India reports more than 37,500 Covid-19 cases
India has reported 37,593 new infections of the coronavirus in the last 24 hours, the federal government said in a statement.
The death toll rose by 648, taking total to 435,758 fatalities, it said.
Since last few weeks, USA is registering over 1 lakh daily COVID-19 cases
— Mahesh Vikram Hegde ?? (@mvmeet) August 25, 2021
When this was the situation in India in April-May 2021, the US media houses were reporting it in BOLD headlines
Now these US media houses aren't even publishing USA's COVID-19 numbers!
However, analysts say the toll is much higher than the Indian government's figures on deaths.
New Zealand reports 62 new cases in community
New Zealand has 62 new cases in the community, the Director General of Health Ashley Bloomfield said, taking the total number of cases in the latest outbreak to 210.
So far 12 of these cases are in the capital Wellington while the rest are in the largest city Auckland, he said.
US to donate 1M Pfizer vaccines to Vietnam
The United States will donate 1 million Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine doses to Vietnam, Vice President Kamala Harris has told Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh during a meeting in Hanoi.
Vietnam has one of the lowest vaccination rates in Asia, with just under 2 percent of its 98 million people fully-vaccinated.
Sydney hospitals battle virus as daily infections hit record
Sydney's infections have hit a daily record, putting parts of the health system under pressure, officials said, calling for vaccinations to be stepped up to stem the tide of hospital admissions.
Despite two months of lockdowns in Sydney, New South Wales state reported 919 new cases amid a growing Delta variant outbreak, taking Australia's daily case numbers to a new pandemic high just below 1,000.
A total of 113 people in the state are in intensive care, with 98 of those unvaccinated.
Japan to further expand emergency areas as cases surge
Japan is set to expand its virus state of emergency for a second week in a row, adding several more prefectures as a surge in infections fueled by the delta variant strains the country's health care system.
The government last week extended the state of emergency until September 12 and expanded the areas covered to 13 prefectures from six including Tokyo. Sixteen other prefectures are currently under quasi-emergency status.
The government at a meeting of experts Wednesday proposed upgrading eight prefectures from quasi-emergency status to a full state of emergency.
South Korea nearly matches its high for new cases
South Korea has reported 2,155 new virus cases, nearly matching a record daily increase set earlier this month amid an alarming spread of infections.
With Wednesday's report, the country has tallied more than 1,000 new cases for 50 consecutive days, including a record 2,221 on August 11.
Effectiveness of mRNA vaccines against Delta drops to 66 percent
The effectiveness against infection of the Pfizer and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines dropped from 91 percent before the Delta variant became dominant to 66 percent afterwards, according to a large study of US health workers published.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been examining the real-world performance of the two vaccines since they were first authorised among healthcare personnel, first responders and other frontline workers.
Thousands of workers across six states were tested weekly and upon onset of Covid-19 symptoms, allowing researchers to estimate efficacy against symptomatic and asymptomatic infection.
By looking at the rate of infections among vaccinated and unvaccinated people and the amount of time they were tracked, vaccine effectiveness was estimated at 91 percent in the initial study period of December 14, 2020 to April 10, 2021.
But during weeks in the run-up to August 14, when the ultra-contagious Delta variant became dominant, effectiveness fell to 66 percent.
US administers 363.9M doses of Covid-19 vaccines
The United States has administered 363,915,792 doses of Covid-19 vaccines in the country and distributed 428,529,385 doses, the CDC said.
The agency said 202,041,893 people had received at least one dose while 171,367,657 people are fully vaccinated as of Tuesday.
The CDC tally includes two-dose vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech, as well as Johnson & Johnson's one-shot vaccine.
Rangers confirm positive Covid tests ahead of Celtic clash
Rangers have received positive Covid-19 tests in their latest round of testing, the Scottish champions said, days before their weekend clash against Celtic.
They travel to Armenia to take on Alashkert in the second leg of their Europa League playoff on Thursday holding a 1-0 lead before facing Old Firm rivals Celtic in the Scottish Premiership at Ibrox three days later.
The club did not name the players or staff that had been infected.
Greece to end free Covid tests for unvaccinated, infections hit new record
Greece said it would end free testing for unvaccinated people to encourage them to get inoculated and head off any renewed spike in Delta variant infections of the coronavirus.
Health authorities reported 4,608 new confirmed cases and 32 related deaths, with the daily tally of infections hitting a new record, surpassing 4,340 cases in March this year.
The country has recorded a total of 566,812 confirmed cases of Covid-19 infections and 13,466 deaths since reporting its first Covid-19 outbreak in February 2020.
India's active COVID-19 cases decline to 3,33,924: Union health ministry
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 23, 2021
Goldman Sachs to mandate Covid vaccine for staff, visitors
Goldman Sachs Group Inc told employees that anyone entering its offices in the United States must be fully vaccinated against Covid-19, according to an internal memo.
The bank will also require that masks be worn in offices regardless of vaccination status, while fully vaccinated employees will receive weekly Covid-19 tests starting on September 7, the memo said.
Premier League clubs will not send international players to Covid 'red-list' countries
English Premier League clubs decided that they would not allow players to participate in international matches in Covid "red-listed" countries in September, according to a statement.
It said clubs reached the decision reluctantly but unanimously.
As a result of that decision, nearly 60 players from 19 Premier League clubs will be unavailable to play in two Premier League matches, one UEFA club competition and English League Cup third-round competitions.
Mexico's coronavirus death toll rises to 254,466
Mexico's health ministry reported 18,262 new cases of Covid-19 and 940 more deaths, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country since the pandemic began to 3,249,878 and the death toll to 254,466.
US will test all evacuees from Afghanistan for Covid-19
The United States will test all evacuees from Afghanistan for Covid-19 and aims to set up a process for vaccinations, a senior administration official said.
The official said the number of Afghans coming into the United States was "fluid" due to the swiftness of the operation and could not provide a figure during a call with reporters.
US law enforcement and counterterrorism officials are carrying out "robust security processing" before evacuees are allowed to enter the United States, the official said.
Brazil sees 30,872 new coronavirus cases, 894 deaths
Brazil registered 30,872 new coronavirus cases and 894 additional Covid-19 deaths in the last 24 hours, the country's Health Ministry said.
Israeli finance minister tests positive for Covid-19
The Israeli Finance Minister Hamed Amar tested positive for coronavirus, two days after attending a meeting with officials including Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, state-run media said.
His office said he has been isolated and is following the ministry's affairs from home.
Amar is the second Israeli minister to test positive for the virus within a week, as Science and Technology Minister Orit Farkash-Hacohen was diagnosed with the infection on August 22.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
