Coronavirus live news: US nears 300,000 deaths; Trump 'to be offered vaccine' on Monday

US president Donald Trump has claimed somewhat bafflingly on Twitter that the coronavirus vaccines are “on their way, FIVE YEARS AHEAD OF SCHEDULE.”

Brazilian right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro’s approval rating remains at its highest level since he took office in 2019, despite the country experiencing the world*s second-deadliest coronavirus outbreak, a poll showed on Sunday.

Reuters: The Datafolha poll found that 37% of those surveyed viewed Bolsonaro’s government as great or good, unchanged from August, while 32% saw it as bad or terrible, down 2 points.

Covid-19 has caused more than 180,000 deaths in Brazil, second only to the United States.

In September, Bolsonaro extended until the end of the year payments for low-income Brazilians hit by the economic fallout from the pandemic, a program that has boosted his popularity but created tension with his finance team.

The monthly stipend begun in April was reduced by half to 300 reais ($59) in September and is paid to poor and informal-sector workers who have seen their earnings battered by the crisis.

The survey, conducted with 2,016 people from Dec. 8 to 10, had a 2-percentage-point margin of error.

New Zealand is keeping foreign citizens in prison for up to 10 months beyond their release dates because of a lack of flights to deport them, due to the pandemic.

As at 8 December, there were 15 people held in prison under court-imposed warrants of commitment until they can be deported.

One person has been held for 273 days, which coincides to when New Zealand and international borders were closed. Another has been held for 245 days and a third person for 196 days.

Half of those held in prison were overstayers.

In March, Air New Zealand reduced its international flights by 95% due to Covid-19.

Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi said another problem is the pandemic had completely shut some borders, including some Pacific Island nations which were unwilling to take back their citizens and have limited capacity to manage returning deportees in isolation facilities.

Though the law does not limit how long someone served with a deportation order can be kept in prison, the intention is to deport the person as soon as possible.

Tuareki Delamere, an immigration consultant and former minister of immigration, told Radio New Zealand while it was justifiable to hold dangerous people in prison, it was immoral and unethical to lock up overstayers for indefinite periods.

Immigration New Zealand has confirmed an additional 132 people, who had completed their sentence have been released into the community – with residence and reporting requirements – pending deportation.

Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s rolling live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic with me, Helen Sullivan.

As I bring you the latest developments from around the world, you can get in touch with me on Twitter @helenrsullivan.

The US is on the brink of marking the sad milestone of 300,000 dead from coronavirus in just under a year.

The US death toll, a fifth of the global toll, currently stands at 298,923, according to Johns Hopkins University.

US President Trump, Vice President Pence and other top US officials will be offered the Covid-19 vaccine from Monday, Reuters reports.

Essential personnel in the White House and certain officials within three branches of government will be vaccinated within the next 10 days, a source tells the news agency.

• ESwatini (formerly Swaziland) Prime Minister Ambrose Dlamini, who tested positive for COVID-19 four weeks ago, has died at age 52 after being hospitalised in neighbouring South Africa, the tiny absolute monarchy’s government said late on Sunday.
• The Dutch government will decide on stricter measures to fight the coronavirus outbreak in the Netherlands on Monday, as the country reported the biggest rise in infections in more than six weeks.
• Schools in Greenwich, south-east London, have been asked to close from Monday evening after “exponential growth” of coronavirus demanded “immediate action”, the council said, amid reports that the capital is likely to enter tier 3 soon.
• Bahrain has approved a Covid-19 vaccine developed by China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm) and launched online registration for the vaccine for citizens and residents. Citizens and residents above 18 years of age could register online to receive the vaccine for free.
• Mauritania has reimposed a night-time curfew in in the face of a “worrying surge” in Covid-19 cases and deaths, the president’s office said.
• Greece has reported 693 new coronavirus cases – the lowest daily figure since mid-October. There have been a further 85 deaths.
• Algeria’s President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has said he is recovering from Covid-19, in his first televised appearance since he was treated in a German hospital almost two months ago.