Thousands protest against Covid curbs in Amsterdam – latest updates

Sunday, September 5, 2021

Thousands demonstrate in Amsterdam against curbs

Thousands of people have staged a protest around Dam Square in Amsterdam for a demonstration against the coronavirus restrictions.  

The motto of the manifestation is "Together for the Netherlands".

According to the initiators, about sixty organisations participated in the demonstration. 

They called it "the largest demonstration since the introduction of the Covid-19 measures".

According to the organisation, the large-scale protest is not only against the current coronavirus measures, but also against "child-benefit allowances issues, and the housing shortages.

Italy reports 49 deaths, 5,315 new cases

Italy has reported 49 coronavirus-related deaths, down from 56 the previous day, while the daily tally of new infections decreased to 5,315 from 6,157, the health ministry said.

India coach Shastri tests Covid positive

India coach Ravi Shastri has tested positive for Covid-19 but the team have been cleared to continue with the ongoing fourth test against England at The Oval, the touring side said in a statement.

Israel to reopen for small foreign tour groups

Israel will allow small foreign tour groups from selective countries to visit from September 19 under a pilot programme to kick-start tourism, the government said.

Tour groups of between 5 and 30 people from countries on Israel's green, yellow and orange lists will be allowed to enter the country provided all group members have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19, the tourism ministry said.

Vietnam sets September 15 deadline to vaccinate biggest cities' adults

Vietnam's coronavirus epicentre, Ho Chi Minh City, and capital Hanoi must vaccinate all of their adult residents with at least one shot by September 15, the ministry of health said.

Vietnam has one of the lowest coronavirus vaccination rates in the region, with only 3.3 percent of the country's 98 million people fully vaccinated with two shots, and 15.4 percent with one shot.

Britain to require 'passport' for nightclubs

Britain’s government has confirmed that it plans to introduce vaccine passports for nightclubs and large-scale gatherings from next month.

Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi said that officials are looking to begin the certification measures from the end of September, when the whole over-18 population would have been offered two Covid-19 vaccine doses.

Britain also recorded 37,011 new daily Covid-19 cases, similar to the previous day's total of 37,578, government statistics showed.

There were 68 deaths within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test reported, down from previous day's figure of 120.

Over 4 million cases in Germany since pandemic began

The German disease control agency says that more than 4 million people have contracted the coronavirus in the country since the outbreak of the pandemic.

The Robert Koch Institute reported 4,005,641 cases. The actual number of cases is likely much higher as many infections go unnoticed. 

The institute said 92,346 people have died of Covid-19 in Germany. Top health officials have urged more citizens to get vaccinated.

Bangladesh, India resume flights under air bubble pact

Bangladesh and India resumed flights under a bilateral air bubble agreement between the two neighboring countries, after a suspension of over four months due to surging coronavirus infections in India.

The flights, suspended since April, resumed with a Chennai-bound flight of US-Bangla Airlines with 135 passengers from Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB).

Such flights to and from India are scheduled to run regularly from now on, according to officials.

Turkey administers over 97.14M vaccine jabs

Turkey has administered over 97.14 million coronavirus vaccine jabs since the country launched an immunisation campaign in January, showed official figures.

Over 49.55 million people have gotten their first vaccine dose, while more than 38.28 million are fully vaccinated, the Health Ministry said.

The ministry also reported 19,391 new coronavirus cases, while 269 more people died of the disease in the past 24 hours.

Russia's cases surpass 7 million mark 

Russia's coronavirus cases tally has hit 7 million, with the country reporting 18,645 new infections in the past 24 hours and 793 more deaths.

The latest figures took the total number of cases to 7,012,599, with the overall death toll at 187,200.

Russia's state statistics service Rosstat keeps a separate count and said in August that 365,000 people died from the virus or related caused between April last year and last July.

Russian authorities blame the spread of the more contagious Delta variant and a low vaccination rate for the third wave of coronavirus infections, which peaked in July.

China administered total 2.1004 billion vaccine dose

China has administered around 8.2 million vaccine doses, bringing the accumulated total to 2.1004 billion, according to the data from the National Health Commission.

Japan to issue digital vaccination certificates in December

Japan will issue online vaccination certificates from December, the Nikkei newspaper reported.

The government plans to issue the certificates - which will be intended for overseas travel rather than domestic use - via a QR scan code through a smartphone app from around mid-December, the Nikkei said, without citing sources.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and other cabinet members are slated on Monday for a council meeting on the promotion of a digital society where they will decide on the government's policy  for digital vaccine passports, the report said.

The Nikkei said the project will be a priority for Japan's new Digital Agency, which launched this week to focus on bringing central and local government infrastructure online.

New Zealand reports 20 local cases as outbreak slows

New Zealand has reported 20 local cases, the same as in previous day, giving authorities more confidence that they are gaining a winning hand over the current outbreak of the highly transmissible Delta variant.

Officials said all the new cases were in Auckland, New Zealand's largest city and the epicentre of the outbreak. 

Daily case numbers have been declining over the past week, with the community outbreak now standing at 801 infections.

About 1.7 million people in Auckland have been in strict level 4 lockdown since the outbreak began in mid-August. Curbs have been eased since in the rest of the country, but schools, offices, restaurants and all public venues remain shut.

The government will review the remaining nationwide restrictions on Monday. Auckland is to remain in full lockdown until at least Sept.

Brazil suspends use of 12M Sinovac shots

Brazil's federal health regulator Anvisa has suspended the use of over 12 million doses of a vaccine developed by Sinovac Biotech Ltd that were produced in an unauthorised plant, it said in a statement.

Anvisa said it was alerted on Friday by Sao Paulo's Butantan institute, a biomedical centre that has partnered with Sinovac to locally fill and finish the vaccines, that 25 batches, or 12.1 million doses, sent to Brazil had been made in the plant.

Australia's Victoria reports 183 local cases

Australia's Victoria state, home to more than a quarter of the country's population, has reported 183 new locally acquired cases in the 24-hour period to Saturday evening, health officials said.

Of the infections, 101 were linked to existing outbreaks, health department said on its Twitter account.

Mexico reports over 15,500 new cases

Mexico has reported 15,586 new confirmed cases as well as 647 more deaths, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 3,420,880 and the death toll to 262,868, Health Ministry data showed.

Italy reports over 6,000 new cases

Italy has reported 56 deaths, down from 58 the previous day, while the daily tally of new infections decreased to 6,157 from 6,735, the Health Ministry said.

A total of 129,466 deaths have been registered in Italy since its outbreak emerged in February last year. That is the second highest tally in Europe behind Britain and the ninth highest globally.

Italy has reported more than 4.5 million cases to date.