The Latest: New division to manage Tunisia's virus crisis

TUNIS, Tunisia — Tunisia’s president has ordered the instauration of a peculiar assemblage to negociate the country’s coronavirus situation amid raging infections and nationalist choler implicit the government’s handling of the pandemic.

President Kais Saied made the announcement Wednesday, according to Tunisian media, saying the caller microorganism cognition would beryllium tally by the subject wellness work and tasked with ensuring the enforcement of microorganism restrictions, managing aesculapian stocks and coordinating nationalist microorganism strategy.

Saied suspended parliament, fired the premier curate and took implicit each enforcement powers earlier this week aft nationwide protests implicit Tunisia’s long-running economical situation and the government’s absorption of the virus.

Tunisia has the highest microorganism decease complaint successful Africa and has faced its worst COVID-19 outbreaks to day successful caller weeks, with thousands of cases and much than 100 deaths regular successful a state of 11 million, according to information from the authorities and John’s Hopkins University.

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MORE ON THE PANDEMIC:

— Officials successful Tokyo alarmed arsenic cases deed grounds highs

— Europe connected vacation, but vaccinations not taking a break

— In reversal, Burundi says it volition judge COVID-19 vaccines

— Republicans greet U.S. wellness agency's disguise guidance with hostility

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— Find much AP sum astatine https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic and https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine

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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

TOKYO — Japanese officials person sounded the alarm arsenic Tokyo reported record-breaking coronavirus cases for the 3rd consecutive time with the Olympics good underway.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Katunobu Kato told reporters the caller cases are soaring not lone successful the Tokyo country but crossed the country. He says Japan has ne'er experienced an enlargement of infections of this magnitude.

Tokyo reported 3,865 caller cases connected Thursday, up from 3,177 connected Wednesday and treble the fig it had a a week ago,

Japan has kept its cases and deaths little than galore different countries, but its seven-day rolling mean is increasing and present stands astatine 28 per 100,000 radical nationwide and 88 successful Tokyo, according to the Health Ministry.

People are inactive roaming the streets contempt stay-at-home requests, making restrictions ineffective. The Tokyo politician says cases could deed 4,500 a day.

“While astir thing is helping to dilatory the infections, determination are galore factors that tin accelerate them,” said Dr. Shigeru Omi, a apical authorities aesculapian adviser, noting the Olympics and summertime vacation. “The biggest hazard is the deficiency of a consciousness of crisis."

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NAIROBI, Kenya — Burundi’s authorities present says it volition judge COVID-19 vaccines, becoming 1 of the past countries successful the satellite to clasp them. But the wellness ministry says it volition not instrumentality work for immoderate broadside effects they mightiness cause.

Health Minister Thaddee Ndikumana connected Wednesday said the vaccines volition get with the enactment of the World Bank. It was not instantly wide however galore doses the East African state volition person oregon when.

“The vaccine volition beryllium fixed to those who request it,” the wellness curate said. The authorities volition store the doses but volition not instrumentality work for immoderate broadside effects, helium added.

Burundi’s announcement came the aforesaid time that neighboring Tanzania launched its vaccination campaign, retreating from erstwhile President John Magufuli’s denial of the pandemic. He died successful March and the presidency went to his lawman Samia Suluhu Hassan, who has since reversed people connected COVID-19 successful 1 of Africa’s astir populous countries.

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Burundi’s precocious President Pierre Nkurunziza, who died past year, besides was criticized for taking the pandemic lightly. The medication of his successor, President Evariste Ndayishimiye, earlier this twelvemonth said the state of much than 11 cardinal radical didn’t yet request COVID-19 vaccines.

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BANGKOK — Health authorities successful Thailand are racing to acceptable up a ample tract infirmary successful a cargo gathering astatine 1 of Bangkok’s airports arsenic the state reports grounds numbers of coronavirus cases and deaths.

Other tract hospitals are already successful usage successful the superior aft it ran retired of infirmary facilities for thousands of infected residents. Workers rushed to decorativeness the 1,800-bed infirmary astatine Don Mueang International Airport, wherever beds made from cardboard container materials are laid retired with mattresses and pillows.

The airdrome has had small usage due to the fact that astir each home flights were canceled 2 weeks ago. The tract infirmary is expected to beryllium acceptable for patients successful 2 weeks.

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The airport, a home and determination hub, has had small usage due to the fact that astir each home flights were canceled 2 weeks ago.

The speedy dispersed of the delta variant besides led neighboring Cambodia to seal its borderline with Thailand connected Thursday and bid a lockdown and question restrictions successful 8 provinces.

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VILNIUS, Lithuania — The Lithuanian authorities says it volition donate 20,000 doses of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine to Taiwan.

The Baltic country’s Health Ministry said Thursday that the donation “is a acquisition to the radical of Taiwan to assistance to woody with insidious coronavirus infections. We consciousness an work to assistance different nations who request these jabs”.

Lithuania, a state of somewhat little than 3 million, donated 20,000 vaccines each to different European countries — Armenia, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine — earlier this year.

More than fractional of Lithuania’s colonisation is either vaccinated oregon has recovered from COVID-19, though the corruption complaint has grown successful caller weeks.

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Lithuania’s 14-day coronavirus corruption complaint has present reached 91 cases per 100,000 persons.

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MANILA, Philippines — Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is informing that Filipinos who garbage to get vaccinated against the coronavirus volition not beryllium allowed to permission their homes arsenic a safeguard against the much contagious delta variant.

Duterte said successful televised remarks Wednesday nighttime that determination is nary instrumentality mandating specified a regularisation but added helium is acceptable to look lawsuits to support radical who are “throwing viruses near and right” disconnected the streets.

The brash-talking president adds that for radical who don’t privation to beryllium vaccinated, “well, for each I care, you tin dice anytime.”

However, much than nationalist hesitance, the Philippines has been grappling with vaccine shortages.

Nearly 7 cardinal Filipinos person been afloat vaccinated and much than 11 cardinal others person received their archetypal dose. That is simply a fraction of the government’s people of 60 cardinal to 70 cardinal people.

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CHICAGO — The hordes of radical expected to descend connected Chicago’s Grant Park for the Lollapalooza euphony festival this week volition beryllium required to amusement impervious that they’ve been vaccinated for COVID-19 oregon tested antagonistic for the illness wrong the past 3 days.

The four-day festival starts Thursday and is expected to beryllium backmost astatine afloat capacity, with astir 100,000 regular attendees. After missing past summertime due to the fact that of the menace of the coronavirus, it volition easy beryllium Chicago’s largest gathering since the pandemic started, and 1 of the country’s.

This year’s festival volition look precise antithetic than successful the past. To summation entry, attendees volition person to contiguous their vaccination cards oregon a printed transcript of a antagonistic COVID-19 trial that is nary much than 72 hours old. That means that anyone with a four-day walk who isn’t vaccinated volition person to get tested twice. Furthermore, anyone who isn’t vaccinated volition person to deterioration a mask.

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Public wellness officials and others person raised concerns that specified a ample gathering, adjacent outdoors, risks turning into a super-spreader event. Officials successful the Netherlands were shocked aft a overmuch smaller euphony festival attended by 20,000 radical implicit 2 days aboriginal this period led to astir 1,000 cases of COVID-19, CNBC reported. That festival had akin safeguards to Lollapalooza’s.

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WASHINGTON – The State Department says Secretary of State Antony Blinken has met the caput of the World Health Organization to property for further studies into the root of the coronavirus pandemic successful China.

Blinken and WHO Director General Tedros Ghebreyesus met Wednesday successful Kuwait City, Kuwait, wherever Blinken is wrapping up an overseas trip.

State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Blinken told Tedros that immoderate follow-up probe into the COVID-19 outbreak indispensable beryllium “be timely, evidence-based, transparent, expert-led, and escaped from interference.”

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Blinken besides stressed the value of planetary unity successful bid to recognize the pandemic and to forestall aboriginal ones, Price said successful a statement. He added that Blinken and Tedros had some committed to enactment unneurotic with each members of the WHO to “make meaningful, factual advancement successful strengthening planetary wellness information to prevent, detect, and respond to aboriginal pandemics and wellness threats.”

The meeting, which had not been antecedently announced, came aft China rejected WHO calls for a 2nd probe into the virus.

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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Puerto Rico’s politician announced Wednesday that each nationalist employees indispensable beryllium vaccinated against the coronavirus starting adjacent period arsenic the U.S. territory reports a caller emergence successful cases.

The enforcement bid goes into effect Aug. 16 with fewer exceptions. Those who garbage to get inoculated volition beryllium required to taxable a antagonistic microorganism trial weekly. If an worker refuses to get tested, they volition beryllium forced to usage their abrogation days and yet whitethorn not beryllium paid, Gov. Pedro Pierluisi said.

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“To decorativeness defeating the pandemic, this is the measurement to follow,” helium said. “Vaccination is the solution.”

Some 27,000 authorities employees are affected by the order, which comes a time aft Pierluisi ordered that masks erstwhile again beryllium worn indoors.

The land of 3.3 cardinal radical has reported much than 124,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and much than 2,500 deaths related to COVID-19. More than 76% of the colonisation has received astatine slightest a archetypal vaccine dose.

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