Pharamaceutical giant Moderna says it’s withholding 1.63m vaccine doses over fears of contamination with particulate matter while Sydney’s health system struggles as the city reports record case numbers
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A Covid-19 modeller has suggested New Zealand’s North and South islands could become separate bubbles as the country grapples with a coronavirus outbreak.
New Zealand is battling to contain an outbreak of the Delta variant that swiftly led to a nationwide, level four lockdown – the highest setting – which has been extended until at least the end of the week. There are now 210 cases in the community.
Related: New Zealand could be split into North and South Island bubbles, Covid modeller suggests
The premier of the Australian state of New South Wales, Gladys Berejiklian, has relaxed rules on outdoor gatherings for fully vaccinated people, even as the region reported a record 1,029 infections and three deaths on Thursday.
Small groups of fully vaccinated people will now be allowed to meet outdoors, but the so-called “picnic rules” are more limited for the 12 local government areas of concern than the rest of the state, and do not come into effect until 13 September.
Related: NSW Covid update: rules relaxed for vaccinated despite record 1,029 cases