Health News Roundup: HIV generic drug for babies distributed in Africa, says UNITAID; Australian state reports drop in new COVID-19 cases; lockdowns ease in some areas and more

That was down from 35 new cases on Friday - the highest number of daily cases so far this year for that state - and 31 on Thursday. Italy breaks up fake EU COVID pass schemes Italian police said on Saturday they had broken up a number of online schemes offering to sell fake European Union digital COVID-19 status certificates or purported coronavirus vaccines.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

HIV generic drug for babies distributed in Africa, says UNITAID

Aid agencies have distributed a strawberry-flavored tablet for children living with HIV in six African countries, the first generic pediatric version of a key anti-retroviral, global health agency UNITAID said on Sunday. UNITAID and Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) funding procured 100,000 packs of the dolutegravir formulation across Nigeria, Malawi, Uganda, Kenya, Zimbabwe, and Benin, UNITAD's spokesman Herve Verhoosel said in a statement to Reuters.

Australian state reports drop in new COVID-19 cases; lockdowns ease in some areas

Australia's New South Wales state reported a fall in new daily coronavirus cases on Sunday, following two days of record 2021 infections, as officials implored Sydney residents to follow rules so they could end a lockdown next week. Australia's most populous state recorded 16 new COVID-19 infections on Saturday, data showed on Sunday, of which 13 were already in isolation. That was down from 35 new cases on Friday - the highest number of daily cases so far this year for that state - and 31 on Thursday.

Italy breaks up fake EU COVID pass schemes

Italian police said on Saturday they had broken up several online schemes offering to sell fake European Union digital COVID-19 status certificates or purported coronavirus vaccines. The investigation, coordinated by the cybercrime prosecutor's office in Milan, showed that thousands of people were ready to pay for false certificates, a police statement said.

Indonesia ramps up oxygen output after dozens die amid scarcity

Indonesia has ordered oxygen makers to prioritize medical needs amid growing demand from COVID-19 patients, the government said on Sunday, following more than 60 deaths in a hospital where the supply of the life-saving gas was almost exhausted. The world's fourth most populous nation is battling one of Asia's worst coronavirus outbreaks, with Saturday's 27,913 infections becoming the newest of many peaks during the last two weeks.

Bulgaria considers incentives to boost COVID-19 vaccinations

Bulgaria is considering offering incentives to encourage people to get vaccinated against COVID-19, interim Prime Minister Stefan Yanev said on Sunday. Bulgaria is one of the few countries where people can choose between four different anti-coronavirus shots approved by the European Union. Still, only 14.5% of Bulgarian adults are fully vaccinated, putting the country far behind its EU peers.

Face masks to become a personal choice in England, minister says

The wearing of face coverings in England will become a personal choice and the data that will determine if lockdown restrictions can be lifted this month was looking "very positive", Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick said on Sunday. "It will be a different period where we as private citizens make these judgments rather than the government telling you what to do," Jenrick told Sky News.

Israel negotiating Pfizer surplus with other countries, official says

Israel is in talks with other countries about a deal to unload its surplus of Pfizer/BioNtech COVID-19 vaccines, doses of which are due to expire by the end of the month, a health ministry official said on Sunday. Hezi Levi, the ministry's director-general, did not provide details about the number of doses Israel was looking to hand over in an apparent swap arrangement.

Indonesia reports 555 new COVID-19 deaths, highest daily rise

Indonesia reported 555 new coronavirus deaths on Sunday, it's biggest daily rise since the pandemic began, taking the death toll to 60,582. The southeast Asian nation also reported 27,233 new cases for its second-highest daily increase, taking the tally of infections to 2,284,084.

South Africa hits a new record with 26,000 daily COVID-19 cases

South Africa hit a record of 26,000 fresh COVID-19 cases on Saturday, its second record-breaking tally in as many days, as a rampant third wave of infections coursed through a largely unvaccinated population. The rampant rise in infections in Africa's most industrialized nation has stretched health services to breaking point, with hospitals out of beds and medics to man them, and forced the government to impose partial lockdown restrictions.

U.S. administers nearly 330 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines - CDC

The United States has administered 329,970,551 doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the country as of Saturday morning and distributed 383,067,560 doses, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Saturday. Those figures are up from the 328,809,470 vaccine doses the CDC said had gone into arms by July 2 out of 382,636,520 doses delivered.