COVID-19: The latest global developments
KINGSTON, Jamaica – Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis, compiled by AFP.
– Jamaica recorded 72 new COVID-19 cases yesterday, and nine deaths, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 41,400, and the death toll to 631. There are currently 22,033 active cases on the island.
– Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home region Gujarat was forced to tighten curbs as infections in India rocket to a record of almost 116,000 new cases in 24 hours. The new wave is being blamed on people attending huge religious and political events as well as weddings and cricket matches. India has the world’s third-highest number of infections and deaths behind the United States and Brazil.
– The European Medicines Agency says there is a clear connection between the AstraZeneca jab and blood clots, though the World Health Organization still insists it is safe.
– Brazil registered more than 4,000 COVID-19 deaths in 24 hours for the first time Tuesday, the health ministry said, as the country reeled from a surge of infections that has made it the current epicentre of the pandemic.
– German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for a short national lockdown to stem rising case numbers putting her on a collision course with some states who control health policy.
– A 28-year-old man who broke a curfew in the Philipines to get water died after being made to do 100 squat-like exercises as punishment. His wife told AFP that he died of convulsions the next morning. More than 10,000 people have been punished for breaking the curfew in and around Manila in the last week.
– Australia’s prime minister blamed EU vaccine export controls for halting its inoculation drive, as he faces growing public frustration over the sluggish rollout.
At least 2,874,984 people have died of COVID-19 around the world since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to an AFP tally from official sources.
The United States is the worst-affected country with 556,528 deaths, followed by Brazil with 336,947, Mexico with 205,002, India with 166,177, and Britain with 126,882.