UK reports over 26,000 new Covid-19 cases – latest updates

Sunday, August 15:

UK reports 26,750 new cases, 61 more deaths

Britain has reported 26,750 further cases of Covid-19 and 61 more deaths within 28 days of a positive test, according to official data.

Italy reports 19 deaths, 5,664 new cases 

Italy has reported 19 coronavirus-related deaths against 34 the day before, the health ministry said, while the daily tally of new infections declined to 5,664 from 7,188.

Italy has registered 128,432 deaths linked to Covid-19 since its outbreak emerged in February last year, the second-highest toll in Europe after Britain and the eighth-highest in the world. The country has reported 4.44 million cases to date.

Patients in hospital with Covid-19 - not including those in intensive care - stood at 3,162 on Sunday, up from 3, 101 a day earlier.

There were 29 new admissions to intensive care units, down from 37 on Saturday. The total number of intensive care patients increased to 384 from the previous 372.

Some 160,870 tests for Covid-19 were carried out in the past day, compared with a previous 254,006, the health ministry said. 

Turkey registers 18,847 new cases

Turkey has recorded 18,847 new infections and 154 coronavirus-related deaths in the last 24 hours, while as many as 14,426 more patients recovered, according to the official figures.

The country administered over 83.54 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines since it launched a mass vaccination campaign in January, the health ministry said on Sunday.

The country continues its intensive vaccination campaign to curb the spread of the coronavirus, as everyone 16 and over is eligible for vaccine shots.

According to the ministry, over 44 .02 million people have gotten their first doses, while more than 32.92 million are now fully vaccinated.

England ends self-isolation for Covid contacts

Fully vaccinated people in England will from Monday no longer be required to self-isolate if they have had close contact with a coronavirus case, as restrictions continue to be eased.

Instead of self-isolating, those double jabbed and the under 18s will be advised to get a free polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test if they are identified as being in close contact with a case.

The change was announced last month, as part of step four of the government's plan to open up after more than a year of rolling lockdowns.

Anyone who tests positive following the PCR test will still be legally required to self-isolate.

Britain is still battling another wave of the virus, with the emergence of the Delta variant.

Although cases are down around 50 percent from their peak, the number of people catching the disease has been rising slightly over the last two weeks, with around 100 people a day dying from the disease.

Britain has been one the countries worst hit by the virus, recording more than 130,000 fatalities, but has been able to ease restrictions thanks to a successful vaccine rollout, with 75 percent of adults receiving both doses.

Delta variant blamed for most cases in Palestine

The Palestinian Health Ministry has said that most coronavirus cases in the West Bank were caused by the highly infectious Delta variant.

"The Delta variant is widely spread with more than 70 percent of the diagnosed cases were due to the highly contagious strain,” ministry official in the West Bank, Wesam Sbeihat, told the official Palestine Voice Radio.

Sbeihat confirmed a surge in the number of Covid-19 cases in the Palestinian territories in recent weeks.

He, however, said the registered cases don’t reflect the real epidemiological situation in the Palestinian territories.

Last week, the Palestinian government threatened to take “measures” against those refusing to take the Covid-19 vaccines.

Palestinian health authorities have confirmed 349,108 virus cases in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, including 3,891 deaths.

Russia reports 21,624 cases

Russia has reported 21,624 new cases, including 1,954 in Moscow, taking the official national tally since the pandemic began to 6,600,836.

The government coronavirus task force said 816 people had died of virus-related causes in the past 24 hours, pushing the national death toll to 170,499.

On Saturday, Russia's daily deaths hit a new record of 819, a day after Moscow's health department reported the highest number of monthly deaths in the city since the start of the pandemic.

Russia's daily virus deaths were on the rise after infections peaked in July.

Poland sells 1M vaccines to Australia

Poland has sold one million Pfizer vaccine doses to Australia as part of a "responsible policy of solidarity", the Polish health minister said.

Health Minister Adam Niedzieslki said that Poland's vaccine purchases "allow us to meet the needs of our citizens and support others in need".

Polish ambassador to Australia Michal Kolodziejski said: "In these tough times for our Australian friends, Poland has decided to share with Australia one million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, with immediate delivery".

S.Korea sets up 'bus walls' as protesters defy warnings

South Korean police have mobilised hundreds of buses and set up dozens of checkpoints to head off political rallies in Seoul, as some groups pushed ahead with annual protests in defiance of warnings over the spread of the novel virus.

South Korea has largely been held up as a virus success story, but is grappling with a fourth wave of infection that took new daily cases above 2,200 last week for the first time, partly fuelled by the more transmissible Delta variant.

Germany's cases rise by 4,728 – RKI

The number of confirmed virus cases in Germany has increased by 4,728 to 3,821,013, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed.

The reported death toll rose by 3 to 91,867. 

India reports 36,083 cases 

India reported 36,083 new infections in the last 24 hours, a government statement said.

Daily deaths in the country rose by 493, health ministry data showed.

Tokyo daily cases total 4,295 

Tokyo has reported 4,295 new cases, the metropolitan government said.

Philippines reports second-biggest daily jump in cases

The Philippines has recorded 14,749 new virus cases, its second-largest daily increase, bringing the Southeast Asian country's total confirmed infections to 1.74 million.

The Department of Health also reported an additional 270 deaths, the third highest one-day spike in fatalities, increasing the death toll to 30,340.

Brazil registers 926 deaths

Brazil has registered 926 deaths and 31,142 additional cases, according to data released by the nation's Health Ministry.

The South American country has now registered a total of 568,788 deaths and 20,350,142 total confirmed cases. 

Australia's Victoria state reports 25 new local cases

Australia's Victoria state has reported 25 new locally acquired cases, up from 21 a day earlier, while Melbourne, the state capital, has remained in the second week of an extended lockdown.

Of the new cases, 13 have spent time outside while infectious, up from 10 a day earlier, the state's health department said. All but four cases were linked to a current outbreak.

Victoria, Australia's second most populous state and home to nearly 7 million people, entered its sixth lockdown since the pandemic began on August 5, weeks after a brief exit from the last one.

Mexico records 23,642 new cases, 753 more deaths

Mexico has recorded 23,642 more confirmed cases and an additional 753 deaths, according to health ministry data, bringing the total confirmed number of cases to 3,091,971 and the overall death toll to 248,167.

The government has said the real number of cases is likely significantly higher, and separate data published earlier this year suggested the actual death toll is at least 60% above the confirmed figure. 

Demo in Tel Aviv against vaccinations

Several hundred Israelis have gathered in Tel Aviv's Habima Square to protest against calls by the authorities for all citizens to be vaccinated against the coronavirus.

The protests have been growing in number in recent weeks as the country's top official have increased calls for citizens to get vaccinated amid a rising number of infections.

Israel was one of the world's leaders in vaccinating its population early this year.

But in recent weeks, it has seen a surge in cases of the delta variant, even among those who are already vaccinated.

Last month, Israel began offering a booster shot to people over the age of 60, becoming the first country in the world that uses a Western vaccine to do so.

Health officials in the US and Europe have not yet recommended booster shots, while UN health officials have recommended against it, saying it is more important to inoculate the unvaccinated in poorer countries.

Israel's campaign was expanded on Friday to people over 50 and frontline health care workers.

All 16, 17-year-olds in England to be offered first vaccine dose by August 23

All 16 and 17-year-olds in England will be offered their first vaccine dose by August 23, according to a target set by British Health Secretary Sajid Javid.

Javid said on Sunday that offering young people the vaccine by that date will allow the teenagers in that age bracket the two weeks necessary to build maximum immunity before returning to school in September.

"I have asked the NHS in England to ensure they offer a first dose of the vaccine to everyone aged 16 and 17 by next Monday, Aug. 23, this will make sure everybody has the opportunity to get vital protection before returning to college or sixth form", Javid said in a statement on Sunday.

Britain has suffered more than 130,000 deaths within 28 days of a positive test, the second-highest total in Europe after Russia and one of the highest in the world.

However, Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government recently went ahead with easing restrictions in England due to the broad roll-out of vaccinations which Johnson said had largely broken the link between infections and subsequent hospitalisation and death.