India announced 323,144 new infections over the past 24 hours, a 10 percent drop from the day before, but experts warned that this may be more a function of a fall in testing than a sign the new wave is abating. It still represents the sixth day with new infection numbers over 300,000 cases — the most in the world.
Turkey announces new lockdown amid struggles to obtain vaccines
ISTANBUL — President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced a nationwide lockdown in Turkey as his government struggles to control a surge of coronavirus infections that has led to more than 350 deaths per day.
The lockdown, which will begin Thursday evening and last until May 17, is aimed at reducing infections from their current rate of 37,000 a day to less than 5,000, Erdogan said in announcing the measures on Monday. Infections soared to record highs in recent weeks after the government gradually restarted economic and retail activity, including allowing in-restaurant dining.
As it tries to manage the surge, Turkey is also struggling to obtain vaccines it ordered from foreign countries and has only 8 million doses remaining, the health minister said Monday. The largest order, of 100 million doses from China’s Sinovac pharmaceutical company, was supposed to be completed in April, the minister, Fahrettin Koca, said in an interview with the Korkusuz newspaper. Turkish officials have said in the past that less than a third of the order has been delivered.
“This is not due to the company's lack of production, but because the Chinese government uses the produced vaccines for its own country,” he said.
Another large order, of 30 million doses from Pfizer, is not supposed to arrive until the end of June, he said. Turkey was finalizing an agreement to obtain Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine, he added, without giving details of how many doses were being ordered.
Turkey, a country of 80 million people, has carried out a relatively speedy vaccination campaign, providing at least one dose to nearly 22 million people, according to the Health Ministry.
Biden to speak from White House about his administration’s response to the pandemic
Biden plans Tuesday to speak to the nation about his administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic on a day when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to unveil new guidance on outdoor mask-wearing for people who have been fully vaccinated.
Biden’s remarks, scheduled to be delivered from the North Lawn of the White House, come as he nears the 100th day of his presidency. He has continued to counsel vigilance in dealing with the pandemic but is also searching for ways to reassure Americans about an eventual return to normalcy.
On Monday, the White House said it will share up to 60 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine with other countries, as the United States faces growing pressure to help vaccinate the global population and as cases spike in other countries.
India in particular faces an increasingly dire situation, with its health system showing signs of collapse — adding to the sense of urgent global need. The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, which is not authorized for use in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration, will be shipped out once it clears federal safety reviews, officials said.
The White House took pains to stress that the move will not affect the United States’ internal vaccination drive.
“We do not need to use AstraZeneca in our fight against covid,” press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters, noting that the domestic U.S. push relies on vaccines made by other companies.
Inside one of the biggest public service campaigns in U.S. history: Selling the coronavirus vaccines to uneasy Americans
Early in October, months before any coronavirus vaccines were available, marketing executive Lisa Sherman began telling people about her idea to promote the vaccines to a wary public. She called it a “moonshot”: a Kennedy-like galvanization of the advertising industry to churn out research, slogans, images and public service announcements in record time, all in the hope of persuading a critical mass of Americans to get vaccinated.
Coming from Sherman, president of the Ad Council, a public interest advertising association, an analogy to the mission to land the first human on the moon wasn’t empty Madison Avenue hype. After all, the organization had been founded specifically to take on the biggest challenges of the day, starting with World War II.
Sherman, who came to the Ad Council from Viacom, talked over the moonshot with her colleagues. “We were all nervous because we knew how big this had to be,” she told me. “And at the same time, we all knew that this was our calling.”
Vaccines — and the government app — will be needed to go to Hong Kong’s bars and nightclubs under new rules
HONG KONG — The Hong Kong government revealed Tuesday the details of its new plan to loosen coronavirus restrictions for restaurants, bars and nightclubs if staff and customers are vaccinated or have begun the process.
Restaurants can now stay open later than 10 p.m. and allow more people at their tables if staff and customers are either fully vaccinated or have begun the process and are using the government contact tracing app “LeaveHomeSafe.”
Many younger Hong Kongers view the app with a great deal of suspicion over concerns about privacy. But without it, they won’t be able to sit at restaurant tables until midnight with up to six people. Only four people are allowed per table now.
This means that restaurants and other businesses can check customers’ vaccination records. Restaurant or business staff members who cannot be vaccinated have to be tested every week. Those people can provide restaurants with a doctor’s note saying they cannot be vaccinated. .
Bars, clubs, karaoke venues, nightclubs, saunas and party rooms — which have been closed for months — can also be reopened Thursday at half capacity, if their staff members and customers have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and if the customers use the app.
Local tours can resume, with a maximum number of 30 attendants and a tour guide who has already received at least one dose.
Only 17 percent of the total population in Hong Kong have had at least one dose so far amid high levels of vaccine hesitancy.
Philippines coronavirus count tops 1 million amid new surge
MANILA — The Philippines became the latest country in the world to cross the grim milestone of a million coronavirus cases as the country struggles under a new, harsh lockdown and a devastating increase in infections.
The Philippines, which had one of the longest and harshest lockdowns in the world last year, is about a month into a new surge of cases that has forced millions in Manila and surrounding provinces to return to stricter forms of quarantine. Hospitals have hit their capacity and are turning toward home care in what is now considered the worst outbreak in Southeast Asia.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said it would be better for everyone to focus on the number of people who have recovered, as well as fatalities, rather than total cases. “I don’t think it is a negative reflection,” he said. “Based on our world rankings, we see that we are managing still the new variants rather well.”
The Health Department reported that there were 74,000 active cases and over 16,000 deaths, lower than many countries with a similar number of cases.
Government critics disagree, however. “We continue to struggle on how to curb covid transmission,” said Tony Leachon, a physician and former government adviser who left his post after disagreements with the mostly-military run coronavirus task force.
Leachon has since decried officials for a lack of urgency. “The only way to end the pandemic is to do rapid vaccination and adhere strictly to health protocols,” he said.
Since vaccines rolled out last month, the Philippines has only managed to immunize around 1 percent of its population, facing both a lack of supply and widespread distrust in vaccines.
Amnesty International on Monday also called on the government to address the inaccessibility to adequate health care, citing how patients were turned away at full hospitals and health workers experienced delays in receiving hazard pay.
Medical aid begins to trickle into pandemic-slammed India amid new pledges
Amid global pledges to deliver medical supplies to pandemic-stricken India, Britain’s first shipment of aid arrived in the country, including 100 ventilators and 95 oxygen concentrators, with more expected on the way.
France also announced plans to send medical equipment, with a shipment expected later in the week that would include eight oxygen generators, each of which could equip a hospital. The Foreign Ministry also said that it would send breathing machines, pumps and enough liquid medical oxygen to help 10,000 patients a day. Germany also offered vital support Monday.
President Biden told Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday that oxygen supplies, therapeutics and vaccines were on the way. The United States has said it would release its stockpile of 60 million Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines to the world.
American biopharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences, confirmed Monday that it would give India almost half a million vials of the antiviral drug remdesivir, which experts say has been successful in treating covid-19 patients. India’s hospitals are running low on supplies as batches of the medication are being sold at extortionate fees on the black market.
Australian cricketer Pat Cummins, who plays in the Indian premier league, took to Twitter to announce he would be pledging $40,000 to help the country purchase vital oxygen supplies. He called on other players to do the same, as he reflected on his love for the country.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company would be donating to “support and relief efforts on the ground,” as Microsoft and Google also announced millions of dollars in funding on Monday.
Indian government hits out at Australian newspaper for article critical of Modi’s handling of the epidemic
The Indian government has branded an article reprinted by the Australian newspaper as “malicious and slanderous” for its criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
The original article, written by Philip Sherwell, ran in Britain’s Sunday Times Saturday and comes amid a slew of critical pieces by the foreign media as India has been hit by a devastating second wave of the virus that has flooded hospitals with victims.
“What went so terribly wrong?” the article asked, citing India’s catastrophic climbing figures and slow vaccination rollout. The story criticized Modi’s leadership, accusing him of “basking” in crowds at rallies as ill citizens infected with covid-19 were failed by the government.
In a letter Monday to Christian Dore, the editor of the Australian, the Indian government slammed the publication, saying that it “undermined” authorities and that it was “unfair” to blame the country’s rising figures on a “restricted” election campaign. The letter was signed by India’s deputy high commissioner.
Before the new wave, Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party had loudly praised his handling of the coronavirus, passing a resolution in February calling his leadership “courageous, constructive and far-sighted.”
“Not only did India keep running a successful fight against Covid, but it set an example in front of the world for what work can be done during Covid,” the resolution added. Most experts have blamed the dramatic lessening of covid restrictions and the rise of more virulent variants on the fresh outbreak.
The Indian government has attempted to stifle criticism during the new outbreak, including petitioning Twitter to remove tweets critical of the government’s handling of the crisis.
Situation in India ‘beyond heartbreaking,’ says WHO head
The head of the World Health Organization called the situation in India “beyond heartbreaking” as he noted that many countries in the world “are still experiencing intense transmission.”
India’s astonishing spike in new cases has helped push global infection rates to record levels. The country announced 323,144 new infections over the last 24 hours, a 10 percent drop from the day before, but experts warned this may be more a function of a fall in testing than a sign the new wave is abating. It still represents the sixth day with new infection numbers over 300,000 cases — the most in the world. Another 2,771 people have died.
WHO’s director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said globally there had been more new cases in the last week than in the first five months of the pandemic. In a speech fittingly marking the first day of World Immunization Week, he said 2,600 WHO staff have been sent as part of its response in India.
He added that the WHO has also sent “critical equipment and supplies, including thousands of oxygen concentrators, prefabricated mobile field hospitals and laboratory supplies.” Similar efforts have been announced by several other countries amid the worldwide outpouring of concern for India.
India’s armed forces announced Monday that they would be pitching in as well, releasing oxygen from reserves and calling back retired medical personnel to help out in hospitals struggling under the load of patients.
Medical facilities in India, especially in the larger cities, have been under severe strain from the flood of patients as the number of cases skyrocketed in just the past few weeks under the pressure of new more virulent variants and relaxed restrictions.
‘How did that happen?’ Catching covid-19 even after being vaccinated.
Robin Hauser, a pediatrician in Tampa, got covid-19 in February. What separates her from the vast majority of the tens of millions of other Americans who have come down with the virus is this: She got sick seven weeks after her second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
“I was shocked,” said Hauser. “I thought: ‘What the heck? How did that happen?’ I now tell everyone, including my colleagues, not to let their guard down after the vaccine.”
As more Americans every day are inoculated, a tiny but growing number are contending with the disturbing experience of getting covid-19 despite having had one shot — or even two.
In recent data, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that at least 5,800 people had fallen ill or tested positive for the coronavirus two weeks or more after they completed both doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine.
Annual Chincoteague charity wild pony swim canceled again because of pandemic
For the second year in a row, the annual wild pony swim at Chincoteague Island on Virginia’s Eastern Shore has been canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Organizers of the popular event that began more than 90 years ago said that given the continued presence of the virus and restrictions on the size of gatherings in some jurisdictions, they decided to cancel the July event.
Last year’s cancellation of the pony swim marked the first time since World War II that the event had not been held.
Denise Bowden, a spokeswoman for the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company that oversees the fundraiser and helps care for the wild ponies, said with crowd restrictions in place, “it was just not conducive for us to have the swim again this year.”
Fingers crossed for in-person university graduations
College graduation-day ceremonies have never felt so up in the air.
Last year, the vast majority of schools held only virtual graduations, so students knew they wouldn’t be able to walk across a stage to cheers from their families.
But this year, with just weeks to go, some schools are still determining whether they will be able to hold an in-person commencement. And if they can, who will be able to attend? And where will it be held? And what will it look like?
As winter turned to spring and the academic finish line approached, commencement plans flipped and flopped — and flipped again. College and university leaders across the country, as well as students and parents, wanted in-person events, but the lingering coronavirus pandemic has produced spikes in infections and unprecedented uncertainty.
Ramped up vaccinations and stimulus program help boost Biden’s economy in first 100 days
As President Biden approaches his 100th day in office, he confronts a much different economy than the one that existed when he was sworn in. Hiring is picking up rapidly after backsliding in December. Hunger is decreasing. The number of families behind on rent fell by more than 2 million in March.
Economists have long predicted that growth will accelerate as the coronavirus comes under control, regardless of who is in the White House, though the Biden administration has put a distinctive spin on the government’s role in the recovery. The president’s signature spending initiatives, such as a $2 trillion infrastructure plan, are still taking shape and, if passed, are not likely to take effect until after the initial rebound. But at the same time, Biden’s team prioritized vaccinations and worked quickly with Congress to enact a $1.9 trillion stimulus package to provide ample support to the economy. Both of these moves have already had a tangible impact.
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