Country, Other	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths
World	222,727,917	+522,748	4,598,496
USA	41,206,672	+107,060	669,022
India	33,095,450	+38,130	441,443
Brazil	20,913,578	+13,645	584,208
UK	7,056,106	+37,489	133,483
Russia	7,047,880	+17,425	188,785
France	6,854,028	+14,534	115,159
Turkey	6,542,654	+23,638	58,651
Argentina	5,211,801	+4,106	112,851
Iran	5,184,124	+27,138	111,892
Colombia	4,921,410	+1,637	125,378
Spain	4,892,640	+5,246	85,066
Italy	4,579,502	+4,720	129,638
Indonesia	4,140,634	+7,201	137,156
Germany	4,029,849	+9,276	92,949
Mexico	3,433,511	+5,127	263,470
Poland	2,891,071	+406	75,392
South Africa	2,829,435	+5,372	83,899
Ukraine	2,300,504	+2,197	54,054
Peru	2,156,451	+943	198,568
Philippines	2,121,308	+18,012	34,498
Netherlands	1,958,804	+2,456	18,048
Iraq	1,928,930	+5,988	21,220
Malaysia	1,880,734	+18,547	18,802
Czechia	1,681,093	+392	30,408
Chile	1,641,791	+265	37,115
Japan	1,580,517	+8,234	16,387
Canada	1,525,646	+3,307	27,067
Bangladesh	1,519,805	+2,639	26,684
Thailand	1,308,343	+13,821	13,283
Belgium	1,196,656	+1,168	25,421
Pakistan	1,186,234	+3,316	26,330
Romania	1,109,076	+2,033	34,762
Portugal	1,048,941	+1,231	17,816
Morocco	889,532	+3,524	13,224
Kazakhstan	820,479	+3,583	9,915
Hungary	813,818	+130	30,074
Jordan	803,351	+1,002	10,491
Serbia	788,895	+5,069	7,421
Nepal	772,182	+1,423	10,879
UAE	725,192	+952	2,050
Cuba	704,675	+7,771	5,881
Austria	698,948	+1,438	10,812
Tunisia	675,771	+580	23,901
Lebanon	609,189	+1,148	8,129
Greece	605,158	+2,807	13,971
Georgia	567,922	+1,965	7,917
Vietnam	550,996	+14,208	13,701
Saudi Arabia	545,505	+138	8,591
Belarus	493,818	+1,419	3,859
Bolivia	493,115	+435	18,514
Guatemala	492,570	+4,032	12,388
Costa Rica	481,100	+2,956	5,673
Sri Lanka	471,863	+5,914	10,504
Bulgaria	464,715	+2,005	19,270
Panama	460,499	+426	7,099
Paraguay	458,977	+55	15,888
Azerbaijan	447,725	+2,447	5,920
Myanmar	420,402	+2,431	16,082
Kuwait	410,496	+83	2,426
Slovakia	396,487	+306	12,552
Uruguay	385,926	+146	6,037
Croatia	378,726	+704	8,385
Ireland	359,420	+1,465	5,112
Palestine	359,236	+2,762	3,755
Dominican Republic	352,009	+115	4,013
Denmark	349,891	+451	2,594
Honduras	346,134	+612	9,081
Venezuela	342,148	+834	4,133
Libya	318,069	+1,272	4,363
Ethiopia	317,572	+1,398	4,804
Lithuania	303,746	+759	4,625
Oman	302,815	+67	4,081
Egypt	290,773	+378	16,811
Bahrain	273,252	+139	1,388
Moldova	271,535	+850	6,455
Slovenia	271,418	+877	4,458
S. Korea	263,374	+1,596	2,330
Armenia	245,765	+501	4,939
Kenya	241,134	+704	4,800
Mongolia	240,042	+3,963	976
Qatar	233,928	+172	604
Zambia	207,294	+127	3,620
Algeria	198,645	+332	5,471
Nigeria	196,487	+597	2,573
North Macedonia	180,919	+676	6,129
Kyrgyzstan	176,682	+100	2,557
Norway	170,173	+1,704	823
Uzbekistan	161,108	+597	1,125
Cyprus	115,475	+206	518
Suriname	31,392	+380	743
Aruba	14,913	+52	151

 

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

 

 

 

Biden to outline plan to curb coronavirus Delta variant as cases grow

By Steve Holland and Jeff Mason, Nandita Bose

 

U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the August Jobs Report at the White House in Washington, U.S., September 3, 2021. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

 

President Joe Biden on Thursday will present a six-pronged strategy intended to fight the spread of the highly contagious coronavirus Delta variant and increase U.S. COVID-19 vaccinations, the White House said on Tuesday.

The United States, which leads the world in COVID-19 cases and deaths, is struggling to stem a wave of infections driven by the variant even as officials try to persuade Americans who have resisted vaccination to get the shots. Rising caseloads have raised concerns as children head back to school, while also rattling investors and upending company return-to-office plans.

White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters traveling with Biden aboard Air Force One that he will lay out the strategy "working across the public and private sectors to help continue to get the pandemic under control."

Asked about possible new mandates, Psaki said the White House would offer more details later about the plan and acknowledged that the federal government cannot broadly mandate that Americans get vaccinated.

"We need to continue to take more steps to make sure school districts are prepared and make sure communities across the country are prepared," Psaki added.

A White House official familiar with the plan said it would touch on mandates, testing, and schools. "There is a path out," the official said, noting a sense of hopelessness by some in the country about the pandemic.

The official added the private sector could do more on the issue and that Biden would take on vaccine hesitancy as well.

On Wednesday, Biden is scheduled to meet with White House COVID-19 advisers.

The United States has recorded roughly 650,000 COVID-19 deaths and last week exceeded 40 million cases. Reuters data shows that more than 20,800 people have died in the United States from COVID-19 in the past two weeks, up about 67% from the prior two-week period.

Hospitalizations have grown, with seven U.S. states - Alaska, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Kentucky, Tennessee and Washington - reporting records this month.

Biden previously announced plans to offer booster shots more widely, pending regulatory approval. His chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci on Tuesday said officials are still aiming to do so starting the week of Sept. 20.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisers are scheduled to meet on Sept. 17 to consider a possible third shot of Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) and BioNTech SE's (22UAy.DE) two-dose vaccine, the only COVID-19 vaccine yet to receive full approval from the agency.

Fauci told CNN Pfizer's third shot appears likely to be rolled out first, with Moderna Inc's (MRNA.O) version "close behind." Moderna has sought full FDA approval of its two-dose vaccine.

Booster doses are already approved by U.S. regulators for people with compromised immune systems.

U.S. officials have said they expect vaccines to be approved for children younger than 12 this winter. With U.S. students already starting a new school year, battles over public health efforts, including mandates that pupils wear masks erupted in many places across the country.

In the private sector, increasing numbers of U.S. employers have imposed vaccine mandates for employees. The Biden administration has hailed efforts by businesses, universities and others to bolster vaccinations.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 62.3% of Americans have received at least one vaccine dose and 53% - 176 million people - are fully vaccinated. Counting the population eligible for vaccines - people 12 and older - 72.9% have received at least one dose and 62% are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.

 

Retrieved from: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/biden-discuss-plan-curb-delta-variant-thursday-official-2021-09-07/

 

 

 

75% of U.S. adults have taken at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine - CDC

 

A syringe is filled with a dose of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine at a pop-up community vaccination center at the Gateway World Christian Center in Valley Stream, New York, U.S., February 23, 2021. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

 

5% of adults in the United States have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine as of Tuesday morning, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

The agency said 193,798,688 of adults have had at least one shot, while 165,947,460 people, or 64.3% of the adult population, are fully vaccinated.

The United States has administered 375,995,378 doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the country as of Tuesday morning, and distributed 450,122,155 doses.

Those figures are up from the 374,488,924 vaccine doses the CDC said had gone into arms by Sept. 4.

The CDC tally includes two-dose vaccines from Moderna (MRNA.O) and Pfizer/BioNTech (PFE.N), as well as Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ.N) one-shot vaccine.

More than 1.4 million people received an additional dose of either Pfizer or Moderna's vaccine since Aug. 13, when the U.S. authorized a third dose of the vaccines for people with compromised immune systems who are likely to have weaker protection from the two-dose regimens.

 

Retrieved from: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/75-us-adults-have-taken-least-one-dose-covid-19-vaccine-cdc-2021-09-07/

 

 

 

Britain reports 209 daily deaths from COVID, highest since March

 

Paramedics transfer a patient outside the Royal London Hospital , amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in London, Britain, January 23, 2021. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls

 

Britain on Tuesday reported 209 deaths within 28 days of a positive COVID-19 test on Tuesday, the highest daily total since March 9, government statistics showed.

Cases have been rising steadily since the start of August although death totals are impacted by irregular reporting patterns from hospitals over the weekend. Only 45 deaths were reported on Monday.

There were 37,489 new cases reported on Tuesday, compared to 41,192 reported on Monday.

 

Retrieved from: https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/britain-reports-209-daily-deaths-covid-highest-since-march-2021-09-07/

 

 

 

Spain, Denmark: European Union countries tightening COVID-19 restrictions for US tourists

By Morgan Hines Bailey Schulz

 

The list of restrictions for people traveling from the United States to Europe is growing as European Union members implement new rules amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

EU countries including Spain, Denmark, Italy and Norway are tightening restrictions for tourists traveling from the U.S. in the wake of the European Union's removal of the country from its safe travel list and as COVID cases continue to rise stateside.

The EU's August move signaled to member states that they should no longer ease restrictions on nonessential travel for people from the U.S. amid the latest surge in COVID-19 cases. The U.S. was added initially to the EU's safe travel list in June.

Spain requiring proof of vaccination

Spain began requiring proof of vaccination from travelers coming from the U.S. starting Monday. U.S. citizens can enter Spain for non-essential tourism by showing proof of vaccine, according to the U.S. Embassy and Consulate in Spain and Andorra.

"Additionally, U.S. citizens traveling from the United States to Spain must present upon arrival in Spain a QR code generated through the Spain Travel Health portal, obtained through the website or by downloading the 'SpTH app' in Google Play Store or iTunes App Store for each traveler, regardless of their age," the Embassy said on its website.

The rule applies to all coming from the U.S., even if they stopped in a third-party country before entering Spain.

Denmark bans unvaccinated tourists from the U.S.

Denmark is banning unvaccinated tourists from the U.S. The change came after the country moved the U.S. to its "orange" travel advisory category on Saturday. Previously, U.S. tourists could enter Denmark by showing a negative coronavirus test or proof of recovery. 

Some unvaccinated people from the U.S. can still enter Denmark with proof of a negative COVID-19 test but will need to have "a worthy purpose" such as work, school or legal matters, according to a joint website of the Danish authorities. Unvaccinated travelers permitted to enter will be required to quarantine.

Entry requirements do not change for fully vaccinated U.S. travelers, who are still exempt from testing and quarantine requirements. 

Bulgaria moved U.S. to its 'red zone'

Bulgaria announced earlier this month it would move the U.S. into its "red zone" and prohibit travel from the United States, regardless of vaccination status, as the country faces its fourth surge of COVID-19. 

Italy added testing, isolation requirements

Italy added testing and self-isolation requirements for American travelers at the end of August after the EU removed the U.S. from its safe travel list.

Though the most dramatic policy changes affect unvaccinated travelers – who are still welcome to enter the country, so long as they take the time to self-isolate – vaccinated travelers will have to jump through additional hoops of new testing requirements. Travelers can offer proof of vaccination through a paper card with a CDC logo.

Sweden barring travelers from the U.S.

Sweden announced Thursday that travelers from the U.S. would be barred from entering the country regardless of vaccination status starting Monday, amending its travel entry ban.

"Effective September 6, Sweden has removed the United States from its list of countries whose residents are exempted from its entry ban," the U.S. Embassy in Sweden said on its website. "U.S. citizens who reside in an exempted country are still exempt from the entry ban."

Norway not allowing U.S. citizens unless visiting family

Norway has also blocked U.S. citizens from entering with one exception: Family. 

"Unless the traveler qualifies for a travel exception such as close family members and persons in an established relationship with a resident of Norway," the U.S. Embassy in Norway said on its website.

Belgium requiring COVID vaccine proof

U.S. residents must be able to show proof of vaccination to enter Belgium on non-essential travel.

"U.S. residents may travel from the United States to Belgium without an Essential Travel Certificate if they can present a valid vaccination certificate," the U.S. Embassy in Belgium said on its website. "Travelers from the United States who cannot present a valid vaccination certificate will not be permitted to travel to Belgium for non-essential reasons unless they hold an EU citizenship or residency."

The Netherlands has added testing requirements

The Netherlands began considering the U.S. to be "a very high-risk area" Saturday, the U.S. Embassy and Consulate in the Netherlands said on its website.

Travelers are allowed to enter if they are fully vaccinated and comply with a mandatory quarantine (unless they "meet the criteria for an exemption"). 

"As of September 6, 2021, such travelers also must present a negative COVID-19 PCR test OR a negative antigen test performed within 24 hours prior to departure for entry to the Netherlands," the embassy continued. "Even travelers who are exempt from the testing and quarantine requirements must complete a quarantine declaration."

Germany added the U.S. to its 'high-risk' areas

Germany added the United States to its "high-risk" area list in mid-August, before the EU's announcement. 

Since Aug. 15, travelers who recently spent time in the U.S. need to be fully vaccinated or demonstrate an "important reason" for entering. Those who are unvaccinated or unable to show proof of recovery will need to self-isolate for 10 days upon arrival. The quarantine period can end on the fifth day with proof of a negative coronavirus test. 

 

Retrieved from: https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/2021/09/07/which-europe-eu-countries-restrictions-us-travelers/5752788001/

 

 

 

Hong Kong eases some of the world’s toughest travel restrictions

By John Yoon

 

Waiting for shuttle buses to mandatory government-designated quarantine hotels in the arrivals hall at the Hong Kong International Airport last month.Credit...Jerome Favre/EPA, via Shutterstock

Hong Kong said Tuesday it would allow fully vaccinated residents to return to the city from five additional countries and relaxed restrictions on travelers from mainland China, moving away from some of the world’s strictest measures against the coronavirus.

The loosening of rules is expected to remove a significant hurdle for travelers. It is also a step toward focusing more on preventing severe illness and death, rather than stopping the spread of the virus completely. Singapore and South Korea have also eased rules in the past few weeks and leaders there are now acknowledging that the virus may be a permanent part of life.

While Hong Kong’s previous approach had kept new cases at or near zero, business leaders and residents expressed concern that stringent quarantine restrictions would damage the economy. Travelers from countries deemed high risk by officials have been required to quarantine for three weeks, including those who have been vaccinated.

The eased restrictions come after 53 percent of the city’s population has been fully vaccinated and no new local cases have been reported in the last three weeks, according to the health authorities.

Hong Kong residents from India, Malaysia, Pakistan, Thailand and South Korea can now enter the city if they are fully vaccinated, according to a news release, but must still quarantine for two to three weeks.

The addition of those five nations raises the number of countries from which residents are granted entry to 49, in addition to mainland China and Macau.

Quarantine-free travel will restart on Wednesday for Hong Kong residents arriving from mainland China and Macau, said Carrie Lam, the chief executive, at a news conference on Tuesday morning.

Hong Kong will also allow as many as 2,000 nonresidents to enter from the mainland and Macau each day without needing to quarantine starting a week from Wednesday.

 

 

Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/09/07/world/covid-delta-variant-vaccine/hong-kong-eases-some-of-the-worlds-toughest-travel-restrictions

 

 

 

A Vietnamese court sentences a man to five years in prison for breaking coronavirus rules

By Jin Yu Young and Chau Doan

 

A man who returned to his home in southern Vietnam after traveling to Ho Chi Minh City for work received a five-year prison sentence on Tuesday for spreading the coronavirus, state news media reported.

The man, Le Van Tri, 28, was convicted of “spreading dangerous infectious diseases” to eight people, one of whom died from virus complications, the state-controlled newspaper Thanh Nien said. His sentence for failing to comply with Covid-19 quarantine restrictions also included a fine of 20 million dong, around $880.

Mr. Tri returned to his home in Ca Mau Province by motorcycle in July after a surge in virus cases in Vietnam, which had prompted a tightening of restrictions in Ho Chi Minh City, the country’s largest.

He failed to comply with instructions from health care personnel at travel checkpoints to self-quarantine for 21 days and report his travel history on forms, the Thanh Nien report said. Among the people he spread the virus to were members of his family, it said.

The verdict came after a one-day trial at the People’s Court of Ca Mau.

Vietnam long prided itself on containing the virus, but has struggled to maintain that success since a new wave of infections emerged in late spring. It had a daily average of 12,471 new cases as of Tuesday, according to data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University, and had fully vaccinated just under 3 percent of its population, according to the Our World in Data Project at Oxford University.

 

Retrieed from: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/07/world/vietnam-man-covid-rules-prison.html

 

 

 

Third person dies in Japan after taking contaminated Moderna coronavirus vaccine

By Gavin Blair 

 

A 49-year-old man died the day after taking his second shot of the vaccine, though authorities said a causal link has not been identified

A third man has died in Japan after taking Modern’s coronavirus vaccine, though no causal link has been found, said authorities. Photograph: Eugene Hoshiko/AP

 

A third man has died in Japan after receiving an injection from one of the batches of Moderna vaccines since recalled after contaminants were found in some of them, though authorities say no causal link has yet been found.

The 49-year-old man had his second shot on 11 August and died the following day. His only known health issue was an allergy to buckwheat, the health ministry said on Monday. As with the previous two deaths, the ministry said it had yet to establish if the latest fatality was linked to the vaccine.

 

The shot came from one of the three batches that were part of a recall of 1.63m doses of the Moderna vaccine on 26 August, but not from one of the batches found to have fragments of stainless steel in them. The three batches were manufactured in Spain under contract by Moderna.

The company said: “This is a tragic event, and the loss of life is something that we take very seriously. We offer our sincerest condolences to their loved ones.”

Last week Moderna issued a joint statement with local distributor Takeda Pharmaceutical, saying: “The rare presence of stainless steel particles in the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine does not pose an undue risk to patient safety and it does not adversely affect the benefit/risk profile of the product.”

Early last month, two men in their 30s with no underlying health conditions died within days of getting their second dose of the Moderna vaccine.

Contaminants believed to be pieces of rubber fragments from vial stoppers that entered the vaccine liquid due to incorrectly inserted needles were found in Okinawa, Gunma and Kanagawa in late August and early September. No problems were reported among those injected with the contaminated vaccines, which came from different batches to the previously recalled ones.

More than 500,000 people have been injected with vaccines from the three faulty batches, according to the minister in charge of the vaccine programme, Taro Kono.

Most of the vaccines used in Japan are made by Pfizer, though approximately 18 million doses of Moderna had been administered as of 26 August. Nearly 136m coronavirus doses in total have been given in Japan, where 48% of the population is full vaccinated and more than 59% have received at least one shot.

New infections in Tokyo dropped below 1,000 on Monday for the first time since mid-July.

 

Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/sep/07/third-person-dies-in-japan-after-taking-contaminated-moderna-coronavirus-vaccine

 

 

 

Summary

 

Here are the key developments from the last few hours:

· Four in five over-16s in Britain have been fully vaccinated according to the latest data, with 43,535,098 second doses delivered since vaccinations began. Meanwhile, Britain recorded 209 Covid deaths on Tuesday, the highest number since March.

· Italy’s health minister, Roberto Speranza, has announced that third doses of Covid-19 will be made available to groups of “clinically vulnerable” people this month. “We have the third dose in Italy,” Speranza said. “We’ll start in September with fragile patients like oncology and transplant patients.”

· A coalition of environmental groups have called for this year’s Cop26 climate summit to be postponed, arguing that too little has been done to ensure the safety of participants amid the continuing threat from Covid-19.

· Indonesia’s daily coronavirus positivity rate dropped below the World Health Organization’s (WHO) benchmark standard of 5%, an indicator the country’s second wave could be easing.

· The Philippines backtracked on easing lockdown in the capital Manila, deciding to delay a move to localised lockdowns for another week. The change was due to start on Wednesday.

· Sweden will remove virtually all coronavirus restrictions on 29 September with the pandemic under control and the vaccination rollout well-advanced, the government said.

· UK vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi has said he is not aware of any planning for an “October firebreak” if case numbers in England begin to rise following the return of schools but the government has refused to rule it out.

· Saffron Cordery, the deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents NHS trusts, said the NHS in the UK needs £10bn next year to make inroads into the backlog of care and keep up with the costs associated with Covid-19.

· Singapore recorded its highest number of cases in a year, with 328 reported on Tuesday. Worryingly for authorities, the number of cases they could not track back to a source has tripled compared with a week ago.

· Experts in India are calling for schools to reopen, warning that the benefits would outweigh the risk of infection spreading. According a recent survey, only 8% of children in rural areas regularly studied online.

· Health authorities in Chile have approved the use of the Sinovac vaccine for children six and older. Heriberto García, director of Chile’s Public Health Institute, said the institution approved the new measure by five votes in favour and one against.

· A study from China looking at mixing Covid-19 vaccines showed that receiving a booster shot of CanSino Biologics’ vaccine after one or two doses of Sinovac Biotech’s vaccine yielded a much stronger antibody response than using the Sinovac shot as a booster.

 

Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2021/sep/08/coronavirus-live-news-idaho-rationing-healthcare-pandemics-devastating-impact-on-hiv-tb-and-malaria