TOP HEADLINES 

• A COVID-19 testing laboratory in England has been suspended over concern that it has been incorrectly giving negative PCR test results to infected people, the UK Health Security Agency (UKSHA) said on Friday.

UKSHA said that an estimated 43,000 people may have been wrongly told they had negative PCR test results, mainly in southwest England, between September 8 and October 12.

NHS Test and Trace launched an investigation into the lab run by Immensa Health Clinic after reports of people getting negative PCR test results after testing positive on rapid lateral flow devices (LFDs).

• COVID-19 health passes became mandatory for all workers in Italy from Friday, with the measure being applied broadly without incident across the country despite some scattered protests.

At the major port of Trieste, where some labor groups had threatened to block operations in protest at the rule, the situation appeared largely calm, with some workers demonstrating but others being allowed to carry on as usual.

• Bayer AG has terminated a vaccine manufacturing partnership under which it would have helped produce CureVac's COVID-19 shot, a spokesperson for Bayer told a German newspaper.

The news comes after CureVac said it would give up on its first-generation COVID-19 vaccine candidate and instead collaborate with GSK to develop improved mRNA vaccine technology.

"Jointly with CureVac we have decided by mutual agreement to not continue the cooperation," the Bayer spokesperson told Rheinische Post.

• Fully vaccinated passengers arriving in England from low-risk countries from October 24 will no longer have to take expensive COVID-19 tests. 

Most under-18s and the fully vaccinated arriving from countries not on the 'red list' could take a lateral flow test on, or before, day two of their arrival, rather than a PCR lab test.

• Scientists, and health officials said Israel was seeing a sharp drop in new infections and severe illness, aided by its use of vaccine boosters, vaccine passports, and mask mandates.

Since peaking in early September, daily infections in Israel have fallen more than 80 percent, with severe cases nearly halved.

Following the administration of boosters, it is primarily unvaccinated, often younger, people bearing the brunt of serious illness. They make up about 75 percent of hospitalized patients in severe condition, while those vaccinated with two or three shots account for a quarter of such cases.

• The disruption of health services caused by the pandemic has wiped out years in the fight against tuberculosis, with deaths rising for the first time in over a decade, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned.

About 4.1 million people have tuberculosis but have not been diagnosed or have not been officially counted, the WHO declared, a figure sharply up from 2.9 cases million in 2019. 

• Latvian President Egils Levits has contracted COVID-19 despite being fully vaccinated, as the Baltic country reported a new record for daily cases.

After returning from a visit to Denmark and Sweden, the president took a PCR test which came back positive.

• Nigeria has received more than 500,000 doses of AstraZeneca's vaccine from the French government through the COVAX vaccine-sharing facility.

Faisal Shuaib, head of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, said the country received 434,400 doses of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine from the African Union.

FROM OUR GLOBAL COLLEAGUES

CGTN Europe: Life expectancy in England was falling before the pandemic, study shows

CGTN China: China launches its first solar observation satellite

CGTN America: Mexico warns migration will not slow without more U.S. investment in Central America

CGTN Africa: Biden promises vaccines, discusses 'transparency' with visiting Kenyan president