Stockholm, the capital of Sweden and most populous area of Scandinavia
Good morning. This is Jonathan Spira reporting. Here now the news of the pandemic from across the globe on the 883rd day of the pandemic.
In news we cover today, India approved a vaccine administered as nose drops, mask mandates will return in Germany in October, and massive lockdowns continue in China.
Here’s a look at what has taken place over the past 24 hours.
GLOBAL
In Germany, the Bundestag on Thursday approved an amended new Infektionsschutzgesetz, or virus protection, law. The rules, which are in effect from October 1, 2022 through April 7, 2023, require FFP2 face masks on long-distance trains, although they are not mandated on airplane flights or airports, although that rule could change if cases rise rapidly. Masks will also be required in all hospitals, nursing homes, and health-care settings.
Individual states will have the option to mandate masks for public transit, schools, and daycare centers.
China is restricting travel as large swaths of the country remain under lockdown. Regular testing is required even in virus-free areas across China.
The southwestern city of Chengdu, with a population of over 21 million, remains under lockdown, and millions of people in other parts the country are under some form of restriction.
Meanwhile, India approved a needle-free coronavirus vaccine that is administered as drops in the nose. The news comes on the heels of an announcement in China of a vaccine inhaled through the nose and mouth as an aerosolized mist.
Such mucosal vaccines target thin mucous membranes that line the nose, mouth, and lunges and prompt immune responses where the coronavirus first enters the body. Such vaccines could, at least in theory, prevent even mild cases of illness and block transmission to other people.
AUTOMOTIVE
Sweden’s Volvo Cars, which temporarily shut down its plant in Chengdu, China, due to local coronavirus restrictions on September 2, has resumed limited production, a company spokesman said. Over 22.1 million people in Chengdu, which is home to China’s prized pandas, are currently under lockdown.
TODAY’S STATISTICS
Now here are the daily statistics for Friday, September 9.
As of Friday morning, the world has recorded 612.8 million Covid-19 cases, an increase of 0.6 million cases, and 6.5 million deaths, according to Worldometer, a service that tracks such information. In addition, 590.7 million people worldwide have recovered from the virus, an increase of 0.8 million.
Worldwide, the number of active coronavirus cases as of Friday is 15,543,642, a decrease of 166,000. Out of that figure, 99.7%, or 15,501,707, are considered mild, and 0.3%, or 41,935, are listed as critical. The percentage of cases considered critical has not changed over the past 24 hours.
The United States reported 88,425 new coronavirus infections on Friday for the previous day, compared to 144,151 on Thursday, 125,894 on Wednesday, and 16,508 on Tuesday, according to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The 7-day incidence rate is now 68,364. Figures for the weekend (reported the following day) are typically 30% to 60% of those posted on weekdays due to a lower number of tests being conducted.
The average daily number of new coronavirus cases in the United States over the past 14 days is 68,356, a 25% decrease, based on data from the Department of Health and Human Services, among other sources. The average daily death toll over the same period is 383, a decrease of 17% over the same period, while the average number of hospitalizations for the period was 35,388, a 10% decrease.
In addition, since the start of the pandemic the United States has, as of Friday, recorded over 96.9 million cases, a higher figure than any other country, and a death toll of over 1.07 million. India has the world’s second highest number of officially recorded cases, just under 44.5 million, and a reported death toll of 528,121.
The newest data from Russia’s Rosstat state statistics service showed that, at the end of May, the number of Covid or Covid-related deaths since the start of the pandemic there in April 2020 is now 820,307, giving the country the world’s second highest pandemic-related death toll, behind the United States. Rosstat reported that 4,991 people died from the coronavirus or related causes in June, down from 7,008 in May and from 11,583 in April.
Meanwhile, France is the country with the third highest number of cases, 34.66 million, although Brazil has recorded the third highest number of deaths as a result of the virus, 684,784, and has recorded 34.55 million cases, placing it in the number four slot.
Germany is in the number five slot with 32.4 million cases.
The other three countries with total case figures over the 20 million mark are South Korea, with 23.9 million cases, moving into the number six position on Friday, the United Kingdom, with over 23.5 million cases, placing it in the number seven slot, and Italy, with 22 million, as number eight.
Meanwhile, Russia, with over 19.9 million recorded cases, will likely cross the 20 million mark within the next several days.
VACCINATION SPOTLIGHT
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that, as of the past Friday, over 263.1 million people in the United States – or 79.2% – have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine. Of that population, 67.6%, or 224.4 million people, have received two doses of vaccine, and the total number of doses that have been dispensed in the United States is now 610 million. Breaking this down further, 90.2% of the population over the age of 18 – or 232.9 million people – has received at least a first inoculation and 77.4% of the same group – or 199.7 million people – is fully vaccinated. In addition, 51.7% of that population, or 103.2 million people, has already received a third, or booster, dose of vaccine.
Starting on June 13, 2022, the CDC began to update vaccine data on a weekly basis and publish the updated information on Fridays by 8 p.m. EDT, a statement on the agency’s website said.
Some 67.7% of the world population has received at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine by Saturday, according to Our World in Data, an online scientific publication that tracks such information. So far, 12.62 billion doses of the vaccine have been administered on a global basis and 4.5 million doses are now administered each day.
Meanwhile, only 21% of people in low-income countries have received one dose, while in countries such as Canada, China, Denmark, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States, at least 75% of the population has received at least one dose of vaccine.
Only a handful of the world’s poorest countries – Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia and Nepal – have reached the 70% mark in vaccinations. Many countries, however, are under 20% and, in countries such as Haiti, Senegal, and Tanzania, for example, vaccination rates remain in the single digits, if not lower.
In addition, North Korea and Eritrea are now the only two countries in the world that have not administered vaccines.
Anna Breuer contributed reporting to this story.
(Photo: Accura Media Group)
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