Coronavirus - 16th November 2021

• The number of UK workers on payrolls rose by 160,000, between September and October to 29.3 million, the ONS says
  
• That comes despite the furlough scheme, which protected millions of jobs during the pandemic, ending in September
  
• NHS Providers, which represents trusts in England, is warning the health service is facing the most difficult winter in its history
  
• NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard says health services are "facing a really tough winter"
  
• She says the best way for people to help is to take up the offer of a Covid vaccination
  
• Scotland’s First Minister is due to reveal later whether Covid restrictions, including the vaccine passport scheme, will be extended
  
• Northern Ireland's health minister says "now is the time" for a phased introduction of a mandatory Covid-19 passport scheme
  

Good morning

• The number of UK workers on payrolls rose by 160,000, between September and October, the Office for National Statistics says
  
• NHS Providers, which represents trusts in England, has said that the health service is facing the most difficult winter in its history
  
• Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is due to reveal later whether Covid restrictions, including the vaccine passport scheme, will be extended
  
• A mum-of-three whose husband died with Covid wants to become a nurse after seeing the "compassion" he was shown in hospital
  
• Health Minister Robin Swann has said "now is the time" for a phased introduction of a mandatory Covid-19 passport scheme in Northern Ireland
  
• The Irish Republic's government is said to be moving towards a recommendation that digital Covid certificates will be required in gyms and hairdressers
  
• Some two million people without Covid-19 jabs have been told to stay home in Austria
  
• Anti-lockdown movements online are turning their attention to climate conspiracy theories
  
• Hong Kong-based airline Cathay Pacific is imposing tough new restrictions, on its aircrews as it tries to stop the spread of Covid-19
  

• Police in Austria have begun carrying out routine checks on commuters to ensure compliance with a nationwide “lockdown for the unvaccinated”, as the Alpine country tries to get on top of one of the most rapidly rising infection rates in Europe.
  
• Germany’s prospective coalition government is pondering lockdown restrictions for the unvaccinated, as infections in the country continue to rise. Measures could include requiring the unvaccinated to show proof of a negative test before travelling by bus or train.
  
• Belgium’s government is bringing forward a meeting to decide on tighter measures to control the spread of Covid-19 amid a rapid increase in infections and hospital admissions.
  
• Britain’s booster vaccine rollout is to be extended to people aged between 40 and 49, officials said, in a bid to boost waning immunity in the population ahead of the colder winter months.
  
• UK prime minister Boris Johnson warned people against complacency, saying that a new wave of Covid has “steadily swept through central Europe” and is now affecting the nation’s closest neighbours.
  
• Employers in Latvia are allowed to dismiss employees who refuse to get vaccinated against Covid-19 from Monday.
  
• The pressure on Dutch hospitals mounts from a surge in Covid-19 patients as cases break records. The worst has yet to come, the head of the country’s hospital association said on Monday. The number of Covid-19 patients in Dutch hospitals increased to about 2,000 on Monday, including almost 400 in intensive care, reaching the highest level since May.
  

• US president Joe Biden’s vaccine requirements are prompting more Americans to get Covid shots, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.
  
• The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advised against travel to the Czech Republic, Hungary and Iceland because of a rising number of Covid-19 cases in those countries.
  
• Peru, the country with the world’s highest Covid-19 mortality rate, is to require adults to show proof of vaccination to enter indoor spaces from next month.
  

• India opens again to foreign tourists from countries with reciprocal agreements after a 20-month ban due to the pandemic.
  
• Thousands of children in the Philippines are allowed to return to classrooms for the first time since the start of the pandemic.
  
• Cambodia announces that fully vaccinated foreign travellers can visit the kingdom without quarantine.
  
• China is battling the spread of its biggest Covid-19 outbreak caused by the Delta variant as case numbers in the north-eastern city of Dalian outpace anywhere else in the country. The Dalian outbreak has prompted China to confine nearly 1,500 university students to their dormitories and hotels in the city.
  
• China’s president Xi has agreed to upgrade the “fast track lane” for US business figures to come to the country, Chinese state media reports.
  

• Australia’s Indigenous vaccination rates continue to lag across every jurisdiction amid heightened fears over an outbreak in the Northern Territory. Nationally, just under 58% of Indigenous people aged 16 and older are double-dosed, while about 69% are partially vaccinated, much lower than Australia’s overall double-dose rate of 83%.
  

• Israel gave the green light Sunday to start vaccinating children aged between five and 11 against Covid-19 using Pfizer/BioNTech jabs.
  

Scotland's first minister due to give update on Covid restrictions

Call for Northern Ireland to have mandatory Covid passport scheme

Rise in Covid death registrations in England and Wales

NHS facing a really tough winter - England's health service boss

:Left Quotes: When will the NHS get back to normal? Well, that partly depends on what happens with Covid. That partly depends on how many people do come back and seek treatment. And that partly depends on our ability to support staff to keep people going on what is going to be a difficult winter."
When will the NHS get back to normal? Well, that partly depends on what happens with Covid. That partly depends on how many people do come back and seek treatment. And that partly depends on our ability to support staff to keep people going on what is going to be a difficult winter."

NHS under pressure: 'It can't go on'

UK entered pandemic 'already vulnerable due to spending squeeze'

Airline imposes tough new Covid rules on crew

• Purchasing food and essential daily necessities
  
• Outdoor solo exercising
  
• Seeking medical attention/purchasing essential medical supplies
  
• Completing the mandatory post-arrival testing requirements
  

Vaccine passports should already be in place, say NI ministers

'I put people to sleep knowing they may not wake'

Doctor speaks of being struck down by Covid-19

People in Ukraine to be offered a cash incentive to get double-vaccinated

Vaccine mandates for New Zealand

Czech Republic again records over 10,000 new Covid cases

Cyprus offers Covid vaccine boosters to younger people

Today so far

• A Kyiv crematorium has doubled its cremations compared with the summer months as virus deaths soar in the Ukraine capital. The news comes as Ukrainians will soon be offered a cash incentive to get double-vaccinated against Covid-19 in a bid to boost the country’s low inoculation rate.
  
• Russia continues to report fairly consistent numbers of Covid deaths and cases as authorities wait anxiously to see whether the week long paid shutdown at the beginning of the month has made a dent into the transmission of the virus. Today Russia announced 1,240 deaths, which is close the record high, and 36,818 new cases.
  
• Russia has granted approval for Pzifer to conduct clinical trials in Russia of its experimental antiviral pill to treat Covid-19.
  
• As Germany battles its worst infection rate since the pandemic began, some states are considering putting in place so-called 2G rules, which effectively exclude people who choose not to be vaccinated from many areas of public life. Berlin adopted the new rules on Monday. Only people who are fully vaccinated or who have recovered from Covid-19 in the past six months are permitted to eat inside restaurants or go to clubs or bars. Only children and those who have medical reasons for not being vaccinated are exempt from the rule.
  
• ONS figures show that the number of deaths involving Covid in the week ending 5 November was the highest in England since 19 March 2021 and in Wales the highest since 5 March 2021.
  
• Amanda Pritchard, chief executive of the NHS in England, has said “The guidance is clear that people should wear masks in healthcare settings” in response to questions about Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s maskless appearance in a hospital last week.
  
• Labour’s shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds has accused the UK government of letting “its foot off the pedal” on the Covid booster jab programme, where the numbers receiving jabs are much lower than the government had predicted.
  
• The Czech Republic reported 11,514 new Covid-19 cases for 15 November, the fifth time daily infections have topped 10,000 in past seven days
  
• Cathay Pacific is bringing in new regulations for its aircrew in Hong Kong that will mean they will have to quarantine for 21 days after trips abroad. The regulations will come into force from tomorrow.
  
• The first person infected with Covid linked to the St Basil’s aged care home outbreak in Australia, in which 50 residents died, has spoken publicly for the first time, telling a coroner she was cleared to work despite living in a high-risk suburb with relatives experiencing “throat discomfort”.
  
• Vaccine mandates are taking effect in New Zealand as the nation sets another daily record for community Covid-19 infections and a new death.
  

Home working and pub curfews return in Irish Republic

Concerns over crowded trains after Wales sports fixtures

Munich cancels its Christmas market

Qatar places UK on its travel red list

No immediate change to Covid restrictions in Scotland

Vaccine passport extension could start next month in Scotland

'No immediate plans' for vaccine passports in Welsh pubs

How does Scotland's vaccine passport work?

China's Covid cases subside after outbreak

UK records 37,243 new Covid cases and 214 new deaths

Portuguese PM warns restrictions may return before Christmas

We must try to act now so we can reach the Christmas period with less fear. The later we act, the greater the risks.

Midnight curfew for hospitality and working from home advised in Ireland

Unvaccinated Belgian care workers face the sack

Portuguese PM warns restrictions may return before Christmas

We must try to act now so we can reach the Christmas period with less fear. The later we act, the greater the risks.

Germany set to tighten rules for unvaccinated as Covid cases rise

Slovakia to bring in tighter restrictions on Thursday

Here's a reminder of the day's main headlines:

• The UK has recorded a further 37,243 coronavirus cases in latest 24-hour period, as well as 214 new deaths
  
• Despite the end of furlough, the number of UK workers on payrolls rose by 160,000, between September and October to 29.3 million, the ONS says
  
• US drug maker Pfizer is to allow its experimental Covid-19 treatment pill to be made and sold in 95 developing nations
  
• The Irish Republic is advising home working and reintroducing earlier close times for the hospitality sector after rise in Covid cases
  
• NHS Providers, which represents trusts in England, says the health service is facing the most difficult winter in its history
  
• Scotland's vaccine passport scheme could be rolled out to cinemas, theatres and more hospitality venues from 6 December
  
• Slovakia’s government will decide on Thursday on tighter restrictions to limit access to services for unvaccinated people, the prime minister Eduard Heger said, as hospitals have reached a critical situation because of a surge in Covid infections. The health ministry said there were just 20 beds with lung ventilators currently available for new patients as hospitals rushed to re-purpose beds and shipped patients around the country. With only 45% of the total population vaccinated, the government agreed to prepare measures that would only allow vaccinated people to attend large events; set rules for testing at workplaces; and limit entry to non-essential shops and services, sports, wellness and hotels to those unvaccinated or those who had overcome Covid in the past six months.
  
• Covid is now a pandemic of poor nations, Dr David Nabarro, the WHO’s special envoy on Covid told a cross-party group of MPs, adding that governments that are attempting to vaccinate their way out of the pandemic are taking a huge risk. Story here.
  
• Germany is paving the way for the introduction of tighter restrictions on people who have so far chosen not to be vaccinated against Covid, in an effort to control its highest infection levels since the pandemic began. The state of Saxony, where 85% of ICU beds are occupied by patients with Covid, became the latest to introduce so-called 2G rules in all non-essential shops and facilities, meaning only people who can prove they have been vaccinated or have recovered from Covid will be allowed entry. North Rhine Westphalia is due to follow suit, with unvaccinated people to be excluded from entry to all non-essential facilities and events including football matches and Christmas markets. Berlin is also on track to introduced similar “2G-plus” rules, its mayor, Michael Müller, said. Story here.
  
• Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed Scotland’s Covid passport scheme could be extended to cinemas, theatres and bars next week, if that helped avoid a harsher lockdown closer to Christmas. The first minister told MSPs the devolved government’s cabinet was considering extending the vaccine passport scheme, where customers need to prove they have had both vaccine doses, from larger sports and entertainment venues to a wider range of venues. A decision is due to be taken next Tuesday.
  
• Bars, restaurants and nightclubs in Ireland will introduce a midnight closing time on Friday as a raft of new restrictions is agreed by the government in the face of rising hospitalisations. The government has also paused the planned return to offices with the work from advice remaining in place, and Covid certificates showing vaccination records, already required for hospitality, will also be required for cinemas and theatres. The government’s cabinet took the decision after being shown projections that could more than quadruple the number of patients in intensive care.
  
• Portugal’s prime minister Antonio Costa said that authorities may bring back some measures to stop the spread of Covid in the run-up to the holiday season as infections soar across Europe. Government ministers are expected to meet health experts on Friday to evaluate the situation and only then will decide on which rules to impose. Costa said measures would be only applied when “strictly necessary”, adding that it was unlikely to bring back a lockdown and that the new measures would aim to “disturb people’s lives as little as possible”.
  
• Munich became the first major German city to cancel its upcoming Christmas market, which usually draws 3 million visitors, blaming the “dramatic” coronavirus resurgence. The city’s mayor, Dieter Reiter, called it “bitter news” for the city’s residents and stallholders, but said it would be irresponsible for the event to go ahead. “The dramatic situation in our hospitals and the exponentially increasing infection figures leave me no other choice: unfortunately, the Munich Christmas market cannot take place this year,” Reiter said in a statement. Eyes are now turning to cities such as Cologne, Stuttgart, Nuremberg and Dresden, which are in the midst of preparing their own popular Christmas market
  
• Only a small fraction of attendees at the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow tested positive for Covid during the event, at a rate of around 1 in 250 people, Public Health Scotland said.
  
• Pfizer Inc said it will allow generic manufacturers to supply its experimental antiviral Covid pill to 95 low- and middle-income countries through a licensing agreement with international public health group Medicines Patent Pool. This will allow the UN-backed group to grant sub-licenses to qualified generic drug manufacturers to make their own versions of PF-07321332. The 95 countries in the license agreement cover around 53% of the world’s population and include all low- and lower-middle-income countries and some upper-middle-income countries in sub-Saharan Africa.They also include countries that have transitioned from lower-middle to upper-middle-income status in the past five years, Pfizer and the MPP said. Pfizer will waive royalties on sales in low-income countries. It will also waive them in the other countries covered by the agreement as long as Covid remains classified as a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization.
  
• Cyprus health officials said they would gradually offer Covid vaccine booster shots to anyone over 18, following a surge in daily cases and an increase in hospitalisations. The health ministry said that booster jabs would be available at walk-in centres for anyone aged 40 and over from Wednesday, provided they completed their initial vaccination scheme six months earlier.