Morning news brief: Nigeria boat accident, Victoria lockdown, and more
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Good morning! Start your day with WION's daily news brief
As the coronavirus cases doubled up overnight, Australia's state Victoria has ordered a snap lockdown to contain the spread of COVID-19. This lockdown will be implemented from midnight and will continue for at least seven days. Meanwhile, authorities of Morocco have decided to begin a vaccine campaign for the inmates of its overcrowded prisons. In the US, President Joe Biden has ordered allies to determine the origin of the virus that causes COVID-19, with US intelligence agencies following potentially rival theories, including the possibility of a laboratory crash in China. While the world is recovering from COVID-19, an overcrowded boat capsized in Nigeria, with 150 people missing.
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This decision was taken as the number of coronavirus cases nearly doubled up in a matter of few hours. The authorities are hoping to break the chain of transmission by imposing this lockdown.
A boat ferrying about 200 persons in Nigeria sank on Wednesday, and just 20 survivors have been found. Four people are affirmed dead and 156 were all the while missing as of Wednesday afternoon.
Till now, authorities have vaccinated nearly eight million locals with the first dose against coronavirus and almost five million people with both doses, as per official figures.