(Reuters) – Here’s what you need to know about the coronavirus right now:
Total COVID deaths pass 200,000 in India
India’s COVID-19 death toll surged past 200,000 on Wednesday as shortages of oxygen, medical supplies and hospital staff compounded record new cases of the virus. Experts believe the official tally vastly underestimates the actual toll in the country of 1.3 billion.
Supplies of life-saving oxygen and equipment have begun arriving in New Delhi, including ventilators and oxygen concentrators from Britain, with more dispatched from Ireland, Germany and Australia.
Masks off outside in the United States
Fully vaccinated people can safely engage in outdoor activities like walking and hiking without wearing masks but should continue to use face-coverings in public spaces where they are required, U.S. health regulators and President Joe Biden said on Tuesday, while urging those who have not to get the shot.
The CDC said fully-vaccinated Americans can safely dine outdoors with friends from multiple households at restaurants and attend small outdoor gatherings with a mixture of fully vaccinated and unvaccinated people. CDC continues to recommend masking for crowded outdoor events such as parades and sporting events and indoor visits to the hair salon, shopping malls, movie theatres and houses of worship.
U.S. CDC has not seen link between heart inflammation and vaccines
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has not found a link between heart inflammation and COVID-19 vaccines, the agency’s Director Rochelle Walensky said on Tuesday. “We have not seen a signal and we’ve actually looked intentionally for the signal in the over 200 million doses we’ve given,” Walensky said in a press briefing.
She said the CDC is in touch with the U.S. Department of Defense over its investigation of 14 cases of heart inflammation or myocarditis among people who were vaccinated through the military’s health services.
U.S. eases COVID-19 restrictions on Chinese students
The Biden administration on Tuesday said it was easing travel restrictions on Chinese and other international students into the United States this fall, a change that could provide financial help to some colleges whose enrolments declined during the coronavirus pandemic.
It is still unclear whether U.S. colleges or the U.S. government will recognise vaccinations received by Chinese students that have not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Some U.S. schools are requiring students to be fully vaccinated before classes resume.
(Compiled by Karishma Singh; Editing by Sam Holmes)
