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 WHO at animal health facility, fewest new China cases in a month
A team of investigators led by the World Health Organization (WHO)
visited on Tuesday an animal health facility in China's central city
of Wuhan in the search for clues about the origins of the COVID-19
pandemic. The centre, which fights epidemic diseases in animals,
could provide information on how a coronavirus endemic in horseshoe
bats in southwest China might have crossed into humans, possibly via
an intermediary species.
Meanwhile, China reported the fewest new COVID-19 cases in a month
as imported cases overtook local infections, official data showed on
Tuesday, suggesting its worst wave since March 2020 is being stamped
out ahead of a major holiday.
New U.S. transit mask rules ordered by Biden take effect
New rules took effect just before midnight Tuesday requiring
millions of travellers in the United States to wear masks on
airplanes, trains, buses, ferries, taxis and ride-share vehicles and
in airports, stations, ports and other transit hubs.
Nearly all U.S. travel is covered by the rules, but people in
private cars and solo truck drivers are exempt. The order requires
all passengers two and older to wear masks but travellers can avoid
wearing masks if they have a disability.
Americans scramble for 2nd vaccine dose appointments
As more Americans ready for their second COVID-19 vaccine shot, some
patients are falling through the cracks of an increasingly complex
web of providers and appointment systems. Available vaccines need to
be given as two separate doses weeks apart, and confusion is further
taxing an already challenged health system.
While many people are getting their required second doses, the
process is taking a toll on some of the most vulnerable - older
adults who in many cases rely on family members or friends to
navigate complex sign-up systems and inconvenient locations.
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 Likely another month in Japan's
state of emergency
Japan is expected to extend a state of emergency
in Tokyo and other regions for another month on
Tuesday, seeking to keep the upper hand over a
COVID-19 outbreak even as daily case numbers
begin to edge down. Prime Minister Yoshida Suga
is due to make a final decision on the extension
after a meeting of an expert coronavirus
response panel later in the day.
Official measures to control the virus have been hamstrung by a lack
of legal weight, including any penalties, meaning the government can
only request people follow directives. That may change later this
week with the passage of a revision to the coronavirus special
measures law that will allow authorities to levy fines on people who
break the law. The revision passed the lower house on Monday and is
expected to be approved by the upper house on Wednesday.
EU vaccine curbs may delay Japan's inoculation drive
European Union curbs on exports of novel coronavirus vaccines could
delay Japan's inoculation drive, Taro Kono, the minister in charge
of the vaccine effort, said. Japan is set to begin its vaccination
campaign this month, later than most major economies, and has
secured rights to more than 500 million vaccine doses from several
Western developers, more than enough for its 126 million population.
Dependence on overseas makers and a requirement that the vaccines go
through domestic trials have delayed the campaign. Any delay could
sow doubts about a government aim to secure enough doses for
everyone before the Tokyo Olympics this summer.
(Compiled by Karishma Singh; Editing by Robert Birsel)
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