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 Indian variant spreads around globe
India's tally of coronavirus infections climbed past 24 million on
Friday, amid reports flowed that the highly transmissible variant
first detected there was spreading around the globe.
The Indian B.1.617 variant has been found in eight nations in the
Americas, including Canada and the United States, said Jairo Mendez,
an infectious diseases expert with the World Health Organization.
Britain will adapt its vaccine rollout to protect people more
quickly in areas where the Indian variant has emerged, the vaccine
minister said on Friday.
Nearly half the 150 passengers booked on Australia's first
repatriation flight from India were barred from boarding on Friday,
after they or their close contacts tested positive.
Lab leak theory cannot be ruled out
The origin of the novel coronavirus is still unclear and the theory
that it was caused by a laboratory leak needs to be taken seriously
until there is a rigorous data-led investigation that proves it
wrong, a group of leading scientists said.
"More investigation is still needed to determine the origin of the
pandemic," said the 18 scientists, including Ravindra Gupta, a
clinical microbiologist at the University of Cambridge, and Jesse
Bloom, who studies the evolution of viruses at the Fred Hutchinson
Cancer Research Center.
"Theories of accidental release from a lab and zoonotic spillover
both remain viable," the scientists said in a letter to the journal
Science.
Singapore brings in strictest curbs since lockdown
Singapore announced on Friday the strictest curbs on social
gatherings and public activities since easing a lockdown last year,
amid a rise in locally acquired infections and with new coronavirus
clusters forming in recent weeks.
The new measures announced by the health ministry, which will be in
force from Sunday to mid June, include limiting social gatherings to
two people and ceasing dining in at restaurants.
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"This is clearly a setback in our fight against COVID-19," said
Lawrence Wong, the minister for education who co-chairs Singapore's
coronavirus taskforce.
Japan adds 3 prefectures to state of emergency
Japan said on Friday it would declare a state of emergency in three
more prefectures hit hard by the pandemic, in a surprise move
reflecting growing concerns about the virus's spread.
The latest state of emergency declarations would come as Japan
grapples with a surge of a more infectious strain of COVID-19 just
10 weeks before the Tokyo Olympics are due to start.
Hokkaido, Okayama and Hiroshima will join Tokyo, Osaka and four
other prefectures on Sunday under a state of emergency until May 31.
Taiwan community transmissions spread
Taiwan reported a record rise in domestic COVID-19 cases on Friday
with 29 new infections, as community transmissions in part of
central Taipei spread and the government called for people to be
tested.
While Taiwan has reported just 1,291 cases, mostly imported from
abroad, a recent small rise in domestic infections has spooked a
population long used to the island's relative safety.
Health Minister Chen Shih-chung told a news conference that of the
29 new domestic infections many were connected with an outbreak in
Taipei's Wanhua district, an often gritty area of old temples,
trendy shops and hostess bars.
(Compiled by Linda Noakes; Editing by Giles Elgood)
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