Health News Roundup: S.Korea's daily COVID-19 cases top 3,000 for first time after holiday; Singapore reports 1,939 COVID-19 cases, highest since April last year and more

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. Singapore reports 1,939 COVID-19 cases, the highest since April last year Singapore's health ministry reported 1,939 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, the highest since the beginning of the pandemic.

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.

Singapore reports 1,939 COVID-19 cases, highest since April last year

Singapore's health ministry reported 1,939 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, the highest since the beginning of the pandemic. A recent rise in cases after the relaxation of some COVID-19 measures has prompted Singapore to pause further reopening. More than 80% of its population has been vaccinated against COVID-19.

New York may tap National Guard to replace unvaccinated healthcare workers

New York Governor Kathy Hochul is considering employing the National Guard and out-of-state medical workers to fill hospital staffing shortages with tens of thousands of workers possibly losing their jobs for not meeting a Monday deadline for mandated COVID-19 vaccination. The plan, outlined in a statement from Hochul on Saturday, would allow her to declare a state of emergency to increase the supply of healthcare workers to include licensed professionals from other states and countries as well as retired nurses.

China says will clamp down on abortions for "non-medical purposes"

China will reduce the number of abortions performed for "non-medical purposes", the country's cabinet said in new guidelines issued on Monday, that it said were aimed at improving women's reproductive health. China has already enacted strict measures aimed at preventing sex-selective abortions, and health authorities also warned in 2018 that the use of abortion to end unwanted pregnancies was harmful to women's bodies and risks causing infertility.

U.S. administers 390.1 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines - CDC

The United States has administered 390,114,328 doses of COVID-19 vaccines as of Sunday morning and distributed 471,814,235 doses, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. The number of doses administered is up from 389,372,689 vaccine doses as reported on Saturday, the CDC said.

COVID-19 lockdown to ease more rapidly for the vaccinated in Sydney

Australian authorities announced plans on Monday to gradually reopen locked-down Sydney, unveiling a two-tiered system that will give citizens inoculated for COVID-19 more freedoms than their unvaccinated neighbors for several weeks. Movement restrictions across New South Wales, the country's most populous state and home to Sydney will be lifted gradually between Oct. 11 and Dec. 1 as vaccination rates push through 70%, 80%, and 90%.

COVID-19 pandemic cut life expectancy by most since World War Two –study

The COVID-19 pandemic reduced life expectancy in 2020 by the largest amount since World War Two, according to a study published on Monday by Oxford University, with the life expectancy of American men dropping by more than two years. Life expectancy fell by more than six months compared with 2019 in 22 of the 29 countries analyzed in the study, which spanned Europe, the United States, and Chile. There were reductions in life expectancy in 27 of the 29 countries overall.

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.