The Latest: Brazil to hit 500K deaths, 2nd highest globally

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In this May 26, 2021 file photo, a demonstrator holds an image of the Brazilian flag covered in fake blood and the Portuguese phrase "Bolsonaro Genocide" during an anti-government protest by unions against President Jair Bolsonaro's policies to fight the COVID-19 pandemic in Brasilia, Brazil. Brazil's Senate is publicly investigating how the death toll got so high, focusing on why Bolsonaro's government ignored opportunities to buy vaccines for months. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres, File)

BRASILIA, Brazil — The official COVID-19 death toll in Brazil is about to hit 500,000, the second highest in the world behind the United States.

Official data showed some 2,000 COVID-19 deaths per day in Brazil in the past week, representing one-fifth the global total. Only 11% of Brazil’s population is fully vaccinated.

Brazil’s Senate is investigating how the toll got so high, focusing on why President Jair Bolsonaro’s far-right government ignored opportunities to buy vaccines for months while it relentlessly pushed hydroxychloroquine. That’s a malaria drug that rigorous studies have shown to be ineffective in treating COVID-19.

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The nationally televised hearings have contained scientific claims, counterclaims and outright falsehoods. The skepticism has extended to the death toll itself, with Bolsonaro arguing the official tally from his own Health Ministry is greatly exaggerated. However, some epidemiologists saying the real death number is significantly higher — perhaps hundreds of thousands higher.

Bolsonaro has waged a 15-month campaign to downplay the coronavirus and keep the economy humming. He dismissed the scourge early on as “a little flu” and scorned masks. He tested positive for COVID-19 last year.

The U.S. recently surpassed 600,000 confirmed deaths.

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MORE ON THE PANDEMIC:

— AP-NORC poll: Many Americans resuming pre-virus activities

— Top medical adviser says ‘no fans’ safest for Tokyo Olympics

— Brazil still debating dubious virus drug amid 500,000 deaths

— India switches policy to make shots free but still short of vaccines

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Follow more of AP’s pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic and https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine

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HERE'S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

GENEVA — Top World Health Organization officials warned Friday about rising numbers of COVID-19 cases and deaths in Africa, saying a “huge number” of countries have been forced to suspend giving second doses of coronavirus vaccines because of short supplies.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus cited a 52% rise in coronavirus cases and a 32% rise in deaths in Africa related to the pandemic in the last week, “and we expect things only to get worse.”

A growing number of wealthy countries have pledged to share billions of doses, but WHO officials say time is of the essence.

Dr. Bruce Aylward, a top adviser to the WHO chief, estimated more than 30 or 40 countries initially set to receive second doses of AstraZeneca doses won’t be getting them right away. He says the U.N. health agency was working with manufacturers for more doses.

Aylward says countries in sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Latin America, the Middle East, and South Asia “have all been hit hard by this.”

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ROME — Italy will require five days of quarantine for travelers arriving from Britain, starting on Monday.

Under an ordinance signed on Friday by Health Minister Roberto Speranza, those travelers must take a COVID-19 swab test upon arrival in Italy.

Officials are concerned about an increase of COVID-19 cases in Britain involving the delta variant, which has been detected in only a small number of cases in Italy.

Italy also will allow entry from the United States, Canada and Japan for those who meet the requisites for a European Union Green Certificate. Those requisites include vaccination, documented recovery from COVID-19 or a negative swab test performed within 48 hours of arrival in Italy.

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TOKYO — The top medical adviser to the Japanese government says the safest way to hold the Tokyo Olympics is without any fans.

Dr. Shigeru Omi issued his suggestions in a report to the government and organizers. Fans from abroad have already been banned. Organizers are to announce early next week if some local fans should be allowed.

His suggestions seem at odds with organizers and the International Olympic Committee. Reports suggest organizers want to allow up to 10,000 fans in some venues. Ticket sales were to account for $800 million in income. Much of it will be lost and government entities will have to make up the shortfall.

Japan has registered 14,000 confirmed deaths from the coronavirus. Only 15% of Japanese have at least one COVID-19 vaccination. Much of the public has been opposed to holding the Tokyo Olympics, which start July 23.

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WASHINGTON — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Rochelle Walensky says she expects the delta variant will become the dominant coronavirus strain in the United States. The delta variant, first detected in India, has become dominant in Britain.

“As worrisome as this delta strain is with regard to its hyper transmissibility, our vaccines work,” Walensky told ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Friday. She encouraged Americans to get vaccinated and “you’ll be protected against this delta variant.”

Walensky says next week an advisory committee will look at reports of heart inflammation among some 300 people under age 30 who received a coronavirus vaccine.

“Over 200 million doses of vaccine have been given, and really, these events are really quite rare,” said Walensky, adding heart issues generally improve with rest and standard medications.

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PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron has kissed two World War II veterans on the cheeks, returning to a tradition that was abandoned at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.

French authorities have recommended people to avoid “la bise,” the custom of giving kisses of greeting, to avoid spreading the virus. Macron kissed the veterans on Friday while wearing a mask.

The president, who had COVID-19 in December and since been vaccinated against the disease, awarded the Legion of Honor to Leon Gautier, 98, a member of a French elite unite that took part in Normandy D-Day landings in 1944 and fellow World War II veteran Rene Crignola, 99, during a ceremony marking Gen. Charles De Gaulle’s June 18, 1940 appeal for the people of France to resist the Nazis.

The French government this week announced a relaxation of virus restrictions, including allowing people to forego masks outdoors. A nighttime curfew is set to end on Sunday.

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THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- Dutch King Willem-Alexander’s visit to a street in The Hague decked out in the national color, orange, during the European Championship has earned him criticism for mingling a little too closely with soccer fans.

The head of the Dutch royal family, the House of Orange, hit the street as the Netherlands played Austria in Group C of the pandemic-delayed Euro 2020.

In a video posted on social media and photos of the visit, the king is seen shaking the hand of at least one person and not sticking to the country’s 1.5 meter (yard) social distancing rules.

It’s not the first time the Dutch monarch has been criticized during the COVID-19 pandemic. He apologized last year for taking his family on holiday to their vacation home in Greece. The family hurried home after a public outcry.

The vacation didn’t breach coronavirus restrictions but came just days after the Dutch government introduced what it called a “partial lockdown” in a bid to rein in soaring infections.

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MADRID — Spain is planning to scrap its requirement to wear face masks outdoors.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced Friday that the government will pass a measure next week to life the requirement as of from June 26.

Sánchez called the move “a very important announcement for the 47 million people in our country.” He added: “This will be our last weekend wearing masks outside.”

Some regional authorities have in recent weeks urged the Spanish government to drop the outdoor mask requirement, which has become increasingly unpopular as temperatures rise with the approach of summer.

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MOSCOW — Confirmed COVID-19 cases in Moscow hit a daily record Friday and increased nearly 30% from the day before.

Authorities reported 9,056 new cases in Russia’s capital, the city’s highest daily surge since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.

In all of Russia, 17,262 new infections were registered Friday, the highest daily tally since early February.

Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said this week that Moscow was seeing the effects of new virus variant that is “more aggressive, more difficult to tolerate, spreads faster.”

In response to the soaring case numbers, Moscow authorities imposed an 11 p.m. curfew on bars and restaurants and made COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory for individuals working in retail, education, health care, public transportation and other trades that provide services to a large number of people.

On Friday, Sobyanin extended the bar and restaurant curfew until the end of the month and temporarily banned entertainment events with more than 1,000 spectators. The mayor also announced that a dozen restaurants in Moscow will become “coronavirus-free” by only allowing in vaccinated customers.

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JERUSALEM — Israel says it will transfer around 1 million doses of soon-to-expire coronavirus vaccines to the Palestinian Authority in exchange for a similar number of doses the Palestinians expect to receive later this year.

Israel, which has reopened after vaccinating some 85% of its adult population, has faced criticism for not sharing its vaccines with the 4.5 million Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza.

The agreement was announced Friday by the new Israeli government that was sworn in on Sunday. It said it would transfer Pfizer vaccines that will expire soon, and that the PA would transfer a similar number of vaccines when it receives them from the pharmaceutical company In September or October.

Israel has carried out one of the most successful vaccination programs in the world, allowing it to fully reopen businesses and schools. This week, authorities lifted the requirement to wear masks in public, one of the last remaining restrictions.

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BERLIN — Germany’s health minister says the country has given a first coronavirus vaccine shot to more than half of the population. But authorities are urging people to remain cautious because of the prospect of the more contagious delta variant spreading.

Health Minister Jens Spahn said Friday that 41.5 million people -- or 50.1% of Germany's total population -- has received at least one vaccine dose. He said that 29.6% of the population is now fully vaccinated.

Germany has averaged more than 800,000 shots of vaccine per day over the past week. Spahn said it should be possible to offer everyone who wants to get vaccinated a shot “within a few weeks.”

But officials pointed to Britain’s experience with the delta variant, first discovered in India, as grounds for caution.

Spahn said: “The question won’t be whether delta also becomes the dominant variant in Germany and continental Europe, but … when and under what conditions.”

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LAHORE, Pakistan — People in Pakistan’s most populated province are thronging COVID-19 vaccination centers days after Punjab authorities threatened to block cellphone service for those who refuse to get shots.

It was not immediately clear exactly when the provincial government will start cutting off phone service for people who won't get vaccinated.

The move in Punjab came after officials in Sindh province said they would withhold the July salaries of for government employees who do not receive COVID-19 jabs by June 30.

Officials said the positivity rate in Pakistan has dropped to less than 2%, indicated the country's third infection wave of the pandemic has peaked.

Pakistan has registered a total of 946,227 confirmed cases and 21,913 deaths in the pandemic since last year.

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WASHINGTON — There’s a push on Capitol Hill and beyond for a full-blown investigation of the coronavirus outbreak by a national commission like the one that looked into 9/11.

The proposal comes amid lingering questions over the government’s response to the crisis and the origin of the virus that has killed more than 600,000 Americans.

A bill introduced by Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey and Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine would establish such a commission.

The inquiry could include a look at the origins of the virus; early warnings and other communication with foreign governments; coordination among federal, state and local agencies; the availability of medical supplies; testing and public health surveillance; vaccination development and distribution; the uneven effect on minorities; and government relief policies.

Many are concerned politics will get in the way of any inquiry, as happened when Republicans came out against a commission to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol by supporters of Donald Trump.

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WASHINGTON — The U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan is locking down because of a massive spike in coronavirus cases among employees.

The embassy in Kabul already is on uncertain footing due to the imminent withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan. Now the embassy is ordering staffers into virtual isolation to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

It’s already killed at least one person and sent 114 into quarantine. The embassy says in a notice to employees that most group activities, including work meetings and recreational gatherings, are banned.

The restrictions will remain in place until the chain of transmission is broken. Violators will be removed from the country on the next available flight.

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NEW YORK — The U.S. Open tennis tournament will allow 100% spectator capacity throughout its entire two weeks in 2021.

This comes a year after spectators were banned from the Grand Slam event in New York because of the coronavirus pandemic. The U.S. Tennis Association made the announcement Thursday. The U.S. Open, held at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, is scheduled to start on Aug. 30.

The U.S. Open will be the first Grand Slam tournament to have full attendance since the Australian Open in January-February 2020, before the start of the pandemic. More than 700,000 people attended the two-week U.S. Open in 2019.

On Tuesday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said many of the state’s remaining social distancing rules would be eased because 70% of its adults have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine.

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LONDON — The U.K. has recorded more than 10,000 daily coronavirus infections for the first time in nearly four months, likely the result of the spread of the more contagious delta variant.

Government figures Thursday reported 11,007 daily cases, the highest daily amount since Feb. 19.

The variant, which accounts for around 95% of all new cases in the U.K., is considered by government scientists to be between 40% to 80% more transmissible than the previous dominant strain.

The spread of the variant upended plans for the lifting of all restrictions on social contact next week. Instead, Prime Minister Boris Johnson delayed the easing by four weeks to July 19.

Most of the new infections are among younger age groups who have not received a vaccine. The U.K.’s vaccine rollout will be extended to all adults over age 18 on Friday.

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WASHINGTON — The United States is devoting more than $3 billion to advance development of antiviral pills for COVID-19 and other dangerous viruses that could turn into pandemics.

The pills would be used to minimize symptoms after infection. They are in development and could begin arriving by year’s end, pending the completion of clinical trials.

Top U.S. infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci announced the plan Thursday at a White House briefing. Fauci says the new program would invest in “accelerating things that are already in progress” for COVID-19 but would also work to innovate new therapies for other dangerous viruses.

Several companies, including Pfizer, Roche and AstraZeneca, are testing antivirals in pill form.

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