NEW YORK, Nov 19, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – US coronavirus deaths passed a quarter
of a million people Wednesday as New York announced it would close schools to
battle a rise in infections and anti-restriction protests in Europe turned
violent.
America has now registered 250,426 fatalities, according to a running tally
by Johns Hopkins University, by far the highest reported national death toll.
US states and cities were imposing a raft of new restrictions, including
home confinement, the closure of indoor dining and a limit on gatherings as
cases soar across the country, with more than 157,950 new infections recorded
over the past 24 hours on Wednesday.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city’s 1,800 public schools would
revert to remote learning beginning Thursday after the Big Apple recorded a
seven-day average positivity rate of three percent.
“We must fight back the second wave of Covid-19,” he said.
The toughened measures in America’s most-populous city came despite pharma
giant Pfizer boosting hopes of a possible end to the pandemic by announcing
improved results for its vaccine.
Europe meanwhile remains the hardest-hit region, accounting for 46 percent
of new global cases and 49 percent of deaths last week, according to the
World Health Organization (WHO).
Its figures additionally showed the only region where cases and deaths
declined last week was Southeast Asia.
Worldwide, more than 1.3 million people have died of Covid-19 and over 55
million have been reported infected with the virus since it first surfaced in
China late last year, according to a tally from official sources compiled by
AFP.
In Switzerland, one of the worst-hit countries in Europe, the Swiss Society
for Intensive Care Medicine (SSMI) warned that intensive care units “are
practically all full.”
More beds have been added, and the Swiss military has been called in to
support efforts in several areas.
– Water cannon fired in Berlin –
Many European countries are extending heavy restrictions on daily life in
attempts to curb the spread of the virus.
A French government spokesman said authorities are unlikely to lift a
partial lockdown any time soon while Portugal’s government was preparing to
extend measures for two more weeks.
In Hungary, a state of emergency that enables partial lockdown measures has
now been extended until February.
In Berlin, police fired water cannon to disperse thousands of unmasked
protesters demonstrating against tightened restrictions.
The protesters, who have equated the restrictions to Nazi-era rules,
responded by chanting “Shame! Shame!”
The protest came a day after clashes with police at a similar demonstration
in the Slovak capital Bratislava attended by thousands of far-right
supporters.
Despite the impact of the virus, efforts to tackle the pandemic were
expected be sidelined at Thursday’s EU summit due to a row stemming from
Hungary and Poland’s opposition to Brussels’ oversight over the rule of law.
In Russia, President Vladimir Putin voiced alarm at his country’s rising
fatality rate but stopped short of introducing strict measures seen in many
European countries.
Meanwhile, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said he would impose “severe
restrictions” in many areas of his country from Saturday.
And in Central America coronavirus efforts are being threatened by the
hurricane season, according to the Pan American Health Organization, which
said it anticipates an increase in infections in the wake of Iota and Eta
which wreaked havoc on the region over the past weeks.
– ‘Going in the right direction’ –
There was more encouraging news out of Belgium, which has had one of the
highest death rates in Europe since the start of the pandemic, where
authorities said a month-long semi-lockdown was beginning to work.
“For the first time in weeks, or even for several months, all indicators
are going in the right direction, meaning they are all going down: The number
of infections, hospitalizations and — for the first time — the number of
deaths,” said Covid-19 Crisis Centre spokesman Yves Van Laethem.
While less affected, other parts of the world have continued to feel the
impact of the virus.
South Australia announced a six-day “circuit-breaker” lockdown for its
population of nearly two million people Wednesday to contain an outbreak that
ended a monthslong streak of no infections.
Schools, shops, pubs, factories and even takeaway restaurants were told to
close and stay-at-home orders were issued for residents.
Japan was on “maximum alert” after logging a record number of daily
coronavirus infections, leaving authorities to consider restrictions like
limiting groups allowed in restaurants.
Pfizer offered some relief by saying a completed study of its experimental
vaccine showed it was 95 percent effective.
The announcement came after another US firm involved in the vaccine race,
Moderna, said this week that its own candidate was 94.5 percent effective.