Coronavirus news live: African Union to buy 110m Moderna vaccines, NZ to set vaccine mandates for 40% of workforce

New Zealand is announcing sweeping vaccine mandates for workers successful cafes, bars, hairdressers and gyms, arsenic the state aims for immoderate of the world’s highest vaccination rates.

Prime curate Jacinda Ardern said the authorities would besides necessitate businesses to supply paid clip disconnected to let workers to get vaccinated.

Under the caller rules, vaccination volition beryllium required for each workers astatine businesses wherever customers request to amusement Covid-19 vaccination certificates - nether New Zealand’s caller framework, that includes hospitality and close-contact businesses similar hairdressers and gyms whenever determination is simply a “red” oregon “orange” level of postulation airy restrictions. The changes are expected to impact astir 40% of New Zealand’s workforce. Those who bash not comply with vaccination mandates tin beryllium fixed 4 weeks announcement by employers. Unemployment benefits and enactment volition not beryllium affected successful immoderate mode if radical are dismissed arsenic a effect of refusal to get vaccinated.

The measures won’t travel into unit until New Zealand moves to its caller epidemic absorption model, which happens erstwhile the state passes 90% vaccination.

Asked if the changes were “government overreach,” Ardern said “absolutely not”.

“We’ve been precise cautious present to marque an appraisal of those areas that passim this outbreak and passim COVID-19 person ever been assessed arsenic precocious risk,” she said.

“We are trying to beryllium precise cautious to guarantee that everything we’re doing has a nationalist wellness ground to it, and besides balances retired the rights of those who are some workers [and] besides the rights of those who whitethorn beryllium clients oregon customers.”

Hello and acknowledgment for joining us.

I’m Samantha Lock reporting to you from Sydney, Australia, and I’ll beryllium with you for the adjacent abbreviated portion while we spell done each the cardinal Covid developments.

As the disparity successful vaccination rates widens betwixt the world’s wealthiest and poorest nations, immoderate bully quality has yet arrived.

The African Union (AU) has brokered a woody to bargain up to 110 cardinal vaccine doses from Moderna Inc, Reuters reports.

Under the negotiations transportation of immoderate doses intended for the United States volition beryllium deferred to facilitate the deal, officials told the quality agency. The woody was brokered successful portion by the White House.

The AU’s doses volition beryllium delivered implicit the coming months, with 15 cardinal arriving earlier the extremity of 2021, 35 cardinal successful the archetypal 4th of adjacent twelvemonth and up to 60 cardinal successful the 2nd quarter.

Here’s a round-up of the day’s starring Covid stories:

• European Medical Agency approves Moderna booster. The aesculapian assemblage approved doses for each adults, saying the Spikevax booster tin beryllium fixed retired and administered, aft it gave the greenish airy to the Pfizer/BioNTech’s Comirnaty jab earlier successful October.
• US introduces caller guidelines connected non-US citizens’ introduction into the state and investigating for travellers. Foreign nationals volition person to beryllium afloat vaccinated earlier entering the country, with immoderate exemptions successful spot for under-18s. Those coming from countries with debased vaccination rates volition person to warrant their visit.
  
• UK reports 38 radical had died wrong 28 days of investigating affirmative for Covid arsenic of Monday, bringing the UK full to 139,571.
• Moderna moves towards expanding shots to children, saying a debased dose of its Covid vaccine is harmless and appears to enactment successful six- to 11-year-olds.
  
• Children arsenic young arsenic 3 volition commencement receiving Covid vaccines successful China, wherever 76% of the colonisation has been afloat vaccinated. It comes arsenic authorities proceed to support a zero-tolerance argumentation towards outbreaks.
• Worst of US pandemic apt down america but we can’t driblet our guard, experts say. The fig of caller Covid cases and deaths successful the US has been successful a dependable diminution since aboriginal September but experts besides caution that it’s not yet harmless to wantonness safeguards against the virus. That’s due to the fact that parts of the US colonisation and overmuch of the satellite stay unvaccinated, which could let for outbreaks and unsafe caller variants of the microorganism to emerge.
• People successful Tokyo tin devour and portion successful bars and restaurants aboriginal successful the evening from contiguous arsenic Japan eases societal distancing rules.
  
• Russia reports 37,930 caller Covid-19 infections successful the past 24 hours, its highest single-day lawsuit tally since the commencement of the pandemic.
• Spain reached the grim milestone of 5 cardinal COVID-19 cases during the pandemic.
• Mexico reports much than 1,000 caller Covid-19 cases, wellness ministry says.
• Facebook deleted a video of Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro in which helium warned of a nexus betwixt Covid-19 vaccines and Aids.