Covid cases rise again in India
India has asked the states of Kerala and Maharashtra to consider night curfews in areas with high Covid-19 case numbers as the country reported more than 40,000 new infections for two days in a row yesterday.
Cases fell to a five-month-low of 25,166 in the middle of the month but have risen sharply in the last three days, mainly in Kerala that recently celebrated a big festival during which families typically come together.
India reported 44,658 new Covid-19 infections yesterday, taking the total to 32.6 million, the most in the world after the United States. Deaths rose by 496 to 436,861.
Kerala, on India's southern tip, has accounted for nearly 60% of the new cases in the past week and more than half of the total active cases, followed by 16% in the western state of Maharashtra.
"More efforts would be required to arrest the increase in infections," the Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement on Thursday evening after its secretary held a meeting with the two states.
"This would require adequate intervention in geographical areas having higher infection, through measures such as contact tracing, vaccination drives and Covid-appropriate behaviour."
The ministry also said that the states had been asked to "explore the possibility of placing night curfew in areas of high positivity" and assured additional supplies of vaccines.
India has so far administered more than 611 million vaccine doses, giving at least one dose to more than half of its 944 million adults and the required two doses to about 15%.
The coronavirus has killed at least 4,472,486 people worldwide since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to an AFP compilation of official data yesterday.
LANKA EXTENDS CURFEW
Sri Lanka yesterday extended a stringent coronavirus curfew for another week after reporting its highest daily death toll of more than 200.
A nationwide lockdown had been due to end Tuesday but Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said it would be extended until September 6.
The announcement came as 33 leading health professionals, including World Health Organization experts in Sri Lanka, called for even tougher restrictions.
After resisting pressure for a lockdown for several weeks, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa agreed on a 10-day closure from August 20 amid warnings that hospitals could no longer cope with the spread of the Delta strain.
Sri Lanka's total coronavirus deaths exceeded 8,000 on Thursday and its 412,370 infections make it one of Asia's worst hit countries.
New Zealand yesterday extended pandemic restrictions by four days after which they will be eased slightly, although businesses and schools will remain shut and the biggest city Auckland will be locked down for longer.
Myanmar will vaccinate minority Muslim Rohingya people against the coronavirus, a spokesman for its ruling military said yesterday, adding that no one will be left behind in its inoculation campaign.
Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fled to Bangladesh during military operations in 2017 and those who remain complain of discrimination and mistreatment in a country that does not recognise them as citizens.
Spokesman Zaw Min Tun said authorities were making progress in reducing coronavirus infections and increasing vaccinations and aimed to inoculate half of the country's population by the end of this year.
EIGHT-MONTH HIGH
The number of coronavirus patients in US hospitals breached 100,000 on Thursday, the highest level in eight months, according to the Department of Health and Human Services, as a resurgence of Covid-19 spurred by the highly contagious Delta variant strains the nation's health care system.
US Covid-19 hospitalisations have more than doubled in the past month. Over the past week, more than 500 people with Covid were admitted to hospitals each hour on average, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The United States reached its all-time peak for hospitalisations on January 6 when there were 132,051 coronavirus-infected patients in hospital beds, according to a Reuters tally.
The US Supreme Court, meanwhile, blocked the extension of a federal moratorium on evictions, ending a protection granted to millions who have struggled to afford rent during the pandemic.
In a 6-3 ruling, the court on Thursday sided with homeowners who claimed to be victims of unwarranted measures, and argued that any renewal of a moratorium must be decided by Congress and not health officials.
WHO TO SHIP CHINESE VACCINES
The World Health Organization's pandemic programme plans to ship 100 million doses of the Sinovac and Sinopharm Covid-19 shots by the end of next month, mostly to Africa and Asia, in its first delivery of Chinese vaccines, a WHO document shows.
The Chinese shipments will help the sputtering global COVAX vaccine sharing programme which is far behind its pledge to deliver 2 billion doses this year following supply problems and export curbs imposed by major producer India.
It could also boost Beijing's vaccine diplomacy efforts despite concerns over the efficacy of the Chinese shots, which have been turned down or paired with boosters from Western manufacturers by some of the recipient countries.
Of the 100 million Chinese vaccines, half will be provided by Sinopharm and half by Sinovac, with deliveries planned for "July to September 2021", a WHO document dated July 29 says.
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