Hospitals in the UK have started receiving batches of the newly approved Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine in preparation for its rollout on Monday.
Millions in France face tighter restrictions from Saturday night to combat a high rate of Covid-19 cases, including a 12-hour curfew in 15 departments. The country announced 157 more deaths today.
Teaching unions and charities have called for the UK government to postpone the reopening of schools for at least a fortnight, over fears for staff safety amid rising cases.
Turkey has reported 202 new deaths and 11,180 more positive cases in the last 24 hours, according to data from its health ministry.
In Italy, 364 more people have died from the virus, a drop compared with Friday’s total of 462. The number of new cases has also fallen, from 22,211 to 11,831.
The US is braced for a post-Christmas surge of coronavirus cases and deaths, as the number of people killed nears 350,000, with thousands predicted to die in the coming month and doctors warning they are at “breaking point”.
Russia has said it has vaccinated more than 800,000 people, and more than 1.5m doses have been dispatched. The health ministry is keeping a database of Russians who have had the Sputnik V vaccine.
Gibraltar has imposed a second lockdown in an attempt to stem the tide of Covid infections. Its 34,000 residents can now only leave home for essential shopping, work, exercise or medical reasons.
Italy is delaying opening its ski resorts until 18 January, after regional authorities asked for more time to meet coronavirus rules. The government’s scientific technical committee had said that crowds created a “medium-high” risk.
Another 314 people have died from coronavirus in Brazil, amid another 15,827 positive cases being recorded in the last 24 hours. The South American country has the second highest death toll in the world.
Brazil announces 15,827 new coronavirus cases and 314 deaths
Another 314 people have died from coronavirus in Brazil, amid another 15,827 positive cases being recorded in the last 24 hours.
According to its health ministry, the country has registered more than 7.7m cases of the virus since the pandemic began. The official death toll has risen to 195,725.
Teaching unions in Wales have also called for the reopening of schools to be delayed.
NASUWT and the headteachers body NAHT Cymru said concerns over increased transmissibility of the new Covid-19 variant, and its risk to teachers, meant schools should move to home learning.
A number of councils in Wales have already made the decision to teach pupils remotely for at least a week in January, but some are still planning to reopen on 6 January for face-to-face teaching.
Neil Butler, NASUWT’s national officer for Wales said: “The whole of Wales is in tier 4 and yet there are schools in Wales planning to open this week to full face-to-face teaching.
“There is chaos and confusion in the education service in Wales as the buck has effectively been passed to local authorities and some authorities have passed it down to individual schools.”
Blood Cancer UK, has recommended parents suffering from the disease consider keeping their children at home if they are in an area of high coronavirus infection rates.
The charity, which funds research into blood cancers including leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma, said people with blood cancer are at high risk from the virus. “We are now at a point where the infection rate is very high and yet we are just weeks away from getting vulnerable people vaccinated,” a statement on Twitter said.
It comes as teaching unions and councils are lobbying the government to introduce a blanket closure of primary schools across England until mid-January, amid rising case numbers and increased pressure on hospitals.
Hospitals in London are set to cancel urgent surgery in a move that could mean cancer patients waiting months for potentially lifesaving operations.
The charity added: “No parent with blood cancer should feel under any pressure to send their children to school over the next few weeks if they think keeping them off is the right thing for their family.”
France records 157 more Covid-19 deaths ahead of new restrictions
Nearly 65,000 people have died from coronavirus in France, as part of the country enters tougher restrictions.
According to its health ministry, 157 people died from the virus in the last 24 hours. New data also showed 3,466 new cases.
The increase is within the government’s target of 5,000 or less per day. More than 2.6m people in the country have had positive tests since the start of the pandemic. The death toll stands at 64,921.
Tighter rules on public movement are being introduced from Saturday, including a night time curfew.
NHS bosses are set to cancel urgent surgery across London in a move that could mean cancer patients waiting months for potentially lifesaving operations.
NHS England chiefs are considering the drastic action because hospitals across the capital are becoming overwhelmed by people who are very sick with Covid-19.
The operations likely to be cancelled, known as “priority two” procedures, mainly involve surgery for cancer where specialists have judged that the patients need to be operated on within four weeks. Any delay could allow their tumour to grow, the disease to spread or both, thus reducing their chances of survival.
Health service executives and cancer experts fear patients’ cancers may worsen, or even become inoperable, if surgery is postponed for an unknown length of time.
Zimbabwe has extended a national curfew, banned gatherings and ordered non-essential shops to close for a month.
Vice president Constantino Chiwenga, who is also health minister, said some of the restrictions come in immediately and include a 6pm to 6am curfew and ban on travel between cities. The closure order for shops comes into place from Tuesday.
In the last week the country has had 1,342 Covid-19 cases and 29 deaths. This is the highest rate during the pandemic, according to Chiwenga. Last week the government postponed the reopening of schools planned for Monday, in light of a surge in cases and a tropical storm.
India’s drugs regulator is likely to approve giving people two vaccine doses, with a four week break between them, according to Reuters.
Officials had already approved the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab, and another locally developed one by Bharat Biotech. A final decision is expected to be announced by the chief of the central drugs standards control organisation (CDSCO) on Sunday.
Italy is delaying opening its ski resorts until 18 January, after regional authorities asked for more time to meet coronavirus rules.
An order signed on Saturday by health minister Roberto Speranza delays the reopening of its ski lifts and facilities. Authorities in the north and centre of the country had told the government its planned 7 January target date wasn’t realistic.
In a joint letter, they said: “At the present time, due to the recent epidemiological trend at international level that has not facilitated the taking of the necessary decisions, it is believed that the conditions do not exist to allow initiatives and actions to allow the opening of the facilities on 7 January”
The Italian government’s scientific technical committee had said that crowds inside gondolas, in lift lines and during après-ski created a “medium-high” risk.
Gibraltar has imposed a second lockdown in an attempt to stem the tide of Covid cases.
Starting at 10pm on Saturday (9pm GMT), its 34,000 residents can only leave home for essential shopping, work, exercise or medical reasons. In the last month, the number of cases have more than doubled from 1,035 to 2,304 today. There are fears from officials that the rising rate may be linked to the new Covid-19 variant identified in the UK.
Chief minister Fabian Picardo said: “The numbers of new infections with COVID-19 in our community are remarkably high and concerning. He added the virus was spreading “more quickly than we can control it.”
Russia has said it has vaccinated more than 800,00 people, and more than 1.5m doses have been dispatched.
People who have had the jab will get an electronic vaccination certificate, according to the TASS news agency. The health ministry is keeping a database of Russians who have had the Sputnik V vaccine.
