As President Joe Biden hosted the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers to the White House, he praised their ability to unite a nation in times of crisis.
The Dodgers won the title last October by beating the Tampa Bay Rays. They were also the first to be honored at White House since the COVID-19 pandemic began and the first since Biden was elected.
Biden said that he believed the discovery was that sports were more important than ever before. He praised baseball during “one of our most difficult years” in America’s history.
The president praised the team for using their stadium as a mass COVID-19 vaccine site.
READ MORE ABOUT THE PANDEMIC
Many travelers are expected to visit the U.S. on July 4, holiday. Biden is concerned about those who have not been vaccinated
— Concerns about ICU capacity and vaccine supply in Thailand due to the viral surge
Vatican and World Medical Association demand an all-out effort to combat vaccine hesitancy
After the pandemic pause , the crusade of women for international children resumes
Here’s WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING.
PHOENIX — Arizona Governor. Doug Ducey has rescinded a number of executive orders issued during coronavirus pandemic.
According to the Republican governor, most of them are no longer necessary because they were passed by the Legislature in the week that ended.
Some of these orders will remain in effect until legislation is passed within 90 days. These orders prohibit cities, towns, and counties from issuing orders to businesses that are stricter than the Ducey-issued orders. Other orders that expire after the new legislation is in effect prohibit universities from requiring coronavirus vaccinations or masks to unvaccinated students.
Republicans, who control most of the Legislature, insist that they will block any coronavirus related actions they consider to be restricting freedoms. They also passed laws that banned mask orders from K-12 schools and state universities, and blocked future health orders. Democrats called these moves shortsighted and said they were necessary in light of a recent surge in virus cases.
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NEW YORK — COVID-19 stopped Elissa Montanti from establishing a Global Medical Relief Fund to provide medical care for children who have been injured in war or other crises. This was after over two decades of overcoming all odds.
International travel was halted due to the pandemic. Fitting prosthetics was necessary. Scheduling was required for surgeries. The New York woman has revived her charity. She is now recruiting professionals and volunteers to bring children back to the U.S. for medical treatment.
Montanti founded the charity in 1997 after the deaths of her grandmother, mother, and childhood sweetheart. Montanti has lobbied for the United Nations, written memoirs, and established a network of professionals and doctors who are charitable.
According to the charity, it has accepted children from 50 countries, mainly from Central and South America, Africa and the Middle East.
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WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said that he is concerned about COVID-19, where unvaccinated people will contract the coronavirus and transmit it to others.
Biden spoke to reporters Friday and stressed that the holiday weekend would be worthwhile for Americans who have been vaccinated.
Biden says, “This year is very different from the Fourth of July last year, and it will be even better next year.”
However, the president said he is concerned about those who have not yet had a chance to get one.
“I’m concerned that those who haven’t been vaccinated may be able to spread the variant to others who haven’t been vaccinated. But I am worried. “Lives will be lost.”
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JOHANNESBURG — The delta variant of the coronavirus has triggered a new wave in Africa, where deaths, hospitalizations, and cases are rising.
According to the World Health Organization, Africa’s case numbers double every three weeks. With more than 20,000 cases reported Friday, South Africa leads the surge.
This has pushed South Africa’s total up to 1.9million confirmed cases and 66.323 deaths. According to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it represents more than 30% the 5.5 million cases that have been reported by Africa’s 54 nations.
Dr. Matshidiso Moeti is the WHO’s regional director in Africa. He says Africa’s third wave is very fast and large. South Africa has seen the dominant delta variant, which was first reported in 16 African countries. According to WHO, the delta variant was detected in 97% of Ugandan samples and 79% in Congo samples.
Only 2% of Africa’s 1.3 billion inhabitants have received a single dose of vaccines.
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MOSCOW — Russian authorities reported 679 new coronavirus death records, the fourth consecutive day of the highest daily death rate in the pandemic.
Russia’s state coronavirus taskforce reported 23,218 cases on Friday. Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesperson, said that authorities are not considering a lockdown.
Russia has been struggling to deal with an increase in deaths and infections in recent weeks due to slow vaccination rates. The number of daily new infections has more than doubled in the past month, from 9,000 in June to over 21,000 this week.
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BERLIN — Germany recommends that all AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccination recipients switch to another type of vaccine after their first shot.
As the more contagious Delta variant spreads, the goal is to improve the effectiveness and speed of vaccinations. Jens Spahn, Health Minister, conferred with his counterparts from Germany’s 16 state governments on Friday. This was the day after the country’s standing committee on vaccination had issued a draft recommendation.
The committee released a statement stating that study results showed that the immune response to AstraZeneca mixed with an mRNA vaccine from Pfizer or Moderna was significantly superior to two doses.
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BEIRUT — The first confirmed cases of coronavirus delta in Lebanon are reported by the government.
Three cases of highly contagious delta variant, according to Health Minister Hamad Hazan, were reported in Lebanon. He advised the nation’s citizens to get vaccinated.
Reports about the variant are coming as tens or thousands of tourists and expatriates fly into Lebanon.
Lebanon, a country of 6 million people that includes a million Syrian refugees has seen its lockdowns ease in recent months, as the vaccination campaign intensified. 545 000 cases have been confirmed and 7854 deaths.
More than 1.3 Million vaccinations have been administered in Lebanon so far.
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GENEVA — The World Health Organization’s head says the world is currently in a “very dangerous period” due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He noted that the more contagious delta variant has been identified in almost 100 countries.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, a reporter at a press conference on Friday, stated that the delta variant, which was first discovered in India, continues to evolve and mutate and is now the dominant COVID-19 virus across many countries.
“I have already asked leaders around the world to ensure that by next year 70% of all citizens in all countries are vaccinated,” he stated, adding that this would effectively end the acute phase.
He said that 3 billion vaccine doses have been distributed already and that it was within the collective power and reach of a few countries to ensure that vaccines are spread.
Fewer than 2% of vaccine doses distributed globally have reached poorer countries. Despite the fact that wealthy countries such as Canada, Britain, France, and the U.S. have committed to donating 1 billion COVID-19 vaccines to the world, WHO estimates that 11 billion vaccines are required to fully immunize the planet.
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LONDON — Public Health England reports that the number of cases of the more contagious Delta variant has increased by fourfold in the United Kingdom in a matter of months.
The total number of confirmed and probable cases for the delta variant has increased by 46% to 161,981 in Britain.
The 95% of confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.K. still involve the delta variant, which was first discovered in India.
Although cases have increased sharply over the past few weeks, COVID-19 hospitalizations have not increased as much. This indicates that the association between infection and mortality has been reduced following the rapid introduction of vaccines.
Yvonne Doyle is the medical director of Public Health England. She says that most new cases are in younger age groups, who are less likely than others to need hospitalization.
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ROME — The Vatican’s bioethics school and the World Medical Association call for an intensified effort to fight vaccine hesitancy, and correct “myths & disinformation” that slow down the fight against coronavirus.
The groups said Friday that some vaccine reluctance among poorer countries was due to historical inequalities as well as suspicions about Western pharmaceutical companies. They say that fake news, myths, and disinformation about vaccine safety are driving a “more pernicious” form of hesitancy.
They demanded that all relevant stakeholders “exhaust all efforts to… confront vaccine Hesitancy by sending out a clear message about vaccine safety and necessity and counteracting vaccine myths, disinformation and misinformation.”
In the statement, the Vatican and medical establishment called for vaccine equity to ensure that all countries have equal access to shots.
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ISLAMABAD — Pakistan received 2.5 Million doses of the Moderna vaccine (from the United States) Friday. This relieved Islamabad’s struggle to overcome the COVID-19 shortage.
A U.S. Embassy statement stated that the vaccines were distributed to the Pakistani people in partnership between UNICEF and COVAX, the global vaccine initiative.
The donation is part of the 80,000,000 doses that the United States shared with the world. It states that this was “delivering on our promise to facilitate equitable global accessibility to safe and effective vaccinations, which are vital for ending the COVID-19 epidemic.”
This latest development follows a demonstration in Islamabad by hundreds of Pakistani expatriate workers demanding that they be vaccinated quickly with AstraZeneca, Moderna and Pfizer vaccines to allow them to travel internationally.
Pakistan relies mainly on Chinese vaccines. However, some Middle Eastern countries require that travelers present a certificate to prove they have received certain vaccines.
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BANGKOK — On Friday, 6,087 coronavirus cases were confirmed by Bangkok health authorities. This is a new record.
A third wave of coronavirus, which began in April, has seen around 90% of all cases and 95% deaths. This year’s death toll was 992, which is more than 15 times the total in Thailand for 2020.
According to the Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration, there has been an increase in patients admitted to ICUs and ventilators over the past two weeks. There are 2,002 patients in ICUs, with 566 being on ventilators.
Sixty-one deaths related to the disease were reported Friday. This brings the total number of confirmed deaths to 2,141 and 270,921.
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ROME — The northern Italian region most affected by pandemics has not registered any COVID-19 deaths for the first time in nine months.
Lombardy Vice Governor tweeted, “Today zero deaths from COVID in Lombardy. Hasn’t happened since October 6th.” Letizia Moratti, Friday
In February 2020, the first Italian COVID-19 case was discovered in Lombardy. The region had 33,782 confirmed death as of July 1. This is more than any other region. Lombardy’s hospitals were once overcrowded with COVID-19 patients in ICU beds. On Thursday, only one patient was admitted to an intensive care unit.
Officials in Italy warn that the delta variant is steadily growing in popularity since May. They expressed concern that vacationers will abandon safe-distancing or other measures to combat the pandemic, while they are on vacation.
Italy is proud to say that 35% of those over 12 are fully vaccinated. The country hopes to increase this number to 80% by the end of summer.
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NEW DELHI — India has reported 400,000 deaths due to COVID-19. Half of these deaths occurred in the last two months. The deadly delta variant, which infects hundreds of thousands each day, is responsible for many deaths.
It is believed that Friday’s grim figure was only a fraction of the real total. It is second only behind Brazil and the United States.
According to the Health Ministry, 853 people have died in the last 24 hours. This brings the total number of confirmed deaths to 400 312 since the outbreak. On March 12, 2020, the first COVID-19-related death in India was recorded in southern Karnataka.
India, which has a population of almost 1.4 billion, has reported more than 30.4million infections. In the last 24 hours, 46,617 new infections have been reported. This total is also believed to be an underestimate.
After May’s record breaking 400,000 cases per day, new cases are in decline. Authorities are working to increase vaccinations in preparation for another wave of infection, which could occur around September.
India has less than 5% who are fully immunized. According to the ministry, more than 340 million doses were administered since mid January.
Around 2 billion doses of vaccines may be available by December, with India’s main suppliers Serum Institute and Bharat Biotech ramping up production. There are also five additional vaccines that could be made available in the next months.
