How The World Is Faring

Reuters: Beijing Says Residents Can Go Mask-Free As China COVID Cases Hit New Lows
Health authorities in China’s capital Beijing have removed a requirement for people to wear masks outdoors, further relaxing rules aimed at preventing the spread the novel coronavirus after the city reported 13 consecutive days without new cases. Despite the relaxed guidelines, a large proportion of people continued to wear masks in Beijing on Friday. (8/21)

AP: PNG Demands China Explain COVID-19 Vaccine Trial On Miners
Papua New Guinea prevented the arrival of a flight carrying Chinese workers after a Chinese mining company claimed to have immunized employees against COVID-19 in an apparent vaccination trial, authorities said Friday. The Pacific nation’s pandemic response controller, David Manning, banned COVID-19 vaccine testing or trials after Ramu NiCo Management (MCC) Ltd. claimed to have vaccinated 48 Chinese employees. (McGuirk, 8/21)

Reuters: After Dining Ban, Takeaway Waste Clutters Hong Kong's Pavements, Parks And Waterways
A deluge of trash from takeaway containers and disposable cutlery is cluttering the streets and parks of Hong Kong as coronavirus restrictions on dining in restaurants eat away at the city’s capacity to dispose of its garbage. The dining restrictions in the China-ruled Asian financial hub ban eating in any outlet after 6 p.m. At other times in the day, restaurants can only operate at half-capacity and with two people per table. As a result, plastic from eating out has doubled from last year since takeaway food is the only option for many people who do not cook at home. Hundreds of thousands of people in the crowded city live in compact apartments with tiny or non-existent kitchens. (8/21)

In other global news —

Reuters: Doctors Strike In Nairobi Over Pay, Lack Of COVID Protection
Doctors in most public hospitals in Kenya’s capital went on strike on Friday to protest against delayed salaries and a lack of protective equipment when handling patients who may have COVID-19. The strike began at midnight on Friday, said Thuranira Kaugiria, secretary general for the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union. (Obulutsa and Ratner, 8/21)

Reuters: Irish PM Accepts Minister's Resignation Over COVID-19 Breach 
Ireland’s prime minister on Friday accepted the resignation of Agriculture Minister Dara Calleary after his attendance at a social event drew public anger for having apparently breached rules to limit the spread of the coronavirus. Calleary apologised “unreservedly” late on Thursday for being at a hotel dinner hosted by the Irish parliament’s golf society, a day after the government significantly tightened nationwide restrictions to try to rein in a spike in infections. (Halpin, 8/21)

AP: Asia Today: Seoul Surge Appears To Spread Around South Korea
South Korea added its most new virus cases in months on Friday, driven by a surge around the capital that appears to be spreading nationwide.The 324 new infections was its highest single day total since early March and the eighth consecutive triple-digit daily increase. (8/21)

The New York Times: Don’t Drink The Tea: Poison Is A Favored Weapon In Russia 
Poison, though redolent of medieval intrigue, has been a favored tool of Russian intelligence agencies for more than a century. And critics of the Kremlin and independent analysts say the weapon remains in use today. While other countries, including the United States and Israel, have targeted killing programs, they are strictly limited to counterterrorism efforts. Russia, by contrast, has been accused of targeting a wide variety of opponents both at home and abroad. (Kramer, 8/20)