Rules for English travellers heading overseas have been significantly simplified, with the “amber” list of countries scrapped and the traffic light designation replaced with destinations listed as either “red” or “green”, under new rules.
Scotland will end its current traffic light system for international travel but will not follow England in further easing Covid-19 testing for those entering the country.
A panel of advisers to the US Food and Drug Administration have voted to recommend Covid-19 vaccine booster shots for Americans 65 and older and those at high risk of illness after rejecting a call for broader approval.
Four US senators have asked President Joe Biden to lift restrictions that have barred travel by Canadians across the northern US border since March 2020.
Brazil registered 11,202 new coronavirus cases and 333 further deaths in the last 24 hours, the country’s health ministry said.
The number of people in France who have received at least one jab against Covid-19 has crossed the 50 million mark, President Emmanuel Macron said.
Personal protective equipment (PPE) worth £2.8bn is not fit for purpose in the UK and cannot be used by the NHS, a health minister has revealed in parliament.
The first civil lawsuit began in a court in Vienna, Austria, over a notorious outbreak of coronavirus at a popular ski resort last year, where thousands of people from 45 countries claim to have become infected.
Ukraine is on the brink of its most deadly period of the coronavirus pandemic with vaccination rates struggling and infections on the rise. Health officials in Kiev recorded the highest number of new cases since May, while average daily hospitalisations rose by nearly 400 people this week compared with last week.
People will have to show an NHS Covid pass to enter nightclubs and attend many events in Wales from next month, the first minister, Mark Drakeford, has announced.
Cuba has started vaccinating two-year-olds – while in Cambodia the start of school has heralded a programme to vaccinate children between six and 12.
Public employees in Slovenia will need to be vaccinated or recovered from Covid-19 to continue working, the government said on Friday, as it tries to boost its low rate of inoculation.
Travellers entering Switzerland who have not been vaccinated against Covid-19 or recovered from the virus will need to provide a negative test result from Monday, the government said, as it seeks to stem a further rise in the number of infections.
Short sightedness in children is on the increase in China – and possibly elsewhere in the world – the result, scientists believe, of too much time indoors during lockdown.
Surges in coronavirus cases in several U.S. states this week, along with staffing and equipment shortages have prompted warnings at some facilities that care would be rationed.
Montana, Alaska, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Kentucky experienced the biggest rises in new Covid-19 hospitalizations during the week ending September 10th compared with the previous week.
In Alaska, the influx is so heavy that the state’s largest hospital is no longer able to provide life-saving care to every patient who needs it due to the influx of Covid-19 hospitalisations, according to an open letter from the medical executive committee of Providence Alaska Medical Center.
Some hospital workers have become so overwhelmed by the fresh wave of cases that they have left for jobs at retailing and other non-medical fields, Nancy Foster, vice president of quality and patient safety the American Hospital Association, told Reuters.
Older people, men and those from ethnic backgrounds in the UK are more likely to end up in hospital or die even after they have been double-vaccinated against Covid-19, researchers say.
University of Oxford scientists used a range of data to show that while the risk of severe Covid-19 after vaccination remains low, some people are at greater risk than others.
They include older people and those from Indian and Pakistani backgrounds.
Also at greater risk are those from a deprived background, the immunosuppressed, residents in care homes, and people with chronic conditions such as Down’s syndrome, kidney disease, sickle cell disease, HIV/Aids and liver cirrhosis.
A tool developed by researchers predicts those most at risk of serious Covid-19 outcomes from 14 or more days after a second vaccination dose, when substantial immunity is expected to have developed.
They hope it will help patients work with their doctors to make decisions about continued shielding, and will help inform policy around booster jabs and Covid treatments, PA reports.
Four US senators on Friday asked the president, Joe Biden, to lift restrictions that have barred travel by Canadians across the northern US border since March 2020.
Democratic Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Jon Tester of Montana and independent Angus King of Maine asked Biden to allow Canadians vaccinated against Covid-19 to travel to the US before October.
The border state senators said in a letter the restrictions have led to “economic and emotional strain in our communities.”
Here is some reaction to a panel of advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration voting to recommend Covid-19 vaccine booster shots for Americans 65 and older and those at high risk of severe illness, after overwhelmingly rejecting a call for broader approval.
Dr. Paul Offit, an infectious disease expert at the University of Pennsylvania and a member of the panel, said the recommendation was “a step back” from the Biden Administration’s recommendation of widespread boosters starting September 20.
“That is not this. This is: ‘We’re going to test the water, one foot at a time,’” said Offit, who voted “no” on the initial question of widespread use of boosters and “yes” on the more modest offering of vaccines for those at higher risk.
The White House earlier on Friday said it was ready to roll out boosters of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine next week if health officials approve them.
After nine lions and tigers contracted coronavirus at Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, its chief veterinarian Dr. Donald Neiffer said: “It came on a little bit insidious.
“I believe last Thursday we had a single animal who was a little inappetent... but it’s not something that requires us to jump right on it.”
Dr. Neiffer added: “We are seeing an overall trend moving upwards.
“Based on how they’re behaving today, the majority of them are eating more, moving around more. There’s less discharge and coughing.
“I would hope that there’s some significant improvement seen in these guys by Monday of next week.”
People exit the Smithsonian National Zoological Park beside a statue of a lion that is decorated with a face mask in Washington, DC, USA.Six lions and three tigers at the National Zoo have tested positive for Covid-19 and are receiving treatment, the zoo said. Photograph: Michael Reynolds/EPA
A sea of more than 650,000 white flags is lining the National Mall near the Washington monument in the nation’s capitol to represent the American lives lost so far to Covid-19.
The outdoor art installation titled, In America: Remember, by social practice artist Suzanne Brennan Firstenberg, is scheduled to stand for 17 days from Friday in the shadow of the White House.
US advisers recommend Covid booster vaccines for older Americans
A panel of advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have voted to recommend Covid-19 vaccine booster shots for Americans 65 and older and those at high risk of illness after rejecting a call for broader approval.
The first civil lawsuit began in a court in Vienna, Austria on Friday over a notorious outbreak of coronavirus at a popular ski resort last year, where thousands of people from 45 countries claim to have become infected.
Rules for English travellers heading overseas have been significantly simplified, with the “amber” list of countries scrapped and the traffic light designation replaced with destinations listed as either “red” or “green”, under new rules.
Scotland will end its current traffic light system for international travel but will not follow England in further easing Covid-19 testing for those entering the country.
A panel of expert outside advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration voted against broadly approving Covid-19 vaccine booster shots, but may vote on a narrower approval for older adults later on Friday.
The number of people in France who have received at least one jab against Covid-19 has crossed the 50-million mark, President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday.
Personal protective equipment (PPE) worth £2.8bn is not fit for purpose in the UK and cannot be used by the NHS, a health minister has revealed in parliament.
Ukraine is on the brink of its most deadly period of the coronavirus pandemic with vaccination rates struggling and infections on the rise.Health officials in Kiev on Friday recorded the highest number of new cases since May, while average daily hospitalisations rose by nearly 400 people this week compared to last week.
People will have to show an NHS Covid pass to enter nightclubs and attend many events in Wales from next month, the first minister, Mark Drakeford, has announced.
Cuba has started vaccinating two-year-olds – while in Cambodia the start of school has heralded a programme to vaccinate children between six and 12.
Public employees in Slovenia will need to be vaccinated or recovered from Covid-19 to continue working, the government said on Friday, as it tries to boost its low rate of inoculation.
Travellers entering Switzerland who have not been vaccinated against Covid-19 or recovered from the virus will need to provide a negative test result from Monday, the government said on Friday, as it seeks to stem a further rise in the number of infections.
Shortsightedness in children is on the increase in China – and possibly elsewhere in the world – the result, scientists believe, of too much time indoors during lockdown.
A panel of expert outside advisers to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) voted against broadly approving Covid-19 vaccine booster shots, but may vote on a narrower approval for older adults later on Friday.
The panel voted overwhelmingly against approving boosters for Americans age 16 and older, potentially undermining the Biden administration’s plan to roll out third shots of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine as soon as next week.
But there was widespread support among panellists for a third dose for older Americans, who are at higher risk of severe Covid-19 and may be more likely to have waning immunity after the first rounds of shots. FDA officials said that a vote to recommend approval for such groups was possible later on Friday.
The FDA will take the panel’s recommendation into consideration in making its decision on the boosters.
Many committee members were critical of the booster plan, arguing that the data presented by Pfizer and the FDA was incomplete and that the request for approval for people as young 16 is too broad. Most of them said they were not needed yet for younger adults.
Senior FDA members have been split on the necessity of the boosters, with interim head Janet Woodcock backing them and some of the agency’s top scientists arguing they are not needed yet.
If the FDA goes ahead and approves the booster, a separate panel advising the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will meet next week to recommend which groups should get them.
The US administered 383,994,877 doses of Covid-19 vaccines in the country as of Friday morning and distributed 464,315,725 doses, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
Those figures are up from the 383,038,403 vaccine doses the CDC said had gone into arms by Sept. 16 out of 462,384,885 doses delivered, Reuters reports.
The agency said 211,097,597 people had received at least one dose, while 180,572,171 people were fully vaccinated as of 6:00 a.m. ET on Friday.
A spokesman for Edinburgh Airport criticised the Scottish government’s “decision to diverge yet again and further curtail Scotland’s aviation and travel industries in their recovery”.
He said: “We are now the most restrictive country in Europe yet there is no justification or health benefit to retaining testing measures, something clinical professionals and experts have themselves said.
“This is great news for airports in Manchester and Newcastle - passengers will now travel there to avoid expensive tests and save around 100 per person, taking money out of Scotland’s economy and threatening our airline capacity.”
Scotland terminates traffic light system for international travel
Scotland will end its current traffic light system for international travel but will not follow England in further easing Covid-19 testing for those entering the country.
From October 4, the green and amber lists will merge but the red list will remain.
Current amber list rules - which allow fully vaccinated people to avoid isolating- will be the default for non-red list countries, PA reports.
Vaccinations that took place in 17 countries including Canada, Australia, Israel, and New Zealand will now be regarded as eligible under the rules, joining jabs in UK, the EU, the USA and the European Free Trade Association.
Eight countries - including Turkey, Pakistan and the Maldives - are also being removed from the red list with effect form 4am on Wednesday.
Travellers from Egypt, Sri Lanka, Oman, Bangladesh and Kenya will also no longer be required to hotel quarantine from that date.
But Scotland will not follow the UK government’s decision to ease testing rules.
Those arriving north of the border will still be required to take a pre-departure test before returning - including from non-red list destinations - even if they are fully vaccinated.
The Scottish government will also not follow their UK counterparts in allowing vaccinated travellers to replace the day two PCR test with a cheaper lateral flow test from the end of October.
In a statement, the Scottish government said the testing changes had “not been adopted at this stage in Scotland due to significant concerns at the impact on public health”.
