As Delta Variant Spreads, China Faces Its Worst Covid Outbreak In A Year

The New York Times: China Grapples With Its Worst Outbreak In A Year
In the battle against the coronavirus, few places seemed as confident of victory as China. The country of 1.4 billion people had eradicated the virus so quickly that it was one of the first in the world to open up in spring last year. People removed their masks and gathered for pool parties. The government has swiftly stamped out fresh outbreaks by mobilizing thousands of people to test and trace infections. That model is now looking increasingly fragile. (Wee and Chen, 8/4)

AP: China Seals City As Its Worst Virus Outbreak In A Year Grows
China’s worst coronavirus outbreak since the start of the pandemic a year and a half ago escalated Wednesday with dozens more cases around the country, the sealing-off of one city and the punishment of its local leaders. Since that initial outbreak was tamed last year, China’s people had lived virtually free of the virus, with extremely strict border controls and local distancing and quarantine measures stamping out scattered, small flareups when they occurred. (8/4)

CNBC: China Orders Wuhan Mass Testing, Beijing Restrictions As Covid Delta Spreads
China is facing pockets of resurgence in major cities from Beijing to Wuhan, and authorities have imposed mass testing and widespread travel restrictions in some areas. Daily Covid-19 cases are rising again as the delta variant spreads across the country. China’s National Health Commission said it confirmed 96 Covid cases on Wednesday — the third straight day it reported 90 cases and above. Of the newly confirmed cases, 71 were locally transmitted, said the health commission. (Lee, 8/4)

NPR: Panic-Buying And Transport Lockdowns. In Wuhan, It Feels Like Early Pandemic Again
In a dramatic move reminiscent of the first days of the coronavirus in China some 19 months ago, flights and trains in and out of Wuhan have been halted amid a rise in COVID-19 cases linked to the highly infectious delta variant of the virus. Authorities have also ordered mass testing in the city of 11 million, where the virus was first detected before it spread around the world. Panic-buying by worried residents followed new lockdowns there. (Neuman, 8/3)

Bloomberg: China’s Covid-19 Outbreak Sparks Renewed Scrutiny Of Frozen Food 
The latest Covid-19 resurgence in China is putting imports of frozen food back under intense scrutiny as authorities act on a controversial claim that it’s possible to contract the virus from food packaging. Cities including Zhengzhou and Haikou will tighten inspection of imported frozen food to prevent virus transmission, according to local media reports. Frozen pork bone and beef ribs originating from the U.K., Brazil and Canada were seized from a hot pot restaurant in Nantong city as the operators couldn’t provide disinfection certificates or nucleic acid test reports. (Cang, 8/3)

In other nations —

Axios: Israel Reinstates COVID-19 Restrictions As Cases Surge 
Israel announced Tuesday it will tighten public health measures due to surging in COVID-19 case numbers. The latest restrictions come as Israel saw nearly 4,000 new daily cases reported on Tuesday, the highest count so far since the country began experiencing an uptick last month, the AP reports. The fresh measures include allowing only vaccinated people to attend indoor gatherings of 100 people or more, and requiring face masks at outdoor events with the same capacity, per AP. (Saric, 8/3)

The Washington Post: Germany, France And U.K. Prepare For Covid Vaccine Boosters Starting In September
European nations have been among the most successful in the world at getting their residents vaccinated against the novel coronavirus. Now, some will be among the first to dole out booster shots. The small but growing group that is planning additional shots for the fully inoculated includes some of the continent’s richest and most populous countries, potentially setting a precedent and marking a new phase of the vaccination campaign. (Thebault and Brady, 8/3)

NBC News: England Reopened Amid A Delta Surge, Then Cases Fell. Are There Lessons For The U.S.?
It looked like a rolling disaster: England lifting almost all coronavirus restrictions just as the highly transmissible delta variant was sending infection rates skyrocketing. But British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's gamble could well pay off, at least in the short term, providing a lesson to other countries desperate for any light at the end of the pandemic tunnel. (Smith, 8/4)

NPR: A Bright Spot Amid Haiti's Woes: Its 1st Mass Rollout Of COVID Vaccines
In the wake of one of the most devastating moments in Haiti's arduous history, there has been a bright spot. One week after Haiti's president was assassinated, the country's first shipment of COVID-19 vaccines finally arrived. (Beaubien, 8/3)

AP: South Africa Quickens Vaccine Drive, Gets More Doses From US
The cars lined up by the strikingly modern mosque and were guided to parking bays where the drivers soon got jabs. The brisk pace at the Houghton mosque COVID-19 vaccination center is seeing 700 people per day getting shots and is expected to soon reach 1,000 a day. “This is exciting! We’re vaccinating more people than we expected,” said Yaseen Theba, chairman of the Muslim Association of South Africa a day after the vaccination center opened last week. “We created this drive-thru site to accommodate as many people as possible, in a situation where they are comfortable. And it’s working! We’ll keep it going as long a people need to get vaccinated.” (Meldrum, 8/4)

AP: As COVID-19 Surges In Tunisia, Oxygen Is In Short Supply
As Tunisia faces a surge of COVID-19 cases, demand for life-saving oxygen has grown higher than the supply, leaving patients desperate and family members angry at the government as they say they are forced to find oxygen on their own. As the misery grows, traders have seized on an opportunity for profit, buying supplies of oxygen and other treatments and then renting them or selling them at higher prices. The profitable enterprise that is growing online has prompted citizens to call on authorities for intervention. (El Arem, 8/4)

The New York Times: Cyberattackers Shut Down Vaccine Bookings For Rome And Its Region
The Lazio region of Italy, which includes Rome, has been unable to offer vaccination appointments online for three days because of a cyberattack on its website over the weekend, part of what the authorities said was probably Italy’s most serious ransomware case to date. Ransomware attacks, in which criminals break into a computer system, encrypt the data it contains and demand money to release it, have struck health care systems in many countries, paralyzing hospitals, clinics and testing centers from California to Ireland and New Zealand. The attack in Italy is one of the largest to affect a vaccination campaign, raising alarms about its potential impact. (Bubola, 8/4)

The Washington Examiner: Delta Plus COVID-19 Variant Reported In South Korea
Health authorities in South Korea reported the country's first two cases of the delta plus COVID-19 variant on Tuesday, according to local reports. Delta plus is a "subvariant" of the delta variant, which health authorities have blamed for the current rise in infections across the United States, and has now been diagnosed in more than 20 countries. (Beaman, 8/3)

Reuters: Barbie Debuts Doll In Likeness Of British COVID-19 Vaccine Developer
British coronavirus vaccine developer Sarah Gilbert has many science accolades to her credit but now shares an honor with Beyonce, Marilyn Monroe and Eleanor Roosevelt: a Barbie doll in her likeness. Gilbert, a 59-year-old professor at Oxford University and co-developer of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, is one of six women in the COVID-19 fight who have new Barbies modeled after them. (8/4)

The Washington Post: Kim Jong Un’s Mysterious Head Bandage Fuels Further Speculation Over His Health
North Korea’s Kim Jong Un was recently photographed out in public with what appeared to be a large green spot on the back of his head, once again fueling speculation about his health — long a topic of global fascination. Another image showed him sporting an oblong bandage over the mark. The bruise and bandage appeared toward the right side of the 37-year-old dictator’s head during a military meeting held July 24-27, per NK News, a platform dedicated to covering the secretive country. The site added that the mark was visible at other events held between July 27 and 29. (Hassan, 8/3)

AP: Pope Resumes Public Audiences Month After Major Surgery
Pope Francis resumed his routine of holding weekly audiences with the general public a month after he underwent bowel surgery, and during the much-awaited appearance Wednesday he recalled the anniversary of the devastating Beirut port explosion and expressed the desire to someday visit Lebanon. Francis walked unaided to the center of the stage of a Vatican auditorium before taking his seat in an upholstered chair and then addressing an audience of several hundred pilgrims and tourists, who wore masks as a precaution against COVID-19. (D'Emilio, 8/4)