Moderna said the US government would buy 200 million more doses of its vaccine in a deal that included the potential for buying other Covid candidates in testing, including booster shots.

European Union government envoys agreed to lift travel restrictions for US residents, a diplomat familiar with the meeting said, the latest step toward a return to normal. Japan’s government decided to lift the state of emergency for Tokyo and other areas.

The UK Parliament will vote on prolonging England’s pandemic restrictions, with members of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party saying this extension must be the last, 15 months after the country first went into lockdown.

Key developments

• Global Tracker: Cases exceed 176.7 million; deaths pass 3.8 million
• Vaccine Tracker: More than 2.42 billion doses administered
• Japan’s ‘Dr. Fauci’ dampens Olympic mood with call to ban fans
• Pockets of unvaccinated Americans threaten to prolong pandemic
• ‘Phuket sandbox’ offers model for Asia as travel bubbles fail
• Subscribe to a daily update on the virus from Bloomberg’s Prognosis team here.

New York positivity rate matches record low

New York state had a Covid-19 positivity rate of 0.35% on Tuesday, matching the record low set on Saturday, according to Governor Andrew Cuomo’s office.

“As we acknowledge how far we have come in our battle with Covid thanks to the courage of our heroic essential workers and the determination of all New Yorkers who helped bend the curve, we must also recognise that our work continues,” Cuomo said in a statement.

To date, New York has administered nearly 20.3 million coronavirus vaccines. The state officially hit Cuomo’s benchmark of 70% of New York adults receiving at least one Covid-19 shot on Tuesday, allowing nearly all coronavirus mandates to be lifted immediately. The only precautions still in place are recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control, such as wearing masks on public transit.

UK to mandate shots for care home workers

Nursing home workers in England will be required to have a Covid-19 vaccination or risk losing their jobs.

New legislation will require people working in Care Quality Commission-accredited care homes to be fully vaccinated with two doses from October, the Department for Health and Social Care said on Wednesday in a statement. 

The measure won’t apply to those who are medically exempt, and is subject to parliamentary approval, it said. There will also be a 16-week grace period.

UK extends commercial eviction ban

The UK extended its ban on evictions of commercial tenants by nine months to protect Covid 19-hit businesses from losing their premises while pandemic restrictions are still in place.

The ban had been due to end on June 30, but Chief Secretary to the Treasury Steve Barclay on Wednesday told the House of Commons the government would extend it until March 25 next year. In the meantime, he said, the government plans to establish a binding arbitration protest for tenants and landlords who are unable to reach agreement on repayment programmes.

Germany to exceed 50% threshold this week

Germany will this week pass the threshold of vaccinating 50% of the population against Covid-19 with at least one dose, according to Health Minister Jens Spahn.

“This shows that we continue to set a very good pace, especially on second doses,” Spahn said at a news conference after talks with regional counterparts. “We are seeing with the Delta variant in the UK that it’s above all the second dose that provides full protection and it’s therefore very, very important that it happens at the right time.”

Through Tuesday, 48.9% of the German population, or 40.7 million people, had received at least their first shot, and just under 28% were fully vaccinated. Spahn said Germany is aiming to inoculate 75%-80% as not everyone will want to get immunised.

Moderna says US buys more vaccine doses

Moderna said the US government’s deal to purchase an additional 200 million vaccine doses came with an option to purchase other candidates from the drugmaker’s pipeline.

The new doses bring the total amount of Moderna vaccine ordered by the US to 500 million doses, of which 217 million doses had already been delivered as of June 14, the company said.

Pandemic here for at least another two years, says UK expert

Coronavirus variants will continue to emerge and “we will not be through this pandemic until the whole world has the ability to get vaccinated,” Susan Hopkins, deputy director of Public Health England’s National Infection Service, said at a House of Commons science committee meeting. “And that realistically is two years away.”

EU doesn’t see J&J meeting deliveries

The European Union doesn’t expect Johnson & Johnson to fulfill its commitment for 55 million vaccine deliveries this quarter, a spokesman of the bloc’s executive arm said. 

While the European Commission isn’t in a position to give a precise estimate of how many vaccines the drugmaker will deliver this quarter, its spokesman told reporters in Brussels that the delay won’t derail the bloc’s plans to vaccinate 70% of its adult population this summer.

Moscow orders inoculations as infections spike

Moscow ordered service-sector and municipal workers to get vaccinated amid a spike in infections, as the Kremlin denied any reversal in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s opposition to compulsory inoculation. 

At least 60% of workers at consumer-facing businesses and city employees, including health professionals and teachers, must receive a dose of one of Russia’s domestically developed vaccines by July 15.

Japan to lift virus State of Emergency

Japan decided to lift the coronavirus State of Emergency for Tokyo and other areas, excluding Okinawa prefecture, when it expires June 20, broadcaster NHK reported.

Strong virus measures will be in place for the seven of the nine areas where the emergency is lifted, including the capital and Osaka, the report said.

EU’s Sputnik review delayed, Reuters says

EU clearance for Russia’s Sputnik vaccine may be delayed until September or later after a June 10 deadline to submit key clinical trial data was missed, Reuters reported, citing a German government official and another unidentified person familiar with the matter. 

The European Medicines Agency has given Russia’s Gamaleya Institute an extra week to provide the necessary data, according to the report.

Indonesia cases reach highest since February

Indonesia reported 9,944 new virus cases, the highest since the end of February.

EU to lift travel restrictions for US residents

European Union government envoys in Brussels agreed to lift restrictions on non-essential travel for US residents, a diplomat familiar with the ongoing meeting said.

It’s the latest step toward a return to normal despite concerns over the spread of potentially dangerous coronavirus variants. While some EU member states already allow vaccinated Americans to visit, the move means that restrictions will be lifted across the bloc. It also means that member states are free to allow quarantine-free travel from the USindependently of vaccination status.

Singapore new cases cloud easing plan

Singapore’s government is evaluating the timing and scope of the next stage of reopening, given that new cases “are breaking out” and there’s a major new cluster, Finance Minister Lawrence Wong said in a Facebook post.

Singapore’s authorities found 14 new locally-transmitted coronavirus cases, including four untraceable infections. The island nation pursued a strategy of aggressively testing and quickly ring-fencing clusters as it moves toward a loosening of restrictions. Over the weekend, a spike in cases from a shopping mall and food centre prompted government officials to shut down the locations as well as test and quarantine staff and tenants.

The government loosened restrictions on gatherings as of Monday and is slated to resume dining-in at restaurants and the opening of fitness classes from June 21. DM

— With assistance by Marthe Fourcade, Jessica Park, Kara Wetzel, Marco Bertacche, Anthony Osae-Brown, Anisah Shukry, Kwan Wei Kevin Tan, Felix Tam, Flavia Rotondi, Nikos Chrysoloras, Derek Wallbank, Soraya Permatasari, Natasha Doff, Jake Rudnitsky, Iain Rogers, and Emma Kinery.