Headlines
• Free vaccines for travellers to Abu Dhabi
• 5.2m more dollar millionaires created in 2020
• c.85% of adults in the UK have Covid antibodies
• The UK Government deficit was £24.3bn in May
• Only 40m vaccines administered in Africa
World news
• The global wealth gap widened during the pandemic, with 1.1% of the world’s adult population holding 45.8% of global wealth. In the year there were 5.2m more dollar millionaires, and 41,420 adults became ultra high net worth individuals with assets worth more than $50m, representing a 24% rise from 2019. The Global wealth report 2021- Credit Suisse
• India administered 8.6m vaccine doses on Monday.
• New Zealand announced it is pausing the travel bubble with Australia for three days for people flying from New South Wales.
• Only 40m vaccine doses have been administered so far in Africa – less than 2% of the population.
• The Emirate of Abu Dhabi is offering visitors free vaccines after lifting restrictions that vaccines can only be administered to UAE citizens and residency visa holders.
• The EU has taken up an option under a supply contract with Moderna that allows the bloc to order another 150m of its vaccines.
• Three Indian states, Maharashtra, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh, have reported cases of Delta Plus, the most recent mutation of the Delta variant. Experts in India suggest the Delta Plus or AY.01 could evade both vaccine and infection immunity.
• Moscow authorities have announced that residents will soon have to present a QR code showing a negative coronavirus test valid for three days – or proof they have been vaccinated or were sick with coronavirus within the previous six months – in order to enter restaurants.
• Cases of the Delta Plus variant have been found in multiple countries including the UK, the US, Canada, Portugal, Poland, Switzerland, Russia, Turkey, Japan and Nepal.
• US deaths from Covid-19 have dipped below 300 a day for the first time since March last year.
• The UK Government deficit was £24.3bn in May, £19.4bn lower than May 2020. Overall, government debt now stands at nearly £2.2trn.
• According to the ONS, as of the week beginning 7 June, the proportion of adults who would have tested positive for Covid antibodies was 86.6% in England, 88.7% in Wales, 85.4% in Northern Ireland and 79.1% in Scotland.
• The ONS has published its deaths figures for the week of 4-11 June. Combined with data from Scotland and Northern Ireland, 93 deaths with Covid were mentioned on death certificates. That is the lowest since the week ending 4 September.
• The Department for Education estimates that about 3.3% of state school pupils – up to 239,000 children – did not attend class for Covid-19-related reasons on 17 June, compared to 1.2% on 10 June. About 214,000 children were self-isolating.
• Crowd capacity at Wembley is to be increased to more than 60,000 for the semi-finals and final of Euro 2020, says the UK Government. It means the stadium will be at 75% capacity for the games.
• In a televised address, Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte threatened to jail anyone refusing to get the vaccine.
• North Korea told the World Health Organization that it tested more than 30,000 people for coronavirus through June 10, but has yet to find a single infection.
• Pakistan has made an agreement to procure 13m doses of the vaccine from Pfizer, with doses expected to arrive by the end of 2021.
• Italy is to lift a requirement for people wear face masks outdoors from 28 June.
• Rwanda has announced fresh restrictions, including a ban on all social gatherings and an extension of a nationwide curfew, from 7pm until 4am, restrictions on movement between districts, and the suspension of air travel to neighbouring Uganda.
• New South Wales has extended the wearing of masks inside buildings.
Company news
Technology
• Bumble – Bumble has temporarily closed all of its offices this week and told its 700 staff worldwide to “switch off” to combat workplace stress.
