Pandemic far from over as virus cases surge worldwide

CORONAVIRUS cases are spiking from India to South Africa in a clear indication the pandemic is far from over, while Russia and Brazil now sit behind only the United States in the number of reported infections.

The surges come as much of Asia, Europe and scores of US states have been easing lockdowns to restart their economies as new infections wane.

Russia reported a steady rise in new infections yesterday, and new hot spots have emerged across the nation of about 147 million. Russia registered nearly 9,300 new cases in the last 24 hours, bringing the total to almost 300,000 infections, about half of them in Moscow. Authorities say over 2,800 people with COVID-19 have died in Russia.

Russia’s caseload is second only to that of the US, which has seen 1.5 million infections and over 90,000 deaths. The country’s prime minister, Mikhail Mishustin, resumed work yesterday after a bout of coronavirus.

Mishustin, one of four government ministers to catch the coronavirus, has been discharged from a clinic and is now working normally, the Interfax news agency quoted his spokesman as saying.

Latin America has seen more than 480,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and about 31,000 dead. The highest number of cases is in Brazil, which became the world’s third worst-hit country on Monday with more than 250,000 infections despite limited testing. Hospital officials reported that more than 85 percent of intensive care beds are occupied in the states of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo.

Intensive care units in the Chilean capital of Santiago have been beyond 90 percent capacity for days, and officials warned that intensive care staff members are reaching their limits.

“They can’t keep going forever, no matter how many beds or ventilators there are,” said Claudio Castillo, a professor of public policy and health at the University of Santiago.

Infections are also increasing in poor areas of Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, where authorities relaxed strict lockdown measures last week, allowing some businesses to open and children to walk outside on weekends.

Colombia struggled with an outbreak in Leticia, a city on the border with Brazil, where hospitals were overwhelmed and patients were being sent to commandeered hotels. Colombia has recorded about 16,300 confirmed cases and close to 600 dead.

In India, coronavirus cases surged past 100,000, and infections are rising in the home states of migrant workers who fled cities and towns during a nationwide lockdown when they lost their jobs.

India is now seeing more than 4,000 new cases daily. States including West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha and Gujarat, the major contributors of India’s migrant labor, are showing major spikes in infections as the lockdown rules have eased. More than 3,100 with COVID-19 have died, according to India’s Health Ministry.

Cases are still rising across Africa, where all 54 nations have seen confirmed infections for a total of over 88,000 cases and 2,800 deaths, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

South Africa has the highest number of cases at over 16,400 and nearly 290 deaths.

(AP)