News24com Coronavirus Latest global developments

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Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis:

- Origins probe -

The World Health Organisation says the second stage of an investigation into the origins of coronavirus should include further studies in China and lab "audits".

- Catalonia curfew -

Barcelona and other cities in Spain's north eastern Catalonia region will re-impose a night-time curfew starting this weekend to fight a surge in virus cases after the measure wins court approval.

- US doses for Africa -

The United States announces it is shipping 25 million Covid-19 vaccine doses to Africa, starting with Burkina Faso, Djibouti, and Ethiopia, to whom shipments will go out within days.

- Five-fold rise? -

The EU's disease agency predicts a sharp increase in cases, with nearly five times as many new infections by 1 August.

- APEC meeting -

Pacific Rim leaders including US President Joe Biden and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping vow to ramp up the production and distribution of Covid-19 vaccines at unprecedented virtual talks on the pandemic.

- $3 billion from China -

China's President Xi Jinping promises another $3 billion in aid to developing countries to fight Covid-19.

ALSO READ | US shipping 25 million Covid vaccine doses to Africa: officials

- Eiffel Tower reopens -

The Eiffel Tower in Paris reopens to visitors for the first time in nine months following its longest closure since World War II.

- England opening 'murderous' -

Scientists say the UK government's plan to scrap day-to-day pandemic restrictions in England next week has no basis in science and amounts to premeditated murder for thousands of people.

- 'Pandemic of unvaccinated' -

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention pleads with Covid vaccine holdouts to get their shots, saying "this is becoming a pandemic of the unvaccinated".

- Philippines lockdown -

More than three million people in the Philippines go into lockdown as health officials warn of a possible surge in coronavirus infections following the first locally transmitted cases of the Delta variant.

- Fiji dismisses lockdown -

Fiji dismisses calls for a hard lockdown as Covid-19 cases reach record levels in the Pacific island nation, insisting a "no jab, no job" vaccination push will contain the virus.

- Four million dead -

The pandemic has killed at least 4 070 508 people since the virus first emerged in December 2019, according to an AFP compilation of official data.

The United States is the worst-affected country with 608 400 deaths, followed by Brazil with 538 942, India with 412 531, Mexico with 235 740, and Peru with 194 845.

The WHO says up to three times more people have died directly or indirectly due to the pandemic than official figures suggest.

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