Roundup: India, other South Asian countries in grip of COVID-19, measures tightened to curb pandemic

0 Comment(s)Print E-mail Xinhua, May 3, 2021
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by Wu Junyi

HONG KONG, May 3 (Xinhua) -- India has been gripped by the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the total number of cases nearing 20 million on Monday.

Several other South Asian countries are also struggling with surging COVID-19 cases.

FAST-SPREADING SURGE, OXYGEN SHORTAGE

Indian health ministry said 368,147 new COVID-19 cases took the total tally in India to 19,925,604 on Monday. Meanwhile, 3,417 more deaths brought the death toll to 218,949.

COVID-19 figures continue to peak in India in the past weeks. India on Saturday reported a single day spike of 401,993 cases, the first time when over 400,000 new cases were recorded in the country in 24 hours. Previously, India witnessed a record single-day spike of 360,960 cases on April 28.

The government has imposed new measures to contain the spread. Some school exams have been canceled or postponed in the wake of the deteriorating situation.

The national capital New Delhi, one of the most affected places in the country, has been put under a third successive weeklong lockdown till May 10.

Huge spikes in daily COVID-19 cases have caused an acute shortage of oxygen and essential medicines in the country's hospitals.

To cope up with the crisis, the Indian government deployed trains and the air force to transport much-needed oxygen supplies to hard-hit states, apart from importing some of it from foreign countries.

The Indian government has also permitted the import of oxygen concentrators for personal use.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday held a virtual meeting with experts to review oxygen availability in the country. During the meeting, Modi reviewed the progress of converting nitrogen plants to oxygen plants in the country.

India's federal government has ordered 450,000 vials of Remdesivir from abroad to address a shortage of the antiviral drug in the country.

The country kicked off a nationwide vaccination drive in January, and so far over 157 million vaccination doses have been administered across the country.

Dozens of countries have committed their support and help with medical supplies, particularly the oxygen generating equipment, in order to help India combat the ongoing pandemic.

OTHER SOUTH ASIAN COUNTRIES ALSO HARD HIT

As for other South Asian countries, the pandemic is also hitting hard.

The Nepali government Sunday decided to suspend domestic flights fully and international flights with India, South Africa and Brazil.

The decision came after the country on the same day confirmed a new daily record of 7,211 infections.

Nepal witnessed less than 100 cases for most of the days in March but saw continuous rise of cases since April.

Along with rising cases, hospitals are running out of beds which prompted the health ministry to issue a stern warning on Friday that the cases were rising at the scale that the health system was not able to cope with.

Demand for oxygen has been rising in Nepal as more and more hospitalized COVID-19 patients are in need of oxygen.

The Nepali government has also imposed lockdown in Kathmandu Valley starting from April 29 and prohibitory orders have been issued in different parts of the country.

Pakistan is currently grappling with a third wave of COVID-19.

The country on Sunday reported 4,414 new COVID-19 cases over the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 829,933.

The total number of critical patients on ventilators in Pakistan was about 57 percent higher than the peak time of the disease in June last year, the chairman of the National Command and Operation Centre said Friday.

Bangladesh reported 1,359 new COVID-19 cases and 69 new deaths on Sunday, making the tally at 761,943 and death toll at 11,579.

To limit the second wave of the pandemic, Bangladesh extended the ongoing lockdown to May 5.

Last week, Bangladesh's drug regulator authorized the emergency use of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine and China's Sinopharm vaccine against COVID-19.

Sri Lankan officials have warned that the cases of a new COVID-19 virus variant were on the rise.

Health authorities announced that a new variant of the COVID-19 virus which was rapidly spreading across Sri Lanka was identified to be the B.1.1.7 variant reported in Britain and presently creating havoc in India.

MEASURES TIGHTENED TO CURB PANDEMIC

Pakistan banned travel from India for two weeks on April 19. The country on Saturday announced to significantly reduce inbound international air travel from May 5 to May 20, saying inbound air traffic will operate at 20 percent of the total current capacity.

New Zealand has categorized India, Brazil, Papua New Guinea and Pakistan as "very high-risk countries" to "significantly reduce the number of infected people flying to New Zealand."

The Indonesian government has also temporarily suspended the issuance of visas for foreigners who have visited India in the previous 14 days to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Bangladesh has imposed a ban on the entry of travellers from India via land ports. Cambodia and the Philippines have also imposed restrictions on travelers from India.

Singapore decided to tighten border measures "given the sustained increase in cases reported in the regions around Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka."

The Australian government has announced that from Monday any traveler who enters Australia after being in India within 14 days may face up to five years' imprisonment and heavy fines. Enditem

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