(Reuters) – Here’s what you need to know about the coronavirus right now:
Moscow to reintroduce lockdown measures as COVID deaths soar
Moscow will reintroduce COVID-19 lockdown measures from Oct. 28, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Thursday, with supermarkets and pharmacies the only shops allowed to stay open in an effort to cut soaring infection numbers and deaths.
The decision follows a statement from President Vladimir Putin who approved a nationwide week-long workplace shutdown from Oct. 30 to Nov. 7 and said regional leaders could introduce other measures at their discretion.
Russia on Thursday reported 1,036 coronavirus-related deaths in the last 24 hours as well as 36,339 new infections, both record daily highs since the pandemic began.
Ukraine’s new daily coronavirus cases, deaths hit record
Ukraine on Thursday registered a record daily high of new coronavirus infections and related deaths.
Health ministry data showed 22,415 new cases over the past 24 hours, exceeding the previous high of 20,341 on April 3. There were also 546 new deaths, surpassing the Oct. 19 record of 538.
Parts of northern China brace for more COVID-19 lockdowns
Parts of northern China are bracing for more COVID-19 curbs as a wave of cases raises concerns of a broader outbreak, with three areas enforcing lockdowns and some schools halting classes.
Alxa Left Banner, a small administrative division in the Chinese region of Inner Mongolia, said late on Wednesday it had imposed a lockdown and would test its population of 180,000, after the city of Erenhot and a division called Ejina Banner barred people from leaving amid local outbreaks.
UK adds nerve disorder as rare side-effect of AstraZeneca shot
The UK drug regulator added an extremely rare nerve-damaging disorder, Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), as a very rare side-effect of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, updates on the agency’s website showed on Thursday.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s (MHRA) decision came after the European medicines agency added GBS as a possible side-effect last month.
India celebrates 1 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses
India celebrated the milestone of administering a billion COVID-19 vaccine doses on Thursday, with the government promoting the achievement in song and video even as a recent drop in inoculations worries healthcare providers.
India has so far reported 34.1 million COVID-19 cases and more than 452,000 deaths, most during a second wave of infections of the Delta variant between April and May.
A “sizeable number” of people in India have not taken their second dose by the due date despite adequate supplies, the health ministry said on Tuesday.
Pfizer effective against Delta in adolescents in Israel-study
The Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is highly effective at preventing infection and symptomatic disease from the Delta variant among 12- to 18-year-olds, research conducted in Israel shows.
The findings, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, will likely provide further reassurance the shot is effective against the variant among younger people as the U.S. drug watchdog considers authorising use of the vaccine on children as young as five.
(Compiled by Nick Macfie)
