Chile locks down capital Santiago despite world's fastest vaccination rate

SANTIAGO: Chilean health officials on Thursday extended a lockdown across the capital Santiago to tame a second wave of infections even as the South American nation continues to plow ahead with the world's fastest per capita vaccination campaign.

Cases in Chile have been ticking up for weeks following the end of the southern hemisphere summer holiday, but topped a record on Saturday, bringing hospitals to the verge of collapse.  Authorities announced a raft of new restrictions on Thursday, clamping down on travel inside the country and temporarily eliminating permits that allow those in quarantine to leave their homes to go grocery shopping, calling the more extreme measures "a last effort."