UK mulls compulsory COVID-19 shots for health workers

A pedestrian walks past a sign directing members of the public to a COVID-19 testing centre in Bolton, northwest England, on May 28, 2021. (OLI SCARFF / AFP)

BUENOS AIRES / BOGOTA / SANTIAGO / HAVANA / QUITO / ADDIS ABABA / NOUAKCHOTT / RABAT / TUNIS / KAMPALA / LONDON – The UK is considering making vaccinations mandatory for health workers, according to Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi. 

“It would be incumbent on any responsible government to have the debate, to do the thinking on how we go about protecting the most vulnerable by making sure those who look after them are vaccinated,” he said in a Sky News interview.

Another 3,398 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, down from 4,182 cases reported Friday, which was the highest daily number since April 1, according to official figures released Saturday.

The total number of coronavirus cases in the country now stands at 4,480,945, according to official figures.   

The country also reported another seven coronavirus-related deaths, bringing the total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain to 127,775. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test.

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Argentina

Argentina on Saturday surpassed 77,000 deaths from COVID-19, the Ministry of Health reported.

With 416 more deaths in the past day, the death toll reached 77,108 and another 29,841 new cases were also recorded, bringing the total caseload to 3,732,263.

A total of 366,688 people are in the active stage of the disease and 6,909 patients are currently hospitalized in intensive care units.

Brazil

Brazilians staged protests against President Jair Bolsonaro's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in at least 16 cities across the country on Saturday, carrying signs such as "Out with Bolsonaro" and "Impeachment now."

Bolsonaro's popularity has plummeted during the coronavirus crisis, which has killed more than 460,000 Brazilians as the far-right leader played down its severity, dismissed mask wearing and cast doubt on the importance of vaccines.

Organized by leftist political parties, unions and student associations, Saturday's protests in the capital Brasilia and in Rio de Janeiro were peaceful, but in the northeastern city of Recife, police threw tear gas and shot rubber bullets.

In Sao Paulo, Brazil's largest city, thousands of mask-wearing people blocked one the largest city's avenues. One large balloon depicted Bolsonaro as a vampire.

Some protests, like the one in Rio, included images of former leftist president Luis Inacio Lula da Silva wearing the presidential sash.

Earlier in May, Lula met centrist Fernando Henrique Cardoso, also a two-term former president, for lunch in a public show of their common purpose to block Bolsonaro from gaining a second term in next year's presidential election.

Brazil on Saturday reported 2,012 more deaths from COVID-19, raising the national count to 461,057, the Ministry of Health said.

A total of 79,670 more infections were detected, raising the nationwide tally to 16,471,600, the ministry said.

Demonstrators take part in a protest against Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in Sao Paulo, Brazil on May 29 2021. (NELSON ALMEIDA / AFP)

Colombia

Colombia reported a daily record of 540 deaths from COVID-19 on Saturday, raising the nationwide death toll to 87,747, the health ministry said.

Meanwhile, 20,494 new infections were reported, bringing the national tally to 3,363,061, according to the ministry.

Chile

Chile reported 8,426 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, reported Undersecretary of Healthcare Networks Alberto Dougnac.

The new cases, the third highest figure on record and the third consecutive day of over 8,000 daily cases, bring the total caseload to 1,369,756, the Ministry of Health said.

Meanwhile, another 119 deaths were also reported, bringing the death toll to 29,047.

Cuba

Cuba reported 1,188 cases and 10 deaths from COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases to 140,087 and the death toll to 943, the Ministry of Public Health reported on Saturday.

"We have had a month with more than a thousand cases a day on average," said the ministry's director of hygiene and epidemiology, Francisco Duran.

Havana reported 540 new infections in its 15 municipalities, with an incidence rate of 417.2 per 100,000 inhabitants, the highest in Cuba.


Ecuador

Ecuador reported on Saturday 1,576 new COVID-19 infections in the past 24 hours, bringing the caseload to 424,741, the Ministry of Public Health said.

Meanwhile, the South American country surpassed 15,000 confirmed deaths from COVID-19 after 71 more deaths were registered in the last 24 hours, bringing the total to 15,024, the ministry reported.

Another 5,461 deaths are considered to be COVID-19 related, but not verified, according to the ministry.

Ethiopia

Ethiopia registered 256 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, taking the nationwide tally to 271,200 as of Saturday evening, according to the country's Ministry of Health.

Four new deaths and 924 more recoveries were reported, bringing the respective totals to 4,143 and 234,774, the ministry said.

Ethiopia, Africa's second-most populous nation, has so far reported the largest number of cases in the East Africa region.

Mauritius

Mauritania received Saturday a second COVID-19 vaccine donation from China, as the country is looking to vaccinate more of its citizens against the virus.

With the new donation, China will help Mauritania "ensure the continuity of the anti-COVID-19 vaccination campaign across the country," Mauritanian Health Minister Sidi Ould Zahaf said.

Zahaf also took the opportunity to once again urge people to get vaccinated to allow for the relaunch of the country's economy.

A prisoner receives a dose of the AstraZeneca jab against the coronavirus, during a vaccination campaign at the El-Arjate prison near the capital Rabat, Morocco, on May 26, 2021. (FADEL SENNA / AFP)

Morocco

A total of 8,521,177 people have received first doses of COVID-19 vaccine in Morocco by Saturday, the Ministry of Health said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the number of people vaccinated with two doses has reached 5,242,075, according to the ministry statement.

The North African country launched a nationwide vaccination campaign on Jan. 28 after the arrival of the first shipment of China's Sinopharm vaccines.

Morocco's total COVID-19 cases rose to 518,868 during the last 24 hours after 410 new ones were registered, and the number of recoveries increased by 297 to 506,740, the statement said.

The death toll from the coronavirus in Morocco rose to 9,138 with three fatalities added during the last 24 hours, while 221 people remained in intensive care units, it added.

Russia

Russia’s new coronavirus infections rose to 9,694, the highest level since March. Cases have climbed in Moscow as well, remaining above 3,000 over the past four days. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on state television that the increase is mostly seasonal, though a jump in hospitalizations in the capital was in part due to people delaying medical attention until after a 10-day holiday at the start of May. He urged people to get vaccinated.

The Czech Republic

The Czech Republic reported 222 new cases in 24 hours through Saturday. It’s the second lowest number since mid-May and similar to infection levels at the end of August. Indoor dining, casinos, dancing clubs will reopen Monday in a wider easing of restrictions. The country had a total death toll of 30,104 from COVID-19 as of May 30, the worst-hit in Europe after Hungary adjusted for population size.

Tunisia

Tunisian Health Ministry on Saturday reported 1,422 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total number of infections in the country to 343,374.

The death toll from the virus rose by 61 to 12,574 in Tunisia, and the total number of recoveries reached 301,273, the ministry said in a statement.

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Uganda

Uganda recorded 690 new COVID-19 cases over the past day, bringing the nationwide count to 46,621, President Yoweri Museveni announced late on Saturday. 

Museveni said in a televised address that the new cases were confirmed from samples collected from contacts and alert cases on Friday in the country.

A total of 43,401 recoveries and 362 deaths have been registered since the outbreak was declared in the east African country in March 2020, he said.

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