Virus Link: 5 things to know for August 16: Afghanistan, Covid-19, Haiti, weather, China & Russia

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1. Afghanistan

The Taliban have taken over Afghanistan's capital city of Kabul, which means the entire country and its government are now effectively under the group's control. The presidential palace is also in Taliban hands after Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, ending any attempts to form a transitional government. All commercial flights out of Kabul's main airport have stopped, and as of this morning, there have been reports of violence in that area. Other countries are scrambling to get citizens and personnel out of Afghanistan, and the US has completely evacuated its embassy there. The US defense secretary has approved 1,000 more troops to move into Afghanistan due to the deteriorating security situation, bringing the number of arriving troops to 6,000. This whole situation follows the long US troop drawdown in Afghanistan, which experts predicted would lead to a Taliban resurgence. President Biden is expected to brief the nation on the crisis in the coming days.

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2. Coronavirus

Coronavirus cases are surging in 40 states, data from Johns Hopkins University shows. With numbers still rising, the director of the NIH worries the US could soon be reporting more than 200,000 new cases a day -- a rate not seen since before vaccines became widely available. In addition to vaccine refusal and a lack of health precautions, experts say a new challenge could come in the form of complacency from people who have "followed the rules," so to speak, and are tired of it. Meanwhile, mask mandates are still stoking political battles. For instance, Texas' Supreme Court sided with Gov. Greg Abbott over a ruling that temporarily blocks local mask mandates recently issued in San Antonio and Dallas. City officials say they will enforce at least parts of the mandates regardless.

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3. Haiti

More than 1,200 people have died and thousands more are injured after a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck Haiti on Saturday. Hospitals have been overwhelmed with patients, and blocked roads have at times made it difficult to move medical supplies and personnel to where they're needed most. The quake has also destroyed or damaged tens of thousands of homes, complicating an already difficult path to recovery. Haiti was already in crisis before the quake as it dealt with the assassination of President Jovenel Moise last month and ongoing struggles with food insecurity, political instability and pandemic issues. While this quake wasn't as damaging as the earthquake that hit Haiti in 2010, the island nation still bears scars from that disaster, as well.