Infections flare up again
US, India and Brazil now account for 60% of new confirmed cases, restrictions reinforced
SERBIA mulled how to curb accelerating Covid-19 infections following two nights of clashes involving anti-lockdown demonstrators, while the virus showed no sign of slowing yesterday in the countries with the highest caseloads – the US, India and Brazil.
The three nations are accounting for more than 60% of new confirmed cases, according to recent tallies from Johns Hopkins University. India yesterday reported 25 000 new cases; the US on Wednesday reported just short of the record 60 000 cases set a day earlier, and Brazil reported nearly 45 000.
Much of Europe appeared to have put the worst of the crisis behind it, at least for now. But Serbia has emerged as a new focus of concern – and of unrest.
The country’s crisis team was expected to reimpose a ban on gatherings in the capital, Belgrade, and to limit the café and night club operations after a spike in infections that officials say threatens the Serbian health system. It wasn’t clear if officials would reintroduce a weekend curfew, the initial announcement of which triggered violent protests in Belgrade and other cities. Critics accuse President Aleksandar Vucic of letting the crisis spin out of control by lifting an earlier lockdown to allow for an election that tightened his grip on power.
Rock-throwing demonstrators this week fought hours-long running battles with special police forces who used tear gas to disperse them. Vucic said in an Instagram post yesterday that the government would control the unrest.
Flare-ups of new virus cases are causing concern in several parts of the world, and in some cases leading to the reintroduction of restrictions on public activity.
In France and Greece, officials warned that residents were too frequently ignoring safety guidance. The French government’s leading coronavirus adviser, Jean-Francois Delfraissy, lamented that “the French in general have abandoned protective measures”.
“Everyone must understand that we are at the mercy of a return (of the virus) in France,” Delfraissy said. “It suffices to have one super-spreader in a gathering and it will take off again.”
Greek government spokesperson Stelios Petsas said authorities were “determined to protect the majority from the frivolous few”. He said the government may announce new restrictions, if needed, on Monday.
Pestas said authorities were focused on the rising number of cases in nearby Balkan countries and tourists who travelled to Greece over the land border with Bulgaria.
In Australia, which had initial success containing the outbreak, authorities yesterday reported 179 new cases, most in Melbourne, where they are battling a resurgence and have imposed a new six-week lockdown.
Victoria state Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said six new cases were from a Melbourne high school which has become the state’s largest known cluster, with 113 people infected. More than 2 000 students and hundreds of staff are in quarantine.
Tokyo confirmed more than 220 new cases yesterday, exceeding its record daily increase from mid-April and prompting concerns of widening of the infections. Tokyo’s more than 7 000 cases are about one-third of Japan’s total.
Experts on Tokyo’s virus task force said most recent cases were linked to night clubs, but rising infections from households, workplaces and parties raised concerns the virus is spreading in the wider community.
Hong Kong moved to tighten social-distancing measures after it reported 42 new infections yesterday. Rules for restaurants, bars and fitness centres will be tightened for two weeks.
In India, research by the Institute of Mathematical Sciences in Chennai shows that the reproduction rate of the virus ticked up in the first week of July to about 1.2 after it had steadily fallen from a peak of 1.8 in March. The rate needs to be below one.
The head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said it would be wise to prepare for the worstcase scenario as virus-related deaths passed 12 000.