What you need to know about the coronavirus right now

Biden to announce new Covid-19 steps ahead of U.N. meeting
U.S. President Joe Biden will announce new steps to slow the spread of Covid-19 before the U.N. General Assembly meets, Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said Sunday. Murthy did not specify what those steps would be.

"There will be more actions that we continue to work on, especially in the global front," he said, speaking to CNN on Sunday.

No vaccine passports: UK PM to set out winter Covid-19 plan
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will set out his plans on Tuesday to manage the Covid-19 pandemic in the winter months, announcing a decision to scrap the introduction of vaccine passports and steps to end some emergency powers.

Speaking to broadcasters, Health Minister Sajid Javid said he did not anticipate more lockdowns, as the government depends instead on vaccines and testing to defend the public. The government also said it expected Britain's Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) to confirm the details of a vaccination booster programme to begin this month.

U.S. could authorize Pfizer Covid-19 shot for kids age 5-11 in October - sources
Top U.S. health officials believe that Pfizer Inc's Covid-19 vaccine could be authorized for children aged 5-11 years old by the end of October, two sources familiar with the situation said on Friday.

The timeline is based on the expectation that Pfizer, which developed the shot with Germany's BioNTech, will have enough data from clinical trials to seek emergency use authorization (EUA) for that age group from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) towards the end of this month, the sources said. They anticipate the FDA could make a decision on whether the shot is safe and effective in younger children within three weeks of the EUA submission.

New Zealand PM Ardern extends Auckland lockdown
New Zealand's largest city Auckland will remain in lockdown to beat the spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday.

Auckland will remain in the strict Alert level 4 lockdown until midnight on Sept. 21, after which it will move to alert level 3, Ardern said in a news conference.

Merkel tells Germans to get jabbed
Chancellor Angela Merkel implored Germans on Sunday to make use of a week-long Covid-19 vaccination campaign in which people can get a free jab at mosques, shops and football pitches.

Merkel said while it was good that some 66% of the population have had one dose and 62% are fully vaccinated, case numbers were rising and most people who are hospitalised are not vaccinated. Some 4 million people in Germany have suffered from Covid-19 and more than 90,000 people have died.