Covid-19 Pandemic: Updates and live news from April 3, 2021

Photographer: Jewel Samad / AFP / Getty Images

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Global coronavirus cases exceeded 130 million. Weekly infections in the United States reach their highest point since late February, even with vaccines at record levels. India reported the newest cases since the peak of the outbreak in September.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson will unveil a plan to open trips on Monday and vaccinated Britons could avoid some quarantine measures, the Telegraph reported. Young adults in the UK could receive a new single vaccine for Johnson & Johnson before July, the newspaper said.

The Philippines extended the blockade to Manila and nearby provinces for at least a week, as active coronavirus cases reached the highest in Southeast Asia. The Argentine president, Alberto Fernández tested positive after a preliminary antigen test for fever.

Main developments:

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The United States adds nearly 68,000 new cases (8:00 in New York)

The U.S. added nearly 68,000 new cases on Friday as weekly infections peaked since late February, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg. The upward trend continues even when the US is vaccinated to record levels, with 4 million shots fired on Friday, Bloomberg data Vaccine monitoring show.

949 deaths were recorded on Friday, after two days above 1,000. Weekly casualties are the lowest point since late October, ahead of the national rise in deaths, infections and hospitalizations over the holidays.

Philippines extends Manila blockade (7:52 am NY)

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte approved a proposal for extend the blockade to the capital Manila and nearby provinces for at least a week, as the country’s active coronavirus cases reached the highest in Southeast Asia.

The national capital region and the provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal will remain under the community’s improved quarantine from April 5 to 11, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said on Saturday. The nation’s strictest movement restriction was originally intended to be effective for only one week until April 4th.

Young adults in the UK could get the single-dose J&J vaccine (7:17 am NY)

Young adults in the UK could receive a new vaccine against Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 in a single offer, jab and go Telegraph reported, citing government officials. The Janssen jab will probably be an attractive offer for young millennials just in time for the summer holidays. The UK has ordered about 30 million doses of Janssen’s sting, which is made using the same method as the AstraZeneca vaccine, according to the newspaper.

Kenyan visitors are banned from entering the UK (6am in New York)

The UK has announced that from 4am on April 9, visitors who have been or have been to Kenya for the previous ten days will not be able to enter the country. British and Irish citizens and third-country nationals with UK residence rights arriving in England from Kenya will have to quarantine in a hotel, the Office for Foreign Development, Commonwealth and Development said statement on your website. Different rules will apply to arrivals in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, according to the agency.

Vaccinated Britons to face fewer holiday restrictions: Telegraph (5:27 pm HK)

Vaccinated Britons will face fewer Covid tests and could avoid some quarantine measures according to UK government plans to ease restrictions abroad summer vacation, according to the Daily Telegraph.

On Monday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson will present a travel opening plan and is expected to reveal a system of traffic lights according to which countries are classified in red, yellow or green according to their risk based on vaccination levels, the covid rates and the prevalence of new variants, the newspaper said. All travelers returning to the UK will need Covid testing before departure, regardless of their vaccination status.

New cases in Poland fall a week earlier (16:56 HK)

Poland reported 28,073 new cases of coronavirus in the last 24 hours, according to data from the Ministry of Health. This compares with 31,757 new cases a week earlier and a record 35,251 on April 1st. The death toll rose to 571 from 448 last week and a record 674 on November 25.

AstraZeneca vaccine to be stopped, UK official tells FT (4:47 pm HK)

Kate Bingham, who led and launched the UK Vaccine Taskforce, said the “disputes” and disputes over the supply of vaccines and the possible side effects of the AstraZeneca Plc vaccine “should stop” as “uncertainty only affects people’s minds” Financial Times interview.

Bingham said so AstraZeneca, the safety of the vaccine has been questioned in several countries, are “heroes” for collecting an experimental vaccine invented at Oxford University and finding out how to test, manufacture and distribute it at low cost in all the world. The company has signed more agreements to supply low-income countries than any other pharmaceutical rival and has been “caught up in geopolitics,” Bingham told FT.

Bangladesh will apply seven-day blockade (16:01 HK)

The government of Bangladesh has decided to implement one Closing seven days from Monday as coronavirus cases and deaths increase across the country, Road Transport Minister Obaidul Quader told a news conference in Dhaka on Saturday.

IMF approves $ 2.3 billion package for Kenya (HK 14:45)

The International Monetary Fund approved a $ 2.34 million financing package for Kenya to support the country’s Covid-19 response and address the urgent need to reduce debt vulnerabilities. “Kenya was hard hit from the start by the Covid-19 pandemic,” the IMF said.

Confirmed cases of coronavirus in Kenya are 136,893, with 2,186 fatalities on April 2, according to the health ministry.

Separately, Kenya has ordered the immediate suspension of private vaccine imports, arguing fears that it could lead to counterfeiting of inoculations. AP reported.

Australia working with EU and UK at Clot Case (14:38 HK)

Australian authorities they say they are working with the European Union and the UK to investigate the first local case of unusual coagulation in a patient after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine as global concern for gun safety continues to grow. The case, first reported on April 2, is currently being investigated by the country’s Therapeutic Property Administration.

“We have no definitive evidence of causation,” acting medical director Michael Kidd told reporters at a news conference Saturday. “But given the consistency of clinical features in this case, with some similar cases that have been seen abroad, it is likely that this reported case is related to the vaccine.”

Amid growing reports of rare blood clots possibly related to the shooting of AstraZeneca, the UK health regulator said the benefits of the shot continue to outweigh the risks. On Friday, the Netherlands joined Germany in suspending vaccine use in people under 60.

The Argentine leader tests are positive (12:55 pm HK)

Argentine President Alberto Fernandez said he tested positive for Covid-19 after a preliminary antigen test to detect fever.

Fernandez said in a tweet that he is currently isolated while awaiting the results of a polymerase chain reaction test, which is more definitive. The Argentine leader took a first dose of the Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine at a public hospital in the province of Buenos Aires in January.

Cases in India increase more since September (12:46 pm HK)

India reported 89,129 new cases, the highest daily figure in more than six months as the nation sees a resurgence that threatens to be more severe than when infections peaked in September.

Cases have quadrupled in the past month, after India appeared to curb the outbreak earlier this year. The country has the third largest number of cases worldwide, although daily infections are now at a level similar to that seen by Brazil, the second worst country.

The state of Maharashtra, where India’s financial center, Mumbai, is located, could head for another closure, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said on Friday. With more than 50 percent of the state’s hospital beds, the systems could be overwhelmed in 15 to 20 days, he said. Some curbs will be announced in the coming days, Thackeray said.

Brazil reports 70,238 cases and 2,922 deaths (10:11 am HK)

Brazil, one of the worst Covid-19 hotspots in the world, reported 70,238 cases in the last 24 hours, according to data from the Ministry of Health. The death toll in the country increased by 2,922. President Jair Bolsonaro promised in a tweet that the government would make available about 3,000 more doctors to fight the outbreak.

The China cluster is growing; Korean cases above 500 (9:49 am HK)

China’s largest cluster since mid-February continued to expand into a border city in southwestern Yunnan Province. The province reported seven new infections and five new asymptomatic cases on Friday, which accounted for all local cases in China during the day, according to the National Health Commission.

All cases in Yunnan were found in the city of Ruili, which is near the border with Myanmar, after tests across the city, the provincial government said on Saturday in its Weibo account. Earlier this week, Ruili said he would test the entire local population. As of Friday, Yunnan had 26 cases.

Meanwhile, South Korea reported 543 cases on Saturday. It is the fourth day in a row that infections have surpassed 500, the longest streak of its kind since mid-January.

– With the assistance of Heather Burke, Emma Dong, Jeff Sutherland, Dorota Bartyzel, Arun Devnath, Deirdre Hipwell, Eric Ombok, Deana Kjuka, Ditas B Lopez, Andreo Calonzo and Ian Fisher