UK sees rise in COVID-19 cases

COVID-19 infections have been on the rise in England, and almost doubled in the last week of May.

The UK's Office for National Statistics said this was due to the prevalence of the delta variant, which was first detected in India. 

The health ministry estimated that the reproduction "R" number in England was between 1 and 1.2, and the epidemic could be growing by as much as 3% each day.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he would exercise caution in lifting restrictions, but there was no expected delay in easing them on June 21. 

"The critical thing is the impact on the number of people who end up in hospital for any given number of cases. That link has been broken by the vaccine, but it hasn't been completely severed yet, and that's one of the things that we're watching very carefully," Health Secretary Matt Hancock told Reuters news agency. 

Below are more COVID-19-related stories from around the world.

Europe

Switzerland has approved the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine shot for 12 to 15-year-olds. Officials said they planned to inoculate the age group this summer, in time for the 2021-22 school year.

"The more people are vaccinated, and children are part of this, the less virus will circulate and the less danger there will be for risk groups," the Swiss Federal Health Ministry told Reuters.

The government of German state Bavaria said Munich's Allianz Arena would fill about 20% of its capacity for games during football's European Championship. 

Bavaria's state premier Markus Soder said the games would be a "pilot and test project for further professional sports in Germany."

The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) said cases in Germany rose by 2,294 on Friday, while the death toll rose by 122. Germany has had 3,697,927 recorded cases so far, with 89,148 deaths. 

Americas

Researchers believe COVID-19 has derailed the fight against HIV and AIDS, by diverting healthcare workers, funds, and other resources towards dealing with the pandemic. The United States could be seeing its first rise in HIV infections in years. Strides made in controlling HIV globally could also be undone due to the coronavirus. 

US officials are gathering data on how much the pandemic affected HIV infections and deaths, including how well testing, prevention and treatment kept up in the pandemic. Former US President Donald Trump had announced a campaign to "eliminate" the US epidemic by 2030.

Hawaii Governor David Ige announced plans on Friday to lift quarantine requirements once 70% of its population had been inoculated.

The Department of Health said 59% of the state's population has had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 52% had been fully vaccinated.

Asia

India's capital New Delhi will likely see a coronavirus infection peak of 37,000 cases daily in the coming days as it eases restrictions, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said during a news conference. 

The western states of Maharashtra and Gujarat have also started easing curbs such as the gradual reopening of several non-essential businesses. 

The US has announced more than $266 million (€218 million) in additional humanitarian aid for Afghanistan. The funds will mainly be used for the war-torn country's COVID response. 

The US has already begun troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. 

The aid is intended for areas such as protective equipment, shelter, food and health and hygiene services related to the pandemic. It also provides for "protection needs for the most vulnerable Afghans," including at-risk women and girls.

China has approved the use of Sinovac's COVID vaccine for usage for the age group between 3 to 17-year-olds. 

The timeline for vaccinating China's younger population depended on health authorities' inoculation strategies, Sinovac Biotech's chairman Yin Weidong told state TV on Friday. 

Phase I and II clinical trials reportedly showed the vaccine could trigger an immune response in 3 to 17-year-old participants, and most adverse reactions were mild. China's Sinopharm is also in the process of submitting data for clearance for younger age groups. 

tg/rc (dpa, AFP, Reuters)