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The highly infectious Kent variant of Covid-19 is the most dominant “lineage” of the virus in the US, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said.

Dr Rochelle Walensky, director of CDC, said hospitals are seeing more younger adults being admitted with severe disease, which can be attributed to increasing prevalence of variants.

During a White House coronavirus response team’s briefing on Wednesday, she said: “Based on our most recent estimates from CDC surveillance, the B117 variant is now the most common lineage circulating in the United States.

“So there are many different lineages.

“There are several different kinds of, sort of, wild-type variants, and this is, in fact, the most common lineage right now.”

According to data by the CDC, there are 16,275 reported cases of the Kent variant in the US.

Spain’s health ministry decided to only give AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine to people aged between 60 to 65 after European and British regulators found a potential link between the shot and rare brain blood clots.

“The AstraZeneca vaccine will only be administered to person older than 60, although there is diversity of opinions in the European Union,” said health minister Carolina Darias.

Brazil recorded 92,625 additional confirmed cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours, along with 3,829 deaths from Covid-19,Reuters reports.

Brazil has registered more than 13 million cases since the pandemic began, while the official death toll has risen to 340,776, according to ministry data.

Algeria will start producing Russia’s Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine in September in partnership with Moscow and part of the production will be intended for African countries, Reuters reports.

The North African country, which already has received 50,000 doses of Sputnik V, said in February it was in talks with Russia to produce the vaccine.

“We must meet the vaccine challenge. We will be ready to produce an Algerian vaccine in September,” Lotfi Benbahmed, the pharmaceutical industry minister, said.

Qatar announced the reimposition of strict lockdown measures, banning most indoor activities except retail and work, AFP reports.

Restaurants, cafes, hairdressers, beauty salons, museums, libraries and cinemas will be forced to close from Friday, according to minutes of a cabinet meeting.

“We are still in the middle of the second wave of the Covid pandemic, and we have not reached the peak of infections yet,” Abdullatif al-Khal, chair of the National Health Strategic Group on Covid-19, said during a speech on state television.

Restaurants can still offer deliveries, while mosques will remain open at set times for five-times daily worship but authorities ordered additional prayers for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan be conducted at home.

Private and public sector workplaces will be limited to 50 percent of capacity and home visits between members of different households remain illegal, according to the minutes published by the official Qatar News Agency.

Tunisia will extend its night curfew hours and will prevent all gatherings and weekly markets to curb the rapid spread of the coronavirus pandemic, as intensive care units near maximum capacity in most hospitals, Reuters reports.

The curfew will start 7:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. morning starting Friday.

Tunisia also will impose quarantine for all visitors who need to show Covid-19 tests upon arrival, the government spokeswoman Hasna Ben Slimane said.

Beds in intensive care units in Tunisian public hospitals are about 80% full as Covid-19 cases surge, health minister Faouzi Mehdi said.

Tunisia has recorded 263,000 coronavirus cases and 9,039 deaths.

Germany is about to start bilateral negotiations with Russia to obtain its Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine, a source told Reuters, adding that any final agreement depended on Russia providing key data to the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

The European Commission told health ministers of EU member states that Brussels was not planning to start talks with Russia on a preliminary contract for Sputnik V as it did with other vaccine providers, the source said.

German Health Minister Jens Spahn announced during the virtual meeting that Germany would start preliminary negotiations with Russia on a bilateral agreement to secure the vaccine, the source added.

Sao Paulo, Brazil’s biggest city, said it would begin opening some 600 new graves per day, well beyond the record of 426 burials in a day on March 30, Reuters reports.

The city is also preparing plans for a “vertical cemetery,” a crypt with 26,000 drawer-like graves that can be build in 90 days once approved.

Italy will reserve AstraZeneca’s vaccine for the over 60s following concerns of a link to blood clots in younger people, the government’s top adviser on the coronavirus crisis announced.

AFP reports:

The decision has been taken to “recommend the preferential use on individuals aged above 60”, Franco Locatelli told reporters.

His announcement came hours after the EU’s medicines regulator said that blood clots should be listed as a rare side effect of the jab but insisted the benefits continue to outweigh the risks.