India’s COVID-19 cases dip from peak, calls for shutdown mount
NEW DELHI: Calls grew for India to impose a nationwide lockdown as new coronavirus cases and deaths held close to record highs on Monday (May 10), increasing pressure on the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The 366,161 new infections and 3,754 deaths reported by the health ministry were off a little from recent peaks, taking India’s tally to 22.66 million with 246,116 deaths.
As many hospitals grapple with an acute shortage of oxygen and beds while morgues and crematoriums overflow, experts have said India’s actual figures could be far higher than reported.
Sunday’s 1.47 million tests for COVID-19 were this month’s lowest yet, data from the state-run Indian Council of Medical Research showed. The figure compared with a daily average of 1.7 million for the first eight days of May.
The number of positive results from the tests was not immediately clear, however.
Many states have imposed strict lockdowns over the last month while others have placed curbs on movement and shut cinemas, restaurants, pubs and shopping malls.
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But pressure is mounting on Modi to announce a nationwide lockdown as he did during the first wave of infections last year.
He is battling criticism for allowing huge gatherings at a religious festival and holding large election rallies during the past two months even as cases surged.
“A failure of governance of epic and historic proportions,” Vipin Narang, a political science professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States, said on Twitter.
On Sunday, top White House coronavirus adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci said he had advised Indian authorities they needed to shut down.
“You’ve got to shut down,” Fauci said on ABC’s “This Week” television show. “I believe several of the Indian states have already done that, but you need to break the chain of transmission. And one of the ways to do that is to shut down.”
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has also called for a “complete, well-planned, pre-announced” lockdown.
New Delhi, the capital, entered a fourth week of lockdown, with tougher curbs such as the shutdown of the suburban rail network, while residents scrambled for scarce hospital beds and oxygen supplies.
“This is not the time to be lenient,” Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Sunday.
“This phase is so tough, this wave is so dangerous, so many people are dying … the priority at this hour is to save lives,” he said in a televised address.
Late on Sunday, the northern state of Uttarakhand said it would impose curfew from Tuesday until May 18, just days after mass religious gatherings held in the state became virus super spreading events.
Shops selling fruits, vegetables and dairy items will stay open for some hours in the morning, while malls, gyms, theatres, bars and liquor shops are among the enterprises that will be shut, the government said.
Organisers of the popular and lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket tournament conceded the remaining games will have to be played overseas after they suspended the contest over the virus this month.
Global support, in the form of oxygen cylinders and concentrators, ventilators and other medical gear, has poured in.
On Monday, US company Eli Lilly and Co said it signed licensing deals with Indian drugmakers, such as Cipla, Lupin and Sun Pharma to make and sell its arthritis drug baricitinib for the treatment of COVID-19 patients.
India’s drug regulator has approved the drug for restricted emergency use in combination with remdesivir for hospitalised adult sufferers in need of supplemental oxygen.
By Sunday, the world’s largest vaccine-producing nation had fully vaccinated just over 34.3 million, or only 2.5 per cent, of its population of about 1.35 billion, government data shows.
Source: Reuters/jt
China to set up separation line on Mount Everest over COVID-19 fears
BEIJING: China will set up a “separation line” on the peak of Mount Everest to avoid possible COVID-19 infections by climbers from virus-hit Nepal, state media reported, after dozens were taken ill from the summit’s base camp.
While the virus first emerged in China in late 2019, it has largely been brought under control in the country through a series of strict lockdowns and border closures.
More than 30 sick climbers were evacuated from base camp on the Nepalese side of the world’s highest peak in recent weeks as Nepal faces a deadly second wave of COVID-19, raising fears that the virus might ruin a bumper climbing season.
Mount Everest straddles the China-Nepal border, with the north slope belonging to China.
Tibetan authorities told reporters at a press conference they would take the “most stringent epidemic prevention measures” to avoid contact between climbers on the north and south slopes or at the top, reported the official Xinhua news agency on Sunday.
Mountain guides will set up dividing lines on the summit of the mountain before allowing mountaineers to start the gruelling climb up, the head of the Tibet Mountaineering Association was quoted as saying by Xinhua.
The official did not provide details on what the dividing lines would be made of.
READ: COVID-19 threatens Everest climbing comeback plans
READ: Doctors in Nepal warn of major crisis as COVID-19 cases surge
Twenty-one Chinese climbers have been approved to climb to the summit of Everest this year after having quarantined in Tibet since early April, the official added.
The Chinese side will also step up virus control measures at the Chinese base camp on the northern side of the mountain, with non-climber tourists in the Everest scenic area forbidden to enter.
China has banned foreign nationals from climbing Everest since last year due to the virus outbreak.
But this year, Nepal has issued a record number of climbing permits to try and boost visitors after its tourism industry suffered a devastating blow through 2020 from the pandemic.
An Everest permit alone from Nepal costs US$11,000 and climbers pay upwards of US$40,000 for an expedition.
More than a thousand people are typically camped at the bustling tent city at the foot of Everest on the Nepalese side at any one time, including foreign climbers and the teams of Nepali guides that escort them to the peak.
In the last three weeks, Nepal’s daily case trajectory has shot up with two out of five people tested now returning positive as infections spill over from neighbouring India’s deadly second wave.
Source: AFP/kg
Covid-19 (May 9): 3,733 new cases, record high for deaths and ICU patients
COVID-19 | The Health Ministry today reported 3,733 new Covid-19 cases.
Multiple new records were set today including a new high for deaths, patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) and patients on ventilators.
The Health Ministry reported 26 new deaths, the highest number of new fatalities in a day.
The previous record was 25, which was registered yesterday and on Feb 18.
For the first time, the number of patients in the ICU also breached 400.
- Active cases: 37,060
- Patients in ICUs: 416
- Intubated: 216
More than a third of the new infections were recorded in Selangor with 1,278 cases.
Notably, Negeri Sembilan recorded 205 new cases. It was the first time the state registered more than 200 cases since Feb 24.
Also worth noting is Pahang which recorded 100 fresh infections, the first time it registered a three-digit increase since Jan 14.
Kuantan, Pahang is set to be placed under a third movement control order (MCO 3.0) tomorrow.
Deaths
Of the 26 new deaths today, the majority are in the Klang Valley with seven in Selangor and six in Kuala Lumpur.
The remaining deaths were from Johor (4), Kelantan (3), Pahang (3), Penang (2) and Sarawak (1).
They were aged between 36 and 90. All but three were known to have suffered from pre-existing conditions.
For a detailed breakdown of the reported deaths today, please refer to our Covid-19 tracker site.
New cases by state
Selangor (1,278)
Sarawak (454)
Johor (365)
Kuala Lumpur (338)
Penang (280)
Kelantan (254)
Negeri Sembilan (205)
Kedah (176)
Pahang (100)
Perak (80)
Malacca (66)
Sabah (61)
Terengganu (49)
Putrajaya (20)
Labuan (6)
Perlis (1)
Clusters
A total of 436 out of 1,788 clusters are still active. They were 40 active clusters more compared to last week.
They included the 13 new clusters reported today.
Details of the new clusters are as follows:
Jalan Satu
Category: Workplace
State(s): Selangor
District(s): Gombak
Total infected: 16 out of 87 screened
Lorong Tiung
Category: Workplace
State(s): Selangor
District(s): Kuala Langat and Klang
Total infected: 25 out of 150 screened
Kawasan Industri Dua
Category: Workplace
State(s): Johor
District(s): Muar
Total infected: 100 out of 124 screened
Tapak Bina Jalan Tun Hussein Onn
Category: Workplace
State(s): Penang
District(s): Seberang Perai Tengah
Total infected: 51 out of 276 screened
Kopitiam Kampung Selamat
Category: Workplace
State(s): Penang
District(s): Seberang Perai Utara and Seberang Perai Tengah
Total infected: 19 out of 65 screened
Jalan Stadium Negeri
Category: Community
State(s): Sarawak
District(s): Kuching, Samarahan and Serian
Total infected: 17 out of 55 screened
Tebedu Mawang
Category: Community
State(s): Sarawak
District(s): Tebedu
Total infected: 21 out of 107 screened
Sri Tualang
Category: Community
State(s): Kelantan
District(s): Pasir Mas
Total infected: 27 out of 90 screened
Jalan L Sungai Behrang
Category: Community
State(s): Perak
District(s): Muallim
Total infected: 17 out of 28 screened
Lak Lok
Category: Community
State(s): Terengganu and Kelantan
District(s): Besut and Kota Bharu
Total infected: 26 out of 115 screened
Jalan Haji Mahmud
Category: Religious event
State(s): Johor
District(s): Johor Bahru and Kota Tinggi
Total infected: 14 out of 141 screened
Tanah Merah
Category: Religious event
State(s): Negeri Sembilan
District(s): Port Dickson and Seremban
Total infected: 41 out of 151 screened
Desa Murni
Category: Private education institution registered with Education Ministry
State(s): Penang
District(s): Seberang Perai Utara and Seberang Perai Tengah
Total infected: 29 out of 98 screened
Source:Malaysiakini
Taliban declare three-day Afghan ceasefire for Eid holiday
KABUL: The Taliban on Monday declared a three-day ceasefire across Afghanistan to mark this week’s Eid al-Fitr holiday, just two days after being blamed for killing more than 50 people – mostly young girls – in a bomb attack outside a school in the capital.
The ceasefire offer comes as the United States continues to pull out its last 2,500 troops from the violence-wracked country despite faltering peace efforts between the Taliban and Afghan government to end a decades-long war.
“Mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate are instructed to halt all offensive operations against the enemy countrywide from the first till the third day of Eid,” a statement released by the Taliban said.
“But if the enemy conducts any assault or attack against you during these days, stand ready to robustly protect and defend yourselves and your territory,” it added.
Eid al-Fitr marks the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, and the holiday begins according to the sighting of the new moon. The Taliban declared similar ceasefires last year to mark Islamic holidays.
The government usually reciprocates with a truce. Fraidon Khawzon, spokesman for chief negotiator Abdullah Abdullah, said early Monday: “We welcome the announcement….the Islamic republic is also ready and will announce soon.”
‘BODIES PILED ON TOP OF EACH OTHER’
The latest offer comes after the government blamed the Taliban for Saturday’s attack outside a girls’ school in Dasht-e-Barchi, a suburb of the capital largely populated by the Shiite Hazara community, which is often targeted by extremist Sunni Islamist militants.
A series of blasts outside the school – when residents were shopping ahead of the holiday – killed more than 50 people and wounded over 100.
It was the deadliest attack in more than a year.
The Taliban, who denied responsibility, had earlier issued a statement saying the nation needed to “safeguard and look after educational centres and institutions”.
On Sunday, relatives buried the dead at a hilltop site known as “Martyrs Cemetery”, where victims of attacks against the Hazara community are laid to rest.
Hazaras are Shiite Muslims and considered heretics by extremist Sunnis. Sunni Muslims make up the majority of the Afghan population.
Bodies in wooden coffins were lowered into graves one by one by mourners still in a state of shock and fear, an AFP photographer said.
“I rushed to the scene (after the blasts) and found myself in the middle of bodies, their hands and heads cut off and bones smashed,” said Mohammad Taqi, a resident of Dasht-e-Barchi, whose two daughters were students at the school but escaped the attack.
“All of them were girls. Their bodies piled on top of each other.”
Books and school bags belonging to the victims still lay scattered at the site of the attack.
The Taliban insist they have not carried out attacks in Kabul since February last year, when they signed a deal with Washington that paved the way for peace talks and withdrawal of the remaining US troops.
But the group has clashed daily with Afghan forces in the rugged countryside even as the US military reduces its presence.
TALIBAN CHIEF WARNS US
The United States was supposed to have pulled all forces out by May 1 as agreed with the Taliban last year, but Washington pushed back the date to Sep 11 – a move that angered the insurgents.
The leader of the Taliban, Hibatullah Akhundzada, reiterated in a message released ahead of Eid that any delay in withdrawing the troops was a “violation” of that deal.
“If America again fails to live up to its commitments, then the world must bear witness and hold America accountable for all the consequences,” Akhundzada warned in Sunday’s message.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has declared a day of national mourning for Tuesday.
“This savage group does not have the power to confront security forces on the battlefield, and instead targets with brutality and barbarism public facilities and the girls’ school,” he said in a statement.
Saturday’s blasts drew widespread global condemnation.
Pope Francis called it “an inhumane action”, while Iran blamed the jihadist Islamic State.
India, meanwhile, called for the dismantling of “terrorist sanctuaries” and a ceasefire to boost peace efforts.
Source: AFP/ec
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