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 New Zealanders begin life in lockdown
New Zealand's city streets were largely deserted on Wednesday as the
country returned to life in lockdown for the first time in six
months in a bid to halt any spread of the infectious Delta variant
of COVID-19.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern ordered a snap 3-day nationwide
lockdown on Tuesday after a single case, suspected to be Delta, was
found in the largest city Auckland. Ardern on Wednesday confirmed
the new case was the Delta variant and said there were now 5
confirmed cases in total, all linked to the original infection. One
of the new cases is a fully vaccinated nurse from Auckland Hospital.
Japan extends COVID-19 emergency lockdown
Japan on Tuesday extended its state of emergency in Tokyo and other
regions and announced new measures covering seven more prefectures
to counter a spike in COVID-19 infections that is threatening the
medical system.
The government's top health advisor, Shigeru Omi, said Japan needed
to come up with steps to "prod individuals to avoid taking action
that could potentially spread infections".
He said that could be done under current laws, which mostly assume
voluntary cooperation, but added that there's also room for a
nationwide debate on how to do this under a new legal framework. He
did not go into details.
U.S. will extend transport mask mandate through Jan. 18
President Joe Biden's administration confirmed late on Tuesday it
plans to extend requirements for travelers to wear masks on
airplanes, trains and buses and at airports and train stations
through Jan. 18 to address ongoing COVID-19 risks.
A Transportation Security Administration (TSA) spokesperson
confirmed the extension, first reported by Reuters. "The purpose of
TSA's mask directive is to minimize the spread of COVID-19 on public
transportation," the spokesperson said.
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Chinese ports choke over 'zero tolerance'
COVID-19 policy
Several Chinese ports are facing congestion as
vessels due to call at Ningbo are being diverted
and cargo processing is slowed partly due to
stricter disinfection measures under China's
"zero-tolerance" coronavirus policy.
China's Ministry of Transportation has ordered
all ports to have special teams to deal with
foreign vessels and requires their crews to have
health certificates or negative tests before
allowing them to load and discharge cargos.
The new coronavirus restrictions have increased
to queues at major Chinese transportation hubs,
further straining global supply chains.
Southeast Asia needs vaccine access to curb
record deaths -Red Cross
Southeast Asian countries need more help
securing COVID-19 vaccines, as the region
struggles to contain record infections and
deaths driven by the Delta variant, the
International Federation of Red Cross and Red
Crescent Societies said.
The region escaped the worst when the pandemic
erupted last year, but in recent weeks has seen
the highest deaths globally, as soaring
infections push fragile healthcare systems to
the brink and expose sluggish vaccination
rollouts.
(Compiled by Karishma Singh; Editing by Edwina
Gibbs)
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