Over 100,000 deaths prevented by vaccines, PHE reveals

• More than 100,000 deaths in England have been prevented through the Covid-19 vaccination programme, new figures from PHE show - up from previous estimates of between 91,700 and 98,700
• The Telegraph revealed that the NHS has started drawing up plans to vaccinate 12-year-olds from the first week that schools return in the autumn
• Sober revellers at this weekend's Reading and Leeds festivals will be offered a vaccine, in the latest attempt to boost uptake among younger age groups
• The number of people hospitalised with coronavirus in the US surpassed 100,000 for the first time since January, as the delta variant surges through mostly southern states 
• The Africa director of the World Health Organization (WHO) said the continent has tripled its vaccination rate over the past week, but said inoculating its entire population remains a "very daunting task"

The number of people hospitalised with Covid-19 in the US has topped 100,000 for the first time since January, when the country's mass vaccination programme had just started.

Figures from the US Department of Health and Human Services show that 100,317 inpatient hospital beds are now occupied by coronavirus patients.

Hospitalisations are particularly high in Texas and Florida, along with other southern states which have battled misinformation about vaccines and consequent low uptake.

In Florida, this week's death rate was the highest it has been throughout the entire pandemic. According to the New York Times, the state is experiencing a seven-day average of 228 new reported deaths, which is significantly worse than its two previous peaks in August 2020 and January 2021.

A new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that unvaccinated people are around 29 times more likely to be hospitalised with Covid than those who are fully-jabbed.

Unvaccinated people are also almost five times as likely to become infected as those who get vaccinated, the study found, basing its conclusions on data from Los Angeles County in California.

Gary Lewis, CEO of the Travel Network Group, which represents over 1,200 members, said the news that countries including Canada, Finland, Lithuania and Denmark are being moved to the green list is "little comfort to the travel sector whose recovery has been hampered by the complicated and ever-changing restrictions".

Mr Lewis said: "Until people are travelling close to pre-2020 levels again, redundancies and business closures are a real threat to those working in the sector.

"The industry needs continued support from the Government alongside an increased effort to allow the public to travel more freely or travel businesses will struggle to survive.

"This would be a tragedy for the industry and have a negative impact on high-streets and communities across the country."

The Azores, Switzerland and Canada are among the seven locations being added to the Government's green travel list.

Denmark, Finland, Liechtenstein and Lithuania are also being moved to the list.

The move means all travellers arriving in England from those destinations will be exempt from quarantine requirements.

Thailand and Montenegro are being added to the red travel list, meaning arrivals must enter a quarantine hotel.

The changes will come into effect from 4am on Monday.

A Plymouth hospital has declared a critical incident over bed shortages as its emergency department becomes overwhelmed with Covid-19 cases.

A spokesperson for University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust said that the service is experiencing its highest rate of Covid-19 occupancy during the virus's current wave.

The Independent reports that the hospital has cancelled routine surgery appointments, temporarily banned visitors and reconfigured bed capacity to try to meet the demand of patients with and without coronavirus.

Jo Beer, Chief Operating Officer at UHP, said: “The incident was declared due to high bed occupancy and a sustained high level of emergency department attendance converting into an above-average level of admission.

“We are experiencing our highest level of Covid occupancy of the third wave and expect this to increase further – as a result we have reconfigured our bed capacity to manage both Covid and non-Covid capacity, but this needs continual review.”

Paul McArdle, Deputy Medical Director at UHP, said that the increase in Covid-19 hospitalisations reflects a “pattern that we’re seeing right across the country”, but added that it has been “compounded by a recent surge in Covid prevalence in our community”.

More than a third of young adults in most cities in England have not received a first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, new analysis shows.

These include Liverpool, where an estimated 47.2 per cent of 18 to 29-year-olds remain unvaccinated, Manchester (44 per cent), Leicester (42.4 per cent) and Leeds (39.1 per cent).

In the West Midlands, more than a half of young adults have not received any vaccine: Birmingham (52.1 per cent) and Coventry (50.2 per cent).

The figures have been calculated by the PA news agency based on the latest data from NHS England, which covers vaccinations delivered up to August 25.

The US state of Illinois will require all eligible students and school employees to be vaccinated against Covid-19, and have also reintroduced an indoor mask mandate.

Governor J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat, issued the new policy on Thursday amid a surge in Covid cases largely caused by the delta variant.

The statewide mask mandate applies to anyone over two years old and will take effect from Monday.

Mr Pritzker said: "This is a pandemic of the unvaccinated. People can slow the pandemic by masks and vaccinations.

"To put it bluntly, we are fighting a battle we thought would be over. Unfortunately we're running out of time as all of our hospitals are running out of beds."

Mr Pritzker also said that any school employees exempt from the vaccine - for religious or other reasons - will be tested at least once a week.

How do you feel about young children being jabbed? Our readers have had their say 

@Gillian Burton: ‘I said to my 13-year-old that this is your call’

"I said to my 13-year-old that this is your call and I’m happy to discuss and offer my view if it is valued. He said: 'Why have the Government locked up the healthy, made my first year of senior school really difficult, ruined my chance to play sport and now want to inject me with something I don’t want or need?'"

@Daisy W: ‘My son said he wanted to get the vaccine’

"I'd be happy to get my son vaccinated if the Government decides to do that based on robust evidence under the recommendation by the regulator. My son said he wanted to, as well. But I strongly believe parental consent should be required for a child under 16."

@Neville Langley: 'If this is backed up by science then publish it’

"I am not an anti-vaxxer and have had the vaccine myself, but the case for vaccinating children has not been made. If this is backed up by science then publish it, but in the meantime I have no intention of letting my daughter receive a vaccine with questionable benefit to her and with real potential risks."

The German city-state of Hamburg is to allow certain businesses and institutions to prevent unvaccinated adults or those who have not developed natural immunity to Covid from entering.

Public spaces including hairdressers, clubs, restaurants and religious institutions will all be eligible to sign up for the voluntary programmes that would bar unvaccinated people.

Masks will remain mandatory in the same spaces, except for when eating or drinking.

“It’s totally voluntary. Everyone can decide whether they go ahead or not,” Daniel Schaefer, a spokesman for the city, told the New York Times.

Wales will donate more than £7 million worth of unneeded masks, medical gowns and hand sanitiser to Namibia, and will also give a £500,000 grant to be used for oxygen equipment and nurse training.

Welsh first minister Mark Drakeford said: "I have heard directly from Namibia on the extremely difficult situation that they face in the battle against Covid-19. 

"We have a duty to help those in need and I’m proud that Wales is stepping forward to fight the global threat of coronavirus. 

"Wales will stand alongside Namibia and we will do everything we can to help them through this difficult time.”

Texas governor Greg Abbott has issued an executive order banning any state or local mandates requiring people to be vaccinated against Covid-19, and is calling on legislators to vote it into law during the current special session.

Abbott issued his ban in an executive order to fill a loophole left by the full authorisation of the Pfizer vaccine. He had previously banned the requirement of vaccinations under emergency use authorisations.

He has also banned state and local governments from mandating the wearing of masks.

"Vaccine requirements and exemptions have historically been determined by the legislature, and their involvement is particularly important to avoid a patchwork of vaccine mandates across Texas," Abbott said on the governor's office website.

Nine counties, multiple school districts and the city of El Paso have defied the Abbott mask mandate ban, while on Wednesday, Dallas County became the latest to obtain a court order blocking enforcement. 

The US Department of Health and Human Services reported 79 per cent of the 85,874 Texas intensive-care unit beds are full, with around 30 per cent being Covid-19 cases. 

The UK has recorded 38,281 new cases of Covid-19 and a further 140 deaths within 28 days of testing positive for the virus.

These figures compare to 35,847 cases and 149 deaths yesterday; while there were 36,572 cases and 113 deaths this time last week.

A total of 132,143 people have now died in the UK from Covid-related illness.

47,860,628 people have received one dose of a coronavirus vaccine in the UK, and 42,234,417 people are fully-vaccinated.

Staff shortages in the NHS are getting worse, experts have warned, as new figures showed there were 10,000 more vacancies in June than a year ago.

NHS Digital data, published on Thursday, shows there were 93,806 full-time equivalent vacancies across the NHS in England at the end of June this year.

This is up 23 per cent from the 76,082 vacancies at the end of March and up 13 per cent from the 83,203 recorded at the end of June last year.

Danny Mortimer, deputy chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said: "These figures paint a bleak picture: the NHS is still facing chronic workforce shortages, and they are getting worse, even with recent increases in staff numbers to cover areas such as the vaccination programme.

"Although overall headcount seems to be relatively stable, there is an alarming trend across the NHS of rising levels of vacancies, with the biggest issues in nursing, and especially in acute and mental health posts.

"These posts urgently need to be filled to make sure our communities receive the best care possible, and also to alleviate the strain our teams continue to face, against a backdrop of spiralling workloads and ever-growing backlogs of treatment."

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Devi Sridhar, professor of global public health at the University of Edinburgh said that 12 to 15-year-olds should be offered a vaccine “urgently” as the delta variant is "flying through schools".

Professor Sridhar told  BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I think right now, if we know the options with Delta, given how infectious it is, is that either you're going to be exposed to Covid without any protection or you can be exposed and have a vaccine.

"And we should be offering teens that vaccine so they have that protection before going back into schools."

Prof Sridhar said that the issue with scientists advising the Government on this issue is that they are being "very cautious" and that "the issue with the pandemic is that waiting and watching costs time".

Professor Russell Viner,  memeber of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), said that the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) are being "rightly conservative" about the decision to vaccinate over 12s. 

He told the Today programme: "We would be vaccinating teenagers largely to protect adults, because the benefit to them is low, and if we're going to do that the safety bar needs to be exceptionally high."

Belfast's SSE Arena is preparing to return to hosting live events, after operating as a mass vaccination centre throughout the pandemic.

In a photo shared on Twitter, a crane is seen removing the sign designating the arena as a vaccination centre.

The centre has delivered almost 370,000 vaccine doses over the last five months. 

The Africa director of the World Health Organization (WHO) said the continent has been able to triple its Covid-19 vaccination rate over the past week, and has been helped by growing numbers of donations of doses from wealthier countries.

However, Matshidiso Moeti added that protecting even 10 per cent of the continent from coronavirus by the end of September remains a "very daunting task".

The continent saw 248,000 new confirmed cases over the past week, with at least 28 countries seeing a surge in infections driven by the delta variant.

"This is a preventable tragedy if African countries can get fair access to the vaccines," Ms Moeti told reporters.

New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern defended her "Covid zero" policy, amid fears an outbreak of the delta variant in the country has rendered the strategy ineffective.

Ms Ardern said she believed the delta variant could again be stamped out in the community and health experts were advising her to stick with the elimination approach.

"In their view, it's not only possible, it remains the best strategy and I totally agree," she said on Thursday, after announcing 68 new community cases.

Her Australian counterpart Scott Morrison this week said it was "just absurd" to try to eliminate Delta, adding: "New Zealand can't do that."

Pubs will serve an estimated six million fewer pints this bank holiday than the same period in 2019, an industry body has said.

The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) said its members expect to lose out on £25 million in revenue from pint sales, down 10 per cent for the same bank holiday in 2019 before the start of the pandemic.

A BBPA spokesman said: "We reckon Brits supporting their local this bank holiday weekend will buy 60 million pints. Of course our sector is grateful to be fully open again and for all the trade it can get, but that is still six million pints down on 2019.

"A pub adds significant value to the local economy, provides vital jobs and creates connected and vibrant communities, particularly in community and rural areas.

"If the Government is serious about levelling up the UK and building back better, it must invest in our pubs so that they can help lead the much-needed economic and social recovery."

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Over half of UK parents, or 66 per cent, said they would want their child to receive a Covid-19 vaccination when jabs are available to their age group.

The Good Childhood Report conducted a survey of over 2,000 children, from aged 10 to 17, and parents from across the country that asked if they would like to get the jab.

It found that six in 10 children said they would like to get vaccinated, with just 11 per cent of child respondents saying they were strongly opposed to receiving a shot.

Qatar is offering Covid-19 vaccines to evacuees from Afghanistan who are temporarily staying in the state, the foreign ministry said on Thursday.

Qatar, which hosts the largest US military base in the region, has so far helped evacuate more than 40,000 people to Doha and will continue to facilitate international efforts in "the coming days".

Those who do not immediately transit to other countries are being provided with a PCR test and a coronavirus vaccine, if requested, it said, adding that Doha is temporarily hosting "a large number of evacuees most of them students, families and journalists".

Qatar has agreed with the US to temporarily host 8,000 Afghan nationals while the UAE and Kuwait will host 5,000.

A BBC radio presenter died due to complications related to AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine, a coroner has said.

Lisa Shaw, 44, died in May, just over three weeks after she had received her first vaccine dose, an inquest in Newcastle heard.

PA reports that Mrs Shaw started to complain of a severe headache, including shooting pains across her forehead and behind her eyes, a few days after receiving her vaccine, and eventually went to A&E in Durham, where she was diagnosed with a blood clot and was transferred for specialist treatment at Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary.

The inquest heard that, despite treatments including cutting away part of her skull to relieve pressure, nothing further could be done and Mrs Shaw died on 21 May.

Newcastle senior coroner Karen Dilks gave a narrative conclusion, which said: “Lisa died due to complications of an AstraZeneca Covid vaccine.”

In a statement, Mrs Shaw's family described her as "the most wonderful wife, mum, daughter, sister and friend" and said her death had left a "terrible void" in their lives.

Zimbabwe is opening up Covid-19 vaccinations to children aged over 14, and is only permitting fully-vaccinated people to eat inside restaurants.

Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said the decision to start administering jabs to teenagers was "on the advice of scientists".

The country is already offering shots to people aged 18 and older, making it one of the first countries in Africa to extend vaccinations to children.

People wanting to eat inside restaurants will also need to show proof of full-vaccination, as the country seeks to persuade more people to get inoculated.

Around 16 per cent of Zimbabwe's population of 15 million people have received one dose, while 10 per cent are fully-vaccinated.

Care home managers fear an "exodus" of staff members by the autumn due to opposition to mandatory Covid-19 vaccination and pandemic burnout.

The Institute of Health and Social Care Management (IHSCM) surveyed more than 1,000 care managers in partnership with the PA news agency.

The survey found that nine in 10 managers said their workplace is experiencing staff shortages or difficulty recruiting, with almost half (49.3 per cent) saying these issues are compromising safety and care.

A third (32.8 per cent) of managers have already had staff quit or hand in their notice over the requirement to get a coronavirus vaccine, while more than half (55.2 per cent) of managers fear they will have to dismiss staff because they have not been vaccinated.

Around a third expect to lose up to 5 per cent of their workforce, while 24.1 per cent estimate between 10 and 20 per cent of staff will no longer be able to work.

One manager said the experience "can feel like drowning at times", adding "the thought of having to possibly let quality, dedicated staff go because they don't want to have something injected into their bodies is devastating".

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The number of dental treatments given to children in England dropped by 70 per cent in the year after the first Covid-19 lockdown, new figures show.

Data from NHS Digital shows there were 3.3 million courses of dental treatment given to children between April 2020 and March 2021, down from the 11.6 million delivered in the previous 12 months.

A total of 12 million courses of dental treatment were delivered across England in 2020-21, down 69 per cent from the 38.4 million in 2019-20.

The British Dental Association (BDA) said that more than nine million children had missed out on care in the year following the first lockdown, which was implemented in March 2020.

St Lucia is in danger of being added to the UK's red list for international travel due to an 83 per cent rise in Covid-19 cases on the island, an analyst has warned.

This would mean travellers arriving in the UK from the Caribbean island would have to enter a quarantine hotel.

Coronavirus data analyst Tim White warned St Lucia is "in real peril" of being put on the red list as "the numbers keep getting worse".

Mr White said Morocco, Algeria, Nigeria and Ghana could also be moved to the red list.

By Nicola Smith, Asia correspondent

Vietnam has launched a novel scheme to pay a monthly allowance to people who have recovered from Covid-19 if they remain in overwhelmed hospitals to help medical staff with a huge influx of patients.

The “patient zero with patient zero” programme was introduced this week to Ho Chi Minh City, the financial hub that has become the epicentre of the Southeast Asian nation’s worst coronavirus since the start of the pandemic.

The new hospital volunteers “will be provided with personal protective equipment, food, accommodation and a monthly allowance of 8 million dong (S$475)," according to a letter reviewed by Reuters from one of the medical facilities taking part.

Vietnam's health ministry has also dispatched 14,600 additional doctors and nurses to the city and its neighbouring provinces to support an overwhelmed medical system.

On Thursday, it was reported that more than 100 Catholic and Buddhist priests and nuns have joined the efforts of frontline medics.

Russia recorded its highest daily coronavirus death toll on Thursdayas the country struggles with the aggressive delta variant and slowing vaccination rates.

A government tally reported 820 fatalities over the past 24 hours and 19,630 new cases.

Russia, the fourth worst-hit country in the world in terms of cases, has since mid-June been hit by a new wave of infections driven by the delta variant.

While the number of daily infections is now on the decline, Russia has hit record daily deaths several times in August.

The new figures bring Russia's total fatalities from Covid-19 to 179,243 - the highest toll in Europe. This figure, however, only takes into account fatalities where the virus was established as the primary cause of death after an autopsy.

Under a broader definition for deaths linked to the coronavirus, statistics agency Rosstat reported at the end of June that Russia had seen more than 300,000 fatalities.

Air travel to the UK continues to be severely affected by the coronavirus pandemic, new figures show.

Just 1.4 million airline passengers arrived in the country last month, according to Home Office data.

That was up 14pc on the figure of 1.3 million in July 2020, but 87pc lower than the 11.2 million arrivals during the same month in 2019.

Some 54pc of arrivals last month were British nationals.

The total number of arrivals between April 2020 and July 2021 was 90% lower than pre-pandemic levels.

The travel sector has been badly hit by the fall in demand, with thousands of jobs lost.

It has urged the Government to ease and simplify quarantine and testing requirements for arriving travellers.

The latest update to the green, amber and red travel lists is expected to be announced later today.

Two women bringing a legal challenge over what they describe as a failure to protect those living in care homes from Covid-19 have lost a bid for the Government to provide further evidence.

Dr Cathy Gardner and Faye Harris, whose fathers both died in care homes from coronavirus, are suing the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC), NHS England and Public Health England (PHE).

The pair claim there was a failure to implement "adequate" measures to protect residents from the "ravages" of the virus and this was "one of the most egregious and devastating policy failures of recent times".

They say certain key policies and decisions led to a "shocking death toll" of care home residents - estimated at 20,000 people between March and June - including an alleged policy of discharging patients from hospital into care homes without testing and suitable isolation arrangements.

The women argue that the decisions and policies under challenge were a breach of duties under human rights - including the right to life and right to freedom from inhuman or degrading treatment - and equality legislation.

Daily symptomatic Covid cases are up by 19 per cent on last week, according to the latest ZOE Covid Study incidence figures.

The new figures show there are currently 51,961 new daily symptomatic cases of coronavirus in the UK on average, compared to 43,693 new cases last week. On average 1 in 100 people in the UK currently have symptomatic Covid.

New cases are highest in the 18 to 35-year-olds, closely followed by the zero to 18-year-olds, which suggests that it’s the younger populations who are behind the current rises in cases.

Professor Tim Spector, lead scientist on the ZOE Covid Study app, said the new figures show that "unfortunately, we're back in a position where cases, hospitalisations and deaths are all going up and the UK has the highest rates of Covid in Europe, despite our superior vaccination rates."

He said that what sets the UK apart in comparison to Europe is "our lack of restrictions", and that as children return to school after the summer holidays there is a "good chance" that cases will continue to rise.

Prof Spector added that according to the data from the study, full vaccinated people now make up nearly 30pc of positive cases, and so it is "critical" to be aware of the symptoms of Covid even after getting jabbed, he said.

The NHS has drawn up plans to start vaccinating 12-year-olds from the first week schools go back, The Telegraph can reveal.

Health officials have said children would not need parental consent under the schools’ jabs programme, writes our Health Editor, Laura Donnelly.

NHS trusts were told on Wednesday to prepare for the possible rollout of a 12 to 15-year-old healthy child vaccination programme beginning on Sept 6. Emails seen by this newspaper, sent by NHS England’s regional offices, say trusts must have plans ready by 4pm on Friday.

The timetable – with the first jabs administered in less than two weeks’ time – has been drawn up despite the fact the Government’s advisers have so far not recommended such a rollout.

The Department of Health on Wednesday night insisted a decision to roll out jabs has not been taken. Until now, the Government’s vaccine advisers have said there is insufficient data to support such a rollout.

Read Laura's story in full

When deciding whether to vaccinate over 12s, an expert has warned that "we need to get the balance right" of risks and benefits to teenagers.

Russell Viner, professor of child and adolescent health at UCL and member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), said that "we would be vaccinating teenagers largely to benefit us adults", and because of this we need to have "more information" before coming to a final decision.

Prof Viner said that the reports of a rare heart inflammation occuring as a side effect for young people getting jabbed mean scientists need to "really bottom out the risk", and he added that the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) are "the only ones with the skills to balance these complex arguments."

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "My belief is that once we have more data and we have really bottomed out the risk from this rare heart inflammation, that in a few months we will undoubtedly be doing this but it is right to be cautious."

People in need of dental surgery could be forced to wait for two years for care, according to a group of dental surgeons.

Almost two in five (39pc) dental surgeons think the backlog of care caused by the coronavirus pandemic will take at least a year to clear.

And 19pc believe it will take more than two years to get through the volume of patients waiting for treatment, according to a poll by the Faculty of Dental Surgeons.

A quarter (25pc) of 300 dental surgeons polled said that the majority of people on their waiting list were children.

The FDS, which is part of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, said that the latest waiting times data for the NHS in England show that 389 patients were waiting at least two years for oral surgery in June 2021.

Teachers and families have been urged to take precautions to reduce outbreaks of the winter sickness bug as schools prepare to reopen their doors to pupils next week.

As coronavirus restrictions have eased, health officials have been alerted to a surge in norovirus outbreaks, particularly in nurseries and child care settings. A report by Public Health England (PHE) warns that further rises could be seen in coming months.

Now schools in England are preparing to return for the autumn term, PHE has urged people to follow simple steps to reduce the risk of getting the bug.

Dr Lesley Larkin, surveillance lead for the Gastrointestinal Pathogens Unit at PHE, said: "We have seen increases in norovirus cases as Covid-19 restrictions have eased and people mix more."

She added: "Stay at home if you are experiencing norovirus symptoms and do not return to work or send children to school or nursery until 48 hours after symptoms have cleared.

"As with Covid-19, handwashing is really important to help stop the spread of this bug, but remember, unlike for Covid-19 alcohol gels do not kill off norovirus so soap and water is best."

Festival-goers will not be given Covid jabs if they are under the influence at the Reading and Leeds festivals, NHS England said as it announced pop-up vaccination tents.

Vaccinations will be offered at both festival sites throughout the Bank Holiday weekend in the latest attempt to encourage uptake among younger age groups. 

NHS England said festival-goers will be able to get a Covid jab "as easily as a beer or a burger" but anyone under the influence of alcohol or drugs will be turned away. Attendees will also be able to ask health professionals any questions about the jab.

It comes as NHS England said more than half a million 16- and 17-year-olds have had their first dose. Seventy per cent of 18- to 24-year-olds in England have had at least one dose, according to data up to August 15, compared to 81 per cent of 30- to 34-year-olds and 84 per cent of 35- to 39-year-olds.

Here is your Daily Telegraph for Thursday, August 26.

Qantas aims to restart flights to and from the UK in mid-December, in plans linked to the Covid vaccine rollout in Australia and in several of the airline's major destinations.

The carrier's initial focus - pending Australian government acceptance - will be on countries with high vaccination rates, including the UK, Japan, Singapore, Canada and the US.

Australia's government has drafted a plan to begin the gradual reopening of international borders once the country reaches a vaccination rate of 80pc, which looks likely to be achieved in December.

Flights to countries with low vaccination rates are expected to be delayed until next April, including Indonesia, South Africa, Thailand and Vietnam, Qantas said.

Qantas said its ability to fly non-stop between Australia and London was expected to be in strong demand post-Covid.

The airline said it was investigating using Darwin as a transit point, instead of its existing Perth hub, due to tight border control policies in Western Australia amid the pandemic.

Darwin has been Qantas' main entry for repatriation flights during the Covid crisis.

Moderna has withheld supply of about 1.63 million doses of its Covid vaccine in Japan after a report of contamination of vials with particulate matter, which it suspects involves a production line in Spain.

Although Moderna said no safety or efficacy issues had been identified, the suspension is a fresh setback for the firm, whose partners had production delays last month that disrupted supplies to countries including South Korea.

That has prompted some Japanese companies to cancel worker vaccinations planned for Thursday, as most of the doses in question have been supplied to mass vaccination sites and workplaces in Japan.

It was not immediately clear whether the issue impacted supplies to other countries.

Taiwan's government said Pfizer-BioNTech Covid vaccines are available earlier than expected and it is striving to obtain them in competition with other countries.

Reuters reported on Wednesday that Taiwan could get its first delivery of the German-made vaccines one month ahead of schedule because a delay in regulatory approval of the shot for use in mainland China made a surplus available for the island.

Taiwan's tortured bid for the vaccine has become an issue of high political and diplomatic drama, after Taiwan accused China of blocking a deal earlier this year, which Beijing denied. China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory.

Authorities in Australia's New South Wales state say they will ease pandemic restrictions for vaccinated adults next month even as they are reporting a record 1,029 coronavirus infections and three deaths.

The record reported on Thursday surpassed the previous high for a 24-hour period of 919 infections just a day earlier.

State Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the slight easing of restrictions is coming because the state reached six million vaccine doses in a population of 8.2 million.

Beginning September 13, families in the highest-risk parts of Sydney will be allowed to leave their homes for an hour of recreation as long as the adults are fully vaccinated. The recreation hour is in addition to the hour people are already allowed out to exercise.

Elsewhere in the state, groups of five will be allowed to congregate as long as all adults are fully vaccinated.

A foreign participant in the Paralympic Games in Japan has been hospitalised with non-severe Covid symptoms, Kyodo News said on Thursday.

It is the first hospitalisation of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, which opened on Tuesday.

Hospitals in Japan treating Covid patients have usually reserved beds for people showing severe symptoms.

The national government and the Tokyo Metropolitan government appealed on Monday to hospitals in the capital to accept more Covid patients.

China went on the offensive on Wednesday ahead of the release of a US intelligence report on the origins of coronavirus, bringing out a senior official to accuse the Americans of politicising the issue by seeking to blame China.

Fu Cong, a Foreign Ministry director general, said at a briefing for foreign journalists that "scapegoating China cannot whitewash the US".

"If they want to baselessly accuse China, they better be prepared to accept the counter-attack from China," he said.

China, the US and the World Health Organisation are entangled in a feud that centres on whether the virus that causes Covid could have leaked from a lab in the city of Wuhan, where the disease was first detected in late 2019.

Top health officials in New Mexico are warning that the state is about a week away from having to ration medical care as coronavirus infections continue to climb.

The state health secretary said that the state is tracking along with its worst-case projections when it comes to the spread of the virus and hospitalisations.

Dr David Scarse said the result may be that "we're going to have to choose who gets care and who doesn't get care, and we don't want to get to that point".

He said the biggest constraint is the shortage of healthcare workers.

Tennessee's state health commissioner says children now account for more than a third of the state's Covid cases, a sharp rise from earlier as the delta variant continues to spread.

Health Commissioner Lisa Piercey said Tennessee had 14,000 paediatric cases in the past seven days.

She said such cases now make up 36pc of total cases, "when it's historically been in the 10 to 15 per cent range".

The spike in cases among school-age children has brought calls from some health officials for more forceful protective measures such as mask mandates at schools. Governor Bill Lee has resisted such suggestions.

Revellers will be able to get a coronavirus vaccine as they soak up the atmosphere at the Reading and Leeds festivals this weekend.

It comes as NHS England said more than half a million 16- and 17-year-olds have had their first dose.

The pop-up clinics across the two sites this Bank Holiday weekend mean music lovers will be able to grab a jab as easily as a beer or a burger, health officials said, but they added that people under the influence of alcohol or drugs will not be given the vaccine.

Some music festivals have hit the headlines recently after Covid-19 cases were linked to attendees.

• The NHS has drawn up plans to start vaccinating 12-year-olds from the first week schools go back, The Telegraph can reveal
• Care homes are hiring double-jabbed foreign workers to “plug the gap” of staff planning to quit ahead of the mandatory vaccination deadline
• Only four in 1,000 double-jabbed holidaymakers are testing positive for Covid on their return to Britain, according to new research, as MPs called for costly PCR tests to be scrapped
• Nicola Sturgeon’s NHS recovery plan to clear the huge treatment backlog that has built up during the pandemic risks backfiring by making chronic staff shortages even worse, doctors’ leaders have warned
• Older workers may delay retirement if they are allowed to continue working from home, government figures suggest