Coronavirus digest: Melbourne extends lockdown

Melbourne was ordered Wednesday to remain in lockdown for a further week, as Australian authorities attempt to stamp out a small spread of a variant first identified in India and referred to as "Kappa."

A further six cases, of 60 in all, were identified on Wednesday in the country's second-most populous city, meaning some 5 million residents will not be exiting the Victorian capital's seven-day lockdown this week, as had been hoped.

"We've got to run this thing to ground otherwise people will die," Victoria's acting state Premier James Merlino said, describing the Kappa variant as "quicker and more contagious than we have ever seen before."

The initial seven-day lockdown applied to the entire state, but Wednesday's extension will only apply to the greater Melbourne area and will run until 11.59 p.m. on June 10.

Here's a selection of coronavirus-related news from around the world.

Global

At least 220 million people are expected to remain unemployed globally this year. This is well above pre-coronavirus levels in 2019 when there were 187 million out of work, the International Labour Organization (ILO) UN agency has said.

Potential employees are faced with a weak labor market recovery following the pandemic.

Despite a slight improvement predicted in 2022, "Employment growth will be insufficient to make up for the losses suffered until at least 2023," the ILO said in a report.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has approved the Sinovac Biotech vaccine for emergency use. It is the second Chinese vaccine to make the list, after the shot from Sinopharm was approved in April.

It means the two-dose vaccine can be used as part of the COVAX program, which provides vaccines to low-income nations.

Middle East

Israel's Health Ministry has found a small number of heart inflammations which it believes could be linked to the patients having received the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine. The inflammation was observed more in young men.

Most patients who experienced the reaction spent no more than four days in hospital and 95% of the cases were classified as mild.

Europe

European Union governments have added Japan to their small list of countries from which they will allow non-essential travel.

The change will gradually take effect in the coming days.

Currently on the list are Australia, Israel, New Zealand, Rwanda, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand.

Meanwhile, the EU is thought to be keeping Britain off the list until at least mid-June due to concern about the more contagious Alpha variant that was first detected in the country.

The number of confirmed infections in Germany increased by 4,917, data from the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases showed on Wednesday. The reported death toll rose by 179.

Meanwhile, when asked whether they would continue to wear masks after the pandemic, particularly if there was a specific relevant threat like a flu epidemic, almost half of Germans said they would still wear mouth and nose coverings in public, according to a survey by the Civey research institute.

Asia

International flights to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam are to resume, just 48 hours after a suspension of international arrivals was imposed.

On Monday, the country's Civil Aviation Administration announced a temporary ban on international passenger arrivals at Hanoi's Noi Bai airport from June 1-7.

A similar decision was imposed for Ho Chi Minh City until June 14.

But on Wednesday the aviation authority told airports and airlines that it had reversed the suspension.

jsi/msh (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)