- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urged premiers of the country's 10 provinces to "do the right thing" and take stricter measures to fight a second wave.
- Britain's drugs regulator said on Wednesday that it would not compromise on safety when it comes to deciding whether or not to approve a Covid-19 vaccine.
- The United States reported a record number of new Covid-19 cases for the seventh day in a row on Tuesday.
London's Heathrow calls for green light on passenger testing
The boss of London's Heathrow airport said Britain's government needed to announce the go-ahead for passenger testing as soon as possible to allow time for the industry to be ready when lockdown measures in England end next month.
John Holland-Kaye said current rules mean that testing after arrival was not allowed to shorten a 14 day quarantine requirement, but that Transport Minister Grant Shapps has indicated that will change by the time lockdown ends at the beginning of December.
"If that is going to happen we need an announcement now, so we can start putting the procedures in place to allow that to happen and get the UK economy back to normal as fast as we can," he told Sky News.
Reuters
Canada PM scolds provinces: Do more to fight coronavirus
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday urged premiers of the country's 10 provinces to "do the right thing" and take stricter measures to fight a rapidly spreading second wave of the coronavirus.
"We are seeing record spikes this morning across the country, so I urge the premiers and the mayors to please do the right thing: act now to protect public health," he told a news conference. Over the past week Canada has posted a daily average of more than 3 800 cases.
In Canada, health restrictions are the jurisdiction of provincial governments. Ottawa can step in during an emergency, but Trudeau said he saw no need for such action.
"I would hope that no leader in our country is easing public health vigilance because they feel pressure not to shut down businesses or slow down our economy," said Trudeau, noting that Ottawa has provided billions of dollars to help businesses and people through the health crisis.
Reuters
UK regulator says on Covid vaccine: We will not compromise on safety
Britain's drugs regulator said on Wednesday that it would not compromise on safety when it comes to deciding whether or not to approve a Covid-19 vaccine.
Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency CEO June Raine said that safety was her watchword.
Professor Wei Shen Lim, chair of Covid-19 immunisation, said that top of the priority list for a vaccine would be carehome residents and workers, old people and then adults with an underlying health conditions.
Reuters
US reports more than 100 000 Covid-19 cases for 7th day in a row
The United States reported a record number of new Covid-19 cases for the seventh day in a row on Tuesday, according to a Reuters tally, while the number of deaths surged to their highest daily count since August.
With case numbers still being filed by a handful of states, the US had reported at least 134 000 new infections by late Tuesday. It has reported an average of 120 000 cases every day for the past week.
The daily death toll stood at 1 450, the first time it has risen above 1 400 since mid-August.
Hospitalisations of infected people also continued to climb rapidly, reaching 61 471 by late on Tuesday, the highest ever during the pandemic.
Reuters
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