Covid live news: Melbourne vaccine mandate sparks protest; Boris Johnson warns of ‘storm clouds’ in Europe | World news

The UK is in “fairly a unique scenario” from different European nations the place curbs on freedoms are being thought-about, an influential pandemic advisor to the federal government has mentioned.

Prof Neil Ferguson, from Imperial Faculty London, mentioned excessive Covid case numbers in the summertime had boosted immunity within the inhabitants, in contrast Germany, the Netherlands and France.

He mentioned he hoped the UK can keep away from returning to social distancing restrictions this winter, including: “I believe it’s unlikely we are going to get something near what we had final yr, that catastrophic winter wave.”

Requested on BBC Radio 4’s Immediately programme what course he believes the nation is heading by way of coronavirus, Ferguson mentioned a number of weeks of declining Covid instances and hospital admissions had been adopted by “a touch of an uptick in the previous couple of days”.

“However we’re in fairly a unique scenario from these European nations you might be speaking about (the Netherlands, Germany),” he mentioned.

“We’ve had very excessive case numbers – between 30,000 and 50,000 a day – actually for the final 4 months, because the starting of July.

“That has clearly had some downsides. It has additionally paradoxically had an upside of boosting the immunity of the inhabitants in contrast with nations like Germany, the Netherlands and France, which have had a lot decrease case numbers and are solely now seeing an uptick.”

About 400 South Korean and Japanese have grow to be the primary overseas vacationers to go to Vietnam in practically 20 months, after the nation closed its borders in an effort to comprise the coronavirus.

The passengers, who have been required to indicate proof of vaccination and unfavorable Covid take a look at outcomes earlier than departing, travelled on two constitution flights from Seoul and Tokyo to Nha Trang, a resort metropolis within the south of Vietnam, in line with AFP.

Vietnam, which closed its borders to worldwide guests in March 2020, is determined to revive its badly hit economic system after months of lockdowns. The communist one-party state was extensively praised for its dealing with of the pandemic final yr, with solely dozens of identified coronavirus instances.

However from April, the extremely transmissible Delta variant arrived within the nation and Vietnam has since recorded greater than one million infections and virtually 23,000 deaths.

A brand new document Covid demise toll has been reported in Russia, with 1,241 dying from the illness up to now 24 hours. There have been 39,256 new coronavirus instances recorded in the identical interval, in line with Reuters.

Most of Russia’s 80-plus areas lifted a week-long office shutdown initially of the week that was designed to curb a surge in case numbers.

A US court docket has upheld a call to place a maintain on Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate for corporations with greater than 100 staff, rejecting a authorized problem from his administration.

A 3-member panel of the fifth US circuit court docket of appeals in New Orleans affirmed its ruling regardless of the Biden administration’s declare that halting the vaccine mandate might result in dozens and even a whole bunch of deaths, in line with Reuters.

“The mandate is staggeringly overbroad,” the opinion mentioned.

“The mandate is a one-size-fits-all sledgehammer that makes hardly any try and account for variations in workplaces (and staff),” circuit court docket decide Kurt Engelhardt wrote for the panel.

Vaccine mandates are controversial. Supporters say they’re wanted to place an finish to the practically two-year coronavirus pandemic, whereas opponents argue they violate the US structure and curb particular person liberty.

In a lift to critics of the mandate, Engelhardt wrote: “The general public curiosity can also be served by sustaining our constitutional construction and sustaining the freedom of people to make intensely private selections in line with their very own convictions – even, or maybe significantly, when these selections frustrate authorities officers,” .

The rule, issued by the Occupational Security and Health Administration (OSHA), mandates that companies with not less than 100 workers require workers to get vaccinated or face weekly exams and face masks necessities.

Biden imposed the requirement in September, telling People that “our endurance is carrying skinny” with these refusing to get vaccinated.

Boris Johnson, the UK prime minister, has urged aged and weak folks to get their coronavirus vaccine booster jabs to forestall an increase in Covid instances, as he warned of “storm clouds” forming over parts of Europe.

Germany, Austria, Slovakia and Croatia are among the many nations which have not too long ago seen a surge in Covid instances, with the former recording its highest coronavirus case numbers because the begin of the pandemic.

Talking in a broadcast clip, Johnson mentioned the scenario was of concern. “I’m seeing the storm clouds gathering over components of the European continent. And I’ve received to be completely frank with folks: we’ve been right here earlier than. We keep in mind what occurs when the wave begins rolling in,” he mentioned.

The World Well being Group’s regional director for Europe, Hans Kluge, has mentioned a scarcity of uptake of Covid vaccines is behind the increase.

Whereas Johnson famous that instances within the UK had been “drifting down for some time”, he mentioned it was unclear whether or not the development was set to proceed. “I’m what’s taking place abroad, and I’m merely saying to the British folks … that is the second to get your booster,” he mentioned.

A number of thousand folks rallied in Melbourne in opposition to new vaccination mandates on Saturday, with just a few evaluating the state authorities to Nazis and calling for violence in opposition to politicians.

In Australia, the place 83% of individuals aged 16 and above have been absolutely vaccinated in opposition to the coronavirus, nationwide vaccinations are voluntary. However states and territories have mandated vaccinations for a lot of occupations and barred the unvaccinated from actions reminiscent of eating out and concert events.

The Melbourne demonstration in opposition to the vaccination mandate that got here into impact on Saturday – requiring development staff in Victoria state to be absolutely vaccinated – was peaceable, with no fast studies of unruly behaviour or arrests, in line with Reuters.

However a reporter at The Age posted video on Twitter of a protester carrying a mock gallows with three nooses hanging from it, and the newspaper confirmed a protester carrying a poster depicting the Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, with a Hitler moustache and the hashtag #DictatorDan.

“We’re being ruled by insane medical bureaucrats,” Craig Kelly, a former Liberal occasion member of parliament and now the chief of the United Australia occasion, instructed the rally, media reported.

Good morning from London, and welcome to one more coronavirus dwell weblog.

I’m Damien Gayle and I’ll be retaining you updated with all the most recent headlines and developments from the coronavirus pandemic around the globe.

Bought a coronavirus-related story you assume we must be masking? Drop me a line at damien.gayle@theguardian.com, or by way of my Twitter profile @damiengayle.