Coronavirus: Latest global developments

Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis:

– US ‘failing’ on Covid –
A top US public health official says the country is “failing” as Covid-19 cases surge to their highest daily total in six months.

– China tests 11 million –
China announces that it has completed Covid-19 tests on all the residents of Wuhan, the city of more than 11 million people from where the virus first emerged.
– Israel’s rapid-test drive –

Israel is rolling out rapid-test stations with results given out in 15 minutes, as the country tries to avoid going into another lockdown to combat spiking cases.

– Malaysia eases up –
Malaysia eases curbs for fully vaccinated people in states comprising about half the nation’s population, as case numbers fall and where vaccination rates are high.

– Record deaths in Iran –
Iran reports over 500 daily Covid deaths for the first time, its health ministry announces, as new infections also hit a record high.

– S.Arabia to reopen borders –
Saudi Arabia will begin accepting vaccinated foreigners wanting to make the umrah pilgrimage, authorities announced, a move that will boost the pandemic-hit economy.

– Brisbane lockdown to end –
Australia’s third-largest city of Brisbane will lift a lockdown after containing a virus cluster, but an outbreak that has kept Sydney paralysed for weeks continues to grow.

– Epidemic eases in DR Congo –
Congolese authorities say the epidemic has eased in many parts of the country but remain worrying in the economic capital of Lubumbashi were not wearing a mask will now be punishable by up to seven days in jail.

– Brunei clamps down –
Brunei imposes strict curbs to halt the spread of Covid-19, after finding its first locally transmitted cases in over a year.

– French health pass arriving –
France’s controversial health pass comes into force Monday, despite another weekend of protests, with nearly a quarter of a million people marching across the country against its imposition.

– Over 4.2 million dead –
The coronavirus pandemic has killed at least 4,287,427 people worldwide since the virus first emerged in late 2019, according to an AFP compilation of official data.

The US is the worst-affected country with 616,718 deaths, followed by Brazil with 562,752, India with 427,862, Mexico with 244,248, and Peru with 196,873.