In Australia, around a million people in four eastern and central Sydney neighbourhoods, which include Bondi Beach, were ordered to stay home for at least a week as total infections in an outbreak connected to the Delta variant topped 60. The lockdown is a shock for a population that had returned to relative normality after months of recording few cases.

Israel, which has prided itself on having one of the world’s most successful vaccination campaigns, has seen infections surge since dropping a requirement to wear masks in enclosed public places 10 days ago.