01:56
In Australia, isolation orders related to an unvaccinated student nurse who worked across two Sydney hospitals while infectious with Covid-19 are continuing to wreak havoc on staffing levels, with more than 600 health professionals deemed as close contacts so far.
The Guardian understands that more than 500 staff at Royal North Shore hospital and more than 120 staff at Fairfield hospital are now isolating and unable to work after being identified as a close contact of the 24-year-old student nurse who worked from 24-28 June across the two hospitals while infectious.
Nurses, as well as administration staff and other healthcare workers, are among the isolating workers.
The situation is so severe at Royal North Shore hospital, where five wards are affected, that health authorities are understood to be trying to move nursing staff from nearby hospitals to help fill the shortfall in services.
The number of isolating close contacts related to the student nurse has swelled since Wednesday, when about 100 initial staff and patients were sent into isolation following a positive result being returned late on Tuesday.
Brett Holmes, general secretary of the NSW Nurses and Midwives Association, said the isolation orders have had “a large burden” on an “already strained” workforce.
01:53
New Zealand has narrowly avoided having to put its Covid vaccination roll-out on ice, with the largest shipment yet of Pfizer vaccines arriving two days ahead of schedule.
The shipment of 150,000 doses is the first in the batch of 1 million doses arriving this month and will allow the health officials to ramp up the programme.
The country had distributed nearly all of its supply of the Pfizer storage and was at risk of running out by Wednesday.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told RNZ’s Morning Report the country had been expecting the vaccines to arrive on Tuesday, which would have meant “working very close to the wire”.
“So this means we will be able to keep the rollout cranking along and that we won’t see any change in people’s booked vaccinations,” Ardern said.
The vaccines will be transported to District Health Boards around the country today.
01:28
In the UK, Transport for London (TfL) has recorded a £100m plunge in advertising revenue across its network of tube stations, trains and buses after Covid-19 pandemic restrictions kept commuters away from travelling to work.
TfL’s advertising estate – which comprises more than 100,000 billboards, posters and panels throughout the capital’s tube and rail network, in trains and on buses and shelters – is one of the largest and most valuable in the world.
However, with journeys in the city at record low levels at the height of the pandemic, advertisers disappeared, resulting in commercial income plummeting by more than two-thirds to £50m in the year to the end of March. It stands in stark contrast to 2019, when TfL’s advertising income recorded annual growth to £158.3m:
01:02
Indonesia says no vaccine, no entry
Indonesia is requiring foreign visitors to be fully vaccinated as one of the entry requirements as the country tries to curb the spread of coronavirus, AP reports.
Ganip Warsito, National Task Force for Covid-19 Mitigation Chief, said Sunday that starting on July 6, both foreigners and Indonesian nationals entering the country have to show digital or physical proof that they have been fully vaccinated.
The obligation to show vaccination cards can be excluded in some cases, including diplomatic visas and service visas, and during official visits at ministerial level.
The government is also extending the quarantine time for foreign travelers from five days to eight days.
Indonesia recorded 27,233 new cases and 555 deaths from the virus in the last 24 hours. It brings the total to 2,284,084 cases and 60,582 death tolls as of Sunday.
