Thailand reported 15,335 new Covid infections, a new daily record, as the Southeast Asian nation battles the spread of the Delta strain. A near two-week semi-lockdown, which has included an overnight curfew and the shuttering of shopping malls to gyms, has failed to halt the deadliest outbreak the country has experienced since the pandemic began.
A total of 129 fatalities were reported in the past 24 hours, the highest one-day tally in more than a week, official data showed Sunday.
Almost half of the country’s about 4,000 deaths have occurred this month.
Key developments:
Brazil reports more deaths
A total of 1,108 deaths were reported in Brazil in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 549,448, the country’s health ministry said on its website.
Brazil confirmed 38,091 new Covid-19 cases Sunday, raising the total to about 19.7 million, according to the ministry.
French cases jump to highest since May
The number of cases in France climbed to more than 25,500, the highest total since early May.
The past week has shown that infections are spread broadly across the nation with coastal regions now being hit hard because of the summer holidays, according to Laetitia Huiart, scientific director of the French public health agency.
NY cases, positive rates at 2-month high
New York state’s new infections neared 2,000 for the second consecutive day, with cases roughly tripling over the last two weeks. The 1,846 cases reported on Saturday by Governor Andrew Cuomo were the highest since May, with the positive test rate increasing to 1.86%, also the highest since then.
Hospitalizations were at 494, a number that has also been ticking up in recent weeks. The state reported just one death.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio says that more vaccines, rather than a renewed mask mandate or other restrictions, are the way to combat the new spread, though the pace of inoculation has slowed in the city and state.
Japan to open vaccine passport applications
Japan will begin accepting applications Monday for a Covid-19 passport that’s intended to allow vaccinated travelers to bypass some testing measures and restrictions.
The certificate will ease entry conditions for travelers heading to five countries—Italy, Austria, Turkey, Bulgaria and Poland—though initially won’t entitle people to avoid curbs on their return, the Nikkei newspaper reported Sunday, without citing any source. Japan will likely start using the passport for incoming travelers after the Tokyo Olympics end next month, according to the newspaper.
Australia to get more Pfizer doses
Australia has struck an agreement for 60 million additional Pfizer-BioNTech doses next year and 25 million doses in 2023, which would allow the country to offer booster shots, according to Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
The country, which has struggled to accelerate inoculation efforts, on Saturday reversed previous advice on AstraZeneca Plc’s vaccine. Authorities told adult residents in areas with current outbreaks, including Sydney, to seriously consider using the option.
Australia previously had recommended that only people aged 60 and above should use the AstraZeneca product, which has been linked to rare blood clots.
UK may push for double-vaccination
Anyone wanting to attend a Premier League soccer match, a major concert or a mass event of at least 20,000 people from Oct. 1 will have to show they are fully vaccinated, the Sunday Telegraph reported.
The government is also set to ramp up a social media campaign targeted at 18- to 30-year-olds with the aim of linking inoculations with the idea of going on vacation, the report said.
California’s ICU availability at 5-month low
California’s intensive-care unit bed availability fell to a five-month low as hospitalizations edged higher with more infections.
The number of ICU beds available dropped by 89 to 1,977. That’s still twice the number compared with the peak of the pandemic in January. The positive test rate rose to 5.2%, one of the highest levels since February.
The state added 7,984 new cases, bringing the total to almost 3.8 million, while deaths rose by 46 to 63,741. A total of 43.4 million vaccines were administered.