WASHINGTON - The federal government is spending $2.1 billion to improve infection control procedures in health care settings, aimed at preventing the transmission of diseases inside hospitals, dialysis centers and other facilities.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is allocating the funding from the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill that was signed into law by President Joe Biden this year.
Of the new funding, $500 million will create and train "strike teams" to help facilities with known or suspected COVID-19 outbreaks.
CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky says the funding "will dramatically improve the safety and quality of the health care delivered in the United States during the pandemic and in the future."
Nearly $900 million will be spent over the coming years to support research and training on new ways to control the spread of infections.
HERE'S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:
NEW DELHI - India officials say a record 21 million vaccine doses were given across the country in a special drive on Friday, a birthday gift to Prime Minister Narendra Modi who turned 71.
India has vaccinated 770 million people, 20% fully vaccinated and 62% with single doses, according to the Health Ministry.
The ministry advised people to take precautions to avoid another deadly surge during the upcoming October-November festival season. India was hit by a devastating surge of infections from April to June this year, overwhelming hospital beds and oxygen supply in hospitals.
Meanwhile, youth members of main opposition Congress party clashed with police during a street protest Friday demanding jobs amid massive unemployment triggered by the pandemic.
On Friday, India reported 34,403 new cases and 320 confirmed deaths.
JACKSON, Miss. - Mississippi has the highest rate of COVID-19 deaths in the U.S., with roughly 1 of every 320 Mississippians having succumbed to the coronavirus.
The state's top health official on Thursday warned that more deaths will come.
"We're recording well over 2,500 (cases) a day, in recent days, far more than we'd like to see," said State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs. "A lot of that's going to translate into the tragedy."
Since the start of the pandemic, at least 9,165 people in Mississippi have died of the virus. The state has a population of roughly 3 million and has one of the worst vaccination rates in the country.
Of specific concern during the delta variant surge in Mississippi have been pregnant mothers, Dobbs said. During the pandemic, 15 pregnant women in Mississippi have died of coronavirus, according to the Department of Health. Eight of those deaths occurred between July 25 and Sept. 16.
INDIANAPOLIS - Indiana's largest hospital system says 125 workers are no longer employed with the health network after they didn't comply with its mandate for all employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
The Indianapolis Business Journal newspaper reported Indiana University Health says the employees left the hospital system after a two-week unpaid suspension period that ended Sept. 14.
The employees represent less than 1% of IU Health's work force of about 36,000. The health system operates 15 hospitals and dozens of outpatient clinics around the state. IU Health said Sept. 2 it estimated 97% of its employees were vaccinated.
IU Health announced in June it would require all doctors, nurses and other employees be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Sept. 1.
GENEVA - The World Health Organization and United Nations on Friday declined to indicate how many in their workforces have been vaccinated.
"We won't have that because it's confidential," said Dr. Margaret Harris, a WHO spokeswoman.
U.N. Geneva spokeswoman Alessandra Vellucci said: "We don't disclose this kind of information. It's something that is said to the medical service. So, no, unfortunately, we won't be able to give you these numbers."
Vellucci says she'll look into whether percentages of staff that had been vaccinated could be provided.
In November, WHO indicated 65 of its staffers had tested positive for COVID-19 at the time, confirming information in an internal e-mail obtained by The Associated Press. The U.N. office in Geneva has often indicated how many of its staff tested positive.
Governments list how many people are vaccinated against the coronavirus, and the WHO compiles the information and reports on it. Some countries and companies require vaccines for their workers to go to their jobs.
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - Cambodia is vaccinating children ages 6 to 11 so students can safely return to schools that have been closed for months due to the coronavirus.
Prime Minister Hun Sen inaugurated the campaign Friday, with his grandchildren and young family members of other senior officials shown being given their shots.
Cambodia already has been vaccinating older children. Hun Sen says he ordered health officials to study if children ages 3 to 5 can be vaccinated.
Nearly 72% of Cambodia's almost 17 million people have received at least one COVID-19 shot since vaccinations began in February.
China's Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines account for most inoculations.
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - Sri Lanka on Friday extended the COVID-19 lockdown by another two weeks amid pressure from medical experts.
The current lockdown was to end on Tuesday. A special meeting of the COVID-19 Control Committee chaired by President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa decided to extend the measures until Oct. 1, according to presidential spokesman Kingsly Rathnayaka.
Medical experts have said although Sri Lanka has seen a decline in daily cases, oxygen requirements and deaths, it remains at risk. The last 24 hours saw 2,314 confirmed cases.
The lockdown was first imposed on Aug. 20 and extended four times.
The government has allowed export-oriented factories and agriculture work to continue, in addition to essential services.
Sri Lanka has so far reported 496,423 confirmed cases and 11,699 deaths.
BEIJING - China has reported another 62 cases of the coronavirus, even as the number of Chinese citizens fully vaccinated has topped 1 billion.
All but one of the cases was detected over the previous 24 hours in the eastern coastal province of Fujian in China's latest outbreak of the delta variant, the National Health Commission said on Friday.
Of those, 31 were in the major port city of Xiamen, with 28 others in the city of Putian and one in the city of Quanzhou.
That came a day after health officials announced that more than 1 billion Chinese, or 72% of all 1.4 billion citizens of the world's most populous country, have been fully vaccinated. The National Health Commission says 2.16 billion doses have been administered.
Nearly 300 cases have been detected in Fujian over the past week, prompting authorities to lock down affected neighborhoods, close schools and entertainment venues and restrict travel out of the province.
China has largely stopped the spread by imposing restrictions and mass testing whenever new cases are found. It also limits entry to the country and requires people who arrive to quarantine in a hotel for at least two weeks.
The efficacy of Chinese vaccines has been questioned, however, and it's not clear how many of those newly infected had received their jabs.
China has recorded a total of 4,636 confirmed deaths and 95,577 confirmed cases. There are 916 people currently receiving treatment for the disease.
SEOUL, South Korea - South Korea has reported more than 2,000 new cases of the coronavirus, nearing a one-day record set last month, ahead of the biggest holiday of the year.
The 2,008 cases reported Friday was the 73rd consecutive day of more than 1,000, despite officials enforcing the country's strongest social distancing rules short of a lockdown in Seoul and other large population centers for the past 10 weeks.
More than 1,500 cases came from the greater Seoul area, home to half of a population of more than 51 million. Infections have surged as schools reopened and people returned from summer vacations in recent weeks.
There are concerns that transmissions will worsen nationwide the Chuseok holiday break, the Korean version of Thanksgiving that begins over the weekend and continues through next Wednesday. Millions usually travel across the to meet relatives during Chuseok.
"We plead once again that people who aren't fully vaccinated not to visit their aging parents who are in their 60s or older," Deputy Health Minister Lee Ki-il said during a briefing.
SEATTLE - Seattle and King County officials have issued a health directive requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative test to enter certain establishments and attend large outdoor events.
Public Health-Seattle King County Health Officer Dr. Jeff Duchin issued the order Thursday to go into effect Oct. 25. Duchin says high levels of preventable COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations and increased deaths driven by the highly contagious delta variant prompted the order.
The order applies to outdoor events with 500 or more people and indoor establishments such as museums, theaters, gyms, restaurants and bars.
The order does not affect outdoor dining, take-out orders and shopping in places including grocery stores.