Global virus deaths pass 650,000 as new surges prompt curbs
PARIS: Officials around the world reintroduced a raft of restrictions Monday-from beach closures to quarantine measures-to try to tamp down coronavirus hotspots as the official global death toll passed 650,000. European countries trying to repair the economic damage caused by the earlier lockdowns struggled to balance keeping the lifeline of tourism open while guarding against new flareups of infection. Spain’s tourism industry faced fresh misery after British travelers-and one major tour operator-cancelled flights there following London’s decision to reintroduce quarantine for travelers returning from the country.
Hong Kong mandated wearing masks in public in response to a new wave of infections. Belgium tightened its social distancing measures to try to halt what one expert called a “worrying” surge in cases. In Washington, meanwhile, the White House announced that another senior administration figure, national security advisor Robert O’Brien, had contracted the virus. As of Monday evening, the US, the worst-hit nation in the world, had added another 57,000 cases of infection and its recorded death toll stood at 147,588, said Johns Hopkins University.
Until Sunday, the number of US daily infections had exceeded 60,000 for 12 straight days, with some days notching more than 70,000 new cases. But as the grim figures kept rolling in, the World Health Organization argued against a wholesale closing of borders. This was “not necessarily a sustainable strategy for the world’s economy, for the world’s poor, or for anybody else,” said WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan. A “global one-sizefits-all policy” was impossible because outbreaks were developing differently in different countries, he added.
Hong Kong situation ‘severe’
The WHO said its emergency committee would meet later this week to discuss the crisis, six months after the organization declared the pandemic an international public health emergency. The global death toll from the pandemic passed 650,000 Monday, nearly a third of that number in Europe, according to an AFP tally compiled from official sources at 1600 GMT. Since emerging in China late last year, the virus has killed a total of 650,011 people-but more than 100,000 deaths have been recorded since July 9, and the global toll has doubled in just over two months. China reported its highest number of coronavirus cases in three months, part of a worrying swell of infections hitting Asia and Europe.
Indonesia confirmed its 100,000th coronavirus case Monday, as the Red Cross warned that the crisis in the world’s fourth most-populous country risked “spiraling out of control.” New infections have also surged in Hong Kong, which for weeks appeared to have infection rates under control. Now, however, everyone in the densely populated territory must wear masks in public from this week. “The epidemic situation in Hong Kong is remarkably severe,” Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung said as he announced the measure, as well as a ban on more than two people gathering in public and restaurants restricted to serving takeaway meals. — AFP