Reuters Health News Summary

The surge in Delta variant cases is rattling parts of Asia previously relatively successful in containing COVID-19, such as Vietnam, which will from Monday impose strict curbs on movement in several cities and provinces. Britain's COVID-19 cases down by 33% over past week Britain has reported 26,144 new cases of COVID-19, government data showed on Saturday, meaning the fall in cases between July 25 and July 31 stood at 33% compared with the previous seven days.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Vietnam to extend lockdown throughout southern region as COVID cases soar

Vietnam will from Monday extend strict curbs on movement in its business hub Ho Chi Minh City and another 18 cities and provinces throughout its south for another two weeks to help combat its worst COVID-19 outbreak, the government said. After successfully containing the virus for much of the pandemic, Vietnam is facing a rapid spread of infections that has led to movement restrictions in around one-third of the country. It has registered a total of 145,000 cases and 1,306 deaths, 85% of which were recorded over the past month.

Johnson & Johnson not liable for Illinois woman's death in talc case

An Illinois jury on Friday refused to hold Johnson & Johnson liable for a woman's death from ovarian cancer, which her family blamed on decades of using its talc-based powders. Relatives of the late Elizabeth Driscoll had sought up to $50 million in damages, saying J&J knew its baby powder and Shower to Shower products were dangerous.

Italy reports 16 coronavirus deaths on Saturday, 6,513 new cases

Italy reported 16 coronavirus-related deaths on Saturday, down from 18 the day before, the health ministry said, and the daily tally of new infections fell to 6,513 from 6,619. Italy has registered 128,063 deaths linked to COVID-19 since its outbreak emerged in February last year, the second-highest toll in Europe after Britain and the eighth-highest in the world. The country has reported 4.35 million cases to date.

Hard-won gains at risk as Delta variant spreads - WHO

The world is at risk of losing hard-won gains in fighting COVID-19 as the highly transmissible Delta variant spreads, but WHO-approved vaccines remain effective, the World Health Organization said on Friday. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has described the Delta variant of the coronavirus as being as transmissible as chickenpox and cautioned it could cause severe disease, the Washington Post said, citing an internal CDC document.

El Salvador detects first case of COVID-19 Delta variant - health minister

El Salvador has detected its first case of the highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus, Health Minister Francisco Alabi said on Saturday.

COVID-19 cases surge in Sydney as police cordon deters protest

Sydney's coronavirus cases continued to surge on Saturday as police cordoned off the city's central district, preventing a planned anti-lockdown protest from taking place. There were 210 locally acquired cases of COVID-19 reported in Sydney and vicinities that are under a weeks-long strict lockdown while battling an outbreak of the highly infectious Delta variant. Saturday's numbers bring the outbreak to 3,190 cases.

COVID-19 surge hits Asia; Tokyo, Thailand, Malaysia post record infections

The Olympics host city Tokyo, as well as Thailand and Malaysia, announced record COVID-19 infections on Saturday, mostly driven by the highly transmissible Delta variant of the disease. The surge in Delta variant cases is rattling parts of Asia previously relatively successful in containing COVID-19, such as Vietnam, which will from Monday impose strict curbs on movement in several cities and provinces.

Britain's COVID-19 cases down by 33% over past week

Britain has reported 26,144 new cases of COVID-19, government data showed on Saturday, meaning the fall in cases between July 25 and July 31 stood at 33% compared with the previous seven days. A further 71 people were reported as having died within 28 days of a positive test for COVID-19, taking the seven-day increase to 9.2%.

As cases surge, Thai hospital uses containers to store bodies

A Thai hospital morgue overwhelmed by COVID-19 deaths has begun storing bodies in refrigerated containers, resorting to a measure it last took in a devastating 2004 tsunami, as the country grapples with its biggest coronavirus outbreak. Thailand on Saturday reported a daily record of 18,912 new cases and a record of 178 new deaths, bringing total accumulated cases to 597,287 and 4,857 fatalities.

Olympics-Tokyo daily COVID-19 infections hit record high

Newly-reported COVID-19 cases in Olympic host city Tokyo surged to a record high of 4,058 on Saturday, the metropolitan government said, exceeding 4,000 for the first time and overshadowing the Games. Nationwide cases totalled 12,341 as of 6:30 p.m. local time, public broadcaster NHK said, the highest ever for Japan and up 15% on the day, underscoring a rapid rise in infections across the country.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)