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Coronavirus news live: African Union to buy 110m Moderna vaccines, NZ to set vaccine mandates for 40% of workforce

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06:26

China Covid outbreak continues to spread

Helen Davidson

China reported 35 new domestic cases on Monday, as authorities continue to battle an outbreak of the Delta variant primarily centred around Inner Mongolia but which has spread to at least 11 provinces.

China is one of the few remaining countries still pursuing a Zero Covid strategy, and has again responded to the latest outbreak with travel restrictions, stay-inside orders and other measures.

At least four people are under investigation for breaching pandemic measures, and several officials in Inner Mongolia have been punished, including the local health commission’s deputy director who has been removed from her post, according to Caixin.

The outbreak of more than 150 cases so far has spread through tour groups traveling between provinces, health authorities have said. This morning local government officials in Gansu revealed dozens of tour groups are stranded in the province, comprising more than 420 tourists.

Beijing, which has recorded several cases linked to Inner Mongolia tourists, has barred from entry anyone who has been to an affected area, and postponed its upcoming annual marathon.




06:18

New Zealand announces vaccine mandates for 40% of workforce

New Zealand is announcing sweeping vaccine mandates for workers in cafes, bars, hairdressers and gyms, as the country aims for some of the world’s highest vaccination rates.

Prime minister Jacinda Ardern said the government would also require businesses to provide paid time off to allow workers to get vaccinated.

Under the new rules, vaccination will be required for all workers at businesses where customers need to show Covid-19 vaccination certificates – under New Zealand’s new framework, that includes hospitality and close-contact businesses like hairdressers and gyms whenever there is a “red” or “orange” level of traffic light restrictions. The changes are expected to affect about 40% of New Zealand’s workforce. Those who do not comply with vaccination mandates can be given 4 weeks notice by employers. Unemployment benefits and support will not be affected in any way if people are dismissed as a result of refusal to get vaccinated.

The measures won’t come into force until New Zealand moves to its new epidemic management model, which happens when the country passes 90% vaccination.

Asked if the changes were “government overreach,” Ardern said “absolutely not”.

“We’ve been very careful here to make an assessment of those areas that throughout this outbreak and throughout COVID-19 have always been assessed as high risk,” she said.

“We are trying to be very careful to ensure that everything we’re doing has a public health basis to it, and also balances out the rights of those who are both workers [and] also the rights of those who may be clients or customers.”




06:11

Hello and thanks for joining us.

I’m Samantha Lock reporting to you from Sydney, Australia, and I’ll be with you for the next short while while we go through all the key Covid developments.

As the disparity in vaccination rates widens between the world’s wealthiest and poorest nations, some good news has finally arrived.

The African Union (AU) has brokered a deal to buy up to 110 million vaccine doses from Moderna Inc, Reuters reports.

Under the negotiations delivery of some doses intended for the United States will be deferred to facilitate the deal, officials told the news agency. The deal was brokered in part by the White House.

The AU’s doses will be delivered over the coming months, with 15 million arriving before the end of 2021, 35 million in the first quarter of next year and up to 60 million in the second quarter.

Here’s a round-up of the day’s leading Covid stories:

  • European Medical Agency approves Moderna booster. The medical body approved doses for all adults, saying the Spikevax booster can be given out and administered, after it gave the green light to the Pfizer/BioNTech’s Comirnaty jab earlier in October.
  • US introduces new guidelines on non-US citizens’ entry into the country and testing for travellers. Foreign nationals will have to be fully vaccinated before entering the country, with some exemptions in place for under-18s. Those coming from countries with low vaccination rates will have to justify their visit.
  • UK reports 38 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid as of Monday, bringing the UK total to 139,571.
  • Moderna moves towards expanding shots to children, saying a low dose of its Covid vaccine is safe and appears to work in six- to 11-year-olds.
  • Children as young as three will start receiving Covid vaccines in China, where 76% of the population has been fully vaccinated. It comes as authorities continue to maintain a zero-tolerance policy towards outbreaks.
  • Worst of US pandemic likely behind us but we can’t drop our guard, experts say. The number of new Covid cases and deaths in the US has been in a steady decline since early September but experts also caution that it’s not yet safe to abandon safeguards against the virus. That’s because parts of the US population and much of the world remain unvaccinated, which could allow for outbreaks and dangerous new variants of the virus to emerge.
  • People in Tokyo can eat and drink in bars and restaurants later in the evening from today as Japan eases social distancing rules.
  • Russia reports 37,930 new Covid-19 infections in the last 24 hours, its highest single-day case tally since the start of the pandemic.
  • Spain reached the grim milestone of 5 million COVID-19 cases during the pandemic.
  • Mexico reports more than 1,000 new Covid-19 cases, health ministry says.
  • Facebook deleted a video of Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro in which he warned of a link between Covid-19 vaccines and Aids.
source: theguardian.com