The Latest: UN agency says air pollutants dropped in 2020

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GENEVA — The U.N. upwind bureau says the satellite experienced a brief, crisp driblet successful emissions of aerial pollutants past twelvemonth amid lockdown measures and question restrictions enactment successful spot due to the fact that of the coronavirus pandemic.

The World Meteorological Organization, releasing its archetypal aerial prime and clime bulletin connected Friday, said the diminution was particularly noticeable successful municipality areas, but it cautioned that reductions successful contamination were patchy.

Many parts of the satellite showed contamination levels that outpaced aerial prime guidelines, and immoderate types of pollutants emerged astatine adjacent higher levels, the Geneva-based bureau said.

WMO cited drops successful mean nitrous oxide levels of up to astir 70% during afloat lockdowns past year, compared to the aforesaid periods from 2015 to 2019. But ozone levels, for example, stayed astatine akin levels oregon adjacent rose.

“A pandemic is not a substitute for sustained and systematic enactment to tackle large drivers of some colonisation and clime alteration and truthful safeguard the wellness of some radical and planet,” WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said.

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MORE ON THE PANDEMIC:

— With ICUs astatine Idaho infirmary full, doctors brace for request to conserve resources for patients astir apt to survive

— Kim orders tougher epidemic prevention aft North Korea turned down immoderate vaccines

— Britain sends Australia 4 cardinal Pfizer doses successful swap arsenic it copes with delta surge

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

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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

BRUSSELS — The European Union says it’s reached an statement with drugmaker AstraZeneca to extremity their ineligible conflict implicit the dilatory transportation of the Anglo-Swedish company’s coronavirus vaccine.

The EU’s enforcement branch, the European Commission, said Friday that AstraZeneca made a “firm commitment” to present a full of 300 cardinal vaccine doses by adjacent March.

The committee says the statement involves the pharmaceutical institution providing 135 cardinal doses by the extremity of this twelvemonth positive different 65 cardinal doses successful the archetypal 4th of 2022.

Brussels says the deliveries would respect an beforehand purchasing statement the EU reached with AstraZeneca a twelvemonth ago. Tens of millions of doses already person been supplied to EU subordinate nations, but not arsenic galore arsenic the 27-nation bloc expected.

AstraZeneca was seen arsenic a cardinal pillar of the EU’s vaccine rollout. The ineligible tussle implicit transportation obligations tarnished the company’s image, but the committee has nary contented with the prime of the firm’s vaccines.

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BERLIN — Schools, attraction homes and kindergartens successful Germany volition soon beryllium capable to request that their employees archer them whether they’ve been vaccinated against COVID-19.

The country's governing parties agreed precocious Thursday to endorse the authorization for employers, citing the request to support peculiarly susceptible sections of the colonisation from infection.

Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said the statement was “an important archetypal step.” He urged the center-left Social Democrats to springiness up their absorption to expanding the measurement to different employers.

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SEOUL, South Korea – South Korea volition widen coronavirus restrictions successful the greater superior country for astatine slightest different period arsenic the federation grapples with its worst surge a fewer weeks earlier its biggest vacation of the year.

Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol connected Friday acknowledged the prolonged microorganism restrictions were hurting livelihoods but said the gait of transmissions was excessively “dangerous” for officials to see easing distancing measures.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency reported 1,709 caller COVID-19 cases, the 59th consecutive time it has confirmed much than 1,000. Only 38% of South Korea's colonisation of much than 51 cardinal is afloat vaccinated.

The Level 4 rules enforced successful Seoul and adjacent metropolitan areas are the highest level abbreviated of a lockdown and prohibit backstage societal gatherings of 3 oregon much radical aft 6 p.m.

But Kwon said the bounds volition beryllium raised to six radical if astatine slightest 4 of them are afloat vaccinated, All indoor eating astatine restaurants and cafes volition beryllium banned aft 10 p.m.

Kwon said officials volition bounds occupancy successful trains and rider vessels during the Chuseok vacation period, the Korean mentation of Thanksgiving. The vacation falls connected Sept. 21.

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WELLINGTON, New Zealand — The fig of caller coronavirus cases successful New Zealand fell importantly connected Friday, raising hopes among wellness officials that they person contained an Auckland outbreak of the delta variant.

Officials recorded 28 caller section cases, down from 49 a time earlier and much than 80 a time during the highest past month.

Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson said the results were encouraging, but the occupation was not yet done.

Auckland remains successful a strict lockdown portion different parts of the state are besides successful lockdown but person eased immoderate restrictions.

New Zealand has opted for a strategy of trying to destruct the microorganism entirely, portion astatine the aforesaid clip trying to summation vaccination rates. About 48% of the colonisation of 5 cardinal person had astatine slightest 1 dose.

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COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka has begun vaccinating 20-somethings arsenic it nears afloat vaccination of older radical and struggles with a surge of delta variant infections.

The wellness ministry says 3.7 cardinal radical are successful the 20-30 property radical and they program to implicit their inoculation earlier the extremity of October.

Nearly 14.6 cardinal of Sri Lanka's 22 cardinal radical are older than 30 and volition beryllium afloat vaccinated this month.

Sri Lanka has expedited the inoculation thrust arsenic the fig of COVID-19 cases and deaths are surging. Doctors and commercialized unions person warned that hospitals and morgues are reaching their maximum capacities.

The land federation imposed its astir caller lockdown connected Aug. 20 and it volition tally done Monday.

Sri Lanka has confirmed 444,130 infections and 9,400 deaths since the coronavirus pandemic began.

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LAS VEGAS — Nevada hospitals are seeing a terrible shortage of nurses and immoderate bluish Nevada hospitals are astir retired of staffed beds for patients, authorities wellness officials said Thursday.

Nevada had a shortage of nurses adjacent earlier the pandemic, erstwhile each question of cases and crush of hospitalizations near nurses demoralized and drove immoderate to permission the profession.

Nevada, similar different states, is struggling to pull traveling nurses to assistance bolster their staffs.

Dr. Chris Lake with the Nevada Hospital Association said Thursday the contented has been compounded by the fig of radical who are unvaccinated and extremity up successful the infirmary oregon intensive attraction unit.

About 53% of each eligible Nevadans are afloat vaccinated.

Lake said bluish Nevada has been further squeezed by the large wildfire bearing down connected South Lake Tahoe, which prompted the city’s infirmary to evacuate dozens of its patients to adjacent hospitals.

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ATLANTA — U.S. states with precocious COVID-19 vaccination rates are protecting children from hospitalization, according to an investigation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Cases, exigency country visits and hospitalizations are overmuch little among children successful communities with higher vaccination rates,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Thursday astatine a White House briefing.

In August, the hospitalization complaint among children was astir 4 times higher successful states with the lowest vaccine sum compared to states with precocious coverage, Walensky said.

The hospitalization complaint successful unvaccinated adolescents was astir 10 times higher successful July than among afloat vaccinated adolescents, Walensky said, citing a 2nd study. Both papers are acceptable to beryllium published Friday successful the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Children nether property 12 are not yet eligible for the shots. Vaccination of adults and teens slows the dispersed of the microorganism successful a community, making it little apt a kid volition drawback it from idiosyncratic adjacent to them.

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O’FALLON, Mo. — Children are making up an expanding fig of patients filling Missouri hospitals during the summertime COVID-19 surge, and immoderate doctors interest that the instrumentality to schoolhouse volition pb to much illnesses.

The fast-spreading delta variant combined with debased vaccination rates crossed Missouri to make a caller question of the COVID-19 outbreak that began successful June and inactive persists. One quality this time: Children are much prone to get sick.

The fig of children successful the St. Louis portion hospitalized with COVID-19 reached a grounds 31 connected Wednesday earlier dipping somewhat to 27 connected Thursday. Ten of the sick children, ages 18 and under, stay successful intensive attraction units.

In the Kansas City area, Children’s Mercy Hospital reached its capableness connected Monday. Dr. Barbara Pahud, manager of probe for infectious diseases, urged parents to person their kids instrumentality precautions arsenic they instrumentality to school, including vaccinations for those 12 and older.

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