Coronavirus live updates: Daily positivity rate at 1.55%, less than 3% for last 29 days

Pakistan announced full coronavirus vaccination was mandatory for all air passengers from the end of next month as the country scrambled to tackle the fourth wave of the pandemic. The decision was taken in a meeting of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC). Speaking to the media, NCOC chief Asad Umar said "only fully vaccinated people will be allowed to travel domestically and internationally from September 30".

Joe Biden is set to be briefed on the US intelligence community's investigation into how Covid-19 started, with the report likely to disappoint in delivering clear answers about the deadly pandemic's origin in China. Read more

The country's health ministry said Tuesday that 709 people with the disease had died since Monday and 7,727 patients were in critical condition. The ministry said 40,600 new cases were confirmed in the same 24-hour period.

Authorities in the UAE have temporarily suspended the visa-on-arrival facility for passengers who are arriving from or have been in India in the past 14 days, according to Etihad Airways. The Abu Dhabi-headquartered airline, which is the second flag carrier of the UAE, said in a tweet that it is working to update its website with the latest information.

West Indies all-rounder Carlos Brathwaite is in doubt for Jamaica Tallawahs opening game of the upcoming Caribbean Premier League (CPL) after being forced into isolation due to a positive Covid-19 case on the flight from the UK. Brathwaite had travelled from Manchester to Basseterre ahead of the CPL after leading Manchester Originals in the ECB's inaugural edition of the Hundred.

Greece said it would end free testing for unvaccinated people to boost inoculation rates and head off any renewed spike in Delta variant infections of the coronavirus. The country has recorded 13,422 deaths since reporting its first Covid-19 outbreak in February 2020. Read more

Papua New Guinea banned flights from India indefinitely on Tuesday and accused the South Asian country's diplomats of "deception" over apparent breaches to Covid-19 travel rules.The Melanesian nation's top Covid-19 official said in an act of deliberate "deception" India's High Commission helped dozens of unauthorised travellers some Covid-positive to arrive in Papua New Guinea.A repatriation charter flight from India arrived in Papua New Guinea via Indonesia early on Tuesday with 111 people on board, 30 more than the original number approved, according to officials.The flight had been the subject of intense negotiations between officials in both countries and was rejected four times by Papua New Guinea over virus fears before an agreement was reached to allow 81 passengers to enter.

People infected with the more transmissible Delta variant have a viral load 300 times higher than those with the original version of the Covid-19 virus, when symptoms are first observed. But the amount gradually decreased over time to 30 times in four days and over 10 times in nine days - and it matched levels seen in other variants after 10 days, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said on Tuesday.

The German economy grew more than expected in the second quarter as the easing of Covid-19 curbs spurred consumers to dip into record savings piled up during the winter lockdown and the state pressed on with a huge debt-financed stimulus push. Gross domestic product grew an adjusted 1.6% on the quarter, the Federal Statistic Office said on Tuesday, up from its previous estimate of 1.5% and following a revised first quarter contraction of 2%.

The United States will ship just over 3 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine to Pakistan via the COVAX global distribution program on Tuesday, bringing the total number of doses sent to Pakistan to around 8.5 million, a White House official said. Scientific teams and legal and regulatory authorities from both countries worked together to ensure the prompt delivery of the 3,006,900 vaccine lots made by Pfizer and Germany's BioNTech, the official sa

Indian pharmaceutical firm Gennova Biopharmaceuticals' mRNA-based Covid-19 vaccine was found to be safe and effective in an early-stage study, the country's drug regulator said on Tuesday. Health authorities have allowed the company to conduct further studies to test the vaccine's efficacy.

As Covid-19 cases continue to decline in Delhi, its health minister Satyendar Jain assured that the national capital is preparing to tackle the third wave of Covid-19 if it arises. "Delhi government is making full preparations for the third corona wave. We are arranging 37,000 beds, preparing 12,000 oxygen beds etc. Separate preparations are also being made for children," Jain told reporters here.

Unvaccinated people will be barred from entering educational institutions starting October 15. That's also when the government will require proof of vaccination in order to purchase train and bus tickets. Read full story