The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new guidance on Thursday, easing mask requirements for U.S. businesses from the Walt Disney Co. theme park in Florida to Walmart Inc.
According to the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, all states and territories in the U.S. except Wyoming saw average weekly cases decline or even decline.
Covid has killed more than 1,000 bank employees in India, which has declared banking services essential despite the disease ravaging the country, a major industry body said.
major development
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- Why mutated coronavirus variants are so worrying: QuickTake
Lawmakers urged to donate to Colombia (12:36 p.m. NY time)
Democratic lawmakers urged the Biden administration to immediately provide tens of millions of remaining vaccine doses to Colombia and wider Latin America. The request, made in a letter to Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, focused on calling for an end to U.S. arms sales to Colombian police.
“Colombia is experiencing its third and deadliest Covid-19 outbreak. We can play a real role in restoring the health, safety, confidence and hope of the Colombian people,” the lawmakers wrote.
Bloomberg News reported Saturday that the “stockpiles” of vaccines in the U.S. are not as obvious as many believe because most unused doses are scattered across tens of thousands of sites.
Scotland hits two-thirds with one dose (12:25 p.m. NY time)
The government said Scotland had given its first dose of the vaccine to more than 3 million people, equivalent to two-thirds of the adult population. The milestone was reached on May 14, with more than 36.3 million total first doses in the UK, according to government figures.
Singapore restricts Taiwan travel (12:20 p.m. NY time)
Due to rising infection rates, Singapore will not allow entry to short-term travelers holding an air travel pass with a travel history to Taiwan in the past 21 days.
Other non-Singapore citizens or permanent residents with a history of travel to Taiwan in the past 21 days must undergo a test within 72 hours before departure, and must present a negative test result as a condition of admission. Singapore’s Ministry of Health said in a statement on Saturday.
Singapore citizens, permanent residents and long-term pass holders who have been to Taiwan will be given a 14-day stay-at-home notice at a dedicated facility, followed by an additional 7-day quarantine at home.
France passes vaccine milestone (11:21 a.m. NY time)
On Saturday, President Emmanuel Macron tweeted that 20 million people in France had received their first dose of the vaccine. Earlier today, Prime Minister Jean Castex said the goal was to deliver the first 30 million doses by mid-June. “It’s getting better,” Castex said.
Nearly 30 percent of France’s general population had received its first dose of the vaccine as of Friday evening, with 38 percent of those aged 18 and older vaccinated, the government said.
Disney World relaxes mask rules (9:11 a.m. NY time)
Disney World Resort has an option to wear masks in public outdoor areas, although masks will still be required indoors, at all attractions and on transportation.
It said late Friday that the theme park in Orlando, Florida, will continue to make adjustments as guidance develops. Florida does not have a statewide mask rule, but private businesses may require it.
Walmart, the largest private employer in the U.S., said Friday that fully vaccinated employees and customers do not need to wear masks. At least two of the largest casinos in Las Vegas have also lifted their mask rules.
Publix Super Markets Inc., one of the largest regional grocery chains in the U.S., said it will no longer need masks for fully vaccinated workers or employees unless required by local regulations. Trader Joe’s Co. and Costco Wholesale Corp. are taking a similar approach.
U.S. cases continue to decline (7:30 a.m. NY time)
Overall U.S. infections continued to fall to their lowest level since early fall, although the country recorded just over 41,000 new cases on Friday, the highest level in a week, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg.
As the vaccine rolls out at a steady but slow pace, the average weekly case count has fallen, even in all U.S. states and territories except Wyoming, according to the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The death toll also continued to fall, with another 746 deaths, albeit at a slower rate than cases. For more than a month, the daily death toll has not exceeded 1,000.
France nears 20 million photos (6:40pm HKT)
French Prime Minister Jean Castex was quoted by local media as saying during a visit to a vaccination center in Paris that France today will reach the milestone of 20 million people receiving the first dose of the vaccine.
The next step, according to Castex, is to get 30 million people vaccinated with the first dose by mid-June. “The situation is improving,” he was quoted as saying.
There are untraceable cases in Hong Kong (6:14pm HKT)
On Saturday, Hong Kong saw its first untraceable local case in a week in a four-year-old boy. About two dozen kindergarten students and teachers at Ho Man Tin Boys’ School will be sent to quarantine with their parents, Health Department official Chong Shuk-kwan said at a daily virus briefing. The city also recorded two imported cases from abroad.
Iran cases drop for fifth day in a row (6:14pm HKT)
Iran’s daily number of new cases fell for the fifth day in a row to 7,723, the lowest since March 25. The country also recorded 200 deaths overnight, the lowest level in five weeks, bringing the total death toll from the virus to 76,633 and more than 2.7 million infections.
Bank employee dies in India (5:45pm HKT)
Indian banks have lost more than 1,000 employees and many more have been infected, S. Nagarajan, secretary general of the All India Association of Bank Officials, said on Saturday.
More than 24 million people have been sickened and more than 266,200 have died in India, with most states in lockdown and strict stay-at-home orders. But banking is listed as an essential service and is partly exempt from the lockdown order.
In some cases, lenders can call up as much as 50% of their staff to branches to avoid disruptions to banking services.
Vietnam sees first death in 2021 (5:40pm HKT)
Vietnam on Saturday reported its first death from Covid-19 this year. An 89-year-old woman died after being treated for pneumonia caused by the virus in a Hanoi hospital, according to the Ministry of Health. The ministry’s news site Suc Khoe Doi Song said it was the first reported death from the virus in the country since September.
The country has confirmed 823 new domestic virus cases since April 27, bringing the total number of local virus cases during the pandemic to 3,854, with 36 deaths.
Troops sent to help test English town (5:02pm HKT)
Soldiers will be sent to the British town of Bolton to distribute tests in the streets, The Times reported. The town’s infection rate more than doubled in a week, with cases reaching 193 per 100,000 in the seven days to May 9, government data showed.
Singapore reports more local cases (4:50pm HKT)
Singapore reported 19 new local virus cases and 12 imported infections on Saturday.
Staying in a hotel room in Singapore from Sunday could also mean agreeing to random checks by staff to make sure there are only two guests in the room, a first-step hotel in the Marina Bay area is asking customers to agree.
Those violating security measures could be fined up to S$10,000 (US$7,506) or jailed for up to six months, or both, according to documents provided to occupants at check-in.
Moscow cancels Volkswagen race (4:36pm HKT)
Cases in Moscow remained above 3,000 for a second day on Saturday, jumping to their highest level since January on Friday. Russian President Vladimir Putin oversaw his annual Victory Day military parade on Red Square over the weekend, but a popular running race scheduled for this Sunday in the Russian capital was cancelled due to the pandemic situation. cancelled.
Deputy Mayor Anastasia Rakova said the virus situation remained tense and “the numbers do not make us happy,” TASS news agency reported on Friday.
German infection rate falls further (4:16pm HKT)
Infections in Germany fell to 87.3 per 100,000 people in the past seven days, the lowest level since mid-March, according to the RKII public health institute. The country’s lockdown laws allow restrictions to be eased if the incidence rate falls below 100 for five consecutive working days.
Health Minister Jens Spahn said in a Twitter post that more than 30 million citizens, or 36.5% of the total population, had received at least their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, and more than 9 million were fully vaccinated.
Czech cases slow (3:39pm HKT)
The number of infections in the Czech Republic fell further. The country recorded 1,050 new Covid cases a day in the past 24 hours on Saturday, down from 1,218 in the past 24 hours and less than half the daily level in early May.
Infections trend down in India (1:50pm HKT)
India reported 326,098 new infections on Saturday, following a record high of more than 414,000 earlier this month, in line with a downward trend over the past week, fueling hopes that the Asian nation’s virus curve may have peaked.
According to the latest figures from the Indian Ministry of Health, the total number of infections in India has now exceeded 24 million, while the number of deaths related to the new crown virus has exceeded 266,200. The country has so far received more than 180 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine, according to Bloomberg Vaccine Tracker.
Taiwan tightens restrictions (11am HKT)
Authorities in Taiwan encouraged people to stay home this weekend after a record 180 new local cases were reported on Saturday. Indoor households and social gatherings in Taipei will be limited to five people, while outdoor gatherings will be limited to 10, they said.
Health Minister Chen Shizhong said at a briefing on Saturday that the alert level in Taipei and New Taipei City will be raised to May 28. Schools and offices will remain open.
Rakuten CEO warns against Olympic participation (9:22am HKT)
Hiroshi Mikitani, chief executive of Japanese online retailer Rakuten Group Inc., said in an interview with broadcaster CNN that holding the Olympics as planned this summer in Tokyo would feel like a “suicide mission”. Because Japan is too late in vaccinating its population.
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