The novel coronavirus has infected more than 88 million people globally and claimed over 1.9 million lives.
Mainland China reports 53 new Covid-19 cases vs 63 a day earlier
Mainland China reported 53 new Covid-19 cases, down from 63 reported a day earlier, the country’s national health authority said.
The National Health Commission said in a statement that 33 of the 37 locally transmitted infections were in Hebei, the province surrounding Beijing that entered a “wartime mode” earlier this week. Shijiazhuang, Hebei’s capital, banned people from leaving the city in the latest step to curb the spread of the disease.
The commission also reported 57 new asymptomatic cases, down from 79 a day earlier. China does not classify these patients, who have been infected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes the disease but are not yet showing any Covid-19 symptoms, as confirmed cases.
Japan will consider expanding state of emergency if needed
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said the government would liaise with other prefectures and check whether the state of emergency over the virus for the greater Tokyo region should be extended to those areas.
The governors of Osaka and Aichi are expected to request being added to the emergency declaration as infections surge in their prefectures.
Australia’s Brisbane in lockdown for three days
Authorities in Brisbane, Australia, are locking the city down for three days beginning on Friday, after a cleaner at a quarantine hotel was diagnosed with a highly contagious variant of the virus first identified in Britain.
The Queensland state government says masks will also be compulsory for the first time in Brisbane and the surrounding municipalities of Logan, Ipswich, Moreton Bay and Redlands.
The state’s chief health officer said “we need to act really, really fast.”
While several cases of the variant have been found in travellers in hotel quarantine, the cleaner is the first person to be infected with it in Australia. Authorities believe the woman was infectious after January 2. She tested positive after showing symptoms on Wednesday.
Israel tightens nationwide virus lockdown
Israel tightened a national lockdown in a bid to curb a sharp rise in new virus cases, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promising that all Israeli adults could be vaccinated by the end of March.
With a population of nine million, Israel is leading the world in a swift rollout of vaccinations, but the number of new infections has climbed to around 8,000 a day, the highest in months.
Israel imposed its third lockdown on December 27. Many Israelis, however, ignored travel and social-distancing restrictions, prompting stricter measures that will include additional police roadblocks and the closure of most schools and more businesses.
The new edicts will be in effect for at least two weeks.
Brazil passes 200,000 virus deaths – Health Ministry
Brazil has registered more than 200,000 deaths from Covid-19, the Health Ministry said in a statement, without updating its precise case count or death toll.
“In the name of President Jair Bolsonaro, the Health Ministry and all the federal government, we want to offer our solidarity to every family that lost loved ones,” said the statement.
