Coronavirus live news: New York hits 70% vaccination target; Japan considering 10,000 fans at Olympics | World news

The NHS National Booking Service in England has opened up to 21 and 22-year-olds for the first time. Readers in England can book or manage their vaccination appointment on the NHS website.

Other nations in the UK can find out the latest status for booking a vaccine here:

Northern Ireland had previously opened up jabs to anyone over 18. Authorities in Wales say that every adult should have already been offered their first shot of the Covid vaccine, some six weeks ahead of schedule.

Good morning, it is Martin Belam here in London, taking over from Helen Sullivan. The UK media round this morning is likely to feature lots of questions about whether there will be a parliamentary revolt in the UK today over the government’s decision to push back the lifting of restrictions in England until 19 July.

Sam Blewett, PA Media’s deputy political editor, reminds us that the House of Commons will vote this evening on the four-week delay to the end of lockdown measures, aimed at buying more time for the vaccine programme.

Labour, the largest opposition party, has signalled it will back the extension. That means it will pass for sure, but the usual Conservative lockdown-sceptic suspects are likely to express their anger during a debate.

Johnson will face Sir Keir Starmer at prime minister’s questions at noon, but it will be health secretary Matt Hancock who will open the debate on extending the restrictions.

Delays are also expected to hit Scotland after the first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, said the mainland’s move to the lowest level of restrictions will “likely” be delayed by three weeks.

Martin Farrer and Helen Davidson:

An outbreak of Covid-19 in southern China has combined with the rapid reopening of the world economy and a shortage of shipping containers to cause a surge in transport costs that could fuel inflation and cause shortages of goods across the globe.

China reported 21 new coronavirus cases in the mainland on Wednesday, with 15 of them in the vital industrial province of Guangdong where restrictions have been in place for several weeks to contain an outbreak linked to the Delta variant first detected in India.

There are now 150 cases of the variant, mostly in Guangzhou city, and the lockdown has caused the city’s massive port to be severely disrupted. A separate outbreak in neighbouring Shenzhen has also added to the problem. The ports are the third and fifth largest in the world and shipping costs have spiked as a result.

Transporting a 12.2-metre (40ft) steel container by sea from Shanghai to Rotterdam now costs a record $10,522, which is nearly 300% higher than it was last year, according to Drewry Shipping.

Factory costs in China, the workshop of the world, had already risen 9% in May – the most for more than a decade – because of a rapid increase in demand as the global economy reopens and as glitches in supply chains continue to be ironed out.

Read more of Martin Farrer and Helen Davidson’s report here: Covid outbreaks in Chinese ports could cause global goods shortages

Trade unions warn about a “social tsunami”, leftwing parties of a “massacre for employment” – the imminent end of Italy’s coronavirus freeze on layoffs is causing tensions in Mario Draghi’s national unity government, AFP reports.

Supporters say the freeze, which is unique in Europe, saved thousands of jobs after the pandemic plunged Italy into deep recession – but the European Union has been disparaging, and employers are angling for its end.

Companies were first banned from sacking workers under former premier Giuseppe Conte in February 2020, when a wave of Covid-19 sparked Europe’s first nationwide lockdown in Italy. The measure was later extended.

More on New York, where some rules will remain: for now, people will continue to have to wear masks in schools, subways, large sports arenas, homeless shelters, hospitals, nursing homes, jails and prisons. Unvaccinated New Yorkers will still be subject to a mask mandate while indoors in public places.

New York has, essentially, been at that 70% mark for days. It reached 69.5% of adults vaccinated Saturday, and 69.9% on Monday.

But Cuomo said New York would remember Tuesday, 15 June — also the birthdate of his late father, the former Gov Mario Cuomo – as the date when New York “rose again.”

It’s unclear how many more people have to get vaccinated to reach herd immunity from the coronavirus, which is when so many people are resistant to the virus that it has trouble spreading.

Many experts say it’s 70% or higher. So far, about 50% of New Yorkers, of all ages, are fully vaccinated, according to federal data.

New York governor Andrew Cuomo said on Tuesday that 70% of adults in the state have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, a threshold he said the state would celebrate by easing many of its remaining social distancing rules and shooting off fireworks.

AP: “What does 70% mean? It means that we can now return to life as we know it,” Cuomo told an invitation-only crowd at the World Trade Center in Manhattan.

Effective immediately, he said, the state is lifting rules that required many types of businesses to follow cleaning protocols or take people’s temperatures or screen them for recent Covid symptoms.

Movie theaters will no longer have to leave empty seats between patrons. Restaurants will no longer be forced to sit parties at least 6ft (2 metres) apart. Stores won’t have to limit how many customers they admit. New York had previously allowed businesses to stop enforcing social distancing and mask rules for vaccinated patrons.

Cuomo, a Democrat, said there would be fireworks displays around the state Tuesday evening to celebrate and honour essential workers.

Japan could allow up to 10,000 fans at sports events ahead of the Olympics, media reported Wednesday, as organisers weigh how many domestic fans can attend the Games, AFP reports.

The measure, intended to come into force after a coronavirus state of emergency ends on June 20, will be discussed by the government’s virus taskforce on Wednesday, the Nikkei business daily and Kyodo news agency said.

The plan would limit spectators to 50% of a venue’s capacity or 10,000 people, whichever is lower. It could set the boundaries for a decision by Olympic organisers on how many domestic fans, if any, can attend Games events. Overseas spectators have already been banned.

The Olympic decision is expected only after the virus emergency in Tokyo ends on June 20 and the government clarifies what measures will replace it.

Experts and officials have expressed concerns that huge crowds attending the Games could accelerate virus infections after the emergency ends.

Japan has so far seen a comparatively small virus outbreak, with slightly more than 14,000 deaths despite avoiding harsh lockdowns. But its vaccination programme has moved slower than many other developed nations, with just over 5% of the population fully inoculated so far.

Under the current state of emergency, spectators are capped at 5,000 people or 50% of a venue’s capacity, whichever is smaller.

The decision on Olympic fans is expected by the end of the month.

Hello and welcome to today’s live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday that 70% of adults in New York have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, a threshold he said the state would celebrate by easing many of its remaining social distancing rules and shooting off fireworks.

Meanwhile Japan could allow up to 10,000 fans at sports events ahead of the Olympics, media reported Wednesday. The measure, intended to come into force after a coronavirus state of emergency ends on June 20, will be discussed by the government’s virus taskforce on Wednesday, the Nikkei business daily and Kyodo news agency said.

Here are the other key recent developments:

• Every adult in England will be able to book their first Covid-19 vaccination from the end of this week, the head of the NHS said, with appointment slots to be opened to everyone aged 18 and above within a few days.
• The European Medicines Agency denied that a top official suggested dropping the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine, saying that he had been misinterpreted in an interview. However, it did not appear to provide a clarification.
• A further relaxation of Covid controls across Scotland is likely to be pushed back by three weeks, Nicola Sturgeon said, meaning that the next significant easing could coincide with England on 19 July after Boris Johnson announced a four-week delay on Monday.
• Ireland will double the quarantine period for unvaccinated or partially vaccinated arrivals from Britain to 10 days but still plans to allow people to move more freely between the two countries from mid-July, transport minister Eamon Ryan said.
• The pandemic saw corruption worsen across the EU, Transparency International said. The anti-graft watchdog said citizens have at times needed personal connections to get medical care and that some governments have used the crisis for their own gain.
• China is on track to deliver 1 billion vaccine doses by the end of this week, after ramping up production and distribution networks in an ambitious drive to vaccinate 40% of the population by this month.
• A 12-year-old French boy, Perceval Gete, became one of the youngest people in Europe to receive a Covid-19 vaccination, on the first day the age eligibility in France was lowered to 12, the lowest of any major EU state.
• Vermont became the first US state to reach its 80% Covid-19 vaccination goal and is now shedding all its statewide pandemic restrictions, including letting a state of emergency expire tonight.
• Oman announced that its doctors have detected a potentially fatal fungal infection afflicting some coronavirus patients, the first such known cases on the Arabian peninsula as the sultanate faces a surge in Covid-19 infections.
• Slovenia ended its state of emergency declared due to the pandemic today after eight months, lifting most remaining restrictions. Cultural and sports events will be able to reopen at 75%-capacity for people who can demonstrate they have been vaccinated, tested negative or recovered from a previous infection.