Here are the key developments in today’s Covid news:
- Canadians are voting today in a tight pandemic election that threatens to knock prime minister Justin Trudeau from power, as he gambles that Canadians will reward him for navigating the coronavirus crisis better than most countries did.
- The Dutch government says a vaccine ‘pass’ will be needed to use restaurant toilets.
- The leader of the Scottish Conservative party, Douglas Ross, called on the Scottish government to follow the rest of the UK and relax Covid travel restrictions.
- UK transport secretary Grant Shapps has been telling MPs in parliament that the UK’s successful vaccination programme can be used to “restore lost freedoms”.
- US vet shops have reported a shortage of ivermectin despite warnings against using it to treat Covid.
- Construction sites across the state of Victoria in Australia are to close for at least two weeks following violence at anti-vaccine protests earlier today.
- The UK has recorded 36,100 new cases in the latest 24-hour period, with the number of Covid patients in hospital now at 7,847.
- The British prime minister welcomed the news that the US will lift Covid-19 travel restrictions to allow fully vaccinated passengers from the UK and EU to travel into the country from November.
- Pfizer and BioNTech said trial results showed their Covid vaccine is safe and produces a robust immune response in children aged five to 11, adding that they would seek regulatory approval shortly.
