Coronavirus digest: Germany warns delta variant to dominate

German authorities warned Friday about the spread of the delta variant throughout the country; about half of its population has received a first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Lothar Wieler, head of Germany′s Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for Infection Diseases, said that although the delta variant first discovered in India only makes up 6% of the current cases, "its share is growing."

Wieler said that he expects the delta variant will hit hardest "in autumn at the latest," with the country′s top public health official urging people to carry on wearing masks indoors and get vaccinated.

"It is not a question of if delta will become dominant, but a question of when," he added.

Health Minister Jans Spahn said that the spread of the more infectious delta variant throughout the UK has shown the importance of getting both vaccine doses, and not just one. At the present time, less than 30% of the population has received both shots.

Numbers of cases in the central European country jumped by 1,076 to 3,720,031 on Friday according to RKI data, with deaths rising by 91 to 90,270.

Here's a roundup of the major coronavirus-related stories from around the world.

Europe

A court in Belgium has ruled that coronavirus vaccine-maker AstraZeneca committed a "serious breach" of its contract with the EU by failing to deliver doses it had promised. 

The court said AstraZeneca would have to deliver around 80 million shots to the EU by September 27 — far fewer than the 120 million the EU had been seeking by the end of June. 

AstraZeneca hailed the ruling as a win, and also welcomed the court's acknowledgment that it was under unprecedented pressure. The European Commission also claimed victory, saying the court had agreed that the company had failed to honor its commitments.

Germany has removed the popular holiday destinations of France, Greece, Switzerland and parts of Spain from its list of coronavirus risk areas.

The change comes into force from Sunday, and means people arriving from these places will no longer be required to present a negative test or quarantine for 10 days.

The capital of Portugal will be sealed off from Friday afternoon until Monday morning in an effort to stop the spread of the delta variant. 

During that time, Lisbon's 2.8 million inhabitants won't be allowed to leave the city without a valid reason. Foreigners are only allowed to enter in exceptional cases. 

On Thursday, Lisbon recorded its highest daily number of infections since mid-February, with 928 new cases in 24 hours. 

Public Health England will now be able to offer COVID-19 vaccinations to everyone over the age of 18 years, authorities have said.

The United Kingdom has administered COVID-19 jabs to more than 42 million people so far, or around 80% of the adult population, with over half having received both doses.

However, the fast spread of the delta variant in the country has led to caution on lifting restrictions, with some countries enforcing travel bans to the UK.

Russia's capital Moscow will extend its coronavirus restrictions until June 29 at least, authorities have announced.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that the 9,000 cases reported on Friday would be the highest figure reported in the Russian capital since the beginning of the pandemic. That is three times the daily average of 3,000 cases reported before June.

The restrictions make public events with more than 1,000 people illegal, with cafes and restaurants closed at night along with fan zones set up for the European Championship.

Moscow this week ordered mandatory vaccination for workers.

Africa

Uganda is tightening its lockdown measures for 42 days in a bid to curb a surge in coronavirus infections.

The East African country is grappling with several variants of the virus and a vaccine shortage.

President Yoweri Museveni announced Friday that the new rules would include a ban on private and public transportation within and across districts, including in the capital Kampala. Shops have also been ordered to close. An ongoing nighttime curfew will stay in place.

The World Health Organization has warned that a surge in COVID-19 cases across Africa could be due to the unequal distribution of vaccines.

WHO crisis coordinator Mike Ryan said Friday that the number of new infections in Liberia, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Rwanda doubled last week. 

"This is the consequence of the current unfair distribution of vaccines," Ryan said, adding that "the trajectory is very, very concerning."

Parts of Africa are grappling with more infectious virus variants as vaccination rates remain low. 

Asia

Taiwan is turning to private companies to try to get hold of coronavirus vaccines as the country deals with a spike in domestic cases.

Terry Gou, founder of Foxconn, will work with another company, TSMC, to bring millions of vaccines to the disputed territory claimed by China. So far, only 6% of Taiwan's 23.5 million people have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

The Taiwanese government said it welcomed the idea of private assistance to bring vaccines into the country, as long as they have evidence from producers that there are shots available.

Japan and the US have both donated more than a million AstraZeneca vaccines to the island nation, with 240,000 Moderna doses arriving on Friday.

Top scientists in Japan want to ban all spectators at the Olympics to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19. The Games are due to start in Tokyo on July 23.

The recommendation was included in a report by top health expert Shigeru Omi that was made public after a Tokyo 2020 organizing chief told the Sankei newspaper she was hoping to allow 10,000 sports fans into stadiums for the delayed event.

Fewer than 25% of foreigners in China are currently inoculated against COVID-19, the South China Post has revealed.

According to the United States Chamber of Commerce, in Shanghai, many of the 845,000 international workers are waiting on the approval of the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine rather than getting the Chinese Sinovac jab.

″They believe that a foreign vaccine would give them more flexibility when traveling to Europe or the United States,″ said Ker Gibbs of the US Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai.

Americas

The United States has started to ship 80 million coronavirus vaccine shots produced in the country to nations that are ready to receive them.

The White House is planning to finish the allocation process in the coming days, with some doses headed to Canada and Brazil within the next few weeks.

The amount of new cases in the US has slowed to under 15,000 this week, with deaths and active cases continuing to drop as the vaccine rollout continues.

The US looks increasingly unlikely to meet its target of 70% of American adults receiving the first dose of COVID-19 vaccines by July 4th, the country's Independence Day.

As of Friday, about 65% of adults had received one dose. That level increased by less than one percentage point over the past two weeks.

Vice President Kamala Harris pushed for more people to get vaccinated during a drive at Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church.

"When you get the vaccine for yourself, that means that you will not possibly pass it on to somebody else in general because you’re unlikely to get COVID…Isn't that an extension of love thy neighbor?" said Harris.

Meanwhile, Canada has extended a ban on nonessential travel with the United States until at least July 21. The measure was first imposed in March 2020 at the start of the pandemic, and has been renewed on a monthly basis ever since.

The government has said it will unveil plans for how it will begin easing restrictions for fully vaccinated Canadians next week.

nm,jc,kbd/msh (Reuters, AP, dpa)