Virus rules reimposed as Delta wreaks global havoc
BARCELONA, July 10, (AFP) - The Spanish region of Catalonia was set to reimpose virus restrictions in the face of rising coronavirus infections, as the highly contagious Delta strain forced nations worldwide to put the brakes on a long- awaited return to normalcy.
The highly transmissible Delta variant, first detected in India, is sweeping the globe as countries race to inoculate their populations to ward off fresh outbreaks that are increasingly affecting the unvaccinated young.
After an “exponential” rise in cases in recent days, officials in the autonomous region in the northeast of Spain said they had no choice but to reimpose restrictions. “The pandemic has not ended, the new variants are very contagious and we still have significant segments of the population that are not vaccinated,” Patricia Plaja, a spokeswoman for the regional government told a news conference.
Also set to reimpose controls Saturday is the Netherlands, where infections rose sevenfold in one week, a surge officials have blamed on the Delta variant.
Officials were optimistic despite a surge of cases in Thailand, which will impose a 9 pm to 4 am curfew on Bangkok and nine other provinces to stem a severe third wave of infections.
Farther south, the Delta virus is wreaking havoc in badly-hit Indonesia, where emergency supplies arrived from Singapore Friday as the country reports hundreds of deaths and tens of thousands of cases daily. Hospitals are struggling to cope, with many now refusing new patients, leaving scores to die at home, while desperate relatives hunt for oxygen tanks.
Nearly 1,000 Indonesian medical workers have died of Covid- 19, including more than a dozen who were already fully inoculated, according to the country's medical associat i o n . Authorities said Friday that medics would be given a third booster jab using the vaccine made by US company Moderna, to provide them extra protection.
Despite the slow resumption of activities in the US and parts of Europe, the virus continues to wage devastation everywhere, exposing crucial vaccine supply shortages for some of the world's most vulnerable and accelerating efforts to expand access.
High vaccination rates may be the only way to stem the spread of the Delta variant, according to a panel of scientists advising the French government, who have warned that as many as 95 percent of people might need to receive jabs before the strain is under control.
MELBOURNE, July 10, (Reuters) - Australia's New South Wales state reported its biggest daily rise in locally acquired coronavirus infections this year on Saturday, with authorities warning that worse may yet to come for Sydney, which is in a three-week hard lockdown.