Covid live news: UK reports 111 further deaths and 33,904 new cases; New Zealand battles Delta outbreak

UK also admits 773 patients to hospital, taking the weekly tally to 5,623; Jacinda Ardern warns of more cases to come in New Zealand

• US to offer Covid vaccine booster shots in September
• Growing New Zealand Covid cluster linked to Sydney Delta outbreak
• Daily cases surge to 633 in New South Wales
• Getting Covid jab is an act of love', says Pope Francis
• Ardern's lockdown finds favour as New Zealand watches Sydney

6.38pm BST

Just days after Beijing rejected calls for a renewed probe into the origins of Covid-19 with a greater focus on virus labs in Wuhan, the World Health Organization said it remained confident China would cooperate in the investigation.

I'm confident ... that our colleagues in China are very much willing to cooperate on the scientific studies that are needed to further explore the origins," the WHO emergencies director, Mike Ryan, said.

6.19pm BST

The World Health Organization has again condemned the rush by wealthy countries to provide Covid vaccine booster shots, while millions around the world have yet to receive a single dose.

Speaking before US authorities announced that all vaccinated Americans should soon be eligible to receive additional doses, WHO experts insisted there was not enough scientific evidence that boosters were needed. Providing them while so many were still waiting to be immunised was immoral, they argued.

We urge J&J to urgently prioritise distribution of their vaccines to Africa before considering supplies to rich countries that already have sufficient access. Vaccine injustice is a shame on all humanity and if we don't tackle it together, we will prolong the acute stage of this pandemic for years when it could be over in a matter of months."