Australia sees biggest rise in COVID-19 cases in 2 months
Global deaths top 500,000 • Infections in India spike
SYDNEY/MUMBAI/NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Australia’s second most populous state said on Monday it is considering reimposing social distancing restrictions after the country reported its biggest one-day rise in new coronavirus infections in more than two months.
Propelled by Victoria state reporting 75 cases, Australia recorded 85 new COVID-19 infections in the past 24 hours, its biggest daily outbreak since April 11.
Australia has fared better than many countries in the coronavirus pandemic, with around 7,800 cases and 104 deaths, but the recent surge has stoked fears of a second wave after several weeks of fewer than 20 new cases a day.
The resurgence in Australia comes as total infections hit 10 million cases worldwide and the global death toll from the virus tops half a million people.
As new coronavirus cases have mounted, Victoria has embarked on a massive testing regime and the state’s chief health officer said the state may need to re-introduce social distancing restrictions.
“Changing the law is something we have to consider because we have to do whatever is required to turn this around,” Brett Sutton told reporters in Melbourne, referring to questions about enforcing localized lockdowns.
Victorian state officials last week deployed ambulances and mobile test centers in a bid to test most residents in 10 hotspot suburbs.
However, some locals have declined the voluntary throat and nasal swab tests. Victoria is hoping a new saliva test, which is less intrusive, will encourage more people to get tested – even though it is slightly less accurate.
“We think it will play a role in bolstering testing reach across the state,” said Prof. Sharon Lewin, Director of the Doherty Institute, which developed the test.
It is hoped that it will increase testing especially in “vulnerable populations or in people who have trouble with the throat swab, such as children or other individuals who find it more acceptable.”
In India, the government reported close to 20,000 fresh novel coronavirus cases for the second day running on Monday, as the financial hub of Mumbai extended its lockdown by a month.
There were 19,459 new cases reported in the previous 24 hours, according to data from India’s federal Health Ministry released on Monday. That is down slightly from Sunday’s record of 19,906, but still a sign that cases in the country are yet to subside.
India lags only the United States, Brazil and Russia in total cases. More than 16,000 have now died from the disease caused by the virus since the first case in India in January – low when compared to countries with similar numbers of cases.
But experts fear its hospitals will be unable to cope with a steep rise in cases.
Meanwhile, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev ordered his government on Monday to prepare a package of coronavirus restrictions similar to the hard lockdown that the Central Asian nation imposed in March-May after a recent sharp rise in infections.
Tokayev gave his cabinet two days to draft the new measures and scolded senior officials, formally reprimanding a few, for botching the reopening and allowing the outbreak to resurge in the country of 19 million.
“In foreign observers’ opinion, the situation in Kazakhstan is critical, on the brink of spiraling out of control,” he said, adding that the government was considering several lockdown options and ways to support the economy.