Here’s how various countries around the world are coping with the pandemic this week, including COVID claims from China, trauma in Tokyo, fines in Finland, pain in Spain, and upticks in the US
CHINA
A Chinese vice foreign minister claims the possibility that the COVID-19 virus leaked from a lab in China has been ruled out and called on Washington to release more information about how the virus originated as well as how it spread in the US. Le Yucheng on Saturday cited a World Health Organization report saying the pandemic most likely began through the passing of the virus from animals to humans, not from Chinese laboratory. The vice foreign minister reiterated that the origin of the virus remains unknown. While similar to earlier official statements, Le’s comments come from a more senior official than in the past, indicating Beijing may be firming up its political stance in the dispute over the virus’ origins.
JAPAN
Tokyo has reported 950 new coronavirus cases, the highest daily number in two months, as infections steadily spread less than two weeks before the city hosts the Summer Olympics. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga declared a state of emergency in Tokyo this to keep the infections from becoming explosive during the Olympics, which open on July 23. Experts warned that caseloads could surge to thousands within weeks as people travel on summer vacations and the Olympics draws foreign and domestic visitors to Tokyo. Despite the recent acceleration of Japan’s vaccination program, only 16.8% of the population is fully vaccinated.
EUROPEAN UNION
The European Union says it now has enough doses to meet its goal of vaccinating 70% of the region’s adult population by the end of this month. With infections resurging in many European countries, the next challenge will be ensuring that the doses find takers, as demand wanes in some areas. According to the European Centre for Disease Control, 44% of the adult EU population is fully vaccinated, and 64% have received at least one dose.
FRANCE
French President Emmanuel Macron has ordered all French health care workers to get virus vaccine shots by Sept. 15 and urged all of his compatriots to get vaccinated as soon as possible. Macron also mandated special COVID-19 passes for anyone who wants to go to a restaurant, shopping mall or several other public places.
The delta variant is driving France’s virus infections back up again, just as the country kicked off summer vacation season after a long-awaited reopening process. Some 40% of France’s population is fully vaccinated.
FINLAND
A passenger arriving in Finland may soon be fined hundreds of euros for refusing to take a coronavirus test. A new amendment to the Finnish infectious diseases act with regard to border security imposes a fine to a tourist who enters Finland and opposes a required COVID-19 test. The law went into effect yesterday (July 12) and is valid until Oct. 15.
SPAIN
Managers at the Hospital del Mar in Barcelona are facing a sharp surge in infection. The increase in Spain comes amid the advance of the delta variant that spreads far more easily as is being driven mostly by younger, unvaccinated patients who require less ICU care but are turning in droves to health centre and emergency wards. If they reach the point of needing hospitalization, they typically spend longer in regular wards until they recover. The surge comes as a warning of what could await unless “drastic measures” are taken against the spread of the virus, according hospital execs.
MALTA
Malta is now requiring proof of vaccination for visitors to the Mediterranean island nation in hopes of stemming the latest rise in coronavirus infections. Visitors must present a COVID-19 vaccination certificate that is recognized by Maltese health authorities, meaning certificates issued by Malta, the European Union or the United Kingdom. The EU’s green passport certifies people who are vaccinated, receive a negative PCR test result or have recovered from COVID-19.
But Malta has decided to recognize only those who are fully vaccinated.
MOLDOVA
Moldova will receive half a million doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccines from the United States to help the small nation combat the coronavirus pandemic. The first 150,000 doses arrived yesterday. Sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine, the country of 3.5 million is Europe’s poorest. Only 305,000 people in Moldova have so far been fully inoculated against COVID-19, around just 11% of the population.
RUSSIA
Coronavirus deaths in Russia have hit another daily record, with authorities reporting 752 more fatalities amid a continuing surge in infections. Russia’s coronavirus task force on Saturday reported 25,082 new coronavirus cases, up from 9,000 in early June. Despite the surge, the Kremlin has said there are no plans to impose another lockdown. Russia had one nationwide lockdown in the spring of 2020 that lasted six weeks, and the government has resisted another one to avoid damaging the economy
SRI LANKA
Sri Lanka has launched a massive vaccination program aimed at inoculating tens of thousands of people in the country’s tourism industry. It’s the latest attempt to contain the spread of the virus and to revive the lucrative sector. The vaccine drive took place in the country’s southern coast, which is famous among tourists for its white sandy beaches. On Saturday, more than 1,000 hotel workers, tourist guides and safari drivers were inoculated, with plans to inoculate 500,000 people who are directly employed in the tourism trade.
SOUTH KOREA
South Korea has set a new high in daily coronavirus cases for the third straight day as officials begin to enforce the strongest social distancing restrictions in the greater capital area. More than 1,000 of the 1,378 new cases were from capital Seoul and nearby Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, a region where officials from are now clamping down on private social gatherings of three or more people from 6 p.m. and closing nightclubs and churches.
US – New York
New York is seeing an uptick in COVID-19 cases as vaccination rates slowly rise, according to the state’s latest data released Saturday. About 525 people each day tested positive for COVID-19 in New York for the seven days through Friday. That’s up from 369 people for the prior week – a 42% increase. New York City is driving much of the increase, though cases are also rising in parts of Long Island.
US – Tennessee
Health officials in Tennessee have linked a small coronavirus cluster to a meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention last month. It was Nashville’s first large-scale conference after lifting restrictions on gatherings. The Tennessean reports that Metro Public Health Department epidemiologist Leslie Waller said eight to 10 infections have been detected among attendees, but the cluster is almost certainly larger. Waller said it’s difficult to know how many other cases there might be because most of the more than 18,000 attendees live out of state.