of November reintroduced mask-wearing in stores, and last weekend it reimposed a partial lockdown, including closing bars and restaurants after 8pm.
But the impact of those measures has yet to be seen in the daily case numbers.
Parliament is divided over a plan proposed by the prime minister Mark Rutte’s government to limit access to indoor public venues to people who have a “corona pass”, which shows they have been vaccinated or already recovered from an infection. Critics say the move would be divisive and discriminatory.
Schools remain open, and virologists on Thursday proposed extending Christmas holidays to slow infections, which are rising most rapidly among children.
1 in 65 in England had Covid last week as infections dip in most of UK
Covid-19 infections have fallen in most parts of the UK, though levels remain high, latest figures suggest.
PA Media reports that about one in 65 people in private households in England had Covid in the week to 13 November, down from one in 60 the previous week, according to the latest estimates from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
One in 65 is the equivalent of about 824,900 people.
The proportion of people in England who were estimated to have coronavirus at the peak of the second wave in early January was one in 50.
Wales has also reported a drop, with one in 55 people estimated to have had Covid in the week to 13 November, down from one in 45 the previous week.
Infection levels there hit one in 40 people in late October, the highest since estimates began in summer 2020.
The ONS described the trend in Northern Ireland as “uncertain”, with an estimate of one in 65 people in the most recent week - up from one in 75, but below the record high of one in 40 in mid-August.
For Scotland, the latest estimate is one in 95 people, down from one in 85 the previous week and below September’s peak of one in 45.
All figures are for people in private households and do not include hospitals, care homes and other settings.
When estimating the level of infections among different age ranges in England, the ONS said rates have fallen for those in school years 7 to 11 and school year 12 to age 24, along with 35- to 49-year-olds and people aged 70 and over.
In all other age groups, including from age two to school year 6, the trend in the most recent week was uncertain.
Rates remained highest for those in school years 7 to 11, at 3.6%.
Across the regions of England, the percentage of people testing positive is estimated to have dropped in the north-west, south-west, West Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber.
In all other regions the trend was uncertain.
In the East Midlands, about one in 50 people was likely to test positive in the week to 13 November - the highest proportion for any region.
London had the lowest proportion, at about one in 80.
The number of infections in the UK, which is estimated every week by the ONS, is not the same as the number of new Covid cases which are reported every day by the UK government.
The number of infections provides a snapshot of the prevalence of coronavirus within the entire community population of the UK, and estimates the percentage of people who are likely to test positive for the virus at any one point in time – regardless of when they caught the virus, how long they have had it, and whether they have symptoms.
It is based on a sample of swab tests collected from households across the UK.
By contrast, the number of cases reported each day by the UK government includes only those people who have newly tested positive for the virus, and is therefore affected by how many people are coming forward for tests, or who are taking a test because they know they have coronavirus symptoms.
The average number of new cases in the UK has been on a slight upwards trend in recent days, but it is too early for this to show up in the ONS data, which runs only to 13 November.
Any change in the long-term trend for infections could become clearer in future weeks.
Updated
US regulators on Friday opened up Covid-19 booster shots to all US adults, expanding the government’s campaign to shore up protection and get ahead of rising coronavirus cases that may worsen with the holidays.
Pfizer and Moderna announced the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) decision after at least 10 states already had started offering boosters to all adults.
The latest action simplifies what until now has been a confusing list of who’s eligible by allowing anyone 18 or older to choose either company’s booster six months after their last dose – regardless of which vaccine they had first.
But there’s one more step: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) must agree to expand Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna boosters to even healthy young adults. Its scientific advisers were set to debate later Friday.
If the CDC agrees, tens of millions more Americans could have three doses of protection ahead of the new year. Anyone who got the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine can already get a booster.
Read more here:
Updated
More US adults could be eligible for a booster dose of the Covid vaccine if a panel of experts meets as planned on Friday and recommends that a third round of the shots would be beneficial for a broad population, Reuters reports.
While over 31 million Americans have already received a booster shot, current federal guidelines only recommend extra doses for some population groups.
Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE asked the US Food and Drug Administration weeks ago to authorise boosters for all adults, and Moderna Inc applied for that same group this week.
The FDA has not yet made an authorisation but is expected to do so in order to clear the way for a recommendation by an advisory committee to the Centers for US Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) scheduled to meet at noon Friday on boosters.
Politico reported late on Thursday that the FDA is prepared to endorse both on Friday. The CDC meeting would be followed by a recommendation from the agency’s director, who has publicly supported boosters for all.
A broad recommendation could bring uniformity in the country at a time when individual states such as Colorado, California and Massachusetts have already made all adults eligible for Covid vaccine boosters.
“The messaging has become muddled,” Dr Leana Wen, an emergency physician and public health professor at George Washington University, tweeted.
Pfizer previously requested authorisation for all people aged 16 or over, but US health advisers held back on extending boosters to everyone, partly because there was not enough evidence of waning immunity or the need in younger people.
Some of the CDC’s outside advisers had raised concerns that booster doses are not needed in young, healthy individuals for whom the initial vaccination provides sufficient protection from serious disease and death.
Pfizer has since reported data from a large clinical study that showed a booster dose of its vaccine was 95.6% effective against the coronavirus when compared with a vaccinated group that did not get the third shot.
Israeli data has also showed that administering Pfizer/BioNTech booster shots widely slowed virus transmission. Moderna does not have similar data to provide, but the vaccines are both based on messenger RNA and work in the same way.
Top US infectious disease doctor Anthony Fauci said earlier this week that boosters can prevent infection as colder weather and indoor gatherings lead to a rise in cases.
There has been “a ground swell of interest in boosters-for-all,” said Dr William Schaffner, a leading infectious disease expert from the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine who serves as the liaison for the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.
While the panel could be split, Schaffner said, he believes it is likely they will vote in favor of extending booster eligibility.
Based on research showing vaccine-generated antibody levels dip after several months, the panel is likely to recommend boosters for a broad population, said Dr Robert Klugman at UMass Memorial Health Care in Massachusetts.
Booster doses of messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines from Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna are currently available for people who are immunocompromised, those who are aged 65 and above, and for individuals at high-risk of severe disease or who are regularly exposed to the virus through work or living conditions.
Anecdotal reports suggest that Americans have been largely able to get boosters, whether or not they are eligible.
“There is a lot of boosting going on that does not conform to the current, somewhat more restrictive set of recommendations,” said Schaffner.
Nearly 60% of adult Americans - some 195.6 million people - are considered fully vaccinated, having received two doses of either the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna vaccines, or one shot of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Bavaria cancels Christmas markets and will impose local lockdowns
This is from Tom Nuttall, The Economist’s Berlin bureau chief.
Bavaria, with one of the highest covid caseloads in Germany, is closing bars and clubs, cancelling all Christmas markets, imposing contact limitations on the unvaccinated etc. https://t.co/f2OjHSkdoE
— Tom Nuttall (@tom_nuttall) November 19, 2021
The southern German state of Bavaria has cancelled all Christmas markets and imposed a lockdown on all districts that have a seven-day Covid incidence rate of over 1,000 per 100,000 people, Deutsche Welle reports.
In those places, bars, clubs and restaurants, as well as cultural and sport venues will be closed, said the state premier Markus Söder after a meeting of his Cabinet in the state capital, Munich. Schools and kindergartens, however, will continue to remain open.
Bavaria is grappling with one of the country’s highest infection rates amid a ferocious fourth wave of the pandemic.
The state had a weekly incidence rate of 625.3 recorded infections per 100,000 people on Friday, according to the Robert Koch Institute infectious disease centre, well above the nationwide figure of 340.7 - an all-time high for the country.
“The situation is very, very serious and difficult,” Söder said. “We have a clear goal: fighting corona, protecting people and protecting the healthcare system.”
The premier said there will be a “de facto lockdown” for unvaccinated people by implementing the “2G” rule across the state — referring to the shorthand in Germany for a rule that allows freedoms like access to restaurants and hotels only to those who are either vaccinated or have recovered from Covid.
About 90% of patients in hospitals with Covid are unvaccinated, Söder pointed out. “Being unvaccinated is a real risk,” he emphasised, noting that the vaccination rate in the south of the country is historically lower than in the north.
As per the new rules, the unvaccinated will lose access to even places like hairdressers, universities or adult education centres.
There will also be contact restrictions for the unvaccinated, Söder said, noting that they will be allowed to meet with a maximum of five people from two households.
He called for mandatory Covid vaccination beginning next year, arguing that it will become an “endless cycle” otherwise.
At present, eight districts in Bavaria have incidence rates of over 1,000. Even in areas with incidence rates lower than 1,000, there will be restrictions.
For sports and cultural events, the number of spectators will be limited to 25% of the venue’s total capacity. In addition, the “2G+” rule will apply — meaning even the vaccinated and recovered people will be required to produce an additional negative Covid test result.
Retail stores will remain open but with a limit on the number of customers allowed inside: one customer per 10 square meters (108 square feet). All retail outlets and restaurants will also have to shut by 10pm.
The state legislature is expected to approve the new measures on Tuesday and they will likely be in effect until 15 December.
Munich became the first major German city to cancel its world-famous Christmas market, which usually draws three million visitors, on Tuesday, blaming the “dramatic” coronavirus resurgence.
The mayor Dieter Reiter called the cancellation of its market “bitter news” for the city’s residents and stallholders, but said it would be irresponsible for the event to go ahead.
The chancellor Angela Merkel and the leaders of Germany’s 16 states agreed on Thursday to shut the unvaccinated out of restaurants, sporting events and cultural shows after new cases soared to an all-time daily high of more than 65,000.
However, the director of the Robert Koch Institute, Lothar Wieler, told reporters on Friday that with the exponential rise in infection levels, the curbs would be insufficient to contain the latest surge [see 10.36am.].
Updated
Northern Ireland’s chief medical officer Sir Michael McBride has said he does not think the region is facing the prospect of another coronavirus lockdown, PA reports.
However, he warned that Northern Ireland was facing a very serious situation and some further restrictions on certain settings may be required if efforts to suppress the current Covid wave fail.
“I don’t think that we’ll go back to the situation that we had before, back in March last year, when we had that lockdown,” he told BBC Radio Ulster, adding that the vaccination programme made that less likely.
I do not think that we will go back to the damaging impact of lockdowns, however we may need to consider our wider restrictions in certain environments and sectors where we know the risks are higher.
But, McBride added, a failure to take decisive action now would most likely necessitate “further interventions” to relieve pressure on the healthcare system.
If we don’t act now and if we don’t act decisively, unfortunately we may well be back advising the Executive that further interventions are needed to prevent our health service being overwhelmed.
The easing of restrictions in the hospitality sector at the end of October had led to a “very significant uptick in cases”, he said.
Separately, the region’s chief scientific adviser, Prof Ian Young, said there is a “menu of measures” that are known to be effective that can be recommended to the Stormont Executive in mid-December if the situation deteriorates.
He indicated those would include restrictions or closures in some sectors, but that closing retail would be unlikely.
“We’re seeing a strong upward trajectory of cases in Northern Ireland and that’s a pattern that we’re seeing in the Republic of Ireland and also in many countries across western Europe as we move into the winter,” he told the Nolan Show.
In about three to four weeks’ time if we don’t take any action then it looks as if the hospitals would be at risk of being overwhelmed.
We’re still not at the levels of Covid that we saw last winter... the hospitals have contingency plans in place and those plans are being activated but if the Covid numbers rise more significantly then even those plans may not be sufficient.
Asked about the Department of Health proposal to strengthen working from home guidance, McBride said evidence indicated that was potentially “one of the single most effective interventions”.
He said people did not need to cancel scheduled Christmas parties at this stage but advised them to take precautions to minimise risk, such as taking a lateral flow test prior to attending.
A further six deaths of patients who had previously tested positive for Covid-19 and another 1,681 cases of the virus were notified in Northern Ireland on Thursday.
On the same day there were 419 Covid-positive patients in hospital, with 34 in intensive care.
The CMO stressed the virus is unpredictable, and while officials can model scenarios, much depends on whether the public follow health guidelines.
“The next couple of weeks are going to be very, very challenging,” he told the Nolan Show.
No one should be in any doubt whatsoever about the urgency and seriousness of the situation we are currently now facing into, with the 23% increase in cases in the last week and a 19% increase in hospital admissions with Covid.
We need to act now... it means all of us making sure that we are fully vaccinated, to work from home where it is practically possible.
There are lessons that can be learned from the success of New South Wales in keeping case numbers low while reopening its economy, Samantha Lock and Caitlin Cassidy report.
In the weeks before Australia’s most populous state emerged from a 106-day lockdown in October, a surge of Covid cases seemed certain to coincide with the easing of restrictions. Experts predicted infections would rise and hospitals braced for a spate of new admissions.
But instead, the opposite happened. Daily Covid cases have dropped and – more than a month after exiting lockdown – the numbers continue to fall.
It is unexpected but welcome news as other parts of the world eye their own rising Covid case numbers with trepidation, reinstate lockdowns and race to roll out booster programmes.
The combination of an impressive and rapid vaccine uptake, together with mask mandates, contact tracing and isolation requirements as well as vaccination entry permits, has largely been credited for containing the outbreak and keeping case numbers low.
Read more about how NSW has defied expectations, here:
Updated
Germany not ruling out lockdown, even for the vaccinated
More news from Germany, where the coronavirus situation is now so grave that a lockdown, including people who have been vaccinated, cannot be ruled out, the health minister has said.
It comes as neighbouring Austria said it would go back into full lockdown from Monday [see 10am.].
“We are now in a situation - even if this produces a news alert - where we can’t rule anything out,” Jens Spahn told a news conference. He said Germany was now in a “national emergency”.
Markets reeled on the prospect of a possible German lockdown, with bond yields turning negative, and the euro and stock markets falling sharply.
Austria will become the first country in western Europe to reimpose a full lockdown this autumn to tackle a new wave of infections, and will require its whole population to be vaccinated as of February.
Germany reported a further 52,970 coronavirus cases and 201 deaths on Friday, bringing total deaths to 98,739.
Earlier in the week, the outgoing chancellor Angela Merkel called the situation “dramatic”, saying the fourth wave was “hitting our country with full force”, while the head of Germany’s disease control agency, Lothar Wieler, said the country is heading for a “very bad Christmas season” if drastic measures are not taken to stem the spread of the virus.
On Thursday Merkel said that, in areas where hospitals are becoming dangerously full of patients with Covid, large parts of public life would be restricted to those who have either been vaccinated or have recovered from the illness.
Germany’s upper house of parliament is expected to pass the new coronavirus measures on Friday.
Spahn also said the health ministry was in talks with Pfizer and other companies to order medicines to treat Covid [see 10.36am.].
Updated
Good morning from London. I’m Lucy Campbell, I’ll be bringing you all the latest global developments on the coronavirus pandemic for the next eight hours. Please feel free to get in touch with me as I work if you have a story or tips to share! Your thoughts are always welcome.
Email: lucy.campbell@theguardian.com
Twitter: @lucy_campbell_
Today so far
- Travellers from England who have had an extra booster jab will be able to display their vaccination status on the NHS Covid pass from midday today, the Department for Health and Social Care has said. The feature will enable those who have had their third dose to travel to countries including Israel, Croatia and Austria, where there is a time limit for a vaccine to be valid to avoid quarantine.
- Ministers in the UK were not “fully prepared” for the “wide-ranging impacts” that Covid-19 had on society, the economy and essential public services in the UK, and lacked detailed plans on shielding, job support schemes and school disruption, a report from the National Audit Office has found.
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Austria will go into its third nationwide lockdown for at least 10 days from Monday, and has announced it will make vaccinations mandatory across society from February next year. The new national lockdown is set to last until 12 December but could be reevaluated after 10 days if the pandemic situation has improved. Lockdown rules would end for those vaccinated from 12 December but would stay in place for those who have decline to take the jab.
- Austria’s chancellor Alexander Schallenberg said: “Despite months of persuasion, we have not succeeded in convincing enough people to get vaccinated.” He blamed those refusing to be vaccinated for an “attack on the health system”.
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Hungary reported 11,289 new Covid-19 infections on Friday, its highest daily tally since the start of the pandemic. Viktor Orbán’s government has been reluctant to impose any restrictions, but from Saturday masks will have to be worn in all enclosed spaces except offices and sports halls, and public events with more than 500 people can only be attended with a Covid certificate.
- Germany’s Lothar Wieler, head of the Robert Koch Institute, told reporters that with record-breaking infection levels, the nationwide curbs on the unvaccinated were insufficient. As cases have topped 300 per 100,000 people, the rules for public spaces “are no longer enough in the current situation,” he said, calling it an “absolute emergency”.
- Germany’s acting health minister Jens Spahn has told a news conference this morning “We are in a national emergency”. Saxony, the German region hit hardest by the country’s fourth wave of coronavirus, is considering a partial lockdown.
- France will not follow its European neighbours imposing Covid lockdowns on unvaccinated people because of the success of its health pass in curbing the virus’s spread, president Emmanuel Macron has said.
- Russia on Friday confirmed 37,156 new Covid-19 infections and a new record of 1,254 deaths. There have been over 1,000 deaths officially recorded every day since 20 October.
- Japan’s prime minister Fumio Kishida announced a record $490bn stimulus for the world’s third-largest economy today as he looks to shore up the country’s patchy pandemic recovery.
- The first known patient to become ill with Covid-19 was a vendor in a Wuhan animal market, a scientist has claimed in a report published on Thursday. Dr Michael Worobey, a leading expert in tracing the evolution of viruses at the University of Arizona, believes the World Health Organization inquiry was incorrect in its early chronology of the pandemic.
- Rightwing extremists in the UK are using Covid controversies and online gaming as a way of recruiting young people, as data shows half of the most serious cases of suspected radicalisation reported by schools and colleges now involve far-right activity.
That is it from me, Martin Belam, for this week. I will be back on Monday. In the meantime, Lucy Campbell will be with you to take you through the rest of the days Covid news from the UK and around the world.
Updated
Hungary sets new record daily toll for Covid cases
Hungary reported 11,289 new Covid-19 infections on Friday, its highest daily tally since the start of the pandemic, the government said on its coronavirus website.
Reuters note that Hungary, a country of 10 million people whose vaccination rate lags behind the European Union average, imposed new restrictions on Thursday. Masks will have to be worn in all enclosed spaces except offices and sports halls from Saturday, and public events with more than 500 people can only be attended with a Covid certificate.
Updated
Germans told 'stay home when you can' by head of Robert Koch Institute
A couple of updates from Germany. First off, Reuters is carrying comments from acting health minister Jens Spahn that the country is in talks to buy experimental antiviral pills. He said at a news conference in Berlin: “We’re in talks with Pfizer, with Merck, also with all the others … all those who have promising medicines.”
Agence France-Presse, meanwhile, is carrying quotes from the head of Germany’s disease control agency, the Robert Koch Institute.
Lothar Wieler told reporters that with record-breaking infection levels, the nationwide curbs on the unvaccinated were insufficient. As cases have topped 300 per 100,000 people, the rules for public spaces “are no longer enough in the current situation”, he said, calling it an “absolute emergency”.
Wieler called for major events to be cancelled, clubs and bars to be shuttered and private contacts limited to stop the spread of the virus. Germans should “stay home when they can”, he said.
Updated
Over the last two weeks, Austria’s conservative-green coalition government has tried to prevent a collapse of the health system by first making it mandatory for citizens to show proof of vaccination or recovery at restaurants and bars, and then announcing a “lockdown for the unvaccinated”.
Austria will now go into its third nationwide lockdown for at least 10 days from Monday, and make vaccinations mandatory across society from February next year.
The new lockdown is set to last until 12 December but could be re-evaluated after 10 days if the pandemic situation has improved. Schools are to stay open but children can choose to go into remote learning mode without a note from a doctor.
Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg, who has been in office for only a month, said tightening vaccine pass controls and testing requirements has started to make a difference, but “hasn’t convinced enough” people to get vaccinated.
Lockdown rules would end for those vaccinated from 12 December but would stay in place for those who have decline to take the jab.
“No one wants a lockdown, it is a crude instrument”, said health minister Wolfgang Mückstein. “But it is the most effective instrument that we have available”.
The Green politician said constitutional lawyers were currently examining the general vaccine mandate the government wants to come into effect from 1 February 2022.
The Alpine republic is weathering the most powerful wave of the Covid-19 virus so far, with authorities on Friday reporting an incidence rate of 990 cases per 100,000 over seven days.
Updated
Austria to impose new full national lockdown and make vaccinations mandatory
Austria will impose a lockdown for all and make vaccinations mandatory, Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg announced this morning, making the country the first in the EU to take such stringent measures as coronavirus cases spiral.
The country plans to make Covid-19 vaccinations mandatory from 1 February next year, while the lockdown will start from Monday and will be evaluated after 10 days, Schallenberg said.
“Despite months of persuasion, we have not succeeded in convincing enough people to get vaccinated,” Schallenberg told a press conference in the western Tyrol state, where he met regional government heads. He blamed those refusing to be vaccinated for an “attack on the health system”.
The lockdown means people are no longer allowed to leave their houses with few exceptions such shopping for essentials and exercising. At the beginning of this week, Austria already began a lockdown for those not vaccinated or recently cured, becoming the first EU country to do so.
Agence France-Presse notes that infections have continued to rise. On Thursday, a new record of more than 15,000 new cases were recorded in the country of nearly nine million people.
Demand for vaccinations has increased in recent days, and 66% of the population are fully jabbed, slightly below the EU average of more than 67%.
Updated
Russia sets new record for daily official deaths at 1,254
Russia’s Covid incidence rate is relatively low, given the size of the country’s population, but the official figures have been running consistently around their highest rates in the pandemic so far for several weeks. Russia on Friday confirmed 37,156 new Covid-19 infections and a new record of 1,254 deaths. There have been over 1,000 deaths officially recorded every day since 20 October.
Here’s an updated map with the Covid incidence rates across Europe.
Booster jab status can be displayed in NHS Covid app from midday today
Travellers from the UK who have had an extra jab will be able to display their vaccination status on the NHS Covid pass from midday today, the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) has said.
The feature will enable those who have had their third dose to travel to countries including Israel, Croatia and Austria, where there is a time limit for a vaccine to be valid to skip quarantine.
PA Media quotes vaccines minister Maggie Throup saying people can book appointments up to a month before they are eligible for the booster. She said:
Getting a booster is the best way you can protect yourself ahead of winter and it’s great those who have come forward can now demonstrate their vaccination status through the NHS Covid pass if they are travelling overseas.
It has also never been easier to book your booster, with walk-in sites open across the country and appointments available to pre-book a month before you are eligible for your top-up.
Almost 20 million people have accessed the Covid Pass via the NHS app since it was launched on 17 May, the DHSC has said.
Updated
UK ministers were unprepared for impact of Covid, says watchdog
Ministers in the UK were not “fully prepared” for the “wide-ranging impacts” that Covid-19 had on society, the economy and essential public services in the UK, and lacked detailed plans on shielding, job support schemes and school disruption, a report has found.
Some lessons from “previous simulation exercises” that would have helped with Covid-19 preparations were “not fully implemented”, according to the National Audit Office (NAO).
The report, which looked at the government’s preparedness for the Covid-19 pandemic, also found that time and energy spent preparing for Brexit both helped and hindered planning for future crises.
The watchdog said preparations for leaving the EU enhanced some departments’ “crisis capabilities”, but also took up significant resources, meaning the government had to pause or postpone some planning work for a potential flu pandemic.
Read more here: UK ministers were unprepared for impact of Covid, says watchdog
Germany's acting health minister: 'We are in a national emergency'
A quick snap from Reuters here with a dramatic quote from Germany’s acting health minister Jens Spahn, who has told a news conference this morning amid rising cases: “We are in a national emergency.”
Updated
There’s a quote here from the UK health secretary, Sajid Javid, on that booster jab news. PA Media reports he said: “We want to make it as easy as possible for people to show their vaccine status if they are travelling abroad.
“This update to the NHS Covid pass will mean people can have their complete medical picture at their fingertips if they are going on holiday or seeing loved ones overseas.”
Updated
Booster shot status to be added to UK outbound international travel Covid pass
A quick snap from Reuters here that the UK government has announced it will add booster shot status to the Covid-19 pass for outbound international travel, though it said they would not be added to the domestic pass at this time.
The health ministry said that travellers who have had a booster or a third dose would be able to demonstrate their vaccine status through the NHS Covid pass from Friday, adding that a booster was not necessary to travel into England.
Updated
Here is a link to that National Audit Office report into the UK’s preparedness for the pandemic in full, by the way. They state their conclusions are:
This pandemic has exposed a vulnerability to whole-system emergencies – that is, emergencies that are so broad that they engage the entire system. Although the government had plans for an influenza pandemic, it did not have detailed plans for many non-health consequences and some health consequences of a pandemic like Covid-19. There were lessons from previous simulation exercises that were not fully implemented and would have helped prepare for a pandemic like Covid-19. There was limited oversight and assurance of plans in place, and many pre-pandemic plans were not adequate. In addition, there is variation in capacity, capability and maturity of risk management across government departments.
National Audit Office: UK government 'not prepared' for pandemic
Gareth Davies, from the National Audit Office, told Sky News this morning about the report which has found the UK government was “not prepared” for the coronavirus pandemic. PA Media quotes him saying:
Quite commonly, one of our findings has been there was no plan to deal with this kind of situation. So there was no plan for how to deal with school closures. There was no plan for employment support schemes. So, the furlough scheme had to be developed from scratch in just a very short number of weeks.
So the question that rightly raises is, what is it about the way that the risk planning for these kinds of events was carried out that left us unprepared?
It is really crucial that the lessons are learned in case something of this kind, or some other kind of catastrophic event that needs systematic government wide planning.
He went on to say that the flu planning system in the UK “needs to change to give us a better chance of being prepared for these kind of diseases”.
He added there will be a public inquiry next year, saying:
Our job is to accumulate the evidence from our audit work and to present it back in a factual and balanced way. The report is part of the effort. But I think in response to a question about where the responsibility lies, it’s across the whole system.
So, the first lesson is government becoming just routinely better at working as a single entity itself, and then with its partners across the whole system.
We’re about to see a slower burn, and equally significant challenge with net zero, for example, where the lessons of this pandemic are actually relevant to how government might make the success of net-zero because it requires concerted action across departmental boundaries with the private sector, and with the public, and those are huge challenges, which, again, our reports are designed to help inform.
Updated
Japan’s prime minister Fumio Kishida announced a record $490bn stimulus for the world’s third-largest economy today as he looks to shore up the country’s patchy pandemic recovery.
The 56tn yen injection, the third since the Covid crisis struck last year, “is enough to deliver a sense of safety and hope to the Japanese people”, Kishida said.
Agence France-Presse reports the vast spending plans are expected to be approved by the cabinet later in the day, and reportedly include cash and coupons for families with children under 18 who meet an income cap, as well as pay rises for nurses and careworkers.
It comes after Japan’s economy shrank far more than expected in the second quarter, as leaders struggled to overcome virus surges by imposing containment measures in Tokyo and other cities.
Updated
Rightwing extremists in the UK are using Covid controversies and online gaming as a way of recruiting young people, as data shows half of the most serious cases of suspected radicalisation reported by schools and colleges now involve far-right activity.
Figures published by the Home Office show twice as many young people in education in England and Wales last year were thought to be at risk of radicalisation by the extreme right wing, compared with those at risk from Islamic extremists.
Sean Arbuthnot, a Prevent coordinator for Leicestershire, said that while far-right extremism has been on the rise for several years, online apps and platforms were increasingly cropping up in referrals, including gaming platforms and chat apps such as Discord, as rightwing groups sought to reach young people.
“[Some] during the pandemic conducted leafleting campaigns, where they would promote the narrative that Covid is a hoax, that hospital wards are empty, and that you shouldn’t get the vaccine. Then they load their leaflets with pseudo-scientific evidence. But at the same time they drop leaflets purporting that white people are going to be a minority in Britain, which plays into peoples fears,” Arbuthnot said.
Read more of Richard Adams and Sally Weale’s report here: Extremists using online gaming and Covid conspiracies to recruit youngsters
Updated
Agence France-Presse has a little more detail on the announcement on the Philippines plan to reopen to vaccinated tourists.
They report that borders will reopen “soon”, according to the statement from tourism secretary Berna Puyat, without providing a date.
“Allowing tourists from green countries or territories that have the majority of its population vaccinated and with low infection rate, will greatly help in our recovery efforts,” Puyat said.
“This move will likewise aid in bolstering consumer confidence, which is a large contributor to our gross domestic product,” she added.
More than 40 countries and territories are classified “green” – low risk and exempt from quarantine requirements – including China, Indonesia and Zimbabwe.
Tourism is a major driver of the south-east Asian country’s economy, accounting for nearly 13% of gross domestic product in 2019, when it attracted more than 8 million visitors, official data showed.
Updated
Hello, it is Martin Belam here in London taking over from Samantha Lock in Sydney. Grant Shapps is the UK government minister doing the media round this morning – he’s the transport secretary and it is mostly about trains so far. If there are any Covid lines that emerge I will bring them to you. Here is a reminder of the latest numbers in the UK.
The change in the number of people testing positive in the UK is that the numbers are up 14.5% week-on-week. Deaths are down 9.8% week-on-week, and hospitalisations are down week-on-week by 2.9%.
France will not impose Covid lockdowns on unvaccinated people
France will not follow its European neighbours imposing Covid lockdowns on unvaccinated people because of the success of its health pass in curbing the virus’s spread, president Emmanuel Macron has said.
Europe has again found itself at the centre of the pandemic, prompting some countries including Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia to reintroduce restrictions in the run-up to Christmas. Debate has also been ignited over whether vaccines alone are enough to tame Covid.
“Those countries locking down the non-vaccinated are those which have not put in place the [health] pass. Therefore this step is not necessary in France,” Macron told La Voix du Nord newspaper in an interview published on Thursday.
In France, proof of vaccination or a recent negative test is required for entry into restaurants, cafes and cinemas and for other activities such as taking long-distance trains.
First known Covid case was vendor at Wuhan wet market, scientist claims
The first known patient to become ill with Covid-19 was a vendor in a Wuhan animal market, a scientist has claimed in a report published on Thursday.
Dr Michael Worobey, a leading expert in tracing the evolution of viruses at the University of Arizona, believes the World Health Organization inquiry was incorrect in its early chronology of the pandemic.
Worobey came upon timeline discrepancies by combing through what had already been made public in medical journals, as well as video interviews in a Chinese news outlet with people believed to have the first two documented infections, the New York Times was first to report.
He argues that the vendor’s ties to the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, as well as a new analysis of the earliest hospitalised patients’ connections to the market, strongly suggest that the pandemic began there and not with an accountant who lived many miles away.
The report has been published in the prestigious journal Science.
Updated
Hi. I’m Samantha Lock and welcome back to our Covid blog where I’ll be giving you a rundown of all the latest developments from across the world.
New research published on Thursday hopes to shed more light on the topic of Covid’s origins and indicates the first case of Covid-19 in Wuhan, China, was actually days later than previously believed and at an animal market.
The original patient is believed to have been a woman who worked in the market, according to virologist Michael Worobey.
As Europe once again finds itself back at the epicentre of the pandemic, some countries have introduced restrictions on those who are on unvaccinated in the run-up to Christmas.
However, France has said it will not be following suit because of the success of its health pass in curbing the virus’ spread.
“Those countries locking down the non-vaccinated are those which have not put in place the (health) pass. Therefore this step is not necessary in France,” president Emmanuel Macron told a local paper on Thursday.
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Covid origins: The first known Covid case originated was a vendor at a Wuhan wet market, a leading virus expert has claimed in a report published on Thursday.
- Germany will limit large parts of public life in areas where hospitals are becoming dangerously full of coronavirus patients to those who have either been vaccinated or have recovered from the illness, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday.
- Saxony, the German region hit hardest by the country’s fourth wave of coronavirus, is considering a partial lockdown.
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Austria may impose a full Covid lockdown as infections are still rising despite the lockdown for the unvaccinated.
- Greece expands restrictions for the unvaccinated, prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis warned during a televised address urging citizens to get vaccinated against Covid-19.
- The UK reported another 46,807 Covid cases and a further 199 deaths within 28 days of a positive test.
- Hungary will make a booster shot mandatory for all healthcare workers and will require protective mask wearing in most enclosed places from Saturday, Viktor Orbán’s chief of staff said.
- Slovakia will impose stricter measures for people who have not been vaccinated against coronavirus amid a surge in infections and hospital admissions, prime minister Eduard Heger said.
- Brazil has recorded 12,301 new cases of coronavirus reported in the past 24 hours, and 293 deaths from Covid, the health ministry said on Thursday.
- The US state of Florida has banned schools and businesses from requiring vaccination against Covid as Republican governor Ron DeSantis signed the new laws.
- Canada will announce on Friday it is authorising the use of Pfizer’s Covid vaccine in children aged between five and 11, a government source said on Thursday.
- India has approved the export of 20m doses of the Novavax Covid vaccine made by the Serum Institute of India (SII) to Indonesia, according to a government document seen by Reuters and a government source.
- The Philippines has approved a plan to allow entry soon to foreign tourists vaccinated against Covid-19, its tourism ministry said on Friday, following moves by other south-east Asian countries to relax travel curbs.
Updated
