The US surpassed 700,000 known fatalities to Covid-19 on Friday evening, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, even as vaccines are widely available and free to all in the country.
The milestone comes as coronavirus cases and hospital admissions have declined 15 per cent over the past two weeks.
“We’re beginning to see cases and hospitalisations decrease from their peaks in late August and early September,” Dr Rochelle Walensky, director of the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said in a White House briefing.
The downwards trend is positive news for the US as it continues to battle a third wave of the disease driven by the highly contagious Delta variant, which has forced many schools and offices to adjust their plans for reopening.
Even some large US businesses — such as Apple and Google — have delayed their workforces' in-person returns and are implementing vaccine mandates.
The current wave drew comparisons to the worst surge experienced during the winter months — only now, Covid-19 vaccines are widely available and infections are being registered overwhelmingly among unvaccinated people.
A widely referenced database from Johns Hopkins University on Friday evening showed the US with 700,258 recorded deaths and over 43 million infections, the most of any country.
The country is still facing entrenched vaccine hesitancy and challenges to mask and vaccine requirements.
“When organisations implement vaccine requirements, vaccine rates … soar to 90 per cent or greater,” White House coronavirus co-ordinator Jeff Zients said in Friday's briefing, citing examples from United Airlines and others.
More than 75 per cent of the vaccine-eligible population over the age of 12 in the US have had at least one dose, according to the CDC.
US health officials say there are at least 70 million people still eligible to be vaccinated. This week, officials urged pregnant women to be immunised.
In two weeks, the Food and Drug Administration will hold highly anticipated meetings of its independent vaccine panel, which will review the possibility of authorising Moderna and Johnson & Johnson booster doses as well as the prospect of mix-and-match vaccinations. The US has authorised Pfizer booster shots for some groups.
The FDA panel will discuss Pfizer's application for its vaccine for children aged 5-11 on October 26.
California on Friday announced the nation's first Covid-19 vaccine mandate for school-aged children, saying it would be enacted after federal authorisation.
A US Supreme Court (Scotus) Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Friday declined to hear a case by New York City teachers to reject the state's vaccine mandate. Teachers in the country's largest school system are required to be immunised by Friday or produce an exemption to avoid losing pay.
And, in earlier in the day, Scotus released a statement that Justice Brett Kavanaugh tested positive for Covid-19. He is fully vaccinated.
The 12 breakaway clubs
England
Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur
Italy
AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus
Spain
Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid
Qosty Byogaani
Starring: Hani Razmzi, Maya Nasir and Hassan Hosny
Four stars
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Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
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Punchy appearance
Roars of support buoyed Mr Johnson in an extremely confident and combative appearance
Racecard
5.25pm: Etihad Museum – Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Turf) 1,200m
6pm: Al Shindaga Museum – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (Dirt) 1,200m
6.35pm: Poet Al Oqaili – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 1,400m
7.10pm: Majlis Ghurfat Al Sheif – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,600m
7.45pm: Hatta – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 1,400m
8.20pm: Al Fahidi – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 2,200m
8.55pm: Zabeel Trophy – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh120,000 (T) 1,600m
9.30pm: Coins Museum – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh95,000 (D) 1,600m
10.05pm: Al Quoz Creative – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 1,000m
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Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
Tonight's Chat on The National
Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.
Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster who has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others.
Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.
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Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
AndhaDhun
Director: Sriram Raghavan
Producer: Matchbox Pictures, Viacom18
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Radhika Apte, Anil Dhawan
Rating: 3.5/5
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
The nine articles of the 50-Year Charter
1. Dubai silk road
2. A geo-economic map for Dubai
3. First virtual commercial city
4. A central education file for every citizen
5. A doctor to every citizen
6. Free economic and creative zones in universities
7. Self-sufficiency in Dubai homes
8. Co-operative companies in various sectors
9: Annual growth in philanthropy
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Third Test
Day 3, stumps
India 443-7 (d) & 54-5 (27 ov)
Australia 151
India lead by 346 runs with 5 wickets remaining
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Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
Who is Allegra Stratton?
- Previously worked at The Guardian, BBC’s Newsnight programme and ITV News
- Took up a public relations role for Chancellor Rishi Sunak in April 2020
- In October 2020 she was hired to lead No 10’s planned daily televised press briefings
- The idea was later scrapped and she was appointed spokeswoman for Cop26
- Ms Stratton, 41, is married to James Forsyth, the political editor of The Spectator
- She has strong connections to the Conservative establishment
- Mr Sunak served as best man at her 2011 wedding to Mr Forsyth
