Key Points
- Australia extends support to residential aged care homes until 31 December
- Organ transplants declined during the pandemic
- US first lady Jill Biden tests positive in COVID rebound
On Thursday, Australia reported at least 43 COVID-19 deaths, including 29 in New South Wales and 12 in Queensland.
The Australian government has committed additional funding for eligible aged care providers to manage the direct impacts of COVID-19.
The government also decided to continue the supply of personal protective equipment and RATs to residential aged care homes until 31 December.
In its latest report, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare said the COVID-19 pandemic substantially impacted organ donation and transplantation activity in the country.
It said there was an 18 per cent drop in kidney transplants from deceased donors in 2020 compared with 2019. There was a further decrease of 6.8 per cent in 2021 compared with 2020.
US first lady Jill Biden has tested positive in a rebound case of COVID-19. She is not experiencing any symptoms. She had left the isolation on Sunday.
The new weekly global COVID-19 cases declined by nine per cent, and deaths decreased by 15 per cent for the week ending 21 August, the World Health Organization noted in its latest report.
Japan, Korea, the US, Germany and Russia reported the highest global cases.
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