A summary of today's developments
- Brazil has registered 1,308 new Covid-19 deaths over the last 24 hours, the country’s health ministry said on Saturday. It is the highest number of fatalities since July 29th last year.
- A further 259 people have died in the UK within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19, bringing the total to 158,243, the government said.
- Conservative MP Stephen Hammond has said he is “considering very carefully this weekend” whether he still has confidence in the UK’s prime minister and it “certainly looks like” the beginning of the end for Boris Johnson.
- The US death toll from Covid-19 has hit 900,000.
- Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has tested positive for Covid-19.
- Russia reported a record daily number of Covid-19 cases with new daily cases of 177,282. The government coronavirus task force also reported 714 deaths. From Sunday, people will no longer need to self-isolate after contacting those infected with the virus, Reuters reports. In Moscow, schools and nurseries may end isolation requirements for pupils from next week.
- South Korea reported more than 30,000 daily Covid-19 infections for the first time.
- Hong Kong reported a record 351 daily cases of coronavirus.
- Japan’s daily Covid-19 cases have exceeded 100,000, marking a new high, public broadcaster NHK reported.
- About 50 of Iran’s 290 parliamentarians have contracted Covid-19, a senior MP has said.
- Compulsory vaccination for over-18s came into force in Austria today.
- The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has said he discussed with the Chinese premier, Li Keqiang, the need for stronger collaboration to investigate the origins of Covid-19.
- Canadian cities, including Toronto, are braced for further disruptions this weekend as protests against vaccine mandates spread from the capital of Ottawa.
Updated
Brazil records highest daily death toll since July
Brazil has registered 1,308 new Covid-19 deaths over the last 24 hours, the country’s health ministry said on Saturday.
It is the highest number of fatalities since July 29 last year.
The country also recorded 197,442 new Covid cases, Reuters reports.
Updated
