Covid live news: China rejects US intelligence report on virus origins; Russia reports record new cases

October 31, 2021
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4.57am EDT04:57

Russia reports highest day of new Covid-19 cases

Russia on Sunday reported 40,993 new Covid-19 infections, its highest single-day case tally since the start of the pandemic.

The country’s coronavirus task force also reported 1,158 coronavirus-related deaths in the past 24 hours, Reuters reports.

Updated
at 4.58am EDT



4.51am EDT04:51

Peter Walker

Peter Walker

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned double-vaccinated Britons against complacency over Covid, saying that waning immunity over time meant booster jabs were vital for continued protection.

The prime minister insisted, however, that there was no need yet for the government’s so-called plan B, which would reimpose restrictions such as mask wearing and home working, despite data showing infections in England at levels last seen at the height of the second wave in January.

“We’re watching the numbers every day,” Johnson told reporters before the G20 summit in Rome, which he is attending in the run-up to next week’s Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow.

“Yes it’s true that cases are high, but they do not currently constitute any reason to go to plan B. I think it’s agreed among absolutely everybody, apart from possibly the Labour party. So we’re sticking with the plan.”



4.36am EDT04:36

China has slammed a US intelligence review into the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic, calling it “political and false” while urging Washington to stop attacking China.

On Sunday, the Chinese foreign ministry published a statement firmly opposing the initial findings published in the summary report in August, days after the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence released a fuller version from a 90-day review ordered by president Joe Biden.

The paper said that, without new information, intelligence agencies would not be able to offer a better judgment on whether the virus emerged via animal-to-human transmission or a lab leak.

The lab-leak theory posits that the virus was spread from a research facility in Wuhan, the city where the contagion was first reported. The theory remains unsubstantiated, and China has repeatedly rejected it.

The paper said goothat China’s cooperation would probably be needed to reach a conclusive assessment on origins, although it emphasised that Beijing continued to “hinder the global investigation”.

Rachel Hall here, launching the blog for today. You’ll find all the global news on coronavirus, including from the UK. Please do get in touch if you think there’s something we haven’t covered, or if you have any tips or thoughts. You can reach me at rachel.hall@theguardian.com or on Twitter.

Updated
at 4.43am EDT

Covid-19