Covid index - September 2021 - November 2021
1 Oct 2021: Launch of Scotland's Covid vaccine passport app hit by problems - probably due to the volume using it, the Scottish Government says
Proof of vaccination must be shown for entry to nightclubs from today after a judge refused a legal challenge for a delay
Shopping centre clinics will be set up in England to clear the NHS backlog caused by the pandemic
Fully vaccinated Australians will be able to travel in and out of the country freely from November for the first time since March 2020
Portugal lifts restrictions as more than 85% of its population is now fully jabbed - the highest proportion in the world
2 Oct 2021: Covid antiviral pill can halve risk of hospitalisation
Covid threat looms over Thailand's plans to open up to tourists
Vitamin A treatment trial for Covid loss of smell
3 Oct 2021: Girl dies with Covid on day she was due vaccine
Scottish Vaccine passport fix ready in 'couple of days'
Vaccine 'not a limit on freedom' - Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp
Get the jab or another job, Javid tells care staff
4 Oct 2021: Exempts "eligible travellers" (fully vaccinated) from isolation reqts. All green-list countries move to amber. (SI2021/1107)
Sunak to extend job support schemes
Amber list scrapped as new travel rules take effect
Jab offers for ages 12 to 15 in Wales by half-term
The bitter battle over mandatory vaccination
First NI 100,000 high street vouchers issued
5 Oct 2021: There are still no dedicated health services for those living with long Covid symptoms in Northern Ireland.
6 Oct 2021: Study reveals why some people get Covid toe condition
Universal credit: End of the £20 boost
7 Oct 2021: The wave of job cuts many expected at the end of the furlough scheme has not happened, early data suggests
The number of redundancies proposed by employers in September was close to record lows
Ministers in Northern Ireland are deciding whether to lift social distancing rules in hospitality venues
Previous Covid infection gives double jabbed people greater protection, research suggests
Some 1.1 million people in the UK had long Covid in August, the ONS says
India has begun delivering Covid jabs by drone to speed up its vaccination drive, a government scientist tells the BBC
8 Oct 2021: Travel firms have welcomed the latest relaxation of quarantine rules, as 47 countries are taken off the UK's "red list"
The government is planning to replace expensive day two PCR tests with lateral flow tests for travel to the UK
This change will be in place "hopefully in time" for those returning from half-term trips, the transport secretary says
Grant Shapps adds it will "certainly" be in place by the end of this month
People are being urged to get their flu jab amid concerns it will be the first winter that Covid and flu circulate fully
The Welsh government will publish its winter plans for dealing with the pandemic later
A senior doctor tells BBC Scotland the number of patients waiting indefinitely for NHS surgery is becoming a "human tragedy"
The UK has eased travel restrictions for fully vaccinated Indians who have received a UK-approved jab
9 Oct 2021: The UK now has one of the highest rates of Covid infection in Europe.
In-person GP appointments still not offered to all.
Costs are rising, partly because the government is unwinding the support it gave businesses during the pandemic.
Genesis cancels UK shows over Covid cases in band.
Locally - first Mill Road fringe (instead of Mill Road fair)
10 Oct 2021: Two million Covid booster jabs given in England
Crowds attend Hull Fair, one of Europe's largest fairs
11 Oct 2021: Afghanistan, Angola, Argentina, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Burundi, Cape Verde, Chile, Democratic Republic of Congo, Costa Rica, Cuba, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, French Guiana, Georgia, Guyana, Indonesia, Lesotho, Malawi, Mayotte, Mexico, Mongolia, Montenegro, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Paraguay, Philippines, Réunion, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Suriname, Tanzania, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Uganda, Uruguay, Zambia & Zimbabwe change from red to amber. (SI2021/1130)
As of 04:00 BST, the UK's travel red list has been cut from 54 countries to seven
It ends hotel quarantine rules for people arriving from South Africa, Mexico, Brazil and other countries
Separately, fully vaccinated travellers arriving in the UK from 37 other countries will also have to comply with fewer rules
Heathrow Airport says passenger numbers for last month were 38% of pre-pandemic levels
An Astra-Zeneca antibody therapy can reduce the chances of high-risk people developing severe, life-threating Covid, clinical trial results show
In Wales, NHS Covid passes are now compulsory for entry to big events or nightclubs
And in Australia, Sydney celebrates the end of a 107-day lockdown
12 Oct 2021: A major report by MPs criticises the UK's early response to the Covid outbreak, saying "big mistakes" were made
The late lockdown in early 2020 "ranks as one of the most important public health failures" the UK has ever had
The report also says "many thousands" of care home deaths could have been avoided
And it criticises the test and trace programme for its "slow, uncertain and often chaotic performance"
But the MPs praise the vaccine programme and rollout as one of the best in the world
Minister Steve Barclay defends the government's response, saying it always followed scientific advice
The UK reported 40,224 cases on Monday, plus 28 new Covid deaths
Thailand to reopen for some vaccinated visitors on 1 November
13 Oct 2021: The Conservative Party chairman says both he and the prime minister are sorry for "the losses" resulting from Covid in the UK
Oliver Dowden's comments come a day after a report by MPs criticised the government's early handling of the pandemic
The US will reopen its borders with Mexico and Canada to fully vaccinated travellers from November
Non-essential travel will be allowed via land and ferry crossings
The UK economy grew by 0.4% in August after Covid restrictions were lifted
The care sector in England is struggling to recruit staff, with more jobs unfilled than pre-pandemic, an industry body says
14 Oct 2021: GPs in England are being told to see more patients face-to-face as ministers unveil a £250m winter rescue package
But the doctors' union says the package shows "a government out of touch with the scale of the crisis"
The British Medical Association adds doctors will be "horrified" by the idea the plan will save them when it could "sink the ship altogether"
Lateral flow tests are very good at detecting those most likely to spread Covid, researchers say
Restrictions ease in Northern Ireland, with up to 30 people allowed to meet in private homes
The WHO says a new taskforce may be the last chance to find the origins of Covid-19
India has ended mandatory quarantine for fully vaccinated UK nationals arriving in the country
15 Oct 2021: The NHS has suspended Covid testing at a laboratory in Wolverhampton amid fears up to 43,000 people were given the wrong result
Earlier, a mass testing site in Berkshire asked people who recently got a negative result to book another test
It comes after reports that some people received negative PCR tests after testing positive using lateral flow devices
But health officials say the problem is "an isolated incident attributed to one laboratory"
Separately, travellers returning to England will be able to take cheaper lateral flow tests from 24 October
Along with other changes to travel rules, Airlines UK says the move is a "major step forward"
Vaccinated Australian travellers and their parents will be able to visit Sydney from November without quarantining
16 Oct 2021: Investigation ordered into Wolverhampton Covid lab test failings
17 Oct 2021: The number of new UK coronavirus cases has been rising in recent days, with a further 43,423 daily infections recorded on Saturday.
A golden age for new vaccines? Prof Sarah Gilbert, architect of the Oxford jab, suggests Mers, Zika, Ebola
Russia sees 1,000 daily deaths for first time
Gordan Brown calls for emergency stockpiled vaccine airlift
Football fans' 'mixed reaction' to Wales Covid pass
Robert Durst: US millionaire hospitalised with Covid after life sentence
18 Oct 2021: Covid: Lateral flow tests more accurate than first thought, study finds
Covid: Thousands of children left without parents in Iran
19 Oct 2021: Positive trial results for Valneva Covid vaccine
Covid cases in the UK are higher now than they were this time last year when parts of England were under local lockdowns
Covid: Is the pace of the vaccine booster rollout too slow?
20 Oct 2021: Some Covid restrictions must immediately be reintroduced if England is to avoid "stumbling into a winter crisis", health leaders have warned
The NHS Confederation says ministers' "Plan B" strategy, including face coverings in crowded spaces, should be implemented
UK cases have been rising sharply - the seven-day average is now 44,890 - but deaths are well below the winter peak
Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng says now is not the time to turn to the government's winter back-up strategy
Health Secretary Sajid Javid is due to hold a press conference at 17:00 BST
Downing Street insists it is not "complacent" about the rising cases and is keeping a close eye on the situation
Brazil's president will be accused of a series of crimes over his handling of the country's Covid response, a draft of a major inquiry report says
21 Oct 2021: The NHS is under huge pressure at the moment, but it's sustainable, Health Minister Edward Argar says
The vaccination programme has altered the dynamics in the pandemic between infections, hospitalisations and deaths, he says
But doctors say an unacceptable level of Covid cases means ministers should trigger their Plan B for the pandemic this winter
The British Medical Association says the government is being "wilfully negligent" for not reimposing Covid rules such as mandatory face masks
Daily UK infections have been above 40,000 for more than a week
The pandemic will last a year longer than it needs to because poorer countries are not getting the vaccines they need, the WHO says
22 Oct 2021: A UK-wide advertising campaign launches today to encourage take-up of Covid-19 vaccine boosters and the flu jab before winter
It comes after daily cases in the UK exceeded 50,000 on Thursday, for the first time since July
The 43,000 incorrect Covid test results given by a lab in England date back further than previously thought, the UK Health Security Agency says
UK retail sales fell for the fifth month in a row in September, with people spending less in shops despite restrictions easing in the summer
The US has approved the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines as boosters, allowing Americans to mix-and-match doses
Melbourne has become the final Australian state capital to reopen from lockdown, as the nation opens a travel corridor with Singapore
23 Oct 2021: Officials are keeping a close watch on AY.4.2 (Delta Plus) which is causing a growing number of infections in the UK.
Doctors and health service leaders are warning the NHS is on the edge of a crisis
But, in England, the government says there is no reason to change tack
24 Oct 2021: Covid: Travellers now able to use cheaper Covid tests
Covid: Labour calls for Plan B measures in England
25 Oct 2021: Health Secretary Javid says there is no need for further Covid restrictions "at this point"
He believes the UK will have "a normal Christmas"
Javid also says the Covid vaccine could become mandatory for NHS staff - but Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has warned against this
NHS medical director Stephen Powis urges people to book their jabs as the NHS sends out two million more booster invites this week
More than five million people have already had a booster jab since the rollout began last month, says NHS England
The NHS in England is to receive an extra £5.9bn in this week's Budget, the government has announced
The cash will be used to help clear the record backlog of people waiting for tests and scans, which has been worsened by the pandemic
On Sunday, the UK recorded a further 39,962 new infections and 72 deaths within 28 days of a positive Covid test
Covid in Scotland: Hundreds refused entry in vaccine passport 'chaos'
26 Oct 2021: More than half of eligible over-50s in England have been given the booster vaccine, the NHS says
At least 6.1 million booster jabs have now been given across the UK
Chancellor Rishi Sunak says the UK economy is "firmly back on track" after the "economic emergency" caused by Covid
Ahead of his Budget statement tomorrow, Sunak confirms he will end the public sector pay freeze
The "temporary pause" in salary progression was introduced last November as a response to the pandemic
The UK reported a further 36,567 Covid cases on Monday, as well as another 38 deaths within 28 days of a positive test result
The White House has outlined new rules for foreign travellers to the US, as flight restrictions lift for the first time since 2020
Covid: Are cases about to plummet without Plan B?
27 Oct 2021: Budget 2021: Sunak promises new post-Covid economy
28 Oct 2021: The Budget sees taxes and spending rise to levels not seen in 40 years
China rations diesel amid fuel shortages
Covid passes: What are the rules around Europe?
Do you listen to morning radio shows more, less or just as often? It appears we're listening to them less.
It appears more unusual drinks and wines from countries that don't usually interest mainstream consumers have been hits.
29 Oct 2021: Wales could face tougher restrictions again if Covid cases do not fall in the next three weeks, the first minister is warning
Mark Drakeford says he "will have no choice" but to look at measures as Wales has the worst Covid rates in the UK
He will confirm his plans at a press conference on Friday
Former world leaders are calling on rich countries to immediately airlift millions of surplus Covid vaccines to less developed nations
They've written to Italian PM Mario Draghi, who is hosting the G20 group of major economies in Rome this weekend
They say it would be unethical for doses to be wasted while thousands are dying with the virus every day
Meanwhile, shops, restaurants and schools have shut in Moscow, as Russia battles record Covid deaths and infections
30 Oct 2021: Jabs offered to 12-15-year-olds at 800 schools
Nightclubs reopen in NI as restrictions ease
Some 6,000 handmade angels have been put on display in a church in Wales to remember those who died from coronavirus.
Tonga records first case of coronavirus
From Monday, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough councils will become so-called enhanced response areas
Government agreed to provide extra support to help tackle rising Covid-19 cases.
Covid index - September 2021 - November 2021
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