• This daily round-up brings you a selection of the latest news and updates on the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, as well as tips and tools to help you stay informed and protected.
  • Top stories: Africa faces worst COVID-19 surge yet, WHO; Swiss data shows vaccinated people seldom hit by COVID-19; New lockdown in Sydney's downtown and eastern suburbs.

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1. How COVID-19 is affecting the globe

Confirmed cases of COVID-19 have passed 180 million globally, according to Johns Hopkins University. The number of confirmed deaths stands at more than 3.9 million. More than 2.79 billion vaccination doses have been administered globally, according to Our World in Data.

The COVID-19 virus could have been spreading in China as early as October 2019, a new study has shown. The researchers also estimated it had probably spread globally by January 2020.

Downtown Sydney and its eastern suburbs will go into a one-week lockdown from midnight Friday. The move comes as authorities try to contain a cluster of cases of the Delta variant.

Antibodies triggered by two Chinese COVID-19 vaccines are less effective against the Delta variant compared with other strains, but the shots still offer protection, a Chinese disease control researcher told state media.

The Philippines' food and drug agency has approved the emergency use of the Bharat Biotech COVID-19 vaccine.

Mexico's health regulator has approved Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for use in children 12 and older.

The UK is set to publish plans to allow fully vaccinated people to travel unrestricted to all countries except those with the highest COVID-19 risk.

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2. Africa faces worst COVID-19 surge yet

The World Health Organization's Regional Office for Africa has warned that Africa is facing a surge in COVID-19 cases. In a press release, it said that cases are spreading rapidly and are projected to overtake the peak of the second wave at the start of 2021.

“The third wave is picking up speed, spreading faster, hitting harder. With rapidly rising case numbers and increasing reports of serious illness, the latest surge threatens to be Africa’s worst yet,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa. “Africa can still blunt the impact of these fast-rising infections, but the window of opportunity is closing. Everyone everywhere can do their bit by taking precautions to prevent transmission.”

COVID-19 vaccine doses administered by continent.
Vaccination rates remain low in Africa.
Image: Our World in Data

The WHO said that factors including weak observance of public health measures, increased social interaction and the spread of new variants are driving the surge. The organization is deploying more experts to some of the worst-affected countries, it said.

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention director, John Nkengasong, issued a separate warning yesterday. "Let me put it bluntly, we are not winning in Africa this battle against the virus so it does not really matter to me whether the vaccines are from COVAX or anywhere. All we need is rapid access to vaccines," he said.

3. Swiss data shows vaccinated people seldom hit by COVID-19

Swiss health ministry data appears to show that vaccines are helping to control infections, with new cases mainly hitting people who remain unprotected.

Only 209 of 180,000 new infections recorded in Switzerland between 27 January and 21 June were in people fully vaccinated with COVID-19 shots.

The majority of these so-called breakthrough cases involved the Alpha variant, with just a single breakthrough infection reported for the Delta variant. "There is currently no evidence that the Delta variant leads to more vaccine breakthroughs than Alpha," a Health Ministry spokesman said.

However, there is new – and sometimes conflicting – data emerging about the threat posed by the Delta variant.