Covid could set world back for yrs
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned the coronavirus pandemic might set the world back "years and even decades" in terms of economic progress as millions of people faced new coronavirus restrictions yesterday.
"We are experiencing the sharpest decline in per capita income since 1870," he said, adding that "between 70 and 100 million people could be pushed into extreme poverty."
He also warned that "some 265 million people could face acute food insecurity" by the end of the year.
Guterres called for an "inclusive, networked and effective multilateralism" to deal with the crisis.
Countries around the world re-imposed lockdowns and curbs to contain new outbreaks, as global cases surged past 13.2 million with more than 576,000 deaths.
Parts of the Asia-Pacific region, which had been somewhat successful in fighting the pandemic, provided fresh evidence of the deadly threat still posed by the virus.
Hong Kong's bars, gyms, and beauty salons closed again yesterday and a ban on gatherings with more than four people came into force as the city battled a fresh outbreak after months of impressive success against the virus.
Most of the city's residents voluntarily adopted facemasks as a barrier against the virus when it was first detected in mainland China late last year, but the Hong Kong government now requires passengers on public transport to wear them or risk a US$650 fine.
There was alarm in Japan too, where Tokyo's governor warned that the capital was on its highest coronavirus alert level after a spike in infections.
That came after the Indian state of Bihar, with a population of around 125 million, announced a 15-day virus lockdown starting today. India's IT hub Bangalore has already started a week-long lockdown.
Authorities in Australia, meanwhile, yesterday pleaded with the public to heed social distancing guidelines, with roughly five million people in Melbourne in lockdown since last week in a bid to contain a new outbreak.
Such pleas from experts and authorities have been ignored and even mocked in many of the world's most populous parts, including the United States -- the worst-hit nation in the world.
Tens of thousands of cases are now being reported every day in the US as authorities scramble to roll back reopenings. The national 24-hour infection count was more than 63,000 on Tuesday, according to a Johns Hopkins University tracker.
Anthony Fauci, the top US infectious disease expert, again warned Americans against carelessness -- especially young people who may feel they are not vulnerable and would rather be "sipping my margarita at a bar in a crowd".
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