Headlines
• US CDC warns against travel to the UK
• Indian excess deaths estimated at c.4 million
• Thailand increases restrictions nationally
• 14.3% of UK students absent from school last week
• High Court rules travel traffic light system lawful
World news
• The US CDC has warned its citizens not to travel to the UK because of rising cases of the Delta variant. The UK is now on the highest level of the US travel guidance, which warns that even fully -vaccinated travellers could be at risk.
• Researchers from the US -based Center for Global Development used three different data sources to estimate India’s excess all -cause mortality during the pandemic until 21 June and found excess deaths in the range of 3.4 million to 4.7 million. India has officially recorded more than 414,000 deaths so far.
• Thailand has tightened restrictions across many parts of the country, including Bangkok. Restaurants and shopping malls are closed, a night -time curfew is in force, and travel checkpoints have been set up.
• A total of 213 deaths involving Covid -19 were reported in the UK in the week ending 9 July, 82 more than registered in the previous week according to the ONS.
• The High Court has ruled that the government did not act unlawfully by imposing the travel traffic light system. The case was brought by Manchester Airport Group, Ryanair, IAG, TUI, easyJet and Virgin Atlantic.
• Taiwan’s Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp said today that it will start a late - stage clinical trial for its vaccine candidate this year in Paraguay.
• DfE statistics show that 14.3% of children were not in class last week because of Covid -19 -related issues, up from 11.2% the week before. Secondary schools are again worst hit, with 17.9% of pupils absent compared with 17.5% a week earlier. In total 1.05m were absent from school due to the pandemic.
• Zimbabwe’s government has ordered that all its workers should receive a vaccine. The country is currently in lockdown, which includes a dusk -to - dawn curfew, shorter working hours and a ban on inter -city travel . Only health workers and those providing critical government services are allowed into offices.
• Bhutan has started to roll out second vaccine doses today after completing its first phase in two weeks. The country has a population of 770,000.
• Roche said Japan is the first country to fully approve its Ronapreve antibody treatment for patients with mild-to-moderate infections. Roche said the phase 3 trials had shown that high -risk non -hospitalised patients treated with the drug had a 70% reduction in subsequent hospitalisation and death. • Today China reported 65 new cases , the highest daily tally since January, driven by a surge in imported infections in southwestern Yunnan province, which shares a border with Myanmar.
