Headlines
• 2bn vaccines distributed globally
• Serum Institute of India seeks approval to make Sputnik V
• Portugal off the UK’s green list
• HK, Italy and France to begin vaccinations for over 12s
• Syria receives first vaccines from Russia
World news
• More than two billion vaccines have been given across the world.
• Some 10,000 of 80,000 volunteers for the Tokyo Olympic Games have pulled out over coronavirus concerns, according to organisers.
• The president of the Tokyo 2020 organising committee has ruled out a cancellation or further postponement of the Olympics.
• A total of 17,162 people tested positive in England at least once in the week to 26 May, up 22% on the previous week.
• Surge testing and sequencing is to be launched in Derbyshire after the identification of the Indian ‘Delta’ variant.
• In the UK one million PCR tests were taken in the week to 26 May, up 3% on the previous week.
• Analysis by Springboard shows retail footfall in the UK was 27.5% lower last month compared with pre-pandemic May 2019.
• Some 388m rail journeys were made in the year to March, representing just 22% of the total of 1.739bn during the previous year and the lowest annual figure in records dating back to 1872. Source: the Office of Rail and Road.
• No countries added to the UK’s green list, and Portugal has been removed. Full list
• Germany plans to pay vaccine manufacturers an annual reservation fee to build up reserve capacity of around 600-700m doses per year to help it fight future pandemics.
• The Canadian province of Ontario will keep schools closed for in-person learning until the new school year starts in September.
• An “exponential rise in the spread of SARS-Cov-2 virus has been recorded in Kinshasa” in the DRC, the WHO said in a weekly report.
• France will start vaccinating teenagers from age 12 with the Pfizer vaccine on 15 June.
• Italy has today opened vaccinations for everybody over the age of 12.
• Workers in Melbourne in Australia who have reduced working hours due to the extended lockdown will be eligible for up to A$500 in support per week.
• Hong Kong will open its vaccine scheme to children over the age of 12 for the first time.
• The Serum Institute of India seeks approval to manufacture Russia's Sputnik V vaccine.
• Syria has received its first shipment of Russian Sputnik V vaccine.
• Indonesia has cancelled the haj pilgrimage.
