The latest:
The Philippines recorded 14,749 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, its second-largest daily increase, and an additional 270 deaths — its third-highest one-day spike in fatalities, as the spread of the virulent delta variant overwhelms hospitals and health-care workers.
The country of nearly 110 million people has now reported more than 1.7 million confirmed cases since the start of the pandemic and more than 30,000 deaths.
The Health Ministry also said it has detected the first case of COVID-19’s lambda variant in the country and reminded the public to strictly observe minimum public health standards.
The World Health Organization classifies lambda as a “variant of interest,” which was first identified in Peru in December, as laboratory studies showed it has mutations that resist vaccine-induced antibodies.
The country is battling one of Asia’s worst coronavirus outbreaks, and small hospitals near the capital region are getting overwhelmed by surging cases.
A 50-bed public hospital in Binan city, south of the capital, is trying to treat 100 to 200 patients, most of them in corridors and tents separated by curtains in the parking lot, Dr. Melbril Alonte, its medical director, told DZMM radio
“The sad truth is patients continue to increase, and there are no signs of it easing,” Alonte said, adding that the facility’s nurses and doctors are already getting sick from exhaustion.
Dozens of nurses could resign over months of unpaid special risk allowance, Jocelyn Andamo, secretary general of Filipino Nurses United, told Reuters. Health-care workers will hold a nationwide protest next week, she said.
The Manila capital region, an urban sprawl of 16 cities that is home to more than 13 million people, remains under a strict lockdown to contain the spread of the delta variant.
Only about 11 per cent of the country’s 110 million people are fully immunized. Nearly a quarter of the country’s 1,291 hospitals are at the critical risk level — with occupancy rates at or above 85 per cent — government data showed on Saturday.
What’s happening in Canada
![](https://thumbnails.cbc.ca/maven_legacy/thumbnails/171/687/VACCINE-MANDATE-CDA-DHANRAJ-130821.jpg?crop=1.777xh:h;*,*&downsize=510px:* 510w")
The federal government announced a sweeping new mandate requiring all federal government employees and those working in federally regulated industries, including air and train travel, to be vaccinated against COVID-19. 2:26
What’s happening around the world
As of Sunday evening, more than 207 million cases of COVID-19 had been reported around the world, according to the coronavirus tracker maintained by U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University. The reported global death toll stood at more than 4.3 million.
In the Americas, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Sunday that all of the counties in the states of Connecticut and Massachusetts are the sites of high or substantial transmission of the coronavirus. The rise of transmission in the two states mirrors a nationwide and regional trend.
Some health authorities are recommending that even vaccinated people go back to wearing masks indoors in areas of high or substantial transmission. That includes almost all of New England. The CDC reported that every county in the six-state region was the site of high or substantial transmission on Sunday except Orange County, Vermont, and Kennebec County, Maine.
In Europe, daily coronavirus deaths in Russia exceeded 800 for the fourth straight day on Sunday, with the authorities reporting 816 new fatalities.
Russia faced a surge of infections last month that officials have blamed on the spread of the delta variant. New confirmed cases soared from about 9,000 a day in early June to 25,000 a day in mid-July. New infections have since decreased slightly to about 21,000 daily this week, but the daily death toll has remained high.
In Asia, Vietnam’s Health Ministry on Sunday reported 9,580 new COVID-19 infections, exceeding more than 9,000 new cases for a fourth day running, as the Southeast Asian country battles against its worst outbreak yet.
In Africa, the delta surge has touched off a vaccination rush across Africa that the slow trickle of donated doses can’t keep up with.
In Congo, health experts were awaiting a Sunday shipment of more COVID-19 second doses, said Dr. Jean-Jacques Muyembe, who is co-ordinating the government’s pandemic response. Some 81,910 people have been vaccinated with AstraZeneca since the start of the vaccination campaign in April, and more than 4,000 people have returned for the second dose. AstraZeneca is out of stock there.
Meanwhile, many Ugandans seeking a first dose of vaccine are competing with hundreds of thousands who have waited months for a second dose, but the country now has only 285,000 shots donated by Norway.
