Coronavirus: Latest global developments
"Vaccinated people in high-risk parts of the US should resume wearing masks indoors."
PARIS (AFP) - Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis:
Masks are back
Vaccinated people in high-risk parts of the US should resume wearing masks indoors, the top health authority says in a major reversal in guidance underscoring the country’s struggle to suppress the Delta variant.
Sydney lockdown extended
Millions of Sydney residents will spend another month in lockdown, authorities announce, citing a still-fast-growing outbreak and stubbornly low vaccination rates.
Biden urges vaccines
US President Joe Biden says Americans “still need to do better” on Covid-19 vaccinations and says a possible vaccine mandate for federal workers is “under consideration”.
UK offers Kenya jabs
Britain says it is offering 817,000 Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine doses to Kenya as it rolls out a promised 100 million jabs for global distribution by next June.
Myanmar appeal
Junta authorities in Myanmar are seeking help from the international community to tackle Covid-19, state media says, as the impoverished country looks beyond ally China in its struggle to beat back a new wave.
Guatemala cancels order
President Alejandro Giammattei announces that Guatemala has cancelled its order of a second batch of eight million Russian-made vaccines due to a delivery delay of a previous order.
Met mandates jabs
New York’s Metropolitan Opera will require audiences and performers to be fully vaccinated for its upcoming season, the house announces.
Four million dead
The coronavirus has killed at least 4,179,675 people since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP.
The United States is the worst-affected country with 611,288 deaths, followed by Brazil with 551,835, India with 422,022, Mexico with 239,079 and Peru with 196,058 fatalities.
The World Health Organization says up to three times the number suggested by official figures have died directly or indirectly as a result of the pandemic.
