UK researchers report seeing some waning of protection in double-jabbed people; assessment Biden ordered reportedly inconclusive about whether Covid jumped from animals or leaked from Wuhan lab
- Fauci says US could return to normal by spring 2022
- Number of young smokers in England rose by a quarter in first lockdown
- Hawaii governor begs tourists to stay away as Covid surges
- Covid booster jabs may only be needed for 40% of at-risk group
- See all our coronavirus coverage
Here’s the full story on Taiwan reporting zero community cases of Covid-19 for the first time since its biggest outbreak began in May, killing more than 800 people, from my colleague Helen Davidson.
The island’s ability to keep the pandemic out of the community was a global success story. Residents lived a largely normal life for most of 2020 and early 2021, albeit with closed borders.
Related: Taiwan hits zero Covid cases for first time since outbreak in May
Private call centre staff subcontracted to work on UK Covid test-and-trace services have been advised to limit time away from answering phones to 10 minutes per six-hour shift and told they will not be paid for breaks, the Guardian has learned.
The workers, who answer calls from home for the government’s 119 Covid number, have to select “comfort break” on their computer before using the toilet and are told to minimise time spent on such absences, or on fetching food or drink, or praying.
Related: Private Covid test-and-trace staff told to limit toilet and food breaks