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Coronavirus: Latest global developments
PARIS, Feb 13, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – Here are the latest developments in the
coronavirus crisis:
– Covid-19 could last indefinitely: EU expert –
The head of the EU’s disease control agency has warned that the novel
coronavirus could last indefinitely even as global infections slowed by
nearly half in the last month and vaccine rollouts gathered pace in parts of
the world.
ECDC chief Andrea Ammon urged European countries in particular not to drop
their guard against a virus that “seems very well adapted to humans” and
might require experts to tweak vaccines over time, as is the case with the
seasonal flu.
– No end to pandemic without fair access to vaccine –
Developing new Covid-19 vaccines will not end the pandemic unless all
countries receive doses in a fast and fair manner, disease experts warned
Saturday.
As several nations consider implementing vaccine passports when
international travel resumes, the authors of a letter published in the Lancet
medical journal said vaccine stockpiling in wealthier countries would only
prolong the global health emergency.
– Peru: record number of hospitalisations –
Peru, which is facing a second wave of Covid-19 infections, has registered
a record number of hospitalised cases, the health ministry said.
In the past 24 hours, 213 new admissions were reported, bringing the total
to 14,333. The previous record of 14,181 hospitalisations was reached on
August 17.
The number of infections and deaths has quadrupled from their level at the
end of December.
On Friday, the country’s health minister resigned amid claims that former
president Martin Vizcarra was inoculated before the vaccine was available to
the public.
– Iran warns of a fourth wave –
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned of a “fourth wave” of the virus as
cases rise in certain areas of the Middle Eastern country hardest hit by the
pandemic.
He said some cities in the southwestern province of Khuzestan were now
“red” — the highest on Iran’s colour-coded risk level — after weeks of low
alert levels across the country.
Iran has lost close to 59,000 lives out of more than 1.5 million cases of
Covid infection.
– Open crowds banned as Melbourne begins lockdown –
Australia’s second-largest city of Melbourne went from welcoming thousands
of fans for its Grand Slam tennis tournament to deserted city streets
overnight, as millions began a five-day coronavirus lockdown.
– France avoids local lockdown –
In eastern France, schools are to remain open in the Moselle department,
despite the advance of the South African variant of Covid-19.
Officials estimated that measures taken to date are “sufficient” to deal
with the threat, and decided not to declare a local lockdown.
– Nearly 2.4 million deaths –
The virus has caused almost 2.4 million deaths since the outbreak emerged
in China in December 2019, according to a tally from official sources
compiled by AFP on Saturday.
The United States is the worst-affected country with 480,902 deaths
followed by Brazil with 237,489, Mexico with 172,557, India with 155,550 and
the UK with 116,287.
BSS/AFP/IJ/2037 hrs