The Covid-19 pandemic has killed at least 4.26 million people and more than 200 million cases have been recorded worldwide since the end of 2019, according to a count made by Agence France-Presse from official reports . The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates, taking into account the excess mortality directly and indirectly linked to Covid-19, that the toll of the pandemic could be two to three times higher than that officially established.
Saudi Arabia to reopen borders to vaccinated pilgrims
Saudi Arabia will reopen the doors of the umra (small pilgrimage) pilgrimage to Mecca to pilgrims from abroad vaccinated against Covid-19, the official Saudi press agency reported on Sunday. Saudi authorities will begin accepting applications for entry into the country from Monday, the agency said. The borders were closed some eighteen months ago due to the pandemic.
Spain: extended quarantine for travelers from six countries
Spain again extended, on Saturday, until August 27, the ten-day quarantine imposed on passengers arriving from six countries in Africa and Latin America, particularly affected by the Covid-19. This is the second time that this measure has been extended. Passengers arriving in Spain from South Africa, Namibia, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil and Colombia must self-isolate for ten days.
India approves single injection Johnson & Johnson
India has approved the emergency use of the Johnson & Johnson single-injection coronavirus vaccine to speed up its vaccination campaign, fearing a new wave of infections.
Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said the move would bolster the fight against the pandemic in India, where at least 200,000 people died in a brutal wave, which lasted two months until mid-June . India, a country of 1.3 billion people, has so far injected 500 million doses of the vaccine, but just 8% of the population has received two injections.
In Thailand, hundreds of demonstrators denounce the slowness of the vaccine campaign
Thai police fired tear gas and rubber bullets on Saturday at several hundred people demonstrating in Bangkok to demand political reform and better management of the Covid-19 epidemic. “Murderous government”, “Resignation”, could we read on posters, while nearly 22,000 new cases of Covid-19 and 212 additional deaths were recorded, Saturday, in Thailand, unheard of in the country.
Protesters criticize the slowness of the vaccination campaign: less than 4.5 million of the 70 million Thais received two injections. They are asking the authorities to use messenger RNA vaccines, such as those from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, rather than the Chinese Sinovac, considered less effective against the Delta variant.
In Australia, the epidemic flares in New South Wales, end of confinement for Brisbane
Australia’s most populous state of New South Wales recorded an unprecedented number of Covid-19 cases on Saturday, with 319 cases and five deaths, and authorities in Melbourne are trying to trace outbreaks .
The island’s two largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, are still confined. The third, Brisbane, must come out of an eight-day confinement on Sunday, introduced to fight against a resurgence of the epidemic due to the Delta variant.
“It seems we were able to prevent a Delta outbreak in just eight days of containment, barely ten days after the first case was notified.”, said Steven Miles, head of the Queensland region. Millions of people in Brisbane and its region have had to stay at home following the discovery of outbreaks in schools. Restrictions on out-of-town travel and gatherings will, however, remain in place for at least two weeks.
The authorities have also announced a three-day confinement for the city of Cairns, in the north of the country, following the contamination of a taxi driver in this city of 150,000 inhabitants.
In Uruguay, first day without death from Covid-19 since the end of 2020
Uruguay recorded no deaths from Covid-19 on Saturday, for the first time since December 2020. The authorities highlight the progress of the vaccination campaign, with 73% of the population having received at least one dose.