New Delhi: Coronavirus cases continue to rise across the world due to the spread of the Delta variant. Over 22 crore people across the globe have been infected with the virus so far and more than 46 lakh people have died.
A court in Vietnam sentenced a 28-year-old man to five years in prison for spreading Covid-19. The United Arab Emirates has the world’s highest percentage of fully vaccinated residents; Hong Kong eases travel restrictions, and Cuba becomes the first country to vaccinate children from the age of two.
ThePrint brings you some important global stories on the coronavirus pandemic.
Man jailed for 5 years for spreading Covid-19 in Vietnam
A court in Vietnam Monday sentenced a man to five years in jail for breaking Covid quarantine rules and spreading the virus to others, reports Reuters.
“Le Van Tri, 28, travelled back to Ca Mau from Ho Chi Minh City … and breached the 21-day quarantine regulations. Tri infected eight people, one of whom died due to the virus after one month of treatment,” Reuters quoted Vietnam News Agency (VNA) report.
While Vietnam has been a model nation in combating Covid-19 with its aggressive contact tracking and strict quarantine measures, the recent surge in cases fueled by the Delta variant has the country’s Covid epicenter, Ho Chi Minh City, reporting more than 7,000 new cases a day as against 5,889 cases a week ago.
Vietnam has recorded 550,996 Covid-19 cases and 13,701 deaths so far.
Also read: How Delta’s ability to evade antibodies, replicate itself made it dominant Covid variant
UAE has world’s highest percentage of fully vaccinated residents
The United Arab Emirates has the highest percentage of fully vaccinated residents in the world, reports The Khaleej Times.
Nearly 78 per cent of the UAE’s population is fully vaccinated against Covid-19, while over 89 per cent have received at least one dose.
The country has also seen a 62 per cent drop in daily Covid-19 cases in August as compared to January.
The UAE first reported less than 1,000 new Covid-19 infections for the first time in eight months on 24 August and the cases have remained below 1,000 for the last 15 days.
The UAE has registered 725,192 Covid-19 infections and 2,050 fatalities so far.
Hong Kong eases travel restrictions
Hong Kong Tuesday relaxed “the world’s toughest travel restrictions”. The country will now allow its residents from India, Malaysia, Pakistan, Thailand, and South Korea to enter the city if they are fully vaccinated, reports The New York Times.
However, they will be required to quarantine for two to three weeks after their arrival.
Hong Kong has also relaxed travel restrictions for people coming from China and Macau, with the city’s chief executive Carrie Lam even announcing quarantine-free travel for as many as 2,000 such non-residents starting Wednesday.
The relaxed measures were announced after 53 per cent of the population has been fully vaccinated and no new local Covid-19 cases have been reported in the last three weeks.
Hong Kong has reported 12,130 Covid-19 cases and 212 deaths.
Cuba first country to vaccinate two-year-olds
Cuba Monday became the first country in the world to vaccinate children from the age of two, using home-grown jabs not recognized by the World Health Organization, reports France 24.
Cuba began its vaccination campaign for children Friday by giving the shots to those aged 12 and older. On Monday, it started administering shots in the 2-11 age group in the central province of Cienfuegos.
These vaccines have not undergone international, scientific peer review, but are made using recombinant protein technology, the one used by the United States’ Novavax and France’s Sanofi jabs, which are also awaiting WHO approval.
Cuba plans to vaccinate all its children before the reopening of schools that have remained closed since March last year.
Cuba has registered 704,675 Covid-19 infections and 5,881 deaths.
Also read: Mu — the latest SARS-CoV-2 ‘variant of interest’ first found in Colombia
What else we’re reading:
Hong Kong lucky draw winner claims HK$10.8 million flat offered to boost coronavirus vaccination rates: South China Morning Post
Spain approves third ‘booster’ dose for immunocompromised people: The Guardian