Coronavirus Live News: Biden Reinstates Covid Travel Ban As World Approaches 100 Million Cases | World news

Experts have called for greater clarity on the surveillance in place to assess the 12-week dosing interval for Covid vaccines, as the UK’s vaccination program ramps up.

According to government data released on Sunday, a total of 6,353,321 people in the UK have received at least one dose of a Covid vaccine. A new series of vaccination centers are expected to open on Monday to speed up vaccine delivery.

These include London’s Crick Institute, Blackpool Winter Gardens, Lancaster City Hall, Bath Racecourse and the Black Country Living Museum, where scenes from the Peaky Blinders TV show were filmed.

“These 33 new large vaccination centers will strengthen our existing network and allow the NHS to protect as many people as possible in the coming weeks,” Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi said.

However, there is continuing controversy over the government’s decision to increase the interval between two-dose injections to 12 weeks in an effort to provide protection to as many people as possible.

The Guardian’s Nicola Davis and Jessica Elgot report:

The number of coronavirus cases worldwide has exceeded 99 million, according to Johns Hopkins University, as the total rapidly grows to 100 million people infected with Covid-19 in just over a year.

The current total is 99,105,389 infections. At least 2,127,206 people have died.

On average, around 650,000 cases of coronavirus were reported daily last week.

Israel announced a weeklong ban on most inbound and outbound flights on Sunday in a bid to slow the spread of new variants of the coronavirus, AFP reports.

The measure will begin at midnight Monday through Tuesday and will remain in effect until Sunday, a statement from the prime minister’s office said.

Exceptions will be made for freight and firefighting flights, as well as travel for medical treatment, funerals and legal proceedings.

A panel of officials from the Ministry of Health and the Interior will be able to issue exemptions on request “for humanitarian or personal needs,” the statement said.

The decision was made with the country during its third national coronavirus lockdown, initiated in late December and extended on Tuesday until the end of the month due to an increase in the number of deaths.

Earlier on Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced his government’s intention to shut down the airport as variants of the coronavirus have been detected in increasing numbers.

“We are shutting the skies tight, with rare exceptions, to prevent the entry of viral mutations and to ensure that we move quickly on our vaccination campaign,” he said ahead of a cabinet meeting.

US President Joe Biden will officially reinstate Covid travel restrictions on Monday for non-US travelers from Brazil, Ireland, the UK and 26 other European countries that allow travel across open borders, according to two White House officials.

AP: Officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the order, also confirmed on Sunday that South Africa would be added to the shortlist over concerns over a variant of the virus that has spread. spread beyond this country.

Biden is rescinding an order from President Donald Trump in his last days in office that called for the relaxation of travel restrictions from Tuesday.

The decision to reverse the order is not surprising, but the addition of South Africa to the restricted travel list highlights the new administration’s concern over mutations in the virus.

The South African variant has not been discovered in the United States, but another variant – native to the United Kingdom – has been detected in several states.
Reuters was the first to report Biden’s decision to add South Africa to the list.

Last week, Biden issued an executive order ordering federal agencies to require international air travelers to be quarantined upon arrival in the United States. The order also requires all passengers bound for the United States aged 2 years and older to have negative test results within three days of travel.

Hello and welcome to today’s live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic with me, Helen sullivan.

As always, you can find me on Twitter @helenrsullivan.

The number of coronavirus cases worldwide has exceeded 99 million, according to Johns Hopkins University, as the total rapidly grows to 100 million people infected with Covid-19 in just over a year.

In the United States, President Joe Biden will formally reinstate travel restrictions on non-American travelers from Brazil, Ireland, the United Kingdom and 26 other European countries that allow crossing open borders on Monday, according to two White House officials.

Officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the order, also confirmed on Sunday that South Africa would be added to the shortlist over concerns over a variant of the virus that has spread to the country. beyond this country.

Here are the other key developments of the last few hours:

• Israel to ban passenger flights to try to prevent imports of Covid variants, which will take effect from Monday 10 p.m. for two weeks
• Greek health authorities have reported an increase in the number of variant coronavirus cases first spotted in the UK, with 32 infections detected.
• The UK has reported 30,000 more lab-confirmed coronavirus cases, according to government data. That compares to 38,598 cases recorded last Sunday.
• Jeremy Hunt, the former UK health secretary, echoed calls from epidemiologists asking that the use of medical grade masks be mandatory in public transport and in shops.
• Serbia has detected its first case of the British coronavirus variant, in a woman who has traveled from London but no new lockdown is planned in the country, President Aleksandar Vučić said.
• Airbus announced that some 500 employees have entered quarantine following an outbreak at its aircraft factory in Hamburg in which 21 workers tested positive, according to Reuters.
• Police used water cannons and dogs against protesters after hundreds gathered in a central Amsterdam square on Sunday to protest a new coronavirus curfew.
• France is likely to enter a third lockdown due to the spread of new coronavirus variants in the country, the government’s senior medical adviser on Covid-19 policy said.
• Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador will phone Vladimir Putin on Monday to discuss Mexico’s purchase of the Sputnik V vaccine. the Mexican government said on Sunday.
• France has notified 18,436 new cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours, against 23,924 on Saturday. However, today’s figure is higher than that of last Sunday, when 16,642 infections were recorded.
• Ecuador approved use of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccinee, the country’s health ministry said on Sunday.