Covid live news: Pfizer expects clinical data for under 5s in April; Italy to mandate vaccines for over 50s | World news

One other replace on Djokovic’s case – for non-locals, 4pm is in half an hour.

India’s new Covid-19 instances have soared to 90,928 up to now 24 hours, the well being ministry stated on Thursday, Reuters studies, from 58,097 a day earlier.

Every day deaths rose by 325, taking the full to 482,876. Whole infections are at 35.11 million.

Novak Djokovic’s father, Srdjan, has in contrast his son to Spartacus after Australia cancelled the visa of the world’s No.1 tennis participant regardless of his receipt of a medical exemption from coronavirus vaccination guidelines.

“Tonight they will throw him in a dungeon, tomorrow they will put him in chains. The reality is he’s like water and water paves its personal path. Novak is the Spartacus of the brand new world which gained’t tolerate injustice, colonialism and hypocrisy,” Srdjan informed Russian media.

Serbian president Aleksandar Vučić has additionally accused Australia of “harassment” – a declare which was rejected by Australian prime minister Scott Morrison – and informed Djokovic that “the entire of Serbia is with him”.

Our correspondent Helen Davidson has extra:

A small crowd has now gathered exterior the Melbourne resort the place Novak Djokovic is being held as he awaits deportation.

About 10 supporters, some draped in flags are taking part in Serbian music and singing.

There may be additionally dancing:

Because the Omicron variant makes its method by way of Southeast Asia, nations are introducing new restrictions after tentative makes an attempt at reopening, our correspondent Andrew Nachemson studies.

Solely two months after introducing quarantine-free entry for vaccinated vacationers, Thailand has now suspended the scheme in all places besides within the island of Phuket. With practically 4,000 instances reported on Wednesday, largely native transmissions, well being officers warned the nation may quickly be going through “tens of 1000’s” of latest instances per day.

Authorities reportedly plan to fulfill tomorrow, with the Well being Ministry recommending retaining the ban in place till not less than the top of January. It’s a dramatic reversal for a rustic that had hoped to restart its tourism business, which supplied round 22% of its GDP in 2019.

Within the Philippines, authorities cancelled one of many nation’s hottest non secular occasions, a Christian parade that sometimes attracts tens of millions of revellers. It’s the second 12 months in a row the procession has been cancelled, and comes because the Philippines reported practically 11,000 instances on Wednesday, its largest each day surge since 10 October.

Fairly than closing borders, Singapore has declared that folks gained’t be thought-about absolutely vaccinated except they’ve acquired a booster inside 9 months of their second dose. The coverage comes into impact in February.

“Given the upper transmissibility of the Omicron variant, we’re prone to expertise an an infection wave that’s higher than that of Delta,” learn a authorities press launch, warning that even when the variant is milder it may nonetheless put a pressure on the healthcare system.

In response to authorities information, the city-state is without doubt one of the most vaccinated nations within the area, with 87% of the inhabitants absolutely vaccinated and over 40% already boosted.

Novak Djokovic flew into Melbourne airport on Wednesday evening planning to defend his Australian Open title. As an alternative, the World No 1 is being held in a quarantine resort and is about to be deported tonight after a exceptional sequence of occasions led to his visa being cancelled.

So how on earth did it get so far?

Royce Kurmelovs has the solutions:

A lady accused by her ex-husband of kidnapping their two boys to forestall them from being vaccinated towards Covid-19 has turned herself into the authorities, AFP studies.

The 46-year-old lady was wished for “kidnapping minors” after her ex-husband, who lives close to the southern metropolis of Seville, filed a grievance with police in mid-December accusing her of taking the boys aged 14 and 12 with out authorisation, a judicial supply informed the information company.

The person stated he had not seen the boys since 4 November when he acquired a letter from his former spouse saying she deliberate to take away them from their faculty simply days after a court docket dominated he had the best to determine whether or not the kids needs to be vaccinated.

The girl turned herself into the authorities on Wednesday morning in Seville with the 2 boys and a choose ordered her to be remanded in custody pending costs, the supply stated.

The 2 minors had been handed over to their father on Wednesday afternoon, a spokesman for Spain’s Guardia Civil police drive stated.

Spain, together with a number of different European nations, started vaccinating kids aged 5 to 11 towards Covid-19 on 15 December.

The nation has no important anti-vaccine motion.

With 90% of over-12s within the nation absolutely vaccinated towards Covid-19, Spain has one of many highest shares of absolutely immunised individuals in Europe.

China has reported 189 confirmed coronavirus instances for five January, versus 91 a day earlier, its well being authority has stated in response to Reuters.

Of the brand new infections, 132 had been regionally transmitted, in response to an announcement by the Nationwide Well being Fee on Thursday, up from 41 a day earlier.

A lot of the new native instances had been in Henan and Shaanxi provinces. Zhejiang additionally reported new instances.

China reported 45 new asymptomatic instances, which it classifies individually from confirmed instances, in contrast with 71 a day earlier.

There have been no new fatalities, leaving the loss of life toll unchanged at 4,636. Mainland China had 103,121 confirmed instances as of 5 January.

Australian prime minister Scott Morrison is holding a press convention, at which he’s given extra particulars on the case of the world’s No.1 ranked male tennis participant, Novak Djokovic, who is because of be deported after his visa was rejected. Morrison informed reporters:

On the difficulty of Mr Djokovic, guidelines are guidelines. And there are not any particular instances, guidelines are guidelines. It’s what I stated yesterday, that’s the coverage of the federal government … stronger border safety insurance policies, and notably in relation to the pandemic.

He additionally stated Djokovic couldn’t show the medical exemption he claimed he had:

It’s on them to have the proof to point out why they’d not must be vaccinated. He was unable to furnish that proof to Border Power officers on the airport final evening and they’re the foundations and it occurs on many events and that’s what has now occurred.

He additionally denied that Djokovic had been subjected to harassment (Serbian president Aleksandar Vučić claimed earlier that he was).

For extra on Morrison and Djokovic, head over to our Australian stay information weblog, the place Tory Shepherd has extra:

Pfizer Inc expects the most recent outcomes from a scientific trial for youths beneath the age of 5 of the Covid-19 vaccine it developed with Germany’s BioNTech SE by April, a prime firm scientist has stated in response to Reuters.

“The examine has been amended to provide a 3rd dose to everyone who’s lower than 5 not less than eight weeks after their final vaccination,” Dr Alejandra Gurtman, a Pfizer vaccine researcher stated at a gathering of the US Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).

She stated the corporate goals to have information for the age group by the top of March or the start of April.

In December, Pfizer stated it was altering the design of the trial as a result of kids between the ages of two and 4 who got two 3-microgram doses of the vaccine didn’t have the identical immune response {that a} bigger dose of the vaccine generated in older kids.

Gurtman additionally stated the corporate was finding out a 3rd dose of its vaccine in kids ages 5 to 11, six months after their second dose.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is authorised in the US for individuals aged 5 and older. On Wednesday, ACIP backed booster pictures of the vaccine for ages 12 to fifteen.

Good morning and welcome to the Guardian’s rolling protection of the coronavirus pandemic with me, Helen Livingstone.

Pfizer has stated it expects the most recent outcomes from its Covid vaccine scientific trial for youngsters beneath the age of 5 – which can embrace booster pictures – by April. Dr Alejandra Gurtman, a Pfizer vaccine researcher, stated the corporate may even have information for the age group by the top of March.

Italy has made it compulsory for individuals aged 50 or extra to be vaccinated towards Covid-19 because the nation scrambles to ease stress on hospitals and scale back deaths amid a dramatic surge in infections.

Novak Djokovic’s makes an attempt to compete on the Australian Open this month are over after the No 1-ranked male tennis participant was informed his visa has been rejected. He is because of be flown out of Melbourne on Thursday amid a spiralling outcry over his controversial “medical exemption” agreed by the match’s organisers.

Right here’s what else has been occurring over the previous 24 hours:

• Report rises in each day Covid instances had been reported in not less than seven nations on Wednesday because the Omicron variant continues to unfold. They had been: France – 332,252; Portugal – 39,570; Turkey – 66,467; Italy – 189,109; Sweden – 17,320; the Netherlands – 24,000 and Israel – 11,978.
• The French parliament suspended debate on a brand new Covid legislation as opposition lawmakers demanded explanations from President Emmanuel Macron about feedback by which he stated he wished to “piss off” unvaccinated individuals.
• This 12 months’s Grammy awards, set to happen on 31 January, have been postponed on account of the pandemic. In an announcement, organisers stated: “The well being and security of these in our music group, the stay viewers and the lots of of people that work tirelessly to supply our present stays our prime precedence.”
• Germany is contemplating shortening self-isolation durations over fears that vital providers may grind to a halt, in response to well being ministry plan. Employees in vital sectors, akin to hospitals or electrical energy suppliers, would be capable of finish their isolation after 5 days, supplied they get a destructive PCR check, beneath the draft proposals.
• The Czech authorities has shortened the quarantine interval for Covid constructive individuals from seven days to 5. The federal government additionally accredited blanket testing in corporations, efficient from 17 January.
• The president of Poland has examined constructive for coronavirus for a second time, after a number of individuals round him had been contaminated. Andrzej Duda beforehand caught Covid in October 2020.
• Mozambique president Filipe Nyusi’s PCR outcomes got here again destructive for Covid-19 after Nyusi and his spouse Isaura examined constructive through fast checks days earlier, the president’s workplace stated on Wednesday.
• Pre-departure checks for individuals travelling to England are to be scrapped. Boris Johnson introduced that the requirement could be lifted from 4am on Friday, together with the necessity for travellers to self-isolate on arrival till they obtain a destructive PCR check end result.
• The president of Israel, Isaac Herzog, has grow to be the primary world chief to get a fourth Covid jab. On Monday Israel grew to become the primary nation on the planet to embark on a fourth Covid-19 vaccination marketing campaign beginning with these over 60.