Coronavirus live news: Hong Kong authorises Sinovac vaccine for children aged 3-17, Rotterdam riots condemned | World news

Iraq said it has received 1.2 million doses of Pfizer/BioNTech’s Covid vaccine through the Covax sharing scheme, amid fears of a fourth wave in the country, AFP reports.

Nearly seven million Iraqis have received at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine, amounting to just 17.5% of the country’s 40 million population, based on government figures.

Plagued by years of conflict, corruption and neglect, the country’s health system has struggled to cope with the pandemic.

The health ministry announced on Saturday the arrival of a shipment of more than 1.2 million doses of “Pfizer’s anti-Covid vaccine through the Covax programme and UNICEF”, the UN Children’s Fund.

“Iraq is still facing danger from the coronavirus pandemic,” ministry spokesman Saif al-Badr said on Thursday.

“We expect to enter a fourth wave, [and] it could be a new variant,” he told state television.

More than two million Iraqis have contracted coronavirus and 23,628 have died in Iraq since the outbreak of the pandemic, according to official figures.

Despite an increase in the number of people getting jabbed, the government has been unable to overcome general scepticism about vaccines and measures aimed at preventing the spread of the virus.

There is a high level of public mistrust of institutions in Iraq amid the circulation of misleading information about the pandemic.

Covax was set up to ensure equitable distribution of vaccines, particularly to low-income countries, and has already delivered more than 80 million doses to 129 territories.

Visitors will need to show proof of their Covid status to gain entry to Belfast Christmas market, which opens on Saturday.

All visitors will need to show proof of either their Covid vaccination, a negative test or lateral flow test taken in the last 48 hours, or evidence of a positive PCR test taken in the previous 30 to 180 days, in order to attend the market, which takes place in the grounds of Belfast city hall.

Organisers had previously said the rule would only apply on busier days and weekends. But they announced on Friday that it would apply at all times.

The decision was taken ahead of Northern Ireland’s Covid passport scheme, which is likely to come in on 29 November.

Organisers said safety of staff and customers was of “paramount importance”, and are also recommending that visitors wear face masks and pay by card where possible.

The mayor of Rotterdam has condemned “an orgy of violence” at protests against Covid measures in the Dutch port city, in which seven people were wounded and more than 20 arrested.

Reuters reports that crowds of several hundred rioters torched cars, set off fireworks and threw rocks at police during the protests on Friday evening. Police responded with warning shots and water cannon.

Read more: Rotterdam police open fire as Covid protest turns violent

“Police were forced to draw their weapons and even fire direct shots,” the mayor, Ahmed Aboutaleb, told a press conference early on Saturday.

Asked to characterise the event, Aboutaleb said it was “an orgy of violence, I can’t think of another way to describe it.”

Authorities said they had arrested more than 20 people and expected to detain others, as the city centre where the riots took place is extensively monitored by security cameras.

Protesters had gathered to oppose government plans to restrict access to indoor venues to people who have a “corona pass”, showing they have been vaccinated or have recently recovered from an infection.

The pass is also available to people who have not been vaccinated, but have proof of a negative test.

The Netherlands re-imposed some lockdown measures last weekend for an initial three weeks in an effort to slow a resurgence of coronavirus, but daily infections have remained at their highest levels since the start of the pandemic.

Authorities reported a record of more than 23,000 new cases on Thursday, well above the previous daily high of 13,000 reached in December 2020.

Related: Netherlands imposes lockdown measures as Covid cases hit new high

Hong Kong has approved lowering the age limit for the Covid vaccine from China’s Sinovac Biotech to three years old, down from 18, as it pursues a broader campaign to incentivise its 7.5 million residents to get vaccinated, Reuters reports.

“Adolescents aged 12 to 17 will be accorded priority to receive the CoronaVac vaccine, with a view to extending to children of a younger age group at a later stage,” Hong Kong’s secretary for food and health (SFH) Sophia Chan said in a statement published on Saturday.

According to the statement, the SFH considered that the benefits of approving the extension of the age eligibility to cover those aged three to 17 “outweigh the risks”.

A Hong Kong government advisory panel on Covid vaccines had earlier recommended the SFH to approve the new age limit, the statement added.

The extension of the age eligibility comes as the vaccination campaign in the Asian financial hub which started in February has lagged many other developed economies, with about 67% of the population vaccinated with two shots from either Sinovac or Germany’s BioNTech.

In a separate statement on Friday, the city’s government said it purchased 1 million extra doses of BioNTech vaccine for the implementation of third dose Covid vaccination.

Hong Kong has followed Beijing’s lead in retaining strict travel restrictions to curb new outbreaks, in contrast to a global trend of opening up and living with the coronavirus.

International business lobby groups have warned Hong Kong could lose talent and investment, as well as competitive ground to rival finance hubs such as Singapore, unless it relaxes its restrictions on travel.

Despite barely any recent local cases and an environment virtually free of Covid, Hong Kong has imposed mandatory hotel quarantine of up to 21 days for arrivals from most countries at the travellers’ cost.