New Delhi: The Covid-19 pandemic continues to cause chaos worldwide, as cases remain high even with the ongoing vaccination drives globally. The count early Monday evening stood at 19,49,87,079 cases and 41,78,564 deaths.
While China Sunday reported its highest Covid spike since January, the surge in Florida, US, is exponentially high and Tunisia is engulfed in political turmoil due to anti-government protests stemming from the pandemic.
We bring you some of the top stories on the pandemic from across the world.
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China reports 76 new cases, highest since January
In its highest spike since January, China reported 76 new Covid-19 cases Sunday, largely arising from an outbreak in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, according to Reuters.
As part of its longstanding “zero-tolerance approach” in containing the spread of Covid, China has been at work, mass-testing its people in light of the new outbreak.
In Yunnan province which borders Myanmar, a country that has seen a recent surge in cases, 36 “imported cases” were also detected.
China has recorded 92,605 Covid-19 cases and 4,636 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
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Tunisians protest against govt’s Covid response
Tunisia saw widespread protests against the government in the national capital, due to increasing Covid-19 cases in the country and its impact on the Tunisian economy, Al Jazeera reported.
In light of the mass protests, Tunisia’s president Kais Saied sacked Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi of the Ennahda party Sunday, and suspended the Parliament, a move that the Opposition alleged was “a coup”.
Meanwhile, Tunisian police stormed the Al Jazeera office in Tunis Sunday and asked the company’s journalists to vacate the building, reportedly acting on orders from the judiciary.
Tunisia has recorded 5,69,289 Covid-19 cases and 18,600 deaths, since the beginning of the pandemic.
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Florida latest Covid hotspot in US
The state of Florida has emerged as the latest Covid-19 hotspot in the United States, reporting over 73,000 cases in the past week, and the second-highest number of cases per 1 lakh people, one spot behind Louisiana, the Wall Street Journal reported.
According to epidemiologists, the large number of unvaccinated people, the relaxation in mask-wearing rules and lack of social distancing norms, are contributing factors to the outbreak in the state.
In light of the surge fueled by the Delta variant, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has faced calls to massively increase his state’s vaccination rate.
The US has reported a total of 3,51,99,465 Covid-19 cases and 6,26,762 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.
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What else we are reading
Once luxury venues, now grim Covid camps: The New York Times
German business confidence dips as Covid and supply chain worries grow: Financial Times
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