ZCZC
BFF-28
HEALTH-VIRUS-WORLD
Coronavirus: Latest global developments
PARIS, March 30, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – Here are the latest developments in the
coronavirus crisis:
– Border controls –
Italy is imposing a five-day quarantine on all arrivals from other EU
countries and its own citizens, as Germany says it will step up checks at its
land borders to ensure travellers have tested negative, as concern grows over
Easter holiday travel.
– Even more doses – German firm BioNTech says it is on track to
manufacture 2.5 billion doses of its vaccine this year with US partner
Pfizer, 25 percent more than previously expected.
– Origins report –
A team of international experts will present details of their findings
from a mission to China, which concluded that Covid-19 probably passed to
humans from bats via an intermediary animal.
– Brazil reshuffle – Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro overhauls his
government, changing six key ministers as the far-right leader faces mounting
pressure over the country’s virus death toll — the second highest in the
world.
– Canada AstraZeneca blow –
Canadian experts recommended halting the use of AstraZeneca shots for
people aged under 55 after a small number of patients elsewhere suffered
blood clots.
– Italian approval –
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi is vaccinated with the jab in a move
intended to show support for the vaccine.
– Red Sea freedom –
Israel reopens the Taba border post with Egypt that had been closed
throughout the pandemic, allowing limited numbers to cross to the Sinai
peninsula for Passover holidays along the Red Sea.
– Better next time – The WHO, the EU and leaders from 23 other countries
back a push for a new global treaty to better prepare for future pandemics,
with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also lending his support.
– Trumping on –
Former US president Donald Trump lashes out at two of the country’s
leading figures in the coronavirus battle — Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx –
– after they criticised his handling of the pandemic.
– Papua struggling –
Papua New Guinea has converted a sports centre into a makeshift Covid-19
hospital as the Pacific nation struggles with a surge of cases.
– America first –
The US will be “the leader” in vaccinating the world against Covid-19
after making rapid progress at home, Secretary of State Antony Blinken says.
– Green pass – The European Parliament will be ready to ratify the EU’s
Covid “green” pass in June, a key lawmaker says, paving the way for easier
travel during the summer season.
– Flight hazard –
A Vietnam Airlines flight attendant who broke his home quarantine and met
with friends is handed a two-year suspended jail term for spreading the
coronavirus.
– Nearly 2.8 million dead –
At least 2,792,586 people have died of Covid-19 around the world since the
outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to an AFP tally from
official sources.
The US is the worst-affected country with 550,036 deaths followed by
Brazil with 313,866 fatalities, Mexico with 201,826, India with 162,114 and
Britain with 126,615 deaths.
BSS/AFP/FI/ 1840 hrs