(Bloomberg) — The board of the Houston Independent School District, the seventh-largest U.S. school system, voted to require masks for students and teachers in class and on buses when classes begin Aug. 23. Three teachers and a teacher’s assistant in Florida’s Broward County died of Covid-19 this week, NBC 6 reported, citing the teachers’ union president.
U.S. regulators cleared giving a third vaccine dose to people with weakened immune systems to improve protection for those with impaired responses to standard shots. Other fully vaccinated individuals don’t need an additional dose right now, the Food and Drug Administration decided.
Austria reported the most daily infections since May as the pandemic expands again, prompting the government to consider mandating masks in all indoor areas. Moscow hit record deaths in July.
Key Developments:
- Global Tracker: Cases top 205.6 million; deaths pass 4.3 million
- Vaccine Tracker: More than 4.6 billion doses administered
- NYC region confronts patchwork of virus rules as delta spikes
- Japan confronts lockdown taboo with virus at ‘disaster level’
- B-School over Zoom got better during the pandemic, students say
- Understanding the debate over booster shots: QuickTake
Moscow Hit Record Deaths in July (11:02 a.m. NY)
Moscow reported a record 6,583 deaths linked to the coronavirus, according to the Russian capital’s Health Department.
The city’s Covid-19 mortality rate as of Aug. 1 was 4% when accounting for all fatalities where the virus was detected, it said.Even so, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin dropped restrictions limiting the number of workers allowed in offices Friday, saying the number of hospitalizations has dropped by more than half since peaking in late June.
Health Workers Strike in Morocco Amid Spike (10:55 a.m. NY)
Thousands of nurses and health workers went on strike Friday in Morocco, forcing several vaccination centers to halt one of Africa’s most advanced vaccination drives. The National Health Workers Federation said the strike was mainly a reaction to an “assault” on a nurse and a trainee nurse earlier this week by a security official inside a vaccination facility in Casablanca and also to secure better terms for the sector’s employees. The stoppage coincides with a spike in deaths and new cases in the north African kingdom.
Alabama Hospital Reports Record Sick Kids (10:50 a.m. NY)
An Alabama children’s hospital reported 22 Covid-19 inpatients, the most since the pandemic began, including five on ventilators. Children’s of Alabama said its previous peak was 13 virus patients, during the last surge in January.
“This marked increase is due to the community spread of the delta variant that is impacting younger people, including children,” the Birmingham hospital said in a statement on Thursday. “The threat to Alabamians is serious.”
Alabama has the lowest rate of vaccination in the U.S. after Mississippi, according to the Bloomberg Vaccine Tracker.
Houston Schools Vote for Masks (9:56 a.m. NY)
The board of the Houston Independent School District, the seventh-largest U.S. school system with nearly 200,000 students, voted Thursday to require masks for students and teachers in class and on buses when classes begin Aug. 23. The vote came in defiance of Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s order that governments not require masks.
“There are teachers out there who go home every day and think, ‘What are we bringing home to our families?’” school board member Elizabeth Santos said.
About three dozen people lined up outside the meeting with signs both protesting and supporting the mandate. One sign said, “Stop Tyranny,” and a person dressed as the Grim Reaper appeared with a sign saying, “Unmask Your Kids.”
Four Florida Educators Die in a Week (9:50 a.m. NY)
Three teachers and a teacher’s assistant in Florida’s Broward County have died of Covid-19 this week, South Florida’s NBC 6 reported, citing teachers’ union president Anna Fusco. They were infected over summer break and at least three of the four were not vaccinated.
The news comes as Broward is defying Governor Ron DeSantis to require masks in schools and as the district prepares for the start of classes next week. Fusco didn’t immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
England R Number Range 0.8 to 1.0 (8:44 a.m. NY)
England’s estimate for its Covid-19 reproduction number is 0.8 to 1.0, according to data from the U.K. government dated Aug. 13. An R value between 0.8 and 1.0 means that, on average, every 10 people infected will infect between eight and 10 other people.
U.K. Angers S. Africa Tourism Industry (7:21 a.m. NY)
South Africa’s main inbound tourism industry body is lobbying U.K. politicians to remove the country from its so-called coronavirus travel Red List, which it says is incompatible with scientific evidence and is wrecking relations between the nations.
South Africa Has Vaccine Demand Headache (7:07 a.m. NY)
South Africa’s biggest challenge to meeting a target of vaccinating two-thirds of the adult population has shifted from a shortage of supply to a lack of demand.
“We are sitting in a situation where we don’t have a vaccine constraint, at least for the next two months,” Nicholas Crisp, a deputy director-general in the Department of Health, said in an online briefing on Friday. “Now we need vaccine demand.”
Indonesia Finds Sinovac Shot Less Effective (7:04 a.m. NY)
Indonesia found that Sinovac Biotech Ltd.’s vaccine was less effective at protecting against death and severe illness in April to June, compared with the previous three months.
Meanwhile, the government administered 1.3 million first doses of vaccines and 1.5 million of second shots on Friday, the largest number in a single day so far. Indonesia is seeking to boost its mass inoculation program to reach 2.5 million doses given out each day in August and September, more than double its target for July.
Germany Says U.S. Among High-Risk Countries (6:52 a.m. NY)
The German government has elevated Turkey, U.S. and Israel to high-risk status, the Funke media group reports, citing unidentified officials. Germany also raises Montenegro and Vietnam to high-risk.
Portugal is no longer classified as a high-risk area, except for Lisbon and the Algarve. People entering Germany from affected countries must quarantine for 10 days if they can’t show proof of vaccination or recovery from illness
Austria Cases Highest Since May (4:22 p.m. HK)
Austria reported the most daily infections since May as the pandemic expands again, prompting its government to consider mandating masks in all indoor areas. The European nation of almost 9 million added 1,005 cases on Friday, the most in three months, lifting the national 7-day incidence rate to 56.
China Says 777 Million Fully Vaccinated (3:30 p.m. HK)
About 777 million people have been fully vaccinated in the country, National Health Commission spokesman Mi Feng says at a briefing in Beijing. China faces challenge in controlling the outbreak stemming from multiple sources in a short period of time, Mi says.
China Opposes WHO’s Next Step in Probe (2:38 p.m. HK)
The World Health Organization’s plan for a further inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus is not based on the findings of earlier joint research between China and the agency, and it is opposed by more than 30 countries, vice foreign minister Ma Zhaoxu told diplomats in Beijing on Friday morning, China News Service reported.
“We’re are against politicizing the virus origin tracing,” Ma said. “We against virus origin tracing that’s abandoning results of the joint research.”
Tokyo Faces Disaster-Level Crisis on Virus (1:52 p.m.)
Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said the spread of the virus is at disaster levels comparable with the heavy rains and flooding hitting western regions of Japan and urged residents to avoid going out and get vaccinated.
Koike spoke to reporters a day after an expert adviser to the Tokyo government said the virus was out of control. Tokyo reported just under 5,000 new cases Thursday, close to a record marked last week; national case numbers also leaped to a new high of almost 19,000.
Indonesia to Focus on ‘Reluctant’ Elderly (1:52 p.m. HK)
Indonesia is intensifying efforts to boost vaccinations for its “reluctant” elderly population as its daily death count remains among the highest in the world.
Eight months into its massive inoculation campaign, full vaccination coverage among people of 60 years and older has only reached 15.8%, the lowest of all three priority groups in Indonesia that include health workers and public officials. Fear of side effects, lack of mobility and support from family members, as well as disinformation are the main reasons for the low ratio, health ministry data showed.
South Korea to Buy 30 Million Pfizer Doses (1:28 p.m. HK)
South Korea signed a deal for 30 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine with an option to buy another 30 million when needed. The drugs will be delivered from the first quarter, the Korea Disease Control & Prevention Agency said. Separately, 400,000 doses of Janssen vaccines given by the U.S. government will arrive in South Korea on Aug. 15.
FDA Clears Third Shot for Some Patients (11:19 a.m. HK)
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration amended the emergency use authorizations for both the Pfizer-BioNTech and the Moderna COVID-19 vaccines to allow an additional dose for some immunocompromised individuals.
The FDA assessed information on the third dose of Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, it said in a statement, adding that other fully vaccinated individuals do not need an additional vaccine dose right now.
Thailand New Cases at Record as Deaths Mount (9:20 a.m. HK)
New infections stood at 23,418 in the past 24 hours with 184 Covid deaths, the government said, taking the total toll to 7,126.
South Korean PM Asks Citizens Not to Travel (9:16 a.m. HK)
Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum urged the public to refrain from traveling during the three-day holiday starting on Saturday, as the number of daily new cases hovers near 2,000 for a third day. Kim also said he strongly recommends those who have traveled to get tested.
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