04:27
In the US, a group of disgruntled Republicans has questioned if the Texas governor, Greg Abbott, used political influence to pull a TV ad criticising his handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
According to a statement issued on Sunday, the Lincoln Project was told the ad, “Abbott’s Wall”, was being pulled just 10 minutes before it was due to air on ESPN during a nationally televised football game between the University of Texas and Rice University on Saturday night.
The 60-second slot, which the Lincoln Project said cost $25,000 and was approved by ESPN lawyers, blames the Republican governor for more than 60,000 Covid deaths in the state, against a backdrop of images of the US southern border wall.
The message, showing a wall constructed of coffins, says: “If Governor Abbott wants to build a new wall, tell him to stop building this one.”
Wood from caskets of all the Covid-19 victims in Texas would stretch 85 miles, the ad claims. It remains watchable on YouTube.
“We were told it was a ‘university-made decision’” to pull the ad, the Lincoln Project said in a press release. “Did Greg Abbott or his allies assert political influence to ensure the advertisement was not broadcast?”
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03:59
Back in Australia, riot police have moved in to disperse crowds at the Melbourne headquarters of a construction union, after a protest against mandatory vaccines turned ugly, with the CFMEU blaming “outside extremists” for the violence.
Police used pepper spray and rubber bullets to move the crowd, which took over the intersection outside the Queen Victoria Market.
Bottles were thrown at the already smashed glass entrance doors to the building in Melbourne’s city centre as those protecting the entry sought refuge indoors just before 4pm local time.
Protesters also seemed to be turning against each other, with a number of small fights breaking out within the crowd of bright orange and yellow.
The union released a statement just after 4pm, saying it has always supported freedom of choice regarding vaccination. It read:
We are not going to be intimidated by outside extremists attempting to intimidate the union, by spreading misinformation and lies about the union’s position.
The CFMEU will always advocate for safety, jobs, and freedom of choice.
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03:41
President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte has given the go-ahead for face-to-face school classes to resume in areas of the country seen as “low risk”.
Reuters reports that up to 120 schools to join a two-month pilot scheme in areas with low Covid case rates.
The Philippines is among 17 countries globally where schools have been closed for the entirety of the pandemic, according to a report last week by the United Nations children’s agency Unicef, highlighting what it called “18 months of lost learning”.
Previously Duterte has said he would keep schools close until a vaccine was available but his education secretary Leonor Briones confirmed on Monday that lessons, limited to three to four hours per session, will resume with the consent from parents and guardians required.
However, Briones warned in a media briefing:
If there are changes in the risk assessment, then we will stop it.
The pilot, which will begin immediately, will include 100 public schools and 20 private institutions, limiting class size to 12 children in kindergarten, 16 in grades 1-3, and 20 at senior high school level.
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03:05
In Australia, Victorians will have access to 300,000 doses of Moderna’s Covid vaccine this month at hundreds of pharmacies across the state, premier Daniel Andrews says.
Andrews announced Moderna will be available at 440 pharmacies across the state this week, and a further 281 next week.
But he urged anyone who had not yet booked to take up any available vaccine available to them now and not wait. It comes as the state pushes to get up to 70% and 80% double-dose vaccination targets as part of its roadmap out of lockdown. He said:
Please don’t defer, please don’t wait, because these things are uncertain. Get the vaccine that is on offer right now.
That’s the most powerful contribution you can make to your safety, your health and of course to us meeting all those national cabinet timelines so we are open the place up.
Anthony Tassone, president of the Victorian branch of the Australian Pharmacy Guild, said people aged 60 and over could still only access AstraZeneca.
He said they should not wait for the other vaccines, noting he already had patients over 60 trying to get Moderna.
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03:00
India carried out its lowest number of daily coronavirus tests since mid-August on Sunday as its health ministry urged local governments to remain resilient throughout the autumn festival season.
Only 1.18m tests were carried out in states and federally controlled territories on Sunday, according to government data. That is down from 1.56m on Saturday.
India has the capacity to test more than 2 million but most states have now dropped compulsory testing for fully vaccinated travellers as they attempt to reopen their economies.
The Reuters news agency reported today:
The federal health ministry urged states and federally controlled territories on Saturday to step up testing, warning that the festival season could lead to another spike in infections.
Local governments are responsible for local-level health policies in the country, as per the Indian constitution.
After a meeting with state officials on Saturday, the health ministry said that there was “no room for any complacency” and that local authorities should urgently augment hospital infrastructure, oxygen supply, ambulance services and build up buffer stocks of critical drugs.
New Covid infections have plateaued at around 30,000 a day as vaccinations surged but health experts say this could also been down to reduced testing.
Some 64% of India’s adult population has received at least one Covid-19 vaccine dose and 22% two doses.
On Monday, India reported 30,256 new Covid-19 infections and 295 deaths, taking the total caseload to 33.48 million and death toll to 445,133.
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02:28
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.
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01:59
Campaigners have issued fresh calls for a windfall tax on companies that prospered during the pandemic, after research highlighted six firms that increased their profits by a total of £16bn.
The outsourcing firm Serco and online clothes retailer Asos were among the companies whose global profits more than doubled over the last financial year, while one investment trust, Scottish Mortgage, saw its returns grow to nine times the average of preceding years.
The report, from Tax Justice UK, highlights six companies that it says made “excess profits” during the pandemic and argues that they exemplify trends under Covid, where some firms and individuals increased their wealth while others suffered:
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