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PARIS: Countries around the world tightened restrictions on their populations on Saturday (January 2) to combat the resurgence of COVID-19, as the European Union offered to help pharmaceutical companies expand vaccine production to deal with with distribution “bottlenecks”.
From local curfews to alcohol bans and outright closures, governments are trying to address an increase in cases.
The coronavirus has killed more than 1.8 million people worldwide since it emerged in China in December 2019, according to a count from official sources compiled by AFP.
But experts fear the worst is yet to come, predicting a sharp rise in infections and deaths after weeks of festive gatherings.
French police detained hundreds of New Years revelers on Saturday for disobeying anti-COVID-19 measures at an illegal rave.
In Bangkok, the city’s nightlife closed following a ban on the sale of alcohol in bars, nightclubs and restaurants, among a series of restrictions aimed at curbing the growing number of victims of the virus in Thailand.
A tuk-tuk is parked outside a gym in Bangkok on Jan.2, 2021, which was closed after the capital announced partial lockdown measures on Saturday to deal with a recent spike in COVID-19 cases. (Photo: AFP / Mladen Antonov)
Public schools in the Thai capital will close for two weeks.
An outbreak last month at a seafood market has sparked a resurgence of the virus in the kingdom, with infections detected in 53 of its 77 provinces.
In Tokyo, the city governor on Saturday called on the Japanese government to declare a new state of emergency as the country battles a third wave of COVID-19, with a record number of new cases.
And South Korea extended its antivirus restrictions through January 17 in the Seoul metropolitan area, including a ban on gatherings of more than four people, which will be expanded to cover the entire country.
VACCINE RACE
The growing number of infections around the world means that the race for vaccination will dominate next year.
The delays in obtaining vaccines in Europe were not the fault of the European Union, said the bloc’s health commissioner, Stella Kyriakides.
“The bottleneck at the moment is not the volume of orders, but the global shortage of production capacity,” he said.
The bloc would help pharmaceutical companies in their efforts to expand production, he added.
“The situation will improve step by step.”
India held nationwide drills on Saturday to kick off one of the world’s largest coronavirus vaccination programs, as its drug regulator approved the AstraZeneca-Oxford University vaccine.
India is conducting a trial before starting one of the largest coronavirus vaccination programs in the world. (Photo: AFP / Noah Seelam)
In the United States, the vaccination program has been beset by logistical problems, while the worst affected country in the world surpassed 20 million cases on Friday.
The United States has seen a worrying rise in COVID-19 infections in recent months, and Saturday saw its highest number on record so far in a day, at more than 277,000.
In Russia, Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said that more than 800,000 people had received the domestically produced Sputnik V vaccine and that 1.5 million doses of around 147 million had been distributed across the country.
The Kremlin has refrained from imposing virus restrictions across the country, instead pinning its hopes on the mass vaccination campaign to end the pandemic and save its struggling economy.
The French government, facing the threat of a new wave of COVID-19 infections, extended the night curfew by two hours in some parts of the country to help fight the virus.
The curfew will start at 6 p.m. instead of 8 p.m. in parts of France, mainly in the east of the country. Paris, for now, has gotten rid of the additional restriction.
“WE HAD PARTY”
The new French restrictions came as police registered more than 1,200 revelers on Saturday when an illegal rave in northwestern France finally ended after more than two days of partying that saw clashes with police.
Around 800 of them were booked for failing to comply with anti-virus measures, and Britain’s regional health authority noted a “high risk of spreading COVID-19” in the event.
“We knew what we were risking … we had to party, for a year everything has stalled,” said a 20-year-old waitress.
Spanish police broke up another meeting on Saturday near Barcelona, where 300 people had been partying for more than 40 hours.
And footballers were also among those caught breaking the rules, with Tottenham’s Erik Lamela, Sergio Reguilon and Giovani Lo Celso being disciplined after an image emerged of them attending a big party.
Australia’s performing arts industry has been hit hard by the virus, but performances at the Sydney Opera House will restart in January. (Photo: AFP / David Gray)
Norway, which has one of the lowest infection rates in Europe, began requiring COVID-19 testing upon arrival in the country on Saturday, after finding five cases of a new variant of coronavirus that first emerged in Britain. .
Denmark discovered 86 cases of the new variant, which is believed to be more contagious, while Vietnam also detected the strain.
The small British enclave of Gibraltar, which borders Spain, entered a 14-day blockade on Saturday. Chief Minister Fabián Picardo said the virus was spreading “faster than we can control it.”
Greece has extended its strict two-month lockdown measures until January 10, ending a relaxation of restrictions during the holiday period.
In Lebanon, doctors warned that hospitals were overwhelmed by COVID-19 cases, in the wake of the year-end holidays.
But in Australia, the finishing touches were being put on a swanky show at the Sydney Opera House on Saturday, as the venue prepared to host an opera crowd for the first time since March following a hiatus from the virus.
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