Delta Variant

Asian markets sank Wednesday as a slowdown in US consumer inflation failed to overcome concerns about the fast-spreading Delta variant, while Hong Kong was dragged by a collapse in casino firms as Macau unveiled a planned crackdown on the sector.

India has so far not seen Mu and C.1.2, the two new variants of SARS-CoV2, and the Delta variant and its sub-lineages continue to the main Variants of Concern in the country, INSACOG, the genome sequencing consortium, has said.

Australia's Victoria state reported a second consecutive daily fall in new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday as its first-dose vaccination rate neared the 70% level where some curbs imposed to contain an outbreak of the Delta variant will be eased.

The latest coronavirus wave in the United States driven by the Delta variant could soon peak, but experts warn against complacency and expect the virus will be part of everyday life for years to come.

COVID-19 vaccines are effective at preventing hospitalisations and emergency department visits caused by the Delta variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, according to a US study.

Amid surging Delta variant cases in the US, COVID-19 vaccines for children younger than 12 years could be available by the end of next month, a media report has said.

Fully vaccinated people were 11 times less likely to die of Covid and 10 times less likely to be hospitalized compared to the unvaccinated since highly contagious Delta became the most common variant, US health authorities said Friday.

The continued spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has spawned a Greek alphabet of variants - a naming system used by the World Health Organization (WHO) to track concerning new mutations of the virus that causes COVID-19.

The pandemic's summer resurgence is slowing the global economic recovery as the delta variant dogs efforts to rev up factories, offices and schools.

New Zealand recorded its first Covid-related death in six months Saturday, but health authorities said there were signs the outbreak of the highly infectious Delta variant was coming under control.

US pediatric Covid hospitalizations have surged since Delta became predominant, but a new study that offers a first look at the relevant data suggests that fears the variant causes more severe disease are unfounded.

While the Delta variant drags on fuel demand, supply is steadily increasing. U.S. production rose to 11.4 million barrels per day in the most recent week, and drilling firms added rigs for the third week in a row, services company Baker Hughes said.

Apple is reportedly asking its US employees to report their vaccination status as COVID-19 cases spike in the country.

For the week, global benchmark Brent shed more than 6%, its largest week of losses in four months, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) tumbled nearly 7% in its biggest weekly decline in nine months.

"Growth for the second half of 2021 has been downgraded more sharply, as new COVID-19 restrictions imposed in several major oil consuming countries, particularly in Asia, look set to reduce mobility and oil use," the Paris-based IEA said.

Asian markets sank Wednesday as a slowdown in US consumer inflation failed to overcome concerns about the fast-spreading Delta variant, while Hong Kong was dragged by a collapse in casino firms as Macau unveiled a planned crackdown on the sector.

India has so far not seen Mu and C.1.2, the two new variants of SARS-CoV2, and the Delta variant and its sub-lineages continue to the main Variants of Concern in the country, INSACOG, the genome sequencing consortium, has said.

Australia's Victoria state reported a second consecutive daily fall in new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday as its first-dose vaccination rate neared the 70% level where some curbs imposed to contain an outbreak of the Delta variant will be eased.

The latest coronavirus wave in the United States driven by the Delta variant could soon peak, but experts warn against complacency and expect the virus will be part of everyday life for years to come.

COVID-19 vaccines are effective at preventing hospitalisations and emergency department visits caused by the Delta variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, according to a US study.

Amid surging Delta variant cases in the US, COVID-19 vaccines for children younger than 12 years could be available by the end of next month, a media report has said.

Fully vaccinated people were 11 times less likely to die of Covid and 10 times less likely to be hospitalized compared to the unvaccinated since highly contagious Delta became the most common variant, US health authorities said Friday.

The continued spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has spawned a Greek alphabet of variants - a naming system used by the World Health Organization (WHO) to track concerning new mutations of the virus that causes COVID-19.

The pandemic's summer resurgence is slowing the global economic recovery as the delta variant dogs efforts to rev up factories, offices and schools.

New Zealand recorded its first Covid-related death in six months Saturday, but health authorities said there were signs the outbreak of the highly infectious Delta variant was coming under control.

US pediatric Covid hospitalizations have surged since Delta became predominant, but a new study that offers a first look at the relevant data suggests that fears the variant causes more severe disease are unfounded.

While the Delta variant drags on fuel demand, supply is steadily increasing. U.S. production rose to 11.4 million barrels per day in the most recent week, and drilling firms added rigs for the third week in a row, services company Baker Hughes said.

Apple is reportedly asking its US employees to report their vaccination status as COVID-19 cases spike in the country.

For the week, global benchmark Brent shed more than 6%, its largest week of losses in four months, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) tumbled nearly 7% in its biggest weekly decline in nine months.

"Growth for the second half of 2021 has been downgraded more sharply, as new COVID-19 restrictions imposed in several major oil consuming countries, particularly in Asia, look set to reduce mobility and oil use," the Paris-based IEA said.