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 England's 'freedom day' marred by soaring cases
Prime Minister Boris Johnson's "freedom day" ending more than a year
of lockdown restrictions in England was marred on Monday by surging
infections, warnings of supermarket shortages and his own forced
self-isolation.
Johnson's bet that he can get one of Europe's largest economies
firing again because so many people are now vaccinated marks a new
chapter in the global response to the coronavirus.
If the vaccines prove effective in reducing severe illness and
deaths even while infections reach record levels, Johnson's decision
could offer a path out of the worst public health crisis in decades.
If not, more lockdowns could loom.
Australia prolongs lockdown in Victoria
Australian authorities said Victoria state would extend a lockdown
beyond Tuesday to slow the spread of the highly infectious Delta
variant, despite a slight drop in new infections in the state and
nationwide.
Victoria state Premier Daniel Andrews said lockdown rules would not
be lifted as cases were still being detected in the community,
promising more details would be provided on Tuesday, when the
lockdown had been due to end.
Meanwhile, Australia will deport controversial British commentator
Katie Hopkins after she admitted breaching the country's quarantine
rules.
Singapore advises unvaccinated people to stay home
Singapore's health ministry on Sunday "strongly" advised
unvaccinated individuals, especially the elderly, to stay home as
much as possible over the next few weeks, citing heightened concerns
about the risk of community spread of COVID-19.
The country reported 88 new locally-transmitted coronavirus cases on
Sunday, the highest daily toll since August last year, driven by
growing clusters of infections linked to karaoke bars and a fishery
port.
Though Singapore's daily cases are only a fraction of the number
being reported among its Southeast Asian neighbours, the jump in
infections is a setback for the Asian business hub, which has
successfully contained its earlier outbreaks.
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 South Korea military suffers
worst outbreak
South Korea's military has recorded its biggest
cluster of infections to date, with more than
80% of personnel aboard a destroyer on
anti-piracy patrol in the Gulf of Aden testing
positive. While the 247 cases
are not directly linked to new domestic infections, with the
destroyer having left South Korea to start its mission in February,
the surge comes as the country battles its worst-ever outbreak of
COVID-19 cases at home, with another 1,252 new infections reported
for Sunday.
The country's Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Monday that just 50 of
the ship's complement of 301 personnel have tested negative in an
outbreak first reported on July 15. Authorities have begun an
operation to airlift them home.
Taiwan approves Medigen's vaccine candidate
Taiwan's government approved the emergency use and
production of Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp's COVID-19 vaccine
candidate, a major step in the island's plans to develop its own
vaccines to protect against the coronavirus.
The vaccine candidate has yet to finish clinical trials and no
efficacy data is available, but Taiwan's health ministry said
studies so far have shown that antibodies created by the shot have
been "no worse than" those created by AstraZeneca's vaccine.
Taiwan-based Medigen said last month it was seeking a speedy
emergency use authorisation from the government for its vaccine
candidate after safely completing Phase II trials.
(Compiled by Linda Noakes; Editing by Alex Richardson)
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