Country, Other	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths
World	136,628,535	+632,522	2,949,228
USA	31,918,601	+47,874	575,829
India	13,525,379	+169,914	170,209
Brazil	13,482,543	+37,537	353,293
France	5,058,680	+34,895	98,750
Russia	4,641,390	+8,702	102,986
UK	4,369,775	+1,730	127,087
Turkey	3,849,011	+50,678	33,939
Italy	3,769,814	+15,746	114,254
Spain	3,347,512	+10875	76,328
Germany	3,009,541	+16,738	78,964
Poland	2,574,631	+21,703	58,421
Colombia	2,536,198	+17,483	65,889
Argentina	2,532,562	+15,262	57,779
Mexico	2,278,420	+6,356	209,212
Iran	2,070,141	+21,063	64,490
Ukraine	1,853,249	+12,112	37,014
Peru	1,647,694	+7,927	54,903
Czechia	1,580,208	+2,201	27,875
Indonesia	1,566,995	+4,127	42,530
South Africa	1,558,458	+931	53,322
Netherlands	1,350,665	+8,218	16,771
Chile	1,076,499	+7,945	24,346
Canada	1,060,158	+7,619	23,315
Romania	1,006,167	+3,302	25,135
Iraq	924,946	+6,791	14,713
Belgium	922,487	+4,570	23,428
Philippines	864,868	+11,681	14,945
Israel	835,933	+122	6,296
Portugal	827,494	+566	16,916
Pakistan	721,018	+5,050	15,443
Hungary	720,164	+6,296	23,417
Bangladesh	684,756	+5,819	9,739
Jordan	665,735	+3,340	7,773
Serbia	642,208	+2,732	5,735
Austria	577,007	+2,252	9,687
Japan	503,403	+3,610	9,382
Morocco	502,102	+414	8,900
Lebanon	496,846	+2,213	6,661
UAE	483,747	+1,810	1,531
Saudi Arabia	398,435	+799	6,754
Bulgaria	371,993	+462	14,418
Slovakia	371,062	+589	10,565
Malaysia	360,856	+1,739	1,329
Panama	358,611	+234	6,163
Ecuador	346,817	+1,940	17,293
Belarus	336,038	+1,175	2,354
Greece	295,480	+1,717	8,885
Croatia	292,516	+1,617	6,308
Georgia	288,396	+707	3,877
Azerbaijan	285,993	+2,414	3,915
Bolivia	281,570	+921	12,442
Nepal	280,028	+303	3,040
Tunisia	271,861	+1,564	9,293
Kazakhstan	269,519	+2,842	3,221
Palestine	268,132	+2,235	2,860
Dominican Republic	257,698	+512	3,388
Kuwait	247,094	+1,390	1,407
Moldova	241,217	+331	5,388
Ireland	240,945	+302	4,785
Denmark	237,792	+691	2,441
Paraguay	235,292	+1,547	4,827
Ethiopia	228,996	+1,741	3,174
Slovenia	226,499	+548	4,119
Lithuania	226,173	+839	3,687
Egypt	210,489	+812	12,445
Guatemala	203,071	+431	7,016
Armenia	202,817	+650	3,735
Honduras	195,525	+977	4,770
Qatar	190,025	+961	333
Venezuela	174,887	+1,101	1,778
Oman	171,549	+3,544	1,776
Libya	167,825	+937	2,823
Nigeria	163,799	+63	2,060
Bahrain	156,462	+1,060	557
Kenya	145,670	+486	2,348
Uruguay	144,642	+3,262	1,462
Myanmar	142,576	+4	3,206
North Macedonia	141,844	+687	4,228
Albania	128,393	+238	2,317
Algeria	118,516	+138	3,130
Estonia	114,174	+438	1,028
S. Korea	109,559	+614	1,768
Latvia	107,608	+368	1,986
Norway	103,621	+421	684
Sri Lanka	95,131	+283	598
Montenegro	94,269	+234	1,373
China	90,410	+10	4,636
Kyrgyzstan	90,227	+208	1,522
Zambia	90,029	+111	1,226
Cuba	86,531	+959	459
Uzbekistan	84,922	+198	634
Finland	82,053	+346	868
Mozambique	68,758	+180	791
El Salvador	66,489	+174	2,051
Singapore	60,653	+20	30
Afghanistan	57,242	+82	2,529
Cyprus	51,505	+470	272
Malawi	33,827	+22	1,128
Thailand	32,625	+967	97
Aruba	10,050	+34	92
Suriname	9,302	+24	182
Vietnam	2,693	+1	35

 

Retrieved from:  https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

 

 

 

Los Angeles opens vaccinations to those 16 and older ahead of state's planned eligibility expansion

From CNN's Alta Spells

 

Syringes are prepared for doses of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine at St. Patrick's Catholic Church on April 9 in Los Angeles, California. Mario Tama/Getty Images

Los Angeles residents ages 16 and above are now eligible to sign up for a Covid-19 vaccination at one of 19 vaccination sites currently being run by the city, the Los Angeles mayor's office told CNN. 

Appointments can be made using the city's vaccine registration website, which was updated Saturday afternoon to reflect the expanded eligibility, however vaccinations for the week will not begin until Tuesday when the the city's vaccination locations reopen.

The mayor's office said it worked with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health and used targeted text message alerts to encourage communities that have been hit the hardest by Covid-19 to make appointments on the updated website.

“We are excited to open vaccination appointments for Angelenos 16 and older. Vaccinations at city-run sites will begin on Tuesday, with support from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, to encourage access for the most vulnerable communities with the highest need. All three vaccines will be available to those 18 years and older, with the Pfizer vaccine authorized for those ages 16-17. We continue to receive a limited supply of vaccines, and when we receive greater supply in the weeks ahead, the City will be ready to administer even more vaccines quickly and safely,” Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said in a statement provided to CNN. 

 

 

 

India deploys AI to conduct Covid safety surveillance at massive Hindu festival

From CNN's Esha Mitra in New Delhi

 

 Hindu devotees gather on the banks of Ganges River during the Kumbh Mela festival in Haridwar on April 11. Money Sharma/AFP/Getty Images

Millions of people have been traveling across India in April for the Kumbh Mela, a major Hindu festival and the largest pilgrimage on Earth, held this year in the city of Haridwar.

But it's raising Covid concerns, as the country plunges deeper into a worrying second wave.

"Social distancing is proving very difficult, if we try to enforce it then it can lead to a stampede," Inspector General of Police Sanjay Gunjyal told local news early Monday. Police are "continually appealing" to people to wear masks and follow precautions, he added.

At least 650,000 people had already taken a dip in the Ganges River early this morning, Gunjyal added. And many more are expected throughout the day, as Monday is considered a particularly auspicious day to dip into the sacred waters.

AI surveillance: In their efforts to enforce measures, officers are using artificial intelligence cameras for surveillance in several river banks in the city.

"The camera has sensors which alert us when the number of cars in parking areas or foot traffic crosses a certain threshold and we can communicate with people on ground to start diverting crowds," said Mukesh Thakur, a senior police official.
"The cameras also detect if people are not wearing masks and the officers on ground immediately issue tickets to those people."

However, it wasn't possible to issue tickets to everyone on Monday because of the huge crowds, he added.

Some 15,000 security personnel are also involved in crowd control and administration.

On Sunday, at least 1.1 million people were at the various banks of the river. More than 2,200 cases have been reported in Haridwar since the festival began on April 1, according to data released by the Uttarakhand state health department. 

 

 

 

Greece only offering AstraZeneca vaccine to people over 30

from CNN's Lindsey Isaac

 

Greece has joined a number of European Union countries in putting restrictions on the use of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine. 

Greece’s National Vaccination Committee has recommended the vaccine only be offered to those aged 30 and over. 

The decision follows a warning by Europe’s drug regulator on Wednesday of a slim risk that AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine could cause rare blood clots.

In a statement, the committee pointed out that despite the restrictions:

“The risk of serious illness and death from Covid-19 is overwhelmingly higher than the risk of thrombosis after vaccination especially in those over 30 years of age.”

After evaluating the available data, the Committee said that “it recommends the continuation of the vaccination program with any available vaccine, including the AstraZeneca vaccine, to individuals aged 30 years and older.” 

Ahead of the announcement, Health Ministry Secretary General for Primary Health Care, Marios Themistokleous said he does expect “major changes in our vaccination schedule.”

Speaking on Greece’s public broadcaster ERT Thursday, Themistokleous added there are 10,00 to 12,000 vaccinations with AstraZeneca on a daily basis in Greece and that that public participation during the last week has been over 90%. 

Meanwhile, local media are reporting an increase in people not turning up for their AstraZeneca jab appointments.

Greece is experiencing a recent surge in cases while strict measures remain in place. 

 

 

 

Canada's third wave on track to become its worst yet as Covid-19 hospitalizations spike

From CNN’s Paula Newton

 

The field hospital in the parking lot of Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto, Wednesday, March 31. Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press/AP

Canada says its third wave of the pandemic is now more serious than the previous two, as hospitalizations and critical care admissions spike, and the vaccine rollout is unlikely to change things over the next few weeks. 

“The end is definitely in sight but we’re not there yet. This third wave is more serious and we need to hang in there for another few weeks to make sure that we can flatten that curve, drop those numbers down again, to give a chance for vaccines to take hold,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said during a news conference in Ottawa Friday. 

The situation is most serious in Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, where officials say the province is close to its "worst case scenario" projections for the third wave. The province came dangerously close on Friday to shattering a record for a single day increase in cases and has already set a record this week for intensive care unit (ICU) admissions related to Covid-19. 

“We’re seeing more and more young people being admitted to hospital with Covid-19. So to young people: There are more contagious and more serious variants out there, even if you’re younger, you can get sick very, very quickly,” Trudeau warned. 

Ontario imposed a province-wide stay-at-home order Thursday but restrictions have only moderately decreased new infections, despite the fact that cities like Toronto have been in some form of lockdown since late November. 

“I can understand the frustration, the anxiety, the concern that Canadians right across the country are feeling in seeing these numbers rise, I share it. I think we’re all recognizing that we don’t want to be in this third wave but we’re here,” Trudeau said. 

Across the country, Canadian health officials say ICU admissions are up more than 20% in the last week alone as all of Canada’s most populous provinces cope with a third wave more threatening to the healthcare system than the last two. 

“Right now my concern is, the thing to me is the ICUs filling up, not just hospitalizations, because there is an absolute limit to ICU capacity not necessarily because of equipment but because of people,” Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s top doctor, said speaking alongside Trudeau during Friday’s news conference.

Although Canada broke a record this week for vaccine doses administered, Tam said the vaccine rollout will not slow the rapid epidemic growth in cases, as more contagious variants spread throughout the country. 

 

Retrieved from: https://edition.cnn.com/world/live-news/coronavirus-pandemic-vaccine-updates-04-12-21/index.html

 

 

 

Travel continues to rebound in the U.S., fueled by Easter and spring break

By Concepción de León and Christina Morales

 

 

More than 150,000 people per day visited Times Square in New York over Easter weekend, the highest number in a year.Credit...Karsten Moran for The New York Times

Times Square had its highest pedestrian traffic of the year. Major hotels in Miami were booked three-quarters or more full. And pools at Las Vegas resorts were filled to their limit of 50 percent capacity.

Easter weekend saw a resurgence of tourist activity in some U.S. cities, suggesting what could be a turning point for the tourism industry as Covid-19 vaccinations pick up and more businesses reopen across the country.

Data from the Transportation Security Administration this weekend shows that travel is still relatively high. The country averaged more than 1.5 million travelers on Thursday and Friday, and dropped slightly to nearly 1.4 million travelers on Saturday, similar to the numbers from Easter weekend. There have been similar bursts throughout March and April as travel has steadily increased, most likely in part because of spring break travel among younger Americans.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said this month that Americans who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 can safely travel at home and abroad, as long as they take basic precautions like wearing masks. Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, said the risk would only get lower as more travelers got vaccinated.

“It is a risk to fly, but it’s a small risk,” he told CNN last week. “The more infection you get in the community, the greater the risk. So, if we get more and more people vaccinated, by the time we get to the summer, the risk of flying will be even less than it is now.”

Before Easter weekend, the recovery in tourism had been “very regionalized,” with places like Florida and Texas doing well while cities that depend more on large meetings and conventions, like Chicago, continue to struggle, said Chip Rogers, the president of the American Hotel & Lodging Association, the trade organization for the hospitality industry.

Now, Mr. Rogers said, there’s reason for “cautious optimism,” and signs in several cities point to leisure travel picking up.

In New York, the Times Square Alliance, which tracks activity in the area, counted about 150,000 pedestrians a day over the holiday weekend, up 394 percent from last year, though still far from prepandemic numbers.

Though the weekend of Easter is, historically, the second-slowest weekend in Las Vegas, this year was different because of March Madness, the annual N.C.A.A. basketball tournaments. “On Saturday, all of our venues were filled by 10 a.m. because of Final Four,” said Derek Stevens, who owns three hotels in the city. “I think that was the case throughout all of Las Vegas.”

In Miami, where warm weather and comparatively looser Covid-19 regulations have drawn tourists for months, the period from March 28 to April 3 brought the city “its highest occupancy level since the start of the pandemic, with most hotels reporting upward of 75 percent occupancy levels,” said Suzie Sponder, a spokeswoman for the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau. That’s only a 6.6 percent drop compared with the same weekend in 2019.

Carl Bergstrom, a biology professor at the University of Washington, said he was not too concerned that Easter travel would bring a surge in cases like the one after Thanksgiving and the holiday season, which he said had been caused more by social gatherings than travel itself. While Dr. Bergstrom said he hoped people would “hold off the riskiest behavior for a few more months,” he said it was more important to encourage people to travel safely than not at all.

 

Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/04/10/world/covid-vaccine-coronavirus-cases/travel-continues-to-rebound-in-the-us-fueled-by-easter-and-spring-break

 

 

 

Iran records highest daily death toll in 4 months

 

Iran reported a further 258 Covid-19 deaths in the past 24 hours, the health ministry said on Sunday, the highest daily toll since early December.

Reuters reports:

That brings the total number of fatalities from the coronavirus to 64,490 in Iran, the worst-hit country in the Middle East.

Health ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari told state TV that 21,063 new cases were identified in the past 24 hours, taking the total number of identified cases since the pandemic began to 2,070,141.

“Unfortunately, in the past 24 hours 258 people have died from the virus,” Lari said. State TV said it was the country’s highest daily death toll since December 10.

Iran’s Health Minister Saeed Namaki, in a televised news conference, warned about more fatalities in the coming week if Iranians fail to adhere to health protocols.

On Saturday, Tehran imposed a 10-day lockdown across most of the country to curb the spread of a fourth wave of the coronavirus. The lockdown affects 23 of the country’s 31 provinces.

Businesses, schools, theatres and sports facilities have been forced to shut and gatherings are banned during the holy fasting month of Ramadan that begins on Wednesday in Iran.

 

 

 

Summary

 

In other news from around the world:

· France will make vaccinations with the AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson jabs available to all citizens over the age of 55 on Monday.

· The Czech Republic’s state of emergency and the associated ban for people to move outside their home districts will end at midnight from Sunday to Monday, alongside the scrapping of a night curfew and a partial reopening of schools, Czech Radio reports.

· Italy reported 331 coronavirus-related deaths on Sunday, compared with 344 the day before, the health ministry said, while the daily tally of new infections fell to 15,746 from 17,567 the day before.

· The UK has distributed a further 586,339 Covid-19 vaccines, according to daily data published on Sunday. The UK has now given 32.12 million people a first dose of the vaccine and 7.47 million a second dose, putting it on track to start reopening its economy.

· The Dutch government on Sunday dashed hopes of an early easing of lockdown, saying a night-time curfew and other restrictions would remain until at least 28 April as daily infections rose to a two-week high.

· About 80% of Sicilians are refusing to be inoculated against Covid-19 with the AstraZeneca vaccine, Sicily’s governor said on Sunday.

· China’s top disease control official has admitted that the efficacy of the country’s domestically produced vaccines is low as it emerged the authorities are considering mixing them to try to offer greater protection against coronavirus.

· Mexico’s government reported 1,793 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 126 more fatalities, according to new data from the health ministry, bringing the total to 2,280,213 infections and 209,338 deaths.

 

Retrieved from:  https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2021/apr/12/coronavirus-live-news-warning-as-english-pub-gardens-reopen-india-sees-record-case-rise-overtaking-brazil-total?page=with:block-6073c5e18f08ebe74739e096#block-6073c5e18f08ebe74739e096