Covid-19 has infected more than 241M people and killed over 4.9M globally. Here are the virus-related developments for October 19:
Tuesday, October 19, 2021
Australia’s cases remain subdued as vaccinations rise
Australia’s Covid-19 cases
remained subdued as its largest cities, Sydney and
Melbourne, gradually move towards normality amid a surge in
vaccinations, after being rocked by a third wave of infections
from the Delta variant.
The fast-moving Delta strain forced Sydney, Melbourne, and
the national capital of Canberra to ditch their Covid-zero
approach and officials now aim to ease the tough restrictions
once double-dose vaccination rates passed 70 percent, 80 percent and 90 percent.
Sydney, Australia’s largest city, and Canberra exited a
months-long lockdown last week after racing through its
inoculation targets while Melbourne is on track to lift its
strict stay-home orders later this week.
Brazil eyes combining pandemic relief, ‘Bolsa Familia’ welfare in 2022
Brazil’s government is considering combining pandemic relief payments and “Bolsa Familia” welfare programmes into a monthly stipend of 300 reais ($54.42) next year, according to an Economy Ministry official with direct knowledge of the matter.
The government is weighing that option due to budget constraints resistance in Congress to its proposed tax reform, said the source on Monday, requesting anonymity to discuss confidential policy debates.
Maintaining soon-to-expire pandemic relief is crucial for far-right President Jair Bolsonaro as he looks at his diminishing re-election chances in 2022 due to plummeting popularity over his handing of Covid-19, while a tight fiscal situation restricts his ability to spend.
Brazil reported 7,446 new cases of Covid-19 and 183 more deaths from coronavirus.
One in three UK music jobs wiped out by Covid – report
The Covid-19 pandemic has wiped out one in three jobs in the UK music industry, a trade body said, as it called for government support to help the sector recover.
The number of jobs fell 35 percent to 128,000 in 2020 from 197,000 in 2019 as the pandemic shut down live events and forced studios to close their doors, UK Music said in its annual report.
Some 69,000 jobs were lost in a sector where three-quarters of workers are self-employed and did not receive help from government support schemes, according to the “This Is Music 2021” report.
The music industry’s contribution to the UK economy fell 46 percent to 3.1 billion pounds ($4.26 billion) in 2020 from 5.8 billion pounds in 2019, the report added. Exports fell 23 percent to 2.3 billion pounds.
Source: TRTWorld and agencies
Australia’s Covid cases subdued as vaccinations rise – latest updates
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