India’s daily infections hit record as army called up

India’s coronavirus epidemic worsened overnight, with the south asian nation adding a record 261,500 new cases and 1,501 deaths.

The army has been called in to ramp up hospital capacity, with a 250-bed hospital established in New Delhi run by the military’s Medical Corps, as medical services across the country report critical shortages of beds, oxygen and essential medicine.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has been campaigning at election rallies in West Bengal over the weekend, is due to chair a meeting of top officials in the holy city of Varanasi— home to his parliamentary constituency—on Sunday.

Key developments: Indonesia warns of rising Covid cases

INDONESIA warned of a potential increase in coronavirus infections as families gather during annual eid holidays and planned to speed up inoculation on its older population.

Six million more bulk vaccines developed by Sinovac Biotech Ltd. arrived in Jakarta on Sunday, which will be processed by state-owned PT Bio Farma to make about 20 million doses ready to be administered over the next month, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said in a briefing broadcast on Youtube.

Indonesia is the worst infected country in Southeast asia with about 1.6 million confirmed cases. It’s counting on the shots to be able to inoculate more than 180 million people within a year. almost 11 million people have received their first dose of Covid-19 vaccines, according to latest government data.

Thailand bans some alcohol, closes pubs

THAILAND began enforcing a ban on sale of alcohol at restaurants from Sunday and closed bars, pubs, karaoke and massage parlor nationwide as a f lareup in Covid-19 infections saw the Southeast asian nation log a record number of new cases in the past 24 hours.

New cases jumped to 1,767, taking the nation’s total Covid-19 infections to 42,252, official data released on Sunday showed. authorities also reported two more deaths, taking the cumulative fatalities to 101, while 128 patients were reported to be in serious condition.

Hong Kong eyes tighter quarantine

HONG Kong’s government is considering whether to further tighten hotel quarantine measures and f light restrictions after a man who returned from Dubai and completed 21 days of quarantine tested positive for Covid-19, Health Secretary Sophia Chan said on Sunday according to broadcaster RTHK. officials are assessing the situation and will discuss with experts before deciding whether to tighten restrictions, Chan said. The 29-yearold patient returned from Dubai last month, and health authorities said he tested negative for the coronavirus when he underwent the mandatory 21-day quarantine at a hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui.

He later stayed at a flat in city’s Jordan district and more than 80 residents of the building have now been quarantine, according to RTHK. authorities say a highly infectious strain was uncovered for the first time in the city, the broadcaster said.

Australia to speed up vaccinations

AUSTRALIAN federal and state leaders will discuss ways to speed up the coronavirus vaccination rollout and shift to alternatives to the astrazeneca Inc. inoculation in their upcoming meeting, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Sunday.

Current vaccine supplies are sufficient to cover initial stages of the program currently under way, which target frontline workers and the elderly, Morrison said.

The national cabinet meeting on Monday will focus on a strategy for the next phase, and will discuss bloodclotting cases associated with the astrazeneca shot, which has led to australia’s immunization advisory group recommending the government switch to Pfizer Inc. for people under 50.

Japan, Pfizer vaccine deal

PFIZER will increase supplies of the Covid-19 vaccine for Japan by the end of September, Japan’s vaccine czar Taro Kono said in a Fuji TV program on Sunday.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and Pfizer Chief executive officer albert Bourla discussed increasing the supply on a recent phone call, the Ministry of Foreign affairs said in a statement.

Pfizer’s vaccine is currently the only one approved for use in Japan, and the inoculation rollout that started in February has so far been slow. Fewer than 2 million doses have been administered to its population of about 126 million.

Brazil’s weekly deaths slow

NEW deaths in Brazil fell for the first week since mid-february, with almost 800 fewer fatalities compared with the week before, according to Health Ministry data.

Local governments are easing restrictions on commerce and movement as intensive care admissions have slowed in the two largest cities. on Friday, the vice governor of Sao Paulo, one the hardest-hit states, announced non-essential businesses and services would be allowed resume in the coming days.

Still, another 2,929 fatalities were reported on Saturday, ending a week with 20,344 deaths, almost three times higher than the peak of last summer’s surge. a total of 371,678 people have died in Brazil since the start of the pandemic, the highest toll after the us.

In a further sign that the fight with Covid is far from over, the administration of President Jair Bolsonaro announced Saturday it would allocate an additional $268 million to help fight the pandemic, with the majority of the funds dedicated to expanding intensive care centers across the country.

South Africa moves to restart J&J

SOUTH africa’s health regulator asked the government to lift the pause on administering Johnson & Johnson vaccines provided certain conditions are met.

“These conditions include, but are not limited to, strengthened screening and monitoring of participants who are at high risk of a blood clotting disorder,” the South african Health Products Regulatory authority said in a statement.

South africa halted J&J vaccines after health agencies on Tuesday called for their suspension in the us. The J&J shot is a key element to South africa’s vaccination plan and has already been used to inoculate health workers, with no reported adverse effects.

Ontario police balk at anti-covid rules

CANADIAN police forces say they will not randomly stop motorists to enforce the province of ontario’s stay-at-home campaign. on Friday, ontario Premier Doug Ford said he had no choice but to impose tough restrictions to curb a sharp rise in infections, including extraordinary powers to stop vehicles and individuals to ask why they aren’t at home.

But police in Toronto, Waterloo and other cities quickly issued statements saying they won’t do random checks.

ottawa police said they would be involved with setting up checkpoints on bridges between ontario and neighboring Quebec to enforce new constraints on travelers from other provinces. People will still be allowed to cross the provincial boundary for work.

France adds over 36,000 cases

FR ance recorded 35,861 new coronavirus cases and 189 deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the official death toll since the start of the pandemic to 100,593. The country, currently in its third national lockdown, earlier this week surpassed the threshold of 100,000 deaths, a humbling moment for President emmanuel Macron, who had refused to lock down the country for a third time in January.

France also said Saturday it administered 298,247 vaccine shots in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of shots to almost 17 million, 12.5 million of which are first doses.

Macron, who is up for re-election next year, is walking a thin line after he pledged to start reopening some cultural venues, open-air restaurants and bars in mid May. Gabriel attal, the French government spokesman, said Friday the country will stick to a target of reopening schools progressively at the end of april.

US cases highest in a week

THE us added just over 80,000 new cases on Friday, the most in a week, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins university and Bloomberg. The seven-day average has risen for five consecutive weeks; it’s at its highest point since mid-february as infections, particularly in the Midwest, continue to surge. another 932 people died, the data show.