Women hit harder than men by job losses due to pandemic – latest updates

Monday, July 19:

Women hit harder than men by job losses due to pandemic

Women have been hit harder than men by job losses around the world due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and only men's employment is likely to recover this year to 2019 levels, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) said.

Women have been at greater risk of lay-offs or reduced working hours during periods of anti-infection economic and social restrictions, especially in sectors such as accommodation, food services and manufacturing, the UN agency said.

Many women have not only experienced severe loss of income but also continue to bear the brunt of unpaid care work.

"Even though the projected jobs growth in 2021 for women exceeds that of men, it will, nonetheless, be insufficient to bring women back to pre-pandemic employment levels," the ILO said in a report.

Globally, between 2019 and 2020, 4.2 percent of women's employment was eliminated as a result of the pandemic, representing a drop of 54 million jobs, compared to 3 percent of men’s employment or 60 million jobs, it said.

Turkey registers 7,667 new cases

Turkey has reported 7,667 new cases of coronavirus and 50 additional deaths in the last 24 hours, according to official data.

The country has administered nearly 63.7 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines since it launched a mass vaccination campaign in January, according to figures released on Monday.

The country continues its intensive vaccination campaign to curb the spread of coronavirus, and all residents aged 18 and over are eligible for vaccine shots.

According to the Health Ministry, nearly 39.1 million people have received their first dose, while over 21 million are fully vaccinated.

Fourth Covid case reported in Olympic Village 

Tokyo's Olympic Village has been hit by a fourth coronavirus case and major sponsor Toyota said it would not run any Games-related TV ads as the event struggled for support just days before the opening ceremony.

A Czech beach volleyball player became the fourth case and the third infected athlete in the Village, where thousands of competitors are living in a biosecure "bubble".

Elsewhere, a teenage female gymnast became the first American athlete to test positive at the Games, with a teammate also isolating as a result. Neither was named.

The delayed 2020 Games will officially get under way on Friday in a near-empty Olympic Stadium, with Tokyo under a coronavirus state of emergency after a spike in cases.

The latest Asahi Shimbun newspaper poll found a majority of respondents, 55 percent, were against holding the Games this summer, with 33 percent in favour.

Saudis wanting to travel need two Covid jabs - ministry

Any Saudi citizen wishing to travel abroad will be required to have had two doses of coronavirus vaccine from next month, tightening existing measures, the interior ministry said.

"The second dose of the vaccine against Covid will be a condition of all overseas travel for all citizens from August 9, 2021," the ministry wrote in a statement published by the official SPA news agency.

Iran shuts Tehran govt offices, banks as Covid spreads

Iran has announced strict curbs in the capital Tehran and a nearby province to stem the spread of Covid-19, as daily infections drew close to an all-time high.

Government offices and banks in Tehran and Alborz provinces are set to close from 1330 GMT until next Monday morning, the national virus taskforce said in a statement.

The restrictions also include a ban on car travel to and from the two provinces, and a new shutdown of high-risk businesses across Iran's worst-hit areas.

In the past 24 hours, the country officially recorded 25,441 new cases, close to the record 25,582 reached on April 14.

North Macedonia offers vaccines to 12 year olds

North Macedonia has begun vaccinating children age 12 and over against the coronavirus in a bid to prevent a possible spike of Covid-19 in the fall, when the country plans to fully open schools.

Health authorities said that only about 1,800 teenagers had booked appointments through an electronic health system for their first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which authorities consider to be the safest for children.

Over 3.66B vaccine jabs administered worldwide

More than 3.66 billion doses of coronavirus vaccines have been administered worldwide, with Turkey ranking in the global top 10 for jabs given, according to Our World in Data, a tracking website affiliated with Oxford University.

China leads the global count with over 1.46 billion jabs, followed by India with 406.48 million.

The list continued with mostly Western countries, with the US having administered 337.74 million shots, Brazil 124.11 million, Germany 85.62 million, the UK 82.27 million, Japan 70.50 million.

Turkey ranked eighth on the list with over 63.54 million doses, followed by France, Italy, Indonesia, and Mexico.

UK records 39,950 new cases, 19 deaths

Britain has recorded 39,950 new coronavirus infections, and 19 deaths within 28 days of a positive test, official government data showed.

That compared to 48,161 cases and 25 deaths reported a day earlier.

Vietnam reports 4,195 new infections

Vietnam's health ministry has reported 4,195 new coronavirus infections, raising the country's total cases to 58,025, as it battles its worst outbreak so far.

Most of the cases were detected inside quarantine facilities or isolated areas, the health ministry said in a statement. It also reported an additional 80 deaths from over the past 10 days, raising total Covid-19 fatalities to 334.

WHO's head likely to visit Japan to discuss Olympics, Covid

The head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) is likely to visit Japan to discuss the Olympics and the anti-coronavirus measures that the authorities have put in place, Kyodo news agency reported, citing a government source.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus plans to meet Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga during his visist, according to Kyodo.

The Tokyo Olympics kick off on Friday, July 23.

Singapore sees cases double overnight as testing ramps up

Singapore has seen new local coronavirus cases almost double from the previous day to 163, the highest daily tally in 11 months, driven by clusters of infections linked to a fishery port and karaoke bars.

The health ministry said 106 of the cases were linked to the Jurong Fishery Port cluster and 19 to the KTV cluster.

Fishmongers across the city-state were being tested, adding to more than 5,000 staff, hostesses and patrons linked to the KTV outbreak, from which new cases were declining.

India reports 38,164 new cases

India reported 38,164 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, data from health ministry showed, with deaths rising by 499, lowest in over three months.

Most of South Korean warship's crew infected

The number of infected sailors on a South Korean destroyer on an anti-piracy mission off East Africa has soared to 247, the largest cluster for the country’s military during the virus pandemic.

The Defence Ministry said two military aircraft have been sent to bring back all 301 sailors aboard the destroyer Munmu the Great.

Authorities suspect the outbreak may have started when the destroyer docked in the region to load goods in late June. None of the crew has been vaccinated against the coronavirus.

Number of infected Texas lawmakers who fled state rises to 5

Two more Texas lawmakers who left their state to hobble efforts to pass new voting restrictions have tested positive for the virus, raising to five the number of infected people in the delegation.

State Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer of San Antonio said in a statement Sunday that he had tested positive. "I am quarantining until I test negative, and I am grateful to be only experiencing extremely mild symptoms,” he said.

A person familiar with the delegation said the number of infected members had risen to five. The person was not authorised to discuss the matter and requested anonymity.

Singapore advises unvaccinated people to stay indoors

Singapore's health ministry has "strongly" advised unvaccinated individuals, especially the elderly, to stay home as much as possible over the next few weeks, citing heightened concerns about the risk of community spread of the virus.

The country reported 88 new locally-transmitted virus cases, the highest daily toll since August last year, driven by growing clusters of infections linked to karaoke bars and a fishery port.

Two-thirds of Japanese doubt pandemic Olympics can be safe, says poll

Two-thirds of people in Japan do not believe the country can host a safe and secure Olympics amid the virus pandemic, according to a survey published by the Asahi newspaper just four days before the opening ceremony in Tokyo.

In the poll, 68 percent of respondents expressed doubt about the ability of Olympic organisers to control coronavirus infections, with 55 percent saying they were opposed to the Games going ahead.

Three-quarters of the 1,444 people in the telephone survey said they agreed with a decision to ban spectators from events.

Germany's cases rise by 546

The number of confirmed virus cases in Germany increased by 546 to 3,745,227, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed. The reported death toll rose by 1 to 91,363, the tally showed.

Covid-19 restrictions lifted in England

The UK government has lifted daily pandemic restrictions in England, scrapping all social distancing in a step condemned by scientists and opposition parties as a dangerous leap into the unknown.

From midnight (2300 GMT Sunday), nightclubs were able to reopen and other indoor venues allowed to run at full capacity, while legal mandates covering the wearing of masks and working from home were scrapped.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson – who is self-isolating after his health minister was infected – urged the public to remain prudent and for any laggards to join the two-thirds of UK adults who are now fully vaccinated.

He defended the reopening – dubbed "freedom day" by some media – despite scientists' grave misgivings after daily infection rates in Britain topped 50,000, behind only Indonesia and Brazil.

After the success of the vaccination programme – which has now offered at least one dose to every adult in Britain – the government says any risks to hospital care are manageable.

But professor Neil Ferguson from Imperial College London warned that Britain was on course for 100,000 cases a day, as the Delta variant of Covid runs out of control.

Thailand reports record number of cases for fourth day

Thailand has reported 11,784 new Covid-19 cases, the fourth consecutive day of record infections, as the country struggles to tackle its worst outbreak to date.

The Southeast Asian nation's Covid-19 task force also announced 81 new deaths, bringing total fatalities to 3,422 and with 415,170 cases registered.

South Sudan runs out of vaccines

Health authorities in South Sudan said that the country has run out of Covid-19 vaccines after exhausting the supply of AstraZeneca doses it received from the Covax facility in March this year.

John Rumunu, director-general for preventive health services in the Ministry of Health, said they have officially ended vaccinations across the country.

“We have closed down all of our over 90 Covid-19 vaccination centers because we have run out of vaccines,” Rumunu told reporters.

He said South Sudan has vaccinated 56,989 people since the country launched its vaccination campaign against Covid-19 in the capital Juba on April 6.

Australia to deport UK's Katie Hopkins over virus breach

Australia has cancelled far-right British commentator Katie Hopkins's visa after she boasted about flouting the country's strict hotel quarantine rules, a senior official said.

Hopkins had flown into Sydney to appear on a reality television show when she posted a video on Instagram talking about answering the door naked and maskless to workers delivering meals to her hotel room, local media reported.

Most international arrivals to Australia are required to complete 14 days in mandatory isolation in a hotel, under rules designed to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews said Australia's border agency "acted quickly to make sure that the visa on which she entered was cancelled" after the footage appeared.

South African cases spark cluster scare in Olympic Village

Two South African footballers and a video analyst have tested positive for the coronavirus in the Tokyo Olympic Village, officials said, raising fears of a cluster just days before the opening ceremony.

The cases further darkened a gloomy atmosphere around the 2020 Games, which will finally open after a year's delay on Friday but remain widely opposed by the Japanese public.

Players Thabiso Monyane and Kamohelo Mahlatsi and analyst Mario Masha are in isolation after testing positive, Team South Africa said, adding that the whole delegation had been following anti-coronavirus rules.

Gauff tests positive, to miss Tokyo Games

American Coco Gauff will not compete in the Tokyo Olympics after testing positive for Covid-19, the 17-year-old said.

Gauff was set to become the youngest Olympic tennis player since 2000 but instead joins a number of the world's top players who have already pulled out of the Tokyo Games.

"I'm disappointed to share the news that I have tested positive for COVID and won't be able to play in the Olympic Games in Tokyo," world number 25 Gauff, who was going to compete in both the singles and doubles competitions, said on Twitter.

Mexico's death toll rises to 236,331

Mexico's health ministry has reported 4,438 new confirmed cases in the country and 91 more fatalities, bringing the total to 2,659,137 infections and 236,331 deaths.

Brazil registers 948 new Covid-19 deaths

Brazil has registered 948 new Covid-19 deaths and 34,126 additional cases, according to data released by the country's Health Ministry.

Brazil has now registered a total of 542,214 coronavirus deaths and 19,376,574 total confirmed cases.