Country,	Total	New	Total
Other	Cases	Cases	Deaths
World	179,537,245	279,167	3,888,600
USA	34,419,838	9,306	617,463
India	29,973,457	39,096	389,268
Brazil	17,969,806	41,878	502,817
France	5,757,798	487	110,778
Turkey	5,375,593	5,294	49,236
Russia	5,334,204	17,378	129,801
UK	4,640,507	10,633	127,981
Argentina	4,277,395	8,606	89,490
Italy	4,253,460	495	127,291
Colombia	3,968,405	23,239	100,582
Spain	3,764,651	2,360	80,689
Germany	3,730,599	484	91,007
Iran	3,105,620	10,485	83,101
Poland	2,878,840	73	74,829
Mexico	2,477,283	1,578	231,187
Ukraine	2,229,846	323	52,032
Peru	2,030,611	986	190,645
Indonesia	2,004,445	14,536	54,956
South Africa	1,832,479	9,160	58,795
Netherlands	1,679,542	559	17,727
Czechia	1,666,071	57	30,283
Chile	1,522,223	5,205	31,645
Canada	1,409,607	771	26,084
Philippines	1,364,239	5,249	23,749
Iraq	1,292,700	5,235	16,910
Sweden	1,084,636		14,537
Romania	1,080,282	26	32,391
Belgium	1,079,415	331	25,136
Pakistan	949,175	907	22,007
Portugal	865,806	756	17,068
Bangladesh	856,304	4,636	13,626
Israel	839,990	123	6,428
Hungary	807,630	202	29,959
Japan	785,287	1,309	14,423
Jordan	747,000	520	9,671
Serbia	715,841	88	7,004
Switzerland	701,994	367	10,875
Malaysia	701,019	4,611	4,477
Austria	649,670	94	10,680
Nepal	622,640	1,584	8,772
UAE	613,993	1,964	1,763
Lebanon	543,551	46	7,825
Morocco	526,737	86	9,244
Saudi Arabia	475,403	1,212	7,691
Ecuador	446,633	192	21,304
Bolivia	422,047	1,086	16,132
Bulgaria	421,152	120	18,000
Greece	418,548	206	12,559
Belarus	411,153	475	3,053
Kazakhstan	409,580	930	4,242
Paraguay	407,721	1,501	11,743
Panama	394,241	514	6,477
Slovakia	391,326	1	12,496
Tunisia	385,428	2,478	14,118
Croatia	359,184	11	8,182
Georgia	359,141	260	5,175
Uruguay	356,382	1,517	5,316
Costa Rica	354,095	797	4,530
Kuwait	340,967	1,935	1,877
Azerbaijan	335,521	28	4,963
Dominican Republic	317,645	858	3,758
Palestine	312,811	138	3,554
Denmark	291,801	149	2,531
Guatemala	280,854	347	8,735
Lithuania	278,408	29	4,367
Egypt	277,797	509	15,898
Ethiopia	275,318	124	4,286
Ireland	269,321	273	4,979
Bahrain	263,295	403	1,311
Venezuela	262,038	1,298	2,973
Slovenia	257,001	19	4,415
Moldova	256,187	47	6,173
Honduras	253,875	747	6,766
Oman	250,572	2,529	2,741
Sri Lanka	241,820	2,131	2,633
Armenia	224,253	26	4,499
Thailand	221,306	3,175	1,658
Qatar	220,930	130	583
Bosnia and Herzegovina	204,860	46	9,643
Libya	191,038	290	3,178
Kenya	179,293	218	3,461
Cuba	169,365	1,561	1,170
Nigeria	167,292	86	2,118
North Macedonia	155,627	3	5,477
S. Korea	151,506	357	2,004
Myanmar	148,617	595	3,265
Latvia	136,850	40	2,496
Algeria	136,294	366	3,641
Albania	132,491	1	2,455
Estonia	130,818	12	1,268
Zambia	130,631	1,598	1,691
Norway	129,545	212	790
Kyrgyzstan	115,615	585	1,937
Uzbekistan	106,452	427	718
Afghanistan	105,755	1,853	4,293
Montenegro	100,092	17	1,605
Mongolia	95,819	2,268	447
Ghana	95,059	146	794
Finland	94,379	45	967
China	91,604	17	4,636
Cameroon	80,328		1,313
El Salvador	77,484	191	2,336
Namibia	75,766	2,602	1,179
Cyprus	73,710	67	374
Uganda	72,679	1,136	680
Mozambique	72,577	70	848
Maldives	72,149	253	206
Luxembourg	70,535	19	818
Botswana	65,808	2,561	1,069
Singapore	62,430	16	35
Suriname	20,141	116	467
Vietnam	13,483	272	69

 

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

 

 

 

U.S. directs millions of COVID-19 shots to Latin America, Africa, Asia

Jeff Mason

 

June 21 (Reuters) - The White House laid out a plan on Monday to share 55 million U.S. COVID-19 vaccine doses globally, with roughly 75% of the doses allocated to Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia and Africa through the COVAX international vaccine-sharing program.

The plan fulfills President Joe Biden's commitment to share 80 million U.S.-made vaccines with countries around the world. The president sketched out his priorities for the first 25 million doses from that pledge earlier this month. read more

The United States has come under pressure to share more of its vaccine supply with countries that are still struggling with the deadly virus and its variants. With more and more Americans getting the shots, the White House increasingly has turned its attention to getting vaccine out internationally. (Graphic on global vaccinations)

Of the 55 million remaining doses, some 41 million will be shared through COVAX, the White House said, with approximately 14 million going to Latin America and the Caribbean, some 16 million to Asia, and roughly 10 million to Africa.

The other 25%, or roughly 14 million doses, will be shared with "regional priorities," including Colombia, Argentina, Iraq, Ukraine, the West Bank and Gaza.

White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the United States had faced logistical issues getting vaccine to other nations.

"We have plenty of doses to share with the world, but this is a Herculean logistical challenge," she told reporters, noting safety and regulatory information had to be shared, proper storage temperatures for the vaccines had to be ensured, and language barriers at times had to be overcome.

"We have announced today where these doses are going. We will continue to announce as they land on the ground and as they are being shipped, and we're looking forward to doing that as quickly as possible," she said.

The 55 million doses will be taken from the U.S. supply of Pfizer Inc (PFE.N), Moderna Inc (MRNA.O), and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) shots, though if AstraZeneca's (AZN.L) vaccine gets a green light from the Food and Drug Administration, it would likely be added to the mix as well.

The White House said it wanted the doses to be prioritized for health care workers and those who are most at risk.

International partners are eager to get U.S. help. Biden has announced the United States will buy 500 million doses of Pfizer's vaccine and donate them to the world's poorest countries. read more

The White House's breakdown of its allocation of the 55 million vaccine doses is below.

THROUGH COVAX:

* Latin America and the Caribbean (approximately 14 million shots): Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Paraguay, Bolivia, Uruguay, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Haiti, and other Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries, Dominican Republic, Panama, and Costa Rica

* Asia (approximately 16 million shots): India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Maldives, Bhutan, Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Laos, Papua New Guinea, Taiwan, Cambodia, and the Pacific Islands.

* Africa (approximately 10 million shots): Recipient countries will be selected in coordination with the African Union.

THROUGH DIRECT SHARING: Colombia, Argentina, Haiti, other CARICOM countries, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Panama, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Cabo Verde, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Yemen, Tunisia, Oman, West Bank and Gaza, Ukraine, Kosovo, Georgia, Moldova, and Bosnia.

 

Retrieved from: https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/white-house-lays-out-plan-share-remaining-55-mln-us-covid-19-shots-globally-2021-06-21/

 

 

 

Colombia's COVID-19 deaths pass 100,000 in unrelenting third wave

Reuters

 

Medical staff talk to each other before entering the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for patients suffering from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at the El Tunal hospital in Bogota, Colombia June 12, 2020. Picture taken June 12, 2020. REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez/File Photo

 

BOGOTA, June 21 (Reuters) - Reported deaths from COVID-19 in Colombia passed 100,000 on Monday, the country's health ministry said, amid warnings of potential scarcity of treatment drugs and oxygen in hospitals during a long and brutal third peak of infections and deaths.

The country of 50 million people has reported more than 3.9 million cases of coronavirus infections, as well as 100,582 deaths.

Colombia has seen record numbers of coronavirus infections and deaths in recent weeks, with some medical officials warning certain medical supplies are running low.

Intensive care units (ICUs) in major cities are operating at near full capacity, according to information published by local health authorities in capital Bogota, as well as in Medellin and Cali, Colombia's second-largest and third-largest cities respectively.

"We're starting to see scarcity of certain resources everywhere," Cesar Enciso, medical coordinator for intensive care at the University Children's Hospital of San Jose in Bogota, told Reuters, citing a lack of sedatives and oxygen supplies.

"If the situation continues with this number of cases every day, resources are going to run out," he added.

The government has blamed weeks of anti-government protests for extending the third peak, which began after Easter. The country hit a record of 30,000 daily reported cases earlier this month, while Monday saw a new high of 648 daily deaths.

"Crowds are the main breeding ground for this disease to spread exponentially," President Ivan Duque said in a ceremony to mark Colombia's COVID-19 deaths.

Despite the peak, the South American country has lifted many of the restrictions it imposed in March last year to control coronavirus, in a bid to bolster the economy and amid widespread frustration with social distancing measures.

Colombia has administered over 14.9 million vaccine doses, of which more than 4.7 million are second doses. The country hopes to vaccinate some 35 million people - 70% of its population - this year.

Reporting by Camilo Cohecha Additional reporting by Oliver Griffin; Editing by Aurora Ellis

 

Retrieved from: https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/colombias-covid-19-deaths-pass-100000-unrelenting-third-wave-2021-06-21/

 

 

 

Mandatory mask rules extended in Sydney as COVID-19 cluster grows

Renju Jose

 

SYDNEY, June 22 (Reuters) - Australia’s most populous state, New South Wales (NSW), on Tuesday reported its biggest rise in new locally acquired COVID-19 cases in nearly a week, prompting authorities to extend a mask mandate in Sydney for a week.

Ten new locally acquired cases were reported in NSW on Tuesday, as officials fight to contain a latest cluster of the highly infectious Delta virus variant. Eight of the 10 are household contacts of previous cases in isolation.

"There is no doubt there is an increased level of concern, given the additional numbers of cases, but ... given how absolutely contagious the virus is, we expected household contacts already in isolation were likely to get the virus," NSW state Premier Gladys Berejiklian told reporters in Sydney.

Masks will be mandatory indoors in Sydney, Australia's largest city, for another week from Thursday morning although officials stopped short of announcing further curbs as the cluster increased to 21 infections in six days.

"At this stage, we feel that the response we are having is proportionate to the risk," Berejiklian said, although she expects more cases among household contacts.

The Delta variant, which has been classified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as among the four COVID-19 variants of concern, most likely caused the latest devastating outbreak in India.

Tuesday's data includes seven cases recorded after the 8 p.m. cut-off deadline, which will be included in Wednesday's numbers.

Authorities say the latest outbreak, the first in the state in more than a month, is linked to a driver who transports overseas airline crew members and then later visited several venues, including a shopping centre in Bondi, a popular tourist hotspot.

Neighbouring Victoria, which emerged from a strict COVID-19 lockdown more than a week ago, reported no local cases on Tuesday, prompting New Zealand to restart its quarantine-free travel with the state from Tuesday night.

Victoria's low number of cases during the last week has also encouraged the states of South Australia, Tasmania, Queensland and the Northern Territory to begin easing border restrictions.

Strict border controls, swift tracing systems, tough social distancing rules and high community compliance have kept Australia's COVID-19 numbers relatively low, with just over 30,350 cases and 910 deaths.

Australia closed its borders to all but citizens and permanent residents in March 2020 and overseas travellers must undergo two weeks of mandatory hotel quarantine on their return.

Australian team’s medical director for the Tokyo Olympics David Hughes on Tuesday said the nearly 1,000 fully vaccinated Australian athletes and officials on their return home could lead to easier travel for inoculated residents.

 

Retrieved from: https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/australias-new-south-wales-logs-biggest-rise-covid-19-cases-week-2021-06-22/

 

 

 

Taiwan has reported 78 new cases today, and six deaths. Cases are still mostly in New Taipei (43) and Taipei (25).

 

Authorities have said a new wave of vaccinations will start on 1 July – they have been going through the priority categories by opening them up for set time periods before moving on to the next, regardless of how many people come forward from that category.

Those aged 65 to 74 will soon be eligible to receive a vaccine, and then workers in close contact with others, like teachers, army personnel, market workers, transport, nursing, childcare, and frontline media. Currently around 7% of people in Taiwan have received at least one dose. Taiwan has received about 5m doses so far, for 23.5 million people.

The central epidemic command centre said it is categorising regions based on risk and consulting with local governments to ensure consistent policies - some local governments have been going it alone when they felt the central authorities weren’t going far enough.

Officials told the press conference this afternoon they are inclined to keep the whole island on the same level of measures, but will announce any change tomorrow. Currently Taiwan is at a level 3 alert, which restricts gatherings, closes most venues, and restricts restaurants to takeaway only.

 

 

 

Italy to lift outdoor face mask requirement from 28 June

 

Italy will lift a requirement that people wear face masks outdoors from 28 June, the government said late last night, as cases and hospitalisations decline.

Mandatory masks were imposed in October last year, when the country was entering a second wave of the epidemic and authorities were struggling to curb surging infections.

Mario Draghi’s government has been steadily lifting restrictions since April, opening activities such as restaurants, bars, cinemas and gyms and allowing freedom of movement around the country.

The wearing of masks was one of the last rules to remain in place, and it will still be required in indoor public areas.

The decision will be effective from next Monday when the whole nation is expected to be “a Covid white zone”, the lowest risk level in Italy’s four-tier colour-coded system to calibrate curbs in its 20 regions.

Nineteen of the regions are already white, the exception being the tiny northern area of Valle d’Aosta which is yellow, denoting the second-lowest risk level.

“From 28 June we will leave behind the need to wear masks outside in white zones,” health minister Roberto Speranza posted on Facebook after receiving advice from the government’s board of experts.

Italians should still carry a mask with them when they leave home and be ready to wear it outdoors if there is a crowd, reports Reuters.

 

 

 

Philippines president Duterte: ‘You choose, Covid vaccine or I will have you jailed’

 

Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte has threatened those who refused to take the coronavirus vaccine with jail. Photograph: Aaron Favila/AP

President Rodrigo Duterte has threatened to jail people who refuse to be vaccinated against the coronavirus as the Philippines battles one of Asia’s worst outbreaks, with a cumulative total of more than 1.3 million cases and 23,000 deaths.

“You choose, vaccine or I will have you jailed,” Duterte said in a televised address on Monday following reports of low turnouts at several vaccination sites in the capital Manila.

Duterte’s remarks contradict those of his health officials, who have said that while people are being urged to receive the Covid-19 vaccine, it was voluntary.

“Don’t get me wrong, there is a crisis in this country,” Duterte said. “I’m just exasperated by Filipinos not heeding the government.”

As of Sunday, Philippine authorities had fully vaccinated 2.1 million people, making slow progress towards the government’s target of up to 70 million of the country’s 110 million people.

Duterte, who has been criticised for his tough approach to containing the virus, also stood by his decision not to let schools reopen.

In the same address, he took a swipe at the international criminal court (ICC), after an ICC prosecutor had sought permission from the court for a full inquiry into the drug war killings in the Philippines.

Duterte, who in March 2018 cancelled the Philippines’ membership of the ICC’s founding treaty, repeated he would not cooperate with the inquiry, describing the ICC as “bullshit”.

“Why would I defend or face an accusation before white people. You must be crazy,” Duterte said, who after winning the presidency in 2016 unleashed an anti-narcotics campaign that has killed thousands.

Human rights groups say authorities have summarily executed drug suspects, but Duterte maintained those who were killed violently resisted arrest.

Sought for comment, ICC court spokesperson Fadi El Abdallah said: “The court is an independent judicial institution, and does not comment on political statements.”

 

Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/22/philippines-president-duterte-you-choose-covid-vaccine-or-i-will-have-you-jailed