Coronavirus digest: Chinese virologist denies COVID lab leak

Shi Zhengli, a virologist who works at a state lab in Wuhan, China, has denied speculation that the virus that led to the deadly pandemic had leaked from her institute.

"I don't know how the world has come to this, constantly pouring filth on an innocent scientist," she told The New York Times, rejecting the allegations as baseless.

Though the lab leak theory had been dismissed as a conspiracy theory last year, renewed interest by the Biden administration in investigating the origins of COVID has led to new questions.

Here is a roundup of the latest developments from around the world:

Research into COVID treatment 

AstraZeneca announced Tuesday that it had hit a setback in trials of a treatment for COVID-19. 

The study found that a cocktail of two types of antibodies failed its main goal to treat coronavirus symptoms in exposed patients, AstraZeneca said in a statement.

The drugmaker said that the treatment, "AZD7442," reduced the risk of developing symptoms by only 33% in 1,121 unvaccinated adults who had been exposed to an infected person as part of the trial.

"While this trial did not meet the primary endpoint against symptomatic illness, we are encouraged by the protection seen in the PCR negative participants following treatment with AZD7442," AstraZeneca Executive Vice President Mene Pangalos said in a statement.

The US, which has funded the development of AZD744, has agreements to receive 700,000 doses.

Asia

Japan will send a million doses of COVID-19 vaccine to Vietnam following recent new outbreaks, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi has announced. 

The shipment of AstraZeneca PLC vaccines manufactured in Japan is due to arrive in Vietnam on Wednesday.

Japan is also doubling its vaccination doses to 40,000 for people working at the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, having secured another 20,000 shots.

The number of active coronavirus cases in India has fallen below the 1 million mark for the first time since April 9. There are 9,73,158 active cases, with a decline of 53,001 cases in the last 24 hours. Capital city New Delhi registered fewer than 200 cases during that time.

States have announced the easing of coronavirus restrictions. While malls and restaurants are due to begin operations again, schools and colleges remain largely closed.

Private offices may see a return of workers, as they are largely allowed to operate at 50% capacity.

The Taj Mahal is set to reopen on Wednesday after being shut for two months.

Indonesia is reeling from a surge in cases. Hospitals beds are running out, with occupancy levels at 75% in the capital, Jakarta. Indonesia recorded almost 10,000 new COVID infections on Sunday — the highest tally since February.

South Korea has begun easing restrictions on concerts and sporting events, allowing up to 4,000 people to attend — up from a capacity limit of below 100. It has vaccinated 23% of its population with a first dose.

Malaysia has granted conditional approval to two more vaccines to help reach its goal of achieving herd immunity to COVID-19 in the country by the end of the year.

Single-dose vaccines produced by China's CanSino Biologics and American company Johnson & Johnson were granted conditional approval for emergency use, Health Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah said Tuesday. 

Malaysia has relied on the BioNTech-Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Sinovac jabs. 

Noor Hisham said the country  will receive the J&J vaccine through the global COVAX facility but didn't provide further details.

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin also announced in a televised address on Tuesday that coronavirus restrictions will be gradually lifted. 

Malaysia has been under a large-scale lockdown since June 1 as it struggles to contain daily infections. 

Europe

The EU has surpassed the 300 million COVID-19 vaccinations threshold, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said.

"We have passed 300 million vaccinations in the EU. Every day, we get closer to our goal: to have enough doses delivered to vaccinate 70% of adults in the EU next month," Von der Leyen tweeted.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says the easing of restrictions will be delayed by four weeks until July 19. Given the spread of the more infectious delta variant, Johnson said it was sensible to wait a little longer and that "now is the time to ease off the accelerator."

He said he was hopeful that it would only take another four weeks for restrictions to be lifted, since by then millions more people would have received a COVID-19 vaccine. The UK has vaccinated 61% of its population with at least one shot.

Germany's Health Minister Jens Spahn said on Tuesday that the country has issued almost  5 million vaccination certificates to be part of a European Union-wide digital pass system.

Pharmacies across Germany country started issuing certificates on Monday to fully vaccinated people. Large vaccination centers can also issue the certificates on-site. 

Spahn told colleagues in Luxembourg that Germany would cross the five million mark by the end of the day.

The number of confirmed cases in Germany increased by 652 to 3,716,170 on Tuesday, and the death toll rose by 93 to 89,937.

The German Health Ministry also said it expected Johnson & Johnson to make up for the vaccine shortfall after millions of batches had to be thrown out because of contamination at a plant in Baltimore. It said it was expecting 6.5 million doses in July.

Norway's health minister, Bent Hoeie, said that the country expected to receive 900,000 fewer BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine doses from July to September than authorities had expected. It will instead receive more Moderna doses.

The Kremlin said on Tuesday that it was not satisfied by the slow rate of COVID-19 vaccine rollout in Russia. 

"We should probably all be unsatisfied with the rates of vaccination," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. "They leave a lot to be desired."

His comments came after Russia recorded its largest one-day tally since February, with over 14,700 new cases reported on Sunday.

Russia began administering its Sputnik V vaccine in December, but take-up has been slow. 
To encourage vaccination, Moscow plans to give away cars in a prize draw for those who get the jab.

Middle East

In Israel, people are no longer required to wear face masks indoors. Children headed to school and adults to work without masks on Tuesday for the first time in more than a year.

Israelis have not had to wear masks outdoors since April. Around 55% of Israel's 9.3 million population are fully vaccinated.

Americas

United States President Joe Biden acknowledged the deaths of 600,000 Americans after the NATO summit in Brussels on Monday. During a press conference, Biden said that the sheer number of lives lost was the "real tragedy."

With cases steadily falling in the country, US and Canadian officials are set to discuss ways to eventually lift pandemic restrictions.

US officials are also scheduled to hold talks with Mexico later this week.

Starting Tuesday, the state of California is lifting most of its coronavirus restrictions. 

There will be no more state rules on social distancing, and no more limits on capacity at restaurants, bars, supermarkets, gyms or stadiums.

Face masks will no longer be mandatory for vaccinated people in most areas, but businesses and counties can still require them. 

Brazil reported 41 cases of COVID-19 related to the Copa America soccer tournament, including 31 players and 10 workers who were hired for the event. The tournament kicked off on Sunday.

Brazil had offered to host the event last-minute despite officials sounding the alarm over public health risks. The country has recorded the second-highest number of deaths from COVID.

fb, mvb, rm/nm (Reuters, AP, AFP)