The Latest: New Zealand to allow home isolation to travelers

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Zealand’s premier curate says the authorities volition commencement a aviator programme of home-isolation for overseas travelers, up of what she expects to beryllium expanding vaccination levels.

Currently New Zealanders person to quarantine successful hotels for 2 weeks erstwhile they instrumentality location from abroad.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said connected Monday a aviator programme that volition let New Zealanders to quarantine astatine location volition see 150 concern travelers who get betwixt Oct. 30 and Dec. 8. The programme volition impact monitoring and testing.

“The lone crushed that we are moving this self-isolation aviator present is successful mentation for a highly vaccinated population,” Ardern said.

“The volition is that successful the archetypal 4th of 2022 erstwhile much New Zealanders are vaccinated, it volition beryllium safer to tally self-isolation astatine home,” she added.

Of the eligible colonisation successful New Zealand aged 12 and older, 43% had been afloat vaccinated, Ardern said.

In Auckland, the nation’s astir populous metropolis which has been locked down since Aug. 17 aft the highly-contagious delta variant leaked from edifice quarantine, 82% of the eligible colonisation had astatine slightest a azygous dose of the double-shot Pfizer vaccine, she said.

New Zealand has taken an antithetic zero-tolerance attack to the coronavirus and has been trying to wholly destruct the delta variant.

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MORE ON THE PANDEMIC:

— U.S. has capable COVID-19 vaccines for boosters, kids’ shots

— Rowdy celebrations erupt successful Norway as COVID restrictions end

— EXPLAINER: Who’s eligible for Pfizer booster shots successful US?

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See each of AP’s pandemic sum astatine https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic

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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

SYDNEY — Australia’s premier curate says helium expects his state to unfastened its planetary borderline good earlier the extremity of the year.

Australian governments person agreed to easiness choky restrictions connected overseas question erstwhile 80% of the colonisation aged 16 and older was afloat vaccinated.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the archetypal steps would let Australians to permission and

fully vaccinated citizens and imperishable residents to instrumentality home.

“That volition hap earlier the extremity of the year. It could hap good earlier that,” Morrison told American broadcaster CBS News.

More than 90% of the people property radical successful Australia’s astir populous authorities and the worst impacted by the nation’s COVID-19 outbreak, New South Wales, volition beryllium vaccinated by the extremity of November, New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.

New South Wales reported 787 caller locally acquired infections connected Monday and 12 deaths successful the latest 24-hour period.

Sydney’s lockdown would easiness connected Oct. 11 aft 70% of the state’s colonisation had received 2nd doses of vaccine, Berejiklian said. With 85% of the people colonisation already injected with astatine slightest a azygous vaccine dose, the 80% people is expected to beryllium reached 2 weeks aft the 70% benchmark.

On Dec. 1, unvaccinated radical are expected to person their pandemic restrictions lifted.

State Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said she expected 92% of the people colonisation would yet beryllium vaccinated.

New South Wales has the fastest vaccination rollout successful Australia aft the Australian Capital Territory.

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SEATTLE — A Washington authorities trooper who helped make the agency’s usage of drones has died aft a conflict with COVID-19 contracted connected duty.

The Washington State Patrol said Detective Eric Gunderson died Sunday surrounded by his household and friends. He was 38. Gunderson often traveled astir the state to talk astir the authorities patrol’s usage of drones.

The patrol said helium contracted COVID-19 connected 1 of those trips. Gunderson helped analyse the 2017 Amtrak derailment successful DuPont and his enactment is credited with reopening roads much rapidly aft crashes.

He is survived by a woman and 2 sons. Gunderson’s decease is the archetypal enactment of work decease for the bureau since it marked its 100th day a fewer weeks ago, Chief John Batiste said. “How I had hoped our 2nd period of work would beryllium much forgiving. But serving the public, arsenic we do, has inherent dangers and this pandemic has been a foe to our bureau and so our authorities and nation,” helium said.

Gov. Jay Inslee tweeted his condolences to Gunderson’s family, friends and colleagues.

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LOS ANGELES — Public wellness officials person identified much than 200 coronavirus outbreaks astatine constabulary oregon occurrence agencies passim Los Angeles County since the commencement of the pandemic, according to information obtained by the Los Angeles Times.

The 211 outbreaks, accounting for much than 2,500 cases betwixt March 2020 and past month, correspond 9% of full workplace outbreaks crossed the county, the paper reported Sunday. However, they person continued to hap regularly adjacent arsenic vaccination rates accrued among constabulary and occurrence unit and the fig of idiosyncratic coronavirus cases per outbreak has fallen since past winter.

The information showed 38 outbreaks astatine nationalist information agencies were identified successful April of this twelvemonth — the astir successful immoderate period since the commencement of the pandemic. A period later, 35 outbreaks — the 2nd astir — were recorded by the region Department of Public Health.

Overall, much than fractional of the outbreaks occurred astatine the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles Fire Department, wherever immoderate employees person filed lawsuits challenging a caller regularisation requiring them to beryllium vaccinated by adjacent month. Thousands person filed announcement that they mean to assertion a aesculapian oregon spiritual exemption from the mandate.

Vaccination rates for LAPD an LAFD employees mostly lag down the 68% of eligible region residents who person gotten their shots.

Critics person accused the constabulary officers and metropolis firefighters of ignoring nationalist information — and their sworn duties to uphold it — by refusing to get vaccinated.