Life expectancy drops in pandemic-struck Italy – latest updates

Coronavirus pandemic has killed more than 4.5 million people and infected over 221 million globally. Here are the coronavirus-related developments for September 6:

In this March 1, 2021 file photo, people are seen in Piazza Vecchia a year after the peak of Italy's coronavirus disease outbreak, in Bergamo, the country's epicentre, Italy.
Reuters

In this March 1, 2021 file photo, people are seen in Piazza Vecchia a year after the peak of Italy's coronavirus disease outbreak, in Bergamo, the country's epicentre, Italy.

Monday, September 6, 2021

Italian life expectancy falls due to pandemic

Life expectancy for men in some of Italy’s worst-hit provinces in the pandemic has dropped by more than four years.

ISTAT, Italy’s national statistics bureau, in a report said that compared with 2019, nationwide life expectancy for those born in 2020 dropped by 1.2 years.

“In 2020, the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic and the sharp increase in the risk of mortality that derived from it abruptly interrupted the increase of life expectancy at birth that had marked a trend up to 2019," ISTAT said.

The pandemic first erupted outside Asia in northern Italy, and much of the north reeled with confirmed Covid-19 deaths in the initial wave of cases.
In the northern provinces of Bergamo, Cremona and Lodi, life expectancy for men decreased by some 4.3 to 4.5 years. 

For women in those provinces, the reduced expectancy ranged from 3.2 to 2.9 years.

For a child born in 2020, male life expectancy nationwide is 79.7 and female life expectancy is 84.4, ISTAT said.

UK records 41,192 new cases, 45 deaths

Britain has recorded 41,192 new daily Covid-19 cases, government statistics showed.
There were 45 deaths within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test reported, down from previous day's figure of 68.

Armenia approves 1-dose Sputnik Light Covid vaccine for use

Armenia has authorised Russia's single-dose Sputnik Light vaccine for use against Covid-19, the Russian Direct Investment Fund, which markets the shot abroad, said.

Armenia approved Russia's two-dose Sputnik V vaccine in February.

EU watchdog studying data on Pfizer Covid vaccine booster dose

Europe's medicines regulator has said it was evaluating data on a booster dose for Pfizer/BioNTech's Covid-19 vaccine, to be given six months after the second dose in people 16 years of age and older.

The drugmakers filed an application with the European Medicines Agency (EMA) which said it would carry out a speedy evaluation of the data, with an outcome expected "within the next few weeks".

Slovakia eases Covid rules for events during pope's visit

Slovakia has widened registration for public events planned during a visit by Pope Francis that begins to allow some people not vaccinated against Covid-19 also to attend.

Pope Francis is due to arrive in mainly Roman Catholic Slovakia on September 12 for a visit culminating in an open-air Mass at the Sastin pilgrimage site in western Slovakia on September 15.

New Caledonia locks down again over Covid cases

New Caledonia will impose a new coronavirus lockdown after three new cases were confirmed in the South Pacific French territory that had been declared "Covid free," officials said.

Previously just 139 positive Covid-19 cases had been recorded among the population of around 290,000, and no deaths.

Greece begins giving Covid vaccines outside churches

Greece has begun administering vaccinations for Covid-19 outside churches in a pilot program recently announced by the government as a means of encouraging more people to get the shots.

Mobile National Health Organization units began administering shots in a churchyard in Archanes, a town near the city of Heraklion on the southern island of Crete.

South Korea extends Covid restrictions for another month

South Korea has extended its Covid-19 restrictions for another month ahead of a major national holiday, local media reported.

Health authorities remain cautious about virus resurgence as people will travel during the fall harvest Chuseok holiday, set for September 20-22, Yonhap news agency reported.

Australia's New South Wales reports 1,281 cases

Authorities in Australia's New South Wales, the epicentre of the country's biggest coronavirus outbreak, have said the daily infections were expected to peak next week, as they look to speed up immunisations ahead of easing restrictions.

Australia is trying to contain a third wave of infections that has locked down its two largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, and its capital Canberra, putting more than half its 25 million population under strict stay-at-home restrictions.

New South Wales state has reported 1,281 locally acquired cases of the virus, down from 1,485 a day earlier.

Five new deaths have been reported, taking the total deaths in the latest outbreak to 131.

New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the government's modelling revealed the state would require its highest number of intensive care beds in early October, with "additional pressure on the system" in the next few weeks.

Daily cases in Sydney's worst-affected suburbs are expected to rise to as high as 2,000 until the middle of this month, the modelling showed.

Brazil sees 266 deaths

Brazil has reported 12,915 new virus cases and 266 additional deaths in the last 24 hours, the Health Ministry said.

More than 580,000 people have died from the virus in Brazil, with nearly 21 million cases, the ministry says. 

New Zealand eases curbs in areas beyond Auckland

New Zealand will ease curbs in all regions outside its biggest city of Auckland from midnight on Tuesday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has told a news conference.

Schools, offices and businesses can now operate with social distancing rules in place as the regions' alert level shifts to 2 from 3, Ardern added.

Germany reports 4,749 additional cases 

Germany reports 4,749 virus cases, bringing the total into 4,010,390 infections, as the death toll rises by 8 into 92,354 fatalities, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed.

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