New data triples Peru death toll to over 180,000…
LIMA, Peru (AP) — Peru on Monday announced a sharp increase in its COVID-19 death toll, saying there have been more than 180,000 fatalities since the pandemic hit the country early last year.
The announcement was made in the presidential palace during the presentation of a report by a working group commissioned to analyze and update the death toll. The results of the study put the new toll at 180,764 in a population of about 32.6 million, compared to recent data indicating that 69,342 people had died from COVID-19.
Vietnam blocks international flights…
The international airport of Vietnam’s capital will suspend inbound flights from abroad beginning Tuesday, the country’s aviation body announced, as it grapples with a fresh wave of coronavirus outbreaks.
Vietnam’s Covid-19 cases have more than doubled in the past month and its health minister said over the weekend that authorities have discovered a highly infectious “new hybrid variant” — a combination of the Indian and UK variants.
Chinese authorities imposed fresh travel limits, cancelled flights and tested thousands of residents in Guangdong Monday after the Indian variant of the coronavirus was reported in the country’s most populous province.
Travellers leaving Guangzhou — the capital of the southern province home to 100 million people — must show negative Covid-19 test results from the past 72 hours, starting from 10:00 pm on Monday, the city said in an announcement late Sunday.
Cruise lines, DeSantis square off over vaccine passports…
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is on a collision course with one of the state’s biggest industries over a law he signed banning businesses from asking customers whether they’ve been vaccinated against Covid-19.
Cruise ship operators, who sail out of Florida’s large southern ports, say the order will make it make it harder for them to safely return to the seas, possibly imperiling a major economic driver in the state.
The GOP, under the influence of former President Donald Trump, has pursued cultural fights that roil its base at the expense of traditional conservative values, like free-market capitalism, with DeSantis, who is considering a presidential bid in 2024, and others picking fights with companies that they say undermine American values.