|
 Global COVID-19 death toll surpasses 3 million
Coronavirus-related deaths worldwide crossed 3 million on Tuesday,
according to a Reuters tally, as the latest global resurgence of
infections is challenging vaccination efforts across the globe.
Worldwide COVID-19 deaths are rising once again, especially in
Brazil and India. Health officials blame more infectious variants
that were first detected in Britain and South Africa, along with
public fatigue with lockdowns and other restrictions.
According to a Reuters tally, it took more than a year for the
global coronavirus death toll to reach 2 million. The next 1 million
deaths were added in about three months.
EU blocks 3.1 million AstraZeneca doses to Australia
The European Union has blocked shipments of 3.1 million doses of
AstraZeneca's vaccine to Australia and the country has little hope
of getting the remaining 400,000 doses it has been pledged on time,
a government source said on Tuesday.
The export curb complicates Australia's inoculation campaign, which
is already 83% behind its original schedule.
New Zealand and Australia will create a quarantine and COVID-testing
free "travel bubble" from April 19, after effectively eradicating
the virus by closing borders last year to stop more infections
reaching their shores and stringent lockdowns.
Indian states seek widening of vaccinations
Many Indian state leaders have asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to
open up vaccinations to most of the country's hundreds of millions
of adults, following a second surge in infections that has eclipsed
the first wave.
India breached the milestone of 100,000 daily infections for the
first time on Monday, and cases jumped by 96,982 on Tuesday, data
from the health ministry showed. There were 446 new deaths, taking
the total to 165,547.
[to top of second column] |
 The country of 1.35 billion
people has administered 80.9 million vaccine
doses, the most after the United States and
China, but it lags far behind in immunisations
per capita.
Spain's COVID rate jumps
Spain's rising coronavirus infection rate is
accelerating, official data showed on Monday, as
authorities took delivery of the largest batch
of vaccines to date. The
infection rate as measured over the past 14 days rose to 163.4 cases
per 100,000 people from 151.8 cases on Saturday as a gradual uptick
in contagion from mid-March lows continued to gather pace.
Health emergency chief Fernando Simon confirmed infections were on
the rise across the country and that pressure on the health system
was beginning to build.
Hungary plans to start reopening in days
Hungary will begin gradual easing of coronavirus restrictions within
days, the government said, as it expects to have 25% of its
population of 10 million inoculated by Tuesday or early Wednesday at
the latest.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who faces an election in a year, is
walking a tightrope between a lockdown to tame the world's deadliest
COVID-19 surge and the need to reopen the economy to avoid a second
year of deep recession.
 The central European country reported record coronavirus fatalities
last week and doctors described hospitals filling beyond capacity.
(Compiled by Linda Noakes;Editing by Alison Williams)
[© 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2021 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content |
