Egypt Virus Cases Rise admid Variant, Fewer Rules

The number of daily COVID-19 cases confirmed in Egypt has grown steadily in recent weeks amid relaxed precautionary measures and the spread of the highly contagious delta variant.

The Health Ministry reported late Tuesday 279 cases in 24 hours and nine deaths, compared to 194 cases and seven deaths on the same day last week.

The delta variant first was detected in Egypt in July. Daily reported cases have gone up as authorities relaxed restrictions, allowing concerts and other large events where few participants wear face masks or maintain a distance from others.

Authorities have reported a total of 288,440 confirmed cases and 16,736 deaths since the start of the pandemic, but the actual numbers are believed much higher due to limited testing.

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MORE ON THE PANDEMIC:

— Micronesia's president tells AP he mandated vaccines to protect vulnerable island nation where virus hasn't spread

— Vaccinations in rural India are improving but country continues to struggle with enough supplies to meet demand

— Sound bite labeling US outbreak a 'pandemic of the unvaccinated' captured the moment but not the whole story

— Italy braces for train track protests against COVID-19 passes required for some domestic travel

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— Find more AP coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic and https://apnews.com/hub/coronvirus-vaccine

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HERE'S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

JERUSALEM — Palestinian health authorities are launching a vaccination drive for students in the Gaza Strip ages 16-18 as the territory contends with a third wave of coronavirus infections.

Health officials began giving the Pfizer vaccine in Gaza Strip schools on Wednesday and aim to inoculate more than 100,000 students in the coming weeks. Palestinian officials in the occupied West Bank began a similar drive on Tuesday.

The Gaza Health Ministry reported six deaths and more than 1,400 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, the highest number since a new wave of infections began in August.

Less than half the population of the West Bank has received a first vaccine dose, and around 15% of Gaza's population has gotten a first shot.

The Palestinians received 500,000 doses of Moderna vaccine last week that were donated by the United States through COVAX, the global vaccine-sharing initiative distributing vaccines to poorer nations.

The Palestinian Authority and Gaza's ruling Hamas militant group have worked to secure their own vaccine supplies, partly through COVAX and donations from other countries. But the territories remain far behind neighboring Israel, which has a world-leading vaccination drive.

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ROME— The Italian government has vowed to crack down on demonstrators threatening to block train tracks as a rule requiring COVID-19 tests or vaccines takes effect for long-distance domestic travel.

Starting Wednesday, passengers on domestic flights, trains traveling between regions and some ferries must show a so-called "Green Pass" certifying that they've had a least one dose of vaccine, tested negative in the past 48 hours or recovered from COVID-19 in the past six months.

Local buses, trams and subways are exempt from the rule, which was announced weeks ago,.

Some recent protests against the pass requirement have turned violent. Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese said authorities would have zero tolerance against the track protests.

Some 70% of Italy's residents who are 12 or older and thus eligible for the vaccine are fully vaccinated. But confirmed COVID-19 cases have risen during the summer as the delta variant drives up transmission rates.

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BERLIN — Authorities in Germany's capital have started offering booster shots against COVID-19 to vulnerable groups.

Dozens of mobile teams will be visiting elder care homes in Berlin starting Wednesday to administer third vaccine doses to residents.

Several other German states already are offering boosters to older adults or people who are immunocompromised. Those groups received their first shots six months ago.

Germany has seen a drop in public demand for vaccinations, with about 60% of the population fully vaccinated so far. Chancellor Angela Merkel announced last week that the country plans to more than double the number of doses it donates to poor countries this year, to 70 million, amid a supply glut.

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COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Norway has reported its highest number of daily COVID-19 cases of the pandemic, surpassing a record set last Friday.

The Norwegian Directorate of Health said the Scandinavian country confirmed 1,796 new cases in 24 hours. The number recorded Friday was 1,552.

"It has increased faster than we expected," Camilla Stoltenberg, chief of the Norwegian Directorate of Health, told broadcaster NRK.

Many cases can be attributed to infections spreading in schools, she said.

Stoltenberg's deputy, Espen Nakstad, told NRK: "I hope that we do not reach the same levels as last winter, when we had the third wave of infection."

The government has kept some restrictions in place until more people are vaccinated against the coronavirus.

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SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea has proposed a U.N.-backed immunization program send its allotment of almost 3 million doses of a Chinese-made vaccine to countries with severe COVID-19 outbreaks while it continues to claim a perfect record in keeping out the coronavirus.

UNICEF, which procures and delivers vaccines on behalf of the COVAX program, said Tuesday that North Korea's Ministry of Public Health has communicated that the 2.97 million Sinovac shots COVAX planned to deliver to the North may be sent elsewhere.

The North Korean ministry also said it will "will continue to communicate with COVAX Facility to receive COVID-19 vaccines in the coming months," UNICEF said in an email to The Associated Press.

COVAX had also allocated 1.9 million AstraZeneca shots to the North but delivery has been delayed.

Experts say North Korea remains focused on tough quarantines and border controls to keep out the virus, and vaccines appear to be a secondary priority.

Some experts say North Korea could be questioning the effectiveness and rare side effects of the vaccines it's been offered and holding out for others.

The North claims to have not confirmed a single case of coronavirus infection, despite widespread skepticism.

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JERUSALEM — Israel commenced a new school year on schedule despite a surge in new cases of coronavirus and concerns about students spreading infections.

Around 2.4 million elementary and high school students returned to classrooms Wednesday, while around a quarter million in communities with high infection rates remained home to learn remotely.

Masks are mandatory in classrooms and teachers are required to have received a COVID-19 vaccine or hold a negative test upon entry to schools.

The Health Ministry reported a single-day record of nearly 11,000 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday as the country grapples with a fourth wave of infections. Over 700 people are in serious condition in Israeli hospitals, straining the country's healthcare system.

Israel has seen new infections skyrocket in recent weeks despite a world-leading vaccination drive that saw nearly 60% of its population receiving at least one dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. Last month the country started giving booster doses to its population of 9.3 million.

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NEW DELHI — More students in India will be able to step inside a classroom for the first time in nearly 18 months Wednesday, as authorities gave the green light to partially reopen more schools despite apprehension from some parents and signs that infections are picking up again.

Schools and colleges in at least six more states are reopening in a gradual manner with health measures in place throughout September. In New Delhi, all staff must be vaccinated and class sizes will be capped at 50% with staggered seating and sanitized desks.

In the capital, only students in grades 9-12 will be allowed to attend at first, though it is not compulsory. Some parents say they will be holding their children back, including Nalini Chauhan, who lost her husband to the coronavirus last year.

Life has been slowly returning to normal in India after the trauma of a ferocious coronavirus surge earlier this year ground life in the country to a halt, sickened tens of millions, and left hundreds of thousands dead.

Daily new infections have fallen sharply since their peak of more than 400,000 in May. But on Saturday, India recorded 46,000 new cases, the highest in nearly two months.

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BANGKOK — Shopping malls, restaurants, parks and schools reopened in Thailand's capital on Wednesday after the government eased restrictions intended to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

A surge that began in April sent new cases and deaths soaring, and department stores, restaurants, parks and other gathering places in Bangkok were ordered to close in July.

But a decline in new cases in recent weeks led authorities to ease many of the restrictions imposed in the capital and in other badly affected areas to reduce the impact on businesses.

At Bangkok's upmarket Iconsiam mall, customers were greeted by staff and given hand sanitizing gel. Shoppers were instructed to register via an app, while staff must take rapid COVID-19 tests on a regular basis.

The Thai government has come under intense criticism for its failure to secure timely and adequate supplies of vaccines, leaving the country vulnerable to further infections. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha and several Cabinet members are the target this week of a no-confidence debate in Parliament over the issue.

The government says as of Tuesday, 90.4% of Bangkok's 7.69 million people had received at least one dose of vaccine and 22.4% was fully vaccinated.

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TAIPEI, Taiwan — Schools across Taiwan have reopened for the academic year as the island's largest COVID-19 outbreak subsides.

Schools on the island shut down in May and many switched online in the face of the island's largest outbreak, which has since passed 15,000 cases. Taiwan is now reporting new COVID-19 cases in the single digits.

Students will eat lunch at their own desks, which now have plastic dividers separating students. Masks are required, and classrooms will have exhaust fans to circulate air.

Two giant balloons and music created a festive air greeting the students arriving for classes at Tienmu Elementary School on Wednesday. Parents are relived that their kids are back in school, saying online learning wasn't necessarily good in the long term.

"You can see that parents are really happy today," said Liao Cher-hao, president of the parents' association of the school in the capital, Taipei. "They all want to send their kids back to school ASAP. Basically, we made a survey. The results of online classes are not super good."

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SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea has reported more than 2,000 new coronavirus cases, approaching a daily record set last month just a day after officials cautiously expressed hope that infections may slow.

The 2,025 cases reported Wednesday marked the 57th consecutive day of at least 1,000 cases, and there are concerns transmissions could worsen as the country approaches its biggest holiday of the year.

Officials are wrestling with a slow vaccine rollout and an erosion in public vigilance despite the toughest social distancing rules short of a lockdown in Seoul and other large population centers, where private social gatherings of three or more people are banned after 6 p.m.

There are concerns the virus could spread more quickly during this month's Chuseok holidays, the Korean version of Thanksgiving where millions of people usually travel across the country to meet relatives.

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MELBOURNE, Australia — Australia's Victoria state is reporting its first COVID-19 deaths this year, and the government concedes that the infection numbers of the delta variant of the coronavirus will continue to rise.

The state reported two deaths Wednesday, the first since last Oct. 18. Neighboring New South Wales reported four deaths, bringing the death toll from a delta variant outbreak that started in June to 102.

Victoria and New South Wales are both locked down and are now counting on getting their residents vaccinated to contain the outbreak.

With 120 new infections reported Wednesday, Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said: "We will not see these case numbers go down. They are going to go up."

New South Wales reported 1,116 infections in the latest 24-hour period.

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RICHLAND, Wash. — Workers at the Hanford nuclear reservation in eastern Washington state who do not provide proof of a coronavirus vaccination will be required to be tested at least weekly to be allowed on the site.

he Tri-City Herald reports that the policy announced Monday covers about 11,000 Department of Energy, contractor and subcontractor workers. Many workers could be required to comply by mid-September.

Also under the new policy, visitors with business at the site will have to provide proof of vaccination or a negative virus test from within the previous three days.

The Hanford site was used to produce two-thirds of the plutonium for the nation's nuclear weapons program during World War II and the Cold War. About $2.5 billion is now spent every year on cleanup of the contaminated site.

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ATLANTA — More Georgians are being diagnosed with coronavirus infections than ever before. The rolling seven-day average for positive tests rose to 9,641 per day Tuesday, topping the previous high of 9,635 set back on Jan. 11.

Officials say the rapid spread among children is a new aspect of the pandemic. Public Health Commissioner Kathleen Toomey said Monday that cases have skyrocketed since schools opened in early August.

Toomey says that "we're seeing a significant number of cases among school-aged children, and the number of cases has nearly quadrupled over the last couple of weeks, with the sharpest increase — the highest number of cases — in children aged 11 to 17."

She says public health officials tracked more than 170 outbreaks statewide last week, the highest number since the pandemic began. More than half were in schools.

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HILO, Hawaii — The largest hospital on the Big Island of Hawaii is operating at about 120% of capacity amid a surge in COVID-19 cases.

The Hawaii Tribune-Herald reports that Hilo Medical Center has 38 patients being treated for the disease caused by the coronavirus, including 10 in the intensive care unit.

A hospital spokeswoman says that as the largest hospital on the island, it can't divert patients.

She says it has a plan for everyone who comes for care. Last week, the hospital opened a 16-bed overflow unit in its extended care facility.

The hospital says it's constantly assessing its campus for locations in which to care for patients.