(Reuters) – Here’s what you need to know about the coronavirus right now:
India reports more than 500,000 COVID deaths, experts count millions more
India’s death toll from COVID-19 rose past 500,000 on Friday, a level many health experts say was breached last year but obscured by inaccurate surveys and uncounted dead in the hinterlands, where millions remain vulnerable to the disease.
Last month, the government eased testing norms and told states to drop mandatory testing for contacts of confirmed cases unless they were old or battling other conditions. But, with the number of tests falling, the government issued a revised circular warning states that they would miss the spread of the virus.
Australia may use defence forces to help COVID-hit aged-care sector
Australia could use its defence forces to help manage a COVID-19 outbreak in the aged-care sector that has stretched staffing and forced many homes into lockdowns, the prime minister said on Friday as national infection numbers remained on a downtrend. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said about 560 aged-care residents had died since Omicron hit in late 2021.
The government has come under pressure over the spread of the Omicron variant in aged-care homes, with Richard Colbeck, minister for senior Australians and aged care services, drawing criticism after he attended a cricket match instead of appearing before a parliamentary committee looking into the outbreaks.
Germany’s health experts divided over COVID curbs
Health experts in Germany are divided over whether it is ready to ease COVID-19 restrictions as its neighbours start dialling back curbs. Germany on Thursday reported a record of 236,120 new daily cases thanks to the more-infectious Omicron variant of the coronavirus, but some health experts say it is time for a “freedom plan” on how restrictions will be eased gradually.
Andreas Gassen, the head of the KBV family doctors’ association, said Germany should accept living with COVID-19 as it does with influenza which has always new variants and causes tens of thousands of deaths annually.
In world first, S.Africa’s Afrigen makes mRNA COVID vaccine
South Africa’s Afrigen Biologics has used the publicly available sequence of Moderna Inc’s mRNA COVID-19 vaccine to make its own version of the shot, which could be tested in humans before the end of this year, Afrigen’s top executive said on Thursday.
The vaccine candidate would be the first to be made based on a widely used vaccine without the assistance and approval of the developer. It is also the first mRNA vaccine designed, developed and produced at lab scale on the African continent.
U.S. to cover cost of over-the-counter COVID tests through Medicare
People enrolled in the U.S. government’s Medicare program can get over-the-counter COVID-19 tests for free starting in the early spring, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said on Thursday.
The announcement is a “positive” for those enrolled in Medicare plans, with the federal government covering costs directly, Evercore ISI analyst Michael Newshel said. The program is also a potential small positive for pharmacies to sell the tests to Medicare beneficiaries, though supply is limited and the window may be short depending when the public health emergency ends.
(Compiled by Karishma Singh; Editing by Robert Birsel)
