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 China's Wuhan to test residents after Delta variant found
China's Wuhan city will test all of its 12 million residents for the
coronavirus, an official said on Tuesday, after the place where the
virus emerged in late 2019 confirmed its first domestic cases of the
highly transmissible Delta variant.
Wuhan, which gave the world its first glimpses of lockdowns and mass
testing, had reported no local coronavirus cases since mid-May last
year but on Monday, authorities confirmed three cases of the Delta
variant.
"To ensure that everyone in the city is safe, city-wide nucleic acid
testing will be quickly launched for all people to fully screen out
positive results and asymptomatic infections," Li Qiang, an official
in the city, the capital of central Hubei province, told a news
briefing.
Top Japan medic urges nationwide state of emergency
The head of the Japan Medical Association called on Tuesday for a
nationwide state of emergency to contain a surge in COVID-19 cases
in Olympics host city Tokyo and elsewhere, Kyodo news agency said,
as worries grow about a strained healthcare system.
The call by JMA President Toshio Nakagawa followed Prime Minister
Yoshihide Suga's announcement that only COVID-19 patients who are
seriously ill and those at risk of becoming so will be hospitalised,
while others isolate at home, a shift in policy some fear could
boost the death toll.
Japan has seen a sharp increase in coronavirus cases. Tokyo, which
had a record high of 4,058 new infections on Saturday, had another
3,709 new cases on Tuesday.
Tokyo hospitals are already feeling the crunch, Hironori Sagara,
director of Showa University Hospital, told Reuters.
"There are those being rejected repeatedly for admission," he said
in an interview. "In the midst of excitement over the Olympics, the
situation for medical personnel is very severe."
Sydney's ticket out of COVID lockdown? Six million shots
Australian authorities said they could ease a COVID-19 lockdown that
demands Sydney's five million people stay home until the end of
August if half the population is vaccinated, even as new infections
linger near a 16-month high.
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 A lifting of restrictions in
the country's most populous city and its
surrounds in New South Wales state would be a
boost for Prime Minister Scott Morrison, under
pressure for his government's handling of the
vaccine rollout.
While the state reported another 199 locally
acquired COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours -
near a 16-month high of 239 infections recorded
in one day last week - Premier Gladys
Berejiklian said curbs could be eased if six
million people in New South Wales are vaccinated
by the time the lockdown is due to end.
South Korea detects new Delta Plus COVID-19
variant
South Korea has detected its first two cases of
the new Delta Plus COVID-19 variant, the Korea
Disease Control and Prevention Agency said on
Tuesday, as the country battles with its fourth
wave of infections.
The Delta Plus variant is a sub-lineage of the
Delta variant first identified in India, and has
acquired the spike protein mutation called
K417N, which is also found in the Beta variant
first identified in South Africa.
"The first case (in South Korea) was identified
in a man in 40s who has no recent travel
records," the KDCA told Reuters.
Italy's COVID-19 exemption for athletes pays off
in Tokyo
Italy's decision to exempt elite athletes from
strict COVID-19 curbs in the past 18 months and
allow them to train has paid off in Tokyo, with
the country matching its total medals haul from
its previous two Olympics with six days still to
spare.
The Italians had bagged 28 medals as of Monday,
as many as in the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro
and in London in 2012. Other Olympic powerhouses
like Germany and France, hosts of the 2024
Games, have collected so far only about half of
the more than 40 medals from the previous two
editions.
While other nations shut gyms, stadiums and
pools for everyone during much of the pandemic,
Italy allowed a group of elite athletes, about
250, to continue their training.
(Compiled by Nick Macfie)
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