(Reuters) – Here’s what you need to know about the coronavirus right now:
More than 25 million total cases in India
India’s total coronavirus cases surged past the 25 million mark on Tuesday, boosted by 263,533 new infections over the last 24 hours, while deaths from COVID-19 rose by a record 4,329.
India becomes the world’s second nation, after the United States, to pass the grim milestone. The country’s total case load is now at 25.23 million, while the death toll is at 278,719, according to health ministry data.
Australian PM stands firm on COVID-19 border closure
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Tuesday said it was still not safe to allow residents fully-vaccinated for COVID-19 to travel overseas, as industries hit hard by the pandemic press for a faster reopening of international borders.
Australia plans to reopen borders to the rest of the world from the middle of 2022 even as the federal budget unveiled last week hopes to fully vaccinate its near 26 million population by the end of this year.
Masks off in NY as US deaths fall to lowest level in 14 mths
U.S. deaths from COVID-19 last week fell to their lowest in nearly 14 months and the number of new cases continued to decline for a fifth week in a row, according to a Reuters analysis of state and county data. About 37% of the country’s population has been fully vaccinated as of Sunday, and 47% has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
New York state will no longer require masks in most public spaces for people fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of Wednesday, adopting new federal health guidance, Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Monday. Masks will still be required on public transit, in schools and some other communal settings, even among the vaccinated, the governor said. He said private businesses can impose their own masking rules on customers and staff.
Biden to send 20 mln doses of U.S.-authorized vaccines abroad for first time
President Joe Biden will send at least 20 million more COVID-19 vaccine doses abroad by the end of June, marking the first time the United States is sharing vaccines authorized for domestic use. The administration seeks to use the country’s vaccine supply as a diplomatic tool with the pandemic outlook brightening at home.
The White House has not provided any details about what countries will receive the shots. Biden has been under pressure to share vaccines to help contain worsening epidemics from India to Brazil, where health experts fear new, more contagious coronavirus variants could undermine the effectiveness of available shots.
Taiwan’s diplomats mobilised to find COVID-19 shots
Taiwan is mobilising its diplomatic corps to secure a speedier delivery of COVID-19 vaccines – a quest that has become more urgent since a sudden rise in domestic cases on an island that has vaccinated less than 1% of its population.
Taiwan has reported more than 700 new domestic infections during the past week, leading to new curbs in the capital, Taipei, and shocking a population that had become accustomed to life carrying on almost normally with the pandemic well under control.
(Compiled by Karishma Singh; Editing by Stephen Coates)
