WASHINGTON: United States coronavirus deaths passed a quarter of a million people as New York announced it would close schools to battle a rise in infections.
US has now registered 250,426 fatalities, according to a running tally by Johns Hopkins University, by far the highest reported national death toll. US states and cities were imposing a raft of new restrictions, including home confinement, the closure of indoor dining and a limit on gatherings as cases soar across the country, with more than 157,950 new infections recorded over the past 24 hours on Wednesday.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city’s 1,800 public schools would revert to remote learning beginning Thursday after recording a seven-day average positivity rate of three percent. “We must fight back the second wave of Covid-19,” he said.
The toughened measures in America’s most-populous city came despite pharma giant Pfizer boosting hopes of a possible end to the pandemic by announcing improved results for its vaccine.
Europe remains the hardest-hit region accounting for 46 percent of new global cases and 49 percent of deaths last week, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Its figures additionally showed the only region where cases and deaths declined last week was Southeast Asia.
More than 1.3 million people have died of COVID-19 worldwide and over 55 million have been reported infected with the virus since it first surfaced in China late last year.
In Switzerland, one of the worst-hit countries in Europe, the Swiss Society for Intensive Care Medicine (SSMI) warned that intensive care units “are practically all full.” More beds have been added and the Swiss military has been called in to support efforts in several areas.
Many European countries are extending heavy restrictions on daily life in attempts to curb the spread of the virus. A French government spokesman said authorities are unlikely to lift a partial lockdown any time soon while Portugal’s government was preparing to extend measures for two more weeks.
In Hungary, a state of emergency that enables partial lockdown measures has now been extended until February. In Berlin, police fired water cannon to disperse thousands of unmasked protesters demonstrating against tightened restrictions.
In Russia, President Vladimir Putin voiced alarm at his country’s rising fatality rate but stopped short of introducing strict measures seen in many European countries. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said he would impose “severe restrictions” in many areas of his country from Saturday.
South Australia announced a six-day “circuit-breaker” lockdown for its population of nearly two million people Wednesday to contain an outbreak that ended months-long streak of no infections. Schools, shops, pubs, factories and even takeaway restaurants were told to close and stay-at-home orders were issued for residents.
Japan was on “maximum alert” after logging a record number of daily coronavirus infections, leaving authorities to consider restrictions like limiting groups allowed in restaurants.
