(VOVWORLD) - 240 million COVID-19 infections were reported globally by Thursday noon, 4.9 million of them died, according to worldometers.info. There were 436,000 new cases in the last 24 hours.
 Elderly people at a nursing home in Belgium get vaccinated. (Photo: AFP/VNA) |
The US tops the world in the number of infections (45.5 million) and fatalities (740,000), followed by India and Brazil.
An improvement in vaccination coverage has enabled numerous countries to transit from their zero-COVID strategy to co-existence with the coronavirus. Some of them have planned to reopen their borders in November.
Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha announced that fully vaccinated tourists from 10 low-risk countries will be allowed to fly to Thailand from November 1.
Singapore has recently extended its Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) scheme to nine countries: the US, Canada, the UK, France, Italy, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Spain. From next Tuesday, fully vaccinated travelers from these countries seeking entry into Singapore via the VTL will enjoy quarantine-free travel.
Authorities in Moscow, Russia, will pilot quick testing for students and kindergarteners. Every two weeks, all students from 1st to 11th grade as well as pupils of preschool groups will be checked for COVID-19. Students can do the test themselves supervised by their teachers. Parents can test their kids at school monitored by school staff.
The US announced that from November, it will ease aviation travel restrictions to 33 countries for those fully vaccinated.