US Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh tests +ve for Covid

WASHINGTON: US Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who is fully vaccinated against Covid-19, has tested positive for the coronavirus disease, the apex court said on Friday, the first publicly known case of Covid among the US top court’s justices.

Kavanaugh, 56, tested positive for the contagion on Thursday night and has no symptoms, the CNN news channel quoted as saying in a statement by the Supreme Court. The court said his wife and daughters are also fully vaccinated, and they tested negative on Thursday.

Kavanaugh underwent a routine Covid-19 test on Thursday ahead of fellow Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s investiture ceremony on Friday, which he will no longer be attending out of precaution, the court said.

Now Kavanaugh will not be on the bench on Monday, the start of the new term and the first in-person session with all nine justices.

The US has reported over 43,462,000 confirmed Covid-19 cases and over 697,800 deaths, making it the worst-hit country by the pandemic.

Australia to lift 18-month travel ban in November

Australia has outlined plans to lift a ban on its vaccinated citizens travelling overseas from November. No date has yet been set for welcoming international tourists back. Curbs that have trapped most Australians at home over the past 18 months would be removed when 80% of the population aged 16 and older were fully vaccinated.

Seven Covid patients die in Romanian hospital fire

A fire in a Romanian hospital killed seven Covid-19 patients on Friday, with the third deadly hospital blaze within a year sparking anger over the country’s infrastructure. Flames engulfed the ICU of a hospital for infectious diseases in the city of Constanta on the shore of the Black Sea, according to interior minister Lucian Bode.