Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
How The World Is Faring: Lebanon Issues COVID Lockdown
Reuters: Lebanon Needs Two-Week Lockdown After 'Shocking' COVID-19 Rise, Minister Says
Lebanon must shut down for two weeks after a surge in coronavirus infections, the caretaker health minister said on Monday, as the country reels from the massive Beirut port blast. “We declare today a state of general alert and we need a brave decision to close (the country) for two weeks,” Hamad Hassan told Voice of Lebanon radio. Lebanon on Sunday registered a record 439 new infections and six more deaths from the virus in 24 hours. (8/17)
The Washington Post: New Zealand Leader Jacinda Ardern Delays Election Over Coronavirus Outbreak
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Monday postponed New Zealand's general election, scheduled for Sept. 19, for four weeks as authorities grapple with a new wave of coronavirus cases that has set back the country's pandemic recovery. The decision follows confirmation last Tuesday that several members of a family in Auckland had tested positive for the virus, ending the Ardern government’s record of more than 100 days without a known case of community transmission. (Stoakes, 8/16)
The New York Times: South Korea Warns Of Another Covid-19 Outbreak Tied To A Church
Health officials in South Korea reported 279 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, warning of a resurgence of infections, many linked to a church that has vocally opposed President Moon Jae-in. South Korea had battled the epidemic down to two-digit daily caseloads since April. But the number of new cases has soared recently, with 103 on Friday and 166 on Saturday, most of them worshipers at the Sarang Jeil Church in Seoul, the capital, and another church in the surrounding province of Gyeonggi. (Sang-Hun, 8/16)
AP: Canada U.S Border Restrictions Extended To At Least Sept.
The Canada-U.S. border will remain closed to non-essential travel for at least another month, Canada’s public safety minister said Friday. The statement by Public Safety Minister Bill Blair came a day after Mexico announced a similar measure for its border with the United States. (Gillies, 8/14)
Reuters: Mexico President Says COVID-19 Vaccine Expected To Be Ready Early Next Year
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador expects to be able to put a COVID-19 vaccine into use in the country during the first quarter next year, he said in a video on Twitter on Sunday. His government has struck a partnership with Argentina and pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca Plc to produce a vaccine for distribution throughout Latin America. (8/16)
AP: Health Official Thinks The Coronavirus Has Peaked In Mexico
Mexico’s point man for the coronavirus pandemic said Friday that he thinks the country reached its peak of infections over the last three weeks. Assistant Health Secretary Hugo López-Gatell had previously wrongly predicted that infections would peak in May and June, but on Friday he said, “We have now had a maximum point in the curve.” (8/15)
Reuters: Jordan To Isolate City Near Syria After Coronavirus Spike
Jordan will seal off a city near the Syrian border from Monday following the largest daily rise in four months in coronavirus infections, which officials say have come mainly from its northern neighbour. The health ministry said half of the 39 cases recorded in the last 24 hours were from Ramtha city, near the Syrian border. (Al-Khalidi, 8/16)
Reuters: French New Coronavirus Cases Above 3,000 For Second Day
France’s health ministry on Sunday reported 3,015 new coronavirus infections over the last 24 hours, the second day in a row in which new cases have surpassed the 3,000 mark. However, the daily count was below the 3,310 cases reported on Saturday that marked a post-lockdown high, the ministry’s data showed. (8/16)
Reuters: Italy Closes Nightclubs As Coronavirus Cases Rise Among Young
Italy is to shut discos and clubs and make it compulsory to wear a mask outdoors in some areas during the night-time in the first reimposition of restrictions as cases of coronavirus pick up across the country, especially among younger people. New cases in the past week in Italy, the first European country to be hit hard by the coronavirus, were more than double those registered three weeks ago and the median age of people contracting the virus has dropped below 40, data showed. (8/16)
Reuters: Irish Health Chiefs To Consider If More COVID-19 Restrictions Needed
Ireland’s health chiefs will meet on Monday to decide if further restrictions are needed to slow a sharp increase in the spread of the coronavirus that the government and officials have described as deeply concerning. Ireland has reopened its economy at a slower pace than most European Union countries but that has not stopped a jump in cases over the last two weeks that led to the first localised reimposition of some restrictions last week. (8/16)
Reuters: Wife Of Brazil's President Says She Has Tested Negative For Coronavirus
Michelle Bolsonaro, wife of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, said on Sunday she had tested negative for the novel coronavirus, roughly two weeks after first contracting the disease. Several members of the Bolsonaro family have gotten sick with COVID-19 as Brazil has the second highest number of cases in the world after the United States. (8/16)
Also —
Reuters: German-Brazilian Couple Hug Again After Coronavirus Separation
A German-Brazilian couple kept apart by coronavirus restrictions have been reunited after Germany eased border controls for unmarried couples who can prove their relationships preceded the pandemic. Florian Mehler, 41, from Wiesloch near Frankfurt, had not seen his girlfriend Renata Alves, 40, since she returned to her native Brazil in January after visiting him in Germany. (8/16)
The Wall Street Journal: Coronavirus Chased Off Tourists—Lots Of Locals Don’t Want Them Ever Flocking Back
The bustle of tourists has disappeared from this ancient capital—only to be replaced by dissension over whether they should ever be welcomed back. Mimiko Takayasu, 80 years old, is proprietress of a century-old tea house where geisha entertain wealthy Japanese with traditional music and dance. Until the coronavirus pandemic, the streets of Gion, Kyoto’s high-end entertainment district, were packed with amateur paparazzi trying to get snapshots of apprentice geisha called maiko. (Inada, 8/16)
AP: Pakistan Launches Anti-Polio Drive As COVID-19 Cases Decline
Pakistani health officials on Saturday launched a seven-day vaccination campaign against polio as part of efforts aimed at eliminating the crippling disease amid a steady decline in fatalities and infections from the coronavirus, which had recently overwhelmed the country’s fragile health system. The anti-polio campaign, which began amid tight security, aims to vaccinate as many as 34 million children across Pakistan, including former Taliban strongholds bordering Afghanistan, a government statement said. (Ahmed, 8/15)
