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Saturday, April 10, 2021, 18:40
India's daily virus cases rise to record for 5th time this week
By Agencies
Saturday, April 10, 2021, 18:40 By Agencies

An Iranian man wearing a face mask walk past a shuttered cinema in the capital Tehran, on March 29, 2021. (PHOTO / AFP)

ANKARA / SINGAPORE / NEW DELH -India’s daily coronavirus cases on Saturday rose by a record for the fifth time this week and deaths surged to the highest in more than five months, with hospitals and crematoriums overflowing in parts of the country.

New cases in the world’s second-most populous country have totalled the most of anywhere in the world over the last two weeks. India’s overall tally of 13.21 million is the third-highest globally, just shy of Brazil and below the worst affected country, the United States.

The second surge in infections, which has spread much more rapidly than the first one that peaked in September, has forced many states to impose fresh curbs but Prime Minister Narendra Modi has refused to impose a national lockdown given the high economic costs.

Authorities in Maharashtra, the Indian state with the highest cases, have ordered a weekend lockdown that will end early on Monday. Mega cities such as Mumbai, the country’s financial centre and Maharashtra’s capital, and the national capital of New Delhi have also imposed nightly curfews until the end of April.

India reported 145,384 new COVID-19 cases and 794 deaths, the Health Ministry reported.

Pakistan

Pakistan’s drug regulator approved Sinovac Biotech Ltd.’s vaccine for emergency use, Xinhua News Agency reported, citing the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan. The move adds a third Chinese vaccine to Pakistan’s arsenal as the country faces a new wave on infections. Pakistan previously approved shots developed by Sinopharm and CanSino Biologics Inc.

Tokyo 

Tokyo reported 570 additional infections on Saturday, topping 500 for a fourth straight day. Japan on Friday said it will reimpose restrictions in Tokyo, Kyoto and Okinawa, aiming to rein in a rapid spread of the coronavirus in those areas three weeks after ending a state of emergency in the capital.

Iran

Grand Bazaar of Iran's capital Tehran, a major hub for the country's economy, will be closed for two weeks following the sharp rise in the number of COVID-19 cases across the country, Tasnim news agency reported on Friday.

The authorities have also announced the suspension of other businesses, excluding the suppliers of basic services and commodities, for two weeks.

According to the Head of Tehran Chamber of Guilds, Nodeh Farhani, "the heads of the unions have been informed to close the Tehran market and guild for two weeks, starting from Saturday."

On Friday, Iran's health ministry announced that the nationwide caseload has hit 2,029,412, with the fatalities reaching 64,039.

Oman

The Omani health ministry instructed hospitals nationwide to postpone all surgeries from April 11 citing the increasing number of COVID-19 cases, the Times of Oman reported Friday.

"In view of the increasing number of coronavirus cases and the increase in the admissions to government and private hospitals, everyone is kindly requested to postpone all dates of surgical and non-surgical operations," read a ministry circular to government and private hospitals.

Thailand 

Thailand reported 789 new cases, the highest since Feb. 4, bringing the total to 31,658 infections, according to the Health Ministry. Most cases are linked to entertainment venue clusters in the Thai capital. One new death was reported Saturday, raising the total to 97.

South Korea

South Korean President Moon Jae-in will hold an urgent meeting on Monday with the country’s top health officials to review the response to the pandemic and discuss vaccine supplies, Yonhap News reported Saturday, citing a presidential spokesman.

Health authorities warned this week that the country is in the early stage of another wave of infections. They also said they may consider stricter social distancing measures and curtail some business activities if the weekly average of cases rises. South Korea confirmed 677 more infections on Saturday.

Turkey

Turkey on Friday confirmed 55,791 new COVID-19 cases, including 2,408 symptomatic patients, as the total number of positive cases in the country reached 3,745,657, according to its health ministry.

The death toll from the virus in Turkey rose by 253 to 33,454, while the total recoveries climbed to 3,268,678 after 35,786 more cases recovered in the last 24 hours.

The rate of pneumonia in COVID-19 patients stands at 3.1 percent and the number of seriously ill patients is 2,658 in the country, said the ministry.

A total of 305,103 tests were conducted over the past day, with the overall number of tests in Turkey reaching 40,994,845.

Iraq

The Iraqi Ministry of Health reported on Friday 7,937 new coronavirus cases, raising the total nationwide infections to 911,376.

It also reported 35 new deaths, raising the death toll from the infectious virus to 14,641, while the total recoveries in Iraq climbed by 5,445 to 804,772.

Sayf al-Badr, spokesman of the ministry, said in a statement that the ministry called on the Iraqi Airways offices not to allow the tickets booking for any citizen without presenting a vaccination card proving that the holder has received the vaccine.

The ministry would close malls, shops, and restaurants if workers do not hold a vaccination card, and the same applies to private hospitals, laboratories, and pharmacies, al-Badr added.

Israel

Israel's Ministry of Health reported  237 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, raising the total tally in the country to 835,674, while the death toll from the virus rose by three to 6,280.

The number of people vaccinated against COVID-19 in Israel has surpassed 5.3 million, or 57 percent of its total population, since the vaccination campaign began on Dec. 20, 2020.

Palestine

Palestine reported on Friday 2,418 new COVID-19 cases and 33 fatalities, raising the total number of infections in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem to 293,137 and the death toll to 3,076.

It is the sixth consecutive day that the number of the single-day new cases has exceeded 2,000 in Palestine, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

The total coronavirus cases in Jordan rose to 659,250 on Friday after 3,794 new infections were added in the kingdom, while the death toll from the virus increased by 81 to 7,646. 

Lebanon

Lebanon registered on Friday 2,500 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total number of infections to 491,928, the Health Ministry said.

Meanwhile, the death toll from the virus increased by 43 to 6,592 in the country.

Kuwait

In Kuwait, 1,477 new COVID-19 cases and 10 more deaths were reported, raising the tally of infections to 244,325 and the death toll to 1,393.

The Kuwaiti government has decided to further shorten the curfew by one hour to last between 7 p.m. and 5 a.m. local time, and allow walk inside residential areas between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. from April 8 to April 22.

Qatar

The Qatari health ministry on Friday announced 950 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 188,100, the official Qatar News Agency (QNA) reported.

Meanwhile, 533 more recovered from the virus, bringing the overall recoveries to 168,534, while the fatalities increased by two to 324, according to a ministry statement quoted by QNA.

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia reported 904 new coronavirus cases and nine more deaths, taking the kingdom's tally of COVID-19 cases to 396,758 and its death toll to 6,737.

The total number of recoveries in the kingdom increased to 382,198, after 540 new recoveries were confirmed on Friday.

Singapore

Singapore's Ministry of Health (MOH) reported 26 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, bringing the total confirmed cases in the country to 60,601.

All Of the new cases are imported cases.

On Friday, 20 more cases of COVID-19 infection have been discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities. In all, 60,304 have fully recovered from the infection and have been discharged from hospitals or community care facilities, the ministry said.


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