(Fighting against New Coronary Pneumonia) New Zealand will adjust epidemic prevention measures

　　China News Service, Beijing, March 21. Comprehensive news: According to statistics from Johns Hopkins University in the United States, as of 14:15 on the 21st Beijing time, there were 470,740,762 confirmed cases and 6,077,597 deaths worldwide.

　　Americas: US expert Fauci says now is far from the time to declare victory over the new crown

　　According to statistics from Johns Hopkins University, as of 18:00 Eastern Time on the 20th, a total of 79,733,159 confirmed cases of new coronary pneumonia and 971,162 deaths have been reported in the United States.

In the past week as of the 20th, there were an average of 30,500 new confirmed cases and 879 new deaths per day in the United States.

　　The US Consumer News and Business Channel quoted US health experts as saying that the BA.2 evolutionary branch of the Omicron variant may soon lead to another increase in the number of confirmed cases of new crowns in the United States.

Officials such as Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said that the BA.2 clades of the Omikron variant are about 50% to 60% more transmissible than the Omikron strain. There is currently no evidence that infection with this clade leads to more severe symptoms.

It is estimated that the BA.2 clades infected by the Omicron variant account for about 25% or 30% of the current new cases in the United States.

　　Anthony Fauci warned in an interview with ABC on the 20th that the BA.2 evolutionary branch of the Omicron variant has caused a surge in the number of cases in Europe, and the United States should prepare.

He said now is far from the time to declare victory over Covid-19.

Americans must be "flexible" and "ready" to resume coronavirus restrictions if the number of cases surges.

　　Europe: UK to get second booster dose for over 75s

　　The NHS will begin implementing the spring booster vaccination program on the 21st local time, providing a second booster dose of the new crown vaccine to people over 75, residents of nursing homes and people over 12 who are immunosuppressed or have a weakened immune system.

　　The above-mentioned people can receive the second booster dose 6 months after receiving the first dose of the new crown vaccine booster.

The program covers about 5 million people.

Health Secretary Javid urged people to get vaccinated as soon as they were notified by the NHS.

　　The number of new coronavirus infections in the UK continues to rise.

According to the Office for National Statistics, one in 20 people in the UK are currently infected with the new coronavirus.

The main reason for the sharp rise in the number of cases in the UK is the rapid spread of the BA.2 clade of the Omicron variant.

　　According to data released by the French public health department on the 20th, as of the afternoon of the same day, the cumulative number of confirmed cases of new coronary pneumonia in France reached 24,137,190, with 81,283 new cases in 24 hours; the cumulative number of deaths reached 140,933, with 30 new cases in 24 hours.

　　Asia: India's daily new diagnoses hit a 23-month low

　　According to data released by the Indian Ministry of Health on the morning of the 21st, in the past 24 hours, there were 1,549 new confirmed cases in the country, with a total of 43,009,390 cases; 31 new deaths, a total of 516,510 cases.

India's current test positivity rate is 0.4%.

According to local media statistics, this is also the lowest number of newly confirmed cases in a single day in India in about 23 months.

　　According to Yonhap News Agency, South Korea’s Central Epidemic Prevention and Control Headquarters reported on the 21st that as of 0:00 that day, South Korea had added 209,169 new cases of new coronavirus infections compared with 0:00 the previous day, with a total of 9,582,815 cases.

The number of confirmed cases in a single day decreased by 125,539 from the previous day, which is the first time that the number of newly confirmed cases in a single day in South Korea dropped below 300,000 after 10 days.

The number of new confirmed cases in a single day has been decreasing for four consecutive days since it hit a record high (621,281 cases) on the 17th.

　　Vietnam News Agency reported that as of 16:00 on the 20th, there were 141,151 new confirmed cases in Vietnam that day, with a total of 7,958,048 cases; at the same time, Vietnam also added 63 new deaths.

　　According to the Singapore Ministry of Health, Singapore added 7,859 confirmed cases on the 20th, with a total of 1,015,017 cases; 4 new deaths were added, with a total of 1,198 cases.

This is the first time in Singapore that the number of newly confirmed cases in a single day has dropped below 10,000 again after a lapse of five days.

Lianhe Zaobao reported that although the weekly growth rate of cases in Singapore increased slightly from 0.7 on the 19th to 0.71 on the 20th, it has been below 1 for 19 consecutive days, which means that the increase in community cases in Singapore has slowed down.

　　Africa and Oceania: New Zealand to adjust epidemic prevention measures

　　According to data from the African Center for Disease Control and Prevention, as of the 20th, there have been 11,299,430 confirmed cases and 250,632 deaths in the region.

　　Local media reported that New Zealand Prime Minister Ardern will announce adjustments to epidemic prevention and control measures on the 23rd.

At present, the New Zealand government is reviewing the vaccine pass system for entering various venues and the vaccine authorization system for various occupations.

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