Coronavirus live news: 70% of EU adults now fully vaccinated; Israel reports record daily Covid cases



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Israel records nearly 11,000 new cases, highest daily case tally

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Over in Greece, a British-trained respiratory specialist who has played a leading role in the country’s battle against Covid-19, has just been appointed deputy health minister as part of a wide-ranging cabinet reshuffle.

Prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis also replaced Vassilis Kikilias as health minister in what was interpreted as a new push to deal with the pandemic ahead of the autumn.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis replaced Vassilis Kikilias as health minister with Dr Mina Gaga.


Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis replaced Vassilis Kikilias as health minister with Dr Mina Gaga. Photograph: Louiza Vradi/Reuters

Halfway through its four-year term, the centre-right government announced Dr Mina Gaga would assume the key post as it struggles with a sharp rise in confirmed coronavirus cases. Last week Greece held the unenviable record of having the second highest number of fatalities – 23,14 deaths per one million population – in the European Union after Cyprus, according to the European Centre for Disease Control.

Greek epidemiologists have expressed mounting concerns over the spread of the now predominant Delta variant with doctors also voicing anxiety over pressures placed on the nation’s increasingly stretched health system.

“The extent of the pressure that we have witnessed in the middle of the summer has really surprised us,” Dr Nikos Kapravelas who heads the intensive care unit at the Papanicolaou hospital in Thessaloniki told Open TV.

More than 90% of admissions to intensive care units are of non-vaccinated patients with the government recently unveiling measures that will see all those who have not had the jab against Covid-19 being banned from tavernas, restaurants, cafes, bars and clubs as of 13 September.

Among the few women to hold a ministerial position in Mitsotakis’ cabinet, Gaga, a clinical research fellow at the UK’s Royal Brompton hospital, had previously helped coordinate efforts against the virus as head of a pneumology department at one of the Greek capital’s Covid referral hospitals.

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Summary



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70% of the European Union’s adult population now fully vaccinated

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Two leaders of the anti-lockdown movement have been arrested in Australia and New Zealand in separate incidents, on the same day protests were held in defiance of stay-at-home orders in both countries.

On Tuesday morning, New Zealand police arrested 19 people during what they described as a series of “small” demonstrations outside government and local council buildings.

Among those arrested was Karen Brewer, an Australian-born conspiracy theorist who has pushed a series of fringe and baseless ideas throughout the pandemic.

A man is detained by members of Victoria Police during a protest in Melbourne, Australia.


A man is detained by members of Victoria Police during a protest in Melbourne, Australia. Photograph: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

NZ police did not respond to questions about the reason for Brewer’s arrest or whether she had been charged. She remained in custody at the time of publication.

In a separate arrest on Tuesday afternoon, Monica Smit, the founder of the anti-lockdown group Reignite Democracy Australia, was arrested while driving in the Melbourne suburb of Brighton.

Smit had not been charged at the time of publication and Victoria police did not respond to questions about the reasons for her arrest.

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Nike has given its head office employees in the US a week off to “destress” and recover from the pressures of the Covid pandemic.

The sportswear and trainers brand said workers at its headquarters in Oregon would be “powering down” until Friday, with senior leaders encouraging staff to ignore all work responsibilities to aid their mental health.

Nike senior manager of global marketing science, Matt Marrazzo, said in an open message to staff posted on LinkedIn:


Take the time to unwind, destress and spend time with your loved ones. Do not work.

In a year (or two) unlike any other, taking time for rest and recovery is key to performing well and staying sane.”

He acknowledged that “this past year has been rough”, adding that staff should recognise that “we’re all human” and living through a traumatic event.