The Australian Open in Melbourne is underway, but without any spectators.
Instead of enjoying the tournament, tennis fans and the millions of people who live in Victoria state are under a five-day snap shutdown, following a coronavirus outbreak at a quarantine hotel in Melbourne, Victoria’s capital.
Tennis players have been classified as essential workers.
Germany is banning travel from its Czech border regions and Austria’s Tyrol because of an alarming COVID surge in the two locations. The restrictions go into effect Sunday.
Missionaries in some remote areas of Brazil have convinced some Indigenous people that the COVID-19 vaccine is not good for them. The residents of one Amazon village picked up bows and arrows to fight off healthcare workers set on inoculating the region’s residents.
Brazil has 9.7 million COVID-19 cases, coming in third place in the world’s infections, behind only India with 10. 8 million and the U.S. with 27.3 million cases. There are more than 107 million global infections.
In US, N95 mask shortage
In Washington, the White House is working with mask manufacturers and medical supply companies to ensure that frontline workers have the N95 masks they desperately need.
U.S. President Joe Biden’s coronavirus response coordinator read in The New York Times about the disconnect between mask makers, supply companies and hospitals and has begun facilitating connections. Jeffrey D. Zients said in a statement, “We will do all we can to get frontline workers the personal protective equipment they need, including breaking down barriers for N95 manufacturers.”
“The COVID-19 pandemic has been a stark reminder of the importance of integrating mental health into preparedness and response plans for public health emergencies,” said Dévora Kestel, the World Health Organization’s director of the Department of Mental Health and Substance Use at a recent executive board meeting. “The inclusion of this issue at the next session of the World Health Assembly is an important next step towards being better prepared to provide people with the support they need for their mental health during future public health emergencies.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has killed more than 2.3 million people worldwide, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.
