Surging new coronavirus cases
UK in ‘eye of the storm’
France tightens virus curfew as fears mute HNY celebrations
British medics yesterday warned that hospitals around the country face a perilous few weeks amid surging new coronavirus infections that have been blamed on a new variant of the virus.
The coronavirus has killed at least 1,818,946 people since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to an AFP tally yesterday based on official sources. More than 83 million cases have been registered.
Amid surging global cases, fireworks above eerily quiet landmarks from Sydney Harbour Bridge to Copacabana beach welcomed the New Year.
A day after the United Kingdom posted a record 55,892 new infections and another 964 coronavirus-related deaths, concerns are mounting about the effect on the overstretched National Health Service (NHS).
Field hospitals that were constructed in the early days of the pandemic but were subsequently mothballed are being reactivated.
The Royal College of Nursing's England director, Mike Adams, told Sky News that the UK was in the "eye of the storm" and that it was "infuriating" to see people not following the social distancing guidance or wearing masks.
New infections have more than doubled in recent weeks after a new variant that is said to be around 70 percent more contagious was found to be behind a big spike in cases around London and South East England.
In a joint statement on Thursday, the chief medical officers for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, said the first vaccine dose offers "substantial" protection.
Currently, two vaccines have been approved for use in the UK.
Just under one million people have received the first dose of the vaccine developed by American pharmaceutical firm Pfizer and German biotechnology company BioNTech, with a small minority also getting the second dose as planned after 21 days.
The French government yesterday announced that it was bringing forward by two hours a nighttime curfew in 15 regions to help combat the coronavirus, as infections remain high.
The measure had been urged by mayors increasingly concerned that their local health systems are being overburdened by an influx of new cases.