Chile
An (albeit cautious) success story in Chile: After posting some of the world’s worst numbers of COVID-19 cases and deaths, its vaccination rate is near the top. Around a quarter of its population of 19 million have received at least one shot, which puts Chile just behind Israel, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates in terms of the percentage of the population that have been vaccinated. According to the World Health Organization, the country has given more than 4.27 million shots thanks to the government securing vaccines early in the process. Chile suffered some of the worst fallout from the disease in South America in the summer of 2020. (Latin America Reports)
The Netherlands
Police in The Hague broke up protesters demonstrating against restrictions imposed by the government, including a curfew, lockdown and distancing rules. Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in Meliveld Field on the eve of parliamentary elections. Police, some on horseback and carrying water cannon and batons, broke up the protests and 20 protests were arrested. Holland — a country of 17 million people — still has high COVID-19 infection rates and more than 16,000 have died. (DW)
Australia
Australia is sending coronavirus vaccines to Papua New Guinea after a COVID-19 surge in island nation. some of which were recorded in people quarantining in hotel accommodation after arriving in Australia. Queensland’s Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said it was “one of the largest” daily increases in hotel quarantine cases that the state has seen since the pandemic began and came just a day after the country’s prime minister issued a warning about the dire situation in Papua New Guinea and banned flights into Australia. It’s now sending thousands of doses of the AstaZeneca shot to Papua New Guinea to help control the spread. (News.com.au)
Seychelles
Seychelles has said it will likely reopen its cruise ship season in August. The announcement came a little over a year after the island nation announced it was closing its doors to cruise ships to stem the spread of the coronavirus. The Norwegian Spirit was the last ship to arrive in Port Victoria last March. Initially, only ships with a maximum capacity of 300 will be allowed into its waters — and all passengers are encouraged to have vaccinations prior to their trip. Last year the cruise ship industry came to a standstill. During the pandemic, most of the 400-odd cruise liners around the globe have been docked. (Seychellesnewsagency)
Pakistan
Pakistan sealed off parts of its capital Islamabad as a third wave of the pandemic caused a huge spike in hospital admissions and cases. The country posted more than 2,000 coronavirus infections in 24 hours, bringing the total number to 22,038. At least 29 people died in one day, bringing the the overall death toll in the country to 13,537. The number of cases represent a 68% increase from the preceding 10 days. While Pakistan has had a lower rate of severe disease, it has also had low testing rates and experts reckon the actual number of cases is far higher than the official tally. (Al Jazeera)
