Coronavirus Asia
In Brief: China to start vaccinating teens
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China to start vaccinating teens
BEIJING • Several areas in China will start vaccinating teenagers against Covid-19 this month, state media and local authorities said.
The southern region of Guangxi and the city of Jingmen in the central province of Hubei will start vaccinating those aged between 15 and 17 this month, and those between 12 and 14 in August, state media and local disease control officials said in reports on Tuesday.
China has approved two domestically developed vaccines for those aged between three and 17 - one produced by Sinovac Biotech and the other produced by a Beijing firm affiliated with Sinopharm.
REUTERS
Russia records highest daily deaths
MOSCOW • Russia reported 786 coronavirus-related deaths yesterday, the most confirmed in a single day since the beginning of the pandemic, and 23,827 new cases nationwide.
The country faces a surge in cases that the authorities have blamed on the more infectious Delta variant and the slow rate of vaccinations.
The government's coronavirus task force said the official national Covid-19 case tally now stood at 5,857,002. It said the national death toll had risen to 145,278.
The federal statistics agency has kept a separate count and said Russia recorded around 290,000 deaths related to Covid-19 from April last year to May this year.
REUTERS
New cases at 6-month high in Tokyo
TOKYO • Tokyo yesterday reported the highest number of new Covid-19 cases in almost six months, with the Olympics due to open in the capital on July 23.
The city government said there were 1,149 new cases, the highest daily tally since Jan 22, amid a fifth wave of infections, driven by more infectious virus variants and a low vaccination rate.
There were 1,184 new cases on Jan 22.
Tokyo was placed under its fourth Covid-19 state of emergency on Monday. It is set to last until Aug 22 - a period that will cover the duration of the Tokyo Games which will end on Aug 8. The Delta variant now accounts for more than 30 per cent of cases in Tokyo, and the rate is climbing.
REUTERS
