Daily US Times: Cities and states on several continents reimpose restrictions and go back into lockdown as coronavirus cases surge again there. Cases are rising in Africa, Asia, America, and Middle east.
On Monday, Morocco’s northern city of Tangiers went back into lockdown, while Madagascar put the Analamanga region – home to the capital Antananarivo – under strict measures last week. Meanwhile, South Africa has brought back a night-time curfew
Areas of the Colombian capital Bogotá were placed under a two-week lockdown on Monday. The place has been at the centre of the country’s outbreak.
Last week, Australia’s second-biggest city, Melbourne, told its five million residents to stay at home for six weeks. The state of Victoria, where the city is located, also closed its borders with South Australia and New South Wales.
In the Middle East, both Israel and the West Bank have reintroduced restrictions in response to a rise in cases.
An official of the Philippine capital said that Manila is expected to go into lockdown for two-weeks in the coming days. Since 10 July, Uzbekistan has been in a second lockdown with measures extending until 1 August.
Thailand has cancelled all international flights to the country after members of an Egyptian military delegation failed to observe quarantine, with one soldier later testing positive for coronavirus.
During a two-day stopover in the country earlier this month, the 31-strong group visited a shopping centre in Rayong province, a Thai official said.
The official added that almost 1,900 locals who were in the same centre had now been ordered to quarantine at home.
According to the Bangkok Post, the spokesman for Thailand’s Covid-19 response, Taweesilp Visanuyothin, blamed the Egyptian embassy for arranging hotel accommodation for the visitors, instead of ensuring they went into quarantine.
The country has reported fewer than 60 coronavirus deaths and 3,200 cases.
Second wave planning under way in parts of UK
Scientists in the UK are warning a second wave of coronavirus in the UK could be worse than the first.
Experts expressed their concerns that the NHS could come under extreme pressure, not just from a resurgence of coronavirus but also from seasonal flu and a backlog of regular, non-coronavirus workload.
Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s First Minister, said the planning the report recommends is being “taken very seriously” by the Scottish government.
“That planning for autumn and winter is well under way in NHS Scotland and with our colleagues in social care,” Scotland’s Health Secretary, Jeane Freeman, adds.
“Our boards have been advised to hold a capacity to deal with an upsurge in Covid cases, both in beds and ICU [intensive care units]. “We are also factoring into that the viruses that come with autumn and winter – flu and other respiratory conditions.”
Meanwhile, Cumbria County Council has also said it is working with the NHS and care sector on a plan for responding to a second wave.
Colin Cox, the council’s director of public health, said the threat of a second wave really worried him.
He said: “It’s going to be really important to respond should we start to see a second rise.”
Man who started Beijing outbreak discharged from hospital
The 52-year-old man who began virus outbreak in China’s capital Beijing last month has been discharged from hospital.
The man surnamed Tang, but he has been affectionately termed “Uncle Xicheng”. “Uncle” is a common term of affection in China, and Xicheng is the name of the district he lives in.
He contracted Covid-19 on 11 June and was the first patient in an outbreak that saw 335 people testing positive. The outbreak has been linked to the city’s largest wholesale market, Xinfadi, which is also one of the biggest wholesale markets in entire Asia.
Tang spent 33 days in the hospital for Covid-19 treatment and has been praised by state media for providing the authorities with full transparency over his movements and the people he came into contact with.
Media want others not to be afraid of hiding their symptoms and to learn from him, in the event that other regions in China experience similar outbreaks.
He appeared on the Beijing TV broadcaster earlier, thanking the medical workers who treated him, and offering words of encouragement to other patients.
There are currently 205 still receiving treatment in the city, but nobody has tested positive now for eight consecutive days.
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