The true number of US infections at the end of 2020 was more than 100 million, just under a third of the population and far more than the 20 million previously reported, according to a study cited by the National Institutes of Health. Many cases were undetected because of limited testing and asymptomatic infections early in the pandemic.
The study, by researchers at Columbia University, used data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on how many people tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, which indicate past infections. The researchers calculated that just 11 percent of all cases were confirmed by a positive test result in March 2020.
The death toll topped 650,000 in the US, which hit the 70 percent vaccination threshold in early August, four weeks beyond President Joe Biden’s target. The spread of the Delta variant caused another surge of infections in the US over the last month and accelerated vaccinations. But hesitancy among many Americans has left the nation well behind many other countries for inoculation. Biden plans on Thursday to address efforts to curb the pandemic.
The Biden administration plans to distribute one-time $600 pandemic relief payments to US meatpacking and farm workers.
The move expands an agriculture aid program that so far mostly has benefited farm owners to include a low-income, largely immigrant food-chain workforce. The plan sets aside as much as $700 million for the aid, to be distributed through state agencies, tribal entities and non-profit groups.
Key developments:
Australia’s Victoria to lift regional lockdown
The Australian state of Victoria will end its lockdown of all regional areas outside Melbourne except for one council zone with high case numbers, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews told a press conference Wednesday.
Lockdown will end for all parts of regional Victoria except for Greater Shepparton. The regions will have movement restrictions eased with venues also allowed to open with numbers caps. Schools will also re-open.
Vietnam may ease some travel curbs
Vietnam’s health ministry is considering relaxing travel restrictions for fully vaccinated people on a trial basis in some unspecified southern localities, the government website reported.
Separately, Ho Chi Minh City plans green cards for vaccinated residents and will ease social distancing curbs for those partially and fully inoculated, Tuoi Tre reported, citing the city’s mayor.
Meanwhile, Vietnam’s central bank ordered commercial banks to continue to delay payments for some loans until June 30, 2022, to help businesses hurt by the pandemic, the State Bank of Vietnam said.
Central bank also asked lenders to exempt or reduce interest payments on some loans until June 2022.
IMF approves $600 million loan to Tanzania
The International Monetary Fund approved nearly $600 million in emergency lending for Tanzania’s health system and economic-recovery efforts as the nation battles the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic.
The fund’s executive board approved a total of $567 million in funds—$189 million under the Rapid Credit Facility and $378 million under the Rapid Financing Instrument. The resources will help pay for the nation’s “urgent balance of payment needs” stemming from the virus, the IMF said.
South Korea plans ‘living with virus’
The chief of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said the country will be ready by the end of October to shift its strategy from suppressing Covid-19 to managing it while living a normal life, Yonhap reported on Tuesday.
KDCA Commissioner Jeong Eun-kyeong told lawmakers during a parliament session that KDCA aims to complete the work of fully inoculating 90 percent of the elderly and 80 percent of adults by end of October.
Indonesia allows J&J, CanSino shots
The government has issued emergency use authorization for Covid-19 vaccines made by CanSino Biologics Inc. and Johnson & Johnson, Bisnis Indonesia reported, citing the food and drug regulator. Both shots will be administered to people aged 18 years and older.
Japan plans to extend virus emergencies
The Japanese government is making arrangements to extend the state of emergencies in areas including Tokyo to the end of September, the Asahi newspaper reported, citing several unidentified officials. The emergencies are scheduled to expire Sept. 12.
Myanmar seeks 24 million doses by November
Myanmar’s junta said it wants to receive 10 million doses each in September and October and 4 million in November. The country targeted vaccinating half its population by year-end.
J&J shot halves health worker infections
Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine cut the risk of getting infected by about half, according to a trial of almost half a million health workers in South Africa. The vast majority of the breakthrough infections were mild, the study’s co-leader said, citing unpublished data.
The Sisonke study included several weeks when South Africa was going through a third wave of coronavirus infections, spurred by the Delta variant. Bloomberg News