Coronavirus latest: US retail sales fall as Covid resurgence hits consumer confidence

The District of Columbia will require all healthcare workers to be at least partially vaccinated against Covid-19 by the end of September, Washington mayor Muriel Bowser announced on Monday. Earlier on Monday, New York governor Andrew Cuomo announced a similar requirement for healthcare workers in the state.

More than 1m Israelis have now received the Covid-19 booster shot, roughly two weeks after the country began administering the jab to combat the Delta variant-propelled surge in infections. Israel has been administering vaccines at night and during the sabbath to keep up the pace of vaccinations.

Macau will reopen some of its recreational and health facilities on Wednesday after a two-week closure. following an “improvement in the epidemic situation”. The Chinese territory said cinemas, theatres, indoor amusement parks, gyms, bars, massage parlours and discotheques would resume.

The World Health Organization-backed Covax vaccine distribution programme, which aims to send Covid-19 jabs to mostly lower-income countries, announced on Monday that it had delivered its 200 millionth dose. Covax officials said they hope to be able to deliver close to 2bn doses by the end of the year.

Revenues at Oatly, the Swedish non-dairy milk maker, for the three months to June rose 53 per cent year on year to $146.2m on a net loss of $59m. A temporary plant closure in Europe because of the pandemic, as well as capacity constraints, had limited the company’s ability to deliver supplies.

Demand for central London office space has risen to its highest level since the beginning of the pandemic, data show. Central London office take-up totalled 1.8m square feet in the second quarter of the year, up 39 per cent on the previous three month period, Cushman & Wakefield said on Monday.

UK recruitment has bucked the traditional summer lull in job offers, as agencies warned of staff shortages. In July, the number of permanent vacancies rose 43 per cent, and 53 per cent for contract vacancies, compared with 2020, according to the Association of Professional Staffing Companies.

The price of second hand cars has risen sharply in the UK as the global semiconductor shortage hit production of new auto vehicles, industry data has shown. Used cars sold at an average purchase price of £9,820 last month, a 20 per cent rise from £8,162 in July 2019, said CarFinance 247, an online marketplace.