The British government is considering lifting the quarantine for vaccinated Europeans; Tokyo, where the Olympics are being held, has seen a new record number of infections; scientists have calculated the risk of thrombosis after receiving AstraZeneca’s vaccine.
More than 195 million people around the world have been infected with the coronavirus since the pandemic began. 4.1 million infected people have died during this time.
According to the WHO, the number of infected people worldwide increased by 8% during the week of July 19-25. The average daily increase for the week was 540 thousand cases per day. This is 60 thousand more than the previous week.
The global death toll from the virus rose 21% last week to 69,000 cases, according to the WHO. The increase in the number of infected people is attributed to the dire situation in the Americas and the Asia-Pacific region.
The British government decided Wednesday to lift the mandatory quarantine for fully vaccinated tourists from European Union countries and the United States. Now, unvaccinated travelers from these countries must be quarantined because the EU and the U.S. are on the British government’s “amber” list.
“Now the situation is a bit silly because when I fly home from Spain – and I am lucky, I am fully vaccinated – when the plane lands I just go about my business,” says tourism expert Simon Calder. “But the passenger sitting next to me, who was vaccinated in Spain rather than the UK, will have to stay home for 10 days. Ridiculous,” says Calder.
According to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, 57% of the adult population in the European Union is currently fully vaccinated, while 70% have received at least one dose.
The tourism industry and airlines have long criticized the UK’s “traffic light” entry system, which separates incoming travelers based on the level of virus transmission in their home country. Changes in the rules are unlikely to affect the flow of tourists from the US: American authorities do not advise their citizens to travel to Britain.
In Tokyo, where the Olympic Games are taking place, a new daily infection record has been set. The number of coronavirus infections in the city has been rising for several consecutive days. Over the past day, the number of new infections reached 3,177 in the city and 8,000 across Japan, officials said Wednesday.
Among those infected in the past few days, 169 people have a connection to the Olympics, but for the first time in four days, there are no athletes among them, according to the country’s Olympic committee. None of the infected people live in the Olympic Village and have no contact with participants in the games.
As of Monday, more than 38,000 foreigners have entered the country since the beginning of the Games, which affects the situation with the coronavirus.
The previous record of infection (2848 cases), registered on Tuesday, exceeded the average indicator of the previous week by 149%. As in most countries where infection rates are rising, in Japan it is mainly due to the spread of the “Delta” variant. According to Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, the majority of new cases are in the 20-40 age group. She urged people in this age group to get vaccinated as soon as possible.
Scientists commissioned by AstraZeneca have calculated the likelihood of blood clots forming in blood vessels after vaccination with this drug. Cases of thrombosis following vaccination have been reported in several countries.
In May, seven people in the United Kingdom who had received the AstraZeneca vaccine died of thrombosis in atypical circumstances. In total, 30 people out of 18 million Britons who received the AstraZeneca vaccine developed thrombosis.
Thrombosis can occur not only after the AstraZeneca vaccine, but generally during a severe course of coronavirus, but this side effect is more often mentioned in the media in connection with the AstraZeneca drug.
According to the commissioned and sponsored study, the risk of thrombosis is only associated with the first vaccination. After the second vaccination, the risk of thrombosis is about the same as in unvaccinated individuals. After the first injection, thrombosis occurs in about eight people per million vaccinated, according to AstraZeneca’s press release.
According to the WHO, the number of coronavirus-related deaths worldwide increased by 21% in just one week. Drivers of global growth – Southeast Asia and the Americas.
In these regions, the situation is worst in Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines, as well as in Mexico, the United States and Peru. Southeast Asia is now recognized as one of the world’s hardest hit regions.
In Thailand, the third wave, which local authorities have been counting since April, is reaching its peak. At that time, the total number of coronavirus deaths in the country was less than a hundred; today it is approaching five thousand. In the last 24 hours, 133 people have died in the country.
More than 16 thousand people have been infected, which is another record. As the death rate rises, the health system is struggling to cope, and Thai authorities are trying to provide as many hospital beds as possible. On Wednesday, volunteers reported converting a warehouse at Bangkok’s international airport into a field hospital for 1,800 people.
Similar figures have been reported in Malaysia, where about 17,000 people have been infected and 207 have died in the past 24 hours. About half of those hospitalized require oxygen. The country is under strict lockdown.
According to the WHO, Mexico and Venezuela are the countries in Latin America with the highest mortality rates. According to the WHO, mortality has increased by 50% in Mexico, by 9% in the United States, by 35% in El Salvador, and by 30% in Venezuela over the past week. At the same time, mortality has declined in almost all other countries.