Coronavirus: Latest global developments

Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis:

China outbreak 

Millions of people are confined to their homes in China as the country tries to contain its largest outbreak in months with mass testing and travel curbs.

Sydney lockdown 

Troops hit Sydney's streets to help enforce its prolonged lockdown, as stay-at-home orders in Australia's third-largest city Brisbane are extended to curb a worsening outbreak.

Reassuring Fauci 

The US is unlikely to be sent back into lockdown despite a surge in cases stemming from the Delta variant, says top US scientist Anthony Fauci.

HK compulsory jabs 

Hong Kong civil servants, teachers and healthcare workers must get vaccinated against the virus or pay for regular testing, the city's leader announces.

Rules ease for UK travellers 

Families weep as they are reunited at London's Heathrow Airport, with fully vaccinated passengers arriving in England from the US and EU no longer required to quarantine.

Berlin protests 

Thousands of anti-lockdown demonstrators defy a court-ordered protest ban and gather in the streets of Berlin, resulting in scuffles with police.

Arson attacks at Polish vaccine hubs 

Poland says it is stepping up security at vaccination points following two arson incidents overnight in a single town and an attempt by anti-vaccine activists to break into another.

Hamilton's long Covid-19

Formula One star Lewis Hamilton admits he may still be suffering from the effects of the virus that he had in December, after being visibly unwell on the podium at the Hungarian Grand Prix this weekend.

Travel bubble 

Seasonal workers from selected Pacific countries will be allowed into New Zealand without undergoing two weeks in quarantine, Jacinda Ardern says, in an expansion of the travel bubble.

Cricket star Warne tests positive 

Australian cricket star Shane Warne has to sit out a match in the English Hundred tournament after testing positive for Covid-19.

4.2 million dead 

The coronavirus has killed at least 4,227,765 people since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP.

The United States is the worst-affected country with 613,228 deaths, followed by Brazil with 556,834, India with 424,773, Mexico with 241,034 and Peru with 196,438 fatalities.

The WHO says up to three times the number suggested by official figures have died directly or indirectly as a result of the pandemic.