Dozens of crossings at the Mexico-US border reopened to non-essential travel on Monday after a 20-month closure due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Lizbeth Diaz reports for Reuters from Tijuana that ahead of the reopening, hundreds of cars formed lines stretching back kilometres from the border, while queues at pedestrian crossings grew steadily.
Differing rules over coronavirus vaccines threaten to hold up family reunions. Some inoculated Mexicans will not be able to enter the US immediately if they received vaccines in Mexico that have not been approved by the World Health Organization such as China’s CanSino and Russia’s Sputnik V.
“I never imagined that because I got the CanSino vaccine I wouldn’t be able to cross,” lamented Donato Suarez, a driver at a private university in Tijuana who had hoped to visit relatives in the United States he has not seen for nearly two years.
“We even had plans to do something when the border reopened,” he added, noting around 300 people where he works are in the same predicament. “We’ll have to wait.”
Daily tests may replace home quarantine for Australian school students
Sarah Martin
School students could undertake daily Covid tests rather than quarantine at home under a “test to stay” approach being considered by Australia’s state and territory leaders.
The Doherty Institute has released modelling which examines what would happen to infection numbers in a school outbreak under various scenarios.
It finds that incursions into schools would be “inevitable” during rising cases of community transmission, and notes that returning students to in-person learning and keeping schools open safely has been identified as a national priority.
The findings, provided to national cabinet on Friday, recommend surveillance testing to allow for early detection of positive Covid cases in schools, which would reduce the likelihood of an outbreak, and suggests that in the event of a positive case, close contacts should not have to quarantine.
“We compared a seven-day quarantine of classroom contacts to a strategy called a ‘test to stay’ … where for seven days, if there’s a case in a school, their classroom contacts need to have a daily rapid antigen test before attending school, and they can continue attending school provided they keep testing negative,” Dr Nick Scott, who oversaw the schools modelling for the Doherty Institute, said on Monday.
Ukraine recorded 13,068 new Covid-19 cases and 473 coronavirus-related deaths in the last 24 hours. There were 3,532 hospitalisations registered. The seven-day average for new cases has been running at about 23,000 for the last week.
It’s a one picture story really, but here are the scenes a little while ago at Heathrow airport in London, where Sean Doyle, British Airways Chairman and CEO and Shai Weiss, Virgin Atlantic Chief Executive have been posing for pictures ahead of the resumption of transatlantic passenger flights. The two airlines were planning a synchronised departure on parallel runways, with both planes heading from London to New York.
Sean Doyle, British Airways Chairman and CEO (centre right) and Shai Weiss, Virgin Atlantic Chief Executive (centre left) at London Heathrow Airport. Photograph: Doug Peters/PA
Robert Koch Institute records Germany's highest ever seven-day Covid incidence rate
Germany’s Robert Koch Institute (RKI) has been recording some of the highest numbers of cases that the country has seen since the start of the pandemic. Germany’s incidence rate – measuring the number of new coronavirus infections per 100,000 people over the last seven days – has risen to 201.1 today. This is the highest recorded by the RKI.
Agence France-Presse report that in the eastern state of Saxony, where the incidence rate is more than twice the national average at 491.3, unvaccinated people face new restrictions from Monday.
Access to indoor dining and other indoor events will be limited to those who are fully vaccinated or can show proof of recovery.
The new rules are the toughest state-wide restrictions in Germany against non-inoculated people. Only children as well as those who cannot receive jabs for medical reasons will be exempt.
Indonesia plans to give booster shots to the general public after 50% of its population has been fully vaccinated, its health minister said today, which he expects to happen at the end of next month.
Indonesia, the world’s fourth most populous country, has inoculated 29% of its population of 270 million people, using a variety of vaccine brands.
Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin told a parliamentary hearing the government decided on boosters at the 50% mark due to vaccine inequity concerns at home or abroad.
“Issues of injustice or ethics are so high in the world, because some countries haven’t gotten a lot of first shots,” he said.
Stanley Widianto reports from Jakarta that the minister’s plan prioritises the elderly and the poor who are insured by the government, while the rest of the population may have to pay for them. Many health workers have already received boosters.
Hello, it is Martin Belam here in London taking over from Samantha Lock. I’ll bring you any Covid lines that come out of the early interviews in the UK media round – it is Anne-Marie Trevelyan who is appearing for the government. Here are the latest UK Covid numbers.
Lockdown of New Zealand’s largest city likely to end this month
Auckland’s near-three-month lockdown is likely to end later this month with some coronavirus restrictions eased from Tuesday, according to prime minister Jacinda Ardern.
The city’s outbreak has grown to more than 4,500 cases with about 150 new infections reported each day over the past week.
Ardern said the city’s improving vaccination rate among people age 12 and older meant it could continue cutting back on restrictions during an announcement on Monday.
“Auckland hit 90% first dose and 80% second dose over the weekend, and it’s now a matter of weeks away from 90% double-dose,” she said. “And so while we’re getting those rates higher still, we are easing into our reopening.”
From Tuesday, retail stores and malls in Auckland can reopen, along with libraries, museums and zoos. Outdoor gatherings will be increased from a maximum of 10 people to 25.
Other facilities such as gyms and movie theatres will remain shut, and many Aucklanders will continue working from home.
Japan records zero daily Covid deaths for first time in 15 months
Japan recorded no daily deaths from Covid-19 for the first time in 15 months on Sunday, according to national broadcaster NHK.
Prior to Sunday, there hadn’t been a day without a Covid-19 death since 2 August, 2020, according to a tally by the broadcaster. The latest figures from the health ministry showed three deaths on Saturday.
Covid cases and deaths have fallen dramatically throughout Japan as vaccinations have increased to cover more than 70% of the population.
New daily infections peaked at more than 25,000 during an August wave driven by the infectious Delta variant. The country has had more than 18,000 deaths from the disease during the course of the pandemic.
The government plans to start booster vaccine shots next month and is working to secure pill-based treatments for milder cases to reduce hospitalisations and gird against a possible rebound this winter.
A very happy Monday to all and thanks for joining us for today’s live Covid coverage.
I’m Samantha Lock and I’ll be reporting to you from Sydney, Australia, to bring you all the top headlines from around the world.
For the first time in 18 months, the US is lifting travel restrictions for those who are fully vaccinated.
From today, 8 November, those travelling to the US by flight from 33 countries or through land borders with Mexico and Canada will be able to enter the country.
Up until now the US had restricted non-essential travel for non-US citizens from several destinations around the world, including the UK and EU.
It’s also good news for those in New Zealand’s largest city of Auckland after prime minister Jacinda Ardern announced it would likely end an almost three-month lockdown later this month, with some coronavirus restrictions to be eased from Tuesday, AP reports.
An outbreak of the delta variant has grown to more than 4,500 cases with about 150 new infections reported each day over the past week.
Summary of today’s developments
US lifts bans on travel from 33 countries from Monday, allowing in international travellers, but they must be vaccinated. The US is also reopening the land borders with Canada and Mexico for vaccinated people.
Germany reports 15,513 new Covid cases in the past 24 hours, a decrease from yesterday’s 23,543 reported cases, the Robert Koch Institute reports.
India’s daily Covid cases rose by 11,451 to reach a total of 34.37m and deaths rose by 266 for a total death toll of 461,057 the health ministry reports.
Russia and Ukraine hit record Covid numbers. Low vaccination rates are a major factor in the sharp rise in cases.
Australia will begin administering booster shots of Pfizer’s Covid vaccine from Monday amid an accelerating immunisation drive against the coronavirus.
More than 10 million people have had Covid booster jabs in the UK, according to figures, as people were told to get their top-up to help prevent restrictions this Christmas.
Northern Ireland’s health minister is suing Van Morrison after the singer accused him of being “very dangerous” over his handling of Covid restrictions.
The UK will start to roll out Merck’s molnupiravir Covid-19 antiviral pill through a drug trial later this month, Dr Susan Hopkins, the chief medical adviser at the UK Health Security Agency said on Sunday.
US president Joe Biden is pushing forward with an ambitious plan to require millions of private sector employees to get vaccinated by early next year, while simultaneously battling to convince workers in his own federal government to get the shot.
