Latest: Judge: Gov. Lee mask opt-out endangers disabled kids

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A national justice has again blocked Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee from allowing parents to opt retired of schoolhouse disguise requirements aimed astatine limiting coronavirus infections.

U.S. District Judge Sheryl Lipman issued a preliminary injunction connected Friday for schools successful Shelby County, Tennessee’s largest county. Parents successful 2 Memphis suburbs are suing connected behalf of their children with wellness problems.

They reason the Republican governor’s enforcement bid has endangered these students and harmed their quality to be classes successful idiosyncratic by allowing others to opt retired of a disguise mandate and dispersed infections.

“It is that unmasked beingness that creates the information to these Plaintiffs,” the justice wrote Friday.

Lipman had already issued a impermanent restraining bid connected Sept. 3 stopping schools from allowing parents to opt-out. It was acceptable to expire Friday. The preliminary injunction continues blocking the governor’s bid arsenic the national suit proceeds.

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MORE ON THE PANDEMIC:

— FDA sheet is archetypal key trial for Biden COVID-19 booster plan

— US to walk $2.1B to amended corruption power successful hospitals, different facilities

— England simplifies COVID-19 rules for i nternational travelers

— Trial begins over coronavirus outbreak astatine Austrian skis edifice successful 2020

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— See AP sum astatine https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic

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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

ISLAMABAD — The British authorities took Pakistan disconnected from its question prohibition database starting adjacent Wednesday, a determination which was welcomed by Pakistani authorities.

The announcement was made by the apical British diplomat to Pakistan, Christian Turner and the British Transport Secretary Grant Shapps connected Twitter. Pakistan was added to the reddish database successful April, and radical traveling from Pakistan to Britain had to quarantine and wage for a 10-day enactment successful a government-approved hotel.

On Friday, Turner successful a tweet said helium was pleased to corroborate Pakistan is disconnected the reddish list, saying “I cognize however hard the past 5 months were for truthful galore who trust connected adjacent links” betwixt the 2 countries.

Pakistan’s readying curate Asad Umar took to Twitter to invited the British government’s decision. The state is presently facing a 4th question of coronavirus, which has started subsiding.

Pakistan has reported 1.2 cardinal confirmed cases and 27,072 confirmed deaths since the commencement of the pandemic.

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YUMA, Ariz. — An Arizona mates was sentenced aft coughing connected Walmart employees who asked them to deterioration masks and for warring with police.

A justice sentenced 39-year-old Frank Robert Montoya to 18 months successful authorities situation minus 113 days served. Victoria Parra-Carranza, 25, received 30 days successful the region jailhouse and a three-year probation term.

Both were convicted successful April of aggravated battle connected a constabulary officer, resisting apprehension and different crimes for the incidental successful 2020, the Yuma Sun reported.

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WASHINGTON — The national authorities is spending $2.1 cardinal to amended corruption power procedures successful wellness attraction settings, aimed astatine preventing the transmission of diseases wrong hospitals, dialysis centers and different facilities.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is allocating the backing from the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 alleviation measure that was signed into instrumentality by President Joe Biden this year.

Of the caller funding, $500 cardinal volition make and bid “strike teams” to assistance facilities with known oregon suspected COVID-19 outbreaks.

CDC manager Dr. Rochelle Walensky says the backing “will dramatically amended the information and prime of the wellness attraction delivered successful the United States during the pandemic and successful the future.”

Nearly $900 cardinal volition beryllium spent implicit the coming years to enactment probe and grooming connected caller ways to power the dispersed of infections.

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NEW DELHI — India officials accidental a grounds 21 cardinal vaccine doses were fixed crossed the state successful a peculiar thrust connected Friday, a day acquisition to Prime Minister Narendra Modi who turned 71.

India has vaccinated 770 cardinal people, 20% afloat vaccinated and 62% with azygous doses, according to the Health Ministry.

The ministry advised radical to instrumentality precautions to debar different deadly surge during the upcoming October-November festival season. India was deed by a devastating surge of infections from April to June this year, overwhelming infirmary beds and oxygen proviso successful hospitals.

Meanwhile, younker members of main absorption Congress enactment clashed with constabulary during a thoroughfare protestation Friday demanding jobs amid monolithic unemployment triggered by the pandemic.

On Friday, India reported 34,403 caller cases and 320 confirmed deaths.

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INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana’s largest infirmary strategy says 125 workers are nary longer employed with the wellness web aft they didn’t comply with its mandate for each employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

The Indianapolis Business Journal paper reported Indiana University Health says the employees near the infirmary strategy aft a two-week unpaid suspension play that ended Sept. 14.

The employees correspond little than 1% of IU Health’s enactment unit of astir 36,000. The wellness strategy operates 15 hospitals and dozens of outpatient clinics astir the state. IU Health said Sept. 2 it estimated 97% of its employees were vaccinated.

IU Health announced successful June it would necessitate each doctors, nurses and different employees beryllium afloat vaccinated against COVID-19 by Sept. 1.

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WASHINGTON — Government advisers are debating whether to urge other doses of the Pfizer vaccine, a cardinal measurement toward the Biden administration’s program to dispense COVID-19 booster shots to astir Americans.

Scientists wrong and extracurricular the U.S. authorities person been divided successful caller days implicit the request for boosters and who should get them. A sheet of Food and Drug Administration advisers volition ballot Friday connected the information and effectiveness of boosters.

This week, 2 apical FDA vaccine reviewers joined a radical of planetary scientists successful publishing an editorial rejecting the request for boosters successful steadfast people. The scientists said continuing studies amusement the shots are moving good contempt the delta variant.

A Pfizer survey of 44,000 radical showed effectiveness against symptomatic COVID-19 was 96% 2 months aft the 2nd dose and 84% aft astir six months.

If the FDA approves the other doses, a abstracted committee convened by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention volition statement connected Wednesday who should get boosters and when. The CDC has said it is considering boosters for older people, nursing location residents and front-line wellness attraction workers, alternatively than each adults

The World Health Organization has powerfully objected to affluent nations giving a 3rd circular of shots erstwhile mediocre countries don’t person capable vaccine for their first.

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LONDON — The British authorities says it plans to simplify rules for planetary question during the coronavirus pandemic and volition marque an announcement Friday.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps says connected Twitter he’ll “set retired measures to simplify planetary question aboriginal contiguous successful bid to trim costs, instrumentality vantage of higher levels of vaccination, and support america each safe.”

The authorities is nether unit to scrap its “traffic light” strategy that ranks countries arsenic red, yellowish oregon greenish -- high, mean oregon debased hazard from the coronavirus.

Airlines and question businesses accidental Britain’s requirements are keeping radical distant and hampering betterment from the pandemic.

At present, radical coming from “red list” countries indispensable walk 10 days successful a government-approved quarantine hotel. Unvaccinated travelers from yellowish database countries indispensable self-isolate for 10 days astatine home, portion afloat vaccinated travelers request to instrumentality coronavirus tests earlier and aft arriving successful Britain.

It’s apt the authorities volition easiness the rules that necessitate travelers to instrumentality a highly delicate and pricey PCR trial 2 days aft arrival. They could usage a cheaper but little delicate trial instead.

Any changes volition use lone to England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland acceptable their ain policies.

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PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Cambodia is vaccinating children ages 6 to 11 truthful students tin safely instrumentality to schools that person been closed for months owed to the coronavirus.

Prime Minister Hun Sen inaugurated the run Friday, with his grandchildren and young household members of different elder officials shown being fixed their shots.

Cambodia already has been vaccinating older children. Hun Sen says helium ordered wellness officials to survey if children ages 3 to 5 tin beryllium vaccinated.

Nearly 72% of Cambodia’s astir 17 cardinal radical person received astatine slightest 1 COVID-19 changeable since vaccinations began successful February. China’s Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines relationship for astir inoculations.

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GENEVA — The World Health Organization and United Nations connected Friday declined to bespeak however galore successful their workforces person been vaccinated.

“We won’t person that due to the fact that it’s confidential,” said Dr. Margaret Harris, a WHO spokeswoman.

U.N. Geneva spokeswoman Alessandra Vellucci said: “We don’t disclose this benignant of information. It’s thing that is said to the aesculapian service. So, no, unfortunately, we won’t beryllium capable to springiness you these numbers.”

Vellucci says she’ll look into whether percentages of unit that had been vaccinated could beryllium provided.

In November, WHO indicated 65 of its staffers had tested affirmative for COVID-19 astatine the time, confirming accusation successful an interior email obtained by The Associated Press. The U.N. bureau successful Geneva has often indicated however galore of its unit tested positive.

Governments database however galore radical are vaccinated against the coronavirus, and the WHO compiles the accusation and reports connected it. Some countries and companies necessitate vaccines for their workers to spell to their jobs.

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COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka connected Friday extended the COVID-19 lockdown by different 2 weeks amid unit from aesculapian experts.

The existent lockdown was to extremity connected Tuesday. A peculiar gathering of the COVID-19 Control Committee chaired by President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa decided to widen the measures until Oct. 1, according to statesmanlike spokesperson Kingsly Rathnayaka.

Medical experts person said though Sri Lanka has seen a diminution successful regular cases, oxygen requirements and deaths, it remains astatine risk. The past 24 hours saw 2,314 confirmed cases.

The lockdown was archetypal imposed connected Aug. 20 and extended 4 times.

The authorities has allowed export-oriented factories and agriculture enactment to continue, successful summation to indispensable services.

Sri Lanka has truthful acold reported 496,423 confirmed cases and 11,699 deaths.

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BEIJING — China has reported different 62 cases of the coronavirus, adjacent arsenic the fig of Chinese citizens afloat vaccinated has topped 1 billion.

All but 1 of the cases was detected implicit the erstwhile 24 hours successful the eastbound coastal state of Fujian successful China’s latest outbreak of the delta variant, the National Health Commission said connected Friday.

Of those, 31 were successful the large larboard metropolis of Xiamen, with 28 others successful the metropolis of Putian and 1 successful the metropolis of Quanzhou.

That came a time aft wellness officials announced that much than 1 cardinal Chinese, oregon 72% of each 1.4 cardinal citizens of the world’s astir populous country, person been afloat vaccinated. The National Health Commission says 2.16 cardinal doses person been administered.

Nearly 300 cases person been detected successful Fujian implicit the past week, prompting authorities to fastener down affected neighborhoods, adjacent schools and amusement venues and restrict question retired of the province.

China has mostly stopped the dispersed by imposing restrictions and wide investigating whenever caller cases are found. It besides limits introduction to the state and requires radical who get to quarantine successful a edifice for astatine slightest 2 weeks.

The efficacy of Chinese vaccines has been questioned, however, and it’s not wide however galore of those recently infected had received their jabs.

China has recorded a full of 4,636 confirmed deaths and 95,577 confirmed cases. There are 916 radical presently receiving attraction for the disease.

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CANBERRA, Australia — Australians volition soon person a 3rd COVID-19 vaccine enactment with 1 cardinal Moderna shots astir to get successful Sydney.

Moderna volition get successful 2 shipments connected Friday nighttime and implicit the weekend, Health Minister Greg Hunt says.

Australians presently person entree to Pfizer and AstraZeneca arsenic authorities contention to physique the population’s immunity against the delta variant that has taken clasp successful Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra.

Pfizer is the preferred enactment for galore due to the fact that of the flimsy hazard of humor clots from AstraZeneca.

Moderna, similar Pfizer, is an mRNA vaccine. Australia has failed to root capable Pfizer to conscionable demand, portion determination is simply a surplus of locally manufactured AstraZeneca.

More than 70% of the Australian colonisation property 16 and older person taken astatine slightest 1 dose of a two-shot vaccine, Hunt says

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SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea has reported much than 2,000 caller cases of the coronavirus, nearing a one-day grounds acceptable past month, up of the biggest vacation of the year.

The 2,008 cases reported Friday was the 73rd consecutive time of much than 1,000, contempt officials enforcing the country’s strongest societal distancing rules abbreviated of a lockdown successful Seoul and different ample colonisation centers for the past 10 weeks.

More than 1,500 cases came from the greater Seoul area, location to fractional of a colonisation of much than 51 million. Infections person surged arsenic schools reopened and radical returned from summertime vacations successful caller weeks.

There are concerns that transmissions volition worsen nationwide the Chuseok vacation break, the Korean mentation of Thanksgiving that begins implicit the play and continues done adjacent Wednesday. Millions usually question crossed the to conscionable relatives during Chuseok.

“We plead erstwhile again that radical who aren’t afloat vaccinated not to sojourn their aging parents who are successful their 60s oregon older,” Deputy Health Minister Lee Ki-il said during a briefing.

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