Covid-19 global updates: Merkel warns Europe is ‘on thin ice’ as concerns about delta variant grow

Here are some other developments:

• A new study led by Britain’s Kent University suggests that the first coronavirus case in China likely occurred on Nov. 17, 2019. Using statistic modeling techniques, researchers said that the first U.S. case most probably emerged on Jan. 16, 2020.
• India administered a record 8 million vaccine doses in one day earlier this week. But experts fear low vaccine stockpiles will leave the country unable to prevent a third wave of infections, Bloomberg News reported. At least 390,000 people have died of the virus there.
• Sydney will go into a partial lockdown on Friday as officials in Australia’s most populous city try to stamp out a growing delta variant outbreak.
• Japan is donating another 1 million doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines to Taiwan. This follows an earlier delivery of more than 1.2 million shots to the East Asian island, which had effectively eliminated the virus until cases started surging in May.
• Doctors in Britain have reported a record rise in respiratory illnesses, particularly among younger children. The National Health Service said it was “overwhelmed” by these cases — which are not covid related and common in the winter months — but are climbing as distancing restrictions ease across the country.
• Indonesia, which is fighting a post-Ramadan spike in infections, reported a record 20,574 new cases on Thursday.