|
 Sydney readies for more military support
More defence personnel could begin patrolling Sydney from next week
to help enforce lockdown rules as officials on Friday warned of a
COVID-19 surge in Australia's largest city after it reported its
biggest daily rise in infections yet.
New South Wales state premier Gladys Berejiklian implored Sydney's
five million residents to strictly follow existing curbs. "I am a
bit tired of hearing people say they don't know what they are
supposed to do," Berejiklian said.
U.S. FDA authorizes vaccine boosters for the immunocompromised
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday authorized a
booster dose of COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna for people
with compromised immune systems.
A few other countries, such as Israel and Germany, plan to or have
already administered the third shot to avoid another crisis due to
the contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus.
South Koreans told to cut holiday travel, work remotely
Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum urged South Koreans on Friday to
minimise holiday travel and asked companies to show flexibility in
letting people work from home amid a worsening fourth wave of
COVID-19 infections and a shortage of vaccines in the country.
[to top of second column] |
 Kim urged those returning from
holiday destinations to get tested for COVID-19
especially before clocking in for work.
Peru study finds Sinopharm vaccine 50.4%
effective
A two-dose vaccine from China's Sinopharm was
50.4% effective in preventing infections in
health workers in Peru when it was seeing a
surge in cases fuelled by virus variants, and
booster shots can be considered, a study found.
The vaccine, however, was 94% effective at
preventing deaths after two doses, it added. It
had shown a 78.1% efficacy rate against
symptomatic cases in Phase III clinical trials,
WHO data showed.
Biden says mask mandates for children not
political
U.S. President Joe Biden said on Thursday that
having children wear masks is not about politics
but about keeping them safe, as Republican
governors in some U.S. states are clashing with
local officials who are resisting orders banning
school mask mandates.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention's recent recommendation that all
students and staff wear masks in school
regardless of vaccination status has caused
confusion and frustration among parents,
educators and officials just weeks before many
states start a new school year with in-person
learning.
(Compiled by Karishma Singh; Editing by
Ramakrishnan M.)
[© 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 |
