(Reuters) – Here’s what you need to know about the coronavirus:
Chinese city imposes travel curbs
A city in China’s southeastern province of Fujian has closed cinemas and gyms, sealed off some entries and exits to highways and told residents not to leave town as it battles a local COVID-19 outbreak.
The virus situation in the city of Putian is “serious and complex,” and it is very likely more new cases will emerge in communities, schools and factories, state broadcaster CCTV said on Monday.
Certain offline lessons in schools have also been suspended in Putian, and China’s national health authority has sent a team of experts to the city, which has a population of 3.2 million.
New Zealand keeps Auckland in strict lockdown
New Zealand extended a strict lockdown in its largest city on Monday, requiring 1.7 million people living in Auckland to remain indoors for at least another week to snuff out small outbreaks of the highly infectious Delta variant.
Health authorities recorded 33 new cases of the Delta variant on Monday, all in Auckland, which was higher than 23 and 20 cases reported over the weekend.
The government of the Australian state of New South Wales said on Monday the pace of COVID-19 vaccinations had slowed as first-dose coverage neared 80% and urged the unvaccinated to get shots soon or risk missing out on freedoms when curbs ease.
Seriously ill COVID-19 patients double in Singapore
The rapid pace of new infections and a doubling of seriously ill patients in Singapore have raised unexpected hurdles to reopening plans for the vaccination frontrunner, where 81% of the population is fully vaccinated.
Singapore, one of the fastest in the world to reach that level, has seen its inoculation rates plateau, and this month paused its gradual reopening plans, spooked by daily infections that returned to one-year peaks this month.
Infections over the weekend were more than a combined 1,000 cases, a tenfold increase from a month ago. Many experts, though, are not overly concerned about the rise in infections because of the low number of serious cases and Singapore’s high vaccination percentage.
Vietnam’s biggest city to keep virus curbs
Vietnam’s coronavirus outbreak epicentre, Ho Chi Minh City, will extend its restrictions, state media reported on Monday, as the capital Hanoi and several provinces sought an easing of curbs and the aviation authority proposed that domestic flights resume.
Ho Chi Minh City authorities said an extension until the end of September was necessary to isolate clusters, speed up inoculations and prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed in the city of 9 million people.
Although more than 1 million vaccine shots have been administered daily of late, Vietnam’s vaccination rate of 5.2% of its 98 million population is one of the region’s lowest.
India worried about complacency over second vaccine dose
India is worried that growing complacency as a decline in COVID-19 infection rates and deaths could lead to people skipping their second vaccine shots, leaving communities vulnerable to the coronavirus, said two health experts briefed on the matter.
India has administered more than 744 million vaccine doses – with 60% of its 944 million adults getting a first shot and 19% fully vaccinated with the required two shots.
The country has the most partly immunized people in the world, according to the Our World in Data website, mainly due to a long gap of 12 to 16 weeks between doses, as prescribed by the government.
(Compiled by Linda Noakes; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)
