UK ‘not out of the woods yet’ says Whitty – as it happened | World news

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US president Joe Biden said his administration is reviewing when it can lift restrictions that ban most-non U.S. citizens from traveling to the US from much of Europe after German chancellor Angela Merkel raised the issue.

“It’s in process now,” Biden said of discussions about when restrictions could be lifted, Reuters reports.

He said he is likely to be able to answer “within the next several days what is likely to happen… I’m waiting to hear from our … COVID team as to when that should be done.”

Brazil registered 1,548 Covid-19 deaths on Thursday and 52,789 additional cases, according to data released by the nation’s health ministry.

The South American country has now registered 538,942 total coronavirus deaths and 19,262,518 total confirmed cases, Reuters reports.

The leaders of the Chilean late-stage human trial of the CoronaVac Covid-19 vaccine developed by Chinese pharmaceutical firm Sinovac recommended a third dose of the jab, saying studies of participants showed their protecting antibody levels were lower after six months.

The trial leaders said that an in vitro trial to determine the vaccine’s effectiveness against the more contagious Delta strain of the virus showed a four-fold reduction in neutralising effect against it, compared to a less severe, three-fold reduction previously reported by Chinese scientists, Reuters reports.

The UK is “not out of the woods yet” and the public should approach the end of coronavirus restrictions next Monday with caution, Professor Chris Whitty said.

England’s Chief Medical Officer warned that the number of people in hospital with Covid-19 is currently doubling about every three weeks and could reach “quite scary numbers” if the trend continues.

Speaking at a webinar hosted by the Science Museum, Prof Whitty said: “I don’t think we should underestimate the fact that we could get into trouble again surprisingly fast.”

He added: “We are not by any means out of the woods yet on this, we are in much better shape due to the vaccine programme, and drugs and a variety of other things.

“But this has got a long way to run in the UK, and it’s got even further to run globally.”

Israel is planning tougher health restrictions to combat rising cases of Covid-19 as the Delta variant spreads, the prime minister’s office said in a statement.

If the new plans are approved by parliament, only those vaccinated or who have recovered from coronavirus will be allowed to take part in indoor events of more than 100 people, AFP reports.

They will also have to wear masks, except for eating and drinking.

The proposal is a joint plan drawn up by the prime minister’s office as well as the health and economy ministries.

Mexico’s health ministry reported 12,821 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 and 233 more fatalities.

It brings the total figures to 2,629,648 infections and 235,740 deaths, Reuters reports.

The government has said the real number of cases is likely significantly higher, and separate data published recently suggested the actual death toll could be 60% higher than the official count.

After daily record numbers of Covid-19 infections in recent days, Senegalese health officials recommended that people refrain from traveling for the Eid al-Adha Muslim festival set to take place next week.

Health minister Abdoulaye Diouf Sarr recommended mask-wearing at all times and avoiding “movement and travel during the festival, AFP reports.

Diouf Sarr also recommended working from home whenever possible and reducing staff elsewhere.

Infections have been rising across the continent, with Senegal itself recording a record 733 new infections on Wednesday, followed by 674 on Thursday.

Facebook is not doing enough to stop the spread of false claims about Covid-19 and vaccines, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.

The social media firm, which owns Instagram and WhatsApp, needs to work harder to remove inaccurate vaccine information from its platform, Psaki said.

She said 12 people were responsible for almost 65% of anti-vaccine misinformation on social media platforms. The finding was reported in May by the Center for Countering Digital Hate, but Facebook has disputed the methodology.

“All of them remain active on Facebook,” Psaki said. She added that Facebook also “needs to move more quickly to remove harmful, violative posts”.

The platform has introduced rules against making certain false claims about coronavirus and its vaccines, Reuters reports.

Abu Dhabi has announced a partial lockdown and new entry requirements in the emirate from 19 July, from midnight until 5am, Reuters reports.

The Emergency, Crisis and Disasters Committee said: “National Sterilisation Programme in the Emirate has been launched … The movement of traffic and the public will be restricted and there will be no transportation services and the public must stay at home except for emergencies and getting essential supplies.”