Covid-19 pandemic: live updates and news for March 21, 2021

Photographer: Joe Raedle / Getty Images

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As more people receive the Covid-19 vaccine in Australia and around the world, authorities may consider reducing quarantine requirements and allowing travelers to isolate themselves at home.

Nevertheless, coronavirus infections remain difficult to control in other parts of the world, such as Brazil, where deaths have increased for four weeks in a row. In the US, New York has announced its first case of the virus variant causing the outbreak.

A report by scientists, released this week, says China’s thriving wildlife trade is the most likely source of the coronavirus that changed the world last year.

Important developments:

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Australia can review quarantine measures (08:58 HK)

Brendan Murphy, secretary of the Department of Health, said there was a reduction in quarantine requirements considered, the first step is to cut domestic restrictions while ensuring that state borders are not closed.

“We can think, for example, of reducing the length of the quarantine, much more home quarantine, especially for vaccinated people,” Murphy said on Sky News’ Sunday Agenda program. “Our risk tolerance will change during the second half of this year.”

Nevertheless, Australia’s launch against the Covid-19 vaccine hampered by torrential rains and floods that have evacuated residents along the New South Wales coast – including parts of Sydney. The government has already been criticized for poor organization and a slower-than-expected start with the roll-out of vaccines.

Duke University Easily Locks Up (08:14 HK)

Duke University will facilitated Sunday a place-to-place order it imposed on all undergraduate students on March 14 after a serious outbreak related to events at fraternity and sororities.

The school in Durham, North Carolina, said in a letter to students on Saturday that the number of new cases had dropped, although it did not contain details. In the week before the strike, the university reported a total of 231 cases, almost as many as last semester. With the relaxation, undergraduate students on campus can return to classes and leave their dormitories, but they have been asked not to leave campus.

Cancellation of NCAA Faces (08:06 HK)

Positive Covid-19 tests at Virginia Commonwealth University force the 10th seeded team in the Western region out of the NCAA basketball tournament, reports the New York Times.

Although the organizers continued with the tournament, although the number of infections increased and protocols were adopted, a team that dropped out was a worst-case scenario for the sports body, which would earn $ 850 million in television revenue from the tournament. the newspaper said.

Brazil affairs rise for fifth week (07:30 HK)

For the second time in a row, Brazil exceeded half a million cases per week and limited a week with daily deaths and infections.

The largest country in Latin America added about 79,000 cases, bringing the total for the seven days to Saturday to 510,901 – the fifth consecutive week with an increase. During the previous boom, weekly cases peaked at 379,000 in early January, according to data from the Ministry of Health.

Weekly deaths increased by nearly 3,000 to a record 15,650, the most since the pandemic began. With nearly 12 million cases and about 292,000 deaths, Brazil lags just behind on both counts.

Covid Origin report could indicate wildlife (07:10 HK)

Scientists tracing the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic believe they have identified a possible source of transmission: China’s thriving game trade.

The expected findings of experts convened by the World Health Organization and the Chinese government are expected to show parallels with the spawning in 2002 of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, a bat-borne coronavirus spread by civilians that killed 800 people. The path trodden by SARS-CoV-2 – as the new coronavirus is known – before it appeared in Central China in December 2019 remains a mystery, although researchers say it can be solved.

Miami Beach Breaks Down In Spring (17:05 NY)

Miami Beach has introduced a curfew and other restrictions to curb the officials’ overwhelming crowd during the U.S. spring break. The evening walk lasts at least 72 hours and applies to the main roads with pubs, restaurants and clubs. The city had earlier set a midnight curfew.

Mayor Dan Gelber said at a news conference that the crowds look bigger than in previous years because fewer places are open for the spring break due to Covid-19 and cheap airfare.

“There are just too many moments when we hope that something horrible will not happen,” he said. “We can not stand it as a community.”

NY reports first case of Brazil variant (16:40 NY)

The first case of the more transmissible coronavirus variant first found in Brazil has been reported in New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo said in a statement. The patient is from Brooklyn, more than 90 years old with no travel history, he said.

The variant is helping to spark a new outbreak in Brazil. In the U.S., there are 48 cases of the P.1 variant in 15 jurisdictions, with 21 cases in Florida alone, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

France wants full Astra offer (15:20 NY)

France supports the EU’s threat to use available tools to obtain planned deliveries of the AstraZeneca vaccine, EU Junior Affairs Minister Clement Beaune told BFM TV, although he warned that any lawsuit could take months.

While the EU is exporting vaccines to the UK, European officials suspect that some vaccines manufactured in the UK that were originally intended to be delivered to the EU remain in the UK.

He also said the approval of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine in Europe could take place in April or May. In France, about 9% of the population received at least one shot of vaccine, and 3.6% received both injections.

Florida Survives 2 Million Cases (14:56 NY)

Florida conducted 2 million cases on Saturday, the third state to do so after California and Texas. New cases have recently leveled off after a sharp drop after a holiday boom. On Friday, Governor Ron DeSantis said he would open access to vaccinations for all persons 50 years and older from Monday.

Anti-lockdown protests hit Europe (14:20 NY)

Anti-lockdown protests were held on Saturday in Germany, Britain, Austria, Finland, Romania and Switzerland, the Associated Press reported. Demonstrations have also been reported in the three largest cities in Sweden.

More than 20,000 people have defied a court ban to protest in the central German city of Kassel, the German news agency DPA reported. Some protesters attacked officers and several journalists, DPA said.

At least 33 people have been arrested in central London, mostly for violating Covid restrictions, Metropolitan Police said on Twitter. The protests around Piccadilly Circus were bigger than police expected, the BBC said.

Brazil says it discusses vaccines with us (13:55 NY)

Brazil negotiates “to import vaccines from surplus available in the United States United States, “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs tweeted on Saturday. The Biden government said earlier this week that it plans to ship about 4 million doses of AstraZeneca Plc’s Covid-19 vaccine to neighboring Mexico and Canada.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said at the time that the U.S. government had about 7 million doses of the vaccine, which had not yet been approved for use in the United States. “With the importance of stopping the spread in other countries, to determine how we can borrow doses,” she said, adding that any loans were not ‘fully settled’.

The outbreak in Brazil has worsened dramatically and broke records for most cases and deaths earlier this week.

Mumbai moves to mandatory tests (10:31 NY)