According to figures obtained via a Freedom of Information request, 301,000 individuals may have broken quarantine rules between March 17 and May 31 alone, The Bristol Post reported. During that period, arrivals from “amber list” locations (areas with significant spread) were required to quarantine at their homes and provide a negative COVID test. Most people investigated were either persuaded to be compliant or were already isolating.In the aftermath of the release of this data, Shadow Home Secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds accused the U.K.’s Home Office of “gross negligence,” criticizing the majority government’s “lax border policy.”

After facing harassment and even attacks, Colorado’s Jefferson County Public Health Director Dawn Comstock said that it had gotten so bad that the mobile clinics would now only be going out with security, The Washington Post reported. Public health workers had set out last spring with three vans, pop-up tents and folding chairs in an attempt to get COVID-19 vaccines to the people who were hardest to reach. There were a few hecklers at first who yelled that the global pandemic was a hoax or that the vaccines were “poison,” but things soon grew more threatening. Comstock told The Washington Post that one man had slashed the mobile clinic signs with a knife, and another person had thrown lit fireworks into one of the tents. Others had driven toward staffers and ran over signs.

Six employees at a hospital in rural New York have resigned, and seven more are unwilling to get vaccinated, as the deadline for the state’s vaccine mandate for specific healthcare workers nears. The mandate, passed on Aug. 16, requires hospitals and long term facility employees to receive their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by Sept. 27. Due to the sudden shortage of staff, however, the Lewis County General Hospital will be pausing its maternity services, according to USA Today. “We are unable to safely staff the service after Sept. 24,” Lewis County Health System CEO Gerald R. Cayer said at a news conference. The move seems to be temporary, USA Today reported, as Cayer said the health system will focus on recruiting nurses to resume baby deliveries.

Roughly 300 students and employees at Purdue University are facing disciplinary action for failing to report to mandatory testing if they are unvaccinated, the Associated Press reported. The warning includes 84 unvaccinated students who have already received two warnings about their failure to report to the University’s surveillance testing – a third violation could result in their suspensions as early as this week. About 82% of Purdue’s 55,000 students and employees have submitted proof of vaccination.

Despite the government’s vaccine committee arguing that there are not enough health benefits to warrant the administration of a coronavirus vaccine to healthy kids aged 12 to 15, the United Kingdom’s chief medical officers have recommended that they be offered one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, the BBC reported. The chief medical officers recommended the vaccine on the basis that it will reduce disruption to education, noting that COVID-19 will continue to spread over the winter. Professor Chris Whitty, the lead chief medical officer for the U.K., said that the choice was "difficult" and that the vaccine should not be seen as a "silver bullet.” It is now up to the four nations of the U.K. to accept the chief medical officers’ recommendation. If they do, children will be administered the Pfizer jab in schools with the consent of their parents, though, if the parent and child have opposing views on getting vaccinated, the child is given the final say if they are deemed competent to decide.

Indonesia has eased its COVID-19 restrictions on Bali, its popular tourist resort island, the maritime and investment minister Luhut Panjaitan said during a virtual conference on Monday. Reuters reported that the level of restrictions on the island and across Indonesia will be evaluated on a weekly basis, Panjaitan added. The nation has seen more than 313,000 cases over the past 28 days and has seen a drop in both weekly cases and weekly deaths since August, according to data from John Hopkins University.

Starting this week, Slovenia will require that those who enter public indoor spaces must be vaccinated, show a negative test or proof of recent infection,Reuters reported. The new restriction adds to the country’s existing indoor mask mandate. The requirement extends to public transportation, doctors’ offices, banks and post offices. Slovenia, which is seeing a rise in new cases, is 45% fully vaccinated.

All but a fraction of New York City’s nearly 1.1 million public school students are returning to the classroom for fully in-person learning, CBS 42 reported. Just 500 students, all of whom have serious health conditions, will begin the year online. Last year, New York City took a varied approach with some parents opting into remote learning, while others used a hybrid model. This year, the city will implement its Safe Schools initiative, which includes 3 feet of social distancing where possible, a vaccine mandate for teachers, upgraded ventilation systems, random testing and a remote option if three or more students in the same classroom test positive. Around 65% of students age 12 to 17 have been vaccinated, while just over 72% of teachers have been vaccinated. All public school teachers must get at least one dose of a COVID vaccine by Sept. 27. Watch below for more.

Six employees at a hospital in rural New York have resigned, and seven more are unwilling to get vaccinated, as the deadline for the state’s vaccine mandate for specific healthcare workers nears. The mandate, passed on Aug. 16, requires hospitals and long term facility employees to receive their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by Sept. 27. Due to the sudden shortage of staff, however, the Lewis County General Hospital will be pausing its maternity services, according to USA Today. “We are unable to safely staff the service after Sept. 24,” Lewis County Health System CEO Gerald R. Cayer said at a news conference. The move seems to be temporary, USA Today reported, as Cayer said the health system will focus on recruiting nurses to resume baby deliveries.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is urging parents not to seek out shots for kids under 12 until the vaccines are officially approved, something the agency says it is “working around the clock” to do, The New York Times reported. The FDA hopes that vaccines for young children will be available “in the coming months.” The current vaccines, none of which are approved for those under 12, may not be safe or effective for kids. “Children are not small adults — and issues that may be addressed in pediatric vaccine trials can include whether there is a need for different doses or different strength formulations of vaccines already used for adults,” Dr. Janet Woodcock, the acting FDA commissioner, and Dr. Peter Marks, of the agency’s Center for Biologics Research and Evaluation, said.

A child rests on a subway car while riders wear protective masks due to COVID-19 concerns, Monday, Aug. 17, 2020, in New York.

The United States’ top infectious disease expert, Anthony Fauci, said that he backs a vaccine mandate for commercial flights in the United States, The Hill reported. Fauci’s backing comes at the same time as the Safe Travel Act has been introduced in the House of Representatives, which, if signed into law, would require all airline and train passengers to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test to travel. “I would support that, if you want to get on a plane and travel with other people that you should be vaccinated,” Fauci said. A federal mask mandate for airline, bus and train travelers is currently in effect until at least Jan. 18, 2022.

No more lockdowns are expected in the United Kingdom, and the adoption of vaccine passports for large gatherings appears to be off the table,Reuters reported. In an interview on the BBC, British health minister Sajid Javid did not totally rule out either policy option. "I am not anticipating any more lockdowns. I think it would be irresponsible for any health minister around the world to take everything off the table but I just don't see how we get to another lockdown," he told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show.On the issue of vaccine passports, Javid said that the government will not go ahead with plans to adopt them, but added the plan would be kept in reserve as an option.

More than 760,000 vaccine doses were administered in the United States Monday as the positivity ratio dropped below 10% for the first time in six weeks, according to Johns Hopkins University figures. Just over 33,800 new cases and 279 deaths were reported on Sunday, though weekend numbers tend to be significantly lower than numbers reported during the work week. Still, the U.S. reported the most new cases globally, followed by the United Kingdom, which reported more than 28,000 cases, and India, which reported just over 27,000 cases. Watch the video below for more.

Here are the latest global coronavirus numbers, provided by researchers at Johns Hopkins University:

• Confirmed cases: 224,597,150

• Deaths: 4,629,789

• Vaccine doses administered: 5,677,195,724

Navigating a global pandemic isn’t a simple task, and The New York Times compares the risk of a vaccinated person getting a breakthrough case to driving in a snowstorm. For both, a person’s individual risk greatly depends on local conditions, precautions you take and the steps those around you take, along with other factors. Dr. Sharon Balter, director of the division of communicable disease control and prevention at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, along with a team recently collected data that clarified the difference in risk to the vaccinated and unvaccinated from May 1 through July 25, as the delta variant surged. The New York Times reported the data showed that:

• The rate of infection for unvaccinated people is five times the rate of infection in vaccinated people.

• The rate of hospitalization for vaccinated people was 1 per 100,000 people while the age-adjusted hospitalization rate in unvaccinated people was 29.4 per 100,000.

• Older vaccinated people were most vulnerable to serious illness after a breakthrough infection, according to the New York Times. While the median age of vaccinated people who were hospitalized for COVID-19 was 64 years, the median age of unvaccinated people who were hospitalized was 49.

• By the end of the study period, when the delta variant accounted for nearly 90% of infections in the U.S., unvaccinated people were five times as likely to get infected as vaccinated people. At the start of the study, before the delta variant was the dominant strain, unvaccinated people became infected 10 times as often as vaccinated people did. This suggests that the delta variant appears to have increased the risk of breakthrough infections to vaccinated people, according to The New York Times.

During the first six months of 2021, COVID-19 was the leading cause of law enforcement line-of-duty deaths at 71 fatalities, according to data compiled by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. The number is slightly down from the same time last year, which stood at 76 deaths, though by the end of 2020, it had risen to 241 fatalities. Despite these lives lost, police officers and firefighters are among the most hesitant to get vaccinated, The Associated Press reported. Individual police and fire departments across the nation are reporting figures far lower than the national rate of 74% of adults who have had at least one dose. There is no national statistics to show the vaccine rate for all of America’s first responders. “It’s harder when you want to protect those who are on the front lines,” said Dr. Jennifer Bryan, a family physician and member of the Mississippi State Medical Association’s Board of Trustees. She’s currently working in Mississippi, which has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the nation, to change the minds of first responders. “When you share air with someone, there’s a risk. If you share more air with sick people and your job is more public-facing, then you are at risk.”

A man in Queens, New York, has been charged with several crimes after allegedly filing multiple fake unemployment claims to receive COVID-19 relief funds, WWLP reported. Keijohn Graham filed unemployment claims under 13 different names, collecting more than $150,000 from the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, according to District Attorney Melinda Katz. Graham was arraigned on a 68-count indictment, with charges that included grand larceny and identity theft. “This defendant saw this additional support for the needy as an opportunity to fill his own pockets and filed unemployment claims in various names to collect more than $150,000 in benefits,” Katz said in a statement. “This fraud during the pandemic costs our country, and our state, billions of dollars. We will not stand for this in Queens County. My Office will continue to diligently investigate these types of crimes and bring the responsible to justice.”

Amazon, Kroger and Walmart are going to begin selling at-home rapid COVID-19 tests, the Biden administration announced on Thursday. Americans will be able to buy the tests both online and in local retail stores with no retail price markup, CBS News reported. "We're proud to work with the Biden administration to increase access to affordable, high-quality, FDA-authorized tests, to keep us moving toward a full recovery," Brian Huseman, Amazon’s vice president of public policy, said. The announcement from the White House comes along with new federal rules regarding vaccine mandates, such as requiring unvaccinated workers for companies with over 100 employees test negatively for COVID-19 each week.

Alberto Rodriguez gets a COVID-19 rapid test, Monday, July 26, 2021, in Miami. Rodriguez needs a negative test to be able to visit his wife at a nursing home. Florida accounted for a fifth of the nation's new infections last week, more than any other state, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

Moderna announced on Thursday that it's working on a two-in-one vaccine booster shot that will offer protection against COVID-19 and the flu,CNBC reported. The shot consists of Moderna's current COVID-19 vaccine with a flu shot still being developed, CNBC said, citing a company press release. “Today we are announcing the first step in our novel respiratory vaccine program with the development of a single-dose vaccine that combines a booster against COVID-19 and a booster against flu,” CEO Stephane Bancel said in a statement released Thursday. “We are making progress on enrolling patients in our rare disease programs, and we are fully enrolled in our personalized cancer vaccine trial. We believe this is just the beginning of a new age of information-based medicines.”

The number of Americans who believe things are going badly in the country has hit 69%, up from 60% in March, CNN reported. August saw a sharp rise in coronavirus cases in the United States, with approval of President Joe Biden’s handling of the virus decreasing from 66% in April to 56% now. Americans are more worried about the coronavirus today than they were at the start of last summer, before vaccines were available. Democrats remain the most concerned about the virus, with 58% very worried, but Republican fears have climbed, with 27% now very worried compared to 9% last summer. The coronavirus remains the top issue facing this country according to 36% of Americans; 20% of Americans say the economy is the top issue.

The cost of hospitalization for the coronavirus is dramatically higher than the cost of getting vaccinated, which is free for American consumers, HealthDay News reported. The cost of hospitalization for the average coronavirus patient is $21,752 – around 145 times the reimbursement that Medicare pays for a single vaccination. If someone is ventilated and requires a longer hospitalization, the cost can surge to just under $50,000, more than 300 times the cost of a single vaccination. "We know the pathway to end this pandemic," U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy told CNN. "That's getting vaccinated." More than 102,000 patients in the United States are hospitalized with the coronavirus, with 27% of eligible Americans still unvaccinated.

National parks were called “America’s best idea” by renowned documentarian Ken Burns, but even these pristine landscapes are not immune to pandemic-related litter. A photographer was recently visiting Grant Teton National Park in Wyoming, located just south of Yellowstone National Park, and captured footage of a grizzly bear cub running around with a face mask in its mouth, ABC News reported. “Folks, please don’t leave your disposable masks (or any other trash) behind,” the photographer said. “It’s not hard to do better than this.”

According to a series of major studies released by the CDC, the unvaccinated were more than 10 times as likely to be hospitalized and 11 times more likely to die of COVID-19 than the vaccinated this spring and summer, The Washington Post reported. The studies, which focused on the efficacy of coronavirus vaccines, found that the Moderna vaccine was the most effective, preventing hospitalization in 95% of cases, while the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines and Johnson & Johnson vaccines were just 80% and 60% effective, respectively. Still, public health officials urge Americans to get whatever vaccine is available, as all are effective at preventing severe illness and death. “The bottom line is this: We have the scientific tools we need to turn the corner on this pandemic," CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said Friday. “Vaccination works and will protect us from the severe complications of COVID-19.”

Singapore registered 568 new cases Friday, up from just 76 new cases a week ago, the South China Morning Post reported. Officials are monitoring the demand for intensive care units, and hospitals have been told to defer non-urgent elective surgeries. More than 81% of people in Singapore are vaccinated, but some officials fear that the delta variant could overwhelm the 1,000 ICU beds the nation state has set aside for coronavirus patients. Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said that the government would like to keep the number of ICU patients below 300, as a higher number would strain hospitals. “That’s the capacity that we can handle,” he said. Currently, just seven ICU beds are taken. 

At Scotland’s NHS Highland, rising numbers of self-isolating staff and confirmed coronavirus cases have caused the cancellation of non-elective surgeries,the BBC reported. NHS Highland’s health board said that they will be prioritizing vital care, such as emergency emissions and cancer treatments. "The current levels of infection in our communities are impacting on our staff availability either due to test and protect isolation requirements or due to illness,” said Dr. Boyd Peters, NHS Highland’s Medical Director. "Our capacity to deliver the full range of services is becoming more challenging each day."

Celebrations of the Hindu god Ganesha are beginning in India, though authorities are attempting to limit virus spread ahead of a predicted third wave, AFP reported. Authorities worry that the celebrations, which feature an 11-day festival in the city of Mumbai, will further spread the virus. “Genesha god will take care of everything. It is all in his hands. If he wants, then nothing wrong will happen,” said Ravi Makwana, a stall owner who sells Genesha idols. Health officials have urged people to hold virtual prayer sessions from their homes, advice that has been largely ignored. India’s last COVID-19 wave killed more than 200,000 people, overwhelming hospitals and funeral homes. Watch the video below for more.

Australia has fared better than many countries for most of the pandemic, but the delta variant is causing cases to surge despite lockdowns. More than 1,900 new infections were reported in Australia on Friday, the highest single-day caseload since the start of the pandemic, Reuters reported. New South Wales accounts for a majority of the country’s cases, with the state reporting 1,542 infections on Friday. Officials in New South Wales said that businesses could reopen after 70% of its adult population is fully vaccinated. However, this goal may not be achieved until mid-October, with just 44% of the state’s adult population fully vaccinated, Reuters said. Australia has tallied around 70,000 cases of COVID-19 to date.

Since the start of classes in mid-August, no coronavirus outbreaks have occurred in San Francisco schools, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. No children are currently hospitalized with the virus in the city, and no kids have died from the virus since the pandemic began. Nationally, the number of pediatric coronavirus cases have surged with the back-to-school season. “The health and safety measures we have in place — including universal masking, improving ventilation, providing (personal protective equipment) and requiring all staff to be vaccinated — are keeping our schools safe,”said Superintendent Vince Matthews. Among children ages 12 to 17 in the city, 90% are fully vaccinated. 

Two special education teachers at the same South Carolina middle school died from COVID-19 complications within the same week, WSOC-TV reported., Both teachers worked at South Middle School, which announced earlier this week that seven staff members had tested positive for the virus. Despite some parents calls on social media for the school to move to remote learning, the Lancaster County School District told WSOC-TV that there are no plans to close the school. During the first week of classes alone, 125 cases were reported within the school district, of which 95 were students. In August, a 16-year-old student at Andrew Jackson High School died from coronavirus complications.

New York Jets wide receiver Jamison Crowder has been ruled out of Sunday’s game against the Carolina Panthers as he is still recovering from the coronavirus, ESPN reported. Crowder, the Jets slot receiver, was added to the COVID-19 list last Friday. Crowder, who is vaccinated, was eligible to play in the opener if he could get two negative tests 24 hours apart after being asymptomatic for 48 hours, something that has not occurred. Crowder led the Jets in receiving yards in 2019 and 2020, leaving new quarterback Zach Wilson without one of his reliable weapons.

One of the scientists that helped develop the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine said booster shots may not be necessary for many people. Sarah Gilbert, a professor at Oxford University, told the Telegraph newspaper in the United Kingdom that immunity from the vaccine was holding up well even against the delta variant, The Associated Press reported. “We will look at each situation; the immuno-compromised and elderly will receive boosters,″ she said. “But I don’t think we need to boost everybody. Immunity is lasting well in the majority of people.” Gilbert stressed the need to distribute more vaccines worldwide, rather than prioritize boosters. “We need to get vaccines to countries where few of the population have been vaccinated so far,” Gilbert said. “We have to do better in this regard. The first dose has the most impact.”

Cutting an onion may bring a tear to your eye, but can the pungent odor help ward away COVID-19? That is the latest claim that has gone viral on Facebook, suggesting that inhaling cut onions and eating a few pieces can prevent and even cure COVID-19 infections. But before you take a bite out of a raw onion like an apple, health experts have weighed in on the topic. Dr. Khin Khin Gyi, the director of the Central Infectious Disease Control Division in Myanmar, talked to AFP on the topic and debunked the claim. “That is just misinformation that is harmful,” she said, adding that onions cannot kill the virus. She explained that using onions to recover from COVID-19 can actually lead to more serious illness as it can delay necessary treatment.

As people roll up their sleeves to get vaccinated, others may soon be lifting their arms to get tested for COVID-19. A new coronavirus test is being developed that uses armpit sweat to make a diagnosis, rather than the standard PCR test that uses a nose swab, AFP reported. Chadin Kulsing from Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University looks for specific odors that are produced by people who have contracted COVID-19. This new type of test is 95% accurate, AFP reported.

People who take the test must put a cotton swab under their arm for 15 minutes before it can be processed. After this long wait, results are ready within 30 seconds, making it significantly faster than PCR tests, which need to be sent to a lab. However, it may be some time before they are in widespread use. The device is still in the development stage and a paper on the new testing method has yet to be published and peer-reviewed.

With over 70% of its population vaccinated, Denmark has ended all COVID-19 restrictions, AFP reported. Denmark is now the only country in Europe without any restrictions currently in place amid a global spike in cases due to the delta variant. Resident Klaus Sylvester said that the move is “quite liberating,” especially after having to homeschool children during part of the pandemic. However, some people are still showing signs of uncertainty when looking to the future. "Daily life is basically back to normal, but that doesn't mean there won't be any danger down the road," resident Magnus Heunicke said, according to AFP. Over the past month, Denmark has reported 25,501 cases of COVID-19 and 50 virus-related deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Amid the ongoing spread of COVID-19, Microsoft informed employees that a return to its U.S. offices has been delayed indefinitely. “Given the uncertainty of COVID-19, we’ve decided against attempting to forecast a new date for a full reopening of our U.S. work sites,” Jared Spataro, a corporate vice president with the company, wrote in a blog post, according to The Associated Press. The company had previously delayed a scheduled return to the office from September to Oct. 4. Microsoft had recently announced that it would require proof of vaccinations for employees, vendors and visitors to its U.S. offices, the AP reported. About 103,000 of Microsoft's 181,000 full-time employees work in the U.S.

In this May 18, 2020, file photo, Transportation Security Administration officers wear protective masks at a security screening area at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in SeaTac, Wash. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)

Not wearing a mask on a commercial flight is set to become even more costly. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced Thursday that it is doubling fines for travelers who ignore the federal mask mandate on public transportation, CNBC reported. Fines will begin at $500, while repeat offenders can be fined up to $3,000. Out of the nearly 4,200 reports of unruly passengers on planes this year, roughly 75% of all cases had to do with disputes over the federal mask mandate. “If you break the rules, be prepared to pay,” President Joe Biden said Thursday as he unveiled measures aimed at tackling the coronavirus. “And by the way, show some respect,” Biden said, addressing recent incidents of unruly behavior on planes. “It’s wrong. It’s ugly.”

Around 667,000 Americans rolled up their sleeves on Thursday to receive a dose of a coronavirus vaccine, down from 960,000 on Wednesday and over 1.5 million on Tuesday, according to data gathered by Johns Hopkins University. Meanwhile, the number of new infections hovered around 145,000, with nearly 2,000 virus-related deaths tallied on Thursday. The number of new cases is slightly higher than the seven-day moving average, which is 136,558, according to the CDC. Watch the video below for more information about vaccination rates and the spread of the virus worldwide.

In-person conventions are slowly regaining traction, though it could still be several years before they attract the same crowds they had before the pandemic. “People are cautious, but they’re glad to be able to get out and network with other people,” Dr. Barbara Hall told The Associated Press. Her company, JBlendz Communications, was among the exhibitors at the Black Women’s Expo in Chicago during August. It had been the largest event in its history with 432 vendors, the AP reported. Another 30,000 masked attendees gathered at the ASD Market Week, a retail trade show, in Las Vegas. However, 2020 showed that many conferences and trade shows could happen virtually, resulting in them being more accessible both for people with disabilities and others who couldn’t afford to travel, Jaiprit Virdi, an assistant professor at the University of Delaware, told the AP. Viridi, who is deaf, said while she’s relieved that in-person conferences are requiring masks for safety, masks also create barriers for her since she relies on lip-reading. “We don’t need to go back to the way things were pre-COVID, but rather embrace the lessons from the past year-and-a-half to improve how we conduct these spaces for everyone,” Virdi told the AP in an email.

Studies have shown that kids can get “long COVID” after coronavirus infections, but they’re less likely to be affected by symptoms that persist, recur or begin a month or more after infection, The Associated Press reported. The studies vary on how often the symptoms occur in kids, and one U.K. study finding about 4% of young children and teens experiencing symptoms for more than a month after getting infected. While some other studies have found higher rates of persisting symptoms, it’s generally thought that kids are less commonly affected than adults, of which an estimated 30% of COVID-19 patients develop long-term symptoms, according to the AP.

Amid the most recent wave of COVID-19 cases that has been impacting children returning to school, the Los Angeles board of education voted Thursday to require students 12 and older to be vaccinated against the virus in order to attend in-person classes, The Associated Press reported. The Los Angeles Unified School District is the second-largest school district in the nation and the largest district at the moment to impose a vaccine requirement. While the district already had health measures in place, including requiring masks indoors and outdoors and has required employees to be fully vaccinated, the new vaccination plan requires students 12 and up who participate in sports and other extracurricular activities to be fully vaccinated by the end of October, according to the AP. Others have until Dec. 19 to be fully inoculated. “It is easy to wait for someone to tell us what to do. LA Unified is leading because we must,” Mónica García, a school district board member, said before the vote. “Our communities cannot wait.”

A deadly overnight fire broke out late Wednesday at a COVID-19 field hospital in the North Macedonian city of Tetovo, killing at least 14 people and injuring a dozen others. The unit had been set up following a recent spike of coronavirus infections in the region, crowding local hospitals, The Associated Press reported. Health Minister Venko Filipce said it was not yet clear if all of the 14 people killed were COVID-19 patients or if the number included relatives who had been visiting. “It is difficult to express in words the pain that I feel for the lost lives and the loss of their families,” Filipce during a press conference Thursday evening. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, though it is currently believed to have been an accident potentially connected to the facility’s oxygen supply, according to The Associated Press.

At least four deaths in the U.S. in January 2020 may have been from COVID-19, according to a campaign from the CDC to re-analyze some of the earliest potential COVID-19 deaths in the country. The chances that the four deaths, which came from Kansas, California, Alabama and Wisconsin, actually came as the result of COVID-19 infections are low, The New York Times reported. This year, the deaths were reclassified as being “COVID-related,” however it is not clear whether that was based on the symptoms of the people or blood and tissue samples. According to the Kansas Health Department, the earliest death that occurred on Jan. 9, 2020, was reclassified solely based on the person’s symptoms, which can be very similar to the symptoms of other respiratory illnesses.

“My guess is that they’re probably not all real, maybe not even any of them,” Michael Worobey, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Arizona, said about the potential COVID cases. “If any of them are real, they’d be travel-linked cases, and that’s conceivable.”

More than 12,000 French frontline workers who worked during the coronavirus pandemic have been granted citizenship, The Guardian reported. In September 2020, the French interior ministry invited those who “actively contributed” to fighting the coronavirus pandemic to apply for a sped up naturalization process. More than 16,000 applied, and 12,000 applications were granted. “Frontline workers responded to the call of the nation, so it is right that the nation takes a step towards them,” said the citizenship minister, Marlène Schiappa. “The country pulled through thanks to them.” One worker, John Spacey, a Briton, said it was an honor to be offered citizenship. “Soon, I’ll be able to vote, will regain my freedom of movement and will finally feel fully European once more, finally feel fully integrated into the nation I’ve already come to love like my own.”

According to a study conducted at the University of Pittsburgh, the use of convalescent plasma made no significant difference in preventing serious illness in high-risk COVID-19 patients, the National Institutes of Health reported. The study analyzed 500 adults who had risk factors that made them likely to have more serious COVID-19 cases; half were given a placebo while half received convalescent plasma, sometimes described as "survivor's plasma." The plasma treatment resulted in no differences in severity, the number of hospital-free days, or death. “The results show that convalescent plasma does not appear to benefit this particular group,” says study co-author Dr. Nahed El Kassar. “But the findings answer an important clinical question and may help bring researchers a step closer to finding more effective treatments against this devastating disease.”

The 2021 NFL season officially begins Thursday night in Tampa when the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers host the Dallas Cowboys. About 93.5% of NFL players and more than 99% of football-related staff members are partially vaccinated, ESPN reports. The vaccination effort around the league has been so successful that the league's chief medical officer thinks it could serve as an example for a possible national model.

"We know we are going to have positive cases this season," Dr. Allen Sills told ESPN Wednesday. "I don't think 'COVID zero' is an attainable goal, and we all need to understand that. What we think we can do is keep our team environments as safe as possible, avoid widespread outbreaks and, with vaccinations in place, convert this into a seasonal illness as opposed to a devastating pandemic."

President Joe Biden speaks during an event to celebrate labor unions, in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

On Thursday, President Joe Biden is expected to sign a series of executive orders requiring most federal workers and contractors to get vaccinated, The New York Times reported. The order will exclude those who work for Congress and the court system but include all employees of the executive branch and the armed services. According to the New York Times, the recent surge in coronavirus cases and deaths has alarmed the Biden administration, which believes vaccines are the best route to return to normalcy. “We know that increasing vaccinations will stop the spread of the pandemic, will get the pandemic under control, will return people to normal life,” Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said Wednesday. The upcoming executive orders are part of a larger plan to increase pressure on states, private businesses and schools to mandate vaccines, The New York Times reported. Watch the video below for more.

United States Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh announced earlier this week that COVID-19 essential workers will be inducted into the United States Department of Labor Hall of Honor. "It's never been more clear our economy, our community, our very own lives depends on working people, " Walsh said. "Our country will never and must never forget that--what the essential workers and workers have done in the last 18 months."

"Throughout this pandemic, workers on the front lines have helped keep us safe, fed and moving forward– and we’re deeply grateful," a statement on the Labor Department's website reads. The Labor Department has set up a website for people to nominate essential workers for this honor.

The World Health Organization, noting that 80% of all vaccines distributed globally have gone to high- or upper-middle income countries, is again calling for a moratorium on third doses until vaccine distribution becomes more equal, CNBC reported. The WHO is asking world leaders to not distribute boosters until the end of 2021. “There has been little change in the global situation since then, so today I am calling for an extension of the moratorium until at least the end of the year to enable every country to vaccinate at least 40% of its population,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a briefing Wednesday. Many countries have opted to ignore the WHO, including Israel, Russia, and Hungary, who have offered third doses to a significant portion of their populations, The Times of Israel reported. The United States is planning to begin its booster shot campaign on Sept. 20.

Data gathered by Johns Hopkins University shows that there were 2,146 coronavirus-related deaths across the U.S. on Wednesday, the highest daily death toll so far this week. The country also added an additional 176,710 new infections, which was more than four times higher than India, the country with the second-highest reported case count on Wednesday. However, in terms of vaccinations, India led the world with 8.25 million doses administered, according to Johns Hopkins University. For more information about the virus and the global vaccination effort, watch the video below.

In order to prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed, Japan has extended its coronavirus restrictions on Tokyo and other regions until the end of September, Reuters reported. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said that Japan’s medical system still needed support, despite vaccinations rising and new cases decreasing. "Inoculation of all those who wish to be vaccinated will be completed in October or November," Suga said. "And from then, we will be able to ease restrictions by using proof of vaccination or testing results." Suga’s popularity within Japan has fallen due to the country’s handling of the coronavirus, which surged to new heights following the Olympic Games. Last week, Suga announced he would step down as prime minister.

Missouri is experiencing a spike in coronavirus cases among those aged 5-19 as students return to the classroom for in-person instruction in the new school year. According to The Associated Press, 2,964 cases have been reported across nearly two dozen school districts in the past two weeks. At least one of the schools has been closed for cleaning due to an outbreak in the school. In the Pleasant Hill school district, located southeast of Kansas City, 7% of the district’s population was told to quarantine due to COVID-19 exposures, the AP said. The district has since approved a mask mandate to help prevent future outbreaks in the school.

A dairy farmer in Stafford, England, is just one of many business owners across the U.K. experiencing “constant worry” due to driver shortages amid the pandemic. Over the past weekend, Henry Bloxham was told to dump thousands of liters of milk since there were no drivers to come pick up the order, the BBC reported. Typically, he is not allowed to sell his product to other companies, but due to the circumstances surrounding the driver shortages, he was allowed to sell 6,000 liters elsewhere rather than pouring all the milk down the drain. It is estimated that there are 100,000 fewer drivers across the U.K. now compared to times before the pandemic, the BBC said.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s ban on mask mandates in state schools took a major blow on Wednesday after a judge ruled that the state cannot enforce the ban, The Associated Press reported. Leon County Circuit Judge John C. Cooper cited evidence that wearing a mask does provide some protection from contracting COVID-19. However, this is not the final say on the ban. Appeals courts are still working on sorting out whether DeSantis’s ban is legal, which he signed back on July 30, the AP said.

The FBI is investigating three Vermont state troopers who allegedly created fake coronavirus vaccination cards, CBS News reported. Details about the creation of the fake cards were not provided since it is an active investigation, but the three officers in question have already resigned. “If these allegations are proved to be true, it is reprehensible that state troopers would manipulate vaccination cards in the midst of a pandemic, when being vaccinated is one of the most important steps anyone can take to keep their community safe from COVID-19,” Vermont State Police Director Colonel Matthew Birmingham said. According to CBS News, the number of fake vaccination cards is on the rise amid the surge associated with the delta variant, not just in Vermont, but also worldwide.

Bulgaria is dealing with a rapid surge of coronavirus infections thanks to the delta variant, and many in the country remain hesitant to get the vaccine, The Associated Press reported. Only 20% of adults in the country are fully vaccinated out of a total population of 7 million. It has the lowest vaccination rate in the European Union, which includes 27 nations across the continent. About 69% of the EU population is vaccinated, the AP reports. Krasimira Nikolova, a 52-year-old restaurant worker, told the AP that she chose not to get the vaccine due to doubts over its effectiveness. “I don’t believe vaccines work,” she told the AP. “I already had the virus. I don’t believe it’s so dangerous.” At a hospital in the northern town of Veliko Tarnovo, Yordanka Minekova, the chief vaccination nurse there said "we are open every day." “But people who want to be vaccinated are very few.”

A staff distributes free masks before the "We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert" in New York's Central Park, Saturday, Aug. 21, 2021. We Love NYC, The Homecoming Concert celebrate its recovery from the coronavirus pandemic despite surging cases and hospitalizations due to the delta variant. (AP Photo/Jeenah Moon)

(AP Photo/Jeenah Moon)

COVID-19 is likely “here to stay with us” as the virus continues to mutate, global health officials said Tuesday. “I think this virus is here to stay with us and it will evolve like influenza pandemic viruses, it will evolve to become one of the other viruses that affects us,” Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of the World Health Organization’s Health Emergencies Program, said at a press briefing. Other health experts have previously voiced similar warnings, and WHO officials said that if the world had taken early steps to stop the spread of the virus, the situation today could have been different, CNBC reported. “We had a chance in the beginning of this pandemic,” Maria Van Kerhove, WHO’s technical lead on COVID-19, said Tuesday. “This pandemic did not need to be this bad.”

Vaccine hesitancy is on the decline as the U.S. sees surges driven by the delta variant, a poll by ABC News and The Washington Post. Vaccine hesitancy, defined as people who say they definitely or probably will not get the coronavirus vaccine, dropped from 32% as of Jan. 13, 2021, to 17% as of Sept. 1, 2021, the poll found. However, many still hold out on receiving the vaccine. Even with the FDA’s approval of the Pfizer vaccine, only 16% of unvaccinated Americans said the move made them more likely to get the jab. An astounding 82% said it made no difference. Among those who work, only 16% said they would get vaccinated if their employer required it, with many more saying they’d quit, the poll found.

The U.S. saw its largest number of pediatric COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began after more than 252,000 children were diagnosed with the disease last week. They represented 26.8% of all reported COVID-19 cases that week, ABC News reported, and by region, the South had the highest number of pediatric cases with 140,000 cases. “We’re calling this the fourth wave, but it has been by far the most impactful surge, really hitting at children and adolescents.” Dr. James Versalovic, Pathologist-in-chief at the Texas Children’s Hospital, told ABC's Good Morning America. The surge comes at a time when children are returning to school while the majority are not vaccinated against COVID-19. Only about 37.7% of children ages 12 to 15 and 46.4% of adolescents ages 16 to 17 are fully vaccinated against the virus, according to ABC News. “This is a war against COVID. It is not over. We are very much in the middle of the battle,” Dr. Steven Emerson, Chief Clinical Officer at Saint Alphonsus Health System in Boise, Idaho.

South Korean health authorities are working on plans for how to live more normally with COVID-19 as 80% of adults are expected to be fully vaccinated by late October, Reuters reported. "We'll review measures that will allow us to live more normally, but any such switch will be implemented only when we achieve high vaccination rates and overall (COVID-19) situations stabilize," Son Young-rae, a senior health ministry official, told reporters, Reuters reported. Currently, about 42.6% of South Korea's adult population is fully vaccinated. Once the new strategy is implemented, masks will still be required in the initial phase, Reuters said.

Following a year in which crowds almost didn't exist due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the first full weekend of the college football season saw stadiums roar back to life this weekend. More than 66,000 packed Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Virginia, and went wild to the sounds of Metallica's "Enter Sandman," while a packed Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin jumped around in unison to House of Pain's "Jump Around." The stands were packed with delirious college football fans screaming and hollering during some wildly entertaining games. But Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, didn't think having such large crowds of maskless fans was a good idea. “I don’t think it’s smart,” Fauci said during a CNN interview, according to The Hill. “Outdoors is always better than indoors, but even when you have such a congregate setting of people close together,” Fauci said. Fauci went on to say that he expected more schools and companies to mandate vaccines in order for people to get into events. “The rule is going to be if you want to participate, you get vaccinated. If not, sorry, you are not going to be able to do it,” Fauci said.

More than 1.5 million COVID-19 vaccine doses were distributed throughout the U.S. on Tuesday, according to Johns Hopkins University statistics, meaning 155 million Americans are fully vaccinated -- good for 54% of the population. Meanwhile, new cases and fatalities remained at high levels nationwide. More than 261,000 new cases were recorded over the 24-hour period, and 1,513 fatalities were blamed on the coronaviruson Tuesday. Worldwide, no other country was even close to the U.S. in terms of new cases discovered on Tuesday. India reported the second-highest number of new cases globally with more than 37,000. For a closer look at the vaccination effort and how the virus is spreadking, watch the video below.

Three people in Japan have died after getting injected with a contaminated batch of Moderna vaccines, though no link has been found between the doses and the reported deaths, The Guardian reported. The newest reported death, a 49-year-old man who died the day after receiving his second shot on Aug. 11, had no previous health issues other than an allergy to buckwheat. The shot he received came from a batch of Moderna vaccines that were found to have stainless steel in them, leading to a recall of 1.63 million doses. “The rare presence of stainless steel particles in the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine does not pose an undue risk to patient safety and it does not adversely affect the benefit/risk profile of the product,” Moderna and local distributor Takeda Pharmaceutical said in a joint statement.

The daily coronavirus positivity rate in Indonesia has dropped below 5%, a welcome sign that the country’s second wave may be beginning to ease, Reuters reported. The country’s positivity rate fell to 4.57% on Monday, the lowest it has been since March 2020. According to the World Health Organization, a positivity rate above 5% indicates the coronavirus is out of control. According to Johns Hopkins University figures, the positivity rate in the United States is currently 16.7%. Coronavirus restrictions in Indonesia have been eased, but President Joko Widodo urged the country not to get complacent. "People need to realize that COVID is always lurking," he said. "When our guards are down, [cases] can increase again."

The United Kingdom may not have seen the last of its COVID-19 lockdowns. While an official spokesperson for U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s office said that the government wasn’t planning a lockdown or “firebreak” around the October half-term, he made clear that restrictions such as a two-week lockdown remained an option if the National Health Service (NHS) became overwhelmed. “We have retained contingency plans as part of responsible planning for a range of scenarios, but these kind of measures would only be reintroduced as a last resort to prevent unsustainable pressure on our NHS,” he told The Guardian. The contingency plan comes as some scientists warn that restrictions could be necessary in the coming months with cases expected to rise this autumn. While some scientists have seen merit in the idea of a firebreaker lockdown, others have warned that the lockdowns won’t be enough without other precautions such as vaccinating younger people and including masking indoors and large gathering limitations.

A total lockdown remains imposed in Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City as hospitals in the city struggle to deal with an influx of coronavirus patients, Al Jazeera reported. Despite the strict restrictions, more than 200 people are dying a day and thousands of infections continue to be reported. “It’s depressing. It’s heartbreaking,” said Trang, a medical volunteer who only gave her first name. “One doctor now has to treat maybe 200 to 1,000 patients. Some people blame the government; some people blame the medical system, but nobody wants this.” Some doctors are having to work 24-hour shifts and deal with the losses of their own loved ones while trying to save others. More than 7,000 new cases and 233 deaths were reported Monday.

What some scientists have called “superhuman immunity” has been identified in a series of studies this summer, NPR reported. These studies have found that people with a hybrid exposure to the virus – being exposed to COVID-19 in 2020 and immunized with an mRNA vaccine this year – show “amazing” results from the vaccine, said virologist Theodora Hatziioannou. "I think they are in the best position to fight the virus. The antibodies in these people's blood can even neutralize SARS-CoV-1, the first coronavirus, which emerged 20 years ago. That virus is very, very different from SARS-CoV-2," Hatziioannou said. Hatziioannou and her colleagues don't know if everyone who was infected with COVID-19 and then got vaccinated will have a similar response, though she believes it is common. "With every single one of the patients we studied, we saw the same thing," Hatziioannou said. The study reports data on 14 patients.

India is bracing for another possible surge in infections around its upcoming festival season. For many healthcare facilities around the country, this means adding more beds and stocking up on oxygen. Back in April, New Delhi’s premier Sir Ganga Ram Hospital and others faced a shortage in oxygen, and many patients in the capital suffocated, Reuters reported. Now, the hospital is raising its oxygen storage capacity by 50%. Along with installing a pipeline that will carry oxygen directly to COVID-19 ICUs and other equipment to keep oxygen flow high, Ganga Ram has ordered an onsite oxygen-generation plant. “In light of the possibility of the emergence of coronavirus mutants, with higher transmissibility and immune escape the hospital continues to prepare for the worst,” Satendra Katoch, medical director of the hospital, told Reuters.

The mu variant, which was first identified in Colombia in January, has now spread to 49 states and the District of Columbia, FOX News reported. Health experts are watching the prevalence of the variant, which initial data suggests could be vaccine resistant, to see if it can outpace delta. Nationwide, delta is still by far the most dominant vaccine strain, with the mu variant representing less than 1% of all cases sampled.Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s leading infectious disease expert, has said that the mu variant is “not an immediate threat." Still, some local health departments are sounding the alarm. In Los Angeles County, health officials announced that the mu variant was tied to at least 167 cases between June and August. "The identification of variants like mu, and the spreading of variants across the globe, highlights the need for L.A. County residents to continue to take measures to protect themselves and others," Dr. Barbara Ferrer, director of LA County Public Health, said.

Brazil has begun giving booster shots to the elderly in hopes of slowing the spread of the delta variant, Bloomberg reported. Brazil vastly ramped up its vaccination rollout in August, averaging more than 2 million inoculations a day. In some Brazilian states, more than 97% of adults have received the first dose, though less than 30% of the country has been fully vaccinated. “I am very happy, very happy, because I am going to be vaccinated and can return to work, something I have not been able to do since March of last year,” said Abdias Do Nascimento, a 67-year-old nursing home resident. Watch the video below for more.

Due to a massive surge in coronavirus patients and a severe shortage of staffing and available beds in hospitals in the northern part of the state, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare (DHW) activated "crisis standards of care" on Tuesday. The DHW said the crisis standards of care help "healthcare providers and systems decide how to deliver the best care possible under the extraordinary circumstances of an overwhelming disaster or public health emergency." These are typically used when there are not enough healthcare resources to provide the usual standards of care to people who may need it, the DHW said.

“We have reached an unprecedented and unwanted point in the history of our state. We have taken so many steps to avoid getting here, but yet again we need to ask more Idahoans to choose to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. More Idahoans need to choose to receive the vaccine so we can minimize the spread of the disease and reduce the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations, many of which involve younger Idahoans and are preventable with safe and effective vaccines,” Idaho Gov. Brad Little said in a statement. Idaho has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the U.S. and cases have skyrocketed there in recent weeks, The Associated Press reported. Some medical experts say the state could have 30,000 new coronavirus cases a week by mid-September, the AP reported.

While COVID-19 is still the primary cause of concern for most Americans, the flu is expected to surge this winter despite nearly disappearing last year, NPR reported. Some healthcare professionals worry that Americans will be reluctant to roll up their sleeves again, but they strongly recommend that Americans receive the flu vaccine. "Two reasons make getting vaccinated against the flu the wise choice," said Dr. William Schaffner, the medical director of the National Foundation of Infectious Diseases. "First, it's been proven year after year that you're in better shape to fight off the flu if you get the vaccine. Second, by getting vaccinated against the flu, you help protect the people around you." With flu season beginning in October, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging Americans to get their flu shots by the end of October.

As variants spread across the U.S., Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, stressed that there’s an important step that adults can take to protect children who are too young to be vaccinated against COVID-19. “The way you protect children who, because of their age, cannot get vaccinated yet is to surround the children — be it friends, family, school teachers, personnel in the school — surround the children with vaccinated people,” Fauci told CNN on Sunday. A recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that more children have needed ER visits and hospitalizations in states with lower vaccination rates. Fauci also warned that if the U.S. wanted to continue in-person learning, people would have to wear masks.

The University of Georgia's football program is seeing a spike in coronavirus cases, all of which so far have been among fully vaccinated players, the Athens Banner-Herald reported. Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart has said the vaccination rate for his team is over 90%. “I’ll be honest with you guys, I’m as concerned as I’ve ever been because we have three or four guys out,” said Smart, whose team next plays this Saturday. “We have a couple of staff members that have been out with COVID here recently. For us, we’re at our highest spike.” While none of Georgia’s starters were out in their game against Clemson last Saturday, Georgia’s director of sports medicine, Ron Courson, tested positive and was forced to miss the game. “It’s killing [Ron], I think to not be here. His health seems good. Hopefully, he’ll be back.”

New York’s Spring/Summer 2022 Fashion Week has returned to having in-person runway shows after the last two fashion weeks were forced online by the coronavirus pandemic, the AFP reported. However, the effects of COVID-19 are still seen at the event. Many international participants will not be able to travel to the United States, which many countries have prohibited travel to as a result of surge of infections. Additionally, all guests and participants must be vaccinated, audience sizes are limited, some digital presentations will continue and many events will be outdoors. "This is an important moment for New York, and we're proud to support the city and the industry," said fashion designer Michael Kors.

The United States has now tallied more than 40 million coronavirus cases since the first official case was reported some 593 days ago back on Jan. 21, 2020. On Monday, more than 73,000 new cases were tallied across the country and another 530 fatalities were blamed on the virus, according to figures tracked by Johns Hopkins University. The national death toll is on the verge of reaching 650,000 as of Tuesday morning. Meanwhile, the nationwide seven-day positivity rated has soared to 16.7%, according to Johns Hopkins University statistics, higher than it's been at any point since late April 2020.

On Monday, Cuba became the first country to offer vaccines to kids as young as two after completing clinical trials on its two Cuban-made vaccines, the AFP reported. The two vaccines that Cuba offers, Abdala and Soberana, are not recognized by the World Health Organization as they have not undergone an international, scientific peer review. Cuba has not yet reopened its schools and plans to inoculate its child population before doing so. Other nations have begun to announced plans to vaccinate children, including China, the United Arab Emirates, and Chile, which on Monday approved the Chinese vaccine Sinovac for those under 12.

As Americans seeking a taste of normalcy packed into crowded college football stadiums, returned their kids to school and traveled to hard-hit states like Florida, some worry that a new coronavirus surge looms on the horizon, the Today show reported. Outbreaks of COVID-19 are also becoming more common in school settings, where unvaccinated children gather, sometimes without masks. In Kentucky, 1 in 5 school districts had to temporarily close due to a rise in infections. Additionally, with the mu variant spreading to nearly every state in the country, some are concerned that a new variant could drive a new wave of disease. Dr. Fauci described the mu variant as not being an immediate threat, though initial data has demonstrated that it may be vaccine resistant. Watch the video below for more.

Florida has been in the midst of its deadliest wave of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, driven by the delta variant, The Associated Press reported. While the state has a slightly higher vaccination rate than the national average, it also has a high population of elderly people, who are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19, a persistent party scene, and a governor who has largely stood against mask requirements, vaccine passports and business shutdowns. Even when taking into account that the state’s most recent figures on COVID-19 fatalities per day are incomplete, Florida was averaging 244 deaths per day as of mid-August, eclipsing its previous peak of 27 during the summer of 2020, according to the AP.

In the Italian provinces worst-hit by the coronavirus, the life expectance for Italy’s men dropped by more than four years,The Associated Press reported. Italy’s nationwide life expectancy dropped by 1.2 years. “In 2020, the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and the sharp increase in the risk of mortality that derived from it abruptly interrupted the increase of life expectancy at birth that had marked a trend up to 2019," ISTAT, Italy’s national statistics bureau, said. In the provinces of Bergamo, Cremona, and Lodi, the life expectance for men decreased by 4.3 to 4.5 years, while women saw a decrease of 2.9 to 3.2 years.

A man in Vietnam will be spending the next five years of his life in jail after violating quarantine rules and infecting others with the coronavirus, Reuters reported. The man, Le Van Tri, 28, was convicted of “spreading dangerous infectious diseases,” according to Vietnam’s state-run Vietnam News Agency. "Tung travelled back to Ca Mau from Ho Chi Minh City ... and breached the 21-day quarantine regulations," the news agency said, adding that he infected eight people, one of whom later died. Vietnam, which had nearly eliminated all coronavirus cases in the country until the spring of 2020, has now reported more than 536,000 infections and 13,385 coronavirus deaths, most of which occurred in the past few months.

Wealthy countries across the globe could have a surplus of over one billion COVID-19 vaccine doses combined between them by the end of the year that are not designated to be donated,Al Jazeera reported. This month, vaccine supplies in western countries reached 500 million doses with 360 million not designated to be donated, and with that number expected to rise throughout the year, 1.06 billion doses are anticipated to be surplus that will not be donated. A full report on the findings will be published on Sept. 7, and focuses on the U.S., U.K., E.U., Canada and Japan. 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady contracted COVID-19 shortly after attending the Buccaneers' Super Bowl 55 championship boat parade in February, NFL.com reports. Brady told the Tampa Bay Times of his COVID diagnosis in a recent interview, and said he believes that the league will face additional challenges in the sport this year due to the coronavirus. "I think it's going to be challenging this year," Brady said. "I actually think it's going to play more of a factor this year than last year, just because of the way what we're doing now and what the stadium is going to look like and what the travel is going to look like and the people in the building and the fans.” 

Despite the wide availability of vaccines, new coronavirus infections in the United States are 316% higher today than they were on Labor Day in 2020, USA Today reported. The number of daily deaths are also nearly twice as high, with hospitalizations up 158%. The highly contagious delta variant and a substantial number of Americans unwilling to get vaccinated are blamed by experts for the surge in cases, which is threatening to cause hospitals to ration ICU beds. "You leave work at the end of the day just exhausted by the effort it takes to (dig) that compassion up for people who are not taking care of themselves and the people around them,” said Risa Moriarity, the executive vice chair of the University of Mississippi Medical Center’s emergency department.

Over a 10-day span, 15 staff members of Miami-Dade County Public Schools have died of COVID-19. Classes in the school district resumed on Aug. 23, however, it is unclear when the staff members who died contracted the virus, according to News 4 Jax. Last month, Miami-Dade’s school district defied Gov. Ron DeSantis by issuing a mask mandate. On Friday, DeSantis filed an appeal after a judge determined that a statewide ban on mask mandates exceeded the state's authority. The case will now make its way to the 1st District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee. 

Over 1,000 schools across the U.S. have closed for in-person classes due to COVID-19 since the school year began this year, according to data service Burbio which tracks school reopening trends. The schools, which span 35 states, have faced closures that have lasted from one day all the way to multiple weeks, USA Today reported. The majority of closures resulted in temporary remote learning, while some resulted in a delayed start to the school year or a hybrid format.

A study has shown that an additional dose of Sinovac Biotech’s COVID-19 vaccine boosts antibody activity against the delta variant, Reuters reported. Before this study's release, some countries which had heavily relied on the use of the Chinese-made Sinovac vaccine had been distributing booster shots made by Western nations. According to the study, those who receive a Sinovac booster shot show a level of protection against delta four weeks after their booster shot comparable to the level of protection seen four weeks after their second dose. Those who did not receive a booster demonstrated no antibody activity against delta after six months. The Sinovac vaccine has been shipped globally, with the World Health Organization planning to distribute nearly 100 million doses to Africa and Asia by the end of September. Some countries have turned down the vaccine, citing data on its lack of effectiveness against the delta variant.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is warning that his state is seeing a “dire” surge of the coronavirus that threatens Kentucky’s health care capacity, Axios reported. Kentucky is averaging over 4,400 new coronavirus cases a day. “If I had the ability to do it right now, we would have a masking order when you are in public and indoors,” Beshear told NBC News. “We know that’s a proven way to slow the spread of the virus and ultimately help our health care capacity.” Beshear has called an emergency legislative session to tackle the rise in cases and has asked the state legislature to extend Kentucky’s state of emergency declaration until January 2022.

In an effort to get more of its citizens vaccinated, Greece has begun administering coronavirus shots in church yards, The Associated Press reported. The vaccination program was announced in August, with Mobile National Health Organization units set to administer vaccine doses outside churches starting on the island of Crete and later expanding to major population centers across the country. “There is no solution to this great danger ravaging humanity other than the vaccines," said Father Andreas Kaliontzakis, priest of the Church of Virgin Mary, outside which a vaccination drive was taking place. "It is a one-way-street and as a church we thought that we have to stand with the people.” Out of the around 11 million people in Greece, more than 5.7 million have been fully vaccinated.

More than 648,000 Americans, roughly 1 out of every 510 Americans, has died of COVID-19, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University, ABC News reported. The United States remains in the middle of a surge of new COVID-19 cases attributed to the delta variant, with hospitals struggling to keep up with rising hospitalizations and deaths. Despite this, Labor Day weekend largely looked like a return to normalcy, with packed college football stadiums and a near-normal number of Americans flying over the holiday weekend. The country is averaging nearly 150,000 new infections per day, along with more than 1,100 new deaths.

Starting today, an estimated 8.9 people will lose expanded pandemic-era unemployment benefits, The Associated Press reported. The federal eviction moratorium, another crucial COVID-era safety net, ended in August. Both programs expired even as the coronavirus continues to surge in the United States, likely slowing the economic recovery. “This will be a double whammy of hardship,” said Jamie Contreras, secretary-treasurer of the Service Employers International Union. “We’re not anywhere near done. People still need help. ... For millions of people nothing has changed from a year and a half ago.” Some key programs are still available, including rental aid and an expanded child tax credit.

A World Cup qualifier meant to be played between Argentina and Brazil was suspended by Brazilian health officials just minutes after it kicked off on Sunday due to claims that Argentinian players that were participating had broken the rules of quarantine, Reuters reported. Brazilian health authorities declared the situation "a serious health risk" and ordered all players to quarantine immediately. "The referee and the match official will take a report to the FIFA Disciplinary Committee and they will decide what steps to take," according to a statement from CONMEBOL.

Brazil and Argentina's player talk as the soccer game is interrupted by health authorities during a qualifying soccer match for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 at Neo Quimica Arena stadium in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sunday, Sept.5, 2021. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

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