World Coronavirus Dispatch: This Austrian region will become a vaccine lab

Sony sees record profit this financial year, Senate okays Biden virus rescue plan, travel bookings surge as Cyprus and Portugal reopen to UK tourists and other pandemic-related news across the globe

Senate approves Biden’s virus rescue plan

A divided Senate narrowly approved President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan, which is touted to be crucial to bring the country out of the economic doldrums. The bill has now to be approved by the House before Biden signs it and makes it a law. The aid, one of the biggest priorities of Joe Biden's presidency, will pump massive amounts of money into the economy. That includes one-time direct transfers of up to $1,400 for millions of Americans and a jobless aid of $300 a week until summer. The stimulus also includes funding for distributing vaccines and relief for states, cities, schools and small businesses struggling during the pandemic. Read here

Let's look at the global statistics

Global infections: 116,510,146

Global deaths: 2,588,091

Nations with most cases: US (28,952,951), India (11,210,799), Brazil (10,938,836), Russia (4,263,785), United Kingdom (4,225,906).

Source: John Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center 

An Austrian region becomes a coronavirus vaccine laboratory

In an Austrian district battered by coronavirus, everyone aged above 16 will be given the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine to determine how effective it is against the variant first found in South Africa. Starting next week, everyone in the Schwaz district, near the western Austrian city of Innsbruck, will be eligible for free shots as part of the unique drive to learn more about fighting the variant. The study in Austria is part of a broader global effort to answer a crucial question as the virus mutates and new variants emerge: Do vaccinations designed last year work against more recent mutations? If not, scientists will have to keep developing new versions of the inoculations. Read here

Sony sees record $10 bn profit as Covid ups home entertainment demand
 

One of the few firms to benefit from the pandemic as people locked down in their homes, Sony expects its highest-ever net profit for the year ending March, owing to pandemic-led home entertainment demand. The company revised up its net profit forecast to $10 billion for the current financial year, up as much as 86 per cent from a year-ago period. The record performance will be supported by a 7 per cent jump in revenue and an 11 per cent increase in operating profit, the company said in its second upward revision of the earnings this financial year. Read here

Travel bookings surge as Cyprus and Portugal reopen to UK tourists

Travel agents have seen a big surge in interest and bookings for holidays abroad since Cyprus and Portugal announced last week that they would be open to British tourists this summer. The Cypriot government said that those who have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 can enter the country without restrictions from May 1. However, there are very few bookings for May. According to a holiday packaging company, most holiday bookings are for July and August later this year. Thomas Cook saw more searches for Cyprus and people were spending 40 per cent longer on hotel pages, suggesting they were more likely to book. Read here