Live Updates: US To Admit Fully Vaccinated Foreigners From November, White House Confirms

Earlier in the day, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that Washington decided to let fully immunized UK citizens fly to the US starting November.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The number of novel coronavirus-related deaths in the United States has surpassed 675,000, overtaking the 1918 flu pandemic as the deadliest disease to hit the country, data from the Johns Hopkins University revealed on Monday afternoon.

The US coronavirus death toll reached 675,446 by Monday afternoon, data showed.

The flu pandemic from 1918 to 1919 killed about 675,000 people in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Researchers at the University of Washington project that an additional 100,000 Americans will die during the forthcoming winter.

He added that the airline company kept all aircraft flying on reduced timetables and can now bring back staff who were furloughed.

The government of the Australian state of Victoria will place all construction sites in Melbourne and other areas under lockdown for two weeks in response to protests against mandatory COVID-19 vaccination of construction workers, national media reported Monday.

"We've been clear: if you don't follow the rules, we won't hesitate to take action – we have seen widespread noncompliance across the industry and that's why we're taking necessary steps to protect every single Victorian," Tim Pallas, minister for industrial relations, was cited as saying by the ABC broadcaster.

Construction sites will be permitted to re-open when they comply with the order from the health authorities, the channel said.

The opposition criticized the decision as panicked and drastic, urging the government to cancel the shutdown that can mean unemployment and a loss of billions of dollars, according to the news. The state's construction union also joined the criticism, noting that such a heavy-handed approach "has only served to drive many people towards the Anti-Vax Movement."

About 500 people gathered in the streets of Melbourne last week to protest the local government's mandate to vaccinate all construction workers with at least one dose of the vaccine by September 27, according to ABC broadcaster. Protesters reportedly clashed with the police, injuring at least ten law enforcement officers. Several people were arrested.

Currently, over 9.5 million Australians have been vaccinated, which accounts for about 38% of the population. The country registers an average of 1,700 news cases of COVID-19 daily.

Germany has also hailed the lifting of the ban, Vice-Chancellor said.

Americans who are not vaccinated must undergo stricter coronavirus testing requirements, the White House added.

The US government will relax its travel restrictions for vaccinated people from the European Union and the United Kingdom beginning in November, the Financial Times said on Monday.

The new rule will be a part of a broader policy for international travel, the report said, citing a person familiar with the matter.

The US administration will announce its decision later on Monday, it added.

Pfizer announced on Monday that the phase 2 clinical trials of the coronavirus vaccine developed jointly with BioNTech proved the shot's safety and effectiveness in minors aged between 5 and 11 years.

The developer published earlier in the day the first results of a pivotal trial of any COVID-19 vaccine in children in this age group.

"Pfizer ... and BioNTech ... today announced results from a Phase 2/3 trial showing a favourable safety profile and robust neutralizing antibody responses in children 5 to 11 years of age using a two-dose regimen of 10 µg administered 21 days apart, a smaller dose than the 30 µg dose used for people 12 and older," the developer said in a statement.

The developers announced their plan to submit data for the full phase 3 trial for scientific peer-reviewed publication. They will also include the data from the phase 2 in a near-term submission for emergency use authorization with the US regulator and request the EU regulator to update the conditional marketing authorization in the near future.

India will resume coronavirus vaccine export under the governmental Vaccine Friendship initiative in October in order to fulfill its COVAX commitments, Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Monday.

"India will resume vaccine export under the Vaccine Friendship initiative to meet India's COVAX commitments. The vaccines supplied will be used to fulfill our commitments to the world to collectively fight COVID-19," Mandaviya told reporters.

India, which ranks second globally in terms of COVID-19 cases registered, has exported 66.4 million doses of Covaxin and Covishield vaccines under the COVAX program so far. In March, the Indian government announced that the country will focus on vaccinating the population and will not expand the exports program, pledging to resume supplies abroad after meeting domestic needs.

Russia recorded 19,744 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, down from 20,174 the day before, bringing the cumulative total to 7,294,672, the federal response center said on Monday.

"Over the past day, 19,744 COVID-19 cases were confirmed across 85 Russian regions, including 1,465 cases (7.4%) without clinical symptoms," the center said, adding that the rate of increase fell to 0.27%.

Moscow has the highest number of new cases with 2,469 daily infections, up from 2,376 the day before. The Russian capital is followed by St. Petersburg with 1,137 cases, down from 1,834, and the Moscow region with 1,098 cases, up from 1,004.

The response center reported 778 new deaths linked to the coronavirus, down from 793 the day before, bringing the country's death toll to 198,996.

In the same 24 hours, 11,992 COVID-19 patients were discharged from hospitals across the country, down from 13,418 the day before, bringing the total to 6,540,674.

Schools and offices will remain closed but businesses will be able to operate contactless services.