Here's the latest on the pandemic from around the world overnight.
Americas
US
US President Joe Biden's plan requiring more than 100 million Americans to get vaccinated against COVID-19 relies on a rarely used workplace rule with a history of being blocked in court, making it an inviting target for legal challenges by employers.
Europe
UK
Britain's top medical advisers have recommended that all 12 to 15-year-olds receive a single dose of a COVID vaccine because "the benefits exceeds the risk by a small margin". Second doses would not be offered to the age group until at least spring as they would wait for data to build up internationally.
People who were fully vaccinated accounted for just 1.2 percent of all deaths involving COVID in England in the first seven months of this year
There have been more than 134,000 deaths from COVID-19 in Britain, and a rapid start to its vaccination rollout has slowed, with 81 percent of those over 16 receiving two vaccine doses.
Britain's government will only introduce a new COVID-19 lockdown as a last resort, a spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday.
France
The number of French patients in hospital with COVID-19 fell below 10,000 again for the first time since mid-August, health ministry data showed on Monday.
Slovenia
Slovenia will, from this week, require that all people who enter indoor spaces, with few exceptions, be vaccinated against COVID-19 or show negative tests unless they have had the disease in the previous six months.
Asia-Pacific
India
India is worried that growing complacency as infection rates and deaths decline could lead to people skipping their second vaccine shots, leaving communities vulnerable to the virus, said two health experts briefed on the matter.
India reported 27,254 new coronavirus infections and 219 deaths.
Australia
The government of Australia's New South Wales said the pace of vaccinations had slowed as first-dose coverage neared 80 percent and urged the unvaccinated to get shots soon or risk missing out on freedoms when curbs ease.
Philippines
The Philippines' capital region will shift to localised lockdowns and an alert level system starting September 16 to prevent the spread of coronavirus while allowing more businesses to resume operations, the president's spokesperson said late on Monday.
Wide-scale, strict and lengthy lockdowns since last year have decimated the Philippine economy, which was one of Asia's fastest growing before the pandemic.
Singapore
The rapid pace of new COVID-19 infections and a doubling of seriously ill patients in Singapore have raised unexpected hurdles to reopening plans for the vaccination frontrunner, where 81 percent of the population is fully vaccinated. Infections over the weekend were more than a combined 1000 cases, a tenfold increase from a month ago.
New Zealand
New Zealand extended a strict lockdown in its largest city on Monday, requiring 1.7 million people living in Auckland to remain indoors for at least another week to snuff out small outbreaks of the highly infectious Delta variant of coronavirus.
Indonesia
Indonesia has eased its COVID-19 restrictions on the popular tourist island of Bali, although international travellers will face stricter protocols on arrival to help curb the spread of new variants, a senior minister said on Monday.
Vietnam
Vietnam's outbreak epicentre Ho Chi Minh City will extend its restrictions, state media reported, as Hanoi and several provinces sought an easing of curbs and the aviation authority proposed domestic flights resume.
Africa and the Middle East
Congo
Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi has received his first dose of the Moderna vaccine, after a six-month wait caused by his unwillingness to take the AstraZeneca shot.
South Africa
South Africa will ease restrictions and shorten its nationwide curfew after a decline in infections, President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a televised address.
Vaccines and research
Additional COVID-19 vaccine booster shots are not needed for the general population, leading scientists including two departing senior US Food and Drug Administration officials and several from the World Health Organization (WHO) said in an article published in a medical journal on Monday. The WHO has argued that the vaccines are still needed for first doses around the globe.
Drugmaker Merck said on Monday it sees potential US emergency use authorisation for its experimental COVID-19 antiviral treatment, molnupiravir, before year-end.
Miscarriages do not occur more often in pregnant women who receive an mRNA vaccine against COVID-19, according to a new study.
All three COVID-19 vaccines in use in the United States are effective at preventing hospitalizations and urgent or emergency care visits caused by the Delta variant of the coronavirus, although Moderna's shots appear to be most effective, according to national data collected in June, July and August.
Reuters / Newshub.
