Headlines
• 76% of UK adults likely to continue wearing face coverings
• Sydney extends lockdown to 30 July
• South Korea increases restrictions nationally
• Two doses required for effective protection against Delta, EMA
• Outbreak in Brazilian Olympic team hotel
World news
• According to a survey by Ipsos MORI, 76% of UK adults are likely to put on a face covering when going into shops after restrictions have been eased, while 74% said the same when it came to taking public transport.
• Face coverings will remain compulsory on London’s transport network after England’s restrictions ease on 19 July.
• Sydney extends its lockdown for at least another two weeks, to 30 July.
• An outbreak has been confirmed on the Royal Navy’s flagship, HMS Queen Elizabeth. Several other warships in the fleet accompanying it are also affected. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace says all crew on the deployment have received two doses of vaccine.
• In Wales most restrictions will be eased on 7 August. All legal limits on the number of people who can meet others will end. Nightclubs are set to reopen, with social distancing laws replaced with a requirement for risk assessments. But face coverings will still be required in most indoor public places, except in hospitality businesses, such as pubs.
• South Korea has announced the tightening of social distancing rules in most areas of the country. Gatherings of more than eight people will be banned from Thursday, and restaurants and bars will have to close by midnight.
• Malta has abandoned plans to prevent unvaccinated people from entering the country.
• Malta has changed its travel advice so that anyone given an AstraZeneca vaccine in the UK, regardless of manufacture location, is able to travel to the country.
• An outbreak has been found at a Japanese hotel hosting a number of Brazilian Olympic athletes in the coastal city of Hamamatsu, with seven staff members confirmed to have the virus.
• In Australia, 20% of the population are reporting high or very high levels of psychological distress linked to the pandemic, with young people, women and those living with a disability the most affected by poor mental health, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
• The European Medicines Agency has said preliminary evidence suggests both doses of vaccines are required to provide adequate protection against the Delta variant.
• Spain’s constitutional court, the Tribunal Constitucional, has ruled that a national state of emergency implemented in March was unconstitutional.
• The ONS said the average UK home cost £255,000 in May, up from £232,000 in May 2020. Growth was the highest in the North West, rising 15.2%; London was the lowest with 5.2%.
• CPI was 2.5% in June, driven by higher food and fuel costs.
