Coronavirus digest: US lowers travel advisory for Germany
July 13, 2021
The US State Department announced Tuesday that it had lowered its travel advisory for Germany, Austria and a number of other EU countries from Level 3 ("Reconsider Travel") to Level 2 ("Exercise Increased Caution").
The State Department's website points to "a moderate level of COVID-19" in Level 2 countries, noting that the chances of infection may be lower for fully vaccinated travelers.
Travel advisory status was also lowered for Armenia, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Serbia Tuesday.
Beyond its health warning, the State Department currently advises US travelers to exercise increased caution in Germany because of terror risks.
Here's a look at the latest coronavirus news from around the world:
Europe
Government health officials in the Netherlands say they saw a 500% spike in the number of coronavirus infections recorded this week. The sharp rise comes after the government's decision to scrap nearly all restrictions in late June, when infections were down to a few hundred a day.
The lifting of restrictions combined with the introduction of the highly contagious delta variant have caused the tremendous spike, with health officials recording nearly 52,000 new infections in the country last week.
Caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte has publicly apologized for his government's "poor judgment." The government reimposed a number of restrictions last week after infections hit their highest levels of the year.
In France, some 1.3 million people registered to get vaccinated Tuesday, one day after President Emmanuel Macron made a televised appeal for citizens to get the jab in order to save this year's summer vacation season and the larger French economy.
Macron also ordered health care workers to get their shots by September 15 as the country struggles to fight a rise in infections that could threaten France’s economic recovery.
He said special COVID-19 passes would be mandatory for people who want to go to restaurants, shopping malls or other public places. In order to get a pass, the person must be fully vaccinated, have a valid negative test, or carry proof that they recently recovered from COVID-19.
Germany has reported 646 new coronavirus cases and 26 more deaths on Tuesday, according to data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases.
Asia
South Korea reported more than 1,000 new cases of the virus for the seventh straight day, pushing authorities to take strict measures to curb the spread.
More than 800 of the 1,150 new cases were reported in the Seoul area, where nightclubs have been closed. Private social gathers of three or more people have been prohibited after 6 pm.
As the summer begins, the virus is also traveling to cities such as Busan, Daegu, Daejeon and South Chungcheong Province, which have reported dozens of new infections. The country has reported over 170,000 cases of the virus and more than 2,000 deaths from COVID-19.
Japan is set to send 1 million additional vaccine doses to Taiwan this week, taking the total number of donations to nearly 3.4 million doses. The first batch was sent in June, and the second earlier this month.
The AstraZeneca shots are expected to help bolster Taiwan's inoculation drive.
Australia’s largest city saw a slight ease in coronavirus cases on Tuesday but a lockdown extension remains in the cards for Sydney.
"One day is not a trend, the numbers will keep bouncing around," New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said in a televised address, warning people against complacency as the city recorded 89 new locally transmitted cases, as compared to Monday's record high for the year: 112 cases.
Russia’s sovereign fund — the Russian Direct Investment Fund, or RDIF — has struck a deal with India's top vaccine manufacturer, the Serum Institute of India, to manufacture more than 300 million doses of the Sputnik V vaccine annually. Production is set to start in September.
Americas
The US Food and Drug Administration has updated warning labels for the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine to include an observed "increased risk" of a rare neurological disorder called Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS).
Officials have identified 100 preliminary reports of GBS after nearly 12.5 million doses were administered. Of these, 95 required hospitalization and one death was reported.
The condition causes the immune system to damage nerve cells, causing muscle weakness or, in severe cases, paralysis.
Panama has cleared the emergency use of the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine for children aged 12 and above. It was already authorized for those about 16. The health ministry gave no details about when the inoculations would start.
see/rs (Reuters, AFP, AP, dpa)