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:
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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