Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

Oubreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), near Bengaluru
·3 min read

(Reuters) - India's tally of coronavirus infections rose on Monday to just short of 20 million, propelled by a 12th straight day of more than 300,000 new cases, as scientists predicted the pandemic could peak in the next couple of days.

DEATHS AND INFECTIONS

EUROPE

* The European Union's executive recommended easing COVID-19 travel restrictions to allow foreign travellers from more countries to enter the EU.

* Britain is on course to ditch on June 21 the social distancing rule that means people need to stay at least one metre apart, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.

* The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 9,160 to 3,425,982, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Monday.

* Ukraine has signed a contract with Pfizer for an additional 10 million doses of its coronavirus vaccine, bringing the total number of doses to 20 million, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's office said on Saturday.

ASIA-PACIFIC

* Pfizer is in discussions with the Indian government seeking an "expedited approval pathway" for its COVID-19 vaccine, its CEO Albert Bourla said on LinkedIn, announcing a donation of medicines worth more than $70 million.

* Taiwan became the latest place to ban arrivals from coronavirus-stricken India, as it moves to prevent new infections, with more nations reporting cases of a variant first identified in the subcontinent.

* South Korea is banking on the arrival of nearly 14 million doses of coronavirus vaccine by June, officials said, to boost an immunisation drive that could lose momentum due to dwindling supplies as result of shipment delays.

* Indonesia has recorded two cases of a highly infectious COVID-19 variant first identified in India, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said.

* Malaysia will begin a parallel COVID-19 inoculation programme this week for people who chose to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine, after it was removed from an ongoing rollout due to public fears over its safety, a minister said.

AMERICAS

* Over 60 U.S. stadiums and other venues are deploying an app from Clear to verify people's COVID-19 status, placing the New York company known for its airport security fast lanes at the forefront of a national debate over "vaccine passports".

* U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to impose new travel restrictions on India starting Tuesday, barring most non-U.S. citizens from entering the United States, a White House official told Reuters.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

* Turkey will still expect to welcome 30 million arrivals this year, twice the number last year, if daily coronavirus cases fall below 5,000 after a lockdown ends on May 17, Tourism and Culture Minister Mehmet Ersoy said.

MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

* Moderna will supply 34 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine this year and Sweden has donated 1 million AstraZeneca shots to the global COVAX programme, a small boost as it struggles to get stocks to inoculate the world's poorest people.

* A single dose of Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine may not generate a sufficient immune response to protect against dominant new variants, except in people who have already been infected with COVID-19, according to a UK study.

ECONOMIC IMPACT

* European shares gained on Monday as investors bullish about the global economic recovery looked ahead to a busy week for U.S. economic data that is expected to underline the strength of the rebound.

(Compiled by Federico Maccioni and Vinay Dwivedi; Edited by Kirsten Donovan and David Evans)

Recommended Stories

  • DHS: Migrant family reunifications to begin this week

    Four families separated under the Trump administration's zero-tolerance policy will be reunited this week, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said on a call Sunday night. Why it matters: Reuniting migrant families is one of Biden's biggest immigration-related promises and progress has been slow.Get market news worthy of your time with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free.Driving the news: Mayorkas noted that there are "thousands of families that remain to be reunited" and that DHS will continuing to identify families for reunification in the coming weeks and months.Michelle Brané, executive director of the Family Reunification Task Force, said that over a thousand families have been identified thus far.Mayorkas added that the files the Biden administration inherited from their predecessors had a "significant number of issues" and that officials have been working to verify much of the information in them. The big picture: Brané stated that the task force is working identify all the cases of separated families and that "most" of the children set to be reunited with their families are in the U.S.The ACLU, which had sued over the separation of children, entered into settlement negotiations with the Biden administration, citing the task force's intentions and work to reunify the remaining families.What they're saying: "This is just the beginning. We continue to work tirelessly to reunite many more children, with their parents in the weeks and months ahead," Mayorkas said.More from Axios: Sign up to get the latest market trends with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free

  • Malaysia reports first case of Indian COVID-19 variant

    Malaysia has detected its first case of a highly infectious coronavirus variant first identified in India, Health Minister Adham Baba said on Sunday, days after imposing a ban on flights from India. The variant, named B.1.617, was detected in an Indian national screened at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, he said. The World Health Organisation has described it as a "variant of interest", suggesting it may have mutations that would make the virus more transmissible, cause more severe disease or evade vaccine immunity.

  • Modi's ruling party takes a hit as Covid runs rampant in India

    India recorded more than 300,000 new cases for the 12th straight day, bringing the country’s total infections to nearly 20 million.

  • Attention travelers! EU proposes reopening external borders

    In an announcement sure to be welcomed by travelers worldwide, EU officials on Monday proposed easing restrictions on visiting the 27-nation bloc as vaccination campaigns across the continent gather speed. Travel to the European Union is currently extremely limited except for a handful of countries with low infection rates. The Commission hopes the move will soon allow travelers reunite with their friends and relatives living in Europe and support the bloc's economy this summer.

  • Taiwan bars arrivals from India as Indonesia reports first cases of Indian COVID-19 variant

    TAIPEI/JAKARTA (Reuters) -Taiwan became the latest place to ban arrivals from coronavirus-stricken India on Monday, as it moves to prevent new infections, with more nations reporting cases of a variant first identified in the subcontinent. The variant, B.1.617, has reached at least 17 countries, from Britain and Iran to Switzerland, sparking global concern and spurring several to close their borders to people travelling from India. Scientists are studying whether the variant, resulting from two key mutations to the outer "spike" portion of the virus that attaches to human cells, is driving an unexpected explosion in cases in India.

  • Pfizer to supply 4.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine to South Africa by June

    The first batch of 325,260 doses will arrive in the country Sunday night, Mkhize said, adding that they will be expecting same number of doses to arrive on a weekly basis. "The vaccine supply will increase to an average of 636,480 doses weekly from 31 May which will see us accumulating close to 4.5 million doses by the end of June," the statement added.

  • Narendra Modi's party loses key election as India's COVID cases surge

    India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lost an election in the key state of West Bengal on Sunday.Why it matters: Modi has been criticized for his handling of the pandemic amid a widespread oxygen shortage, record daily cases and a surging death toll, with accusations that the real numbers are much higher.Get market news worthy of your time with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free.An Indian Medical Association official called Modi a "super-spreader" for holding "big political rallies" for the state elections last month, per the Tribune India.By the numbers: The opposition All India Trinamool Congress won 213 of the 292 available seats in West Bengal and the Hindu nationalist BJP won the remaining 77, according to official figures, posted by the Election Commission of India Monday.Of note: Modi predicted last month that the BJP would "win more than 200 seats in the state, which held voting over eight phases starting on March 27," Bloomberg notes.The big picture: Opposition parties also won in the southern states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, but the BJP retained power in the northeastern state of Assam and "gained the federally controlled territory of Puducherry, where it contested in alliance with a regional party," per Bloomberg.What they're saying: Political commentator Arati Jerath told the New York Times the government is now "battling a public backlash on their mishandling of the COVID pandemic.""It is bad news for Modi that three powerful regional chieftains are emerging from these elections," Jerath said.Go deeper: Foreign aid pours into India as COVID-19 crisis worsensMore from Axios: Sign up to get the latest market trends with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free

  • Family needs help identifying person of interest in 22-year-old's murder

    It's been almost two weeks since the 22-year-old was fatally shot while sitting on a bench outside a southwest Houston Chick-fil-A.

  • Cole Caufield with a Goal vs. Ottawa Senators

    Cole Caufield (Montreal Canadiens) with a Goal vs. Ottawa Senators, 05/01/2021

  • Cole Caufield’s first NHL goal is big overtime winner for Canadiens

    His goal completed a late rally for the Montreal Canadiens to help them get two huge points in the North Division playoff race.

  • How to help India amid COVID-19 surge that's devastating the country

    As India faces an overwhelming surge of record-breaking COVID-19 cases and deaths, humanitarian organizations are offering ways to help the country in dire need of resources. Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere (CARE), a global humanitarian agency that helps in delivering emergency relief, has been working with its India chapter to provide on-the-ground resources during the crisis. Since pandemic began, CARE India has aided more than 400,000 people in the most marginalized sections of the country with PPE and dry ration support, a CARE spokesperson told ABC News.

  • FDA expected to approve Pfizer vaccine for ages 12-15 this week

    The FDA's anticipated decision to approve the Pfizer vaccine for ages 12-15 would allow middle school students and all high school students to get the shots.

  • Canadiens rookie Cole Caufield buries overtime winner for first NHL goal

    The Canadiens rookie produced quite a special moment in an NHL career that is barely four games old.

  • Russia lags behind others in its COVID-19 vaccination drive

    While at the Park House shopping mall in northern Moscow, Vladimir Makarov saw it was offering the coronavirus vaccine to customers, so he asked how long it would take. Russia boasted last year of being first in the world to authorize a coronavirus vaccine, but it now finds itself lagging in getting its population immunized. As of mid-April, over 1 million of Moscow's 12.7 million residents, or about 8%, have received at least one shot, even though the campaign began in December.

  • Lucy Liu Pushes Back Against Essay Labeling ‘Kill Bill’ Character an Asian Stereotype

    Teen Vogue said Liu's O-Ren Ishii is a contemporary example of the "Dragon Lady," but Liu doesn't exactly see it that way.

  • U.S. screens 1.63 million people at airports, highest since March 2020

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said it screened 1.63 million passengers on Sunday at U.S. airports, the highest number since March 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic slashed travel demand. The number of U.S. air travelers is still about 35% lower than the same date in 2019, down about 1 million travelers, the TSA said. U.S. airlines have been adding more flights, anticipating rising summer travel demand.

  • Buffett: I find it almost impossible to believe that it's terrible to repurchase shares

    Billionaire investing icon Warren Buffett, the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B, BRK-A), defended the practice of share buybacks at his annual meeting on Saturday.

  • Prince Harry! J.Lo! Chrissy! See All the Stars Who Turned Out for VAX LIVE: The Concert to Reunite the World

    Jennifer Lopez brought mom Guadalupe Rodríguez on stage to help her open the show with "Sweet Caroline," which Lopez told the crowd her mother "used to sing to me when I was baby." Prince Harry received a standing ovation from fans the two times he spoke to the crowd, first to thank first responders and next to talk up the importance of getting vaccinated. Presenter Olivia Munn called the event — staged in front of a vaccinated crowd of first responders — "amazing [and] inspiring."

  • Selling Apple shares was 'probably a mistake' and Munger knew it: Buffett

    Warren Buffett conceded that selling some shares of Apple in Berkshire Hathaway's portfolio last year was likely a mistake, with the company an ongoing tech leader providing massive utility to users around the world.

  • Iran 'almost certainly' meddling in Scottish election to destabilise the UK

    Iran is “almost certainly” trying to help the SNP win the Holyrood elections with online propaganda campaigns designed to cause constitutional turmoil within the UK, a think tank has warned. A report by the Henry Jackson Society said that online specialists acting on behalf of the Tehran regime were using fake accounts on platforms such as Twitter and Facebook to encourage the break up of Britain. Tactics include setting up fake accounts that launch attacks on Unionist parties and politicians and spread information designed to boost the case for Scottish separation. Dr Paul Stott, the report's author, said there was no suggestion that Scottish nationalist politicians had encouraged interference in the current elections but that it was still highly likely that Iran was meddling. Iran has previously “put considerable effort into developing its political relationships with Scottish political elites who advocate independence,” with some success, the report said. The report concluded: “Iran has shown itself to be a country which engages in Russian-style disinformation campaigns, repeatedly establishing fake websites and internet accounts in an effort to disrupt the political systems of liberal democracies. “Judged within this context, Iran is almost certainly looking to disrupt our current elections, most likely those under way for the Scottish [Parliament].”