The new Venezuelan cryptocurrency “Petro” logo is seen at a facility of the Youth and Sports Ministry in Caracas, Venezuela February 23, 2018. REUTERS/Marco Bello/Files

CARACAS, June 22 (Reuters) – Venezuelan food delivery driver Pablo Toro has no stake in cryptocurrency or blockchain, but indirectly uses digital tokens every time he sends money to his family.

Toro, who emigrated to Colombia in 2019, uses an app called Valiu to receive Colombian pesos from working on Bogota’sstreets and deposit the corresponding bolivars into a Venezuelan bank account.

In Venezuela’s economy, mired by hyperinflation and hemmed in by sanctions, the operation is not so straightforward.

Valiu uses pesos to buy cryptocurrency that it then sells on LocalBitcoins, a global peer-to-peer site for trading tokens in local currencies.

For Toro, the platform is more reliable than informal money changers, the main channel for Venezuelan migrants to send money home. And he need not buy traditional money orders in person.

“When the power is out in Venezuela, when internet service is down, it has a huge impact on how long it takes to send a remittance to one’s family,” said Toro, who quit working as a university security guard because his monthly salary could not even pay for a day’s groceries.

“(Now) I don’t have to worry about whether the cell signal dropped in Venezuela, or if cell service drops here.”

As hyperinflation and U.S. sanctions disrupt Venezuela’s economy, cryptocurrency is emerging as a way to provide services handled elsewhere by the traditional banking system.

It has become a tool to send remittances, protect wages from inflation and help businesses manage cash flow in a quickly depreciating currency, according to interviews with crypto users and experts.

Cryptocurrency in Latin America got renewed attention in June after El Salvador adopted bitcoin as legal tender. It has grown in popularity in Argentina as inflation resurged.

Chainalysis, a startup that researches blockchain transactions, in a 2020 report ranked Venezuela third on its Global Crypto Adoption Index, largely due to the high volume of bolivar transactions.

Mining cryptocurrency – using high-powered computers to solve complex math problems – is an attractive way to make extra income thanks to Venezuela’s ultra-low power prices, but the average citizen cannot afford the equipment.

In Venezuela, crypto is mainly used to hedge against inflation that causes bank deposits to sharply depreciate in weeks or even days.

“Valiu buys and sells bitcoin instead of directly exchanging pesos to bolivars because of the lack of availability of that currency in regulated marketplaces,” said Alejandro Machado, Valiu’s head of pilot programs.

Bolivar transactions on LocalBitcoins are the largest by value among Latin American currencies, according to LocalBitcoins data analyzed by blockchain advisor UsefulTulips.

LocalBitcoins did not respond to a request for comment.

Cryptocurrency traders and experts say volumes on the site have slipped amid the rising popularity of Binance, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, which offers trading of a variety of tokens.

These include so-called “stablecoins” whose values remain steady against specific assets such as the U.S. dollar, avoiding the volatility of many cryptocurrencies.

Bolivar operations on Binance’s peer-to-peer platform have risen by 75% since May, making Venezuela the only Latin Americancountry whose trading volumes have risen since bitcoin prices tumbled at the start of May, a Binance spokesperson said.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in 2017 announced the creation of the state-backed petro cryptocurrency, but it has little practical application. The government used it in 2019 to make small payments to retirees, and often uses it as a unit of value to price services or fines that are ultimately paid in bolivars.

The United States in 2019 imposed broad Venezuela sanctions that block U.S. citizens from dealing with Maduro’s government. While banks can still deal with private businesses or individuals, many avoid doing so due to perceived regulatory risk.

The country’s information ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

Fast food chains Pizza Hut and Church’s Chicken as well as some supermarkets are accepting tokens such as bitcoin and dash as payment, fueling excitement and filling malls and businesses with logos for well-known cryptocurrencies.

But a major part of Venezuela’s crypto operations involves businesses swapping out of bolivars to beat inflation, said economist and finance expert Aaron Olmos.

“Crypto is being used as a palliative for the economic situation, but you see it mostly among businesses,” said Olmos.

“Nobody is going to tell you ‘every night when we do the books, we convert bolivars into bitcoin,’ but yes, this is happening.”

The post As Venezuela’s Economy Regresses, Crypto Fills Gaps appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

Armando Franca/AP

A worrying spike of coronavirus infections in Europe is being driven by the delta variant, according to global health leaders, even as immunization rates in some countries are on the way up.

Increased cases reported in the U.K. and Portugal have forced officials to reimplement lockdown restrictions or hold off on lifting pandemic mandates. Officials in France, Germany and Spain said they are closely monitoring clusters of infection tied to the delta variant.

The strain, also known as B.1.617.2, was first detected in India. It is now “well on its way to becoming the dominant variant globally because of its increased transmissibility,” Soumya Swaminathan, the World Health Organization’s chief scientist, said Friday.

Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines have been shown to be effective against this strain.

A recent study from Public Health England showed two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine were 88% effective against symptomatic disease from the delta variant compared with 93% effectiveness against the alpha variant, the variant first detected in the United Kingdom. The vaccine only provided 33% protection after just one dose.

Still, in the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions shared similar concerns of the spread of the delta strain. The CDC declared last week that it was a “variant of concern,” meaning it poses a significant threat to unvaccinated people

UK- A delay in lifting lockdown restrictions

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced last week a delay in plans to lift the final elements of the nation’s lockdown restrictions, citing “a faster than predicted” spread of the strain.

Originally set to end Monday, Johnson said restrictions on businesses and large events will remain in place until July 19.

In the U.K., data shows 99% of sequenced and genotyped confirmed coronavirus cases across the country are the delta variant, according to Public Health England.

The government’s weekly data as of June 18 showed numbers of the delta variant in the U.K. have risen by 33,630 from the previous week to a total of 75,953.

A man wears a mask reading “End the lockdown” outside the Palace of Westminster last week in London to protest against the delay of the planned relaxation of lockdown measures.  Alberto Pezzali/AP

This comes despite the nation’s high immunization rate, with 59.5% of the adult population fully vaccinated from the coronavirus. A reported 81.6% of the adult population have received one dose, according to government data.

Dr. Jenny Harries, chief executive of U.K. Health Security Agency, said in a statement, “The increase is primarily in younger age groups, a large proportion of which were unvaccinated but are now being invited to receive the vaccine.”

On Friday, the government announced every adult over the age of 18 is eligible to receive a coronavirus vaccine.

Authorities in Portugal banned all weekend travel in and out of Lisbon, the capital, to cut down on any further spread of the virus to other parts of the country.

Portugal’s National Health Institute reported this weekend the delta variant is shown to be in at least 60% of new cases in Lisbon. The country reported more than 1,000 new COVID-19 cases for the fourth day in a row on Saturday, according to Reuters.

Spain, Germany and France watch with concern

Cases tied to the delta strain are reported as being low in France, Spain and Germany, but each nation’s health minister warn that the delta variant is perceived as a real threat.

As of June 14, Spain reported the delta variant accounted for less than 1% of cases.

Spain’s Catalonia region, in the northeast, reported 20% of new cases were linked to the delta strain, the region’s health official, Josep Maria Argimon, announced at a press conference Thursday.

Argimon warned that delta could be the predominant variant throughout the country in two to four weeks.

That hasn’t stopped the nation from moving forward with lifting some COVID-19 restrictions. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced Friday that masks would no longer have to be worn outdoors in the country, starting June 26.

German Health Minister Jens Spahn said it’s not if the delta variant becomes dominant, but “when and under what conditions.”

France reported that 2% to 4% of virus samples being analyzed in the country showed the delta variant, according to French Health Minister Olivier Véran.

“We are in the process of crushing the virus and crushing the pandemic, and we must in no way let the Delta variant get the upper hand,” Véran said last week, according to The Financial Times.

“You might say this is still low but it is similar to the situation in the UK a few weeks ago,” he said.

=====================================================

Mexico’s coronavirus death toll rises to 231,505

Reuters

 

People wearing face masks cross a street as Mexico City’s authorities announce a full reopening of the city come Monday, the first time since the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, Mexico June 4, 2021. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido

MEXICO CITY, June 22 (Reuters) – Mexico’s health ministry on Tuesday reported 4,233 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country and 261 more fatalities, bringing the total figures to 2,482,784 infections and 231,505 deaths.

The government has said the real number of cases is likely significantly higher, and separate data published in March suggested the actual death toll is at least 60% above the confirmed figure.

Reporting by Diego Ore Editing by Chris Reese

===========================================

WORLD STATS

Coronavirus Cases:

179,937,463

view by country

Deaths:

3,898,304

Recovered:

164,706,245

#	Country, Other	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	New Recovered	Active Cases	Serious, Critical	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests	Tests/ 1M pop	Population
	World	179,937,463	+20,212	3,898,304	+630	164,706,245	+33,697	11,332,914	81,895	23,084	500.1
1	USA	34,434,803		617,875		28,817,134		4,999,794	3,916	103,441	1,856	500,790,852	1,504,364	332,891,997
2	India	30,028,709	+859	390,691		28,994,855	+7,544	643,163	8,944	21,554	280	395,973,198	284,219	1,393,197,894
3	Brazil	18,056,639		504,897		16,388,847		1,162,895	8,318	84,365	2,359	52,820,657	246,791	214,029,732
4	France	5,760,002		110,829		5,575,086		74,087	1,560	88,054	1,694	91,376,310	1,396,887	65,414,223
5	Turkey	5,381,736		49,293		5,242,945		89,498	808	63,150	578	58,997,073	692,280	85,221,356
6	Russia	5,350,919		130,347		4,889,450		331,122	2,300	36,651	893	146,000,000	1,000,031	145,995,449
7	UK	4,651,988		128,008		4,306,482		217,498	227	68,178	1,876	203,846,016	2,987,491	68,233,180
8	Argentina	4,298,782		90,281		3,928,389		280,112	7,345	94,273	1,980	15,955,356	349,905	45,599,133
9	Italy	4,254,294		127,322		4,054,008		72,964	362	70,464	2,109	70,190,855	1,162,579	60,375,142
10	Colombia	3,997,021		101,302		3,714,962		180,757	8,155	77,748	1,970	19,040,100	370,357	51,410,163
11	Spain	3,768,691		80,719		3,564,850		123,122	728	80,575	1,726	51,240,666	1,095,531	46,772,428
12	Germany	3,731,287		91,082		3,611,500	+3,400	28,705	889	44,396	1,084	63,091,197	750,685	84,044,880
13	Iran	3,117,336		83,217		2,771,705		262,414	3,249	36,658	979	22,699,166	266,931	85,037,547
14	Poland	2,879,030		74,858		2,650,773		153,399	224	76,152	1,980	17,055,537	451,131	37,806,199
15	Mexico	2,482,784	+4,233	231,505	+261	1,977,071	+2,816	274,208	4,798	19,062	1,777	7,357,804	56,490	130,249,787
16	Ukraine	2,230,977	+835	52,123	+70	2,155,261	+2,292	23,593	177	51,314	1,199	10,717,176	246,500	43,477,348
17	Peru	2,033,606		190,906		N/A	N/A	N/A	2,474	60,854	5,713	13,836,430	414,041	33,417,999
18	Indonesia	2,018,113		55,291		1,810,136		152,686		7,303	200	18,885,669	68,343	276,335,647
19	South Africa	1,843,572		59,092		1,665,540		118,940	546	30,708	984	12,633,253	210,430	60,035,300
20	Netherlands	1,680,228		17,730		1,608,502		53,996	185	97,848	1,033	14,596,733	850,041	17,171,808
21	Czechia	1,666,325	+131	30,289		1,633,550	+17	2,486	12	155,320	2,823	28,305,756	2,638,410	10,728,338
22	Chile	1,525,663		31,690		1,456,672		37,301	3,232	79,149	1,644	16,550,910	858,636	19,275,819
23	Canada	1,410,206		26,155		1,373,889		10,162	535	37,048	687	36,287,490	953,327	38,064,034
24	Philippines	1,367,894		23,809		1,291,389		52,696	2,029	12,324	214	14,517,192	130,788	110,998,038
25	Iraq	1,298,703		16,935		1,209,918		71,850	564	31,601	412	11,364,729	276,534	41,097,086
26	Sweden	1,088,014		14,570		1,048,547		24,897	73	107,082	1,434	10,574,760	1,040,766	10,160,557
27	Romania	1,080,323		32,465		1,045,303		2,555	151	56,525	1,699	9,602,562	502,425	19,112,434
28	Belgium	1,080,035	+395	25,144	+3	1,021,987	+5,413	32,904	206	92,797	2,160	14,868,945	1,277,539	11,638,738
29	Pakistan	950,768	+930	22,073	+39	895,690	+1,338	33,005	2,173	4,225	98	14,232,960	63,243	225,052,106
30	Portugal	866,826		17,074		821,374		28,378	101	85,253	1,679	12,799,624	1,258,850	10,167,712
31	Bangladesh	861,150		13,702		788,385		59,063	1,183	5,179	82	6,376,819	38,349	166,284,843
32	Israel	840,079		6,428		833,174		477	26	90,079	689	14,807,155	1,587,728	9,326,000
33	Hungary	807,684		29,963		735,937		41,784	32	83,816	3,109	6,062,806	629,155	9,636,429
34	Japan	786,298		14,454		752,427		19,417	697	6,236	115	15,902,304	126,110	126,098,833
35	Jordan	747,504		9,683		731,418		6,403	470	72,562	940	7,716,344	749,041	10,301,629
36	Serbia	715,913		7,010		706,203		2,700	18	82,260	805	4,353,024	500,173	8,703,038
37	Malaysia	705,762		4,554		639,181		62,027	875	21,538	139	13,976,710	426,523	32,768,929
38	Switzerland	702,124		10,875		676,494		14,755	59	80,554	1,248	8,157,861	935,942	8,716,208
39	Austria	649,728		10,684		636,523		2,521	76	71,742	1,180	52,163,509	5,759,837	9,056,421
40	Nepal	626,343		8,813		564,882		52,648		21,128	297	3,288,053	110,913	29,645,266
41	UAE	616,160		1,767		595,086		19,307		61,576	177	55,553,623	5,551,734	10,006,535
42	Lebanon	543,698		7,829		530,689		5,180	67	80,007	1,152	4,599,186	676,786	6,795,625
43	Morocco	527,174		9,247		514,279		3,648	107	14,120	248	6,732,475	180,322	37,335,763
44	Saudi Arabia	476,882		7,691		458,048		11,143	1,487	13,494	218	21,134,088	598,017	35,340,273
45	Ecuador	447,176		21,315		415,508		10,353	446	24,977	1,191	1,503,561	83,983	17,903,196
46	Bolivia	424,478	+1,667	16,243	+69	344,609	+3,650	63,626	200	35,888	1,373	1,734,914	146,682	11,827,701
47	Bulgaria	421,246		18,008		393,636		9,602	196	61,073	2,611	3,093,825	448,551	6,897,383
48	Greece	418,943		12,575		400,611		5,757	277	40,386	1,212	10,346,864	997,444	10,373,379
49	Kazakhstan	411,771	+1,248	4,261	+12	387,295	+1,168	20,215	221	21,678	224	11,575,012	609,372	18,994,986
50	Belarus	411,551		3,063		404,240		4,248		43,567	324	6,667,345	705,816	9,446,293
51	Paraguay	409,467		11,849		349,337		48,281	570	56,731	1,642	1,478,918	204,902	7,217,680
52	Panama	395,449		6,483		378,109		10,857	84	90,271	1,480	2,898,109	661,561	4,380,710
53	Slovakia	391,385		12,502		378,044		839	30	71,653	2,289	2,926,911	535,847	5,462,219
54	Tunisia	387,773		14,223		339,065		34,485	484	32,480	1,191	1,627,155	136,291	11,938,855
55	Georgia	360,828	+773	5,211	+12	346,792	+575	8,825		90,622	1,309	5,621,563	1,411,850	3,981,700
56	Croatia	359,259		8,188		350,539		532	16	88,042	2,007	2,117,467	518,916	4,080,560
57	Uruguay	358,461		5,350		329,662		23,449	364	102,845	1,535	2,693,798	772,868	3,485,455
58	Costa Rica	355,620		4,546		281,042		70,032	459	69,195	885	1,411,469	274,639	5,139,361
59	Kuwait	342,929		1,888		322,897		18,144	238	79,164	436	2,864,871	661,342	4,331,905
60	Azerbaijan	335,568		4,963		329,710		895		32,809	485	3,690,224	360,794	10,228,065
61	Dominican Republic	318,368		3,769		260,533		54,066	465	29,065	344	1,671,718	152,617	10,953,688
62	Palestine	313,015		3,555		306,532		2,928	6	60,007	682	1,878,685	360,157	5,216,297
63	Denmark	291,956		2,531		285,375		4,050	18	50,233	435	66,101,020	11,373,064	5,812,068
64	Guatemala	282,713		8,785		255,996		17,932	5	15,502	482	1,543,675	84,645	18,237,064
65	Lithuania	278,526	+54	4,371		266,842	+165	7,313	48	103,728	1,628	3,702,033	1,378,699	2,685,164
66	Egypt	278,295		15,935		206,852		55,508	90	2,671	153	2,869,589	27,537	104,206,611
67	Ethiopia	275,391		4,290		255,962		15,139	194	2,339	36	2,830,936	24,048	117,721,012
68	Ireland	269,495		4,979		253,726		10,790	13	53,992	998	4,729,538	947,537	4,991,403
69	Bahrain	263,689		1,326		256,063		6,300	139	149,936	754	4,937,963	2,807,773	1,758,676
70	Venezuela	263,372		2,989		243,840		16,543	287	9,288	105	3,359,014	118,453	28,357,362
71	Slovenia	257,066		4,416		251,243		1,407	33	123,636	2,124	1,334,817	641,981	2,079,217
72	Moldova	256,232		6,175		249,250		807	54	63,663	1,534	1,221,985	303,612	4,024,820
73	Honduras	255,117	+923	6,818	+46	91,943	+81	156,356	544	25,366	678	776,113	77,167	10,057,539
74	Oman	252,609		2,782		221,250		28,577	443	48,278	532	1,550,000	296,233	5,232,360
75	Sri Lanka	243,913		2,704		209,296		31,913		11,344	126	3,743,577	174,114	21,500,678
76	Thailand	228,539	+3,174	1,744	+51	189,777	+1,941	37,018	1,436	3,266	25	8,129,670	116,187	69,970,599
77	Armenia	224,430	+100	4,503	+1	216,230	+48	3,697		75,600	1,517	1,160,290	390,849	2,968,639
78	Qatar	221,119		584		218,584		1,951	72	78,752	208	2,126,632	757,400	2,807,805
79	Bosnia and Herzegovina	204,886		9,648		180,643		14,595		62,831	2,959	1,022,709	313,628	3,260,903
80	Libya	191,253		3,181		176,649		11,423		27,471	457	1,095,682	157,379	6,962,061
81	Kenya	179,876		3,484		123,050		53,342	113	3,275	63	1,913,782	34,847	54,919,126
82	Cuba	170,854		1,180		160,956		8,718	156	15,093	104	4,852,203	428,644	11,319,877
83	Nigeria	167,331		2,118		163,913		1,300	11	793	10	2,266,591	10,738	211,086,857
84	North Macedonia	155,640		5,477		149,908		255	25	74,709	2,629	859,226	412,437	2,083,291
85	S. Korea	152,545	+644	2,007	+1	144,379	+562	6,159	146	2,973	39	10,409,949	202,875	51,312,183
86	Myanmar	149,247		3,267		133,893		12,087		2,725	60	2,684,756	49,023	54,764,776
87	Latvia	136,975		2,497		132,721		1,757	42	73,412	1,338	2,858,776	1,532,176	1,865,827
88	Algeria	136,679		3,650		95,084		37,945	29	3,063	82	230,861	5,174	44,619,299
89	Zambia	133,659		1,744		111,844		20,071	1,119	7,079	92	1,788,609	94,726	18,882,018
90	Albania	132,496		2,455		129,941		100	3	46,090	854	782,340	272,144	2,874,733
91	Estonia	130,855		1,269		126,798		2,788	4	98,580	956	1,504,339	1,133,294	1,327,404
92	Norway	129,766		790		88,952		40,024	5	23,756	145	6,043,353	1,106,338	5,462,484
93	Kyrgyzstan	117,284	+738	1,953	+8	106,383	+451	8,948	102	17,693	295	1,248,646	188,370	6,628,675
94	Afghanistan	107,957		4,366		65,565		38,026	1,124	2,714	110	572,754	14,399	39,777,838
95	Uzbekistan	107,266	+419	722	+2	103,074	+528	3,470	23	3,160	21	1,377,915	40,598	33,940,294
96	Mongolia	100,263	+2,213	469	+10	65,543	+1,189	34,251	126	30,113	141	3,178,573	954,659	3,329,539
97	Montenegro	100,104		1,606		98,202		296	6	159,365	2,557	441,313	702,568	628,143
98	Ghana	95,236		794		93,141		1,301	9	3,004	25	1,248,552	39,384	31,701,723
99	Finland	94,489		967		46,000		47,522	9	17,028	174	5,327,227	960,015	5,549,107
100	China	91,653	+24	4,636		86,503	+22	514	16	64	3	160,000,000	111,163	1,439,323,776
101	Cameroon	80,487		1,320		78,224		943	152	2,961	49	1,751,774	64,437	27,185,688
102	El Salvador	77,484		2,346	+5	71,603		3,535	28	11,888	360	1,044,841	160,299	6,518,068
103	Namibia	75,766		1,179		60,484		14,103	90	29,304	456	496,906	192,186	2,585,549
104	Cyprus	73,832		374		72,083		1,375	19	60,722	308	7,527,605	6,190,918	1,215,911
105	Uganda	73,401		714		50,085		22,602	1,099	1,557	15	1,270,745	26,959	47,136,940
106	Mozambique	72,775		852		70,289		1,634	32	2,267	27	579,273	18,044	32,102,539
107	Maldives	72,294		207		67,507		4,580	90	131,496	377	972,822	1,769,469	549,782
108	Luxembourg	70,547		818		69,461		268	2	110,947	1,286	3,042,072	4,784,155	635,864
109	Botswana	65,808		1,069		59,616		5,123	1	27,447	446	1,269,428	529,443	2,397,666
110	Singapore	62,448		35		62,098		315	2	10,593	6	13,287,834	2,254,045	5,895,106
111	Jamaica	49,735		1,037		28,935		19,763	5	16,725	349	425,135	142,962	2,973,752
112	Ivory Coast	48,058		309		47,511		238		1,779	11	654,588	24,234	27,010,778
113	Cambodia	44,711	+587	475	+16	39,314	+548	4,922		2,639	28	1,315,436	77,636	16,943,724
114	Zimbabwe	42,714		1,691		37,288		3,735	10	2,834	112	624,442	41,428	15,073,052
115	Senegal	42,472		1,159		40,963		350	7	2,473	67	551,465	32,116	17,170,983
116	Madagascar	42,137		903		40,469		765	62	1,485	32	211,631	7,457	28,380,145
117	DRC	38,330		888		27,969		9,473		416	10	189,510	2,056	92,193,541
118	Angola	37,874		875		32,003		4,996	15	1,119	26	631,610	18,657	33,854,369
119	Sudan	36,522		2,748		30,370		3,404		814	61	234,414	5,228	44,841,043
120	Malawi	34,996		1,173		32,909		914	22	1,785	60	259,063	13,212	19,608,460
121	Rwanda	32,296		392		26,712		5,192	10	2,435	30	1,564,486	117,958	13,263,111
122	Cabo Verde	32,111		284		31,138		689	23	57,151	505	166,285	295,956	561,858
123	Trinidad and Tobago	30,982		761		22,267		7,954	22	22,068	542	218,568	155,686	1,403,902
124	Malta	30,595		420		30,148		27		69,112	949	968,012	2,186,669	442,688
125	Australia	30,380	+14	910		29,272		198	1	1,178	35	19,911,741	772,148	25,787,457
126	Réunion	29,502		226		27,585		1,691	32	32,724	251	102,720	113,940	901,529
127	French Guiana	26,799		142		9,995		16,662	37	87,528	464	278,160	908,497	306,176
128	Syria	25,205		1,851		21,756		1,598		1,407	103	103,566	5,782	17,912,377
129	Gabon	24,885		158		24,407		320	10	10,931	69	860,795	378,105	2,276,606
130	Guinea	23,543		168		22,340		1,035	24	1,747	12	462,917	34,347	13,477,487
131	Mauritania	20,415		482		19,477		456	16	4,282	101	294,863	61,843	4,767,949
132	Suriname	20,298		477		15,518		4,303	35	34,302	806	75,391	127,405	591,744
133	Mayotte	19,389		174		2,964		16,251	6	69,447	623	176,919	633,687	279,190
134	Guyana	19,234		452		17,241		1,541	21	24,339	572	178,614	226,023	790,247
135	French Polynesia	18,981		142		18,814		25		67,192	503	26,355	93,296	282,489
136	Eswatini	18,854		677		18,048		129	10	16,089	578	222,609	189,965	1,171,843
137	Haiti	17,710		393		12,753		4,564		1,535	34	85,122	7,378	11,537,613
138	Papua New Guinea	17,013		173		16,396		444	7	1,867	19	130,467	14,319	9,111,416
139	Guadeloupe	16,752		229		2,250		14,273	23	41,860	572	212,247	530,364	400,191
140	Somalia	14,868		775		7,216		6,877		911	47	145,057	8,887	16,322,179
141	Seychelles	14,620		59		13,323		1,238		147,766	596	21,504	217,344	98,940
142	Mali	14,385		524		10,036		3,825		691	25	312,803	15,028	20,814,956
143	Taiwan	14,260	+104	599	+24	9,179		4,482		598	25	1,714,353	71,854	23,858,775
144	Andorra	13,864		127		13,665		72	3	179,156	1,641	193,595	2,501,712	77,385
145	Vietnam	13,862	+135	69		5,546		8,247		141	0.7	8,434,266	85,897	98,190,424
146	Togo	13,735		128		13,362		245		1,622	15	354,556	41,877	8,466,679
147	Burkina Faso	13,469		168		13,295		6		628	8	194,401	9,060	21,457,858
148	Tajikistan	13,308		90		13,218		0		1,366	9			9,745,221
149	Belize	13,059		329		12,572		158		32,274	813	147,868	365,439	404,631
150	Congo	12,404		164		11,211		1,029		2,196	29	158,304	28,020	5,649,611
151	Bahamas	12,379		244		11,356		779	3	31,189	615	104,418	263,085	396,898
152	Curaçao	12,321		125		12,163		33	4	74,788	759	129,194	784,201	164,746
153	Martinique	12,264		98		98		12,068	1	32,706	261	195,568	521,541	374,981
154	Hong Kong	11,897		210		11,618		69	1	1,574	28	16,710,131	2,211,460	7,556,153
155	Djibouti	11,595		155		11,434		6		11,572	155	169,223	168,893	1,001,954
156	Lesotho	11,128		329		6,445		4,354		5,155	152	107,111	49,617	2,158,771
157	Aruba	11,116		107		10,978		31	14	103,687	998	174,116	1,624,110	107,207
158	South Sudan	10,786		115		10,514		157		953	10	174,045	15,373	11,321,278
159	Timor-Leste	8,781		19		7,762		1,000		6,539	14	92,846	69,143	1,342,802
160	Equatorial Guinea	8,708		120		8,489		99	1	6,016	83	149,330	103,163	1,447,510
161	Benin	8,170		104		8,000		66	5	657	8	604,310	48,615	12,430,547
162	Nicaragua	7,920		189		4,225		3,506		1,182	28			6,701,154
163	CAR	7,137		98		6,859		180	2	1,453	20	54,814	11,161	4,911,255
164	Yemen	6,892		1,355		3,980		1,557	23	226	44	98,634	3,238	30,462,559
165	Iceland	6,630		30		6,576		24	1	19,307	87	738,926	2,151,806	343,398
166	Gambia	6,045		181		5,837		27	3	2,435	73	81,795	32,951	2,482,345
167	Eritrea	5,508		21		5,016		471		1,533	6	23,693	6,592	3,594,099
168	Niger	5,469		193		5,195		81	2	218	8	114,181	4,558	25,052,226
169	Burundi	5,273		8		773		4,492		431	0.7	345,742	28,263	12,233,192
170	Saint Lucia	5,227		84		5,075		68		28,339	455	52,135	282,660	184,444
171	San Marino	5,090		90		5,000	+1	0		149,706	2,647	68,045	2,001,324	34,000
172	Sierra Leone	4,963		84		3,279		1,600		610	10	153,646	18,889	8,134,266
173	Chad	4,948		174		4,768		6		293	10	124,805	7,393	16,881,734
174	Gibraltar	4,323		94		4,214		15		128,351	2,791	271,977	8,075,087	33,681
175	Channel Islands	4,150		86		3,994		70		23,657	490	563,229	3,210,709	175,422
176	Barbados	4,045		47		3,988		10		14,059	163	180,265	626,534	287,718
177	Comoros	3,912		146		3,745		21		4,408	164			887,556
178	Guinea-Bissau	3,834		69		3,565		200	4	1,905	34	71,741	35,638	2,013,056
179	Liberia	3,109		99		2,169		841	2	601	19	114,920	22,216	5,172,831
180	Liechtenstein	3,028		59		2,957		12	3	79,194	1,543	49,126	1,284,844	38,235
181	New Zealand	2,723	+3	26		2,673	+2	24		544	5	2,235,523	446,917	5,002,100
182	Sint Maarten	2,582		32		2,491		59	2	59,563	738	28,642	660,730	43,349
183	Monaco	2,554		33		2,487		34	1	64,637	835	51,953	1,314,833	39,513
184	Bermuda	2,504		33		2,461		10	7	40,352	532	300,645	4,844,893	62,054
185	Turks and Caicos	2,424		18		2,389		17	2	61,796	459	94,789	2,416,484	39,226
186	Sao Tome and Principe	2,363		37		2,315		11		10,591	166	14,270	63,960	223,107
187	Fiji	2,270		9		618		1,643	2	2,514	10	175,622	194,538	902,766
188	St. Vincent Grenadines	2,207		12		1,941		254	2	19,832	108	53,845	483,856	111,283
189	Saint Martin	2,133		12		1,399		722	7	54,267	305	27,588	701,878	39,306
190	Laos	2,076	+9	3		1,960	+6	113		281	0.4	286,644	38,851	7,378,094
191	Bhutan	1,963		1		1,702		260		2,517	1	798,573	1,023,985	779,868
192	Mauritius	1,701		18		1,265		418		1,335	14	358,675	281,573	1,273,824
193	Caribbean Netherlands	1,634		17		1,609		8		61,754	642	8,550	323,129	26,460
194	Isle of Man	1,601		29		1,566		6	1	18,731	339	66,925	783,014	85,471
195	Antigua and Barbuda	1,263		42		1,221		0		12,794	425	16,700	169,169	98,718
196	St. Barth	1,005		1		462		542		101,454	101	26,385	2,663,537	9,906
197	Faeroe Islands	769		1		755		13		15,680	20	298,657	6,089,573	49,044
198	Diamond Princess	712		13		699		0
199	Cayman Islands	609		2		588		19		9,162	30	104,611	1,573,760	66,472
200	Tanzania	509		21		183		305	7	8	0.3			61,379,918
201	Wallis and Futuna	445		7		438		0		40,286	634	20,508	1,856,600	11,046
202	Saint Kitts and Nevis	377		3		85		289	1	7,038	56	19,860	370,764	53,565
203	Brunei	256		3		245		8		580	7	137,767	312,006	441,553
204	British Virgin Islands	248		1		209		38		8,151	33	39,777	1,307,293	30,427
205	Dominica	191				189		2		2,647		17,856	247,450	72,160
206	Grenada	161		1		160		0		1,424	9	28,684	253,771	113,031
207	New Caledonia	129				58		71		448		34,704	120,430	288,167
208	Anguilla	109				109		0		7,203		22,201	1,467,059	15,133
209	Falkland Islands	63				63		0		17,608		7,307	2,042,202	3,578
210	Macao	53				51		2		81		4,483	6,814	657,934
211	Greenland	50				40		10		879		28,389	499,226	56,866
212	Vatican City	27				27		0		33,624				803
213	Saint Pierre Miquelon	26				25		1		4,509		6,128	1,062,782	5,766
214	Montserrat	20		1		19		0		4,004	200	1,408	281,882	4,995
215	Solomon Islands	20				20		0		28		4,500	6,399	703,196
216	Western Sahara	10		1		8		1		16	2			611,561
217	MS Zaandam	9		2		7		0
218	Vanuatu	4		1		3		0		13	3	23,000	73,226	314,098
219	Marshall Islands	4				4		0		67				59,579
220	Samoa	3				3		0		15				199,697
221	Saint Helena	2				2		0		328				6,095
222	Micronesia	1				1		0		9				116,195
	Total:	179,937,463	+20,212	3,898,304	+630	164,706,245	+33,697	11,332,914	81,895	23,084.3	500.1

Highlighted in green

= all cases have recovered from the infection

Highlighted in grey

= all cases have had an outcome (there are no active cases)

[back to top ↑]

Latest News

June 23 (GMT)

Updates

• 54 new cases in Lithuania [source]

• 9 new cases in Laos [source]

• 104 new cases and 24 new deaths in Taiwan [source]

• 100 new cases and 1 new death in Armenia [source]

• 773 new cases and 12 new deaths in Georgia [source]

• 131 new cases in Czechia [source]

• 135 new cases in Vietnam [source]

• 738 new cases and 8 new deaths in Kyrgyzstan [source] [source]

• 419 new cases and 2 new deaths in Uzbekistan [source]

• 5 new deaths in El Salvador [source]

• 835 new cases and 70 new deaths in Ukraine [source]

• 587 new cases and 16 new deaths in Cambodia [source] [source]

• 930 new cases and 39 new deaths in Pakistan [source]

• 859 new cases in India [source] [source]

• 1,248 new cases and 12 new deaths in Kazakhstan [source]

• 395 new cases and 3 new deaths in Belgium [source]

• 2,213 new cases and 10 new deaths in Mongolia [source] [source]

• 3,174 new cases and 51 new deaths in Thailand [source]

• 923 new cases and 46 new deaths in Honduras [source]

• 1,667 new cases and 69 new deaths in Bolivia [source]

• 4,233 new cases and 261 new deaths in Mexico [source]

• 644 new cases and 1 new death in South Korea [source]

• 14 new cases in Australia [source] [source] [source] [source] [source]

• 3 new cases in New Zealand [source]

• 24 new cases in China [source]

The post Europe Worries As Delta Variant Spreads Fast In The U.K. & Lisbon, Mexico Deaths, World Stats appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

REYNOSA, Mexico, June 22 (Reuters) – When Salvadoran asylum seeker Liset Ortiz was kidnapped in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez on her way to the United States, a kidnapper found the police report she was carrying as proof of the death threats she says she received in El Salvador for being a lesbian.

So he dragged her away from her 8-year-old son – who was from a previous marriage before she came out as lesbian – and raped her, she said. “He told me that he’d show me he was better than a woman,” Ortiz recounted.

Ortiz, 32, and her son were freed from the warehouse where they were held with several other kidnapped women only after her family in the United States wired $4,000 to the kidnappers, her sister in Texas confirmed by phone.

Once released, they fled across the border to the United States hoping to seek asylum from the discrimination she had faced in El Salvador. Instead, that same night, U.S. immigration agents sent them back to Mexico under a Trump-era health code that has closed the border to many asylum seekers, she said.

Reuters could not independently verify Ortiz’s account.

U.S. President Joe Biden, during his successful presidential campaign, denounced a Trump-era program that returned tens of thousands of Central American asylum seekers to violent Mexican border cities to wait as their cases wound through U.S. courts. On his first day in office, Biden halted the program.

Yet, he kept in place a Trump-era health order, known as Title 42, that allows U.S. officials to rapidly expel migrants at U.S. borders during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, five months into Biden’s presidency, the scenes at the Mexican border are little changed.

Ortiz and her son are now one of hundreds of Central American families camped at the foot of the international bridge in Reynosa, one of Mexico’s most dangerous cities. The camp is reminiscent of a symbol of Trump’s restrictive immigration policies: the now-closed squalid tent city in another cartel-run border town, Matamoros, 55 miles to the east.

Many of the families living in tents in Reynosa – just across from McAllen, Texas – arrived after they were expelled by U.S. officials to Mexico without a chance to present their asylum claims.

Since Biden took office, U.S. border authorities have recorded more than 400,000 expulsions under Title 42, according to data from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency. The vast majority of those expelled are Mexicans and Central Americans. Repeat crossings are common.

A White House spokesperson said Title 42 was a public health directive, not an immigration enforcement tool, and was necessary on health grounds. The Biden administration says it is working to strengthen the asylum system along the border.

But advocate groups, U.N. officials and even some fellow Democrats say the continuation of Title 42 is subjecting migrants to the same dangers – kidnapping, extortion, and sexual violence – as the policies of the Trump administration.

Nearly 3,300 migrants and asylum seekers stranded in Mexico since Biden took office have been kidnapped, raped, trafficked or assaulted, according to a report by the New York-based group Human Rights First released Tuesday.

“We believe that it is time to end Title 42,” Kelly Clements, the deputy high commissioner for the United Nations refugee agency, told Reuters. “We think now it is having the effect of sending more people, and children in this case, into harm’s way.”

MIGRANT PATROL

In Reynosa, criminal groups for years have fought for control of the region’s lucrative drug trafficking and human smuggling routes. On Saturday, armed gunmen killed 18 apparently randomly selected people in several of its neighborhoods.

In the plaza, migrants run a nightly patrol that has beaten back some gang members who have tried to snatch residents of the encampment, migrants say.

A Reuters witness saw no police stationed near the plaza. The state-level office of public security, state government and federal immigration authorities did not respond to questions about what authorities were doing to protect migrants.

Criminal groups exert considerable control along the border in northeastern Mexico and require migrants to pay to cross their territory.

“I’m afraid to be here,” said Honduran mother Dolores Zúñiga, 40, who says she was kidnapped along with her 7- and 11-year-old sons when she arrived in Reynosa.

After crossing the border and then being expelled back to Mexico, her smuggler warned Zúñiga that unless she coughs up another $1,500 to a criminal group for permission to be in Reynosa, she risks being kidnapped again.

“They have photos of me,” she said, hiding inside her sweltering tent, where she showed Reuters text messages from her smuggler warning her against even venturing to the edge of the plaza.

The post Mexico Border: Asylum Seekers Wait for End of Trump Health Rule appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

Basseterre, St. Kitts, June 22, 2021 (RSCNPF):  The Police have issued 191 tickets between the period May 21 to June 20 for the offences of Failing to Wear Masks in Public and for Hosting Social Events Without Permission. The offences are both breaches of the Emergency Powers (COVID-19) Regulations under which St. Kitts and Nevis has been operating. 

This information was disclosed by Superintendent Cromwell Henry at the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) press briefing which was held on Monday, June 21, 2021. During his presentation, he gave an update on the enforcement efforts of The Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force (RSCNPF) in that area to date. 

“One hundred and nineteen of such tickets were issued on St. Kitts and 72 on Nevis. Further, 31 persons have been arrested for breaching the curfew and, so far, 8 have been charged. We continue to urge our people to take all the COVID–19 control measures seriously and strictly adhere to them as such adherence will facilitate the slowing of the spread of the virus and the eventual easing of all restrictions,” Superintendent Henry told the public. 

 Superintendent Henry is one of the representatives of the RSCNPF on the National COVID-19 Task Force. 

In section 3(1) of the Statutory Rules and Orders No. 24 of 2021 Emergency Powers (COVID-19) Regulations, 2021, it states that “a period of night curfew is imposed every day from 6 p.m. of one day until 5 a.m. of the following day,” while Section 5 prohibits mass gatherings. 

 Section 20 speaks to penalties and states that, “a person who contravenes or fails to comply with these Regulations shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 6 months or to both and to forfeiture of any goods or money in respect of which the offence has been committed.”

The post Close To 200 Persons Ticketed For Breaching The Emergency Powers (Covid-19) Regulations appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

The post Possible Storm Forming Near Eastern Caribbean appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

Haiti is the only Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country expected to benefit directly from a U.S. donation of 14 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to Latin America and the Caribbean. Meanwhile, Jamaica reports it is running low on vaccines.

Up to now, Haiti still hasn’t received a single dose of vaccine.

On Monday, the White House announced the final allocations for the doses President Joe Biden promised to donate last month. Some 60 million shots will go to the global COVAX vaccine sharing alliance and 20 million being directed to specific partners.

COVAX is the vaccines pillar of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, which a ground-breaking global collaboration to accelerate the development, production, and equitable access to COVID-19 tests, treatments, and vaccines.

COVAX is co-led by Gavi, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Its aim is to accelerate the development and manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines, and to guarantee fair and equitable access for every country in the world.

Washington revealed plans for 55 million more shots. It said through COVAX, the latest batch of doses will include about 14 million for Latin America and the Caribbean, approximately 16 million for Asia and about 10 million for Africa.

About 14 million doses will be shared directly with Colombia, Argentina, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Panama, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Cabo Verde, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Yemen, Tunisia, Oman, Bank and Gaza, Ukraine, Kosovo, Georgia, Moldova and Bosnia.

Jamaica Facing Shortage

But, Jamaica is now facing a COVID-19 vaccine shortage, three weeks after receiving over 55,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.

In May, Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton had said that those doses would have been reserved for persons due for their second vaccine shot this month. But during a press conference last week, Tufton revealed that those vaccines are close to running out and the ministry will now have to prioritize Jamaicans over the age of 50.

Dr Tufton said the country is now at a stage in its vaccination program, where many persons will be turned away when they go to get their shot.

“We are now at a stage in the administration of vaccines when supplies are tightening up. I want to advise the public that it will mean that we have to prioritize in terms of who gets access at this time and certainly over the next two weeks. So what it means is that for the next two weeks, we’re going to have to tell some persons “no” when they come to get their first shot, and perhaps a second dose if you’re below the age of 50,” he said during a digital press conference on Thursday.

The post Haiti to Finally Get Vaccines, Jamaica Faces Shortage appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

The post USVI: Environmentally Troubled Oil Refinery Closes appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

Monica Buchanan Pitrelli@MonicaPitrelli

CNBC

It’s one thing to require unvaccinated travelers to quarantine or undergo extra Covid tests. It’s another to bar them altogether.

A small but growing list of travel destinations is either closing its doors to unvaccinated travelers or reopening only to vaccinated ones. Either way, the unvaccinated are seeing their travel options start to dwindle as tourism-dependent nations prioritize safety and simplified entrance requirements over open-door policies for all.

Unvaccinated people no longer welcome

When Anguilla reopened last November, travelers to the small Caribbean island needed to test negative for Covid-19 before and after arriving. A rash of new cases then occurred in April, and Anguilla reclosed its borders to tourists for a month.

Starting next week, unvaccinated travelers will not be allowed to enter Anguilla.

Michael Runkel | Collection Mix: Subjects | Getty Images

Now, the British overseas territory is switching tactics. Starting July 1, visitors must be vaccinated at least three weeks before arriving. This applies to “all visitors … who are eligible to be vaccinated,” according to the Anguilla Tourist Board’s website, which says children are exempt from the requirement.

Vaccinated travelers will no longer need to quarantine, take a Covid test upon arrival or pay entrance fees. Earlier this year, vaccinated travelers were charged $300 to enter, while unvaccinated visitors were charged $600.

Cases rise, tolerance falls

Anguilla isn’t the only Caribbean island closing the doors to unvaccinated travelers. The dual island nation of St. Kitts and Nevis instituted a similar policy last month.

As of May 29, St. Kitts accepts only travelers who have been vaccinated with U.S. or European vaccines. The new rule was part of several initiatives announced by Prime Minister Timothy Harris in response to a cluster of 16 Covid cases detected on the islands last month, according to St. Kitts Tourism Authority.

A cluster of 16 new Covid cases in May resulted in St. Kitts and Nevis closing its borders to unvaccinated travelers.

Walter Bibikow | DigitalVision | Getty Images

“The previously announced travel requirements for non-vaccinated travelers are null and void,” according to a statement announcing the policy change.

The islands are under a 6 p.m. daily curfew, and tourist sites are closed until June 26. A timeframe for reopening to unvaccinated tourists has not yet been indicated.

Unvaccinated children traveling with vaccinated parents can also enter, though they must “vacation in place” for 14 days, rather than the nine days required for vaccinated tourists.

Anguilla and St. Kitts and Nevis are deemed Level 1 low Covid destinations by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Both were highlighted by CNBC in March as being among only a handful of tourist destinations that opened while maintaining low Covid infection rates.

A ‘compelling reason’ to travel

Other locations require unvaccinated visitors to show they are traveling for reasons beyond simply needing a vacation.

When French Polynesia, which includes the islands of Tahiti and Bora Bora, reopened on May 1, it singled out Americans as the only nationality that could enter for the purpose of tourism. The policy applied to unvaccinated Americans, too, though the unimmunized were subject to quarantines.

That has since changed. From June 16, vaccinated tourists can enter if they spent the preceding 15 days in the United Kingdom, most French territories or France’s “green zone” countries, according to French Polynesia’s destination marketing organization. “Green zone” countries currently include most of Europe, plus countries such as Australia, Canada and the United States.

France’s “green” list of countries

Most of Europe, plus Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, Lebanon, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and the United States

Source: French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, updated June 17

Everyone else — including all unvaccinated travelers — must demonstrate a “compelling reason” related to health, family or work to travel to French Polynesia.

“Tourism is not a compelling reason for travel,” according to Tahiti’s tourism website.

France’s policy is slightly more relaxed. It allows unvaccinated travelers from “green” countries to enter via a negative Covid test. Yet travelers from “orange” countries — which is every country not on the green or red list, i.e. the majority of the world — must be vaccinated to enter or show “pressing grounds” for travel, according to the website for the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs.

The French collectivities of St. Barts and St. Martin in the Caribbean reopened this month with a similar policy. Nils DuFau, president of St. Barts’ tourism board, separately issued an announcement that St. Barts was open to vaccinated Americans starting June 9.

St. Barts reopened its borders to vaccinated American travelers on June 9.

Walter Bibikow | DigitalVision | Getty Images

Spain went a step further. From June 7, Spain is welcoming travelers from Europe and those from a list of 10 countries with low Covid rates; all other tourists must show vaccination certificates to enter.

Note: The country lists from France and Spain are similar. However, the U.K. is currently on Spain’s list, while the U.S. and Canada are not.

Balancing act

Tourist-dependent countries, like those in the Caribbean, must balance the economic impact of welcoming tourists with the safety of its citizens, said Tim Hentschel, co-founder and CEO of hotel reservations company HotelPlanner.

“I can only imagine how challenging those conversations must be between a country’s infectious disease expert advising a more stringent policy versus a head of tourism arguing to let everyone in immediately so the economy doesn’t tank,” he said.

Hentschel said that while 13 Caribbean nations are sovereign, French territories such as Martinique and Guadeloupe and Dutch territories such as Curacao, Aruba and Sint Maarten, may end up following state policies.

Hentschel called Asia “a very different story,” mainly due to lower vaccination rates.

Vaccinated travelers from some countries will not be required to quarantine in Phuket, Thailand starting July 1.

Jordan Siemens | Stone | Getty Images

“As soon as there appears to be progress, a new outbreak and lockdown occur, like in Singapore,” he said. “Asia’s journey back to a semblance of pre-pandemic normal travel will be much longer — perhaps another year or more, unfortunately.”

Asian destinations have stopped short of requiring vaccinations to travel, but the continent is still largely closed to leisure visitors. The much-discussed “Phuket Sandbox” model — whereby the popular island of Phuket is scheduled to reopen on July 1, before the rest of Thailand — waives quarantine requirements for vaccinated travelers from low-to-medium-risk countries.

Unvaccinated travelers can still enter, though they are subject to 14-day isolation periods, the Tourism Authority of Thailand confirmed to CNBC.

While requiring tourists to be vaccinated makes “perfect sense” in some places, it won’t work everywhere, said Hentschel.

“Interestingly, Mexico never closed its border to American tourists throughout the entire pandemic,” he said. “So, that’s one example where a more open policy made sense for Mexico given its proximity to the U.S., the billions in cross-border shipping and commerce conducted daily and their reliance on U.S. tourism dollars.”

The post SKN Among Growing Number of Nations Open Only to Vaccinated Tourists appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

Boxes of Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines, redeployed from the Democratic Republic of Congo, arrive at a cold storage facility in Accra, Ghana, May 7, 2021. REUTERS/Francis Kokoroko

June 21 (Reuters) – The White House laid out a plan on Monday to share 55 million U.S. COVID-19 vaccine doses globally, with roughly 75% of the doses allocated to Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia and Africa through the COVAX international vaccine-sharing program.

The plan fulfills President Joe Biden’s commitment to share 80 million U.S.-made vaccines with countries around the world. The president sketched out his priorities for the first 25 million doses from that pledge earlier this month. read more

The United States has come under pressure to share more of its vaccine supply with countries that are still struggling with the deadly virus and its variants. With more and more Americans getting the shots, the White House increasingly has turned its attention to getting vaccine out internationally. (Graphic on global vaccinations)

Of the 55 million remaining doses, some 41 million will be shared through COVAX, the White House said, with approximately 14 million going to Latin America and the Caribbean, some 16 million to Asia, and roughly 10 million to Africa.

The other 25%, or roughly 14 million doses, will be shared with “regional priorities,” including Colombia, Argentina, Iraq, Ukraine, the West Bank and Gaza.

White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the United States had faced logistical issues getting vaccine to other nations.

“We have plenty of doses to share with the world, but this is a Herculean logistical challenge,” she told reporters, noting safety and regulatory information had to be shared, proper storage temperatures for the vaccines had to be ensured, and language barriers at times had to be overcome.

“We have announced today where these doses are going. We will continue to announce as they land on the ground and as they are being shipped, and we’re looking forward to doing that as quickly as possible,” she said.

The 55 million doses will be taken from the U.S. supply of Pfizer Inc (PFE.N), Moderna Inc (MRNA.O), and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) shots, though if AstraZeneca’s (AZN.L) vaccine gets a green light from the Food and Drug Administration, it would likely be added to the mix as well.

The White House said it wanted the doses to be prioritized for health care workers and those who are most at risk.

International partners are eager to get U.S. help. Biden has announced the United States will buy 500 million doses of Pfizer’s vaccine and donate them to the world’s poorest countries. read more

The White House’s breakdown of its allocation of the 55 million vaccine doses is below.

THROUGH COVAX:

* Latin America and the Caribbean (approximately 14 million shots): Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Paraguay, Bolivia, Uruguay, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Haiti, and other Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries, Dominican Republic, Panama, and Costa Rica

* Asia (approximately 16 million shots): India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Maldives, Bhutan, Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Laos, Papua New Guinea, Taiwan, Cambodia, and the Pacific Islands.

* Africa (approximately 10 million shots): Recipient countries will be selected in coordination with the African Union.

THROUGH DIRECT SHARING: Colombia, Argentina, Haiti, other CARICOM countries, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Panama, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Cabo Verde, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Yemen, Tunisia, Oman, West Bank and Gaza, Ukraine, Kosovo, Georgia, Moldova, and Bosnia.

The post CARICOM Nations Among Others to Benefit from US Vaccine Offer appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

image copyrightAFP

image copyrightGetty Images and Reuters

The post Nicaragua Political Arrests Lead Argentina, Mexico to Recall Envoys appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.