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India tops a million coronavirus cases as pandemic hits villages

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India on Friday became the third country in the world to record more than one million coronavirus cases, behind only the United States and Brazil.

This is as infections spread further out into the countryside and smaller towns.

For India’s population of around 1.3 billion, experts say a million cases are still low and the number will rise significantly in the coming months as testing is expanded.

India recorded 34,956 new infections on Friday, taking the total so far to 1.004 million, with 25,602 deaths from COVID-19, Federal Health Ministry data showed.

That compares to some 3.6 million cases in the U.S. and two million in Brazil – both countries with populations under 400 million.

Epidemiologists say India is still likely months away from hitting its peak of cases, suggesting the country’s already overburdened healthcare system will come under further strain.

“In the coming months, we are bound to see more and more cases, and that is the natural progression of any pandemic,’’ said Giridhar Babu, epidemiologist at the non-profit Public Health Foundation of India.

“As we move forward, the goal has to be lower mortality… a critical challenge states will face is how to rationally allocate hospital beds,’’ he said.

The last four months of the pandemic sweeping India have exposed severe gaps in the country’s healthcare system, which is one of the most poorly funded and has for years lacked enough doctors or hospital beds.

The Indian government has defended a strict lockdown it imposed in March to contain the virus spread, saying it helped keep death rates low and allowed time to beef up the healthcare infrastructure.

But public health experts say shortages remain, and could hit hard in the coming months.

“As a public health measure, I don’t think the lockdown had much impact.

“It just delayed the virus spread,’’ said Dr Kapil Yadav, Assistant Professor of Community Medicine at New Delhi’s Premier All India Institute of Medical Sciences.

The million cases so far recorded likely left out many asymptomatic ones, he said.

“It’s a gross underestimate.’’

Millions of migrant workers, left stranded in the cities by the lockdown in March, took long journeys home on foot, some dying on the way while others left without work or wages.

Several states, including Bihar in the east, to which many of the migrants returned, have witnessed a surge in cases in recent weeks as the lockdown has been eased to salvage a sagging economy.

Babu estimates India won’t see a single nationwide peak.

“The surges are shifting from one place to another, so we cannot say there will be one peak for the whole country.

“In India, it’s going to be a sustained plateau for some time and then it will go down.’’ (Reuters/NAN)

Zondwa Mandela, son to Nelson Mandela’s daughter Zindzi reveals she tested positive for Coronavirus before she died

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Zindzi Mandela, the daughter of former South African president Nelson Mandela tested positive for Coronavirus the day she died.

Her son, Zondwa Mandela confirmed her diagnosis but didn’t state if it was what caused her death on Monday, July 13.

Speaking with South Africa’s public broadcaster, SABC, Zondwa said: ‘My mother did in fact test positive for Covid-19 on the day of her passing.

‘Although, this doesn’t, therefore, mean that she died of COVID-related complications, but simply that she tested positive for it.

He added: ‘Simply by the virtue that there was a positive test, we are therefore obligated to function and work within the framework of the existing regulation related to such cases.’

Zindzi, the daughter of South African anti-apartheid leaders Nelson and Winnie Mandela, died on Monday morning at a Johannesburg hospital.

The 59-year-old, who rose to international prominence when she read out Nelson Mandela’s rejection of then-president P.W. Botha’s offer for freedom in 1985, served as South Africa’s ambassador to Denmark. She first took up her position as the ambassador to Denmark in 2015.

She is survived by her husband and four children.

Philadelphia suspends large public gatherings until February 2021 due to COVID-19 pandemic

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The city of Philadelphia has announced that it is cancelling all large events including the city’s marathon and Thanksgiving Day parade until the end of February next year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney made the announcement on Tuesday, July 14, saying ban on large events includes festivals, parades, concerts, carnivals, fairs, flea markets and block parties, such as the Thanksgiving Day parade and the Philadelphia Marathon are all cancelled.

In a tweet, he wrote: ‘He I’m disappointed to confirm that we are canceling large public events through February 28, 2021 due to the public health crisis.

This was not an easy decision to make. The health and safety of residents, workers, and visitors must be our top priority.’

Philadelphia bans large public gatherings until February 2021 due to COVID-19 pandemic

The mayor also said that 40% of new confirmed COVID-19 cases in the city are people under the age of 30. “This underscores the importance of avoiding social gatherings, especially for young people,” Kenney said.

The ban does not apply to any first amendment events like protests and demonstrations. Private outdoor events for ceremonies such as weddings, will be allowed to go ahead if there are fewer than 50 guests. Organized outdoor sports with fewer than 25 people are also permitted.

The decision to ban the next six months of events comes as the U.S. faces a surge in coronavirus cases.

Officials reported 148 new cases Tuesday afternoon, bringing the city’s total to over 27,700. The city’s death toll stands at 1,637.

Nelson Mandela’s daughter Zindizi who was 18-month when her father was jailed dies at 59

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Zindzi Mandela, the eldest daughter of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela is dead at the age of 59.

She died in a Johannesburg hospital in the early hours of Monday, July 13. News of Zindzi’s death has been confirmed by the Nelson Mandela Foundation.

Zindzi Mandela’s son, Bambatha also shared a photo of his mother with the caption “Rest in Peace”.

The deceased who is survived by her husband and four children, served as South Africa’s ambassador to Denmark. She first took up her position as the ambassador to Denmark in 2015.

She was 18 months old when her father was sent to prison. Her mother was also imprisoned often at that time, leaving her in the care of her elder sibling, Zenani. In 1977 her mother Winnie was banished to Brandfort, then in the Orange Free State, and Zindzi moved with her, taking her out of her normal life. She then moved to Swaziland and upon finishing high school, enrolled at the University of Cape Town for a law degree.

She and her sister soon became effective spokespeople for her imprisoned parents. In 1985, the year she graduated, Zindzi was selected to read her father’s refusal speech after the then president PW Botha offered him conditional release from prison.

Zindzi has written poetry and has been published on several occasions. One of her works, Black As I Am, included pictures taken by revered Drum magazine journalist, Peter Magubane.


PM Johnson says England may need stricter face mask rules

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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said tighter rules on wearing face coverings may be needed to stop a resurgence in COVID-19 infections

Johnson said that he would like to see the people wear face covering more frequently in shops in England.

“I do think we need to be stricter in insisting that people wear face coverings in confined places where they are meeting people that they don’t normally meet,” Johnson said in a pre-recorded question-and-answer session with the public.

Britain has Europe’s highest coronavirus death toll, with almost 45,000 confirmed deaths, and weekly figures on Friday showed a small rise in the COVID-19 reproduction rate, although the number of new infections continues to fall.

People in England are only required to wear face masks on public transport and when visiting hospitals, but on Friday Scotland made it compulsory to wear them in shops as well.

Just over half of British adults who left their homes last week wore a mask, rising to 89 per cent of people on public transport, according to official data published earlier on Friday.

Johnson said he believed the scientific evidence that face coverings were useful was stronger than at the start of the pandemic, and that as lockdown restrictions eased they would be important in stopping a flare-up in cases.

“So that’s why it’s mandatory already on public transport, and we’re looking at ways of making sure that people really do observe when you do have face coverings in shops for instance where … there is a risk of transmission,” he added.

Non-essential shops in England reopened to the public on June 15, and hairdressers, pubs and restaurants resumed business last Saturday.

However, the number of customers in shops and cafes is only around half its pre-COVID level, and on Wednesday the government slashed value-added tax and announced other incentives to boost domestic tourism and encourage people to visit restaurants. (Reuters/NAN)

Voting opens in Singapore’s pandemic-shrouded elections

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Mask-clad Singaporeans started voting at 8 am (0000 GMT) on Friday in snap parliamentary elections being held even as the country deals with hundreds of new daily coronavirus cases.

After a short campaign in which public rallies were not allowed due to the virus, voters are having their temperatures taken and donning disposable gloves before entering booths to choose from 192 candidates representing 11 political parties chasing 93 seats.

The outcome is expected to be business as usual, with opposition parties appealing to voters not to issue a “blank cheque” to the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP), which took 83 seats in 2015 elections and has won at least 60 per cent of the popular vote in every election held since Singaporean independence in 1965.

The PAP is led by Lee Hsien Loong, prime minister since 2004 and son of the Lee Kuan Yew, one of Asia’s best-known politicians during the late 20th century, an autocrat who steered the tiny city-state toward prosperity.

But in late June, the prime minister’s brother Lee Hsien Yang shook up what would ordinarily be a staid campaign by backing the new Progress Singapore Party (PSP) – after a sibling squabble over the late Lee’s estate.

But Friday’s results will be mostly watched for the PAP’s margin of victory, with its candidates repeatedly raising the need for a “strong” government to deal with the novel coronavirus pandemic.

On Thursday the Ministry of Health confirmed 125 new cases, taking the total to 45,423.

Singapore’s gross domestic product contracted by up to 7 per cent in 2020, according to official projections.

“Our economy has been badly hit, though the full economic impact of the outbreak is still ahead of us,” the prime minister said in a final pre-vote statement.

Lee called on voters to “not just to return the PAP to government. But also to give it a strong mandate.”

Sylvia Lim, chair of the Workers’ Party, which won six seats in the last election held in 2015, said that “robust democracies where changes of the party in power at election time are considered normal” also dealt successfully with the pandemic, citing countries such as New Zealand and South Korea.

PSP leader Tan Cheng Bock called for a legislature that “that reflects all views, and not just the PAP view or the group-think of a single political party.”

Around 2.65 million people are eligible to vote before polling closes at 8 pm, with results expected from around three hours later.

Egypt sees marked decline in daily COVID-19 infections, fatalities

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Egypt confirmed on Thursday 950 new COVID-19 infections and 53 fatalities, bringing the total cases registered in the country to 79,254 and the death toll to 3,617, said the health ministry.

Thursday’s number of new infections is the lowest since May 28 when the daily increase started to surpass 1,000, while the new single-day deaths mark the fewest since June 13.

A record 1,774 daily infections was seen in Egypt on June 19.

Meanwhile, 512 patients were cured and discharged from hospitals on Thursday, raising the total recoveries to 22,753, Health Ministry spokesman Khaled Megahed said in a statement.

Egypt announced its first confirmed COVID-19 case on Feb. 14 and the first death from the highly infectious virus on March 8.

Egypt resumed international flights on July 1 after more than three months of suspension, amid a coexistence plan to maintain anti-coronavirus precautionary measures while resuming economic activities.

The North African country has recently lifted a partial nighttime curfew imposed over the past three months, and reopened restaurants, cafes, theaters and cinemas, as well as hotels, museums and archeological sites for tourists, all with limited capacity.

Egypt and China have been cooperating closely in fighting the pandemic through exchanging medical aid and expertise.

In early February, Egypt provided aid to China to help with its fight against COVID-19 and China later returned favor by sending three batches of medical aid to the country, the latest of which was in mid-May.

“So far, Chinese medical experts have held eight video conferences with Egyptian counterparts. China is so willing to strengthen remote consultation, dialogue and cooperation in the development and use of vaccines with Egypt,” Chinese Ambassador to Egypt Liao Liqiang said at an online press conference on Wednesday.

On July 5, Liao delivered a batch of anti-coronavirus medical aid sent by the Chinese government to the Cairo-based Arab League.

Ghana education ministry confirms 90 percent of staff test positive for Coronavirus

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Ghanaian minister of education, Matthew Prempeh has disclosed that about 90 percent of staff of the ministry he heads have tested positive for Coronavirus.

GhanaWeb reported that Prempeh said a mass testing was carried on staff of the ministry after his result came back positive the second time. Out of the 50 staff tested, 45 tested positive for the virus and were asymptomatic.

He said; “After my second result came out as positive, testing was conducted on all staff at the ministry and the results showed that out of every 50 persons, about 45 had contracted the virus.

“Most of them are asymptomatic so they are isolating at home.”

Narrating his experience while being admitted at the University of Ghana Medical Center, Prempeh said it was not a pleasant experience.

He added; “For all the 52 years of my life, I’ve never been admitted to the hospital before and it was not a pleasant experience. The disease is very real and I don’t wish it on even my foe.”

U.S. lawmakers blast Trump’s decision to formally withdraw WHO

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U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to officially quit the World Health Organisation (WHO) has sparked outrage among U.S. lawmakers, raising concerns over the ongoing global fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

“To call Trump’s response to COVID-9 chaotic and incoherent doesn’t do it justice.

“This won’t protect American lives or interests — it leaves Americans sick and America alone,” Senator Robert Menendez, top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, said Wednesday on Twitter.

By withdrawing from the WHO, Trump has further abdicated U.S. global leadership, Congressman Ami Bera, who represents California’s 7th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, lamented on Twitter.

“His go-it-alone approach puts America’s health and security at risk,” he said on Wednesday.

Bera, a physician, also told local media that the U.S. and the WHO had worked “hand in hand” to eradicate smallpox and nearly defeat polio.

“If the WHO is to blame: why has the U.S. been left behind while many countries from South Korea to New Zealand to Vietnam to Germany return to normal?” he said. (Xinhua/NAN)

Chinese mainland reports 9 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, all imported

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Chinese health authority said on Thursday that it received reports of nine new confirmed COVID-19 cases on the Chinese mainland on Wednesday and that all of them were imported.

Of the nine new imported cases, three were reported in Liaoning and Shanghai each, two in Guangdong and one in Sichuan, the National Health Commission said in its daily report.

No new deaths related to the disease or new suspected cases were reported.

On Wednesday, 42 COVID-19 patients were discharged from hospitals after recovery.

By the end of Wednesday, a total of 1,958 imported cases had been reported on the mainland.

Of them, 1,884 had been discharged from hospitals after recovery, and 74 remained hospitalised, with no one in serious conditions.

No deaths from the imported cases had been reported.

As of Wednesday, the overall confirmed cases on the mainland had reached 83,581 including 357 patients who were still being treated, with five in severe conditions.

Altogether 78,590 people had been discharged after recovery, and 4,634 had died of the disease on the mainland, the commission said.

The commission said five people, including two from outside the mainland, were still suspected of being infected with the virus.

According to the commission, 3,840 close contacts were still under medical observation after 706 people were discharged from medical observation Wednesday.

Also on Wednesday, six new asymptomatic cases, including five from outside the mainland, were reported and one asymptomatic case was re-categorized as a confirmed case.

The commission said 112 asymptomatic cases, including 79 from outside the mainland, were still under medical observation.

As of Wednesday, 1,323 confirmed cases including seven deaths had been reported in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), 46 confirmed cases in the Macao SAR, and 449 in Taiwan including seven deaths.

A total of 1,167 COVID-19 patients in the Hong Kong SAR, 45 in the Macao SAR, and 438 in Taiwan had been discharged from hospitals after recovery. (Xinhua/NAN)