Tomorrow's vaccine rollout 'decisive turning point', says NHS boss
Georgina Hayes
·85 min read
Vaccinations are set to begin tomorrow. Here, Matron May Parsons (R) talks to Heather Price (L) during training in the Covid-19 Vaccination Clinic at the University Hospital in Coventry - AFP
Tomorrow could mark a "decisive turning point in the battle against coronavirus", NHS England chief executive Sir Simon Stevens has said, as the UK prepares to start administering the first jabs against Covid-19 from tomorrow.
Speaking at the Royal Free Hospital in London ahead of the vaccine rollout, he said: "Tomorrow is the beginning of the biggest vaccination campaign in our history, building on successes from previous campaigns against conditions (and) diseases like polio, meningitis, and tuberculosis.
"Hospitals, and then GPs and pharmacists as more vaccine becomes available, are going to be vaccinating at least until next spring.
"So in the meantime, we're going to have to continue to be very careful. But if we do that I think there's every chance that we will look back on tomorrow as marking a decisive turning point in the battle against coronavirus."
It comes as the Government said it expects that "the majority" of vulnerable people will be vaccinated in January and February.
Around 25 million people are covered by the 10 priority categories set out by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.
The first vaccinations will go to care home staff and residents, NHS frontline workers and people aged 80 and over - around six million people.
Follow the latest updates below.
07:01 PM
Today's top stories
Good evening. Here are some of the key developments from around the world today:
The Government said a further 189 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of today, bringing the UK total to 61,434. There were a further 14,718 lab-confirmed cases.
Tomorrow could mark a "decisive turning point in the battle against coronavirus", NHS England chief executive Sir Simon Stevens has said, as the UK prepares to start administering the first jabs against Covid-19 from tomorrow.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge brought Christmas cheer to Scotland when they thanked frontline staff for persevering during the pandemic - but appeared to receive a frosty response from the nation's First Minister. During her daily coronavirus briefing, Nicola Sturgeon was asked about claims the Duke and Duchess's visit to Edinburgh was in breach of cross-border travel restrictions, and responded by saying that the trip was a matter for the Royal Household and they had been made aware of all the restrictions in place.
France may have to delay unwinding some Covid lockdown restrictions next week as the country remains far from hauling the number of daily new infections down to a target 5,000.
Italy’s interior minister Luciana Lamorgese discovered during a cabinet meeting today that she had Covid-19, forcing her to abandon the gathering hastily, political sources have said.
Turkey’s daily coronavirus deaths rose to a record 203 in the last 24 hours, data from the Health Ministry showed, bringing the country’s total death toll to 15,103 since the beginning of the pandemic.
Most of Denmark is to return to lockdown on Wednesday to bring the country's current surge in infections back under control, the country's Prime Minister announced this morning.
06:52 PM
Hundreds hospitalised with 'mystery illness' in Andhra Pradesh
Local people are blaming an anti-mosquito spraying campaign for a mystery illness that has hospitalised more than 300 people in a city in southern India.
A 45-year-old man died of epilepsy-type symptoms and hundreds of others complained of nausea, burning eyes and seizures in the town of Eluru in Andhra Pradesh.
A report released by the district collector said that as many as 340 people have fallen sick since Saturday night, with 157 still undergoing treatment. However, a hospital official said that 470 people have been admitted so far.
Locals in Eluru, which is known as mosquito city, have said authorities have conducted a mosquito-fogging campaign.
One local man, Dhananjay Kumar, said: "Authorities have been spraying anti-mosquito chemicals in the area, creating a massive fog. It seems the chemicals sprayed by authorities led to the disease.”
California becomes biggest US state to launch virus contact-tracing app
California has announced an app to help people track their exposure to the coronavirus, becoming the biggest US state to take advantage of new technology from smartphone software makers Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc's Google.
Beginning on Thursday, people in California can activate the exposure notifications tool from the settings menu on iPhones or by downloading the CA Notify App in the Google Play store on Android devices.
The apps enable Bluetooth signals between devices to determine when they are in close proximity, and the apps then anonymously alert users when a recent contact later tests positive. At least 6 million people in the United States have tried the system in recent months across the 21 states and two territories that made apps available before California. Colorado and New York are among other states with apps.
Public health experts say adoption has lagged because of technical shortcomings in the earliest apps, privacy concerns and dismissive attitudes toward taking precautions to avoid the virus. But California officials hope the app will be adopted quickly in a state that is home to many tech workers.
The state's two most densely inhabited regions and its agricultural breadbasket went under stay-at-home orders in the last couple of days as the pandemic strains hospitals in the most populous U.S. state.
06:30 PM
France may have to delay unwinding lockdown
France may have to delay unwinding some Covid lockdown restrictions next week after signs the downward trend in new cases has flattened out after shops were allowed to reopen late last month, two government sources told Reuters.
France was far from hauling the number of daily new infections down to a target 5,000 and the risk of a rebound in the European Union's second-biggest economy remained high, Jerome Salomon, the health ministry's top official, said.
The 5,000 threshold was an early condition of President Emmanuel Macron for replacing the lockdown with a nightly curfew, allowing cinemas and museums to reopen and ending the need for people to carry sworn affidavits outside their homes.
Another condition was for the number in intensive care to fall below 3,000. While that threshold may be met, the downward trend in new cases has plateaued at between 10,000 and 12,000.
"That the numbers have levelled off is not good news," one government source said
06:20 PM
EU health agency urges end to quarantines and border restrictions as travel poses 'minimal' risk
European health authorities have urged EU governments to end mandatory testing and quarantine for air travellers, stating that such measures are ‘unlikely’ to halt the spread of Covid-19 in communities where the virus is already established.
The document, published by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), calls for the cessation of air travel restrictions, and affirms that travellers pose little risk in destinations where the virus has already taken hold.
It states: “Entry screening, quarantine and border closures for incoming travellers are unlikely to prevent the introduction of SARS-CoV-2 into a community, although they might delay it for a short period of time.”
“The vast majority of cases [are] locally acquired,” it continues. “In most countries, once the virus has been introduced into the community, imported cases are likely to contribute little to the ongoing spread of [infection].”
Schools face drop in attendance as parents 'prioritise safety' before Christmas
Schools could see a "steep drop" in the number of pupils attending class next week as parents seek to prioritise family safety ahead of Christmas, a head teachers' union has said.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT union, said giving schools the flexibility to switch to remote learning for the final few days of term was an "obvious and straightforward solution".
He called on ministers to announce a plan in the next 24 hours to avoid a "chaotic and disruptive" end of term, adding that the rules over Christmas put schools and parents "between a rock and a hard place".
The warning came after the latest attendance figures from the Department for Education (DfE) showed more than a fifth (22 per cent) of secondary school pupils in England were absent from class on November 26.
Approximately 8 per cent to 10 per cent of state school pupils - up to 798,000 children - did not attend school for Covid-19-related reasons.
06:12 PM
Comment: It will take a sophisticated strategy to tackle 'anti-vax' misinformation
Striking the right balance will be hard and clamping down on vaccine misinformation too heavily will only fuel public suspicion, argues Charlotte Henry.
For many of us, the news that Pfizer/BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine had been approved by the UK regulator and will be rolled out imminently was the best early Christmas present we could have hoped for. It is the result of amazing scientific progress and will go a long way in helping us get back to doing the things we want, the way we want.
The incredible speed with which this vaccine has arrived is, however, perfect fodder for the anti-vax movement. In trying to tackle this, we must first be very specific in what we mean when discussing ‘anti-vaxxers’. They are not the people who may need some reassurances and more information before ultimately (hopefully) taking the vaccine.
Indeed, dismissing or patronising such people seems to me to be the most likely way to alienate them and stopping them taking a vaccine. As ever, what is required is transparency and clarity - an explanation of why this vaccine could arrive so quickly, of why it is safe, and why it will help. Because there are people on both sides of the Atlantic who have made careers out of selling vaccine misinformation.
As I noted in my book about fake news, Not Buying It, while the anti-vax movement started off questioning specific vaccines, it has since "morphed into a general movement opposing all vaccination and advocating so-called ‘natural living,’ and is all too often based on bad data and questionable research.”
Nurses and doctors will play leading role in public vaccine confidence, says WHO
The immunisation director at the World Health Organisation, Professor Kate O'Brien, has said local nurses and doctors will play a leading role in inspiring public confidence in coronavirus vaccines.
During a WHO press conference this evening, Prof O'Brien said: "I think one of the things that really helps communities and individuals who have to make decisions about being vaccinated is the trust that they have in where the information is coming from.
"Information really does need to come from the most local level possible: from trusted providers, from people's physicians, or the nurse that they go to, or the voice of public health people in their community.
"Especially in this time when millions of people have suffered and the deaths that have occurred - I think the assessment people will make about their understanding of the benefits of the vaccine is going to be a critical next phase in the pathway towards having these vaccines as critical tools in the toolbox of these interventions that we have.
"What I really want to emphasise here is that there is a very robust, a very strong safety monitoring system that is in place.
"Where people really need to spend their time and their energy is on really being sure that the information that they are receiving is information that is based on the science."
06:03 PM
Italian minister tests positive for virus during cabinet meeting
Italy’s interior minister Luciana Lamorgese discovered during a cabinet meeting today that she had Covid-19, forcing her to abandon the gathering hastily, political sources have said.
Citing a source in her office, Reuters reported that Lamorgese is asymptomatic and tested positive after undergoing a routine swab before the cabinet, one of many she has taken in recent months.
Lamorgese, a 67-year-old former civil servant who has no political affiliation, returned home and will remain there in isolation while continuing to work.
The foreign minister Luigi Di Maio and the justice minister Alfonso Bonafede, both members of the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, have decided to self-isolate because they were sitting next to Lamorgese in the cabinet, a second source said.
The Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and his other ministers did not come into close contact with Lamorgese but are expected to undergo a test as a precaution.
06:01 PM
Confusion over who can see who in Spain after Government uses uncommon word for 'friend'
The Spanish Government's use of an uncommon word for "friend" has left citizens unsure whom they are allowed to meet over Christmas under new coronavirus regulations, reports James Badcock from Madrid.
Spain's national and regional health authorities last week banned travel between regions over the festive period of December 23 to January 6 - unless it was to meet family members or 'allegados' - a term not in common use whose meaning is not poorly understood.
Searches for the meaning of the word have skyrocketed on Google in recent days, but the definition offered by Spain's royal language academy of someone “close in kinship, friendship or trust” has left citizens unsure of the limits on socialising.
Amid the confusion, the region of Andalusia has already said it will not be allowing cross-border travel to visit anyone other than actual relatives.
“Many of us didn’t understand the term; it is ambiguous and disconcerting,” said Jesús Aguirre, Andalusia’s health chief, after the meeting between Spanish Health Minister Salvador Illa and his regional colleagues to agree on the Christmas action plan.
05:48 PM
The priority list for the Pfizer vaccine - and how it will be rolled out
With the largest-scale vaccination programme in British history set to begin tomorrow as the first doses of the Pfizer/BioNtech jabs to be handed out, our reporters have the answers to all your questions about the roll-out here.
05:44 PM
Tomorrow could make 'a decisive turning point in the battle against coronavirus'
NHS England chief executive Sir Simon Stevens said tomorrow could mark "a decisive turning point in the battle against coronavirus".
Speaking at the Royal Free Hospital in London ahead of the Covid-19 vaccine rollout, he said: "Tomorrow is the beginning of the biggest vaccination campaign in our history, building on successes from previous campaigns against conditions (and) diseases like polio, meningitis, and tuberculosis.
"Hospitals, and then GPs and pharmacists as more vaccine becomes available, are going to be vaccinating at least until next spring.
"So in the meantime, we're going to have to continue to be very careful. But if we do that I think there's every chance that we will look back on tomorrow as marking a decisive turning point in the battle against coronavirus."
05:41 PM
Coronavirus around the world, in pictures
Two walkers enjoy a cheese and wine picnic in the thick fog on top of Box Hill, Surrey - London News Pictures Empty ticket lines are seen at the Gyeongbok Palace in Seoul, South Korea, where the country reported another 615 new infections and the virus appeared to be spreading faster - AP Father Enzo Fortunato uncovers a life size figurine of a nurse outside the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, in honour of medical workers who have been battling the coronavirus, in Assisi, Italy - Reuters People give blood on the stage of the closed MAD (Moulin a Danse) night club in Switzerland - Reuters
05:28 PM
UK: Deaths up by 189 as cases rise by 14,718
The UK has reported 189 new Covid-related deaths, compared with 231 yesterday.
It has also confirmed 14,718 new cases of the virus, down from yesterday's figure of 17,272.
05:27 PM
Kate and William get a frosty response from the First Minister
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was asked during a briefing about claims that the Duke and Duchess's visit to Edinburgh was in breach of cross-border travel restrictions.
Ms Sturgeon said the trip was a matter for the Royal Household and they had been made aware of all the restrictions in place.
"The Royal visit is a matter for the Royal Household and the arrangements around it, and any questions about those arrangements should be directed to the royal household," she said.
"The Scottish Government was advised about the intention to visit, and we made sure that the Royal Household were aware, as you would expect, of all of the restrictions in place in Scotland so that could inform both the decision and the planning of the visit.
"But I think any questions about that should be directed to the Royal Household."
Under current Scottish regulations, it is illegal to travel between England and Scotland unless you have a reasonable excuse.
05:19 PM
Turkey's death toll hits record high
Turkey’s daily coronavirus deaths rose to a record 203 in the last 24 hours, data from the Health Ministry showed, bringing the country’s total death toll to 15,103 since the beginning of the pandemic.
Turkey also recorded 32,137 new coronavirus cases, including asymptomatic ones, in the last 24 hours. For four months, Ankara only reported daily symptomatic cases but has reported all cases since November 25. Historical data for all cases and the cumulative case total are still not available.
Turkey was under lockdown over the weekend to combat the recent surge in daily deaths and new infections.
On Friday, Turkey had 32,736 new cases, the highest number since the beginning of the pandemic.
05:13 PM
How many cases are in your area?
Here is Monday's update of the rolling seven-day rate of new cases of Covid-19 for every local authority area in England.
The figures, for the seven days to December 3, are based on tests carried out in laboratories (pillar one of the Government's testing programme) and in the wider community (pillar two). The rate is expressed as the number of new cases per 100,000 people.
A majority of areas in England (188 out of 315) have seen a fall in case rates.
Medway in Kent has the highest rate in England, with 1,691 new cases recorded in the seven days to December 3 - the equivalent of 607.1 cases per 100,000 people. This is up from 495.4 in the seven days to November 26.
Swale - also in Kent - has the second highest rate, up slightly from 554.4 to 588.3, with 883 new cases.
Thanet in Kent is in third place, where the rate has risen very slightly from 443.9 to 449.5.0, with 638 new cases.
The areas with the biggest week-on-week jumps are Runnymede in Surrey (up from 143.1 to 275.1, with 246 new cases), Medway, Basildon (up from 290.6 to 390.5, with 731 new cases) and Brentwood in Essex (up from 157.1 to 249.3, with 192 new cases).
05:08 PM
Companies return over half a billion furlough cash to HMRC
British companies have returned more than half a billion pounds worth of furlough cash that they should not have claimed, or did not need, the Government has disclosed.
HM Revenue and Customs said that companies had returned hundreds of millions through voluntary paybacks.
"In the context of error overall so far, we've had around £504 million made in terms of voluntary disclosures and corrections, including people who were entitled to the grant and decided to pay it back," said HMRC director general of customer compliance Penny Ciniewicz
About £12 million of claims were blocked by HMRC before the money was paid out.
This stopped some of the criminal attacks against the system that would have otherwise happened, she told MPs on the Treasury Select Committee.
04:59 PM
Covid infections in Swansea Bay heading to 'catastrophic levels'
A director of public health has warned that his Welsh health board could see catastrophic levels of coronavirus cases during Christmas if infections in the area continue to rise.
Dr Keith Reid from Swansea Bay University Health Board said he feared only another lockdown in Wales before the Christmas period would be enough to save the local system from being "overwhelmed" if rates continued to rise.
His comments came as Welsh Health Minister Vaughan Gething said eight local authority areas in Wales now had Covid-19 rates of more than 400 cases per 100,000 people, with cases rising in 19 out of 22 areas.
Wales also now has its highest ever number of Covid-19-related patients in hospitals with 1,800 in total, as well as the worst infection rate in the UK, just four weeks after the end of the country's 17-day firebreak.
04:51 PM
Lithuania extends lockdown to end of year
Lithuania has extended its coronavirus lockdown until the end of this year.
Lithuania reported 1,037 cases per 100,000 people over the past two weeks, three times more than the 340 cases when the lockdown was announced on November 4.
“If people precisely kept to rules, we would not need to tighten them today,” said acting Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis.
The outgoing government also banned any grouping of more than two households, told all companies to have employees work from home, and told primary schools to close for early holidays on December 14.
However, the government did not approve the national health authority’s request to ban all but essential shopping and to ban contacts between households, but restaurants, gyms, universities and secondary schools will remain shut.
Shops have been told to limit the number of customers and close off most parking spaces at their premises.
04:47 PM
Watch: Couple in India tie knot in hazmat suits after bride tests positive for Covid-19
Traditional Indian wedding wear gave way to hazmat suits and masks in a remote north Indian village, after the bride tested positive for the coronavirus just hours before her marriage, a local health official has said.
The couple, whose names were not made public, decided to go ahead with the ceremony in the courtyard of the Covid quarantine centre in Baran in the western state of Rajasthan.
Under a bright red canopy and in front of the holy fire, the bride and groom exchanged garlands wearing matching blue hazmat suits, visors and face masks.
The priest - in a white hazmat suit and matching hood - chanted verses from Hindu scriptures while traditional wedding songs played in the background.
The bride had been admitted to the centre after she and a family member tested positive, health official Rajendra Meena told ANI.
Afterwards, both bride and groom were placed in isolation at the centre, part of a network of quarantine facilities set up in almost every village.
04:36 PM
Vaccine centres will only be able to administer about 300 jabs a day
NHS 'V-day' will start with hospital vaccine centres only able to administer about 300 coronavirus jabs a day, new guidance indicates.
Fifty centres across the country will begin the programme on Tuesday, with over-80s, care-home workers and NHS staff called in for inoculation with the new Pfizer/BioNTech jab.
However, officials have said the scale will ramp up significantly next week, when GP clinics will begin sending roving teams into care homes to vaccinate the most vulnerable.
NHS guidance says the programme will not be able to operate at full capacity at the start, because national protocols to streamline the process have yet to be published.
Fears London could be plunged into Tier 3 next week
Coronavirus cases in London are continuing to rise, sparking concerns the capital will be plunged into Tier 3 next week.
The seven-day rolling average of all cases across the city’s boroughs are ticking up again following a period of decline in the second half of November, leading to fears that tougher measures may be announced.
Ministers have vowed to review the allocation of tiers every 14 days, with the next deadline on December 16, in a bid to offer areas under tougher measures the chance to make their case to be moved down a tier if infections decrease. However, areas in lower tiers may also be moved up if cases rise.
The most recent week of complete data, ending December 1, showed a rate of 164 cases per 100,000 in London, up from 159 the previous week. The R rate in London is currently 0.9 to 1.1, higher than the England-wide average of 0.8 to 1.
ICYMI: Meet the modest man who is saving the world from Covid with the Pfizer vaccine
We speak to Dr Ugur Sahin, one half of the power couple behind the Pfizer vaccine – which could also bring a cancer breakthrough, too:
Archimedes had his bathtub, Isaac Newton an apple tree. For Dr Ugur Sahin and his wife Dr Ozlem Türeci, it was a breakfast table conversation about a mysterious virus spreading from the Chinese city of Wuhan that sparked one of the greatest scientific advances of the ages – hailed in some quarters as the most significant since Alexander Fleming’s discovery of penicillin in 1928.
As Britain became the first country in the world to grant approval for the use of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, which has been invented by the couple’s firm, Dr Sahin was at home in their modest apartment in Mainz, Germany, where he has worked for much of the coronavirus pandemic.
Next to his desk are a couple of pot plants and in the neighbouring room the spinning bike where he grinds out a few miles when he needs to clear his head. The occasional car drones along the street several floors below. Nobody looking up would guess this is the home of the couple who might have just saved the world.
Dr Sahin is quick to dismiss such accolades (he and his wife have also been described as the most celebrated marriage in science since Marie and Pierre Curie and tipped for a Nobel Prize). Instead, he stresses that the development of the vaccine was a collective endeavour by a team of scientists at BioNTech, the biotechnology company they founded in 2008 and which is now worth billions.
Dr Ugur Sahin and his wife Dr Ozlem Türeci launched 'Project Light Speed' and duly produced the world's first approved vaccine against Covid-19 - Felix Schmitt / Agentur
04:12 PM
Italy reports 528 new deaths
Italy reported 528 coronavirus-related deaths today against 564 on Sunday, the health ministry said, and 13,720 new infections, down from 18,887 the day before with the fall in cases reflecting the usual drop in the number of swabs conducted on Sundays.
The first Western country hit by the virus, Italy has seen 60,606 Covid-19 fatalities since its outbreak emerged in February, the second-highest toll in Europe after Britain. It has also registered 1.74 million cases to date.
There were 144 new admissions to intensive care units, while the number of intensive care patients decreased by 72 to 3,382, reflecting those who died or were discharged after recovery.
When Italy’s second wave of the epidemic was accelerating fast in the first half of November, hospital admissions were rising by around 1,000 per day, while intensive care occupancy was increasing by about 100 per day.
England Golf and the Angling Trust have both written to the Government to ask that organised sport and outdoor recreation is included among those activities which are exempt from Tier 3 travel restrictions.
Both sports regard themselves as naturally socially distanced but, with different tiers dependent on local authority, the potential access to a favourite activity has become heavily dependent on particular facilities within your boundary. It has also meant that competitions which involve any regional or even national crossover with Tier 3 areas must cease.
The particular tiers are reviewed every fortnight but current restrictions state that residents should “avoid travelling to other parts of the UK, including for overnight stays other than where necessary, such as for work, education, youth services, to receive medical treatment, or because of caring responsibilities”.
Campaigners threaten legal action over visits out for care home residents
Campaigners are threatening the Government with legal action over guidance which they claim imposes a "blanket ban" on elderly care home residents making visits to family and friends at Christmas and beyond.
John's Campaign argues that two pieces of Covid-19 advice for the public on forming Christmas "bubbles", and visits out of care homes, breach equality and human rights laws and legal requirements for care homes to make individual decisions for every resident who wants to make a trip out.
It says it is considering a challenge over the guidance, with lawyers sending a pre-action letter - the step before formal legal proceedings begin - to the Department for Health and Social Care.
The letter claims both pieces of guidance "impose blanket bans on visits out of care homes (over the Christmas period and otherwise) for care home residents over working age".
It adds the group believes "the imposition of a blanket ban, and the failure to communicate and ensure individualised risk assessments are taken for every resident who wishes to make a visit out, is unlawful".
The group notes that the Government's Christmas guidance, published last week, says spending time with others outside of a care home increases the risk of exposure to Covid-19 for both the resident concerned, and others, when they return, and therefore "visits out of care homes should only be considered for care home residents of working age".
03:42 PM
'I want a quiet Covid Christmas, but my wife has invited everyone'
In our Marriage Diaries column, people share snapshots of their relationships, seen now through the lens of the coronavirus pandemic.
As soon as the news regarding the three-family “Christmas bubbles” broke, my wife’s mobile phone started ringing straight away.
“I know,” she squealed down the line, to her mother. “It’s amazing news, isn’t it? I can’t wait to get all you guys down here.”
Those were the words I’d been dreading. Just when I thought that I might, finally, get my dream Christmas – just myself, my wife, my three children and a wheel of brie – it had been cruelly snatched away by the Government’s Christmas Covid rules.
Now, I had to face the reality that I would be spending yet another Yuletide with my wife’s mob: her mother, father and grandmother (who all live together), as well as her younger sister and her family too.
You see, my wife has a rather idealised view of how these extended family gatherings will play out – all charades and convivial dining – whereas I know from experience that the reality is very different.
Angela Merkel has told party colleagues that existing lockdown measures will not be sufficient to get the country through the winter, participants at the meeting have said.
“Relying on hope won’t help us,” she told legislators from her conservative bloc in a discussion of the rising numbers of cases, Reuters reported citing participants at the meeting.
“The situation is getting very serious: these measures will not be enough to get us through the winter,” the participants quoted her as saying, implying that a further tightening of restrictions would be needed.
03:37 PM
Prince Charles thanks vaccine scientists
Prince Charles has thanked all those who have been involved in the development of the Covid-19 vaccine, saying people can "look forward with renewed hope".
He spoke during a visit with the Duchess of Cornwall to Salisbury Cathedral as the first vaccinations will be administered at dozens of hospital hubs from Tuesday.
The engagement was to mark the 800th anniversary of the founding of the cathedral and the royal couple both wore colourful face masks to meet guests.
Addressing the service, Charles said: "As we gather here, we are profoundly aware of all those who have gone before us, who have bequeathed us the magnificent legacy of this glorious building, and who have maintained the spiritual community which has kept the flame of faith alive here for so many centuries.
"Over the years, that faith has sustained this city and this land through many trials and has done so through the many months of the pandemic we are currently experiencing.
"Over the years, each challenge in turn has been overcome, and that is the case today when, thanks to the inspiring work of all those who have been involved in providing vaccines, we can now look forward with renewed hope."
03:25 PM
Wales: 2,021 new cases and two further deaths
There have been a further 2,021 cases of coronavirus in Wales, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 91,013.
Public Health Wales reported another two deaths, taking the total in Wales since the start of the pandemic to 2,711.
03:21 PM
Denmark announces partial lockdown
Most of Denmark is to return to lockdown on Wednesday to bring the country's current surge in infections back under control, the country's Prime Minister announced this morning.
"I fully understand that today's announcement will come as a blow to many of you," she said, praising people in Denmark for contributing to Denmark's effective handling of the pandemic so far. "But the infection rate is too high and the situation is too worrying. Therefore, we must take action so that we get control of the infection."
Restrictions will be tightened in 38 different municipalities, including the three biggest cities of Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Odense, and will last until January 3.
Restaurants, bars, cafes, gyms, sports centres, swimming pools, and the indoor areas of museums, theatres, cinemas and libraries will all be closed to the public.
Children from 5th grade upwards sent home, and upper secondary schools and university tuition will all be moved online. Professional sport is exempted from the restrictions.
The partial lockdown came after Denmark's infectious diseases institute SSI warned that the number of new coronavirus cases a day, which on Friday passed 2,000 for the first time, could rise to as many as 4,000 by Christmas.
03:20 PM
Boris Johnson's father Stanley 'all for' coronavirus vaccine
Prime Minister Boris Johnson's father Stanley has said he will get a coronavirus vaccine as soon as he is eligible.
The 80-year-old told the PA news agency he will "certainly go and be vaccinated" and intends to "encourage others to do so".
Downing Street said earlier today that the Prime Minister encourages all eligible people to receive a coronavirus vaccine when asked whether his father should take it.
Mr Johnson Sr said: "Of course I am, I welcome the opportunity if my name crops up ... I shall certainly go and be vaccinated.
"And I shall encourage others to do so."
03:06 PM
Students returning to campuses will be asked to take two Covid tests in Wales
The Welsh Government has said students will be asked to take two coronavirus tests over three days if they intend to mix with others on their return to Welsh university accommodation after Christmas.
Students who do not want to take rapid lateral flow tests will instead be asked to "lay low" for 14 days, the Government said.
The managed return of students will take place over a four-week period beginning January 11, with a phased return to in-person teaching prioritising those studying in healthcare professions, those on placements or who need access to campus facilities.
Welsh education minister Kirsty Williams said: "I know students will be eager to return to their university campus after the Christmas break, but will want to do that in a safe way.
"Students will also want to return to learning in person, where it's safe to do so.
"We're putting these measures in place to ensure confidence in a return to learning in-person and minimise the risk of large numbers of students needing to self-isolate during the term."
03:00 PM
All parts of UK now have Covid vaccine
All parts of the UK now have doses of the #coronavirus vaccine.
I want to thank the whole team involved in rolling-out the vaccine across the whole UK, starting from tomorrow - great progress 🇬🇧https://t.co/TG3SNoGhGw
Elderly French woman with dementia ordered to pay €166 Covid fine
An elderly woman with dementia has been ordered to pay a £151 (€166) fine by a French court after she wrote the wrong date on her form for leaving home during lockdown.
The woman, 73, was originally fined £123 (€135) when she was stopped by police in April. She was food shopping in Luxeuil, eastern France at the time, about half a mile away from her home.
French citizens have been required to fill out a downloadable form justifying why they have left home under lockdown rules.
The woman’s daughter appealed the fine at the time it was issued. France Bleu, a news outlet, reported that the officer who stopped her failed to note she was speaking incoherently. Her daughter says that the woman has been suffering from Alzheimer’s for the past five years.
Despite pleas from the local mayor and prosecutor to waive the fine, the police and courts have determined that it must be upheld and the woman must pay.
France is currently in the midst of nationwide restrictions that are due to expire on December 15. More than 55,000 French people have died as a result of Covid-19.
02:49 PM
Every health board in Wales to begin vaccinating people from tomorrow
Every health board in Wales will begin vaccinating people from Tuesday, Health Minister Vaughan Gething has said.
He told a press conference in Cardiff that the first set of vaccines would be available to just under 19,000 people.
Further deliveries of the vaccine are expected throughout December, with Wales expecting to receive the country's share.
"To provide people with confidence that Wales isn't left waiting, we're actually the first UK country to receive and have stored our own Covid vaccine allocation," Mr Gething said.
"So they've arrived in Wales, they're ready to be deployed from tomorrow."
02:46 PM
Mass testing could 'shorten lockdowns'
Mass testing using rapid tests has the potential to have a "large effect" on Covid-19 transmission in the UK, experts have said.
A new study examined the effect of mass testing for Covid-19 on the population of Slovakia during a lockdown.
Researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine examined transmission rates in the European country after mass testing was introduced for the whole population during a week-long lockdown.
A combination of mass testing, the lockdown, and a 10-day quarantine for people who tested positive along with those they lived with, led to a reduction in transmission in the country of around 60 per cent.
The researchers said that their findings show that mass testing has the potential to reduce the length of any future lockdowns and help break the chains of transmission of the virus.
But they cautioned that the findings were difficult to translate to other countries because they could relate to very specific measures introduced by Slovakia.
02:44 PM
Delhi doctors break down as city grapples with third wave of Covid-19
Its sirens blaring, an ambulance careers down the dusty alleyway until it comes to a stop outside the doors of New Delhi’s Lok Nayak Hospital.
Two paramedics, sweating in PPE, lift a barely conscious old man into a wheelchair before hastily pushing him through the open doors of a critical care unit.
Moments later, a body leaves on a hospital trolley, beginning its final journey to the morgue.
From mid-November, New Delhi entered its “third wave” of Covid cases, with the number of new daily cases reaching more than 7,000 - higher than any other world city.
Over nine million Indians have contracted the disease, according to official statistics, and hospitals in India’s capital have again run out of beds, causing fatality rates to spike with many patients unable to access healthcare.
Scottish Government releases 'Covid Guide to Etiquette and Pandemic Politeness'
The Scottish Government had today published an interesting Covid etiquette guide, informing the public of what they should do if people stand too close in the supermarket, sit next to you on a bus, or commit another coronavirus faux pas.
You can take a look at some of the guidance here...
How to handle awkward situations... - Scottish Government/Telegraph Over 80 per cent of people in Scotland have reportedly felt awkward when trying to follow the rules - Scottish Government/Telegraph Framing what you say as an offer rather than a request will help to reduce tension or offence, according to the guidance - Scottish Government/Telegraph And here's some top tips... - Scottish Government/Telegraph
02:27 PM
Afternoon summary
Good afternoon. If you're just joining us, here's what you've missed today so far:
The Government expects that "the majority" of vulnerable people will be vaccinated in January and February, as the UK prepares to start administering the first jabs against Covid-19 from tomorrow.
A Sage scientist has warned that January could see a “severe peak” of coronavirus infections if we “take our foot off the pedal”, as he called crowded Christmas shopping scenes “concerning”. The pandemic is “certainly not all over”, Andrew Hayward, professor of infectious disease epidemiology at University College London (UCL) and a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), said.
A second firebreak lockdown after Christmas cannot be ruled out in Wales, Health Minister Vaughan Gething has said.
Hungary will maintain restrictions, including an 8pm curfew until at least January 11, the prime minister Viktor Orbán has said.
Chancellor Angela Merkel has urged German regions with high coronavirus rates to tighten social contact restrictions before Christmas as the country struggled to slow a second wave of infections.
Bars, restaurants, museums and cinemas in Denmark will have to close on December 9 in 38 municipalities, including Copenhagen, and students in upper primary school, high schools and universities will be sent home.
Schools, restaurants and courts in Greece will not reopen until January 7, the government’s spokesman Stelios Petsas has said.
The number of new Covid-19 infections per day in France is unlikely to fall to a 5,000 target by December 15 as the population is not sufficiently respecting social distancing measures, according to one of France's top coronavirus experts.
Pope Francis will visit Iraq in March, the Vatican said today, in his first trip abroad since the coronavirus pandemic gripped Italy.
02:22 PM
At least six people shot dead in Indonesia after allegedly attacking police
At least six supporters of a firebrand Indonesian Muslim cleric were shot dead as they tried to reach a police station where their leader was to be questioned, Jakarta's police chief said today.
Fadil Imran said police were forced to defend themselves when 10 supporters of Rizieq Shihab attacked them at a toll road some 50 kilometres (30 miles) east of the capital Jakarta.
"When our officers were following the cars of followers, they came closer and attacked us using guns and sharp objects," Mr Imran told reporters.
Police officers shot in response, leaving six people dead, he added. Four others managed to escape during the early morning shootout.
Mr Shihab was due to be questioned Monday for allegedly violating coronavirus restrictions last month when tens of thousands of his followers gathered at his home to attend the wedding of his daughter.
The charismatic leader of the Islamic Defender Front (FPI) had only returned to Indonesia days earlier from Saudi Arabia, to where he had fled in 2017 after police named him as a suspect in a pornography case.
Tens of thousands of his supporters had also flocked to Jakarta's main airport to welcome him home, defying coronavirus regulations banning crowds.
02:15 PM
PM's spokesperson stresses significance of social distancing amid packed shopping centres
The Prime Minister's official spokesman said it was "very important that people continue to adhere to the social distancing guidelines" following scenes of packed shopping centres over the weekend.
The spokesman told reporters: "We have set out clearly the importance of people continuing to shop in a Covid-secure way.
"That's why we have provided businesses with the guidance they have needed to ensure they can do that.
"It's very important now that people continue to adhere to the social distancing guidelines to ensure that we can build on the gains of the second national lockdown and continue to drive the transmission of the virus down."
Shoppers on Regent Street during the first weekend after lockdown - Shutterstock
02:13 PM
Downing St doesn't deny RAF could fly in vaccine supplies if Brexit causes problems at ports
Downing Street did not deny that RAF flights could be used to bring supplies of the vaccine over from mainland Europe if there were problems at ports caused by a no-deal Brexit.
The Prime Minister's official spokesman would not comment on specific plans for "security reasons".
But "the military will have a role to play in what's been an enormous logistical challenge and I'm sure they will continue to do so as we move forward".
02:02 PM
'Everything is on the table' in Wales, including a second firebreak lockdown
A second firebreak lockdown after Christmas cannot be ruled out in Wales, Health Minister Vaughan Gething has said.
When asked about whether such a measure could be introduced after the Christmas period, Mr Gething said: "Everything is on the table.
"We're discussing through this week, and we'll continue to discuss, what measures we need to take.
"We've learned that trying to have hard and fast commitments to never contemplate future action is just not the right or the responsible thing to do. So of course that's an option that we'll need to consider."
Mr Gething said the Welsh Government would receive advice from its chief scientific adviser, public health experts and the chief medical officer for Wales.
01:52 PM
Vaccines to be available at 23 hubs across Scotland
Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon visited Western General Hospital in Edinburgh this morning, which is one of 23 vaccine hubs where priority groups will be able to get their first jab from tomorrow.
There are 50 in England and more in Wales and Northern Ireland.
First Minister @NicolaSturgeon has met staff co-ordinating the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine at the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh.
The hospital is one of 23 centres where priority groups will be vaccinated against coronavirus.
'No plans' to introduce immunity passports, says Downing Street
Downing Street dismissed the prospect of NHS vaccination cards becoming a form of "immunity passport" to allow people who have received the jab to enjoy extra freedoms.
"We have been clear that there are no plans to introduce immunity passports," the Prime Minister's official spokesman said.
"The cards ... are NHS reminder cards that prompt people to get the second dose that they need.
"That's a well-established practice in the NHS to offer people cards to remind them of their next appointment."
01:44 PM
'Majority' of vulnerable people will be vaccinated in January or February, Government expects
The Government expects "the majority" of vulnerable people will be vaccinated in January and February.
Downing Street would not confirm whether they were expecting four million doses of the Pfizer vaccine to arrive by the end of the year.
"We obviously have 40 million doses on order but the scale of the delivery depends on the manufacturing process as we move forward through December," the Prime Minister's official spokesman said.
Around 25 million people are covered by the 10 priority categories set out by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.
The first vaccinations will go to care home staff and residents, NHS frontline workers and people aged 80 and over - around six million people.
Asked how many people will be vaccinated by the end of February, the spokesman said: "The majority of the vaccination of the vulnerable will be in January or February."
01:31 PM
Prime Minister encourages all eligible people to receive a Covid vaccine
Boris Johnson would encourage all eligible people to receive a coronavirus vaccine, Downing Street said in response to questions about whether his 80-year-old father Stanley should take it.
Care home workers, NHS staff and people aged 80 and over will begin receiving the jab from Tuesday.
Regulators had set out that it is both "safe and effective", the Prime Minister's official spokesman said.
"The Prime Minister would encourage anybody who is called forward to take one get one."
Asked whether the Queen would receive the vaccination this week, the spokesman said that was a matter for Buckingham Palace.
"But it is obviously a statement of fact that the Queen and Prince Philip are over 80 and are in a priority group."
01:24 PM
Duke and Duchess of Cambridge hear of personal Covid tragedies from paramedics
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have heard moving accounts from ambulance workers about how they have been personally affected by the coronavirus crisis.
William and Kate met staff from the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) in Newbridge, near Edinburgh - the first engagement on their whistle-stop tour of England, Scotland and Wales by royal train.
The duke, dressed in a dark blue coat and tartan scarf, and duchess, wearing a blue Catherine Walker coat and carrying a bag by Scottish designer Strathberry, thanked staff for their efforts in coping with demanding jobs while many were affected by personal Covid-19 tragedies.
William spoke at length with some of the paramedics about how the additional strains of working under the threat of coronavirus had impacted on their mental wellbeing.
He and Kate also heard from paramedic Alistair Matson about how he had to cope with his father falling ill and later dying in hospital during the pandemic.
01:17 PM
Care homes in Wales won't receive Pfizer vaccine tomorrow
Care homes in Wales will not receive the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine on Tuesday, Health Minister Vaughan Gething has confirmed.
"I've had a meeting earlier today and I've been having conversations with my officials, and indeed there was a session with Pfizer earlier today which I took part in," Mr Gething told a press conference.
"We are working not just with Pfizer but with our officials here and we're working with the regulator to understand how we can safely and lawfully deliver the vaccine to care homes. That won't be tomorrow.
"The stability data, the data that tells about how long you could have this vaccine stored at fridge temperature once it's been taken out of the ultra-low freezer, that's really important to get approval and agreement from the regulator about what we can do.
"Other parts of the UK have indicated they think they'll be able to deliver it before Christmas. I want to be in a position where I can give rather more definitive dates about that.
"At present, those conversations with the regulator are not complete."
01:16 PM
Glasgow's Tier 4 lockdown will end on Friday, Sturgeon confirms
Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed that Glasgow will move out of level four lockdown on Friday, but warned relaxing of restrictions will be cautious.
Under Scotland's coronavirus level system, Tier 4 is the strictest level of coronavirus restrictions, with all hospitality and non-essential shops closed. A total of 11 local authority areas in Scotland are currently under Tier 4.
Speaking today, the First Minister said that infection rates are falling, andthe percentage of positive cases is close to the figure used by the World Health Organisation to indicate the virus is under control.
Ms Sturgeon said: "Our decisions will be based on the trajectory of the virus in each local authority area, as well as the need to protect capacity in the NHS and we will also consider the social and economic harms that come from the restrictions."
It comes as a further 677 people tested positive for the coronavirus in Scotland in the last 24 hours, 178 of them in Glasgow.
01:08 PM
Hungary to maintain restrictions until at least January 11
Hungary will maintain restrictions, including an 8pm curfew until at least January 11, the prime minister Viktor Orbán has said.
He added in a Facebook video that New Year’s Eve celebrations will not be held this year.
01:01 PM
Merkel urges stricter German virus curbs in hotspots
Chancellor Angela Merkel has urged German regions with high coronavirus rates to tighten social contact restrictions before Christmas as the country struggled to slow a second wave of infections.
Her spokesman Steffen Seibert told reporters that the government welcomed a move by Bavaria on Sunday to step up its shutdown rules in the light of still climbing outbreak numbers in hotspots.
"These are worrisome days," Seibert said, noting that infections rates "are not consistently going down" but rather rising in some areas and that Germany was "far from turning the corner".
"It is obvious and also necessary for individual states to think about which measures they could use to curb new infections," he said, calling Bavaria's planned tightening from Wednesday "good and right".
The eastern state of Saxony, coping with its own infections spike, followed suit with an announcement it would meet Tuesday to agree stricter rules.
Seibert noted that Merkel and Germany's 16 state premiers had "specifically agreed" that regional governments could go beyond national guidelines if conditions demanded it.
12:59 PM
Wales in 'incredibly serious situation'
Wales was the only part of the UK where coronavirus rates were not falling at the end of November, Health Minister Vaughan Gething has said.
"Wales was the only part of the UK where infection rates did not appear to be falling in the last week of November, according to the ONS infection survey," Mr Gething told a press conference.
"This reflects that there were tighter measures elsewhere in the UK - England was still within its four-week lockdown, Northern Ireland was between lockdowns and Scotland was tightening its restrictions.
"We strengthened the coronavirus restrictions here in Wales in response to this incredibly serious situation on Friday, to slow the spread of the virus and to protect people's health."
Mr Gething said the effects of these restrictions would not be seen for weeks and it could be longer before pressure on the NHS was reduced.
"If we do not see a reduction in coronavirus admissions, we will need to consider what action we can take and may need to support the NHS as we move into the New Year."
12:57 PM
Covid-19 vaccine due to arrive in Cumbria
The first doses of the Covid-19 vaccination are arriving in Cumbria today, the BBC reports.
The West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven is one of about 50 in England that have been chosen as hubs to start immunising people from tomorrow.
Frontline health staff, people over the age of 80 and care home workers will be first to get the vaccine.
12:55 PM
Self-isolation payments in Wales to be extended
Self-isolation payments in Wales are to be extended to include some parents and carers on low incomes of children who have to self-isolate.
The £500 payment has been available to help people on low incomes and as a statutory sick pay top-up to social care workers who have to self-isolate.
Health Minister Vaughan Gething said the payments will be extended from next Monday to include parents and carers on low incomes of children who have to self-isolate because of an outbreak of coronavirus at their school or childcare setting.
"This will provide parents and carers on low incomes with the financial support they need while they look after their children," he said.
12:49 PM
Thousands of Hungarians could participate in clinical trials for Russia's Sputnik vaccine
Some 3,000 to 5,000 Hungarians could participate in clinical trials of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine, the Hungarian human resources minister Miklos Kasler said on his Facebook page today.
Kasler said a Hungarian delegation of medical experts had received “detailed notification” about the Russian vaccine in Moscow and observed “that the vaccine is being manufactured with the latest technology and with WHO protocols being applied”.
12:45 PM
Cases rising in 19 out of 22 local authority areas in Wales
There are now eight local authority areas in Wales with coronavirus rates of more than 400 cases per 100,000 people, Health Minister Vaughan Gething said.
Mr Gething told a press conference: "Sadly we're seeing a return to the very high rates of more than 500 in Blaenau Gwent and more than 600 in Neath Port Talbot.
"Cases are rising in 19 out of 22 local authority areas in Wales. We're continuing to see these high levels of coronavirus in our communities translating into record numbers in our hospitals."
Mr Gething said there is a "continuing rise" in people being treated for Covid-19 in Welsh hospitals.
"There are now more than 1,800 coronavirus-related patients in hospitals around Wales," Mr Gething said.
"This is the highest number ever recorded and about 400 more than the peak in April this year."
12:38 PM
The loss of tourism is threatening the survival of India's iconic tigers
Restrictions on long-haul travel are putting the future of the endangered species at risk, reports Chris Moss.
Ecotourism is embryonic in India. It is under-researched, underfunded, and it’s hard – especially for locals – to see where “greenwashing” ends and useful, sustainable practices benefit the most needy. Success for a business can mean stresses for wildlife, most notably tigers in India’s 50 dedicated reserves.
According to big cat charity Panthera, there are about 3,900 tigers left in the wild, occupying a mere four per cent of their former range. Around 3,000 of these reside in India, as do small populations of other threatened felines, including the snow leopard, Indian leopard, clouded leopard and Asiatic lion.
Since March 2020, much of Asia has been cut off from European travellers. The UK air corridor list currently sanctions travel to Bhutan, Cambodia, Laos and Sri Lanka. Of these, only Cambodia allows entry to foreign visitors. If the status quo persists, and ecotourism is not allowed even a toe-hold during the post-monsoon peak, which runs until March, the consequences for wildlife, habitats and local people could be very dire indeed.
Bars, restaurants and museums to close in Denmark until January
Denmark will implement further lockdown measures in parts of the country to curb a recent spike in infections, the prime minister Mette Frederiksen has said.
Bars, restaurants, museums and cinemas will have to close on December 9 in 38 municipalities, including Copenhagen, and students in upper primary school, high schools and universities will be sent home.
The new restrictions will be in place until January 3.
12:24 PM
Welsh Government denies 9pm curfew rumour
The Welsh Government has taken to Twitter to deny rumours that a 9pm-6am curfew will be coming into force.
We are aware of rumours being spread about plans for a “curfew” in Wales. These are completely false.
For all the latest information on coronavirus in Wales, see our website 👇https://t.co/ePvZn0oLiA
Professor Stephen Evans, an expert at the London School of Tropical Hygiene and Medicine, told Sky News that people must remember to get both doses of the vaccine – but it won’t guarantee them complete immunity.
“What is vital is that people are reminded of when you go back for a second dose. After your first dose, your protection will be there, but not as effective as after two doses.
“You have a very good chance of not getting the disease, but you still will have a 5 to 10 per cent chance of getting it.
“In the trials everything is done perfectly, but out there in the big wide world, things don’t work so perfectly," he said.
12:20 PM
Coronavirus around the world, in pictures
Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon visits Western General Hospital in Edinburgh, where she met some of the staff that will administer and receive the first vaccinations against Covid tomorrow - Reuters German singer Helene Fischer (R) attends the 'Ein Herz Fuer Kinder' (lit: A Heart for Children) gala show in Berlin - Shutterstock A driver in PPE outside a hotel quarantine facility at the Pan Pacific hotel in Melbourne. International travellers who are returning to Melbourne are required to quarantine in state run hotel quarantine facilities A healthcare professional manages a patient at the Covid-ICU of the Holy Family Hospital in New Delhi - Cheena Kapoor Rescuers clad in protective gear carry a patient with Covid-19 at an elderly care facility in Ulsan, South Korea. The daily number of new coronavirus cases in the nation exceeded 600 for the second straight day - Shutterstock Mateo Johnson, 6, and Neah Johnson, 3, pose for a socially-distanced photo with Santa in Seattle - David Ryder
12:11 PM
Vaccine boosts cruise passengers’ confidence: 81 per cent 'will travel in 2021'
News of an imminent vaccination programme for Covid-19 has given consumers the confidence to book cruises again, according to research conducted by a cruise travel agency.
Britain's medicines regulator, the MHRA, said that the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid vaccine – which offers up to 95 per cent protection against the coronavirus – is ready to be rolled out from this week, although the bulk of the rollout across the UK will be next year.
Approval of the vaccine appears to have acted as a shot in the arm for the cruise industry, which has largely been at a standstill since the pandemic began.
A survey carried out by travel agency Mundy Cruising showed that 81 per cent of its customers were planning to return to the high seas in 2021 – but the majority said their plans would be dependent on being vaccinated before boarding.
Rudy Giuliani says he's 'feeling good' after being admitted to hospital with Covid-19
Rudy Giuliani said he was "feeling good" and "recovering quickly" after being admitted to hospital with coronavirus.
The 76-year old former New York City mayor is being treated at Georgetown University Medical Centre and because of his age is likely to be considered as being in a high risk category.
Mr Giuliani thanked all his supporters on Twitter for their kind thoughts and said he was feeling good.
"Thank you to all my friends and followers for all the prayers and kind wishes," he wrote.
As the president's attorney, Mr Giuliani has spearheaded Donald Trump's legal battle to overturn the result of the presidential election, appearing in federal court for the first time in 28 years last month to advance his case.
Schools, restaurants and courts in Greece will not reopen until January 7, the government;’s spokesman Stelios Petsas has said.
Greece was forced to impose a nationwide lockdown in November, its second this year, after an aggressive surge in Covid-19 cases. It has extended it twice since then, most recently until December 14.
But Petsas said progress was still slow and some restrictions will not be lifted until next month, including a night curfew.
11:52 AM
Pakistan suspends staff after oxygen shortage kills Covid patients
Seven workers at a Pakistan hospital who left scores of Covid-19 patients without sufficient oxygen for hours have been suspended after several of their charges died, authorities said.
Five patients in the Covid isolation ward and one in the intensive care unit at the government-run hospital in Peshawar died due to the delay in sourcing oxygen, a preliminary report said late Sunday.
The chronic oxygen deficiency "went unnoticed, unsupervised and unchecked," the report said, adding that no backup oxygen supply had been put in place.
The hospital director was among those suspended with immediate effect.
Taimur Saleem Jhagra, a provincial health minister, told AFP that authorities will hold a second detailed inquiry over the next five days.
"The hospital was low on oxygen from around 8pm in the evening, how come they couldn't manage to solve the issue until after 12pm?" Jhagra said.
"Some of the staff were off, some were absent and there wasn't any alternate arrangements, even the emergency squad was not available," he added.
11:43 AM
Virus could leave theatre workers homeless, warns Helen Mirren
People working in Britain's theatre industry risk homelessness because of the coronavirus outbreak, stage and screen star Helen Mirren warned in an interview published today.
Although lockdown rules have now eased, many venues cannot afford to reopen with limited audience numbers and some have been forced to close permanently.
That has left many employees - from actors to stagehands - in dire straits, given that many are self-employed and live "from wage packet to wage packet", Mirren said.
"The worry is simply people not being able to pay their rent," she said.
"When those wage packets aren't there, which has been the case for the last year, it is very, very, very problematic and I'm sure a lot of them are looking at homelessness.
"They have bills to pay, they have rent to pay and they very often are not the kind of people who have been able to create a nice little security fund for themselves."
11:41 AM
Pope to visit Iraq in March in first foreign trip since pandemic
Pope Francis will visit Iraq in March, the Vatican said today, in his first trip abroad since the coronavirus pandemic gripped Italy, grounding the pontiff.
"He will visit Baghdad, the plain of Ur... the city of Erbil, as well as Mosul and Qaraqosh in the plain of Nineveh," spokesman Matteo Bruni said in a statement about the trip, which will take place from March 5 to 8, 2021.
11:40 AM
Nobel laureates receive prizes at home amid pandemic
Adjusting to a world where travel is hampered by the pandemic, this year's Nobel laureates will receive their prizes at home this week following the cancellation of the traditional Stockholm and Oslo ceremonies.
The ceremonies are traditionally held on December 10, the anniversary of the 1896 death of the prize's founder, Swedish entrepeneur and inventor of dynamite Alfred Nobel.
The lavish Stockholm ceremony hasn't been cancelled since World War II, and the last time the Oslo ceremony was scrapped was in 1976 when the peace prize was "reserved" until the following year owing to a lack of suitable nominations.
First out to accept her Nobel this year will be France's Emmanuelle Charpentier, the co-laureate in chemistry who will take part in a ceremony on Monday evening with the Swedish ambassador in Berlin. Her co-laureate Jennifer Doudna will receive the honours at a ceremony in Berkeley, California, on Tuesday.
The West Coast US state will also see economics winners Paul Milgrom and Robert Wilson get their awards in Palo Alto on Tuesday and physics laureate Andrea Ghez receive her prize in Los Angeles on Wednesday.
The two other physics winners, Roger Penrose and Reinhard Genzel, will accept their prizes in London and Munich on Tuesday.
Medicine laureates Harvey Alter and Charles Rice will receive their prizes at Swedish diplomatic missions in Washington and New York.
New York poet Louise Gluck will accept her literature prize at her home, as will Briton Michael Houghton, who shared the medicine prize and lives in Canada.
The prestigious Nobel Peace Prize, which is normally handed out in Norway's capital Oslo, will be presented in Rome on Thursday to World Food Programme executive director David Beasley at a ceremony broadcast online.
11:28 AM
France unlikely to hit target of 5,000 cases a day, expert warns
The number of new Covid-19 infections per day in France is unlikely to fall to a 5,000 target by December 15 as the population is not sufficiently respecting social distancing measures, one of France's top coronavirus experts said today.
Eric Caumes, head of infectious diseases at Paris hospital La Pitié-Salpêtrière, told LCI television that if the French are not cautious enough over Christmas and year-end holidays, it will lead to a third wave of the virus in mid-January.
President Emmanuel Macron has said the French lockdown that started on October 30 could be lifted on December 15, if by then the number of new infections per day has fallen to 5,000.
“No, I do not think this target can be reached as the trend downward stopped, it is stabilising. So it will be difficult to reach that target,” Caumes said.
French health authorities reported 11,022 new confirmed Covid-19 cases on Sunday, down from the 12,923 new infections detected the previous day.
11:19 AM
People with dementia must be priority for vaccine access, says charity
People with dementia must be included in the priority groups for new Covid-19 vaccines, both in care homes and at home, says Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI).
An international study found that deaths due to Covid among people living with dementia as a proportion of the population are as high as 26 per cent in the UK, 41 per cent in Australia, and over 20 per cent in regions of Italy. In Canada, 85 per cent of all Covid-19 deaths are in long term care, where two-thirds of people have dementia.
The UK has determined priority groups for access for the first available doses to be distributed this week, focusing on both residents of long-term care facilities, and caregivers and those with underlying medical conditions.
ADI says that all people with dementia, who have been "disproportionately impacted by Covid-19", must not slip through this vaccine distribution priority group net.
“We welcome the UK Government’s decision to protect the vulnerable, and often elderly, people who live in care facilities, from Covid-19, by providing front-of-queue vaccine access against the virus,” ADI’s chief executive Paola Barbarino said.
“But globally, we must ensure vaccine access is extended specifically to people with dementia, those living in long term care and those living at home in their communities, who are among the most affected by the virus.”
11:12 AM
Paris Airshow cancelled due to pandemic
Next year’s Paris Airshow has been cancelled as the aerospace industry continues to weather the coronavirus crisis, a spokesman for the French organisers said today.
Together with Britain’s Farnborough airshow, with which it alternates every other year, the event is the industry’s largest showcase. Its cancellation is the latest sign of the depth of the pandemic-related crisis hitting airlines and manufacturers.
10:59 AM
South Korean President expands testing as cases surge
Medial workers carry a patient infected with the coronavirus onto an ambulance at an elderly care facility in Ulsan, South Korea - Kim Young-tae/Yonhap via AP
South Korean President Moon Jae-in has called for expanded coronavirus testing and more thorough tracing as the country struggles to control its latest and largest wave of infections.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency reported 615 new coronavirus cases as of midnight Sunday, capping a month of triple-digit daily increases that have led to 8,311 confirmed patients in quarantine, the most ever.
The surge in cases has delivered a blow to South Korea's vaunted pandemic-fighting system, which successfully used invasive tracing, testing, and quarantines to avoid lockdowns, blunt previous waves, and keep infections below 50 per day for much of the summer.
Moon ordered the government to mobilise every available resource to track infections, and to expand testing by deploying the military and more people from the public service, presidential Blue House spokesman Chung Man-ho told a briefing.
Moon said testing sites should operate longer hours to allow people working to get tested at their convenience and more drive-through testing facilities should be set up, Chung said.
The positive rate for the latest batch of tests was about 4.2 per cent, compared to the year's average of 1.2 per cent, according to the KDCA.
10:46 AM
Comment: "No legal justification for police patrolling county borders'
Although guidance suggests that those in Tier 3 should restrict travel outside it, this has no legal force, Francis Hoar writes.
On December 2, the new English coronavirus restrictions – the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (All Tiers) (England) Regulations 2020 – came into force. These replaced the regulations imposing during the second ‘lockdown’ (the ‘No 4 Regulations’).
I wrote for this paper arguing that the Government was wrong to suggest that the No. 4 Regulations imposed a ban on international travel. In the absence of an express provision banning such travel, the principles that must be applied in interpreting ‘secondary legislation’ (regulations made by ministers under powers delegated by an Act of Parliament) would not allow the No. 4 Regulations to be read as imposing any restrictions on leaving England...
The hospitals that will have the Covid-19 vaccine, and how it will be rolled out
The coronavirus vaccine roll-out is expected to begin this Tuesday, December 8, with 50 hospital hubs starting to immunise the most vulnerable. It will mark the beginning of the largest immunisation programme in British history.
Check out the full list of hospitals, and how the roll out will take place, here.
10:16 AM
Russia dismisses possibility of second lockdown
The Kremlin said there was no need to impose lockdown restrictions to curb the sharp rise in coronavirus cases since September and that the current set of measures in place were widely seen by authorities as enough.
Infections have surged to record highs in recent weeks. Earlier on Monday authorities confirmed 28,142 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, including 7,279 in Moscow.
10:05 AM
MP says he will be taking part in 'phase 3 clinical trial' for vaccine
Veterans minister and Plymouth MP Johnny Mercer tweeted: "Huge news this morning that Plymouth is to be one of the first places in the UK to start rolling out the vaccine for Covid."
He added: "I'll be taking part in a phase 3 clinical trial there on Thursday. If you think any of my behaviour is odd, do let me know."
Huge news this morning that Plymouth is to be one of the first places in the UK to start rolling out the vaccine for COVID.
If you're just joining us, here's a summary of today's main news from the UK and around the world.
Britain will receive up to four million doses of the Pfizer vaccine before the end of the year, NHS leaders promised amid fears that many people would miss out in the first wave of vaccination because of short supplies.
Helen Donovan, professional lead for public health at the Royal College of Nursing, said that ensuring people get their second dose of the Pfizer vaccine will be a "key challenge" in the vaccine programme.
The Pfizer vaccine could be airlifted to Britain if ports are snarled up because Britain fails to agree a trade deal with the European Union when the Brexit transition period ends, James Cleverly, foreign office minister, suggested.
Hong Kong plans to install vending machines for coronavirus testing kits in 10 subway stations across the city amid a new surge in cases.
Californians were preparing for a new stay-at-home order that bars restaurant dining, shutters salons and limits retail in an effort to curb spiraling coronavirus infections and hospitalisations.
Russia has granted approval for clinical trials to be held for the Chinese Covid-19 vaccine Ad5-Ncov involving 8,000 volunteers, the Interfax news agency reported on Monday.
09:26 AM
How Shetland forced coronavirus into retreat
It had one of the highest infection rates but is now almost Covid-free. How did Shetland become a pandemic poster child? Joe Shute reports. Pictures by Simon Townsley.
William Smith at the grave of his father Willie, 91, who died of Covid following a trip to hospital in Aberdeen. Willie was the last Shetlander to die of Covid. - Simon Townsley
The body of 91-year-old Willie Smith was transported a few miles out of town to Tingwall Kirk, a church on the site of the ancient Viking parliament that once ruled these islands.
By his graveside in the sheeting rain, his grandson played the Lament on the bagpipes.Today his son, William Smith, stands at the foot of his grave, the wilting flowers still spelling out ‘Dad’.
“It hasn’t really sunk in,” says the 58-year-old who lived alone with his father. “It’s been like a bad dream.”
Willie Smith was the most recent person Shetland resident to die from Covid-19, capping a year in which Britain’s most isolated community has been rocked by the disease.
One in three testing positive for Covid-19 in Gaza
This just in from James Rothwell in Jerusalem:
Officials in Gaza have warned that around one in three people are testing positive for coronavirus, amid growing fears that the Hamas-controlled strip could be about to face a major health crisis.
On Sunday, officials said that 2,000 tests had been carried out in Gaza over the past 24 hours and that 36 per cent came back positive. There are around 10,000 active cases in the territory while more than 80 per cent of hospital beds reserved for Covid-19 patients are occupied, according to Israeli news website i24.
It came as the Israeli government again raised the prospect of a third nationwide lockdown to combat its own fresh wave of the virus, which is infecting around 900 people per day.
Israeli health officials say that figure could climb as high as 7,400 cases in the weeks to come unless action is taken. One option reportedly being considered by the government, as well as a full lockdown, is a nighttime curfew over Hanukkah and Christmas to prevent large gatherings.
“If we don’t stop the increase [in infections] in the coming days, a third lockdown will be a fact and not a recommendation," Yuli Edelstein, the Israeli health minister, reportedly warned the cabinet over the weekend.
Palestinians wearing protective face masks walk in the market amid the ongoing coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic in Gaza City, December 6 - MOHAMMED SABER/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
08:59 AM
ICYMI: Rudy Giuliani admitted to hospital after testing positive for Covid-19
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has tested positive for Covid-19 - REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
Rudy Giuliani has been admitted to hospital after testing positive for coronavirus.
The 76-year old former New York City mayor is being treated at Georgetown University Medical Centre and because of his age is likely to be considered as being in a high risk category.
Mr Giuliani thanked all his supporters on Twitter for their kind thoughts and said he was feeling good.
Vaccine roll out this week is 'start of the marathon', NHS boss says
This week, the NHS will make contact with patients to let them know that the vaccine is available to them, the chief executive of the NHS Confederation has said.
"We will be targeting this week those patients who are due to attend hospital for outpatient appointments at one of those 50 sites," Danny Mortimer told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
"We will be targeting patients who are in our beds already waiting transfer of care home and we will also be in contact with our colleagues in care homes, the employers of care homes, to identify their staff and bring them in.
"They do physically have to come to one of the 50 sites, as I said NHS will make contact with people."
Mr Mortimer said this was the "start of a marathon" in terms of scaling up the vaccinations.
He added that no vaccines will be wasted, and any not used this week on patients will go to NHS already identified as "high risk".
08:36 AM
January could see 'severe peak' of infections, expert warns
January could see a “severe peak” of coronavirus infections if we “take our foot off the pedal”, a Sage scientist has warned, as he called crowded Christmas shopping scenes “concerning”.
The pandemic is “certainly not all over”, Professor Andrew Hayward, professor of infectious disease epidemiology at University College London (UCL) and a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), said.
Prof Hayward said he is “concerned” about scenes of crowded shopping streets and malls, adding: “We still have the winter to get through, which is likely to be the time that is most favourable for Covid transmission”.
“We could still see very severe peak, particularly in January, is when I predict that would be most likely if we take our foot off the pedal on this.
“And that would be so sad considering we’re going to be in a stage where we can protect the most vulnerable during December, January, February and start to get back to normal in late Spring, early summer,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
08:31 AM
WATCH: First Covid-19 vaccines delivered to UK hospitals
08:23 AM
Russian total cases near 2.5million
Russia confirmed 28,142 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours on Monday, including 7,279 in Moscow, pushing the national tally to 2,488,912 since the pandemic began.
Authorities said 456 people had died overnight, taking the official death toll to 43,597.
Mr Cleverly said the pictures of crowded shopping streets at the weekend was "frustrating".
"The vaccine, without a doubt, is a light at the end of the tunnel, but ultimately we still have to exercise personal responsibility. We're not there yet, it will take some time to roll this vaccine out and it will take some time before we go back to normality," he told Sky News.
Shoppers flock to the high street for first weekend after lockdown, London - ANDY RAIN/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
07:52 AM
Minister refuses to confirm 'vaccine passports'
On the question of vaccine passports, Mr Cleverly said the "priority" is about making sure the roll out is to the most vulnerable people first and protecting key workers.
"Ultimately, it is about making sure there is a wide roll out and confidence in that roll out," he told Sky News. "It's about unlocking people's lives, it's about unlocking the economy."
When pushed to confirm whether the vaccine cards pictured in the weekend newspapers are in fact "vaccine passports", Mr Cleverly rebutted the statement and reiterate that getting the roll out right was the priority.
07:47 AM
Covid-19 vaccine could be 'airlifted in', minister says
The UK has "extensive plans in place" to ensure the supply of coronavirus vaccines, James Cleverly, foreign office minister, has said.
"We've looked at use of non-commercial flights, we've got border arrangements in place," he told Sky News.
"I have no doubt that the EU will help us to facilitate travel" of the vaccine into the UK, he said.
He added that the vaccine will be airlifted into the country "amongst other things".
07:38 AM
Vaccine roll out: 'It's just incredible', says health chief
Louise Coughlan, joint-chief pharmacist at Croydon Health Services NHS Trust, said she is "so proud" to be part of the team which has received the first coronavirus vaccines in the world.
"It's just incredible actually, obviously I can't hold them in my hands because they're -70C but to know that they are here and we're among the first in the country to actually receive the vaccine, and therefore first in the world, is just amazing, I am so proud," she told BBC Radio 4 Today.
07:31 AM
People hit the shops as engagement ring sales 'spike'
There were crowded scenes across the country's main shopping thoroughfares this weekend as the public hit the stores after lockdown.
With only three weekends to go before Christmas, Anna Blackburn, managing director of Beaverbrooks, said the packed streets were normal for this time of year.
But she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We've definitely seen an increase in footfall this weekend, about 10 per cent I would say."
Ms Blackburn added: "We're starting to see a little bit of a spike in wedding ring sales, engagement ring sales... it's been a tough year and people want to show their loved ones and treat themselves as well."
Shoppers in Nottingham city centre on the first weekend following the end of the second national lockdown in England, with coronavirus restrictions being relaxed. - Zac Goodwin/PA Shoppers on Oxford Street in London on the first weekend following the end of the second national lockdown - Aaron Chown/PA Tens of thousands of shoppers flocked to central London for Christmas shopping after three weeks of lockdown. - ANDY RAIN/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
07:05 AM
Today's top stories
Good morning from Telegraph HQ. Here are today's top stories.
Britons saved £100bn of 'excess savings' in lockdown
Britons amassed around £100 billion of "excess savings" during coronavirus lockdowns, the Bank of England's chief economist said.
Andy Haldane said various curbs on non-essential shopping and the hospitality sector had led to a "pent-up demand" which was now being unleashed.
Forced to stay home during the lockdown, Britons ramped up their savings instead of spending - sending the household saving ratio soaring to an all-time high of 29.1 per cent in the second quarter of this year, according to the Office of National Statistics.
This was up from the 9.6 per cent saving ratio in the first three months of the year.
Mr Haldane told the Daily Mail: "It did mean there is a pool of excess savings - excess because they weren't planned.
"Some of this spending is lost and gone forever, especially on socialising. You are not going to go to the pub twice as much when they're open again, but there will be some catch-up in social spending.
"There is plenty of scope there for the vaccine to release more of that pent-up demand."
Worst-hit areas in first wave also fared worse in Spanish flu, study finds
Areas of northern England that were worst-hit during the first wave of coronavirus also fared badly during the Spanish flu, a new study has revealed.
Research by the Northern Health Sciences Alliance (NHSA) found the Northern Powerhouse area suffered over 12 more Covid-19 related deaths per 100,000 than the rest of England.
Now one of the authors of that research has analysed the 1918 Spanish flu outbreak, which killed 50-100 million people globally, for any health inequalities.
Clare Bambra, professor of public health at Newcastle University, teamed up with other academics - including Dr Paul Norman from Leeds University - to study similarities in how the two quite different pandemics affected England's regions.
Pakistan cricketers complain about NZ restrictions
Pakistan's cricketers complained on Monday of being affected "mentally and physically" by New Zealand's strict Covid-19 protocols, which have kept the players holed up in their quarantine hotel for nearly two weeks.
Coach Misbah-ul-Haq said the team was looking forward to exiting managed isolation, with New Zealand Cricket saying the latest virus tests had all come back negative and they should be allowed out on Tuesday.
Since the 50-plus squad of players and officials arrived last month, 10 have tested positive, forcing New Zealand health authorities to withdraw permission for the team to train in isolation.
Early in their stay, several team members were caught mingling together at their four-star quarantine hotel in Christchurch, in breach of the managed isolation rules.
"Top professional athletes require a certain environment to prepare so that they can perform at the minimum expected levels every time they represent their countries," Misbah said in a statement.
He said Pakistan "respect and understand" the health and safety regulations, but "there is no denying the fact that the implementation of certain regulations has affected our athletes, both mentally and physically prior to an international series".
As UK prepares to roll out vaccines, scepticism remains
A sizeable minority of people believe conspiracy theories about the coronavirus and Covid-19 vaccines, some experts have warned, just as countries prepare to launch mass inoculations to get the pandemic under control.
Britain begins its vaccine programme this week and others are likely to follow soon, so governments are seeking to reassure people of vaccines' safety and efficacy in order to get a critical mass to take them.
In the United States, President-elect Joe Biden said he would have a coronavirus vaccine publicly to demonstrate its safety, and referred to people losing faith in the vaccine's ability to work.
"What we're finding is, in the wake of the pandemic, that conspiracy beliefs may have gone mainstream, that they're no longer confined to the fringes," Daniel Freeman, Professor of Clinical Psychology at Oxford University, told Reuters. "Around a quarter (of Britain's population) are entertaining such thoughts. Another quarter are consistently thinking in terms of conspiracy beliefs, and around one in 10 people seem to have a very high rate of endorsement of conspiracy beliefs."
Serum seeks emergency use nod for AstraZeneca's vaccine candidate
Serum Institute of India, the world's largest vaccine producer by volume, has sought emergency use authorisation in the country for AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine candidate, its chief executive officer said on Monday.
The experimental vaccine can be stored at two to eight degrees Celsius and can be distributed more easily in India.
Serum's move comes close on the heels of Pfizer applying for a similar authorisation of its coronavirus vaccine candidate on Saturday.
CEO Adar Poonawala tweeted on Monday that the move "will save countless lives," but did not give any other details.
Australian state allows first international flight in 5 months
Australia's second-largest city welcomed its first international passenger flight in five months on Monday, an arrival that will test the state of Victoria's revamped hotel quarantine system.
Australia has since March closed its borders to non-citizens, but airports serving Melbourne, Victoria's capital, stopped accepting any arrivals in late June after an outbreak that begun at two hotels where arrivals were quarantining.
More than 20,000 infections were recorded in Victoria when hotel staff contracted the virus from people returning from overseas.
The outbreak has been widely blamed on failures of private contractors to follow protocol. With hundreds of people expected to arrive in Victoria each week, state authorities have said police officers will now enforce stricter standards.
The new system will greet Australians arriving on a flight from Sri Lanka, who will now no longer be allowed to leave their rooms under the new hotel quarantine restrictions.
Travellers arrive at a hotel in Melbourne where Australians returning from overseas will quarantine - AFP
05:28 AM
Cases in India near 10 million
India reported 32,981 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, data from the federal health ministry showed on Monday.
Cumulative cases now total 9.68 million, the second-highest tally in the world after the United States.
But health officials are drawing some encouragement that daily readings have stayed below the 50,000 mark for a month, in spite of a busy festival season that saw crowded markets and busy streets. The number peaked in September when more than 97,000 cases were reported on a single day.
Deaths rose by 391, with the total now 140,573, the health ministry said.
Indian women carry vegetables on their head at a vegetable market in Ahmedabad - AP
02:20 AM
Sinovac secures $515m funding to boost vaccine production
China's Sinovac Biotech has secured $515 million (£383.4 million) in funding from a local firm to double production capacity of its coronavirus vaccine, the companies said on Monday, as it expects efficacy data of its experimental shot this month.
The investment deal also comes as Sinovac expands supply deals and trials of its experimental vaccine CoronaVac with more countries following positive results from early to mid-stage clinical trials.
China's Sino Biopharmaceutical Limited said on Monday a business unit will invest $515 million in Sinovac Life Sciences, a subsidiary of Sinovac, to help development and production of CoronaVac.
Sinovac said in a separate statement that it would be able to manufacture 300 million vaccine doses annually and aims to complete construction of a second production facility by the end of 2020 to increase annual production capacity to 600 million doses.
Support for Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's cabinet tumbled nearly 13 points due to dissatisfaction with the government's response to a resurgence in the coronavirus, a weekend Kyodo News survey showed.
Support for Mr Suga's cabinet dropped to 50.3 per cent from 63.0 per cent a month earlier, with the disapproval rating rising to 32.8 per cent from 19.2 per cent, the Kyodo survey showed.
About 48 per cent of respondents want the government to temporarily halt its "Go To Travel" subsidy campaign due to concerns the tourism programme was increasing the spread of the virus, while a separate Yomiuri newspaper survey showed 57 per cent want the campaign suspended.
Japan has reported around 163,000 cases and 2,300 deaths.
Protesters hold banners with slogans at a rally supporting a hospital's medical workers' strike in front of the health ministry in Tokyo - Reuters
01:28 AM
California Attorney General looks set for critical role battling pandemic
President-elect Joe Biden plans to nominate California Attorney General Xavier Becerra as secretary of health and human services, two sources said on Sunday, placing the Latino former congressman in a critical role battling the coronavirus pandemic.
The choice of Mr Becerra, 62, who also had been considered a candidate for US attorney general, came as Mr Biden faced more lobbying to add diversity to his Cabinet appointments, including complaints from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus about the lack of Latinos.
Mr Becerra will lead the health agency as it struggles to handle a resurgence of the coronavirus, including record infections and a daily death toll that has exceeded 2,000 in recent days, and prepares a mammoth effort to vaccinate Americans against the virus.
More than 281,000 Americans have died from the disease, according to a Reuters tally.
Two-year-old Fabian Acuna dances wearing a face shield following the traditional procession and Mass in honour of Our Lady of Guadalupe at San Gabriel Mission in California - Getty
01:11 AM
South Korea's health minister warns of 'Covid-19 war zone'
South Korea's health minister said on Monday that the Seoul metropolitan area is now a "Covid-19 war zone", as the country reported another 615 new infections and the virus appeared to be spreading faster.
The country has recorded more than 5,300 new infections in the past 10 days and Monday was the 30th day in a row of triple-digit daily jumps.
Most of the new infections were detected in the Seoul metropolitan area where health workers are struggling to stem transmissions tied to various places, including restaurants, schools, hospitals and long-term care facilities.
"The capital area is now a Covid-19 war zone," Health Minister Park Neung-hoo said in a virus meeting, pleading for citizen vigilance.
In total, South Korea has reported 38,161 cases, with 549 deaths.
12:09 AM
Today's top stories
Britain will receive up to four million doses of the Pfizer vaccine before the end of the year, NHS leaders promised amid fears that many people would miss out in the first wave of vaccination because of short supplies.
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