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 India's COVID-19 deaths near 200,000
Vital medical supplies poured into India on Tuesday as hospitals
short of oxygen and beds turned away coronavirus patients, while a
surge in infections pushed the death toll towards 200,000.
Supplies from Britain, including 100 ventilators and 95 oxygen
concentrators, arrived in Delhi, said Reuters partner ANI, while
France is sending oxygen generators capable of providing 250
patients with a year's supply of the gas, its embassy said.
Even China, locked in a year-long military standoff with India on
their disputed Himalayan border, said it was trying to get medical
supplies to its neighbour.
Turkey announces "full lockdown"
Turks will be required to stay mostly at home under a nationwide
"full lockdown" starting on Thursday and lasting until May 17 to
curb a surge in infections and deaths, President Tayyip Erdogan
announced on Monday.
Turkey logged 37,312 new infections and 353 deaths in the last 24
hours, health ministry data showed, sharply down from mid-April but
still the world's fourth highest number of cases and the worst on a
per-capita basis among major nations.
Erdogan said all intercity travel would require official approval,
all schools would shut and move lessons online, and a strict
capacity limit would be imposed for users of public transport.
Brazil health regulator rejects Russia's Sputnik vaccine
The Brazilian health regulator Anvisa on Monday rejected importing
the Russian-made Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine requested by state
governors battling a deadly second wave of the virus that is
battering Latin America's largest nation.
Anvisa's five-strong board voted unanimously not to approve the
Russian vaccine after technical staff had highlighted "inherent
risks" and "serious" defects, citing a lack of information
guaranteeing its safety, quality and effectiveness.
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 Brazil has registered 14.4
million confirmed cases of the virus and almost
400,000 deaths since the onset of the pandemic
over a year ago.
Canada to send army, Red Cross to Ontario
Canada will send the armed forces and Red Cross
to Ontario to help the country's most populous
province as it struggles to cope with a surge in
hospitalizations, the country's public safety
minister said on Monday. The
federal government approved a request from Ontario which includes
air lifting medical personnel from the Atlantic province of
Newfoundland and Labrador to Toronto, the epicentre of Ontario's
third wave, a spokesman from Public Safety Canada said.
Ontario reported 877 people in its intensive care units with
COVID-19 on Monday. Provincial modelling showed the virus could see
1,500 people in the ICU by early May.
Hong Kong to reopen bars, nightclubs
Hong Kong will reopen bars and nightclubs from April 29 for people
who have been vaccinated and use a government mobile phone
application, the Asian financial hub's health secretary said on
Tuesday.
Sophia Chan told a press briefing the measures extended to
bathhouses and karaoke lounges and would enable the venues to stay
open until 2.00 a.m. All staff and customers must have received at
least one vaccine dose for the venue to be operational and they must
operate at half capacity.
"We all hope life can return to normal but we need to allow some
time for everyone to adapt to these new measures," Chan said.
(Compiled by Linda Noakes, editing by Ed Osmond)
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