Covid-19: Mandatory jabs and emotional scenes as US travel ban ends
- Published
Here are five things you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic this Tuesday evening. We'll have another update for you on Wednesday.
1. Mandatory Covid jabs for England's NHS staff
Frontline NHS workers in England will have to be fully vaccinated against Covid, the government has decided. A deadline is expected to be set for 1 April next year to give unvaccinated staff time to get both doses. About 103,000 NHS workers in England have not taken up a jab offer, and Labour is warning about further staff shortages if people choose not to get one and have to leave their jobs. A public consultation on mandatory vaccines in Northern Ireland is expected to be launched while Welsh ministers said there was no need for compulsory jabs for health or social care staff in Wales.
2. Covid pass schemes could be expanded
Scotland's vaccine passport scheme could be expanded to more hospitality and leisure venues. Deputy First Minister John Swinney said the rules may need to be tightened in order to prevent a return to lockdown. Any changes will be confirmed on 16 November. Covid passes are also set to be extended to cinemas and theatres in Wales.
3. 'Too much pressure' forces nurse to quit
A nurse who worked in ICU through the pandemic has been talking about why she felt she had to leave the profession. Former critical care nurse Chloe Burke said she felt selfish leaving but did not see another option. "I didn't realise how much of an impact it was going to have on me, my mental health and my physical health," she says.
4. Majority in NI want to work from home
A majority of workers in Northern Ireland would like to work from home even after pandemic restrictions are lifted, according to a survey. YouGov surveyed 1,000 local workers online in August and the findings suggest that of those working fully from home, only 3% wanted to return to their office full time.
5. First visitors arrive in US as travel ban ends
The first foreign travellers have been reunited with loved ones as the US border reopened for the first time in nearly two years. Double -jabbed non-US citizens from over 30 countries, including the UK and EU, can now travel to the US.
There were emotional scenes at the airport as families were reunited in New York
The morning coronavirus briefing is being paused for two weeks so we can tell you five things you need to know about the COP26 climate summit instead.
But there's more on coronavirus here...
Read up about booster jabs and vaccine rules.
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