|
 Indian hospitals swamped
India's new coronavirus infections hit a record peak for a fifth day
on Monday, as countries including Britain, Germany and the United
States pledged to send urgent medical aid to help battle the crisis
overwhelming its hospitals.
Infections in the last 24 hours rose to 352,991, with overcrowded
hospitals in Delhi and elsewhere turning away patients after running
out of supplies of medical oxygen and beds.
India's government will not import COVID-19 vaccines itself but
expects states and companies to do so, two government officials told
Reuters, a decision that may slow acquisitions of shots.
Thailand starts stricter shutdown
Thailand's government slapped restrictions on travel from India on
Monday and closed more venues in Bangkok, even as it came under fire
for not doing enough to contain a spike in infections.
The government has ordered parks, gyms, cinemas and day-care centres
in its capital, the epicentre of the latest wave of infections, to
shut from April 26 until May 9.
It has also introduced a 20,000 baht ($635) fine for not wearing
masks in public.
Turkey eyes tighter lockdown
Turkey's cabinet will discuss adopting a tighter lockdown on Monday
as President Tayyip Erdogan tries to prevent a second lost year of
tourism revenues, officials said.
After the last cabinet meeting two weeks ago, as coronavirus cases
surged, Erdogan reined in social activities and travel.
[to top of second column] |
 Total daily cases then peaked
above 63,000 on April 16 before dropping sharply
to below 39,000 on Sunday.
Moderna vaccine to be reviewed for WHO emergency
listing
Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine will be reviewed on
April 30 by technical experts for possible WHO
emergency-use listing, a World Health
Organization spokesman told Reuters.
A decision on the U.S. drugmaker's vaccine, now being evaluated
under the abridged procedure on the basis of prior review by the
European Medicines Agency, is expected in one to four days after
that.
So far vaccines made by Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson
have received WHO approval, which is a signal to national regulatory
authorities on a product's safety and efficacy.
Israel examining heart inflammation cases
Israel's Health Ministry said on Sunday it is examining a small
number of cases of heart inflammation in people who had received
Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine, though it has not yet drawn any
conclusions.
Pfizer said it has not observed a higher rate of the condition than
would normally be expected in the general population.
Israel's pandemic response coordinator, Nachman Ash, said that a
preliminary study showed "tens of incidents" of myocarditis
occurring among more than 5 million vaccinated people, primarily
after the second dose.
(Compiled by Linda Noakes)
[© 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2021 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content |
