2020 Highest Temperature

Sydney, July 8 (IANS) The Australian city of Sydney has recorded its highest daily rise in Covid-19 cases in months, despite being nearly two weeks into a lockdown.The city in the state of New South Wales reported 38 cases on Thursday - taking its outbreak of the Delta variant to about 370 cases, the BBC reported.Authorities say household visits and meet-ups between friends were still driving the virus' spread.They have pleaded with residents to follow the rules more strictly."We just need people to stop interacting for this lockdown to work," NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said on Thursday, which saw the highest figures in a day in the last 14 months."Please stop visiting people indoors, outside your family, your household. Your immediate family means those you live with, it doesn't mean extended family or friends," she said.She added that people with symptoms moving around the community were also fuelling the virus' spread.Australia's biggest city, home to five million people, is under a stay-at-home order until 17 July. The neighbouring Blue Mountains, Central Coast, Wollongong, and Shoalhaven regions are also affected.Under the direction, people are allowed to leave their homes for essential reasons like shopping, exercise and care-giving. Businesses such as restaurants offering takeaway and many retail shops remain open.Earlier this week, authorities were forced to extended the lockdown by a week based on the continued trend in case numbers - at around 18-35 new infections per day over the past week.While a majority are being found in household contacts of infected people already in isolation - there are still a concerning number in those moving freely in the community."Those numbers are too high. We need to get those numbers down," said Berejiklian."We don't want to prolong the lockdown, we don't want to see Sydney going in and out of lockdown until we have the vast majority of our population vaccinated. It is up to all of us to step up, as difficult as it is."Sydney's Delta outbreak and scares in other cities last week has sparked public anger over the federal government's slow vaccine rollout.--IANSint/pgh

London, July 7 (IANS) Britain reported another 28,773 coronavirus cases in the latest 24-hour period, the highest daily increase since late January, according to official figures released on Tuesday.The total number of coronavirus cases in the country now stands at 4,958,868, the Xinhua news agency reported.The country also recorded another 37 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 128,268. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test.More than 45.4 million people in Britain have received the first jab of Covid-19 vaccine and over 33.8 million people have received two doses, the official figures showed.Earlier on Tuesday, British Health Secretary Sajid Javid said that from August 16, people in England who have received two doses will no longer have to self-isolate if they come into contact with someone who has tested positive for Covid-19.If someone gets their second dose just before, or after August 16, they'll need to wait until two weeks after they get the second jab to benefit from these new freedoms so the vaccine has time to build the maximum possible protection, he told the lawmakers in the House of Commons, the lower house of the British Parliament.The latest data from Public Health England showed that Britain's vaccination program has saved over 27,000 lives and prevented over 7 million people from getting Covid-19. Both doses of a Covid-19 vaccine can reduce symptomatic infection by almost 80 per cent, according to Javid.He believed "this protective wall" means the odds have shifted "in our favour, and we can look afresh at many of the measures that we've had to put in place".Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed on Monday that most coronavirus restrictions are set to end on July 19 as part of the final step of England's roadmap out of the lockdown, despite warnings from scientists that lifting all restrictions at this stage will increase the likelihood of dangerous variants.The government is also looking at the self-isolation rules for international arrivals so it can remove the need for fully vaccinated individuals to isolate when they return from amber list countries, according to Javid. More details on this matter will be revealed later this week.To bring life back to normal, countries such as Britain, China, Russia, the US as well as the European Union have been racing against time to roll out coronavirus vaccines.--IANSint/rs

Dhaka, July 2 (IANS) Bangladesh has recorded the highest-ever daily Covid-19 deaths amid the new ongoing lockdown enforced to curb a resurgence of the pandemic, the country's Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said.On Thursday, 143 people succumbed to the virus, which increased the overall death toll to 14,646, Xinhua news agency reported citing the DGHS as saying.The official data showed 8,301 more new cases were recorded, raising the infection tallt to 921,559.The total number of recovered patients in the country stood at 820,913, including 4,663 new recoveries on Thursday, said the DGHS.According to the official data, the fatality rate in Bangladesh is now 1.59 per cent and the current recovery rate fell to 89.08 per cent.The confirmed cases have been rising in Bangladesh since last month.To curb the virus transmission, Bangladesh on Thursday entered the one-week strict lockdown and Army personnel have been deployed to patrol alongside civilian forces to maintain law and order. --IANSksk/

London, July 1 (IANS) Britain has reported another 26,068 coronavirus cases in the latest 24-hour period, the highest since January 29, according to official figures released on Wednesday.The total number of coronavirus cases in the country now stands at 4,800,907. It was the third consecutive day that Britain has reported more than 20,000 daily cases. A total of 20,479 coronavirus cases were recorded on Tuesday, Xinhua reported.The country also recorded another 14 coronavirus-related deaths, bringing the total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain to 128,140. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test.Earlier Wednesday, British Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said he expects school "bubbles" to be removed as part of the final step of England's roadmap for lifting Covid-19 restrictions.Speaking in the House of Commons, the lower house of British Parliament, Williamson said that he wanted to see restrictions on schools and colleges, including the bubble system, removed "as quickly as possible along with wider restrictions in society"."Further steps will be taken to reduce the number of children who have to self-isolate, including looking at the outcomes of a daily contact testing trial, as we consider a new model for keeping children in schools and colleges," he said.The British government is under growing pressure to remove or alter the bubble system after figures showed the number of children off school due to COVID-19 in England is at its highest rate since schools reopened in March after the country's third national lockdown, according to Sky News.Official data showed more than 375,000 pupils, about one in 20, were out of school for coronavirus-related reasons, up by more than 130,000 in a week.British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced a four-week delay to the final step of England's roadmap out of COVID-19 restrictions until July 19, amid a surge in cases of the Delta variant first identified in India.More than 44.7 million people in Britain have received the first jab of COVID-19 vaccine and more than 32.8 million people have received two doses, the latest figures showed.--IANSint/pgh