Coronavirus: Latest global developments

Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis:

– China outbreak –

Millions of people are confined to their homes in China as the country tries to contain its largest outbreak in months with mass testing and travel curbs.

– German booster jabs –

Germany will start offering Covid booster shots to the elderly and at-risk from September, the health ministry says, citing concerns over “a reduced or rapidly declining immune response” among some groups.

– Sydney lockdown –

Troops hit Sydney’s streets to help enforce its prolonged lockdown, as stay-at-home orders in Australia’s third-largest city Brisbane are extended to curb a worsening outbreak.

– HK compulsory jabs –

Hong Kong civil servants, teachers and healthcare workers must be vaccinated against the virus or pay for regular testing, the city’s leader announces.

– Records in Iran –

Iran’s daily Covid caseload crosses the 37,000 mark for the first time, as the Islamic republic also records its highest daily fatalities in three months.

– Macron pushes vaccines –

French President Emmanuel Macron takes to Tik Tok and Instagram to try counter misinformation about vaccines following a third weekend of demonstrations over a controversial Covid health pass.

– Chinese vaccines for Libya –

Libya calls on people to come forward to be vaccinated after receiving two million doses of the Chinese vaccine Sinopharm, with more on the way.

– Rules ease for UK travellers –

Families weep as they are reunited at London’s Heathrow Airport, with fully vaccinated passengers arriving in England from the US and EU no longer required to quarantine.

– 4.2 million dead –

The coronavirus has killed at least 4,227,765 people since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP.

The United States is the worst-affected country with 613,228 deaths, followed by Brazil with 556,834, India with 424,773, Mexico with 241,034 and Peru with 196,438 fatalities.

The WHO says up to three times the number suggested by official figures have died directly or indirectly as a result of the pandemic.

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