taken on June 1, 2020 a health professional works at the Intensive
Care Unit (ICU) ward where patients infected with the COVID-19
novel coronavirus are being treated, at the Santa Casa hospital in
Belo Horizonte, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. (Photo by Douglas
MAGNO / AFP)
Spain passed the landmark figure of 500,000 coronavirus
infections on Monday as India reopened some metro lines despite
becoming the world’s second most affected country.
Spain had largely gained control over its outbreak by imposing
one of the world’s toughest lockdowns, but infections have surged
since the restrictions were fully removed at the end of June.
The country became the first in western Europe to hit the
500,000 mark — albeit with a far lower death rate and many more
asymptomatic cases than were recorded during its previous peak in
late March and early April.
“The situation is much more favourable but we remain in an
upwards phase,” said health official Fernando Simon.
But the overall caseloads in European countries are dwarfed by
India’s 4.2 million confirmed infections.
Nevertheless, economic necessity pushed the South Asian nation
to risk reopening transport lines on Monday — metros began running
again in the capital New Delhi after a five-month shutdown and 12
other cities also restarted subway services.
“For our lives to move on, we have to get out of our homes… so
this is a good move by the government,” on commuter Deepak Kumar on
the Delhi subway told AFP.
Passengers are obliged to wear masks, keep their distance and
undergo temperature checks.
– ‘Like guinea pigs’ – India leapfrogged Brazil to become the
world’s second-hardest hit nation after the United States, with the
virus having caused almost 890,000 deaths and more than 27 million
infections worldwide.
As governments around the world have moved away from the idea of
blanket lockdowns, countries in all continents have been
experimenting with targeted measures to deal with infection
spikes.
England fiddled with its overseas quarantine rules again on
Monday, imposing restrictions on travellers from seven Greek
islands popular with holidaymakers.
Morocco imposed a lockdown on Casablanca and shut schools on the
day they were supposed to reopen after a surge in cases in the
city.
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Officials said the virus risked overwhelming the country if it
was not controlled, but some parents were left fuming.
“They were on cloud nine over returning to school tomorrow,”
wrote one father on Twitter. “How do you explain this to a
six-year-old and an eight-year-old?”
In Spain, parental anger flowed in the other direction, with
fears rising that schools were opening too soon with millions of
pupils returning on Monday.
“Going back to school is being treated like an experiment, we’re
like guinea pigs,” said Aroa Miranda, a 37-year-old
mother-of-two.
France put seven more regions on a red list on Sunday after
regularly recording daily infection rates of between 7,000 and
9,000 — although the figure fell dramatically on Monday.
Israel announced a “nightly closure” of 40 cities and towns with
the highest infection rates with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
accepting the measures were not ideal but saying there was “no way
to avoid them”.
– Olympic hope – The coronavirus fallout continues to ricochet
around the sporting world, with French footballer Kylian Mbappe the
latest in a long line of footballers to test positive.
Many tennis players have also been infected, galvanising
organisers of the French Open later this month to impose strict
guidelines.
All players will be housed in two designated hotels “without
exception” to reduce the risk, said tournament director Guy Forget,
who also said far fewer spectators would be allowed to watch than
initially planned.
Both tennis and football have seen their calendars ripped to
shreds by the virus, but the biggest single casualty has been the
Tokyo Olympics, which were due to take place this summer.
International Olympic Committee vice president John Coates
offered a note of hope on Monday, saying the rescheduled Games
would go ahead next year regardless of the pandemic.
“These will be the Games that conquered Covid, the light at the
end of the tunnel,” Coates told AFP in an exclusive interview.
–AFP
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