Brazil’s outbreak pushes hospitals to the brink of collapse
More than a year into the pandemic, deaths in Brazil are as high as ever and contagious variants of the coronavirus are sweeping through the nation. The virus is also getting help from the political dysfunction, widespread complacency and conspiracy theories. The country is now reporting more new cases and deaths per day than any other country in the world. As hospitals pleaded for a lockdown to save lives, a mayor of the prosperous city in southern Brazil said: “Put your life on the line so that we can save the economy.” This quote pretty much sums up the unprecedented situation in the country. Hospitals say they have never seen a failure of the health system of this magnitude. Recently, Brazil surpassed 300,000 deaths and it is setting new records every day. On Friday, 3,650 people died of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, highest-ever so far. Read here
A third of US adults have received first vaccine dose
The US vaccination campaign is accelerating rapidly, with more than 91 million people — roughly a third of the adult population — having received at least one shot of a Covid-19 vaccination by Saturday. Riding on the optimism, almost all states have announced that they will meet President Biden’s directive to make all adults eligible by May 1. However, contrary to the national trend, two states, New York and Arkansas, have lagged in giving all adults vaccine access. They still had not declared a timeline for their residents to get vaccinated. Read here
Mexico Covid death toll leaps 60 per cent to reach 321,000
Mexico’s government has admitted that the country’s true death toll from the coronavirus pandemic now stands above 321,000, almost revising 60 per cent more than the confirmed number of 201,429. The government quietly published a report, which found there were 294,287 deaths linked to Covid-19 from the start of the pandemic through 14 February. Since 15 February there have been an additional 26,772 test-confirmed deaths. Poor testing in the country, and because hospitals were overwhelmed, many Mexicans died at home without getting a test. Officials said the only way to get a clear picture is to review “excess deaths” and review death certificates. The higher toll would exceed that of Brazil, which has the world’s second-highest number of deaths after the US. Read here
Asia cases hit record as virus outpaces vaccine campaigns
Defying the vaccination campaigns and risking an economic rebound, fresh confirmed cases in Asia have hit a new high this week. New infections through the continent reached 146,664 on Wednesday, the first fresh high since late November. Philippines, experiencing a new surge, reported its own record high of 8,773 new cases on Thursday. India too is reporting cases not seen in months. In Japan, the sluggish vaccine rollout has become a source of frustration for many, and a slight pickup in cases toward 2,000 a day is raising concern just four months before the Tokyo Olympics. Bucking the trend, few Asian countries, China, Singapore and Vietnam, have been keeping their daily numbers low. Read here
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