virus
Global Covid cases top 666 million
The overall number of global Covid-19 cases has now surpassed 666 million.
According to the latest global data, the total case count mounted to 666,001,230 while the death toll from the virus reached 6,700,964 on Wednesday morning.
The US has recorded 102,747,552 cases so far, while 1,118,757 people have died from the virus in the country, both highest counts around the world.
Read: Beijing threatens response to ‘unacceptable’ virus measures
India reported 134 new cases of Covid-19 on Tuesday, with the active caseload standing at 2,582.
No Covid-19 related death has been reported across the country during the past 24 hours..
Meanwhile, France has registered 39,356,184 Covid-19 cases so far, while 162,377 people have died in the country, as per the Worldometer.
Covid in Bangladesh
Bangladesh registered 31 more Covid cases in the 24 hours till Tuesday morning.
With the new numbers, the country's total caseload rose to 2,037,187, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
However, the official death toll from the disease remained unchanged at 29,440 as no new fatalities were reported.
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The daily case test positivity fell to 0.74 per cent from Monday's 0.84 per cent as 4,189 samples were tested during the period.
The mortality rate remained unchanged at 1.45 percent while recovery rate rose to 97.59 per cent, it added.
Bangladesh sees 2 more Covid deaths, 1,051 cases
Two more people died from Covid, and 1,051 tested positive for the virus in the 24 hours to Friday.
While the country's total fatalities reached 29,225, the new number took its caseload to 1,994,433, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
However, the daily case positivity rate fell to 11.55 percent from Thursday's 11.89 percent as 9,130 samples were tested.
The mortality rate remained unchanged at 1.47 percent. The recovery rate rose to 96.32 percent from Thursday's 96.28 percent.
In June, the country reported 18 Covid-linked deaths and 20,201 new cases, according to the DGHS.
Read: Global Covid cases top 565 million
Bangladesh reported its first zero Covid death on November 20 last year since the pandemic broke out here in March 2020.
The country registered its highest daily caseload of 16,230 on July 28 last year and daily fatalities of 264 on August 10 in the same year.
Global Covid cases top 544 million
The overall number of Covid cases has surpassed 544 million amid a rise in new infections in parts of the world.
According to the latest global data, the total case count mounted to 544,313,024 while the death toll from the virus reached 6,340,736 Monday morning.
Also read: Rise in Covid cases: Bangladesh reports 596 more cases with positivity rate surging to 7.38pc
The US has recorded 88,004,073 cases so far and 1,038,323 people have died from the virus in the country, the data shows.
India's COVID-19 tally rose to 43,311,049 on Sunday, as 12,899 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours across the country, showed the federal health ministry's latest data.
Besides, 15 deaths from the pandemic registered across the country during these period took the total death toll to 524,855.
Meanwhile, Brazil has recorded 31,704,193 cases so far and 669,109 people have died from the virus in the country
Situation in Bangladesh
The positivity rate kept rising as Bangladesh recorded 596 new Covid cases in 24 hours till Sunday morning taking the country's total caseload to 1,956,327.
The country's total fatalities, however, remained unchanged at 29,131 as no death was reported during the period, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Also read: Covid-19 : Bangladesh reports 304 more cases with no death
The daily test positivity rate increased to 7.38 per cent from Saturday’s 5.94 per cent with 8,191 samples tested during the period.
The mortality rate remained unchanged at 1.49 per cent. The recovery rates declined to 97.42 per cent as 49 patients recovered during this period.
New Monkeypox Outbreak: What We Know So Far
The world is yet to move on from the coronavirus pandemic and another virus that has raised concerns in the past week, which may turn into another pandemic. The name is Monkeypox. As of May 21, 2022, it has spread to 92 people in 12 countries, including the United Kingdom and the USA. The first monkeypox case was detected in London, the United Kingdom on May 7. Then, patients are also found in Spain, Germany, Portugal, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Italy, and Sweden.
So what is going to happen? Is the virus originating in Central and West Africa a cause for concern right now? Or is everyone overwhelmed about just going through an epidemic?
We have tried to find answers to these questions in different authentic news and journals. Here is what we need to know about the Monkeypox outbreak.
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What is Monkeypox?
There is a lot to know about MonkeyPox now. However, the natural carrier of the virus is wildlife, and rats are more likely than monkeys. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Monkeypox is like regular smallpox but is relatively less severe and does not spread the infection much.
It is caused by the monkeypox virus belonging to the orthopoxvirus genus of the Poxviridae family. Two clades of monkeypox virus are identified, the West African and Congo Basin (Central African) clades. Monkeypox was named after the first discovery of the virus in Denmark in 1958.
Although the virus was first detected in monkeys in 1958, rats are now suspected to be the main contributors to the spread.
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Symptoms of Monkeypox
The primary symptoms of this disease are fever, headache, pain in the joints and muscles, and fatigue in the body.
After the onset of fever, smallpox appears in the body. Usually, these poxes appear in the face at the beginning. Later it spreads on hands, feet, and all over the body. The body becomes itchy for this pox. Later wounds appeared from the pox. Like a regular pox, the patient recovers completely, but these scars remain on the body. The patient recovers within 14 to 21 days of the start of the disease.
How Does Monkeypox Virus Spread?
The Monkeypox virus is spread via close contact with an infected person. It also spreads from an infected person's clothes and bed. It enters the human body through inhalation, nose, eyes, mouth, and skin lesions.
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According to the experts say the Monkeypox can be transmitted from monkeys, squirrels, rats, or even through the bed bugs used by monkeypox patients. The disease can be spread through sexual contact too. Although this has not been said before, it is now thought that the virus can be transmitted through direct contact during sexual intercourse.
Treatment of Monkeypox
So far, there is no proven treatment for the monkeypox virus. However, according to the World Health Organization, the smallpox vaccine and antiviral drugs can help prevent the symptoms of Monkeypox. As with any virus outbreak, its rate can be prevented by taking appropriate measures.
Since the virus is not fatal, experts say there is little reason to worry about it. The United Kingdom has begun vaccinating small-scale healthcare workers who are most at risk of contracting the virus while serving patients.
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How Deadly is Monkeypox?
Congo clade has been seen in different parts of Africa. The death rate in the region is around 10% for the Congo clade. And children are more likely to die. On the other hand, the intensity of Central African Monkeypox is relatively low. The mortality rate of the infected in this species is about 1%.
The actual type of Monkeypox, which has been identified in 12 countries around the world, is not immediately known. However, Central African species have been identified in the UK, according to the health authorities.
Epidemiologists say monkeypox infections are usually "extremely rare." The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has expressed concern about the rise in monkeypox infections and warned that the virus could spread to the United Kingdom as well as Portugal and Spain.
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Is the Monkeypox Virus Airborne?
Although there is no evidence that Monkeypox is airborne, CDC instructed to take precautions as an airborne disease as it has a theoretical risk of airborne transmission. However, citing a study published in the journal Virological Methods in 2012, Harvard epidemiologist Eric Feigl-Ding said that Monkeypox might be like particles of airborne liquids or solids (aerosols).
So What's Going To Happen?
According to BBC, this outbreak is different, but the actual reason is not known yet. There are two things that can happen: either the virus has changed, or the same old virus has chosen the right place at the right time to become strong. Monkeypox is a DNA virus. So it does not have a quick mutation or mutation like Covid or Flu. Experts see it as a cause of relief.
A recent genetic analysis shows that the current infections are closely related to the structure of the virus in 2018 and 2019. It needs to be confirmed very soon, but so far, there is no evidence of a new strain or mutation in the virus. There is no need to transform the virus to take advantage of an opportunity that has been seen in the unexpectedly large outbreaks of Ebola and Zika viruses in the last decade.
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It is thought that the increase in human travel due to the lifting of the Covid pandemic restriction has contributed to the spread of the Monkeypox infection. Jimmy Whitworth, a professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, told Reuters, "My working theory would be that there's a lot of it about in west and central Africa, travel has resumed, and that's why we are seeing more cases."
How to Prevent Monkeypox?
According to WHO, travelers and residents of monkeypox-endemic countries should stay away from contacting sick mammals such as marsupials, rodents, and non-human primates (dead or alive). People also refrain from handling or eating wild games (bushmeat).
Final Words
Experts have not yet mentioned any specific vaccine for Monkeypox. However, the BBC says some countries have already begun preserving against smallpox. Researchers believe that the smallpox vaccine might be 85% effective because of the similarity of Monkeypox to smallpox. So far we have discussed the basic facts about Monkeypox including symptoms, treatment, and ways of prevention. Hope our discussion will help you to stay safe from this virus.
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More virus rules fall as CDC hints at better times ahead
The nation’s leading health officials said Wednesday that the U.S. is moving closer to the point that COVID-19 is no longer a “constant crisis” as more cities, businesses and sports venues began lifting pandemic restrictions around the country.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said during a White House briefing that the government is contemplating a change to its mask guidance in the coming weeks. Noting recent declines in COVID-19 cases, hospital admissions and deaths, she acknowledged “people are so eager” for health officials to ease masking rules and other measures designed to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
“We all share the same goal – to get to a point where COVID-19 is no longer disrupting our daily lives, a time when it won’t be a constant crisis – rather something we can prevent, protect against, and treat,” Walensky said.
With the omicron variant waning and Americans eager to move beyond the virus, government and business leaders have been out ahead of the CDC in ending virus measures in the last week, including ordering workers back to offices, eliminating mask mandates and no longer requiring proof of vaccine to get into restaurants, bars and sports and entertainment arenas.
Also read: CDC posts rationale for shorter isolation, quarantine
Philadelphia officials on Wednesday said the city’s vaccine mandate for restaurants was immediately lifted, though indoor mask mandates remain in place for now. At Disney World, vaccinated guests will no longer have to wear masks at the Florida theme park starting Thursday. Professional sports teams including the Utah Jazz and Washington Wizards and Capitals have stopped requiring proof of vaccine for fans.
The most populous county in Washington — where Seattle is located — announced Wednesday it will no longer require COVID vaccination checks to enter restaurants, bars, theaters and gyms beginning March 1.
Health Commissioner Cheryl Bettigole said Philadelphia’s average daily case count had dropped to 189 cases per day in the city of more than 1.5 million people. Bettigole said the plunge in infections has been steeper in Philadelphia than elsewhere in the state or the country, making it easier to lift the vaccine mandate for restaurants and other businesses announced in mid-December and that just fully went into effect this month.
“Our goal has always been to the least restrictive as possible while ensuring safety,” she said.
In Provincetown, Massachusetts, a seaside town that became a COVID hot spot with an early outbreak of the delta variant last summer, officials on Tuesday lifted a mask mandate and vaccine requirement for indoor spaces like restaurants and bars. Town Manager Alex Morse said the community of about 3,000 recorded zero active cases last week among Provincetown residents — something that hasn’t happened since the surge following last year’s July 4 celebrations.
“We are learning to live with, and mitigate, the impact of the virus on our community,” Morse said.
COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations have fallen sharply in the U.S., with the seven-day rolling average for daily new cases dropping from about 453,000 two weeks ago to about 136,000 as of Tuesday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Hospitalizations are at levels similar to September, when the U.S. was emerging from the delta variant surge. Almost 65% of Americans are fully vaccinated.
“As a result of all this progress and the tools we now have, we are moving to a time where COVID isn’t a crisis but is something we can protect against and treat,” said Jeff Zients, the White House coronavirus response coordinator.
Walensky said the CDC “will soon put guidance in place that is relevant and encourages prevention measures when they are most needed to protect public health and our hospitals.” She suggested any changes will take into account measures of community transmission, as well as hospitalization rates or other gauges of whether infected people are becoming severely ill. They also would consider available bed space in hospitals.
Several states with indoor mask mandates announced last week they would be lifted in coming weeks, also citing promising numbers.
Two music festivals that draw thousands of people to the California desert town of Indio in April and May, Coachella and Stagecoach, also said this week there will be no vaccination, masking or testing mandates in accordance with local guidelines. Coachella also noted that could change along with COVID conditions.
In Philadelphia, Bettigole said the vaccine mandate helped spur “a very large” increase in pediatric vaccinations, pushing the city way ahead of the national average for first doses among kids ages 5 to 11. More than 53% of Philadelphia residents in that age group have received a first dose, compared to closer to 30% nationally, she said.
Not all businesses plan to immediately change course. Philadelphia Irish sports bar and restaurant O’Neals will keep asking to see customers’ vaccination cards for now, said managing partner Greg “Spoonie” Rand, even though the city is lifting its vaccine mandate.
“Guests are more compliant and employees are more happy for us to continue doing vaccine cards inside,” he said. He thinks vaccinated people will be wary of coming in if the pub stops checking cards.
Walensky said the CDC wants to “give people a break from things like mask-wearing” when circumstances improve, though be able to mask up again if things worsen. She also said there will be instances where people should continue to wear masks even if prevention measures ease. Examples include when individuals have symptoms of COVID-19 or are within 10 days after being diagnosed with it.
23 Australians on ship delivering aid to Tonga have virus
Nearly two dozen sailors on an Australian military ship going to deliver aid to Tonga have tested positive for the coronavirus, officials said Tuesday, raising fears they could bring COVID-19 to a Pacific nation that has so far managed to avoid any outbreaks.
Australian Defense Minister Peter Dutton said his government was working with Tongan authorities to keep the ship at sea and make sure there is no threat to Tonga’s 105,000 residents.
Tongan authorities have been wary that accepting international aid could usher in a bigger disaster than the huge eruption of an undersea volcano 10 days ago. The eruption triggered a tsunami that destroyed dozens of homes, and volcanic ash has tainted drinking water.
Since the pandemic began, Tonga has reported just a single case of COVID-19 and has avoided any outbreaks. It’s one of the few countries in the world currently completely virus free. About 61% of Tongans are fully vaccinated, according to Our World in Data.
Australian officials said 23 crew members were infected on the HMAS Adelaide, which left Brisbane on Friday.
“They need the aid desperately, but they don’t want the risk of COVID,” Dutton told Sky News. “We will work through all of that as quickly as we can.”
It’s the second aid shipment from Australia in which at least one crew member tested positive. A C-17 Globemaster military transport plane was earlier turned around midflight after somebody was diagnosed.
Meanwhile, a cable company official said Tonga’s main island could have its internet service restored within two weeks, although it may take much longer to repair the connection to the smaller islands.
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The single undersea fiber-optic cable which connects the Pacific nation to the outside world was severed after the eruption and tsunami.
That left most people unable to connect with loved ones abroad. For days, people couldn’t get through on their phones, by email, or through social media.
Since then, Tonga’s Digicel has been able to restore international call services to some areas by using satellite connections. Some people have been able to send emails or get limited internet connectivity.
Samieula Fonua, who chairs the board at Tonga Cable Ltd., the state-owned company which owns the fiber-optic cable, said a repair ship had left from Papua New Guinea and was due to stop over in Samoa by Monday to pick up supplies. It should then arrive in Tonga by Feb. 1.
Fonua said the CS Reliance had a crew of about 60 aboard, including engineers, divers and medical staff. He said its equipment included a robot which could assess the cable on the seabed.
TECHNOLOGYDC, 3 states sue Google saying it invades users' privacyBelarus hacktivists target railway in anti-Russia effortIn global 5G race, European Union is told to step up pace23 Australians on ship delivering aid to Tonga have virusFonua said preliminary estimates indicated the break in the cable was located about 37 kilometers (23 miles) offshore from the main island of Tongatapu. He said that all going well, the crew should be able to repair the cable by Feb. 8, restoring the internet to about 80% of Tonga’s customers.
The cable runs from Tonga to Fiji, a distance of about 800 kilometers (500 miles), and was first commissioned in 2013 at a cost of about $16 million. It was financed through grants from the World Bank Group and Asian Development Bank, and increased Tonga’s internet capacity fivefold.
But like many small Pacific countries, Tonga relies heavily on a single cable to stay connected and has little in the way of a back-up plan. Three years ago, a cable break believed to have been caused by a ship dragging its anchor also led to weeks of disruptions.
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A second, domestic fiber-optic cable that connects Tonga’s smaller islands to the main island could prove much more difficult to repair. Fonua said that cable runs near the undersea volcano which erupted and may have been severely damaged. It might need extensive repairs or even a replacement, he said.
Fonua said the focus was on fixing the main international cable, and they could deal with the domestic connections “at a later time.”
He said Tongans had been somewhat understanding of the communication disruptions caused by the disaster, which killed three people, destroyed dozens of homes and tainted water supplies with volcanic ash.
“People are calm. Coming out of a total blackout, just being able to call outside and send an email has settled them a bit,” Fonua said. “By the time they start getting more frustrated, I’m hoping we’ll have the cable connected by then.”
Lessons forgotten: Election rallies feed Indian virus surge
Coronavirus cases fueled by the highly transmissible omicron variant are rocketing through India, prompting the federal government and states to swiftly reintroduce a string of restrictions.
Night curfews are back. Restaurants and bars are running at half their capacity. Some states have closed schools and movie theaters. Large gatherings are to be downsized.
But India’s political leaders are busy on the campaign trail ahead of crucial state polls, addressing packed rallies of tens of thousands of people, many without masks.
The scenes are strikingly similar to last year’s election season, when the delta variant ravaged the country and made India one of the world’s worst-hit countries. Some political parties have begun to curtail their campaigns and halt a few rallies, but health experts worry that the lessons learned last year have already been forgotten.
READ: Impact of devastating Indian virus surge spreads to politics
“The highly transmissible omicron variant chases and catches you. But our politicians are out there to welcome it with a hug,” said Dr. T. Jacob John, an Indian virologist. “I fear it is beginning to look a lot like last year.”
A devastating surge of infections tore through India last year. It was partly fed by large crowds at election rallies, where politicians, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, often appeared without masks and addressed teeming crowds.
That surge left the country’s health system battered, with people begging for oxygen and hospital beds. Crematoriums ran out of space. Daily deaths crossed 4,000 during the peak of the crisis, with at least 200,000 people dying between March and May, a number widely believed to be a vast undercount.
Health officials say the new surge is causing fewer deaths and many cases are asymptomatic. But they warn against taking the omicron variant too lightly, and say that numerous cases, even if milder, could still pressure the country’s fragile health system.
Overall, new daily cases have increased nearly fourfold in the last week. Hospital admissions are rising and medical staff in some states have been asked to cut short their winter holidays.
Cities are experiencing a massive surge, with Mumbai, India’s financial capital, surpassing its previous highest daily count. New COVID-19 cases in five states immersed in election campaigning — Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur — have shot up.
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On Saturday, the health ministry said more than 141,986 cases were reported in the previous 24 hours, nearly a 21% increase from the previous day.
Health experts say increased social contact at packed election rallies is feeding the virus spread.
“The transmission chains that started at the beginning of the year due to these rallies will take months to burn out,” John, the virologist, said.
Over the past few weeks, Modi has addressed huge gatherings in several cities, particularly in Uttar Pradesh, the country’s most populous state which is ruled by his Bharatiya Janata Party. The party’s political opponents have also hit the campaign trail, flouting health guidelines.
Earlier this week, the Congress party organized a marathon in which thousands of people ran without masks and were packed so tightly that they collapsed onto each other. The chief minister of New Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal, contracted the virus after he was seen maskless while leading political rallies in multiple states.
With health experts warning of a rapid growth in infections, and data suggesting they are spreading faster than during the peak of last year’s surge, several political parties have started a course correction.
The Congress party said it is stopping political rallies in Uttar Pradesh and switching to virtual campaigning. A few other parties, including Modi's, have followed suit. It's unclear, however, whether they will cancel all future rallies.
The polls are scheduled to begin on Feb. 10 and end on March 7. Results will be declared on March 10.
On Wednesday, V.K. Paul, a doctor working with the government on its coronavirus response, said it was likely that “systems will be overwhelmed." He said restricting political activities and rallies was a decision the Election Commission needed to make.
On Saturday, the Election Commission, which had so far deflected that call by saying political parties wanted the rallies to go forward, gave in to the mounting pressure.
The commission barred all physical rallies and roadshows for one week and said a decision to impose restrictions throughout the entire campaign will be only taken after a Jan. 15 review.
S.Y. Quraishi, a former head of the commission, said campaigning could be banned or restricted for the entire period if the commission wanted to do so.
“But they lack the will,” Quraishi said. “What's the point in banning rallies after the virus has already spread through the entire country?”
John, the virologist, said officials in states with upcoming elections are being inconsistent by imposing curfews and restrictions on everyday gatherings but allowing large election rallies to be held.
“The government has once again sent out a message that politics is more important than health,” he said.
Virus testing shortages and delays help fuel surge
The difficulty finding coronavirus test kits in many parts of California and delays in getting results are causing increasing frustration and contributing to the surge of infections that in just two weeks more than doubled the number of people in hospitals with COVID-19.
Negative test results can be a necessity for any number of activities, from going to work to boarding an airplane or attending a sporting event. Delays in getting results — or inability to find a test kit — can mean people with very mild or no symptoms may presume they are not infected and go about their usual routines.
“If you are tested and you’re positive then you know you need to isolate," said Abraar Karan, an infectious diseases doctor at Stanford University. “If you can’t get tested, and you don’t have the luxury to just quarantine without knowing, sure, you may have people going out and infecting others."
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The surge of cases in California has led to a soaring demand for tests that in many places simply can’t be found. Some county mail-in testing programs have been halted due to exploding demand. In places where tests are available, people sometimes have to wait in line for several hours.
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Friday that he is activating the California National Guard to add testing sites and boost capacity. More than 200 guard members are being deployed to 50 sites to help with clinical staffing and crowd control, the governor said.
There's also been a lag in obtaining test results. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, an epidemiology professor at University of California, San Francisco’s medical school, said she heard one lab was taking nine days to return results — longer than someone exposed to COVID-19 may have to quarantine.
“If you are trying to do the right thing, and you decided to wait in line to get a test, having a long time to get actionable information is not helpful,” she said. “It’s sort of absurd.”
Some people have resorted to paying $100 or more for a rapid result — something many can’t afford.
Shane Hirschman, a 36-year-old from San Clemente, said he ordered a mail-in test kit from the Orange County health agency last week but never received one. When he started feeling sick this week, he said he couldn’t find an at-home kit in stores and testing appointments at nearby pharmacies were booked. He wound up paying nearly $100 for a rapid test to confirm he didn’t have the variant.
“They’ve had a year and a half to sort this out and it shouldn’t be like this,” he said. “I don’t feel like I can pay 100 bucks every day.”
In Los Angeles County, where a quarter of the state's nearly 40 million people live, overwhelming demand prompted a temporary halt to a program that allowed people to test at home and mail back their sample. Public health director Barbara Ferrer said she hopes the testing crunch will ease in coming days. In the meantime, she urged restraint.
“Please don’t decide that because you didn’t get tested, you don’t have COVID and you don’t have to stay home if you’ve got symptoms," she said. “We do ask while we’re trying to increase testing capacity and make it much easier for everyone who need to test to get a test that you please stay home while you’re symptomatic."
California, like the rest of the country, has been overtaken by the omicron variant, which spreads more easily than other coronavirus strains. It also more easily infects those who have been vaccinated or had previously been infected by prior versions of the virus, though it appears less likely to cause severe illness.
Since Christmas, more than 5,000 people in California have been admitted to hospitals with COVID. In many cases, they went in for something else and only learned they were infected upon testing.
State models used to forecast the impact of the virus show that within a month California could have a record 23,000 people in hospitals with COVID-19.
Orange County, the state's third most populous with more than 3 million residents, is among a growing number of places where hospitals are becoming strained by the flood of COVID patients coupled with a high number of nurses and other workers who are not on the job because they are infected or quarantined due to exposure to the virus.
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Dr. Regina Chinsio-Kwong, the county’s deputy health officer, said many hospitals have resorted to using tents to triage patients, something not seen since a year ago when the state was in the throes of its deadliest surge. Ambulances are waiting nearly an hour to drop off patients.
“It is a dire situation right now,” she said.
Asia looks to China-focused trade bloc for virus recovery
Members of a China-centered Asian trade bloc that takes effect Jan. 1 are hoping the initiative, encompassing about a third of world trade and business activity, will help power their recoveries from the pandemic.
The 15-member Regional and Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP, includes China, Japan, South Korea and many other Asian countries. It does not include the U.S. or India.
The deal slashes tariffs on thousands of products, streamlining trade procedures and providing mutual advantages for member nations. It also takes into account issues such as e-commerce, intellectual property and government procurement. But it has less stringent labor and environmental requirements than those expected of countries in the European Union or the smaller Trans-Pacific Partnership, which includes many of the same countries but not China.
RCEP is expected to boost trade within the region by 2%, or $42 billion, both through increased trade and also through diversion of trade as tariff rules change, experts say.
Extra help will be needed: Two years of lockdowns, border closures, mandatory quarantines and other restrictions have cost millions of people their jobs while also contributing to disruptions in manufacturing and shipping that are snarling supply chains worldwide.
Countries confronted with outbreaks of the fast-spreading omicron coronavirus variant have reined in recent moves to reopen to international travel.
Regional economies contracted by 1.5% in 2020. They’ve bounced back, with the Asian Development Bank forecasting growth at 7.0% this year — boosted by low year-before figures. But next year growth is expected to slow to 5.3%.
The pandemic slowed progress in ratifying the trade deal for some countries.
China was the first to ratify RCEP, in April, after it was signed in November 2020 at a virtual meeting of leaders from its 15 member countries. Indonesia, Malaysia and the Phlippines have yet to do so, though they are expected to ratify it soon. Myanmar, whose government was ousted by the military on Feb. 1, ratified it but that is pending acceptance by other members.
Beijing is fully prepared for the new trading bloc, having already fulfilled 701 “binding obligations” for RCEP, Chinese vice minister for commerce Ren Hongbin said Thursday.
“RCEP is of great significance building new development patterns and a milestone in opening up our economy,” Ren said according to a transcript of a news conference on the ministry’s website. He said the block would draw member economies closer and “greatly boost confidence in economic recovery from the pandemic.”
Like any trade deal, RCEP has its detractors.
In a recent legislative hearing shown on YouTube, government officials urged Indonesian lawmakers to pass RCEP, one of three backlogged trade arrangements.
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Elly Rachmat Yasin, a member of a commission responsible for agriculture, the environment, forestry and marine affairs, questioned Indonesia’s trade minister, Muhammad Lutfi, about the wisdom of Indonesia's involvement, noting that India opted out largely due to fears that Chinese imports would swamp its markets.
Lutfi responded that RCEP would help boost exports and attract extra inflows of up to $1.7 billion in foreign investment by 2040.
Philippine Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez says he expects lawmakers there to ratify the pact in January, after running out of time to get it done in December, when the government was busy dealing with the aftermath of a typhoon that struck on Dec. 16, leaving 375 people dead and hundreds of thousands without adequate housing.
The trade bloc is expected to open many service sector jobs to workers in member countries — a big draw for countries like the Philippines that rely heavily on remittances from migrant workers.
“RCEP will uplift GDP and lower poverty incidence. It will open up more market access for our exports and widen sourcing of needed inputs that will improve competitiveness of our manufacturing sector and exporters," Lopez said.
READ: China orders lockdown of up to 13 million people in Xi’an
“There is no reason nor logic not to ratify RCEP," he said, adding that failing to do so would be “catastrophic" since investors would likely favor countries within the trading bloc.
Global Covid cases top 275 million
The overall number of global Covid cases has now crossed 275 million amid the rapid spread of the Omicron variant in several western countries.
According to Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total case count mounted to 275,438,382 while the death toll from the virus reached 5,360,382 Tuesday morning.
The US has recorded 51,097,528 cases so far and more than 807,945 people have died from the virus in the country to date, the university data shows.
Omicron has raced ahead of other variants and is now the dominant version of the coronavirus in the US, accounting for 73% of new infections last week, federal health officials said Monday, reported AP.
Also read: Omicron sweeps across nation, now 73% of new US COVID cases
Meanwhile, the total number of coronavirus cases in the UK mounted to 11,518,116, while the total fatalities reached 147,722 according to figures released Tuesday.
Coronavirus infections are surging in Britain — up 60% in a week — as Omicron replaced Delta as the dominant variant, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said more new restrictions may have to be introduced to slow its spread.
Brazil, which has been experiencing a new wave of cases since January, registered 22,215,856 cases as of Tuesday, while its Covid death toll rose to 617,905.
India's Covid-19 tally rose to 34,747,913 on Monday while the total death toll mounted to 477,554.
Moreover, 19 new cases from five states took the Omicron tally in India to 174 as of Tuesday.
Situation in Bangladesh
Bangladesh reported two more Covid-linked deaths, with the health authorities logging 260 fresh cases in 24 hours till Monday morning.
The detection of the new cases after testing 19,955 samples took the daily case positivity rate to 1.30 percent during the period, said the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
With the fresh numbers, the total fatalities rose to 28,050 while the caseload mounted to 15,81,343.
Of the 20 deaths recorded from December 13 to December, 19, 20 percent received Covid shots while 80 percent did not, the directorate said.
Both the latest deceased were men, aged between 61 and 70, one from Dhaka division and another from Rangpur.
Also read: UK health boss: COVID-19 rules could tighten by Christmas
Meanwhile, the mortality rate remained static at 1.77 percent during the period.
Besides, the recovery rate remained steady at 97.75 percent with the recovery of 236 more patients during the 24-hour period.
On December 9, Bangladesh again logged zero Covid-related death after nearly three weeks as the pandemic was apparently showing signs of easing.
The country reported this year’s first zero Covid-related death in a single day on November 20 along with 178 infections since the pandemic broke out in Bangladesh in March 2020.
Bangladesh reported the highest number of daily fatalities of 264 on August 5 this year, while the highest daily caseload was 16,230 on July 28 this year.