Coronavirus live news: Japan gives Taiwan 1.2m vaccine doses, Fauci calls for Wuhan lab worker records

In Russia they’ve been carrying out a trial with mixing doses of the Sputnik V vaccine and the AstraZeneca shot, and this morning Reuters are reporting that no negative side-effects were detected in the study.

While on the media round in the UK this morning, communities secretary Robert Jenrick has been asked about the suggestion that the UK government should simplify the red, amber and green list system. He emphasised again that people should be avoiding travel to countries on the amber list.

In a quote which suggests he’s maybe never tried to cross the road in London at a set of traffic lights as a pedestrian, Jenrick said: “I hope people will appreciate that you shouldn’t be visiting those countries on the amber list for holidays. You wouldn’t drive through an amber light at the traffic lights, you shouldn’t be going on holiday to those countries either.”

He defended the decision to move Portugal off the green list, saying: “I completely understand how frustrating this is both for people in Portugal, and for millions of people here who would love to go on holiday abroad this summer.

“We were also clear that if you choose to go on holiday to countries on the green list, those countries are being reviewed every three weeks, and so there was always a risk with a fast-moving situation with new variants that countries might either go on to that list, or indeed come off.

“That’s what’s happened here and I hope that people will understand – hard though this is – that we do need to take a cautious approach because people have made such progress in recent weeks and months.”

A lot of media coverage of international restrictions on travel out of the UK has had its focus on pent-up demand for holidays in the sun, often leaving aside the people who wish to travel because they haven’t seen loved ones for months. This morning’s media round in the UK has seen communities minister Robert Jenrick wheeled out to defend changes to the green, amber and red list of countries.

On Sky News he was pressed why Portugal had been moved of the green list just days after thousands of football fans headed there from the UK for the Champions League Final.

PA report he said: “Firstly, the amount of positivity has increased significantly, it’s doubled in the last three weeks to a level that’s much higher than we have here in the UK.

“Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, although both countries have prevalence of the Indian variant or Delta variant as it’s called, we’re also seeing in Portugal now growing evidence of a further mutation being called the Nepal variant.

“We don’t yet know how much of a problem that is, how transmissibility is, whether it might be too difficult even for our vaccines. But it’s important that we take a cautious approach, and so we take action now whilst we do research and learn more about that variant.”

It should be noted that yesterday the World Health Organization in Nepal seemed somewhat puzzled at this idea.

The US trade office in Taipei has issued a statement about the US inclusion of Taiwan as a priority recipient for vaccine donations. You can imagine there is going to be a lot of diplomatic noise about this from China. The statement says:

We warmly welcome the White House announcement that Taiwan will be included in the first tranche of the more than 80 million Covid-19 vaccines the United States is planning to share with those in need. Further details on the deliveries of these vaccines to Taiwan will be forthcoming. The American people will never forget Taiwan’s generosity in providing face masks and other emergency supplies during the early stages of the Covid-19 crisis in the United States. As the pandemic surges in many locations in the Indo-Pacific, and amidst the severe global shortage of vaccines, the donations announced today will help Taiwan protect its most vulnerable populations.

Japan is also set to donate 1.24 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to Taiwan for free, with the foreign minister, Toshimitsu Motegi, saying his country well remembers Taiwan’s generosity following the earthquake that shook Japan a decade ago.

Cyprus reopened checkpoints closed by the Covid-19 pandemic this morning easing movement between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot populations, months after they were sealed shut.

Nine checkpoints along a 180 km (116 mile) ceasefire line splitting the east Mediterranean island reopened to civilians. Pre-pandemic, the checkpoints were used by thousands every day.

At Ledra Street, in the heart of the capital Nicosia, police moved away steel barricades to allow pedestrians through. In preceding days, municipal workers were busy clearing away weeds in the narrow corridor of land that had sprouted since February last year, when it was first shut.

Cyprus has been split since 1974 and the pandemic triggered different interception and lockdown policies on either side of the island, up-ending the lives of thousands.

Ledra Street, which cuts through the heart of Nicosia, was shut for more than a year. Others checkpoints have opened sporadically but different rules on either side of the line made crossings practically impossible.

“The closure split families, friends and loved ones and risked cementing the division of our country,” said Unite Cyprus Now, a peace group that has long campaigned for the opening of the checkpoints. The crossing points were first opened after years of segregation in 2003.

Under new common rules, people crossing must display a negative PCR or antigen test valid for 7 days. Scientists from the two sides will review the situation every two weeks.

Good morning from London, it is Martin Belam here. One of the big questions since the pandemic first started is whether you can catch Covid again after having been infected. A study in Denmark a couple of months ago suggested that under-65s had about 80% protection for at least six months from catching Covid a second time, but the over-65s had only 47% protection.

Nina Massey, who is a science correspondent at PA media, writes this morning about a new study out of the UK, which suggests that the risk of being infected with coronavirus is substantially reduced for up to 10 months after a first infection.

Researchers found that care home residents with a previous infection were 85% less likely to be infected between October last year and February this year than residents who had never been infected.

Staff with past infection were 60% less likely than staff who had not had the infection before, the study suggested.

Lead author Dr Maria Krutikov, of UCL Institute of Health Informatics, said: “It’s really good news that natural infection protects against reinfection in this time period.

“The risk of being infected twice appears to be very low. The fact that prior Covid-19 infection gives a high level of protection to care home residents is also reassuring, given past concerns that these individuals might have less robust immune responses associated with increasing age. These findings are particularly important as this vulnerable group has not been the focus of much research.”

Researchers looked at rates of coronavirus infections between October and February among more than 2,000 care home residents and staff.

That’s it from me, Helen Livingstone, today, I’m handing over to my colleague in London, Martin Belam.

Here’s a quick summary of what’s been happening over the past hours:

• Top US infectious diseases expert Anthony Fauci has called on China to release the medical records of workers at a virology lab in Wuhan, as US intelligence agencies examine reports that researchers there were seriously ill in 2019, a month before the first Covid-19 cases were reported.

• A Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) board member has blasted organisers of the Tokyo Games for ignoring public concerns about holding the global sporting showpiece amid a pandemic.

• Japan is set to donate 1.24 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to Taiwan for free, with the foreign minister, Toshimitsu Motegi, saying his country well remembers Taiwan’s generosity following the earthquake that shook Japan a decade ago.

• Malaysian health authorities have raised concerns about a growing number of coronavirus deaths and serious cases involving children, after a surge in overall infections forced the Southeast Asian nation into a strict lockdown.

• A Melbourne family who visited the neighbouring state of New South Wales while likely infectious have been confirmed to have Delta variant, the predominant coronavirus variant in India, Australian officials say.

• People who have had the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine have lower antibody levels targeting the coronavirus variant first discovered in India than those against previously circulating variants in the UK, new data suggests.

• Malala Yousafzai says she fears the coronavirus crisis will cause millions of girls worldwide to lose their education.

A Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) board member has blasted organisers of the Tokyo Games for ignoring public concerns about holding the global sporting showpiece amid a pandemic, as Japan’s top medical adviser urged new steps to reduce the risk, Reuters reports.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) appeared to think it could steamroll over the wishes of the Japanese public, who, surveys show, overwhelmingly want the games cancelled or postponed, the JOC’s Kaori Yamaguchi said in an opinion piece carried by Japan’s Kyodo news agency.

Yamaguchi, a former Olympic medallist in judo, accused the Japanese government, the Tokyo 2020 organising committee and the IOC of “avoiding dialogue” and said the IOC “seems to think that public opinion in Japan is not important.”

“I believe we have already missed the opportunity to cancel … We have been cornered into a situation where we cannot even stop now. We are damned if we do, and damned if we do not.”

Already postponed from last year because of the pandemic, a scaled-down version of the Games with no foreign spectators is set to start on 23 July despite public fears the event could drain medical resources and spread the coronavirus as Japan battles a fourth wave of infections.

The government’s top medical adviser, Shigeru Omi, told parliament on Friday the biggest risk from the Games was increased movement of the general public, which has contributed to past rises in infections.

“People have had enough of the ‘stay home’ request … Unless (the government) comes up with something new in this critical phase it’s going to be impossible” to prevent the risk of contagion, Omi said.

A Melbourne family who visited the neighbouring state of New South Wales while likely infectious have been confirmed to have Delta variant, the predominant coronavirus variant in India, Australian officials say.

The news came as health officials said they had no plans to end Melbourne’s 14-day lockdown earlier than planned, despite two cases of “fleeting transmission” in the state being reclassified on Thursday as false positives.

On day eight of Melbourne’s fourth lockdown, the state reported four new locally-acquired cases of Covid-19 out of over 49,000 tests.

Malaysian health authorities have raised concerns about a growing number of coronavirus deaths and serious cases involving children, after a surge in overall infections forced the Southeast Asian nation into a strict lockdown, Reuters reports.

Malaysia recorded the deaths of three children aged below five due to the coronavirus in the first five months of this year, the same number recorded over the whole of 2020, according to Health Ministry director-general Noor Hisham Abdullah.

A total of 27 children, including 19 below the age of five, also had to be treated in intensive care between January and May after contracting the virus, up from eight cases last year.

“The health ministry hopes all parties, especially parents and guardians, play an important part in protecting those with low immunity, such as babies and children, from Covid-19,” Noor Hisham said in a statement.

Noor Hisham did not say how many children had been tested for Covid-19 or if authorities planned to ramp up testing among minors.

Neighbouring Singapore also warned last month that new coronavirus variants, such as the one first detected in India, were affecting more children.

Malaysia’s prime minister, Muhyiddin Yassin, has declared a two-week “total lockdown” from 1-14 June, as daily Covid-19 cases and deaths hit record numbers.

Japan is to deliver to Taiwan 1.24 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine for free, the foreign minister, Toshimitsu Motegi, has said, in a gesture that will more that double the amount of shots the island has received to date.

Taiwan is battling a spike in domestic infections and has vaccinated only around 3% of its population. Japan has contracted to procure more than 300 million doses of coronavirus vaccines from Pfizer Inc, Moderna Inc and AstraZeneca, more than enough to cover its entire population.

“At the time of the great east Japan earthquake 10 years ago, people in Taiwan sent us a lot of donations promptly. I believe that is etched vividly in the minds of Japanese people,” Motegi said, according to Reuters, announcing the vaccines would reach Taiwan on Friday afternoon.

“Such an important partnership and friendship with Taiwan is reflected in this offer.”

Taiwan thanked its former colonial master for its generosity.

“The relationship between Taiwan and Japan has always been extremely close, and our friendship is firm and deep,” Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry said. “Whenever disasters or accidents occur, both sides immediately lend a helping hand to each other and send help in the hour of need.”

Taiwan has received only around 860,000 doses so far, mainly AstraZeneca ones but also a smaller number from Moderna. It has ordered more than 20 million doses from AstraZeneca and Moderna and is also developing its own vaccines.

Like many governments, Taiwan’s vaccine plans have been stymied by global shortages. China, which claims the island as its own territory, has offered vaccines, but Taiwan has repeatedly expressed concern about their safety, and accused China of trying to block Taiwan’s vaccine purchases internationally. Beijing denies this.

Top US infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci has called on China to release the medical records of nine people whose ailments might provide vital clues into whether Covid-19 first emerged as the result of a lab leak, the Financial Times has reported (paywalled).

“I would like to see the medical records of the three people who are reported to have got sick in 2019. Did they really get sick, and if so, what did they get sick with?” the report quoted Fauci as saying, according to Reuters.

US intelligence agencies are still examining reports that researchers at a Chinese virology laboratory in Wuhan were seriously ill in 2019 a month before the first Covid-19 cases were reported.

However, Chinese scientists and officials have consistently rejected the lab leak hypothesis, saying the virus could have been circulating in other regions before it hit Wuhan and might have even entered China through imported frozen food shipments or wildlife trading.

The Financial Times reported that Fauci continues to believe the virus was first transmitted to humans through animals, pointing out that even if the lab researchers did have Covid-19, they could have contracted the disease from the wider population.

Hello and welcome to today’s coverage of the coronavirus pandemic with me, Helen Livingstone.

Top US infectious diseases expert Anthony Fauci has called on China to release the medical records of workers at a virology lab in Wuhan, as US intelligence agencies examine reports that researchers there were seriously ill in 2019, a month before the first Covid-19 cases were reported.

Japan is set to donate 1.24 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to Taiwan for free, with the foreign minister, Toshimitsu Motegi, saying his country well remembers Taiwan’s generosity following the earthquake that shook Japan a decade ago.

Most people who are reluctant to be vaccinated against Covid are worried about side-effects and whether the vaccines have been adequately tested, a survey in 15 countries has shown.

Here’s a roundup of what’s been happening around the world in the past 24 hours:

• People who have had the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine have lower antibody levels targeting the coronavirus variant first discovered in India than those against previously circulating variants in the UK, new data suggests.

• Malala Yousafzai says she fears the coronavirus crisis will cause millions of girls worldwide to lose their education.

• The UK has recorded 5,274 new cases – the highest daily figure since March. There were 18 deaths reported within 28 days of a positive test.

• France’s seven-day moving average of daily Covid-19 deaths fell below 100 for the first time since October 27th, official figures show. The Covid-19 death toll increased by 70 to 109,828, the eighth-highest total globally, Reuters reports. The seven-day moving average stood at 95 versus 105 on Wednesday.

• John Hopkins university confirmed that more than two billion vaccine doses have been distributed worldwide, with Israel remaining the country with the most vaccinated – as nearly six-in-10 people are fully inoculated against Covid.