Headlines
• CDC says Delta variant can be spread by vaccinated people
• Sydney extends lockdown by one month
• Italy approves Moderna vaccine for 12-17 year olds
• Vaccinated US and EU allowed quarantine-free entry to UK
• Saudi Arabia imposes three-year travel ban for red list travellers
World news
• The director of the CDC said there is evidence that vaccinated people can spread the Covid -19 Delta variant to others.
• Sydney's lockdown has been extended by another month and there are to be further restrictions on movement - including a 10km limit on essential shopping.
• US brings back indoor mask guidance for areas with high case levels. Residents advised to wear masks indoors again - even if fully vaccinated.
• Saudi Arabia will impose a three -year travel ban on citizens who travel to countries on the Kingdom’s “red list”. Currently they include Brazil, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Lebanon, Pakistan, South Africa, Turkey and the UAE.
• Nationwide has said UK house prices dropped 0.5% in July compared with June, but were still 10.5% higher than a year ago. The average price of a home now stands at £244,229.
• Fully -vaccinated US and EU travellers to be allowed quarantine -free travel to England from 04:00 BST on Monday 2 August.
• In the UK c .200 testing sites have started testing critical workers who are exempt from self -isolation, 800 sites are currently being set up and a further 1,200 sites will start to be set up shortly , according to figures from the Department of Health and Social Care .
• This week the UK will ship 1.7m surplus vaccines to other countries. Indonesia will receive 600,000 doses, 300,000 will be sent to Jamaica and 817,000 are to be transported to Kenya, among other countries, according to the Foreign Office.
• New Zealand’s vaccine rollout has been extend to all residents over the age of 60. Up until now, border workers, frontline workers, the vulnerable and those aged over 65 have been the priority.
• The second shot of AstraZeneca’s vaccine does not increase the chances of rare blood clots with low platelets, a study published in the Lancet medical journal has shown. The data found that the estimated rate of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome after the second dose of the Vaxzevria vaccine was 2.3 per million.
• Tokyo has reported 3,177 new coronavirus cases, setting an all -time high and surpassing 3,000 for the first time.
• 25.5% of adults in Japan have been fully vaccinated, while 68.2% of over 65s have.
• Zimbabwe has authorised the emergency use of Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine.
• The National Apartment Association, the largest US residential landlord association, is suing the federal government over the stoppage on evictions during the pandemic. It claims that the national freeze cost owners around $27bn not covered by existing aid programs, with the moratorium set to expire in less than a week.
• Pfizer has raised its forecast for sales of its vaccine to $33.5bn from the previous figure of $26bn.
• Italy’s medicine regulator has approved the use of Moderna’s Covid -19 vaccine for children aged 12 -17.
