Will poorer nations get vaccines in time?
As the race intensified for a vaccine against the new coronavirus, rich countries are rushing to place advance orders for the inevitably limited supply to guarantee their citizens get immunized first — leaving significant questions about whether developing countries will get any vaccines in time to save lives before the pandemic ends.
Earlier this month, the United Nations, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent, and others said it was a “moral imperative” that everyone have access to a “people’s vaccine.” But such grand declarations are unenforceable, and without a detailed strategy, the allocation of vaccines could be inequitable and extremely messy, said health experts. TURKEY
Masks made mandatory
Turkish authorities have made the wearing of masks mandatory in three major cities to curb the spread of COVID19 following an uptick in confirmed cases since the reopening of many businesses. The governors of Istanbul, Ankara and Bursa announced the mask rule late Wednesday in line with a recommendation by the country’s scientific advisory council. Masks are now obligatory in 47 out of 81 provinces. The statements said masks would be worn in all public spaces. Turkey is seeing an upward trend in the daily number of infections after the government authorized cafes, restaurants, gyms, parks, beaches and museums to reopen, lifted restrictions between cities and eased stayathome orders for the elderly and young at the start of June. EGYPT
Health workers harassed
An international rights group urged Egyptian authorities Thursday to stop harassing and intimidating health care workers who have criticized the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. Since the pandemic hit, health care workers have been complaining of a dearth of protective equipment, testing and hospital beds for frontline doctors. Amnesty International said it has documented the arbitrary detention of eight Egyptian health care workers, including six doctors and two pharmacists, who shared their healthrelated concerns on social media between March and June. Overall, Egypt has officially recorded more than 49,000 cases of the coronavirus, including 1,850 deaths. But last month, an Egyptian official said the country might realistically have as many as 100,000 cases. GREECE
New system of fines in place
Greece’s government has announced a new system of fines and penalties for businesses that are found to be violating regulations imposed to limit the spread of the coronavirus. Under details published Thursday in the government gazette, fines for violations will range from $1,125 to $56,240. For bars and restaurants, offending businesses will be shut down for 15 days for the first violation, 30 days for the second violation and 60 days for the third if all three violations occur within three months. Regulations include limits on the number of people allowed into a business depending on its physical size, distances to be maintained between tables at cafes, bars, restaurants and outdoor movie theaters, and mandatory masks by staff handling fresh food. INDIA
Highest 1day increase
India recorded its the highest oneday increase of 12,281 coronavirus cases, raising the total cases to 366,946. Nevertheless, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has ruled out reimposing a nationwide lockdown. India’s deaths reached 12,237, a rise of 334 in the past 24 hours, according to the Health Ministry. The lockdown imposed on March 25 is now restricted to highrisk areas.