Coronavirus: Latest on COVID-19 from around the world - Wednesday, October 13

Here's the latest on the pandemic from around the globe overnight. 

Americas

US

Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott has barred all COVID-19 vaccine mandates in the state by any entity, including private employers. Tech giants Facebook and Alphabet's Google have both told employees that they would need proof of vaccination to return to their offices. Both companies employ large numbers in Texas, as do large US airlines. 

Chicago Bulls great Michael Jordan said he is a "firm believer in science" and that he backed the NBA's stance on COVID-19 vaccinations ahead of the new season starting on October 19. The NBA has said unvaccinated players must comply with a long list of restrictions.

Mexico

Mexico's health ministry on Monday reported 2007 new cases of COVID-19 in the country and 141 more deaths.

Europe

UK

The delay to England's first coronavirus lockdown was a serious error based on groupthink that went unchallenged, lawmakers said in a report published on Tuesday, adding that failures in testing positive cases and tracing their contacts exacerbated the crisis.

Parliament's health and science committees have jointly published a 150-page report on lessons learnt from the pandemic after hours of testimony from more than 50 witnesses. The report said there was a "policy approach of fatalism" that sought to manage but not suppress infections.

Britain on Tuesday reported 38,520 further cases of COVID-19 and 181 more deaths within 28 days of a positive test.

Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Russia needed to speed up its vaccination campaign against COVID-19 as the country recorded its highest single-day death toll since the start of the pandemic - 973. 

"Vaccination safeguards people from infection, from serious symptoms," Putin told lawmakers. "We need to increase its pace."

Turkey

Turkey logged 30,563 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, the highest number of daily infections since April 30. Turkey recorded 188 deaths from the virus in the same period.

Italy

Italy's attempt to boost vaccinations by making a contested health pass necessary to go to work is not having the desired effect, data shows

Italy's government was under growing pressure on Monday to dissolve the Forza Nuova neo-fascist group involved in violent weekend protests against a government drive to make the COVID-19 "Green Pass" mandatory for all workers.

Italy reported 49 coronavirus-related deaths on Tuesday, up from 34 the previous day, the health ministry said, while the daily tally of new infections rose to 2494.

Asia-Pacific 

Singapore

Singapore reported 2976 new cases and 11 deaths. 

India

India on Tuesday recommended emergency use of Bharat Biotech's COVID-19 shot in the two to 18 age group, as the world's second-most populous nation expands its vaccination drive to include children. The country has so far fully vaccinated around 29% of about 944 million eligible adults.

India reported 181 new deaths. 

Australia

Sydney's COVID-19 cases fell to the lowest in two months on Tuesday as authorities rolled out support measures for businesses, shifting their focus to rejuvenating the economy after the city exited a nearly four-month lockdown a day earlier.

China

China reported 12 new coronavirus cases for October 11, compared with 25 a day earlier, the health authority said on Tuesday. All of the new infections were imported cases.

Vaccines and treatment

The World Health Organization is awaiting full clinical data on the antiviral pill made by Merck to treat mild-to-moderate COVID-19 patients, a WHO spokesperson said on Tuesday, a day after the company said it had applied for U.S. emergency use authorisation. Merck announced plans to double supply of molnupiravir.

CureVac said on Tuesday it will give up on its first-generation COVID-19 vaccine candidate and instead focus on collaborating with GSK to develop improved mRNA vaccine technology. Its first vaccine attempt disappointed with just 47 percent efficacy, half that of rivals made by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna. 

A European study has found an elevated risk of a life-threatening blood clot called venous thromboembolism in COVID-19 patients who were not critically ill.

Reuters / Newshub.