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 Vietnam deploys troops to enforce lockdown in largest city
Vietnamese soldiers were deployed on the streets of Ho Chi Minh City
on Monday to help enforce a lockdown in the country's business hub,
which has become the epicentre of its worst coronavirus outbreak so
far during the pandemic. The city began movement restrictions early
last month, but infections have continued to surge after authorities
said there had not been strict enough enforcement of the curbs.
Panic-buying broke out at supermarkets in the city of nine million
people over the weekend ahead of the tighter lockdown, which started
on Monday and prohibits residents from leaving their homes.
Australia PM backs reopening targets, says lockdowns unsustainable
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Monday the country
must begin to ease strict COVID-19 restrictions once vaccination
rates increase, with over half of all Australians enduring
weeks-long lockdowns to curb Delta outbreaks.
Some states have flagged they may not stick to a national plan that
would include relaxing border controls, worried about a surge in
cases in the country's southeast, with Sydney breaking new one-day
records for infections. Nationally, 30% of people above 16 are fully
vaccinated, while 52% have had a least one dose. Vaccinations are
running at a record pace but the target of 80% fully vaccinated will
not be reached until December at the current rate.
Israel finds vaccine booster significantly lowers infection risk
A third dose of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine has significantly improved
protection from infection and serious illness among people aged 60
and older in Israel compared with those who received two shots,
findings published by the Health Ministry showed on Sunday.
The data were presented at a meeting of a ministry panel of
vaccination experts on Thursday and uploaded to its website on
Sunday, though the full details of the study were not released. A
third jab for over 60-year-olds offered five to six times greater
protection after 10 days with regard to serious illness and
hospitalisation.
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 China reports no new local
cases for first time since July
China's health authority reported on Monday that
there were no new locally transmitted cases of
COVID-19 for the first time since July, offering
more signs that the current outbreak that began
late last month may be tapering off soon. The
latest outbreak was driven mainly by infections
first detected among a few airport workers in
the eastern city of Nanjing on July 20. Since
then, more than 1,200 people in China have been
confirmed to be infected. The
outbreak has spurred local authorities across the country to impose
tough counter-epidemic measures including mass testing for millions
of people to identify and isolate carriers, as well as treat the
infected. No one died in the current outbreak, which has largely
focused on the cities of Nanjing and Yangzhou in the province of
Jiangsu, near the financial hub of Shanghai.
Taiwan's president leads way in first domestic vaccine
President Tsai Ing-wen got vaccinated with Taiwan's first
domestically developed COVID-19 vaccine on Monday, giving her
personal stamp of approval as the island begins rolling out the shot
whose approval critics say has been rushed.
The health ministry last month approved the emergency use of Medigen
Vaccine Biologics Corp's COVID-19 vaccine, part of a broader plan
for inoculation self-sufficiency as delays in vaccine deliveries
from global drug companies have affected Taiwan and many other
countries. More than 700,000 people have signed up so far to receive
the Medigen vaccine, which requires a second shot 28 days after the
first one.
(Compiled by Karishma Singh, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
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