The delta variant of covid-19 imposes increasing restrictions

a delta variable It intensified, forcing authorities to tighten health restrictions, with local confinement in China, soldiers on the streets of Australia to ensure compliance with measures and the extension of the state of emergency in Japan during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

In China, where the epidemic has broken out, a new outbreak threatens the zero-Covid-19 policy, with cases spreading from Nanjing (east) to five provinces and the capital, Beijing, for the first time in six months.

Hundreds of thousands of people are again trapped in Nanjing and Beijing.

The efficacy of Chinese vaccines raises questions because most new cases occur in vaccinated people.

In Australia, Sydney police will enlist the help of 300 soldiers to enforce restrictions in the country’s largest city of five million people. There, the number of injuries reached a record high on Thursday (29).

In its fifth week, confinement will last until August 28, but many violate the measure, going to beaches or parks.

The government has warned that it will not ease restrictions or open borders until 80% of the population is fully vaccinated.

A week after the start of the Olympics, Japan extended a state of emergency until the end of August in Tokyo and four other prefectures.

On Friday, the government announced that “the infection is spreading at an unprecedented speed”, recording more than 10,000 cases a day. Olympic organizers also discovered 27 new cases.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Japan and the IOC were “doing everything they can to reduce the risks”.

As contagious as chickenpox

On a disturbing internal note, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that the delta variant is as contagious as chickenpox and has more serious consequences for patients, according to the Washington Post and New York Times.

That’s why Americans, even those who have been vaccinated, should wear a mask in areas where the virus is most common. And to increase the vaccination that seems to be stagnant, chief Joe Biden Require local authorities to pay $100 for those vaccinated for the first time.

Meanwhile, Broadway theaters in New York will require spectators for vaccination certificates and will require the use of masks.

Israel, which believes its residents are immune and protected, reinstated the health card Thursday at sites with more than 100 people. A “supplementary” campaign was launched with a third dose for people over 60 years old. On Friday, Israeli President Isaac Herzog received his message.

In Europe, where many countries are facing a fourth wave, there are changes too. In Spain, the curfew has been extended in Barcelona and part of Catalonia.

From Sunday (1), Germany will circulate the obligation of unvaccinated tourists to provide an anti-Covid-19 test when entering the country, “by plane, car, or train”.

France, in turn, ordered the overseas islands of Reunion and Martinique.

One study reports that people who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19 account for about 85% of hospitalized patients in France, including intensive care units, and 78% of deaths from the virus.

“Save life”

Pressure is growing to speed up vaccination, but its application remains highly uneven around the world. The richest countries gave an average of 97 doses per 100 inhabitants, and the poorest only 1.6.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said the Covax system, which is supposed to allow free shipment of vaccinations to poor countries, expects to receive 250 million doses in the next six to eight weeks.

Meanwhile, the United Kingdom has warned that the situation is “desperate” in Myanmar, which has called on the UN Security Council to ensure that vaccines can be distributed to that country, despite the crisis that has erupted since the military coup last February.

In the Philippines, 13 million people will be confined again next week in the Manila region to “save more lives”.

In Africa, Senegal, long considered relatively safe, is experiencing outbreaks of infection, as hospitals lack oxygen. This material is also rare in Tunisia.

Colombia has warned that it may restrict unvaccinated people’s access to public places.

The epidemic has killed at least 4,202,179 people worldwide since the end of December 2019, according to a balance sheet updated by Agence France-Presse Friday (30), based on official sources. The World Health Organization believes, however, that the number of deaths could be two or three times higher.