Health News Roundup: S.Korea's daily COVID-19 cases top 3,000 for first time after holiday; Italy reports 50 more coronavirus deaths, 3,525 new cases and more

The daily increase was still the state's second-highest, after the 847 cases logged on Saturday, as officials battle to contain a Delta variant outbreak that has taken root since mid-year. El Salvador to begin giving third dose of COVID-19 vaccine El Salvador will begin administering a third dose of COVID-19 vaccine to various groups including the elderly, healthworkers and people with underlying health conditions, President Nayib Bukele said on Friday.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

S.Korea's daily COVID-19 cases top 3,000 for first time after holiday

South Korea's daily COVID-19 infections topped 3,000 for the first time as an outbreak fuelled by this week's three-day holiday spreads, authorities said on Saturday. Friday's 3,273 coronavirus cases surpassed the previous high a day earlier, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said, taking the nation's tally to 298,402 infections and 2,441 deaths.

Italy reports 50 more coronavirus deaths, 3,525 new cases

Italy reported 50 coronavirus-related deaths on Saturday, compared to 52 the day before, the health ministry said, and the daily tally of new infections fell to 3,525 from 3,797. Italy has registered 130,653 deaths linked to COVID-19 since its outbreak emerged in February last year, the second-highest toll in Europe after Britain and the ninth-highest in the world. The country has reported 4.66 million cases to date.

Australia's Victoria state records second-highest daily rise in virus cases

Australia's Victoria state reported 779 new COVID-19 infections and two deaths on Sunday, off the previous day's record high as the country's prime minister presses state leaders to be ready to reopen once they meet vaccination targets. The daily increase was still the state's second-highest, after the 847 cases logged on Saturday, as officials battle to contain a Delta variant outbreak that has taken root since mid-year.

El Salvador to begin giving third dose of COVID-19 vaccine

El Salvador will begin administering a third dose of COVID-19 vaccine to various groups including the elderly, healthworkers and people with underlying health conditions, President Nayib Bukele said on Friday. The Central American nation of roughly 6.4 million people has obtained some 12 million vaccines since February.

Court blocks New York City schools vaccine mandate, sets hearing for next week

A requirement for New York City school teachers and staff to get vaccinated for COVID-19 was temporarily blocked by a U.S. appeals court just days before it was to take effect, but the court on Saturday set a hearing on the matter for next week.

Mayor Bill de Blasio last month set Monday as the deadline for 148,000 staff members of the largest U.S. school system to get at least one dose of a vaccine under a mandate aimed at slowing the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant.

U.S. administers 389.4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines - CDC

The United States has administered 389,372,689 doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the country as of Saturday morning and distributed 471,821,155 doses, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Those totals are up from the 388,567,109 vaccine doses the CDC said had been administered by Sept. 24, out of 470,630,875 doses delivered.

Cuba kicks off COVID-19 vaccine exports with shipment to Vietnam

Cuba said on Saturday it had exported its three-shot Abdala coronavirus vaccine for the first time, sending an initial shipment to Vietnam as part of a contract to supply five million doses to the Southeast Asian country. Scientists in the Communist-run island have developed three home-grown vaccines against COVID-19, all of which are waiting to receive official recognition from the World Health Organization.

Vietnam to relax COVID-19 restrictions to revive the pandemic-hit economy

Vietnam plans to ease coronavirus curbs and allow businesses to restart production from next week to prop up an economy that has suffered under lengthy lockdowns, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said on Saturday. The country, which until late April had maintained one of the world's best containment records, is seeking to co-exist with the virus instead of trying to maintain a COVID-zero policy.

Newly signed Texas law restricts abortion-inducing medications

Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Friday signed a new law that restricts access to abortion-inducing medications, just weeks after the state rolled out a near-total ban on abortion procedures. The law on medications prohibits mail-order abortion-inducing drugs and says doctors in the state are only allowed to prescribe them up to seven weeks after conception. Previously that restriction was set at 10 weeks.

Dutch protest against COVID-19 vaccine pass to enter bars, restaurants

Hundreds of protesters marched against the introduction of a "corona pass" in the Netherlands on Saturday, as proof of COVID-19 vaccination became compulsory to get into bars, restaurants, theatres, and other venues. Hours after the requirement to show the pass or a recent negative coronavirus test took effect, the government of caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte sacked a cabinet minister who had publicly questioned the measure.

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