WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - More than 1,500 hospitals located in rural US communities will receive $398 million to expand COVID-19 testing and other pandemic mitigation measures, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said on Tuesday.
"Hospitals will use the funds to maintain or increase COVID-19 testing, expand access to testing for rural residents, and tailor mitigation efforts to reflect the needs of local communities", HHS said in a press release.
The funding provided by the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan will be available to 1,540 hospitals, typically those with fewer than 50 beds that are located in rural areas, the release said.
MADRID (Sputnik) - The Spanish government will posthumously award the Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit to healthcare workers who fell victim to COVID-19, spokeswoman Isabel Rodriguez said on Tuesday.
The awards would be handed over to the victims’ relatives. Since the onset of the outbreak, more than 100 health workers have died of COVID-19 in Spain.
"The best possible recognition that we could give them is to stay calm, responsible and cautious [in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic]", Rodriguez said.
Speaking of immunisation, she noted that the pace is still sluggish among young people, despite the efforts of autonomous communities.
Spain is currently witnessing a spike in COVID-19 cases among younger people who have not yet been vaccinated.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – Over half of Canadians eligible to get vaccinated against the COVID-19 are fully immunised, while nearly 80 percent have received at least one dose, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Tuesday.
"Almost 80 percent eligible Canadians have now received their first dose and more than 50 percent have received their second dose", Trudeau said during a press briefing.
According to Our World in Data, Canada is among the world leaders for first doses administered, however, ranks just 35th for fully vaccinated individuals.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russian ambassador in Hanoi Gennady Bezdetko has discussed defence industry cooperation and supplies of the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine with Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc, the Russian embassy said on Tuesday.
The meeting took place as Bezdetko presented his credentials to the president.
"Great attention was paid to trade and economic ties, defence industry cooperation as well as cooperation in scientific and humanitarian areas. The two countries’ close interaction in the international arena, the importance of continuous common efforts to fight the novel coronavirus pandemic, including supplies of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine, were mentioned", the embassy wrote on Facebook.
The sides confirmed their commitment to work productively on all bilateral issues, the statement added.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The United States has issued updated travel advisories for Germany and Austria, saying that the citizens who travel to these countries should "exercise increased caution", the US State Department said on Tuesday.
"This week, the following Travel Advisories have been assessed and reissued with updates, lowered to a Level 2 – Exercise Increased Caution. Armenia. Austria. Bulgaria. Czech Republic. Germany. Serbia", the statement said.
Previous US advisory notes said that Austria and Germany were on Level 3 which meant that Washington asked the citizens to reconsider travel to these countries due to COVID-19.
LONDON (Sputnik) – British Medical Association (BMA) council chair Chaand Nagpaul on Tuesday criticized the UK government’s decision to lift all remaining COVID-19 restrictions in England by 19 July, warning that "it makes no sense" to knowingly accept that infections will increase in coming weeks.
"We cannot see any sense in why the government is removing the requirement for people to be protecting one another in a crowded underground train or a bus, or a crowded shop. It makes no sense to be knowingly accepting increasing infections at a time when that infection rise is translating into increased hospitalization", Nagpaul told BBC Breakfast.
