Vaccinations stepped up in China and Israel as Delta wreaks havoc

Vaccinations stepped up in China and Israel as Delta wreaks havoc
Copyright AFP
By Daniel Bellamy with AFP
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The spread of the coronavirus Delta variant has forced China and Israel to ramp up vaccinations and Australia's state of New South Wales to go into lockdown.

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In Australia, lockdowns were widened on Saturday from just Sydney and the capital Canberra to the whole of the state of New South Wales.

Authorities battling to contain a Delta outbreak said they'd experienced the "most concerning day of the pandemic" so far.

After months of pursuing a 'COVID zero' strategy, Australia is now struggling.

Residents of Sydney, are entering their eighth week under stay-at-home orders and will now face bigger fines for breaking rules or lying to contact tracers.

In China the authorities are continuing to vaccinate children between 12 and 17 - they say more youngsters are getting ill with the new Delta variant and they've now vaccinated 60 million adolescents.

On Friday, the National Health Commission reported that 770 million people have now been fully vaccinated, which is 55 percent of the population.

And restrictions have been tightened people have to wear masks in indoor venues and crowded outdoor ones such as shops.

In Israel, the health ministry warned on Saturday that the number of people hospitalised will now double every ten days.

The government is forecasting that the number of patients hospitalised with the coronavirus will double every 10 days, reaching 4,800 people – half of them with serious cases – by September 10.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennet has called for vaccinations to be given around the clock, day and night, seven days a week.

Additional sources • CCTV

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