Coronavirus Live Updates: China cuts down flights, orders mass testing amid Delta outbreaks in Wuhan, Nanjiang

China reported on Wednesday the most new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases since January as some cities stepped up restrictions, cut flights and increased testing to get to grips with an outbreak driven mainly by the Delta variant.The travel restrictions and closures led Nomura to downgrade China's July-September economic growth forecast, as well as its full-year prediction, saying the zero-tolerance approach to the virus was becoming increasingly costly.Since late July, the highly transmissible Delta variant has been detected in at least a dozen Chinese cities, including the capital, Beijing, and Wuhan, where the novel coronavirus emerged in late 2019. – Reuters

• 13,325 COVID19 related deaths were reported in the state till 15th June 2021. State Govt follows ICMR and WHO guidelines to report COVID deaths. The concerned doctor, who treated the patient, decides whether the death is due to COVID or not: Kerala Health Minister in Assembly
• RT-PCR test result is mandatory to record COVID deaths in cases reported as brought dead. All cases that had been reported as COVID positive in COVID portal and reported as COVID death by dist health officials were included in the state covid death list: Veena George - ANI

Arunachal Pradesh's COVID-19 caseload rose to 48,884 as 319 more people tested positive for the infection, a senior health department official said here on Wednesday. The COVID-19 death toll in the northeastern state remained at 234, as no fresh casualty was reported in the last 24 hours, State Surveillance Officer (SSO) Dr Lobsang Jampa said. The Capital Complex Region continued to remain at the top of the list of fresh infections with 88 new cases, followed by Papumpare (44), Lower Subansiri (35), East Siang (19), Lohit (16), Kamle and Tawang with 13 cases each, West Kameng and Namsai with 12 cases each and East Kameng (9). Fresh cases were also reported from Upper Subansiri, West Siang, Leparada, Siang, Lower Dibang Valley, Lower Siang, Anjaw, Changlang, Tirap, Upper Siang, Shi-Yomi, Pakke Kessang, Longding and Kra Daadi districts, the official said. - PTI

The New York Yankees lost a second starting pitcher to COVID-19 as Jordan Montgomery tested positive for the virus Tuesday.The lefty Montgomery follows ace Gerrit Cole to the COVID injured list. Both pitchers are expected to be out at least 10 days unless returning two negative tests before then.Luis Gil is starting for the Yankees on Tuesday night in Baltimore in place of Cole. The Yankees had not yet named a replacement for Montgomery, who pitched Sunday in Miami and was slated to go Friday.However, the Yankees signed right-hander Brody Koerner from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to take Montgomery's spot on the 26-man roster. New York also signed right-hander Stephen Ridings from the Triple-A affiliate.Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Tuesday no other players will be sidelined for contact tracing, "as of now." – Reuters

British coronavirus vaccine developer Sarah Gilbert has many science accolades to her credit but now shares an honor with Beyonce, Marilyn Monroe and Eleanor Roosevelt: a Barbie doll in her likeness.Gilbert, a 59-year-old professor at Oxford University and co-developer of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, is one of six women in the COVID-19 fight who have new Barbies modeled after them.Toy maker Mattel Inc is recognizing them with a line of Barbie "role model" dolls.Gilbert's Barbie shares her long auburn hair and oversized black glasses, and she wears a sensible navy blue pantsuit and white blouse."It's a very strange concept having a Barbie doll created in my likeness," Gilbert said in an interview for Mattel."I hope it will be part of making it more normal for girls to think about careers in science."Among the honorees are emergency room nurse Amy O'Sullivan who treated the first COVID-19 patient at the Wycoff Hospital in Brooklyn, New York, and Audrey Cruz, frontline doctor in Las Vegas who fought discrimination, according to Mattel. - Reuters

Fully-vaccinated people have an around 50 to 60% reduced risk of infection from the Delta coronavirus variant, including those who are asymptomatic, a large English coronavirus prevalence study found on Wednesday.Imperial College London researchers said people who reported receiving two vaccine doses were half as likely to test positive for COVID-19, adjusting for other factors such as age, whether or not the people tested had COVID-19 symptoms.Focusing on those who had COVID-19 symptoms, effectiveness rose to around 59%, according to the study, which covered a period when the Delta variant completely displaced the previously dominant Alpha variant.The estimates, which did not break down effectiveness by vaccine, are lower than those reported by Public Health England for Pfizer and AstraZeneca's shots.The researchers said this was not surprising or worrying, given that PHE estimates were based on those who have symptoms and get tested, while the Imperial study is designed to pick up more people. - Reuters

Lalbaugcha Raja Ganeshotsav Mandal will observe Ganesh Chaturthi while adhering to COVID-19 guidelines. A 4-feet tall Ganesh idol will be installed on September 10. We'll urge devotees to take part in the puja & darshan online: Mandal Secretary Sudhir Salvi in Mumbai - ANI

The gambling hub of Macau has launched a test programme for its 600,000 people after the Chinese-ruled city confirmed four new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, its government said in a statement on Wednesday.Macau has set up 41 nucleic acid testing stations across the city which will run non-stop for at least three days, which is the estimated required period, the statement said. Appointments would not be required, it said.Macau has registered only 59 coronavirus cases and recorded no deaths so far, according to Hong Kong government data.In a separate statement, Hong Kong's government said it removed Macau from its list of places from which residents could return to the finance hub without the need for quarantine. That 'Return2HK' list now only contains places from mainland China. - Reuters

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 3,571 to 3,777,446, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Wednesday. The reported death toll rose by 25 to 91,704, the tally showed. - Reuters

Japan's health minister on Wednesday signalled the government may consider rolling back a controversial new policy asking COVID-19 patients with less serious symptoms isolate at home rather than going to the hospital.The comment, which came amid rising criticism over the policy, underscores Tokyo's struggle in dealing with a spike in Delta variants that is overshadowing the Olympic Games.Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said on Monday only COVID-19 patients who are seriously ill and those at risk of becoming so woud be hospitalised, while others isolate at home, a shift in policy some fear may lead to an increase in deaths.Health Minister Norihisa Tamura defended the policy shift, saying that by asking people with less serious symptoms to isolate at home, Japan could ensure it did not run out of hospital beds for people in need of intensive care. – Reuters

Fresh outbreaks of the Delta coronavirus variant in Southeast Asia have crippled its factory sector, disrupting global supplies of goods such as rubber gloves, semiconductors and SUVs and threatening the $3 trillion region's recovery.A series of factory surveys this week showed business activity across most Southeast Asian economies fell sharply in July, a contrast to more resilient manufacturing economies in Northeast Asia and the West, where business growth has slowed but remained in expansion.The economic disruptions in Southeast Asia caused by the virus have been made worse by slow progress in vaccinations in the region of 600 million people. Governments have struggled to secure doses and have imposed costly lockdowns that have left many factories without workers.The setbacks threaten the growth of one of the world's more resilient emerging market blocs, which has withstood various global crises in recent decades thanks to broad robust economic reforms and its proximity to China. - Reuters

With the addition of 270 new cases of coronavirus, the infection count in Maharashtra's Thane district has gone up to 5,45,549, an official said on Wednesday. Besides these new cases reported on Tuesday, the virus also claimed the lives of nine more people, which raised the death toll in the district to 11,056, he said. The COVID-19 mortality rate in the district stood at 2.02 per cent, he added. In neighbouring Palghar district, the COVID-19 case count has gone up to 1,33,464, while the death toll has reached 3,206, another official said. - PTI

Australia's New South Wales reported one of the country's youngest deaths from COVID-19 on Wednesday, as daily infections lingered near a 16-month high despite the lockdown of 5 million people in state capital Sydney entering its sixth week.The unnamed man in his 20s, who had no underlying health issues and was unvaccinated, died at his home in the city, authorities said. He deteriorated rapidly after earlier complaining of just mild symptoms, they added.The death highlights the risk facing Australia's largest city, which is struggling to contain an outbreak of the highly infectious Delta variant when fewer than 20% of Sydney's residents are vaccinated.Last year, the neighbouring state of Victoria said an unnamed man also in his 20s had died from COVID-19, though a coroner is still investigating the exact cause of death.The young man was one of two COVID-19 deaths reported in New South Wales (NSW) in the past 24 hours. - Reuters

The COVID-19 vaccination drive has been suspended at civic and government-run centres in Mumbai on Wednesday due to paucity of vaccine doses, according to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. In a statement issued on Tuesday, the BMC said the inoculation drive will resume once it receives a fresh stock of vaccines. "Citizens of Mumbai are constantly informed about the vaccination, depending upon the stock of vaccines received, and an appropriate decision is taken," it said. This is the first time that the city civic authority has suspended the inoculation drive this month due to shortage of vaccines. Last month, it had suspended the vaccination drive in the city at least thrice because of the same reason. - PTI

New York City, Microsoft, Tyson Foods and the US auto industry have joined a cascading number of state and local governments and major employers that are taking a hard line against both the surging delta variant and the holdouts who have yet to get vaccinated. ‘The goal here is to convince everyone that this is the time. If we're going to stop the delta variant, the time is now. And that means getting vaccinated right now,’ Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday in announcing that New York will demand people show proof of COVID-19 vaccination at indoor restaurants, shows and gyms. The hard-line measure - the first such step taken by a big US city - goes into effect in mid-August. Vaccination cards or state and city apps will be accepted as proof of inoculation. Meanwhile, meat and poultry giant Tyson Foods said it will require all of its approximately 120,000 U.S. employees to get the shot over the next three months. Microsoft will demand that its roughly 100,000 US employees - as well as visitors and others -  show proof of vaccination starting in September. - AP

Ladakh has recorded a sudden increase in coronavirus cases with 20 fresh infections being reported in a day, officials said. All the 20 cases, reported on Tuesday, were from Leh. The fresh infections took the case tally in the union territory to 20,365 and the number of active cases stood at 71 -- four in Kargil and 67 in Leh -- officials said. Ladakh has registered 207 Covid-related deaths -- 149 in Leh and 58 in Kargil -- since the outbreak of the pandemic last year. A total of 20,087 patients have recovered till date. Since July 21, daily COVID-19 cases reported in the union territory were in single digit except on August 1 when 10 new cases were recorded. Fourteen new cases were reported on July 21. There was no death due to Covid in Ladakh on Tuesday. - PTI

The United States is helping India and other countries to be able produce the vaccines by themselves, President Joe Biden has said. With a need for several billion doses around the world, the US was committed to provide half a billion, Biden said during a press conference at White House on Tuesday. ‘We have committed to over a half a billion doses. And we're trying to provide for more and provide for the capacity of countries like India to be able to produce the vaccine themselves. And we're helping them do that. That's what we're doing now,’ he said in response to a question. - PTI

Indian American doctors raised USD5 million for COVID-19 relief in India, according to the AAPI. The fund raised by the influential Indian American doctors was used to provide 2,300 oxygen concentrators, 100 ventilators and 100 high-flow nasal cannula machines to 45 hospitals in India, the Association of physicians of Indian origin said on Tuesday. AAPI is the largest ethnic medical organisation in the US representing the interest of more than 100,000 physicians in the country. - PTI

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Tuesday downplayed a spike in COVID-19 cases that's shattered state hospitalisation records and strongly reiterated his vow not to impose a mask mandate or any business restrictions. With the much more contagious delta variant now spreading exponentially, Florida hit 11,515 hospitalized patients Tuesday, breaking last year's record for the third straight day and up from just 1,000 in mid-June. DeSantis said he expects hospitalisations to drop in the next couple weeks, asserting that the spike is seasonal as Floridians spend more time together indoors to escape the summer heat and humidity. - AP

New York City will soon require proof of COVID-19 vaccinations for anyone who wants to dine indoors at a restaurant, see a performance or go to the gym, Mayor Bill de Blasio has announced, making it the first big city in the US to impose such restrictions. The new requirement, which will be phased in over several weeks in August and September, is the most aggressive step the city has taken yet to curb a surge in cases caused by the delta variant. People will have to show proof that they have had at least one vaccine dose. - AP

Hello and FE Online's live coverage of coronavirus pandemic. Here are top news that you must know as you start your day:

• Kerala accounts for more than half of the total caseload in India
• R-Factor is crawling up
• As many as 8 states are witnessing a fresh surge
• Uttar Pradesh records a new high in daily vaccination numbers.