TOP STORIES

· The "Delta" variant of the COVID-19 virus is twice as likely to cause patients to need urgent hospital care as the previous dominant strain, “Alpha.” But according to the research published in the leading English-language medical journal The Lancent  vaccines protect against all known variants, and would reduce the risk of hospitalization. The large study examined the outcome of every known COVID-19 infection in the UK between March 29 and May 23 2021.

· A report by the U.S. spy and intelligence agencies has returned an "inconclusive" answer to the question of COVID-19's origins. Published by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, it said a split remains between analysts who said the first outbreak in Wuhan was from "natural exposure to an infected animal" and those who think the virus may have come from a "lab incident." China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi has criticized the report as "anti-science" while U.S. President Biden accused China of "preventing" the investigation.

· Italy's largest island province, Sicily, will move to the country's "yellow zone" designation and will require everyone to wear masks indoors and outside. Health Minister Roberto Speranza said the move was a reaction to rising hospitalisations in the region. It's the first imposition of more restrictions for several months in Italy. Nello Musumeci, the region's premier, said the news should be a "wake up" for those who remain unvaccinated.

· The UK government said it had told England's National Health Service to prepare for a mass COVID-19 vaccination program for children aged between 12 and 15 starting in September, if health experts give the green light. The country would be one of several in Europe to start jabbing teenagers, and it could use the start of the school term in September as a target date.

· Germany will remove Spain from its list of high-risk areas for COVID-19 from Sunday, meaning that incoming travellers who are not fully vaccinated will no longer have to quarantine, the Foreign Ministry said. Spain has been a high-risk area since the end of July. In neighboring Portugal, Lisbon is also being downgraded, but the Algarve region will remain a high-risk area.

· Germany will make up to 70 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine available to African countries this year, according to Chancellor Angela Merkel. It more than doubles the previous pledge to donate 30 million. "Germany will make available not only 30 million doses of vaccines but it will be as much as 70 million doses," Merkel told media at a G20 meeting. At the same summit, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa said: "It is not fair that Africa has vaccinated only 2 percent of the their 1.3 billion population and yet the more developed countries in the north have vaccinated up to 60 percent."

· India has given more than 10 million Covid-19 jabs in a single day for the first time, authorities said Saturday, as the South Asian giant bolsters its defences for a predicted new surge.The health ministry said the 10 million landmark was passed on Friday, beating the country's previous daily record of 9.2 million. The government has been stung by criticism after a brutal coronavirus wave in April and May killed more than 200,000 people.

· Romania's capital Bucharest will host the George Enescu Festival's 25^th edition this week, with 3,500 artists from 32 orchestras expected to perform. But musicians and attendees are being encouraged to follow the local COVID-19 rules. Audiences will be asked to wear masks during performances. "We will need to learn how to live with all these regulations. I don't think we will be here next time without masks," said conductor Paavo Jarvi. "I think this thing is here to stay and we need to learn to love and live with this new reality."

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People are twice as likely to be hospitalised with Covid-19's Delta variant, rather than other strains of the virus. Experts at Public Health England and Cambridge University said the data underlines the importance of getting vaccinated. Despite some fears about blood clots, being fully jabbed reduces the risk of serious illness from known variants, although Delta does account for almost all current UK cases. The Delta variant, first reported in India at the end of 2020,  could be up to 50 percent more transmissible than the Alpha variant, which was first identified in England. It's also suspected, but as yet unproven, that Delta is associated with more severe disease.

Covid cases have risen sharply in Scotland as schools have reopened and social restrictions were dropped 2 weeks ago. Infections for 18 and 19 year olds have risen fivefold in comparison to the national average.

In Cornwall too, the holiday season may have led to a surge in coronavirus cases. The area will receive extra support for 5 weeks, to deal with the increase. Secondary schools and college students will be expected to wear face masks outside classrooms.