Coronavirus digest: Sydney anticipates extended lockdown
July 12, 2021
Australia's largest city, Sydney, is expected to prolong its lockdown restrictions as cases spike.
Sydney is located in the state of New South Wales, which recorded 112 new coronavirus cases on Monday, the largest daily rise this year.
New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said Sunday she believes cases will continue to rise, and signaled the state may extend its lockdown beyond the current end date of July 16.
Residents of New South Wales are not allowed to leave their homes except for shopping for food or other essential goods and services. Residents can also leave their homes if they have medical appointments, among other exceptions.
Australia reported its first death of the year on Sunday from the virus. The woman who died of the illness was in her 90s.
Here's a look at the latest coronavirus news from around the world:
Asia-Pacific
Taiwan may soon receive 10 million doses of the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine.
Two Taiwanese companies, Foxconn and TSMC, were put in charge of procuring the vaccines for the island. The two companies reportedly reached a $350 million (€294 million) deal with the Chinese sales agency for BioNTech to obtain the doses.
The Taiwanese government has been criticized for the slow pace of its vaccine rollout and has blamed mainland China for disrupting an earlier vaccine agreement. Beijing denies the charges.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said Monday that it recorded 1,100 new coronavirus infections in South Korea for July 11. The South Korean government will impose new social distancing restrictions in Seoul on Monday, with limits on large gatherings.
Thailand will be combining the Sinovac and AstraZeneca vaccines for frontline workers to "improve protection against the delta variant and build a high level of immunity against the disease," Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Monday.
If the plan goes ahead, it would be the first time a government is publicly using a Chinese and Western vaccine together, as cases in the country passed the 345,000 mark.
On Sunday, the strictest restrictions in a year were imposed on movement, gatherings and travel in Bangkok and surrounding areas.
Europe
World Health Organization COVID-19 technical lead Maria Van Kerkhove tweeted how it was "devastating" to see 60,000 supporters "in crowded settings, unmasked, screaming, shouting, singing" at the Euro 2020 final in England.
"Am I supposed to be enjoying watching transmission happening in front of my eyes?" she said.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had earlier defended holding the final in a "careful and controlled manner with testing of everybody who goes there." He is planning to lift all COVID-19 restrictions on July 19, prompting further criticism.
The European Union says it has delivered enough vaccines to meet its target of vaccinating 70% of its population this month, said European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen.
"But COVID-19 is not yet defeated," she continued. "We are prepared to deliver more vaccines, including against new variants."
The European Union has so far relied on mainly on the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine, but also ordered nearly 40 million Johnson & Johnson doses last week.
Germany reported 324 new coronavirus cases on Monday and two more deaths.
Africa
Nigeria is facing a "potential third wave" of the coronavirus pandemic, Lagos state governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu said, as delta cases were detected for the first time.
The African country has not been hit as hard by the pandemic as other surrounding countries, with just over 168,000 cases and 2,124 deaths so far.
But Sanwo-Olu said that "the test positivity rate going from 1.1% at the end of June 2021 to its current rate of 6.6% as at 8th of July 2021" was "great cause for concern."
Americas
Mexico recorded 3,779 new coronavirus cases on Sunday and 62 more deaths. The country has the fourth highest death toll from the virus in the world, with around 235,000 total deaths.
cj, wd/aw (Reuters, AFP)