March 29 coronavirus news

The Transportation Security Administration reported a new pandemic-era air travel record. It screened more than 1.57 million people at US airports on Sunday, a new record that ousted the previous record set only a week before.

Air travel figures continue to ride high during this spring break period even as health experts fret over rising coronavirus infection rates in some states.

More than 9.5 million people have flown in the last week. Sunday’s number marked the 17th straight day when more than a million people have flown by air.

The latest number is more than eight times higher than the same day a year ago, when air travel was severely depressed by the pandemic and only 180,000 people flew.

While new figures are giving hope to the battered airline industry, there’s still a long way to get back to the pre-pandemic era.

The TSA screened more than 2.5 million people on the same day in 2019, meaning the latest figure is still only 62% of pre-pandemic air travel.

The Slovenian government moved to reinstate coronavirus restrictions in April due to a growing number of infections and hospitalizations.

“We’re in a race against time,” Prime Minister Janez Jansa said in a press conference Sunday, announcing that public life in the country will essentially be suspended between April 1 and 12.

According to Jansa, the country aims to reach target vaccination coverage in June. In the meantime, Jansa said it's necessary to reimpose restrictions to ease pressure on hospitals and curb the spread of a coronavirus variant first identified in the UK.

“Inaction would mean at least a few hundred additional deaths by June and could later lead to a drastic shutdown of public life due to the overburdened capacities of the Slovenian healthcare system,” the minister added, according to a readout on the government website.

Why now? Slovenia eased coronavirus restrictions in February, but the number of daily new infections has risen sharply since then, with around 943 cases reported on average each day in recent weeks. 

Slovenia's Health Ministry reported that the country has so far vaccinated 5.3% of its 2 million population.

The country has reported over 212,000 Covid-19 cases since the beginning of the pandemic. Over 4,000 deaths have been recorded so far, making Slovenia one of the hardest-hit countries in the European Union in correlation to the population's size.

The epidemiological situation in neighboring Balkan and central European countries has also deteriorated sharply, forcing Slovenia to further limit cross-border travel. 

Mexico was expecting its first shipment of AstraZeneca vaccine doses from the United States on Sunday night, the country's foreign minister said.

Marcelo Ebrard said in a post on Twitter that a flight carrying 1.5 million AstraZeneca doses bound for Mexico City was due to land at 10.20 p.m. local time (12.20 a.m. ET Monday). 

"With this shipment, we'll reach 12,323,595 vaccine doses received. Four of which were shipped or delivered this week," he tweeted.

Ebrard thanked US President Joe Biden for authorizing the surplus doses for shipment, calling it "significant support at a critical moment that shows close cooperation of both countries."

For context: The US agreed to share four million excess doses of AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine with Canada and Mexico. Mexico will receive 2.5 million doses and Canada 1.5 million doses.

Mexico revealed the country's death toll has increased to more than 321,000 -- nearly 60% higher than previously reported -- after the government revised its figures in a new report.

People in England are now allowed to meet outdoors in groups of up to six or two households (with social distancing), as the first of the country's coronavirus measures were eased Monday.

The country has been in full national lockdown since January 4, after a new, more transmissible variant of coronavirus was discovered in southeast England.

Outdoor sports facilities such as tennis courts, swimming pools and golf courses have been permitted to reopen, and organized outdoor sports with an unlimited number of people have been given the thumbs up.

Weddings are no longer limited to exceptional circumstances but are only allowed a maximum of six attendees.

As the 'stay at home' level of Covid restrictions ended, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged caution as cases elsewhere in Europe continue to grow.

“I know how much people have missed the camaraderie and competition of organized sport, and how difficult it has been to restrict physical activities -- especially for children,” Johnson said. 

 “I know many will welcome the increased social contact, with groups of 6 or two households now also able to meet outdoors,” he added.

While it is the most significant easing in England since schools returned on March 8, many businesses remain shuttered, people are still being encouraged to work from home where possible, and meeting indoors and travel abroad is still prohibited.

The rules are set to be relaxed further in coming weeks provided the UK vaccination program continues unhindered and infection rates don't surge.

The next round of easing is due to take place no sooner than April 12 when non-essential retail will be allowed to reopen. At the same time, restaurants and pubs will be able to serve people outdoors.

Johnson's government is hopeful that most of the economy will be able to open before the end of June.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has suggested additional measures may be needed in the country to halt the ongoing spread of coronavirus.

In a rare interview with public broadcaster ARD on Sunday night, the long-time leader stood by her apology over proposing then scrapping Easter restrictions, admitting mistakes had been made.

Last week, Merkel walked back on her plan to impose a new hard five-day lockdown over Easter. Although there are restrictions on social contact and gatherings, businesses will now only be closed as usual on the public holidays of Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday.

As Covid-19 cases rise across Germany, however, Merkel said that in addition to testing, further measures were being considered and could be introduced soon.

Merkel deflected a question over whether she'd send Germany into another hard lockdown, instead suggesting that more people needed to work from home and that more testing for those going into work was needed.

She added: “We have to ensure that schools can only open if they can test twice a week, although even twice is not a lot.”

Some background: The number of coronavirus cases in the country now stands at 2,782,273 after an additional 9,872 instances were identified, the German agency for disease control and prevention said Monday.

The Robert Koch Institute said Germany's death toll stands at 75,913 -- including 43 new cases in the last 24 hours. Meanwhile the seven-day incidence rate now stands at 134.4 per 100,000 inhabitants.

India recorded 68,020 new coronavirus cases Monday, another single-day record since last year and the the sixth consecutive day that India has seen a record-high in cases in 2021.

The surge comes as Indians mark the festival of Holi, a celebration of colors, on Monday. Several states have banned public gatherings and the health ministry has asked citizens to celebrate with their family as opposed to venturing outdoors. 

India has so far recorded more than 12 million cases of Covid-19. At least 161,843 people have died, according to official data.

The Indian Ministry of Health said that 60,530,435 vaccine doses have been distributed since mid-January.

Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. traveled to Taiwan on Sunday to kick off a “travel bubble” between the two islands, according to Taiwan’s official Central News Agency (CNA).

Whipps hailed the move as a first-of its-kind “sterile corridor," according to CNA. It will enable travellers to come and go without undergoing the strict quarantine procedures common throughout Asia.

Travellers participating in the bubble will not have to undergo quarantine at a home or a hotel, but will instead be expected to practice "enhanced self-health management” for the first five days of their trips, CNA reported.

After a five-day state visit, Whipps will return to Palau, a group of islands in the North Pacific Ocean, southeast of the Philippines, on a flight that will carry the first group of Taiwanese tourists participating the program.

About 143 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered in the United States, according to data published Sunday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

The CDC reported that 143,462,691 total doses have been administered, about 79% of the 180,646,465 doses available. 

That’s about 3.3 million more administered doses reported since yesterday, for a 7-day average of about 2.7 million doses per day.  

About 28.2% of the population – 94 million people – have received at least one dose of vaccine, and 15.5% of the population – about 52 million people – have been fully vaccinated. 

Data published by the CDC may be delayed, and doses may not have been given on the day reported. 

Mexico's government has revealed the country's Covid-19 death toll is over 321,000 – 60% more than the 201,429 total deaths officially reported as of Saturday.

According to a new government report, from the start of the pandemic through February 14, 2021, there were 294,287 deaths from Covid-19.

Since then, there have been 27,223 additional deaths, according to a CNN analysis of health ministry data, bringing the total to over 321,000.

If the data in this report is correct, Mexico's death toll would be higher than Brazil's and would place the country as second worst hit in the world, following the United States.