Manila to be under tightest quarantine curbs from 6-20 August; Japan set to expand state of emergency * Israel first country to offer Pfizer booster shots to people over 60 * Pregnant women urged to get Covid jab amid rise in hospital admissions * 170 new cases as army prepares to enforce Sydney lockdown compliance * Greece sends police to Covid hotspot islands to step up controls * UK coronavirus updates – live 10.01am BST Allegations are growing from residents and human rights activists in MYANMAR that the military government, which seized control in February, is using the pandemic to consolidate power and crush opposition. Associated Press reports: _ In the last week, the per capita death rate in Myanmar surpassed those of Indonesia and Malaysia to become the worst in Southeast Asia. The country’s crippled health care system has rapidly become overwhelmed with new patients sick with Covid-19. Supplies of medical oxygen are running low, and the government has restricted its private sale in many places, saying it is trying to prevent hoarding. But that has led to widespread allegations that the stocks are being directed to government supporters and military-run hospitals. At the same time, medical workers have been targeted after spearheading a civil disobedience movement that urged professionals and civil servants not to cooperate with the government, known as the State Administrative Council._ 9.47am BST ISRAELI President Isaac Herzog received a third shot of coronavirus vaccine on Friday, kicking off a campaign to give booster doses to people aged over 60 as part of efforts to slow the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant, Reuters reports. Continue reading...
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