Global races to contain Delta variant, US steps up antivirus plan



[ad_1]

Governments around the world rushed to prevent an increase in coronavirus cases caused by the Delta variant on Thursday, with US President Joe Biden offering new incentives to people who resist vaccines and Israel allowing booster shots.

The World Health Organization has warned that the highly transmissible strain of the virus, first detected in India, could trigger a “fourth wave” of cases in its area of ​​the eastern Mediterranean, an area stretching from Morocco to Pakistan.

These countries are particularly at risk because vaccination rates are low – only 5.5 percent of the region’s population has been fully vaccinated. Thus, in countries where vaccines are no longer available, public authorities are sounding the alarm.

“People are dying – and will die – who don’t have to die,” Biden said in a speech about his administration’s new initiatives to curb the spread. “If you’re out there and unvaccinated, you don’t have to die.”

He said all federal government employees would be asked to disclose their vaccine status – and those without the vaccine would have to mask themselves in the workplace and undergo Covid-19 testing.

The Democratic president also said he would ask the Pentagon to consider making the coronavirus vaccine mandatory for active duty military personnel, and called on state and local governments to offer $ 100 to recalcitrant people who do so. vaccinate.

“If there are incentives that help us beat this virus, I think we should use them. We all benefit if we can get more people vaccinated,” Biden said.

In Israel, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced that people over 60 will be offered a third dose of the vaccine – a booster available from Sunday.

“I call on all seniors who have been vaccinated in the past to receive this extra dose,” Bennett said. “Protect yourself.”

“The decision was based on considerable research and analysis, as well as the increased risk of a Delta variant wave,” Bennett said.

Israel quickly rolled out its vaccination campaign and had dropped many restrictions on public gatherings in June, but infections have skyrocketed and masks are once again mandatory in enclosed public places.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has also urged people living in Covid hot spots – even the vaccinated – to hide indoors.

The rising number of cases across America has left early vaccine users angry with those who have so far taken the jab.

“It’s almost like they don’t care about the rest of the world. They are selfish and self-centered,” Alethea Reed, a 58-year-old health care administrator in Washington, told AFP.

– Bag of mixed measures –

The global coronavirus situation is mixed: while some places like the French territory of Reunion Island and the Spanish region of Catalonia are instituting new restrictions, others are relaxing the restrictions.

Portugal said it will lift its anti-virus measures in phases from Sunday, with shops and restaurants allowed to open longer and working from home no longer mandatory.

But at the Tokyo Summer Olympics, already delayed for a year due to the pandemic, the virus continued to wreak havoc, with nearly 200 infections among athletes, media and employees attending the Games.

Among them were American pole vault hopeful Sam Kendricks, two-time world champion, and two top golfers: world number one Jon Rahm and 2020 US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau.

Japan on Thursday set a new record for the number of daily cases – more than 10,000 – and the state of emergency already in place in Tokyo was to be extended to four other regions.

“The current situation is the worst ever,” warned senior government adviser on the virus, Shigeru Omi, according to national television station NHK.

In Mexico, the national statistics institute said more than 200,000 deaths from the coronavirus were recorded in 2020, 35% more than initially reported by the government

And in China, where the new coronavirus first appeared in the city of Wuhan, small outbreaks caused by the Delta variant have been reported in three provinces.

China is fighting to vaccinate at least 65% of its 1.4 billion people by the end of the year.

So far, the virus has killed more than 4.1 million people worldwide, according to an AFP tally from official sources. The United States has the highest death toll, with more than 612,000.

bur-sst / caw

[ad_2]

Source link