Coronavirus digest: Peru more than doubles its death toll

Peru has revised its coronavirus death toll, raising the number of fatalities to more than double its previous count.

The Latin American country with a population of about 32.6 million now leads the world in the COVID-19 mortality rate — it has the most deaths per capita of any country.

The government raised the death toll from 69,342 to 180,764 on the advice of a panel of health experts which found there had been an undercount.

The panel said in a report the existing methodology generated "an under-representation in the number of deaths due to COVID-19."

The criteria for assigning the coronavirus as a cause of death were broadened beyond people who tested positive for the virus to include "probable" cases with "an epidemiological link to a confirmed case."

They will also now include people thought to be infected with the virus who present "a clinical picture compatible with the disease."

The announcement was made at the presidential palace during the presentation of a report by a working group commissioned to analyze and update the death toll.

The panel, convened in April, was composed of experts from public and private health entities in Peru and from the World Health Organization (WHO).

"Thanks to the work of this team... we will have more exhaustive figures and figures that will be very useful to monitor the pandemic and take the appropriate measures to confront it," Prime Minister Violeta Bermudez said.

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

Asia-Pacific

Malaysia began a 'total lockdown' for two weeks on Tuesday, with only essential businesses allowed to operate.  

This is the second time in over a year that the Southeast Asia nation has gone into lockdown as the government struggles to contain a worsening pandemic.

Unlike during the first lockdown from March to May last year, some outdoor exercise, such as jogging, is allowed this time.

Its daily caseload hit a record high of 9,020 on Saturday before easing to 6,824 Monday. 

Vietnam wants to buy COVID-19 vaccine production technology and build a plant to supply the COVAX vaccine-sharing program, its health ministry said on Tuesday.

COVAX is run jointly by the WHO and the GAVI vaccine alliance. The program relies heavily on the relatively low-cost AstraZeneca jabs.

"Vietnam would build the plant and would like to receive the patent so it could supply vaccines to COVAX, to other countries as well as to Vietnam," the ministry said in a statement, after an overnight meeting with COVAX representatives.

"Vietnam hopes the COVAX facility will speed up its provision of vaccines to Vietnam," Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long said in the statement. "Vietnam also hopes international organizations and other countries help it access COVID-19 vaccines."

An Australian court on Tuesday rejected a challenge to the federal government's draconian power to prevent most citizens from leaving the country as a measure to limit the spread of coronavirus.

For more than a year, a government emergency order made under the powerful Biosecurity Act has prevented citizens and permanent residents from leaving the country except in "exceptional circumstances."

The libertarian group LibertyWorks argued the government did not have the power to enforce the travel ban, but the judges ruled in favor of the government.

Nepal received 800,000 coronavirus vaccines from China on Tuesday that Beijing had pledged to help the government there combat the spread of COVID-19.

In Tokyo, Japan, authorities plan to use a park that is set to host public viewings for the Olympic Games as a coronavirus vaccination centre.

That is according to governor Yuriko Koike, who spoke to  told the city parliament on Tuesday.

Tokyo is under a state of emergency until June 20 owing to a surge of coronavirus infections.

Some senior Japanese political figures have speculated whether the Games should go ahead at all, given the slow rate of the country's vaccination drive.

Europe

Britain's biggest airport, London Heathrow, will reopen a mothballed terminal for arrivals from high-risk countries with high coronavirus infection rates.

Terminal 3 at the major transport hub will now welcome travelers from 43 'red zone' countries such as Brazil and South Africa.

Meanwhile, Scotland's Euro 2020 preparations hit a snag on Tuesday. Sheffield United midfielder John Fleck will miss the team's friendly against the Netherlands after testing positive for COVID-19.

Portugal's vaccine task force announced on Tuesday that it will start 20- to 30-year-olds at the beginning of August.

Health authorities said last week those aged 40 or older will be jabbed from June 6 and those aged 30 or older from June 20.

Just under one-fifth of Portugal's population of 10 million has been fully vaccinated with both doses of the coronavirus vaccine.

Italians will be able to dine or drink coffee inside from now on after the government scrapped rules that forced restaurants and cafes to offer outdoor seating or takeaway.

Sweden has also started scrapping coronavirus restrictions.

Rules have been relaxed on the number of people who can attended outdoor concerts, sporting events, flea markets and cinemas.

Opening hours for bars will also be extended.

The Nordic country was the only EU country not to lock down last year.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday said the special powers that grant the federal government the ability to impose coronavirus restrictions nationwide can come to an end in June as planned.

The Infection Protection Act was amended in April to include an "emergency brake" obliging Germany's 16 states to enforce uniform restrictions when COVID-19 infection rates get too high. Germany has seen the infection rates fall across the board in recent weeks, with Merkel saying they can now "expire."

Meanwhile, Germany's Robert Koch Institute reported 1,785 new cases and 153 deaths on Tuesday. The seven-day incidence stayed at just over 35 cases per 100,000 people per week.

European Union countries will be able to launch the bloc's coronavirus recovery plan in June after all 27 members approved the scheme, the European Council announced Monday.

"The European Union is now able to obtain the necessary funding for the European social and economic recovery," said Antonio Costa, the prime minister of Portugal, which currently chairs the Council.

The Commission will now be able to go to the capital markets and borrow the money to finance the plan in the name of the EU members.

The landmark 750-billion-euro ($910-billion) recovery plan, known as Next Generation EU, was drawn up in July 2020.

But it needed the green light from all 27 member states before the Commission could borrow in the name of the bloc.

World

The WHO approved the emergency use of the two-dose Sinovac vaccine, which will allow it to be used as part of the COVAX distribution program.

Its efficacy has varied greatly in various trials, from 51% to 84%, but it prevented severe cases and hospitalization in all subjects in a WHO study.

"It's now crucial to get these lifesaving tools to the people that need them quickly," said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

adi/msh (AP, AFP, Reuters)