Overview: Some US fast food restaurants closing indoor seating, Japanese, Australian developments

What you need to know about the coronavirus right now | Reuters

-- Some U.S. fast-food restaurants are closing indoor seating areas or limiting hours of operation because of the spread of the Delta variant, according to franchisees.

McDonald’s had temporarily closed indoor dining at nearly all U.S. locations in early 2020, but it reopened 70% by last month. The global burger chain said on July 28 that it was on track to open nearly 100% by Labor Day - barring any COVID-19 resurgence.

But last week, McDonald’s instructed its franchisees on steps they should take to re-close their dining rooms in areas where the Delta variant is rapidly spreading, according to internal company materials seen by Reuters.

 -- Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine contamination woes in Japan have widened with another million doses being temporarily suspended, after foreign substances were found in more batches and two people died following shots from affected lots.

The suspension of Moderna supplies, affecting more than 2.6 million does in total, comes as Japan battles its worst wave of COVID-19 yet, driven by the Delta variant, with new daily infections exceeding 25,000 this month for the first time amid a slow vaccine rollout. ..

 -- Intensive care cases in Australia’s New South Wales will hit a peak in October as COVID-19 infections accumulate, said the premier of the country’s most populous state, which reported record daily new infections on Monday.

New South Wales, the epicentre of Australia’s current outbreak, declared a record 1,290 new cases as the nation struggles to contain the Delta variant ..

--New Zealand reported its first recorded death linked to U.S. drugmaker Pfizer’s vaccine, the health ministry said on Monday, after a woman suffered a rare side-effect leading to inflammation of the heart muscle. ...