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Australians are allowed to return home after 19 months of quarantine; seven regions of Ukraine immediately entered the red zone, but the number of vaccinated people in the country is rapidly increasing. Meanwhile, scientists warn of a new strain of coronavirus that has learned to evade vaccines, and Hollywood actress Charlize Theron urges rich countries to share vaccine recipes with the poor. Today’s top coronavirus pandemic news from around the world.
According to Johns Hopkins University, the number of people infected with the coronavirus worldwide in the past 28 days is approximately 11.7 million. During this time, approximately 198,000 patients have died and 662 million people have been vaccinated. According to the calculations of the Agence France-Presse, 8023 people died from Covid-19 worldwide on Tuesday. In terms of the number of deaths, the United States remains in first place (1415 deaths), followed by Russia (1123 deaths) and Ukraine (692 deaths). The highest number of deaths per 100 000 inhabitants was recorded in Peru (607 deaths per 100 000 inhabitants), followed by Bosnia and Herzegovina (348), North Macedonia (339), Bulgaria (330) and Hungary (317) in fourth and fifth place respectively.
The coronavirus continues to spread actively in Eastern European countries. This week, Poland, Latvia, and Romania announced new restrictions, and on Wednesday, the Ukrainian government designated seven regions as red zones with the highest level of quarantine measures. The sharp increase in the infection rate has prompted the State Commission of Ukraine on Technogenic and Ecological Safety to include the regions of Zhytomyr, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kyiv, Luhansk, Lviv, Khmelnytskyi and Chernihiv in the red zone starting from October 30th. Kyiv, which is recognized as a separate territorial unit under Ukrainian law, is currently classified as a less dangerous “yellow” zone, but city authorities believe its imminent inclusion in the red zone is almost inevitable.
More Ukrainians are getting vaccinated, but the country lags far behind the West in immunization rates. “The epidemiological situation is serious. Over the past day, more than 22,000 new cases of Covid-19 have been recorded. Unfortunately, the number of hospitalizations is growing unsatisfactorily,” said Aleksey Chernyshev, Ukrainian Minister of Community Development. “Vaccination saves from serious diseases. I urge local authorities to strengthen anti-epidemic measures, accelerate the pace of vaccination and increase the number of tests”. Thus, a total of 15 regions of the country are now included in the red zone (Ukraine is divided into 27 regions, including 24 provinces, the Crimea annexed by Russia, and the cities of Kyiv and Sevastopol). We explain quickly, simply, and clearly what happened, why it matters, and what happens next. эпизоды means “episodes” in English. End of story: Podcast Advertising. In the “red” regions, anti-virus restrictions have been introduced: only certain categories of shops and service facilities are allowed to operate. Similar measures were taken in Western Europe in the winter – only stores selling essential goods were open. However, in Ukraine’s red zones, all other institutions still have the opportunity to work if all visitors and workers have either a negative PCR test (valid for 72 hours) or a certificate of full vaccination”.
As the pandemic spreads, more and more Ukrainians are getting vaccinated. According to Agence France-Presse, more than 291,000 people were vaccinated in one day – the largest number since February, when Ukrainians were first given the opportunity to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Over the past week, more than 1.6 million residents of the country have been vaccinated – up from 906,000 the previous week. According to Reuters calculations, Ukrainians have already received a total of 16.5 million vaccinations, which means that only about 18.6% of the population has been fully vaccinated, taking into account that two doses are required.
Scientists from Germany are expressing concern about the emergence of another (though not very new) variant of the coronavirus, known by the code name A.30. According to the authors of the article published in the journal Nature, this version of the virus is characterized by a series of mutations that allow it to easily penetrate cells, making it almost invulnerable to antibodies produced as a result of vaccination.
There are 15 mutations in the spike protein that distinguish the “original” version of the A.30 virus. During the evolution of the virus, five amino acids have disappeared from its composition and another 10 have been replaced by others due to “assembly errors”. German scientists have discovered that as a result, A.30 can easily infect even fully vaccinated individuals, including those vaccinated with the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine (which, like the Russian “Sputnik,” is produced using vector technology) as well as the Pfizer Comirnaty vaccine (developed on the basis of mRNA). This variant of the coronavirus was first detected about six months ago, simultaneously in several patients in Angola and Sweden (although initially A.30 most likely originated in Tanzania). Fortunately, strict containment measures (including the isolation of all persons infected with A.30) prevented this variant of the virus from spreading to other countries.
Australian authorities have confirmed that they will lift the ban on citizens leaving the country next week. For the past 19 months, millions of Australians have lived not only with this restriction, but also with a number of other severe restrictions.
Australians needed a permit to travel outside the country. “It is time to give Australians their lives back,” said Prime Minister Scott Morrison, commenting on the upcoming reopening of the border. It will be possible for vaccinated citizens to leave the country without special permission. Australia has not yet opened its borders, but it is preparing to do so. “By the end of the year, we hope to welcome fully vaccinated skilled workers and students from other countries,” said Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews. Many Australians who left the country before the lockdown will now be able to return and see their loved ones for the first time in over a year, but some still don’t believe the restrictions will be lifted. “I will believe that the borders are open when I see it with my own eyes and hear stories of the seamless return of wandering Australians,” Australian citizen Amy Hayes, who lives in Britain, told the BBC.
Sources: Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, USA), local authorities Last update: July 5, 2022, 10:59 GMT+3 Hollywood actress Charlize Theron, who is also the head of the charity project Charlize Theron Africa Outreach, called on Western countries to waive patents on vaccine production in order to fight the pandemic during her appearance on the BBC.
“She believes this would help produce more vaccines and save more lives, especially in poor countries. Theron believes it is unfair that “while booster shots are already being administered in the United States, vaccines are still unavailable to certain groups of citizens in many African countries. “Maybe it would have been wiser to reach out to these countries and give a greater number of people their first dose?” – South African-born Teron asked in an interview with the BBC. India and South Africa, two poor countries hit by a powerful wave of a mutated virus, asked for the patents to be revoked in the fall. Western countries did not want to give up the protection of their own medical know-how, but in May the US authorities unexpectedly changed their minds. Although President Joe Biden spoke in favor of opening access to patents, he was unable to convince Europe of the necessity of this step. In Europe, it is considered sufficient to share the vaccines that are already ready, and there is no need to disclose the formulas, which China will also have access to.