Prime minister gives press conference on Australia’s commitments to climate action; Daniel Andrews outlines new pandemic laws; Victoria confirms four Covid deaths overnight, NSW one death – follow all the day’s newsBoris Johnson says chances of Cop26 success are ‘touch and go’Qantas in talks with federal government over vaccine rulesVaccine rollout tracker; cases and data trackerGet our free news app; get our morning email briefingThe estimates hearings today cover off the same committees as yesterday: Continue reading…

The EU’s medical body has approved booster doses of Moderna’s Covid vaccine for all adults; UK also reports 38 further Covid-related deathsChina to vaccinate children as young as threeExperts frustrated as German footballer says he hasn’t had Covid jabUK government dismisses claims case surge caused by testing debacleBeijing marathon postponed as China battles Delta outbreakWorst of US pandemic likely behind us but can’t drop guard – expertsSee all our coronavirus coverageJust back on those school anti-vaccine protests for a moment, my colleague Sarah Marsh has this report: Keir Starmer calls for schools to be protected from anti-vaccine protestsThe Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) revealed this month that most of the schools surveyed by the union (79%) had been targeted by anti-vaxxers. This had mainly been through emails threatening legal action, but the ASCL said in some cases staff had been threatened with physical harm and some protesters have gained access to school sites.Starmer said: “It is sickening that anti-vax protesters are spreading dangerous misinformation to children in protests outside of schools. The uptake of vaccines among children is far too low and the government’s rollout is painfully slow. Everything must be done to get those eligible jabbed as quickly as possible in this public health emergency.“Labour believes the law around public spaces protection orders (PSPOs) urgently needs to be updated so that local authorities can rapidly create exclusion zones for anti-vax protests outside of schools.”PSPOs can be used to disperse people from a public area and have previously been used to move on protesters outside abortion clinics or to allow police to confiscate alcohol in certain spaces.But gaining permission to impose one takes significant consultation, and Labour is calling for an expedited process in cases of preventing harassment and intimidation of children outside schools if agreed to by the school, the leader of the local council, and the local police chief constable. Continue reading…

This live blog is now closed. You can find our latest Facebook stories hereFacebook admits site appears hardwired for misinformation, memo revealsJohnson says he is “very worried” about Cop26 because they might not get the agreements they need for the world to get to net zero by the middle of the century.But he thinks it can be done. Continue reading…

Boris Johnson’s government is drifting into another Covid winter showing none of the urgency or seriousness it demandsCompare and contrast the following sets of statements, the first from Westminster. According to the health secretary, Sajid Javid: “We don’t believe that the pressures currently faced by the NHS are unsustainable.” On the contrary, the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, says the health service is on course for “gamechanging” investment of nearly £6bn. Meanwhile, the prime minister urges the public to get a booster jab against Covid. That, he says, is “our way through this winter”.From the frontline, the NHS looks very different. The president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, Dr Katherine Henderson, says A&E departments are “already struggling to cope”, even before we reach the depths of our second Covid winter. The boss of NHS Wales, Dr Andrew Goodall, warns that the next few months will be among the hardest we have ever faced. The country’s most senior gynaecologist, Dr Edward Morris, worries that the coronavirus surge poses a direct threat to maternity wards, with operations cancelled, specialist staff redeployed and an already huge backlog continuing to build. Continue reading…

Warning comes after Keir Starmer calls for councils to be allowed to use exclusion orders to protect schoolsCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverage“Substantial numbers” of people influenced by conspiracy theories are now willing to take direct action against schools administering vaccines, experts on online misinformation have warned, as Labour called for exclusion orders to block activists.Amid findings that close to 80% of schools had been targeted by anti-vaxxers, Keir Starmer said it was “sickening” that those against vaccinations were demonstrating where children are educated. Continue reading…