▶ S. KOREA RECORDS 1,347 NEW CORONAVIRUS CASES
South Korean health authorities have reported 1,347 new coronavirus cases and 11 additional virus-related fatalities.
Among the latest cases confirmed in the last 24 hours, all but 13 were local transmissions.
For the fourth day in a row, the daily caseload has remained under 2,000, apparently due to less testing over the extended Hangeul Day weekend.
Officials have voiced concerns over a possible surge in new infections in the coming days due to increased travel and the spread of the highly infectious Delta variant.
The country has confirmed a total of 334,163 coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic and 2,594 deaths.
The government has been pushing vaccines to help contain the virus with the goal of attaining herd immunity by November.
So far, 59.6 percent of the population has been fully vaccinated.
▶ WHO BACKS EXTRA COVID SHOT FOR HIGH-RISK GROUPS
World Health Organization vaccine advisers recommend older people and those with weakened immune systems be offered an additional dose of all WHO-approved COVID-19 vaccines.
This falls in line with what many rich countries, including Britain, France and the U.S. have already recommended for their populations.
At a press briefing on Monday, the WHO's vaccines director, Dr. Kate O'Brien, said a third dose should be given to immunocompromised people sometime between one to three months after the second dose, adding that it was not considered a booster.
She emphasized that this recommendation does not apply to healthy, younger adults who have a normal immune response to vaccination and have no underlying conditions.
▶ REPORT: UK FUMBLED EARLY PANDEMIC RESPONSE
A report by a joint committee of British MPs has described the government's early response to the coronavirus pandemic as one of the worst national public health failures ever.
It claimed that both ministers and scientists waited too long to bring in lockdowns last year at the cost of many lives.
The report also alleged this had been a deliberate policy as the government had decided to try to build immunity in the population.
Greg Clark, one of the MPs involved in writing the report, listed a number of failings.
[Clip: Clark]
"We didn't have much data. We didn't know what was going on hardly because we didn't have enough of a testing capacity. So, we were operating in the dark. We didn't take enough of account of what was going on in other countries, especially in East Asia, where they were having an effective approach."
▶ N. KOREAN LEADER BLAMES US FOR TENSIONS
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has blamed the United States for tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
The official Korean Central News Agency reported today that Kim called the U.S. the "root cause" of instability in an opening speech at a defense expo to mark the 76th founding anniversary of the North's ruling Workers' Party.
Kim also accused South Korea of having "double standards" and "destroying the military balance" on the peninsula with its "dangerous" attempts to strengthen military power.
In his address, Kim said the enhancement of the North's military is not targeted at South Korea or the U.S.
Kim said their enemy "is war itself," adding that his country's "external efforts for peace does not in any way mean giving up our rights to self-defense."
