Covid: Businesses say public not ready for vaccine passports and Northern Ireland's clown shortage

Here are five things you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic this Wednesday evening. We'll have another update for you tomorrow.

With the Scottish government already having delayed enforcement of its Covid vaccine passport scheme for nightclubs and large events, the hospitality industry has claimed the public is not ready. UK Hospitality told the BBC that there should have been a public information campaign so that customers would know they had to bring proof of having had two doses of a vaccine. "It has very much been left to businesses to manage this," said Leon Thompson from the trade body. Scotland's Deputy First Minister John Swinney said the scheme - which begins on Monday, with enforcement following from 18 October - had been widely publicised in the media.

A rush hour spent with Transport for London's enforcement officers showed how inconsistent policies over mask-wearing are leading to confusion. The BBC saw commuters being politely but firmly told to put on masks, with those not carrying them dispatched to Boots. But one man is angry and confused, caught out by different rules set by national rail services and Transport for London: he doesn't have to wear a mask on the train, so why does he have to on the Tube? TfL says it has refused 223 people entry and asked 53 people to leave since the government ended the legal requirements on masks on 19 July. The London Mayor says the law should be brought back.

With the deadline to get vaccinated against Covid having passed on Monday, United Airlines said the vast majority of its 67,000 staff have complied. But 593 who have not applied for a medical or religious exemption face being fired, the company said. "This was an incredibly difficult decision," its bosses said in a memo to employees. But it said the reason for imposing the requirement in August was to "keep our people safe".

Russia has threatened retaliation after two of its German-language YouTube channels were deleted for breaching Covid misinformation guidelines. The country's media watchdog Roskomnadzor accused YouTube of censorship and demanded the channels be restored. It said it could block the Google-owned video-streaming site within its borders. Russia has previously used powers to block or restrict access to websites to slow down the speed of Twitter. YouTube has also tightened rules on vaccine misinformation, saying it would delete any videos with false claims about vaccines approved by health authorities.

First it was toilet rolls, hand sanitiser and pasta, but now Covid-19 has caused a new and unexpected shortage in Northern Ireland: clowns. David Duffy, co-owner of Duffy's Circus, is appealing for locals to put on the traditional red nose and to learn the skills of a clown. With circuses closed for more than 500 days, many performers left Northern Ireland for other places which reopened their big tops more quickly. So what qualities does Mr Duffy say are needed to have them rolling in the aisles? Vulnerability, adaptability and the capacity to think on your feet - even while wearing enormous shoes.

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