There have been more than seven million confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK and 133,000 people have died, government figures show.
However, these figures include only people who have died within 28 days of testing positive for coronavirus.
About 89% of people aged 16 and over in the UK have now had their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine and 80% have had their second.
S.Korea planning to live ‘more normally’ with COVID-19 after October
People wearing masks take a walk amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic at a Hanriver Park in Seoul, South Korea, February 21, 2021. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File Photo
SEOUL, Sept 8 (Reuters) – South Korea is drawing up a plan on how to live more normally with COVID-19, expecting 80% of adults to be fully vaccinated by late October, health authorities said on Wednesday.
The country is in the middle of its worst wave of infections, but it has kept the number of severely ill cases under control through steadily rising vaccination rates.
“We’ll review measures that will allow us to live more normally, but any such switch will be implemented only when we achieve high vaccination rates and overall (COVID-19) situations stabilise,” Son Young-rae, a senior health ministry official, told a briefing.
The strategy will be implemented in phases to gradually ease restrictions, authorities said. Masks will still be required at least in the initial stage.
The government expects to implement the plan sometime after late October, when 80% of its adult population likely will have been vaccinated. As of Tuesday, South Korea had given at least one vaccine dose to 70.9% of its adult population, while 42.6% are fully vaccinated.
It reported 2,050 new COVID-19 cases for Tuesday, with 2,014 of those locally acquired.
South Korea extended national social distancing curbs to Oct. 3 this week as the country boosts its vaccination campaign ahead of a thanksgiving holiday that falls later this month.
Restrictions in place include limited operating hours for cafes and restaurants and on the number of people allowed at social gatherings.
South Korea has registered 265,423 infections since the pandemic started, with 2,334 deaths.
The country has not seen a significant increase in coronavirus deaths, with a mortality rate of 0.88%, largely due to high vaccination rates among the elderly and vulnerable.
Severe or critical cases stood at 387 as of Tuesday.
Czech Republic’s daily COVID cases highest since May
A man receives a dose of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine during a trial run of the national vaccination centre located inside the O2 Arena in Prague, Czech Republic, April 9, 2021. REUTERS/David W Cerny
PRAGUE, Sept 8 (Reuters) – The Czech Republic on Wednesday recorded 588 new cases of coronavirus, the highest daily tally since May 25, as government officials predict a continued rise in infections.
The country, which was one of the hardest hit by the pandemic in earlier waves, has seen low infection rates since the summer months. In the past two weeks, it has reported 25 cases per 100,000 people, compared with 137 in Germany, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
Prime Minister Andrej Babis said on Tuesday the government was not planning a return to broad lockdown measures – which had been eased going into the summer months – and ministers say local measures could be used in some instances.
The rise in cases reported for Tuesday was still well below peaks in daily infections seen during the waves between October 2020 and March 2021 when they reached into the thousands, hitting a peak of above 17,000 at one point.
The country’s death rate per capita since the pandemic started is the fifth highest in the world, according to Our World in Data, and overall more than 30,000 deaths have been reported in the country of 10.7 million.
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Venezuela receives first batch of vaccines through COVAX mechanism
A woman receives a dose of Cuba’s Abdala vaccine at a vaccination center in Caracas, Venezuela July 1, 2021. REUTERS/Manaure Quintero
CARACAS, Sept 7 (Reuters) – Venezuela has received its first batch of coronavirus vaccines through the COVAX mechanism intended for poor countries, the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) said on Tuesday, after months of delays the government attributed to U.S. sanctions.
The South American country has received 693,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by China’s Sinovac Biotech, the first of a total of 11 million it will receive through COVAX, overseen by the GAVI alliance and the World Health Organization.
Representatives of PAHO, the WHO’s regional office for the Americas, and the Venezuelan government were present at Maiquetia international airport outside Caracas to receive the doses on Tuesday morning, PAHO said in a statement.
Venezuela has until now depended on Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine and China’s Sinopharm shot to inoculate its population against COVID-19, though many people who received their first dose of Sputnik-V have reported delays in obtaining the second.
An additional batch of Sputnik V doses also arrived this week, though authorities did not specify how many arrived.
Some 3.3 million Venezuelans, or around 10% of the population, have been vaccinated, according to PAHO estimates. Venezuelan authorities have not provided exact figures on how many residents have been vaccinated.
President Nicolas Maduro said on Sunday that the vaccines were expected this week. The government for months said it had been unable to pay for the vaccines due to U.S. sanctions meant to force Maduro from power, but in April announced it had deposited most of the funds in a Swiss bank account. read more
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WORLD STATS
Latest News
September 8 (GMT)
Updates
- 19 new cases in Tajikistan [source]
- 9 new cases in New Caledonia [source]
- 4 new cases in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines [source]
- 660 new cases and 7 new deaths in Uzbekistan [source]
- 97 new cases and 4 new deaths in Kyrgyzstan [source]
- 1,268 new cases in
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