COVID-19
Delta variant of COVID-19 spreading rapidly through Afghanistan

The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) said Saturday that the Delta COVID-19 variant, first identified in India, is spreading rapidly in Afghanistan.
Acting Minister of Health, Wahid Majrooh, stated that 19 samples of suspected cases were tested in the central laboratories of the Ministry of Public Health of which 11 samples were detected as the Delta variant.
“This shows a rapid spread of the virus in Afghanistan,” Majrooh said.
This comes as the MoPH recorded 1,095 positive cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, bringing the total infected number of people to 11,4220 since the first case was detected in early 2020.
Meanwhile, 56 people have died of the virus in the same period, bringing the total number of fatalities to 4,650 in the country, the MoPH said.
The Ministry has extended the closure of education centers for another two weeks as Afghanistan is dealing with the spread of the third wave of the pandemic.
Majrooh, however, stated that the MoPH, Education, and Higher Education Ministries were working on a plan to reopen educational centers.
COVID-19
Japan to double limit on foreign arrivals from next month

Japan will next month double its limit on foreign arrivals to 20,000 a day, the top government spokesperson said on Friday.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told a regular news conference that travellers from most countries, about 80% of the total foreign entrants to Japan, would not be required to provide proof of negative COVID tests, nor would they have to quarantine on arrival.
This included people from all other members of the G7 group of developed economies.
Japan is accepting business travellers, foreign students and academics but not tourists, except a limited number in a trial of package tours.
Matsuno said experience with the trials would be used in later decisions to further reopen.
COVID-19
China removes some COVID test rules on travellers from U.S.

Travellers flying to China from U.S. cities including Los Angeles, New York and San Francesco from May 20 will no longer need a RT-PCR test seven days before flights, notices issued late on Tuesday by the Chinese embassy and consulates showed.
Previous requirements on antibody tests before flights will be removed as well, the notices said.
Travellers still need to do two RT-PCR tests within 48 hours or 24 hours of their flights – depending on which airport they are flying out of – plus another antigen test, those notices showed.
COVID-19
Beijing extends work-from-home guidance in several city districts

Beijing on Sunday extended guidance to work from home in four districts of the Chinese capital, including the largest, Chaoyang, as the city tries to stop a COVID-19 outbreak.
Beijing found 55 new cases in the 24 hours to 3 p.m. (0700 GMT) on Sunday, 10 of which were outside areas that under quarantine, officials said. The city is scrambling to stamp out such community infections.
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