In Australia, the state premier of New South Wales, home to Sydney, is “pleading” with people to come forward for testing after five cases of community transmission of coronavirus were identified in the state overnight, while in the state of Queensland a man was in the community with an infectious UK strain of the virus for two days before going into isolation. “As we see, the disease is still bumbling along in the community and we need to be vigilant about that,” Gladys Berejiklian said on Tuesday. “And that’s why I’m pleading for people to come forward and get tested. We know that it takes some time to completely get to the target of zero community transmission after there has been an outbreak, but it’s so critical that we raise those testing levels.” There were 14,700 tests reported in NSW on Monday to 8pm, which the premier said was “not really enough for where we’re up to in the pandemic”. Of the five new cases included in Tuesday’s NSW numbers, two were announced on Monday: a man in his 40s who tested positive at Mount Druitt hospital emergency department, and his household contact. NSW Health are investigating the source of their infections. A further two cases were identified in the northern beaches and the source of their infections is also under investigation. The fifth case, a woman in her 40s, is linked to the Berala cluster and is a known close contact of someone already identified and in isolation: Gorillas at San Diego Zoo test positive for Covid in apparent first Vivian Ho Several gorillas at the San Diego zoo safari park have tested positive for coronavirus, with some experiencing symptoms, in what is believed to be the first outbreak among such primates in captivity. The park’s executive director, Lisa Peterson, told the Associated Press on Monday that eight gorillas who live together at the park are believed to have the virus and several have been coughing. Gavin Newsom, California’s governor, confirmed at his Monday news briefing that at least two gorillas had tested positive while three were symptomatic. It appears the infection came from a member of the park’s wildlife care team who also tested positive for the virus but has been asymptomatic. The safari park confirmed the presence of Covid-19 through fecal samples from the gorillas, and the test results do not “definitively rule out the presence of the virus in other members of the troop”, the zoo said in a statement: Jessica Murray Boris Johnson has come under fire after he was spotted cycling in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic park in east London on Sunday, seven miles away from his Downing Street residence. Andy Slaughter, Labour MP for Hammersmith in London, accused the prime minister of failing to lead by example by exercising so far from home, but sources at No 10 insisted no rules had been broken: Australian Open qualifiers halted mid-match to tell player he had Covid-19 Denis Kudla has been rushed into quarantine at the Australian Open qualifying event in Doha after testing positive for Covid-19. Fourth-seeded Kudla downed Moroccan Elliot Benchetrit 6-4 6-3 but the match ended in controversy. Kudla’s positive Covid test result reportedly came through with Kudla leading 5-3 in the second and, according to Benchetrit, they had to finish the game in progress. Because world No 114 Kudla won that game, which wrapped up the match, he was declared the winner. Had Benchetrit won the game to extend the match, it would have been declared a walkover in his favour. “At 5-3, they got the result. So to sum up: if I’d won that game at 5-3 to make it 5-4, I’d have qualified for the second round,” Benchetrit said on Instagram. In another blow, Benchetrit may also have to isolate in Doha if he is deemed a close contact. Kudla is the second player forced to withdraw from the event due to a positive test, joining Francisco Cerundolo in hotel quarantine: UK retail sales suffered the biggest decline in 25 years last year as the closure of non-essential shops during lockdowns more than outweighed the online spending boom fuelled by Covid-19. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said total sales fell by 0.3% last year from the level in 2019 – the worst performance since records began in 1995 – reflecting the impact of government lockdowns and shifting consumer spending trends. However, the overall drop in spending masks an explosion in sales for some shops, and a dramatic collapse for others. Amid a decline in spending in pubs, restaurants and hotels during the crisis, sales of food bought from shops increased by 5.4% on the year. However, sales of all other products fell 5% from a year earlier: Moderna says Covid-19 vaccine immunity to stay at least a year Immunity from Moderna Inc’s Covid-19 vaccine should last at least a year, the company said on Monday at the JP Morgan Healthcare conference. The drugmaker said it was confident that the messenger RNA (mRNA) technology it used was well suited to deploy a vaccine based on the new variant of the coronavirus which has emerged in a handful of countries. The company’s vaccine, mRNA-1273, uses synthetic mRNA to mimic the surface of the coronavirus and teach the immune system to recognize and neutralize it. Moderna said in December it would run tests to confirm the vaccine’s activity against any strain. The company said on Monday it expects to deliver between 600 million doses and 1 billion does of its vaccine in 2021 and forecast vaccine-related sales of $11.7 billion for the year, based on advance purchase agreements signed with governments. “The team feels very comfortable with the track record we have now ... that we are on track to deliver at least 600 million doses,” Chief Executive Officer Stéphane Bancel said. Despite vaccines, no Covid herd immunity in 2021: WHO Despite vaccines against Covid-19 being rolled out in a number of countries, the World Health Organization warned Monday that herd immunity would not be achieved this year. AFP: Countries across the globe are looking forward to vaccines finally allowing a return to normality in the months ahead. But the WHO’s chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan warned that it will take time to produce and administer enough doses to halt the spread of the virus. “We are not going to achieve any levels of population immunity or herd immunity in 2021,” she told a virtual press briefing from WHO’s headquarters in Geneva, stressing the need to continue measures like physical distancing, hand washing and mask wearing to rein in the pandemic. She hailed the “incredible progress” made by scientists who managed the unthinkable of developing not one but several safe and effective vaccines against a brand new virus in under a year. But, she stressed, the rollout “does take time.” “It takes time to scale the production of doses, not just in the millions, but here we are talking about in the billions,” she pointed out, calling on people to “be a little bit patient.” Swaminathan stressed that eventually, “the vaccines are going to come. They are going to go to all countries.” “But meanwhile we mustn’t forget that there are measures that work,” she said. There would be a need to continue taking the public health and social measures aimed at halting transmission for “the rest of this year at least.” Summary Hello and welcome to today’s live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic with me, Helen Sullivan. As the World Health Organization warned that global herd immunity would not be achieved in 20201, Moderna Inc said that immunity from those who are given the company’s Covid-19 vaccine should last at least a year. The drugmaker said it was confident that the messenger RNA (mRNA) technology it used was well suited to deploy a vaccine based on the new variant of the coronavirus which has emerged in a handful of countries. More on this shortly. In the meantime here are the key developments from the last few hours: Portugal’s president tests positive for Covid-19. President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who is seeking a second term in an election on 24 January, has tested positive for the coronavirus but has so far shown no symptoms, his office said. ‘Reckless’ Christmas rule relaxation blamed for Ireland’s dire Covid surge. The country has the world’s highest rate of infection with critics blaming socialising over festive period. Lebanon tightens Covid-19 restrictions as infections skyrocket. Lebanon has tightened coronavirus measures by imposing a total lockdown for an 11-day period and introducing new travel restrictions to stem an unprecedented rise in infections. Spain sees record weekend rise in infections. Spain reported a record rise in coronavirus infections over the weekend and the number of new cases measured over the past 14 days rose to 436 per 100,000 people on Monday, from 350 on Friday. Verdict unlikely from WHO team exploring Covid origins in China. Expectations should be set very low that a World Health Organization team of experts investigating the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic will reach any definitive conclusion from their first trip to China, a health expert affiliated with the WHO has said. US lawmaker tests positive for Covid-19 after Capitol siege. A 75-year-old US lawmaker has tested positive for Covid-19 after being locked down to avoid a mob attacking the US Capitol last week, saying she believed she was exposed while sheltering in place with maskless colleagues. CDC says nine million Americans now vaccinated. The 8,987,322 people who have been given the first of two shots, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, represent less than one third of the total doses distributed to states by the government. Two gorillas at San Diego Zoo test positive for Covid-19. The animals tested positive for the coronavirus after exhibiting symptoms of the disease, in what is believed to be the first known transmission of the virus to apes. Dubai removed from UK’s travel corridor list. Transport secretary Grant Shapps confirmed on Monday the United Arab Emirates is being taken off the list and anyone arriving from the country from 4am on Tuesday will be subject to the new restrictions.