Five things you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic this Sunday morning.
Here are five things you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic this Sunday morning. We’ll have another update for you tomorrow.
People should get their booster of a Covid vaccine to avoid restrictions over the winter, Health Secretary Sajid Javid has said. He described the effort to get a third jab to eligible people – the over-50s, vulnerable people and frontline health and social care workers – as a “national mission” to ensure a normal Christmas. Nearly 10 million people in the UK have had their booster so far, but that leaves about 30% of over-80s and 40% of over-50s in England still to get one.
Image source, PA Media
President Joe Biden’s plans for a law which would make vaccines mandatory for more than two-thirds of the nation’s workers have been temporarily blocked by a US appeals court. The law would require workers at private companies with more than 100 employees to be fully vaccinated or tested weekly. However, it was blocked after legal challenges from US states, private companies and religious groups, who accused the president of overstepping his authority. The fifth circuit court of appeals argued there were “grave statutory and constitutional” issues with the plans, set to be introduced in January.
Image source, EPA
There have been a further 30,693 confirmed cases of coronavirus, the government announced on Saturday. This takes the seven-day average of cases to just over 36,000 – which is still high but marks a fall in recent days. The average number of daily deaths has shown a small rise recently, with the seven day average reaching 169. The BBC’s Visual and Data Journalism team have been tracking all the latest cases, deaths, vaccine and other Covid data here.
Children in Northern Ireland are eating less healthily than before the pandemic, an all-Ireland public health body has said. A campaign has been launched to get children to break habits formed during lockdown, after research suggested parents have found it difficult to refuse treats. One Belfast mother says her seven-year-old son “was never out of the fridge”, after losing access to football practice and other after school activities while restrictions were in place.
Image source, Simon Graham
A woman from Greater Manchester separated from her husband by coronavirus restrictions while she was in a care home has been reunited with him. Michelle Davies suffered brain damage after a stroke in 2018 and spent nearly a year in hospital before being transferred to a care home. The pandemic meant she could not have the visits that her husband, John, wanted. However, she is now back at their home in Leigh with John for the first time in three years.
Image source, Family handout
The weekday morning coronavirus briefing is being paused for two weeks to tell you five things you need to know about the COP26 climate summit.
Read more about the current situation with Covid-19 in the UK here. And find further information, advice and guides on our coronavirus page.
Image source, BBC
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