Singaporean authorities found 14 new locally transmitted coronavirus cases on Tuesday, including five untraceable infections, potentially threatening the easing of restrictions pegged to June 21.
Singapore has been pursuing a strategy of aggressively testing and quickly ring-fencing clusters as it moves toward a loosening of restrictions. Over the weekend, a spike in cases from a shopping mall and food center prompted government officials to shut down the locations as well as test and quarantine staff and tenants.
The government loosened restrictions on gatherings as of Monday and is slated to resume dining-in at restaurants and the opening of fitness classes from June 21.
Key developments:
HK finds Covid on Thai crocodile ribs
A sample from the packaging of frozen crocodile spare ribs imported from Thailand tested positive for Covid-19, according to a government statement. The source of the virus on the sample, which was taken at the residence of a confirmed patient, is still unknown.
Hong Kong authorities said they have asked the vendor of the crocodile ribs to stop selling them and provide more samples for testing. In China, officials have previously reported finding the coronavirus on product packaging and has advised saying that imported refrigerated goods are risks for re-introducing the coronavirus into the country.
Maldives eases curbs
The Indian Ocean nation of Maldives eased a curfew in its capital, as new coronavirus infections continued to decline. Residents, who’d previously been confined to their homes for 16 hours a day, will be allowed out between 4 a.m. and 8 a.m. to exercise as of Wednesday and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. provided they get a household permit or special police authorization, according to the state news agency Public Service Media News. Maldives, a country of roughly 540,000, has about 8,155 active Covid-19 cases.
California fully reopens economy
California Governor Gavin Newsom marked the full reopening of the world’s fifth-largest economy Tuesday with a lottery awarding 10 vaccinated residents $1.5 million each. Speaking at Universal Studios near Los Angeles, he touted the most-populous US state’s virus progress while saying he is taking variants seriously and “won’t let our guard down.”
The first state to shut down, California is lifting capacity limits and social distancing requirements and removing most mask mandates for vaccinated individuals. After recording almost 3.7 million virus cases, the most in the US, California now boasts one of the lowest test-positivity rates in the country.
Half of Italians vaccinated
Italy has vaccinated more than 50 percent of its population with at least one Covid-19 vaccine dose, according to Bloomberg calculations based on government data. The country has administered 42.9 million doses, of which about 30 million are first or single-shot doses, according to the latest government data.
Nigeria to get 3.9 million Astra doses
Nigeria expects to receive 3.92 million doses of AstraZeneca Plc’s vaccine in late July or early August, Faisal Shuaib, executive director of the country’s National Primary Healthcare Development Agency said in Abuja, the capital. The jabs are expected from international partners, Shuaib said, without naming them. Nigeria earlier received about 4 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine in March through the Covax initiative backed by the World Health Organization.
Cuomo lifts NY restrictions
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo lifted the state’s pandemic mandates, saying that 70 percent of the state’s adult population has now had at least one dose of a vaccine. “All across the board we can get back to living,” Cuomo said in a briefing. “The state mandates are gone.”
The last protocols included social distancing requirements, capacity restrictions, health screening and collecting contact information for tracing. Early in the pandemic, New York City had the most coronavirus cases in the world, as well as some of the strongest lockdown restrictions.
Cuomo said last week restrictions would be removed once the state hit the vaccination benchmark. Businesses in the state can opt to continue Covid-19 precautions but are not required to by law.
Scotland likely to delay easing
Scotland is unlikely to push ahead with a planned easing of coronavirus restrictions later this month amid a rise in new cases of the delta variant first discovered in India, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said.
While a firm decision will be made next week, Sturgeon said that rising case numbers mean it’s now doubtful that Scotland will move to the lowest level of restrictions on June 28 as planned. Instead, the semi-autonomous Scottish government expects current restrictions will continue for another three weeks from that date to allow more people to get vaccinated.
Romania seeks slowdown in vaccine deliveries
Romania asked vaccine makers to delay the delivery of over 4 million doses that were scheduled for June because it has a surplus of shots after a decline in daily inoculations, according to deputy health minister Andrei Baciu. The country was supposed to get about 7 million doses in June and will only get 2.6 million.
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