New Delhi: The Covid-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc in the world. The latest count being more than 14,53,44,801 cases and 30,85,284 deaths.
We highlight some of the important stories from around the world. In Canada, Ontario’s Premier Doug Ford has been facing a backlash over his government’s coronavirus response. Israel no longer wants the AstraZeneca vaccine and is exploring options on whether the shipment could be sent elsewhere.
Canada’s Ontario facing massive third wave, premier blamed
Ontario’s Premier Doug Ford has been facing a backlash over his government’s coronavirus response. On Thursday, he resisted calls for resignation as Ontario faced a third wave of infections which critics believe could have been prevented, reports Reuters.
Since pressure is building on hospitals in the province, the Canadian government is sending federal healthcare workers to help.
“Ontario had 3,682 new infections on Thursday and 40 deaths, the highest of any province”, said the report.
Canada has recorded 11,55,834 cases of Covid-19 and 23,822 deaths.
Israel considers ‘re-routing’ AstraZeneca vaccines
After Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that citizens will be vaccinated in six months again, the country’s coronavirus commissioner Professor Nachman Ash said that there are no certainties on when the next shot could be offered.
Israel no longer wants the AstraZeneca vaccine and is exploring options on whether the shipment could be sent elsewhere, reports The Jerusalem Post.
“Ash said that with supplies secure through 2022, Israel no longer required the 10 million doses it agreed to purchase from AstraZeneca”, said the report.
Israel has recorded 8,37,807 cases of Covid-19 and 6,346 deaths.
Also read: Unintended victims of Covid — India’s foreign policy and an MEA unable to do its real job
South Korea increases public access to Covid-19 self-test kits
On Friday, South Korea granted conditional approval that would allow people to use coronavirus self-test kits for the first time. This comes amid a surge of infections in the country, reports The Straits Times.
The country is grappling with a rise in ‘cluster’ infections which has resulted in authorities springing into action to avoid a fourth wave.
“The kits could yield results within about 15 minutes, but with an accuracy of 90 per cent,” said the report.
South Korea has recorded 1,17,458 cases of Covid-19 and 1,811 deaths.
UK music festivals need government’s help with insurance
Organisers of hundreds of live music festivals, planned for the coming summer, are concerned that if the UK government doesn’t offer to ‘underwrite Covid cancellation insurance’, they may be forced to cancel the festivals, reports The Guardian.
The national reopening timetable has allowed mass gatherings from late June.
“But scheduling a post-pandemic event brings significant financial risk, as a local or national spike in coronavirus cases could lead to a last-minute cancellation by public health authorities,” said the report.
UK has reported 43,98,431 cases of Covid-19 and 1,27,345 deaths.
What else we are reading:
EU preparing legal case against AstraZeneca over vaccine shortfalls: Reuters
Longer waiting time for homes, increased costs as a result of tighter Covid-19 curbs on migrant workers: The Straits Times
Also read: India records over 3.32 lakh new Covid cases, 2,263 deaths in 24 hours