Saudi Arabia has suspended flights to three countries, including the neighboring United Arab Emirates, to protect against a coronavirus variant, the interior ministry said Saturday.

Caretaker Health Minister Hamad Hassan on Friday confirmed the presence in the country of three cases of the highly-contagious Delta variant of coronavirus.

Hassan also advised citizens and residents above 30 who opted not to take the AstraZeneca jab to take any available vaccine.

India became the third country to pass 400,000 Covid-19 deaths, official data showed Friday, as the country's vast vaccination drive slows.

Russia on Friday reported 679 coronavirus deaths, a record number of pandemic-related fatalities over a 24-four period for the fourth day in a row, a government tally showed.

President Michel Aoun on Thursday presided over a meeting in Baabda that discussed the country’s medicine shortage crisis, in which it was decided to continue the subsidization of medicine and medical equipment despite the severe financial crisis.

A statement issued after the meeting said the scheme will be based on the Health Ministry’s priorities.

The World Health Organization on Thursday said Covid cases were on the rise again in Europe after two months of decline and warned a new wave would come "unless we remain disciplined."

"Last week, the number of cases rose by 10 percent, driven by increased mixing, travel, gatherings and easing of social restrictions," WHO's regional director for Europe Hans Kluge told a press conference.

Scores of deaths in Canada's Vancouver area are likely linked to a grueling heat wave, authorities said Tuesday, as the country recorded its highest ever temperature amid scorching conditions that extended to the U.S. Pacific Northwest.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un replaced several senior officials after a "crucial" coronavirus incident, state media reported Wednesday, potentially signaling a breach in the country's epidemic defenses.

More than three billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been given across the world, according to an AFP tally Tuesday from official sources.

Delayed second and third doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine boost immunity against Covid-19, a study by Oxford University, which developed the jab with the British-Swedish firm, said on Monday.