Covid-19 pandemic has claimed at least 4.1 million lives infecting more than 192.1 million people around the world. Here are updates for July 21:
Wednesday, July 21:
India reports 3,998 deaths after state corrects its data
India reported its highest death toll in a month, at nearly 4,000 after its richest state reconciled its death count with 3,509 previously unreported fatalities, the health ministry said.
Maharashtra, home to the financial capital of Mumbai, has reported 130,753 of the country's 418,480 coronavirus deaths, and added 3,509 earlier deaths to its tally, the federal health ministry said on Wednesday.
The ministry did not give a reason but authorities have in the past attributed other instances of deaths going unreported to administrative errors, before the mistakes are discovered and the numbers appear in official data.
Last month, the poor northern state of Bihar raised its death toll by more than 5,000 in a day when it included some unrecorded data.
The sudden appearance of previously unrecorded deaths has lent weight to suspicion that India's overall death tally is significantly more than the official figure..
India's tally of infections stands at 31.22 million, with a death toll of 418,480, according to official data.
But the Washington-based Center for Global Development estimated said in a report on Tuesday that India's real death toll could be as high as 4.9 million.
On Wednesday, the government reported 42,015 new coronavirus infections in the previous 24 hours, health ministry data showed.
Japan's cycling Saitama Criterium cancelled over pandemic
The Tour de France's Saitama Criterium has been cancelled for the second straight year over rising Covid-19 cases, organisers said, days before the Tokyo Olympic opening ceremony.
"We have reached the conclusion that our priority is ensuring the safety and security of the people of Saitama, athletes and other participants, and fans," organisers said in a statement late Tuesday.
"Various anti-infection measures are being taken... but the expanding spread of infections in Japan remains unpredictable," the statement said.
The annual autumn race features winners and stars from the Tour de France and attracts some 100,000 fans to Saitama region, north of Tokyo.
But the pandemic forced the event's cancellation last year for the first time since it started in 2013.
Taiwan bumps BioNTech vaccine order to 15M with Buddhist donation
A major Taiwanese Buddhist group said on Wednesday it had signed a deal to buy 5 million doses of BioNTech SE's Covid-19 vaccine via the German firm's Chinese sales agent, bumping the island's order for the shot up to 15 million doses.
The Tzu Chi Foundation said it June it was bidding to get the vaccines, and Taiwan's government said it would allow the group to negotiate on its behalf for the shot. The vaccines will be donated to the government for distribution.
In a statement on its Facebook p age, Tzu Chi said it had signed the deal with a Hong Kong subsidiary of Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group Co Ltd, which has the right to sell the shot in China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
"After successfully signing the vaccine procurement contract, all the purchased vaccines will be donated to the competent authority for use by the public," it added, without saying when the vaccines would arrive.
Australia, under lockdown, sees jump in cases
Australia's two largest states reported sharp increases in new cases, a blow to hopes that lockdown restrictions would be lifted with more than half the country's population under stay-at-home orders.
New South Wales (NSW) state, home to the country's most populous city Sydney, logged 110 new cases, up from 78 the day before, nearly four weeks into a lockdown of the city and surrounding areas to contain an outbreak of the virulent Delta variant.
Victoria state clocked 22 new cases, from nine the day before, its biggest increase since the outbreak began this month, as it nears its second week of statewide lockdown.
"Had we not gone into the lockdown a few weeks ago, the 110 number today would undoubtedly have been thousands and thousands," said NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian at a televised news conference.
"But we need to work harder and, of course, all of us need to be on guard," she added.
Germany's cases rise by 2,203
The number of confirmed cases in Germany increased by 2,203 to 3,748,613, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed.
The reported death toll rose by 19 to 91,416, the tally showed.
South Korea reports new daily record
South Korea reported a daily record of 1,784 cases, breaking a mark set last week, as the country grapples with Delta-driven outbreaks, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said.
World in early stage of another wave of infections - WHO
Warning that the world is in the early stages of another wave of infections, World Health Organisation (WHO) head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said Covid-19 is a test and the world is failing.
Speaking to the International Olympic Committee members at their session in the Japanese capital, Tedros said that the Tokyo games should go ahead to demonstrate to the world what can be achieved with the right plan and measures amid the pandemic.
Emphasising that profits and patents must come second, the WHO chief criticised the vaccine discrepancies between countries, saying the pandemic could be ended if G20 economies showed collective leadership and there was a fairer distribution of vaccines.
South Korea reports new daily record of 1,784 cases
South Korea has reported a daily record of 1,784 coronavirus cases, breaking a mark set last week, as the country grapples with Delta-driven outbreaks, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said.
Half of Australia hit by lockdowns as Victoria cases rise
More than half of Australia's 25 million population came under hard Covid-19 lockdowns as the highly infectious Delta variant, that was first discovered in India, spread across three of the country's major cities.
With South Australia state joining all of Victoria and Sydney in lockdown, strict stay-home orders have been enforced for large swathes of the country as officials rush to stem the worst coronavirus outbreak of the year.
Sydney, Australia's largest city, is in the fourth week of a five-week lockdown while Victoria and its capital Melbourne extended stay-home restrictions for seven days until early next week. South Australia announced week-long tough curbs on Tuesday as cases spread across its capital Adelaide.
Meanwhile, Victoria reported the biggest daily rise in locally acquired cases of Covid-19 in more than a week. Twenty-two local cases were detected, up from nine a day earlier, taking the total cases in the latest outbreak to more than 100. All new cases are linked to the current outbreak.
Australia has registered more than 32,100 cases and 915 deaths.
Brazil posts 27,592 new coronavirus cases, 1,424 deaths
Brazil has registered 27,592 new coronavirus cases and 1,424 more deaths during the past 24 hours, the Health Ministry said.
Mexico reports 13,853 new cases, 341 deaths
Mexico's Health Ministry has reported 13,853 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the country and 341 fatalities, bringing the country's total to 2,678,297 infections and 236,810 deaths.
The government has said the real number of cases is likely significantly higher, and separate data published recently suggested the actual death toll could be 60 percent more than the official count.
Tunisian premier criticises ousted health minister
Tunisian Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi has accused the dismissed health minister of making "criminal" decisions that led to overcrowding and chaos at coronavirus vaccination centres.
The centres opened for young people on Tuesday and tens of thousands flocked to them only to find out that small quantities of vaccine were available, leading to some violence.
"The decision to summon all Tunisians for vaccination on the day of Eid is a populist decision and can be described as criminal and threatens the health of Tunisians and social peace," Mechichi said in a statement.
Mechichi had sacked Health Minister Faouzi Mehdi earlier on Tuesday, amid an exchange of accusations over performance in the fight against an increase in Covid-19 cases and the slow pace of the vaccination campaign.
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