Coronavirus live news: UK starts vaccinating 12- to 15-year-olds; China reports 49 new cases

Covid restrictions in Hanoi, Vietnam, are set to ease this week as new cases continue to decline and the majority of its adult population are at least partially vaccinated.

Its government has announced that most construction projects can resume on Wednesday, according to the Reuters news agency.

While Hanoi has managed to avoid the brunt of the coronavirus wave to hit the country since late April, average daily cases are down to 20.

Authorities have confirmed that 94% of adults in Hanoi have received at least one shot of the Covid jab, with second doses aiming to be completed by the end of November.

The deputy chairman of Hanoi’s ruling People’s Committee, Duong Duc Tuan, said:

We can’t maintain the social distancing measures indefinitely.

Tuan added that the city’s approach will be flexible and scientific, aimed at containing the virus while reviving economic activities.

Vietnam has suffered from Covid throughout spring and summer 2021 but fewer than 50 of more than 17,000 deaths nationwide were recorded in the city, as well as just 4,414 of the country’s total 687,000 cases.

The centre of the outbreak, the business hub Ho Chi Minh City, more than 1,50 km (932 miles) away by road, has been hardest hit, with 49% of the country’s cases and 78% of its fatalities.

China reported on Monday 49 new confirmed coronavirus cases in the mainland for 19 September, down from 66 a day earlier, according to National Health Commission data.

Of the new infections, 28 were locally transmitted, all of them in the south-eastern province of Fujian, the health authority said. That compares with 43 local cases a day earlier.

China reported two new asymptomatic coronavirus cases, which it does not classify as confirmed infections, compared with 19 a day earlier. No new deaths were reported.

As of Sunday, mainland China had recorded 95,738 confirmed cases, with the death toll unchanged at 4,636.

Coronavirus vaccines are being rolled out to children aged between 12 and 15, with 3 million youngsters eligible across the UK, PA Media reports.

The programme is expected to be delivered primarily within schools, and guidance has been issued to headteachers to contact police if they believe protests could be held outside their buildings.

Children will be offered jabs at some schools in England from Monday.

The rollout for 12- to 15-year-olds is also beginning in Scotland and Wales this week. Young people in this age bracket in Scotland can go to drop-in clinics or wait for a letter offering them a scheduled appointment.

Jabs for children in Wales will be carried out at mass vaccination centres and some school settings.

In Northern Ireland, the head of the region’s vaccination programme said jabs are likely to be offered to children aged 12 to 15 in schools from October.

Hello and welcome to today’s live coronavirus coverage.

Coronavirus vaccines are being rolled out to children aged between 12 and 15, with three million youngsters eligible across the UK. The programme is expected to be delivered primarily within schools, and guidance has been issued to headteachers to contact police if they believe protests could be held outside their buildings. Children will be offered jabs at some schools in England from Monday. The rollout for 12- to 15-year-olds is also beginning in Scotland and Wales this week.

Meanwhile, China reported 49 new Covid cases on Monday, down from 66 a day earlier, according to National Health Commission data.

Of the new infections, 28 were locally transmitted, all of them in the south-eastern province of Fujian, the health authority said. That compares with 43 local cases a day earlier.

More on these stories shortly.