Indian vaccine gets nod for human trials

Bharat Biotech's Covid-19 vaccine has been approved for human trials, making it India's first domestic candidate to get the green light from the government's drug regulator as cases surge in a country with more than 1.3 billion people.

The Drug Controller General of India has approved the company's application to conduct a Phase I and II clinical trial of Covaxin, which was developed along with the Indian Council of Medical Research's National Institute of Virology, the company said in a statement on Monday.

Human clinical trials are scheduled to start across the country in July for the vaccine, which was developed and manufactured in Bharat Biotech's facility at Genome Valley in Hyderabad, India.

India, which lags only the United States, Brazil and Russia in total cases, reported close to 20,000 new infections yesterday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned citizens against flouting rules to prevent the spread of coronavirus, as he extended a vast social security scheme until November.

Several Indian cities prepared to extend their lockdowns to combat the spread of the infection.

"Ever since (easing of restrictions) started in the country, negligence in personal and social behaviour has been increasing," Modi said in a televised address yesterday, adding citizens were ignoring guidelines on social distancing and hand washing.

Under pressure for leaving the poor to fend for themselves early in a stringent lockdown that began in March, Modi also announced the extension of a scheme providing free food grains to 800 million Indians, at a cost of around $12 billion.

The opposition Congress Party, led by Rahul Gandhi, said the measures were inadequate, calling for direct cash transfers to the poorest in the country.

More than 16,000 people have died in India - a low figure when compared with countries with similar numbers of cases - though experts fear its hospitals will be unable to cope with a steep rise in infections.

CURBS CONTINUE

India enters what Modi has called "Unlock 2.0" today, with many curbs on movement relaxed, though schools, cinemas, gyms and bars will remain shut. But some states have imposed their own lockdowns in cities with significant outbreaks.

The northeastern state of Assam, where authorities are struggling with the impact of floods that forced more than a million people from their homes, ordered a stringent two-week lockdown in the main city of Guwahati to tackle the coronavirus.

Tamil Nadu state extended a strict lockdown for its capital Chennai by five days. It also announced a closure of meat shops due to what officials said were large crowds gathering there, reports Reuters.

EU TO OPEN BORDERS

The European Union will reopen its borders to a select list of "safe countries".

Europe's piecemeal reopening comes as countries around the globe struggle to revive economic activity while battling new spikes of the virus, with hotspots still surging in Latin America and in the United States.

After days of negotiations, EU member are due to finalise the list of some 15 countries, including Australia, Canada, Thailand, Japan and others, whose citizens will be free to enter the bloc starting on July 1.

The US, Russia and Brazil were among those expected not to make the selection, which will be updated every two weeks based on the safety situation in each state.

With some 10.4 million known infections worldwide, the pandemic is "not even close to being over", the World Health Organization has warned.

The UK, home to Europe's deadliest outbreak, has already seen its worst quarterly contraction in 40 years, shrinking 2.2 percent from January-March.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday vowed to deliver a "infrastructure revolution" to help the country build its way out of the economic slump.

While the government plans to reopen pubs, restaurants and hairdressers across England on July 4, schools and non-essential shops in Leicester, central England, have been ordered to close after a localised outbreak.

Germany, which has been praised for its handling of the Covid-19 outbreak, also saw its North Rhine-Westphalia state extend a lockdown on a district hit hard by a slaughterhouse outbreak, reports AFP.

And in Australia, a new spike in cases in parts of Melbourne spurred new stay-at-home measures affecting some 300,000 people.

LONG WAIT FOR TESTS

Covid-19 is still tearing across the US, particularly in southern and western states where leaders pushed for early re-openings.

The country leads the world with more than 126,000 recorded deaths and 2.5 million cases.

In Houston, Texans waited for hours in their cars to get tested in a state that has seen infection rates double since early June.

In New York, deemed to be on the road to recovery, the iconic Broadway theatre district announced it would remain closed until the end of the year.

With numerous US states forced to re-impose restrictions on restaurants, bars and beaches, US President Donald Trump has come under growing pressure to set an example by wearing a mask.

And while opposition Democrats have urged Trump to reissue an emergency declaration on coronavirus, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said the president had "no interest" in doing so.

The world's second hardest-hit country Brazil is still facing a steep curve of infections, registering 259,105 cases in the seven days through Sunday -- the country's highest of any week during the pandemic.

Peru is also suffering, with more than 9,000 fatalities to date.

And in Iraq, overwhelmed doctors are struggling with mask shortages, unpaid salaries and dilapidated hospitals as daily infections rise.

Iran announced another 150 deaths yesterday as officials said the virus was still peaking in parts of the country.