Despite lockdowns, Australia sees Covid outbreak worsen
Australia is facing its worst Covid-19 crisis yet, and experts say a lockdown of its biggest city needs to be ramped up to prevent further deterioration to the nation’s vaunted record in stamping out the pathogen.
Though Sydney has been in lockdown for nearly two months now, the curbs are generally looser than those that helped Melbourne beat back the virus last year; daily cases have surged from 12 on June 26, when the stay-at-home order was first announced, to records of around 350 this week.
The situation is putting Australia in the worst of both worlds: half the population of 26 million people are cooped up again, but the Delta variant is still spreading to new cities and regions hundreds of miles away.
National capital Canberra on Thursday became the latest to order a lockdown after one case was found. New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian is now under increasing pressure from other regional leaders and some health experts to tighten social-distancing restrictions to stem the outbreak.
While residents of Sydney and other locked down areas have been told not to leave home unless unavoidable, there’s a lengthy list of exemptions such as for outside exercise or essential work that some people are using liberally.
Surge feared in UK
As Britain enjoyed a summertime lull in Covid-19 cases, the nation’s attention turned to the end of pandemic-related restrictions and holidays in the sun.
But scientists are warning the public not to be complacent, saying high levels of infection in the community are likely to lead to another spike in cases this fall.
The reason for their pessimism is the Delta variant of Covid-19, now dominant throughout the UK.
Vaccines are less effective against this more transmissible variant, meaning Britain needs to achieve a much higher level of vaccination if it hopes to control the disease. About 60% of the UK population has been fully vaccinated
Russia on Thursday reported its highest daily coronavirus death toll since the start of the pandemic, saying 808 people had died over the past 24 hours.
The new figures bring Russia’s total fatalities from Covid-19 to 168,049 - the highest toll in Europe.
EMA regulator looks into side-effects of MRNA jab
Europe’s drugs regulator said on Wednesday it was looking into three new conditions to assess whether they may be possible side-effects related to Covid-19 vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna following a small number of cases. Erythema multiforme, a form of allergic skin reaction, and glomerulonephritis and nephrotic syndrome, disorders related to kidneys, are being studied by the safety committee of the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s coronavirus response chief Asad Umar on Thursday said the recent assembly elections held in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir acted as a “super spreader event” for the pandemic as the country struggled to contain the fourth wave.