WHO's pandemic project faces cash crunch amid vaccine, oxygen
shortages
The World Health Organization is seeking $11.5 billion in urgent
funding to fight the more infectious Delta variant of the
coronavirus, a draft report seen by Reuters shows, amid worries
wealthy nations are partly bypassing its COVID-19 programmes.
A large portion of the cash being requested from the WHO's partners
is needed to buy tests, oxygen and face masks in poorer nations,
says the document which is expected to be released this week. And a
quarter of it would be to buy hundreds of millions of vaccines for
them that would otherwise go elsewhere.
The paper, still subject to changes, outlines the results and
financial needs of the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A),
the programme co-led by the WHO to distribute fairly COVID-19
vaccines, drugs and tests across the world.
The programme, set up at the start of the pandemic, remains vastly
underfunded.
China reports most new COVID-19 cases since January
China reported its most new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases since
January on Wednesday as some cities stepped up restrictions, cut
flights and increased testing to get to grips with an outbreak
driven mainly by the Delta variant.
The travel restrictions and closures led Nomura to downgrade its
July-September growth forecast for the world's second-largest
economy, saying China's zero-tolerance approach to the virus was
becoming increasingly costly.
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"The draconian measures taken by the government are resulting in
potentially the most stringent travel bans and lockdowns in China
since the spring of 2020," the brokerage said in a note.
Japan warns of unprecedented COVID spread as Tokyo hits record
Japan warned on Wednesday that coronavirus infections were surging
at an unprecedented pace as new cases hit a record high in Tokyo,
overshadowing the Olympics and adding to doubts over the
government's handling of the pandemic.
The Delta variant was leading to a spread of infections "unseen in
the past", Health Minister Norihisa Tamura said as he defended a new
policy of asking patients with milder symptoms to isolate at home
rather than going to hospital.
"The pandemic has entered a new phase ... Unless we have enough
beds, we can't bring people to hospital. We're acting pre-emptively
on this front," Tamura told parliament.
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 One of youngest Australia
deaths as Sydney outbreak grows
Australia reported one of its youngest deaths from COVID-19 on
Wednesday as daily infections lingered near a 16-month high despite
the lockdown of 5 million people in its biggest city of Sydney
entering its sixth week.
The unidentified man in his 20s, who had no underlying health issues
and had not been vaccinated, died at his home in Sydney, authorities
said. He deteriorated rapidly after complaining of only mild
symptoms, they said.
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The death highlights the risk facing Sydney, which is struggling to
contain an outbreak of the highly infectious Delta variant when
fewer than 20% of its residents are vaccinated.
Macau begins COVID tests and shuts some entertainment venues
The gambling hub of Macau will begin testing its 600,000 people and
close some entertainment spots after the Chinese-ruled city
confirmed four new coronavirus cases, its government said on
Wednesday, pushing casino stocks lower.
The resurgence in cases in a city that has seen very few infections
over the past year and a half has raised concerns that casinos,
Macau's main economic engine and source of revenues, may have to
close in the near-term if the spread is not contained.
English study finds 50-60% reduced risk for fully vaccinated
Fully vaccinated people have an approximate 50% to 60% reduced risk
of infection from the Delta coronavirus variant, including those who
are asymptomatic, a large English coronavirus prevalence study found
on Wednesday.
The study found that the link between infections and
hospitalisations, which had previously weakened, had started to
reconverge, which coincides with the spread of Delta among younger
people who may not be fully vaccinated. Public Health England has
said that Delta carries a higher risk of hospitalisation, though
vaccines offer good protection against severe disease.
(Compiled by Karishma Singh and Nick Macfie)
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