A gas station attendant in Germany was punched and kicked by a customer after an argument over the latter's failure to wear a mask, AP quoted police as saying on Thursday.

Police said the argument started when the 21-year-old customer walked into the gas station shop without a mask to pay for his fuel. The 67-year-old attendant pointed out that wearing a mask was obligatory and an argument ensued.

The customer then returned wearing a mask, punched the attendant and kicked him as he lay on the floor. He then fled, according to a police statement.

The customer returned to the scene shortly afterward and handed himself in to police.

The number of workers taking sick days has surged in Italy since the introduction last week of mandatory coronavirus certificates for all employees, AFP reported on Thursday, citing official data.

So-called “green passes” have been compulsory for access to the workplace since October 15, as the Rome government opted for one of the world's strictest anti-Covid regimes.

Figures provided to AFP by the national welfare agency INPS show that on October 15, more than 94,100 people called in sick, 28 per cent more than in the previous week.

The following Monday, around 192,000 people were off work, compared to some 165,000 seven days earlier.

Calling in sick is one way for workers who do not want to comply with the new requirements to avoid the punishment of being suspended on no pay.

Green passes are available to everyone who is vaccinated or recently recovered from Covid-19, but can also be obtained by getting a negative test, at the person's own expense.

People in Ukraine's capital Kyiv queued in their hundreds for Covid-19 vaccinations on Thursday after a surge in daily cases and related deaths past previous highs led authorities to tighten pandemic restrictions, according to Reuters.

Some 22,415 new infections were registered over the 24 hours to Thursday, exceeding the previous record of 20,341 on April 3. Health ministry data also showed there were 546 new deaths, more than the Oct 19 high of 538.

Coronavirus cases among Ukraine's population of 41 million have been climbing for weeks, prompting the government to tighten curbs last months.

Sindh has reported 184 new cases of the novel coronavirus, raising the provincial tally to 466,002.

Moreover, the daily situation report issued by the Chief Minister's Office confirmed the deaths of three more persons due to the virus. The death toll now stands at 5,739.

Thailand will allow visitors from 46 countries vaccinated against Covid-19 to forgo quarantine from next month, up from 10 previously announced, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has said, according to Reuters.

The Southeast Asian country is poised to introduce the new quarantine-free travel arrangements on November 1 as it seeks to revive its vital tourism industry.

Prayuth did not name the extra countries in a Facebook post but said the visitors could skip mandatory quarantine providing they arrive via air, have been fully vaccinated and have a document to show they are virus-free.

The European Union drug regulator expects to announce the results of its review of Moderna’s Covid-19 booster vaccine and start a rolling review of Merck’s antiviral drug molnupiravir next week, a senior official said, according to Reuters.

Marco Cavaleri, head of biological health threats and vaccines strategy for the European Medicines Agency, said in a briefing the results of the Moderna booster shot would be announced on October 25.

He said it was not clear if Russia would submit an application for its one-dose Covid vaccine called Sputnik Light in addition to the one for its two-dose Sputnik V shot.

A booster shot of the anti-Covid-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer/BioNTech is 95.6 per cent effective against symptomatic infection, according to trial data published by the makers.

The clinical phase three trial with “10,000 participants 16 years of age and older” showed “a relative vaccine efficacy of 95.6pc against disease during a period when Delta was the prevalent strain”, the companies said in a statement.

The study presented the “first results” of a booster trial, with a third shot of the vaccine demonstrating a “favourable safety profile”.

“These results provide further evidence of the benefits of boosters as we aim to keep people well-protected against this disease,” said Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla.

Russia has reported some Covid-19 infections with a new coronavirus variant believed to be even more contagious than the Delta one, the RIA news agency has said.

It is possible that the AY.4.2 variant will spread widely, RIA quoted the state consumer watchdog's senior researcher Kamil Khafizov as saying.

That could cause the rate of new Covid-19 cases, already at record highs in Russia, to rise even further.

The new variant could even replace Delta eventually, although the process is likely to be slow, he said.