Related News
India’s COVID-19 cases hit ‘grotesque’ level
Print Edition
Coronavirus infections in India soared past 5 million yesterday, as a WHO envoy warned the pandemic was “still at the beginning.”
Global cases are rapidly approaching 30 million, with more than 935,000 known COVID-19 deaths, the global economy devastated and nations struggling to contain outbreaks.
India, home to 1.3 billion people, has reported some of the highest daily case jumps in the world recently, as a World Health Organization special envoy described the global pandemic situation as “horrible” and “grotesque.”
“It’s much worse than any of the science fiction about pandemics,” David Nabarro told British MPs on Tuesday.
“This is really serious — we’re not even in the middle of it yet.
“We’re still at the beginning of it.”
The spread of the virus has accelerated in some of the most populous parts of the world such as India, where the latest million infections were detected over just 11 days.
And some experts have warned that the total number of cases could be far higher in the vast nation, which has been easing one of the world’s strictest lockdowns recently despite the surge to help its reeling economy.
“People have lost their fear or are too tired (of) being cautious. They want to be out and earn a living right now,” Jayant Surana, a New Delhi-based entrepreneur said.
“Everything has now been left to god’s will.”
The United States remains the worst-hit nation in the world in terms of both infections and deaths, and President Donald Trump is under intense pressure over his handling of the coronavirus crisis.
The Republican leader said on Tuesday that a vaccine may be available within a month — an acceleration of even his own optimistic predictions.
“We’re within weeks of getting it, you know — could be three weeks, four weeks,” Trump said during a town hall event broadcast on ABC News.
But experts are worried that world-renowned American institutions responsible for overseeing the approval and distribution of vaccines have become increasingly compromised by political pressure, and corners may be cut to get one ready before the presidential election in November.
Germany’s health minister Jens Spahn said on Tuesday the country aims to reach herd immunity through a voluntary coronavirus vaccine expected to be widely available by mid-2021.
Many European countries have started to ease their restrictions after largely bringing outbreaks under control, but are faced with worrying spikes in infections again.
Denmark on Tuesday announced new restrictions, including shorter hours for bars and restaurants, new face mask requirements, and reduced crowds at football matches.
Referring to Europe, WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan warned it was time to “stop looking for unicorns” and take hard decisions to protect the most vulnerable with a potentially deadly winter approaching.
That came as airlines ramped up pressure on the European Union to coordinate virus measures, demanding an end to quarantine “chaos” and access to reliable and quick testing.
Airlines have been hit especially hard by the pandemic as travel was severely restricted to control the virus.
The UN said on Tuesday the pandemic cost the global tourism sector US$460 billion in the first half of 2020.
The economic pain is even more acute in poorer parts of the world.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
