COVID-19 Daily - August 31, 2021: a new strain of COVID-19 was detected in South Africa; The EU removes the US from the list of safe countries!

The end of August brought new information about the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic. In recent days, more and more countries have announced new restrictive measures and travel conditions during pandemics. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic is rising on the fourth wave and more and more cases are expected from one day to the next. Let's see the news of COVID-19 from August 31, 2021!

• A new variant of COVID-19 has been identified in South Africa. Strain C.1.2 has been detected in most regions of the country, and its transmission is relatively low, but scientists are concerned that it has mutations similar to the Delta variant. Studies continue to see if it is more contagious or if it goes beyond the immunity offered by vaccines or previous infection.

• The European Union has removed the United States and other third countries from its list of safe countries. The EU recommends that the 27 Member States impose new travel restrictions on unvaccinated people in the United States, Israel, Kosovo, Lebanon, Montenegro and Northern Macedonia. Among the recommendations is quarantine!

• A study published in the journal The Lancet Public Health a found to have been registered a huge decrease in the number of organ transplants between 2019 and 2020, with 487 patients dying waiting for a transplant, compared to 372 in the previous year. This is attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic.

France will supply Africa with over 10 million doses of AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines over the next three months!

• For the second day in a row, New Zealand reports a low number of new cases of COVID-19, with only 49 people infected with the new coronavirus.

• The Czech Republic has approved a new dose of COVID-19 vaccine starting September 20. The third dose can be given to anyone and has a complete vaccination schedule. The recommendation is for people over 60 years old. Pfizer and Moderna vaccines will be used as booster vaccines and will be offered to those who have the full vaccination schedule at least eight months ago.