Vaccinated American, EU Visitors No Longer Need Quarantine In England
The change is effective from Aug. 2, and was announced yesterday. Separately, reports show that though the U.K.'s covid case rate is falling, scientists don't know why. Covid in Burundi, Uruguay, Canada, Australia and China, plus a rare case of fetus-in-fetu in Israel are also in the news.
Axios:
England Lifts Quarantine Requirement For Vaccinated EU, U.S. Citizens
Fully vaccinated travelers from the European Union and the U.S. will no longer need to quarantine when arriving in England, effective Aug. 2 at 4 a.m. local time, the U.K. government announced Wednesday. It's a reflection of the British government's confidence in its highly successful COVID-19 vaccine rollout, despite the spread of the Delta variant. The move stands in stark contrast to the Biden administration's continued refusal to lift restrictions for travelers from the U.K. and Europe. (Doherty, 7/28)
The Washington Post:
U.K. Covid Cases Are Plummeting. Scientists Aren't Sure Why
This is a puzzler. Coronavirus cases are plummeting in Britain. They were supposed to soar. Scientists aren't sure why they haven't. The daily number of new infections recorded in the country fell for seven days in a row before a slight uptick Wednesday, when the country reported 27,734 cases. That’s still almost half of where the caseload was a week ago. The trajectory of the virus in Britain is something the world is watching closely and anxiously, as a test of how the delta variant behaves in a society with relatively high vaccination rates. And now people are asking if this could be the first real-world evidence that the pandemic in Britain is sputtering out — after three national lockdowns and almost 130,000 deaths. (Adam and Booth, 7/28)
In other global developments —
AP:
Burundi, In Reversal, Says It Will Accept COVID-19 Vaccines
Burundi’s government now says it will accept COVID-19 vaccines, becoming one of the last countries in the world to embrace them. But the health ministry says it will not take responsibility for any side effects they might cause. Health Minister Thaddee Ndikumana on Wednesday said the vaccines will arrive with the support of the World Bank. It was not immediately clear how many doses the East African country will receive or when. (Kaneza, 7/29)
Bloomberg:
Uruguay To Give Pfizer Booster To Sinovac Vaccine Recipients
Uruguay will give a Pfizer Inc. booster shot to people who have already received two doses of the less-effective Sinovac Biotech Ltd. vaccine, less than two weeks after the delta variant was detected in the South American country. After 90 days of the second Sinovac jab, people can receive the mRNA shot from Pfizer. The government will offer a third shot to increase the population’s immunity to Covid-19 variants such as delta, said Graciela Perez, who leads the Health Ministry’s immunization unit. The Ministry will start scheduling those shots in August. (Parks, 7/28)
NBC News:
The Wait For Vaccines Was Compared To 'The Hunger Games'; Now Canada Has Surged Past The U.S.
In the spring, some compared getting Covid-19 shots to competing in "The Hunger Games." Even a few months ago, Canada's vaccination drive was in the doldrums, but the country's efforts have rebounded recently, with around 56 percent of the eligible population fully vaccinated as of this week, according to statistics compiled by Our World in Data. That compares with nearly 49 percent in the U.S. So how did Canada do it? Experts said a number of factors are behind Canada's success. (Da Silva, 7/29)
Reuters:
Australia's Sydney Posts Record Daily Rise In COVID-19 Cases, Seeks Military Help
Australia's biggest city Sydney posted a record one-day rise in local COVID-19 cases on Thursday and warned the outbreak would get worse, as authorities sought military help to enforce a lockdown of 6 million people poised to enter its sixth week. Australia has struggled to contain an outbreak of the highly infectious Delta variant in and around Sydney in recent weeks, which threatens to push the country's A$2 trillion ($1.5 trillion) economy into its second recession in as many years. (Packham and Jose, 7/29)
The Washington Post:
China Delta Outbreak Tests Limits Of Zero-Tolerance Covid Approach
China’s commitment to a “zero-tolerance” approach for coronavirus infections may be starting to fray. Since the start of the pandemic, China has embraced a stringent approach to containing the coronavirus, sealing off entire cities and tightly controlling borders to keep infection rates down. (Tan and Chen, 7/29)
Also —
Fox News:
Baby Girl Born With Twin Inside Stomach In Extreme Medical Rarity: Report
A baby girl born in Israel earlier this month had the embryo of a twin inside her stomach, in what medical officials say was a 1-in-500,000 medical rarity. The case of "fetus-in-fetu" occurred at Assuta Medical Center in Ashod, Israel, according to The Times of Israel. "We were surprised to discover that it was an embryo," Omer Globus, director of neonatology at the hospital, told the newspaper. (Calicchio, 7/29)
