Country,	Total	New	Total
Other	Cases	Cases	Deaths
World	224,001,493	607,021	4,620,028
USA	41,561,156	160,748	674,547
India	33,163,004	24,148	442,046
Brazil	20,958,899	30,891	585,205
UK	7,132,072	38,013	133,841
Russia	7,084,284	18,380	190,376
France	6,877,825	10,969	115,362
Turkey	6,590,414	23,846	59,170
Iran	5,237,799	26,821	112,935
Argentina	5,218,993	3,661	113,099
Colombia	4,925,000	1,803	125,480
Spain	4,903,021	4,763	85,218
Italy	4,590,941	5,522	129,766
Indonesia	4,153,355	5,990	138,116
Germany	4,058,940	14,228	93,040
Mexico	3,465,171	15,876	265,420
Poland	2,892,113	511	75,409
South Africa	2,843,042	6,269	84,327
Ukraine	2,306,939	3,663	54,175
Philippines	2,161,892	22,820	34,733
Peru	2,158,493	957	198,621
Netherlands	1,963,947	2,362	18,058
Iraq	1,939,408	5,073	21,333
Malaysia	1,919,774	19,307	19,486
Czechia	1,682,054	376	30,413
Chile	1,642,646	500	37,159
Japan	1,603,112	12,398	16,525
Canada	1,533,489	4,189	27,134
Bangladesh	1,524,890	2,588	26,794
Thailand	1,338,550	16,031	13,731
Belgium	1,201,056	2,553	25,442
Pakistan	1,194,198	4,062	26,497
Israel	1,145,932	5,379	7,313
Sweden	1,136,535		14,661
Romania	1,113,381	2,226	34,871
Portugal	1,052,127	1,408	17,836
Morocco	896,913	3,451	13,370
Kazakhstan	828,224	4,106	10,076
Hungary	814,409	345	30,080
Jordan	805,214	888	10,518
Switzerland	805,157	3,114	11,010
Serbia	800,359	5,831	7,468
Nepal	774,587	1,058	10,903
UAE	726,797	772	2,057
Cuba	720,739	7,747	6,056
Austria	703,572	2,356	10,822
Tunisia	680,074	1,711	24,041
Lebanon	611,097	900	8,157
Greece	609,519	2,163	14,060
Vietnam	576,096	12,420	14,470
Georgia	572,948	2,455	8,035
Saudi Arabia	545,727	103	8,604
Ecuador	504,781		32,391
Guatemala	500,840	3,150	12,544
Belarus	497,420	1,842	3,882
Bolivia	493,914	396	18,541
Costa Rica	486,959	2,975	5,721
Sri Lanka	477,636	2,856	10,864
Bulgaria	468,300	1,629	19,387
Panama	461,230	401	7,112
Paraguay	459,133	71	16,028
Azerbaijan	450,282		5,959
Myanmar	425,414	2310	16,265
Kuwait	410,631	69	2,428
Slovakia	397,382	478	12,556
Uruguay	386,258	176	6,037
Croatia	380,904	941	8,405
Palestine	364,364	2,483	3,780
Ireland	362,228	1,271	5,155
Dominican Republic	352,441	240	4,014
Denmark	350,996	591	2,604
Honduras	348,894	1383	9,224
Venezuela	344,297	1,119	4,167
Libya	321,370	1,802	4,397
Ethiopia	320,453	1,352	4,857
Lithuania	305,605	925	4,641
Oman	302,924	57	4,084
Egypt	291,585	413	16,836
Slovenia	273,529	1,016	4,462
Bahrain	273,454	88	1,388
Moldova	273,056	731	6,478
S. Korea	267,470	2,047	2,343
Mongolia	247,399	3,680	992
Armenia	246,997	587	4,968
Kenya	242,284	501	4,864
Qatar	234,236	143	604
Bosnia and Herzegovina	219,804	794	9,976
Zambia	207,560	118	3,623
Algeria	199,275	313	5,519
Nigeria	197,773	727	2,585
North Macedonia	181,875	255	6,184
Kyrgyzstan	176,883	104	2,563
Norway	173,348	1629	827
Botswana	163,665	1,479	2,325
Uzbekistan	162,421	653	1,137
Albania	154,316	998	2531
Afghanistan	153,962	122	7,164
Mozambique	148,727	175	1,891
Latvia	145,893	490	2,598
Estonia	145,345	467	1,307
Finland	132,172	486	1,039
Australia	68,041	1,723	1,066
Suriname	32,189	295	752

 

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

 

 

 

U.S. lawmaker urges mandatory COVID-19 vaccines, tests for air, train travel

By David Shepardson

 

A senior U.S. lawmaker wants Congress to mandate requiring COVID-19 vaccines or recent negative tests for all domestic air and train travelers.

Representative Don Beyer, a Democrat, introduced legislation to require proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test within 72 hours of travel for domestic airline and Amtrak rail trips. It would also require all airport or Amtrak employees to be vaccinated or be subject to weekly COVID testing.

Beyer cited United Airlines (UAL.O) decision in August to require employees to get COVID-19 tests or face termination.

"Americans want a return to normal that includes traveling for business or pleasure, and Congress can help make people comfortable traveling again by putting basic requirements in place that prevent the spread of COVID," Beyer said in a statement.

Canada said in August it would require all air, train and cruise-ship travelers to be vaccinated. Other countries are requiring vaccine passports for travel and other events.

The White House and a group representing major airlines did not immediately comment.

Reuters reported in August the Biden administration was developing a plan to require nearly all foreign visitors to the United States to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as part of measures towards eventually lifting travel restrictions that bar much of the world from entering the United States.

 

Retrieved from:  https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-lawmaker-urges-mandatory-covid-19-vaccines-tests-air-train-travel-2021-09-09/

 

 

 

Los Angeles school officials order vaccines for students 12 and up

By Dan Whitcomb and Jonathan Allen

 

A person receives a COVID-19 vaccine at Floyd's Family Pharmacy as cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) surge in Ponchatoula, Louisiana, U.S., August 5, 2021. REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare

Los Angeles County school officials ordered COVID-19 vaccinations for all students aged 12 and over on Thursday, the largest school district in the United States to take that dramatic step.

School board members voted unanimously to mandate the shots in the coming weeks despite angry objections from several parents who said they were worried about the safety of vaccines and had the right to make the decision for their children.

"I do not see this as your choice or my choice," board member Jackie Goldberg said. "I see this as a community necessity. That means people have to do things they're not comfortable with, they're not sure of, that may even contain some risk."

The board applauded after the vote. Board member Scott Schmerelson was forced to abstain because he owns stock in vaccine-maker Pfizer (PFE.N). He told the board afterward that he supported their decision.

The Los Angeles school district vaccine policy applies to all of the district's more than 600,000 students who are 12 or older, unless they can establish a medical or religious exemption. The board previously mandated that all employees be inoculated.

The mandate does not apply to a small minority of students in the nation's second-largest school district who have opted to remain home.

Roughly 73% of the district's students are Latino, and board members said they would make efforts to convince immigrant parents of the safety of the vaccine, saying that many distrusted the government.

'CAN WE SUE?'

All three parents who spoke at the meeting in opposition to forced vaccinations spoke in Spanish and said they should be the ones making such critical decisions about their children's health.

"Can we sue the district if our child has secondary side effects that are negative?" a parent who identified himself as Juan asked the board. None of the members responded directly to him.

COVID-19 vaccines and mask orders in schools have become the subject of fierce debate in the United States some 18 months into the coronavirus pandemic as political leaders struggle to contain a surge driven by the more transmissible Delta variant.

President Joe Biden, who campaigned on a pledge to bring the virus under control, called for more vaccine mandates, including for school employees, in a speech on Thursday.

At least one much smaller school district in the Los Angeles suburb of Culver City has already required vaccines for students.

The Delta variant "changed the game" for school districts that devised mitigation strategies around a previous versions of the virus, said Jorge Caballero, a doctor based in San Francisco who co-founded a group called Coders Against COVID.

"We walked into this school year feeling like we have more, more protection than we actually did," Caballero said.

In New York City, the nation's largest school district, staff but not students at public schools are required to be inoculated.

"We just don't think that's the right thing to do," Mayor Bill de Blasio told reporters on Thursday. "If there's a family that's not yet ready, I don't want that family kept out of school."

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said in May that children aged 12 or older could be given the Pfizer and BioNTech (22UAy.DE) vaccine. The agency has not granted authorization for children younger than 12.

 

Retrieved from:  https://www.reuters.com/world/us/los-angeles-expected-pass-covid-19-vaccine-mandate-school-students-2021-09-09/

 

 

 

Australia's daily COVID-19 cases near 2,000 as Delta gains ground

By Renju Jose

 

Australia's COVID-19 daily cases topped 1,900 for the first time in the pandemic on Friday as an outbreak fuelled by the highly infectious Delta variant continued to gain ground in locked-down Sydney and Melbourne, its largest cities.

Australia is in the grip of a third wave of infections with the Delta outbreak forcing officials to ditch their COVID-zero strategy in favour of suppressing the virus.

They now aim to begin easing tough restrictions after reaching a higher proportion of the population with double-dose vaccinations.

New South Wales (NSW), the epicentre of the country's worst outbreak, reported 1,542 new daily local cases, topping the previous high of 1,533 hit last week. Nine new deaths were registered.

"So far this trajectory is what has been predicted," NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian told a media briefing in Sydney, the state capital, where cases are expected to hit a peak in the next week.

Berejiklian said the daily COVID-19 media briefing would be scrapped from Monday and updates would be detailed in an online video, an approach previously used when case numbers were low.

Rising cases in Sydney have increased the load for ambulance staff, with the number of COVID-19 patients transported doubling in the last two weeks to total almost 6,000, officials said. Some 1,156 people are hospitalised in the state, with 207 in intensive care, 89 of whom require ventilation.

Despite cases lingering near record levels, NSW authorities on Thursday said Sydney's businesses could reopen once 70% of the state's adult population is fully vaccinated, a target due to be reached around the middle of October. So far, 76% of people above 16 in the state have had received at least one dose, while 44% have been fully vaccinated.

Victoria state logged 334 new cases, its biggest rise for this year, and one death. Some restrictions in the capital Melbourne will be eased when 70% of the adult population has received at least one vaccine dose, expected around Sept. 23.

A four-stage national reopening plan unveiled by the federal government in July aims to relax several tough curbs once the country reaches a 70-80% immunisation target from 40% now. However, some virus-free states have flagged they may delay easing curbs on inter-state travel and other restrictions.

Australia's total infection numbers stand at around 70,000 cases, including 1,076 deaths. Higher vaccinations have kept the death rate at 0.41% in the Delta outbreak, data shows, below previous outbreaks.

 

Retrieved from:  https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/covid-19-cases-rise-australias-victoria-regions-exit-lockdown-2021-09-10/

 

 

 

Italy adds more job groups to requirement for COVID vaccination

 

People have their Green Pass (health pass) checked before entering the Vatican Museums as Italy brings in tougher restrictions where where a proof of immunity will be required to access an array of services and leisure activities in Rome, Italy, August 6, 2021. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane

 

The Italian government ruled on Thursday that catering and cleaning staff in schools and nursing homes can only work if they have proof of COVID-19 immunity, extending mandatory vaccination and the use of the so-called "Green Pass" document.

The health pass was already required for teachers in Italy, while mandatory vaccination for health workers was introduced in March.

The government said on Thursday that under the new rules people working in schools in any capacity must have the health document, and that all nursing home staff will have to be vaccinated.

The Green Pass -- a digital or paper certificate showing someone has received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, tested negative or has recently recovered from the virus -- was originally conceived to facilitate travel among EU states.

However, Italy was among a group of countries that also made it an internal requirement for people to access a range of cultural and leisure venues such as museums, gyms and indoor dining in restaurants.

From Sept. 1 it became necessary for travel on inter-city transport Prime Minister Mario Draghi said it would be extended further, despite opposition from groups who say it tramples on freedoms and is a back-door way of making vaccination mandatory.

"We will expand the Green Pass requirement in coming weeks," Health Minister Roberto Speranza said on Thursday after the cabinet decreed the latest, limited extensions.

The issue has caused tensions in Draghi's national unity coalition.

Several government officials have said the pass should become a requirement for all public sector workers and even private firms, but the right-wing League opposes this.

This week the League voted with a hard-right opposition party in parliament against the Green Pass requirement in restaurants.

Italy has the second-highest COVID-19 death toll in Europe after Britain and the eighth-highest in the world.

Around 72% of Italy's 60-million-strong population have had at least one COVID shot.

 

Retrieved from:  https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/italy-adds-more-job-groups-requirement-covid-vaccination-2021-09-09/

 

 

 

Thailand hopes to welcome tourists to Bangkok, top cities next month

By Panarat Thepgumpanat and Chayut Setboonsarng

 

A man walks at the empty Karon beach on Phuket Island, Thailand in April 1, 2021. Picture taken April 1, 2021 with a drone. REUTERS/Jorge Silva/File Photo

 

Thailand plans to reopen Bangkok and other key destinations to foreign tourists next month, officials said on Thursday, aiming to revive its battered travel industry after indications the number of new coronavirus infections may have peaked.

Bangkok, Hua Hin, Pattaya and Chiang Mai will be added to a programme in which fully vaccinated visitors who commit to a series of tests can enter, under certain criteria, said government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchan.

The scheme is underway on the islands of Samui and Phuket, where about 70% of the local population were required to be fully inoculated.

The plan to allow quarantine-free entry initially announced in June was questioned after new daily infections soared in August to as high as 23,000, with record fatalities on many days.

On Thursday Thailand reported 16,031 new infections, among more than 1.3 million overall, the majority since April. It has recorded 13,731 deaths.

Bangkok's reopening would be partial, however, starting with areas popular with visitors, Tourism Authority of Thailand governor Yuthasak Supasorn told Reuters, without elaborating.

Yuthasak is targeting 1 million visitors to Thailand this year. That compares to nearly 40 million in 2019.

About 88,000 have been recorded so far this year, a third of which went to Phuket, which opened in July.

Vaccinations could be an obstacle to an October reopening, however, with only 34% of Bangkok residents fully vaccinated so far, and just 15% of people nationwide given the required two doses.

It also comes as some countries place restrictions like quarantine on arrivals from Thailand, in part due to that low rate, including Britain, a key market.

Local hotel operators, however, hope slowing infections and more vaccinations will help.

"We hope that this particular situation resolves itself in time for this critical booking period," said Frederic Varnier, who manages Minor International's (MINT.BK) Anantara resorts in Phuket.

 

Retrieved from:  https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/thailand-hopes-welcome-tourists-bangkok-top-cities-next-month-2021-09-09/

 

 

 

Covid has disrupted learning for more than 400 million children in South Asia, the U.N. says.

By Mujib Mashal

 

A UNICEF report warned that the pandemic had forced a premature transition to remote learning in a region where many lack reliable internet access.

The first day of partial reopening of schools in Noida, a suburb of New Delhi, last week.Credit...Altaf Qadri/Associated Press

 

The pandemic is causing lasting damage to the education of children across South Asia, more than 400 million of whom are still facing school closures and limited access to remote learning, the United Nations said on Thursday.

UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund, called on governments to “prioritize the safe reopening of all schools” before education inequality widened further.

“School closures in South Asia have forced hundreds of millions of children and their teachers to transition to remote learning in a region with low connectivity and device affordability,” said George Laryea-Adjei, UNICEF’s regional director for South Asia.

“Even when a family has access to technology, children are not always able to access it. As a result, children have suffered enormous setbacks in their learning journey.”

As the region has grappled with deadly waves of the virus, most schools have remained shut for a second year or only partially reopened. In theory, much of the education shifted to remote learning, but in a region with one of the lowest household rates of internet connectivity, a large number have been deprived altogether. Sri Lanka and the Maldives are the only countries in the region where at least half of households have internet access.

Efforts to bridge the access divide, using platforms such as TV or radio or printed material to reach students, had only partially helped.

UNICEF said its assessments showed that across six states in India, 80 percent of children ages 14 to 18 had reported “lower levels of learning” when studying remotely than when they were physically in school. That number was 69 percent for primary school students in Sri Lanka, it said. The impact of school closures was greater on girls and on children from poorer communities and those with disabilities, the agency said.

In India, where schools in some states remain closed and those in others have partially reopened only recently, nearly half of the students between ages 6 and 13 reported “not using any type of remote learning during school closures,” UNICEF said. In Pakistan, a quarter of the younger children couldn’t use any devices to support remote learning. Earlier assessments by UNICEF had shown that in Nepal only three out of 10 children had access to any device for remote learning.

And in many cases, UNICEF officials said, the access did not translate to usage — either because one device was shared by many in the family, because textbooks suited for home learning and other necessary materials weren’t supplied, or because some communities never learned what resources were available. Many students did not have daily contact with teachers, especially those enrolled in public schools, the data showed.

 

Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/09/world/asia/south-asia-education-covid.html

 

 

 

Summary

 

Hello and welcome to today’s live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.

US president Joe Biden announced new vaccination mandates on Thursday for 100 million workers, about two-thirds of the American labour force.

Meanwhile students age 12 and older in the Los Angeles school system must be vaccinated before they can return to classrooms next year under one of the toughest anti-Covid mandates enacted in the nation.

More on these stories shortly. In the meantime, here are the other key recent developments:

· More than 8,000 people in the UK were in hospital with Covid on Wednesday – the highest figure for nearly six months – leading to fears of a resurgence in the virus’ ability to cause serious illness and death among the population.

· People in Scotland will need proof they have been fully vaccinated in order to attend nightclubs and mass events in Scotland from 1 October. The mandatory vaccine passport plan was formally approved by Holyrood on Thursday after the SNP and Greens voted in favour.

· Joe Biden, seeking to restore public confidence in his handling of the pandemic, ordered on Thursday that nearly all US federal government workers must get vaccinated. Reports of the requirement emerged ahead of a major speech by the president outlining a six-point plan to address the latest dramatic surge in Covid cases and the stalling rate of vaccinations.

· Expert warned attempts to revive German vaccine campaign not enough to stop fourth wave. The German government’s plan to reboot the country’s flagging vaccine campaign with a celebrity-backed burst of advertising on social media, television and billboards, will not be sufficient to stop the dramatic developments of a fourth wave, Frank Ulrich Montgomery, the head of the World Medical Association, has said.

· The UK’s medicines regulator has granted emergency approval for the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines to be used as third, “booster” shots to tackle potentially waning immunity, adding pressure on the government’s vaccines watchdog to approve a new vaccine programme.

 

Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2021/sep/10/coronavirus-live-news-bidens-vaccine-mandate-for-100-million-workers-los-angeles-to-require-students-to-be-vaccinated