Syrian Army troops and pro-Iranian militias launch a major ground assault on a rebel-held enclave in the city of Daraa. Rebel forces say that they have repulsed the attack from the western side of the enclave. State media says that the army was preparing to end a "state of lawlessness and chaos" and "reimpose army control" in the city. (Reuters)
The Philippines reports a record 18,332 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 1.85 million. (ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs)
Sri Lanka reports a record for the second consecutive day of 4,355 new cases of COVID-19, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 394,355. (Daily News)
New South Wales imposes a 9:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. curfew in 12 LGAs of concern in Greater Sydney, limiting exercise to one hour in hotspot areas and mandating statewide outdoor mask wearing as the number of COVID-19 cases continues to remain high. (Nine News)
New Zealand extends its level 4 lockdown until August 31 in Auckland and August 27 in the rest of the country as the number of cases related to the Delta variant outbreak reaches 100. (The Guardian)
Germany drops incidence levels from its yardstick for deciding if restrictions should be in force to contain the spread of COVID-19 as more people are vaccinated. (Reuters)
The United Kingdom signs an agreement with Pfizer to secure 35 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine due to be delivered in the second half of 2022 as the government focuses on a "future-proof vaccine programme" to prevent any virus variants that are resistant to the vaccine. (BBC News)
Palm Beach County announces that fans will be required to wear masks at athletic events amidst a cancellation of high school events in the county. (The Palm Beach Post)
Washington reimposes its indoor mask mandate, requiring people over the age of 5 to wear masks in indoor public spaces regardless of their vaccination status. (Patch)
The patient zero of the Delta variant in Argentina, a 62-year-old Peruvian national, dies from the disease. The man had been indicted while hospitalized with multiple crimes related to him not informing the authorities about his symptoms, breaching quarantine, entering the country unvaccinated and infecting 13 other people. (Market Research Telecast)