(Reuters) – The prevalence of COVID-19 infections in England almost doubled in the last week of May and the estimated reproduction “R” number crept up as the “Delta” variant became more widespread, raising worries about the country’s unlocking plans.
DEATHS AND INFECTIONS
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EUROPE
* The number of people in intensive care with COVID-19 in France set a 2021 low on Friday, falling below the level reached after the end of France’s second lockdown in November.
* Britain’s Health Secretary Matt Hancock said vaccinating children in the United Kingdom against COVID-19 would take priority over donating vaccine doses to other countries around the world.
* Russia recorded nearly 425,000 excess deaths from April 2020 to April 2021 when it was in the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic, Reuters calculations based on data released by Russia’s state statistics service showed.
* Russia may provide coronavirus vaccinations for a fee to foreigners who travel to the country, President Vladimir Putin told an economic forum.
* Belgium cleared the way for indoor dining and drinking next week as an acceleration of COVID-19 vaccinations reduced strain on hospitals.
AMERICAS
* Brazil’s Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga said that Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Janssen will deliver 3 million COVID-19 vaccine shots this month, ahead of schedule.
* People travelling to France from countries where the COVID-19 risk is rated “orange”, such as Britain and the United States, will have to be vaccinated and show a recent negative test result, European Affairs Minister Clement Beaune said.
* Technical staff at Brazilian health regulator Anvisa recommended conditions for any approval of the Russian COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V, such as restricting use to healthy adults.
* Canada has negotiated an option with Pfizer for an extra 3 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine for delivery in September, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told a briefing.
* Argentina and Serbia gave an official start to the industrial production of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine against coronavirus, Russian state TV channel Rossiya 24 reported.
* The U.S. CDC director urged teenagers to get vaccinated, as new data from the agency’s researchers showed one in three teenagers who were hospitalized due to COVID-19 early this year needed ICU admission.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* Pakistan has started producing the single dose Chinese CanSinoBio COVID-19 vaccine to be able to deliver 3 million doses a month, health officials said.
* Myanmar reported its highest number of COVID-19 cases since health services and testing collapsed in the wake of the Feb. 1 coup.
* A nine-year old Asiatic lion has died from the coronavirus in a state-run zoo on the outskirts of the south Indian city of Chennai, the zoo said.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* Tanzania said embassies and international agencies can import COVID-19 vaccines to inoculate their citizens and staff against the coronavirus.
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* The U.S. health regulator authorised a lower dose of Regeneron Pharmaceutical’s COVID-19 antibody cocktail that can be given by injection.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
* Global stocks rallied on Friday and oil and gold marched higher while the dollar fell after a solid but not blow-out U.S. monthly jobs report made investors less worried that the U.S. Federal Reserve would rein in monetary stimulus soon. [MKTS/GLOB]
* U.S. employers increased hiring in May and raised wages as they competed for workers, with millions of unemployed Americans still at home because of childcare issues, generous unemployment checks and lingering fears over COVID-19.
(Compiled by Amy Caren Daniel, Editing by by Anil D’Silva)
