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Nearly 1 in 50 people worldwide have had Covid; third of Mexicans show exposure to coronavirus; Cambodia reports national record new cases

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5.22am BST
As many as one-third of Mexicans may have been exposed to the coronavirus by the end of 2020, according to a study of random blood samples taken between February and December, AP reports. Antibodies were found in 33.5% of samples from blood banks and medical laboratory tests in Mexico unrelated to Covid-19. The levels varied according to regions; the highest exposure rate was in the northwest, from Baja California to Chihuahua, at 40.7%. The lowest was in western states, at 26.6%. In general, areas along the U.S. border had higher rates.Victor Borja of the Mexican Social Security Institute said the rate may have risen by as much as 10 percentage points on average nationwide following the steep upsurge in cases in January. But even if the exposure rate is currently as much as 43.5 %, Borja stressed the country was still far from herd immunity.
5.01am BST
Australia’s drug regulator and the New South Wales health department will not confirm whether two deaths that occurred after vaccination with the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine are being investigated, saying only that they are “aware” of the cases.
On Thursday the Northern Daily Leader reported that a man in the northern NSW city of Tamworth had died in hospital on 21 April from blood clots in his lungs, which developed after he received the vaccine. And the ABC reported that a man in his 70s had died in Sydney after receiving the vaccine, but did not name the cause of the man’s death.
Related: Two NSW deaths reported after AstraZeneca vaccine, including man who developed blood clots Continue reading...