Gulf Today

Asian nations boost steps to curb Delta variant infections

Hong Kong bans passenger flights from UK as virus cases spike; thousands stranded in Bangladesh’s capital due to strict lockdown; Malaysia PM announces $36b aid package as lockdown extended

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Several Asian countries have tightened curbs to contain growing outbreaks of the coronaviru­s.

Hong Kong will ban all passenger flights from the United Kingdom from landing in the city from July 1 in order to curb the spread of Delta variant virus strain, its government said on Monday.

The UK will be specified as extremely high-risk, the Hong Kong government said in a statement. Persons who have stayed in the country for more than two hours would be restricted from boarding passenger flights bound for Hong Kong.

BANGLADESH: Thousands of people were stranded in Bangladesh’s capital on Monday as authoritie­s halted almost all public transport ahead of a sweeping lockdown imposed to combat a deadly resurgence of COVID-19 infections.

The country reported 119 deaths on Sunday, its highest-ever daily death toll from the pandemic, while new infections have been averaging around 5,000 for the past few days.

Officials blame the recent spike in cases on the highly contagious coronaviru­s Delta variant first identified in neighbouri­ng India.

The majority of the South Asian nation’s 168 million population will be confined to their homes by Thursday as part of the restrictio­ns, with only essential services and some exportfaci­ng factories allowed to operate.

The lockdown announceme­nt sparked an exodus of migrant workers from the capital Dhaka to home villages on Sunday, with tens of thousands of people cramming into ferries to cross a major river.

The staggered implementa­tion of the lockdown rules let thousands of workers in Dhaka forced to walk to their offices on Monday, sometimes for hours, in the sweltering summer heat.

Large columns of people were seen walking on the main roads early on Monday. Workplaces will be shut from Wednesday.

Bicycle rickshaws were allowed to operate in a last minute government concession late on Sunday, but prices had soared to unaffordab­le levels, commuters said.

INDONESIA: Indonesia’s health minister is leading a push for stricter controls as coronaviru­s infections in the country surge to unpreceden­ted levels, according to sources familiar with government discussion­s. Coronaviru­s cases in Indonesia have triplled in the past three weeks, overwhelmi­ng hospitals in the capital Jakarta and other centres on the heavily populated island of Java.

On Monday, Indonesia recorded 20,694 new infections, bringing the weekly total to 131,553.

Three sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that health minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin had urged tougher social restrictio­ns but was overruled. He is continuing to push his case, they said. One of the sources said government meetings on the issue would take place this week. The health minister’s position was supported by the tourism minister Sandiaga Uno, who confirmed that a tougher lockdown was under active considerat­ion.

“I am encouragin­g a tougher lockdown (but) we would need to provide the basic necessitie­s for the people,” he said.

“If the number of cases is increasing, then we need to adjust very quickly.”

MALAYSIA: Malaysia Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin on Monday announced a 150 billion ringgit ($36.22 billion) aid package, including cash aid and wage subsidies, a day ater extending a nationwide lockdown indefinite­ly to tackle a stubborn COVID-19 outbreak.

Lockdown measures originally set to end on Monday would not be eased until daily reported cases fell below 4,000, the state news agency reported on Sunday, citing Muhyiddin.

On Monday, Malaysia reported 5,218 new infections, bringing total cases to 739,266, including 5,001 deaths.

The latest aid package includes a fiscal injection of 10 billion ringgit from the government, Muhyiddin said in a televised address on Monday.

“What I can promise today is that, even within a narrow fiscal space... I will not compromise in the effort to protect the people’s welfare and to fight COVID-19,” he said.

The government will allocate an additional 3.8 billion ringgit for a wage subsidy programme, and roll out more cash aid, loan moratorium­s, tax breaks, grants, subsidies and other measures, Muhyiddin said.

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Migrants leave for their native places in Dhaka on Monday.
Agence France-presse ↑ Migrants leave for their native places in Dhaka on Monday.

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