(Reuters) – Here’s what you need to know about the coronavirus right now:
Australia’s Victoria extends Melbourne lockdown for 2nd week
Australia’s Victoria state on Wednesday extended a snap COVID-19 lockdown for a second week in Melbourne in a bid to contain an outbreak of the highly contagious virus strain first detected in India, but will ease some restrictions in other regions.
Victoria, Australia’s second-most populous state, was plunged into lockdown last Thursday, initially until June 3, after the first locally acquired cases were detected in three months, infections rose steadily and close contacts reached several thousand.
WHO approves Sinovac COVID shot
The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday it has approved a COVID-19 vaccine made by Sinovac Biotech for emergency use listing, paving the way for a second Chinese shot to be used in poor countries. A WHO emergency listing is a signal to national regulators of a product’s safety and efficacy and will allow the Sinovac shot to be included in COVAX, the global programme providing vaccines mainly for poor countries, which face major supply problems due to curbs on Indian exports.
The WHO’s independent panel of experts said in a statement it recommended Sinovac’s vaccine for adults over 18. There was no upper age limit as data suggested it is likely to have a protective effect in older people. The endorsement is a big boost for Sinovac’s vaccine after data in clinical trials showed a wide range of efficacy rates.
Israel sees probable link between Pfizer vaccine and myocarditis cases
Israel’s Health Ministry said on Tuesday it found a small number of heart inflammation cases observed mainly in young men who received Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine in Israel were likely linked to their vaccination. Pfizer has said it has not observed a higher rate of the condition, known as myocarditis, than would normally be expected in the general population.
Most patients who experienced heart inflammation spent no more than four days in hospital and 95% of the cases were classified as mild, according to the study, which the ministry said was conducted by three teams of experts.
UK reports no new deaths for 1st time since March 2020
Britain recorded no new deaths within 28 days of a positive COVID-19 test on Tuesday.
The last time Britain recorded no deaths was in March 2020, before the country had entered its first lockdown. The figure on Tuesday relates to how many deaths have been reported and it comes after a national holiday on Monday – a factor which has in the past skewed the data.
China reports 24 new COVID-19 cases
China on Wednesday reported 24 new coronavirus cases on the mainland for June 1, versus 23 a day earlier, the country’s health authority said. Of the new infections, 14 were imported, the National Health Commission said in a statement. The 10 local cases were all reported in southern Guangdong province.
There were no new deaths. Guangzhou city, the epicentre of the latest local virus flare-up in China, has reported 41 locally confirmed cases between May 21 and June 1.
(Compiled by Karishma Singh; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
