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-Top News UK News

UK govt warns of surge in prices of staple products

Taking to Twitter, she urged world leaders to launch a military operation in the blocked seaport in order to avert a global food crisis…reports Asian Lite News

As the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict has now triggered concerns about the global food crisis, the UK Defence Ministry released a statement expressing concern about the risk of rising staple product prices, caused by the blockade of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports.

As per the UK’s defence intelligence report, due to the ongoing war, shipping activity in or out of Odesa has been significantly affected. The war has also placed an indirect pressure on global grain prices and supply shortfalls are likely to increase in the coming days, it said.

Earlier, Ukraine MP Lesia Vasylenko also expressed concern over the worsening food crisis caused by Russia’s “special military operation”. According to Vasylenko, more than 47 million people are likely to suffer from food insecurity due to the ongoing war.

However, the crisis could be averted if the Black Sea ports are deblocked, she added. Taking to Twitter, she urged world leaders to launch a military operation in the blocked seaport in order to avert a global food crisis.

According to a recent report published by The New York Times, Ukraine alone accounts for 10% of the wheat production in the world, but due to the ongoing war the export of the cereal grain, a worldwide staple food, has been reduced to one-tenth. Also, international shipments of wheat have been severely affected due to Russian aggression resulting in shortages and price hikes.

It is important to mention here that, on several occasions, Ukraine has claimed that Russian forces were targetting the stocks of grains, and this has forced the Ukrainian authorities to shift many of its stocks to other places. Last month, embattled President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also echoed the same issue during his address to Italy’s parliament. Zelenskyy claimed that a famine-like situation could affect many countries which are dependent on Ukraine.

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Categories
-Top News COVID-19 Europe

Infections rise again in Europe after decline

“Vaccines have been shown to also protect against the Delta variant, but a high level of protection requires two doses.”…reports Asian Lite News.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Thursday said COVID-19 cases were on the rise again in Europe after two months of decline and warned a new wave would come “unless we remain disciplined.”

“There will be a new wave in the WHO European Region unless we remain disciplined. Last week, the number of cases rose by 10 per cent, driven by increased mixing, travel, gatherings and easing of social restrictions,” WHO’s regional director for Europe Hans Kluge told at a press conference.

Kluge also cautioned that this reversal came in the context of rising cases of the Delta variant and said that it could become the dominant strain in WHO’s European region, which is made up by 53 countries and territories — including several in Central Asia — by August.

The regional director also highlighted the importance of vaccines and said: “Vaccines have been shown to also protect against the Delta variant, but a high level of protection requires two doses.”

He mentioned that the average vaccine coverage in the WHO’s European region was 24 per cent, and half of the elderly people and 40 per cent of healthcare workers were still unprotected. “That is unacceptable, and that is far from the recommended 80 per cent coverage of the adult population,” he added.

Meanwhile, many member states of the region still report limited drug supply as the main issue in their efforts to battle the pandemic, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) told Sputnik.

According to the agency, the overall numbers of distributed and administered vaccines have been stable over the past weeks and the progress in the vaccination rollout has been steady across the EU. As much as 27 million doses were administered last week, while another 32 million doses were delivered to the EU countries in the same time period, the ECDC noted.

As of June 20, almost 58% of the EU population have received at least one vaccine dose and 35% have been fully immunised, the agency stated.

People wearing masks walk on the Trocadero Place near the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France (Xinhua/Gao Jing/IANS)

“Nevertheless, quite a few countries still reported that limited vaccine supply remains the main issue they are facing,” the ECDC said, adding that some EU members had had to adjust priority groups or altogether suspend their vaccination programs due to the shortages.

At the same time, more countries have reported that they are no longer facing this issue, as compared to the previous months, the agency said. (ANI/Sputnik/IANS)

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Arab News COVID-19

Syria warned of surge in Covid-19 cases

Since testing across the country is limited, there is a high degree of uncertainty over the exact scale of the disease in Syria…reports Asian Lite News

UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Mark Lowcock warned on Wednesday that the coronavirus is spreading fast in Syria.

Since testing across the country is limited, there is a high degree of uncertainty over the exact scale of the disease in Syria. But from the available information, it is pretty clear that the virus spread is rapid but also accelerating, he told the Security Council in a briefing, Xinhua reported.

The number of new cases recorded in March by the Syrian Health Ministry was twice the number recorded in February. Hospitals in the capital city of Damascus, including intensive care units, are now full, said Lowcock.

In northern Syria, new cases have been confirmed in displacement camps, including at al Hol and al Roj. Both camps lack the resources to treat COVID-19 patients, he said.

The United Nations is doing what it can to provide support, including by enhancing surveillance capacity, by providing personal protective equipment and by providing training for medical workers, as well as supporting the roll-out of vaccination campaigns.

Also read:Syrian kids’ repatriation under Denmark review

Last week, the first deliveries of vaccines from the COVAX facility arrived in Syria, and additional deliveries are expected throughout the year, said Lowcock.

The supplies from COVAX, a global tool to procure and deliver vaccines for low- and middle-income countries, should cover around 20 percent of the Syrian population. But that is obviously not nearly enough. It is a vital first step to protect medical workers and those most vulnerable. But more vaccines will be needed as soon as possible, he said.

The vaccine doses that reached northwest Syria were delivered, like all UN humanitarian assistance there, through the Bab al-Hawa border crossing from Turkey. It is not clear how future such deliveries could reach northwest Syria unless the Security Council confirms the re-authorization of UN cross-border access, he said.

Also read:Syria gets Covid vaccines from China

Categories
-Top News COVID-19 India News

Lockdown only the last resort: Modi

PM says discipline and self-control key in fighting the pandemic’s second wave to ensure safety of life, economy and livelihood, reports Asian Lite News.

Listing the challenges, success and the way ahead to fight the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic that has swept the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an address to the nation advised state governments to use lockdown as the last resort.

Delivering the address on the eve of Navaratri, Modi said the discipline of Lord Ram and the holy month of Ramadan needs to be an inspiration to follow to avert a crisis that will save lives, economy and livelihood of Indians.

ygen,covi

“In today’s circumstances, we have to save the country from lockdown. We have to concentrate on micro containment zones and have to try our best to avoid lockdown. Confidence by the states will greatly help the workers and labourers and they will get the vaccine wherever they are and their work will also not suffer,” Modi said.

On shortage of oxygen, Modi said, “The government is working with speed and sensitivity to meet the increasing demand of oxygen in the various parts of the country. The Centre, state governments and private sector are trying to ensure that every needy person gets oxygen. Efforts to increase oxygen production and supply are on at various levels. Measures like installing new oxygen plants, providing one lakh new cylinders, diverting oxygen from the industrial use, are being undertaken.”

Modi emphasised that the country has much better knowledge and resources to meet the challenge than the initial days of the first wave.

India on Wednesday hit another grim milestone of 2,95,041 new cases in 24 hours. With this, the country’s overall Covid tally reached 1.56 crore, according to the health ministry’s data.

In the same time span, India also reported record number of 2,023 deaths. The daily deaths crossed 2,000 for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic last year, taking the total death toll so far in the country to 1,82,553. India had reported 1,761 deaths on Tuesday.

For the last seven days, India has been reporting over 2 lakh cases daily cases from across the country. India reported 2,59,170 cases on April 20, 2,73,510 on April 19, 2,61,500 on April 18, 2,34,692 on April 17, 2,17,353 on April 16 and 2,00,739 on April 15.

Oxygen Shortage Hits States in India (Photo: Pallav Paliwal)

The Health Ministry said that a total of 16,39,357 samples were tested in the last 24 hours. So far, a total of 27,10,53,392 samples have been tested in the country.

Maharashtra remained on the top worst Covid-19 affected with 62,097 new cases in the last 24 hours, followed by Uttar Pradesh (29,574 cases) and Delhi (28,395 cases) and Karnataka (21,794 cases), according to the health ministry.

Delhi on the edge

Large Crowds of migrant workers in Lucknow , April 20,2021 (photo: Pallav Paliwal)

In the last seven days, more than 1,200 have fallen prey to Covid-19 in the national capital, which reported its highest single-day death toll of 277 on Tuesday, taking its overall toll to 12,638 till date.

Delhi reported 28,395 new Covid-19 cases, the highest single-day spike since the outbreak of the pandemic last year, while the test positivity rate rose to 32.82 per cent, according to the health bulletin issued by the Delhi government. As of now, Delhi has as many as 85,575 active cases of which 40,124 are in home isolation.

The single-day death toll in Delhi had breached the three-figure mark for the first time in 2021 on April 14 (104), after reporting 81 deaths the day before. Since then, the death toll has been steadily increasing, shattering all previous records.

According to Delhi government data, on April 15, the city reported 112 Covid related deaths, 141 on April 16, 167 on April 17 and 161 on April 18.

Covid-19 patients are struggling to find a bed in the government hospitals and the situation is worse for those seeking beds with ventilator support.

A woman at the LNJP hospital, whose husband is admitted there since Saturday, said, “It has been more than 12 hours, but I have no information about my husband. Usually there is a facility to connect video calls, but since last night, no one is responding. I come here everyday carrying food for my husband.

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Categories
-Top News India News

India soars to a new Covid-19 peak

Country records as many as 168,912 fresh cases of infections, making it the second most affected country globally, reports Asian Lite News

Several staff members of the Supreme Court have tested positive for the coronavirus disease. As of Saturday, at least 44 members from judges’ offices and in the court registry are found to be infected with the viral disease.

Following this, sanitisation work is underway at the top court’s premises including courtrooms and the proceedings will begin an hour late than their scheduled time. The Supreme Court has a staff strength of 3,400.

The latest outbreak comes as India is facing a spiralling Covid-19 crisis. On Monday, the country recorded as many as 168,912 fresh cases of infections which pushed the tally to over 13.52 million. Active cases in the country have gone up by 92,922 and the total number currently stands at 1,201,009. The death toll has also increased to 170,179 after 904 fresh fatalities, according to the numbers published on the Union health ministry’s website.

After the latest spike, the country has overtaken Brazil to become the second-most affected country globally by the pandemic. As per John Hopkins tally, Brazil has a caseload of 13.48 million cases. The Unites States is at the top of the list with 31.19 million cases, according to John Hopkins.

Meanwhile, the national capital registered 10,732 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, the single-day highest spike since the pandemic broke out early last year, while there were 48 more deaths, as per the Delhi health bulletin.

The previous highest single-day spike, 8,593 cases, was reported on November 11, 2020 during the third wave. Delhi had reported 7,897 new cases on Saturday, and 8,521 on Friday. However, the number of samples tested on Saturday was also less.

As per the bulletin, the daily positivity rate was reported at 9.43 per cent, while the number of recoveries stood at 5,158.

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With the new cases, Delhi’s Covid tally reached 7,25,197, including 6,79,573 patients who have recovered so far, while the cumulative positivity rate was reported at 4.66 per cent.

The number of active cases stands at 34,341, out of which 17,093 are in home isolation, while the toll has risen to 11,283.

In the last 24 hours, 1,14,288 samples were tested — 76,954 by RT-PCR and 37,334 by Rapid Antigen Tests.

Addressing a press conference on Sunday, Chief Minister Arvid Kejriwal said that the fourth wave “is more critical” and appealed to the people to stay at home as much as possible.

The government is taking all possible steps to break the chain of coronavirus, but it cannot do this alone, he added.

“People of Delhi have fought against three waves of Covid-19 in the last one year, but this fourth one is more critical. I would request people to come out from their homes only if there is urgency, otherwise stay at home for a few days. It will help us to break its chain,” he said.

Gujarat heading towards health emergency, warns HC

Taking a serious note of the worsening coronavirus situation, especially on the healthcare system and infrastructure, the Gujarat High Court on Sunday observed that the state was heading towards a health emergency.

Taking suo moto cognizance, it filed a fresh PIL regarding the situation, with the state and Central governments made respondents, and will hold a hearing on Monday.

The high court had recently advised the Gujarat government to impose a three-four day lockdown, and take appropriate measures to check Covid-19 cases.

“But it has been five days since. Newspapers and channels are flooded with harrowing tales, unfortunate and unimaginable difficulties, unmanageable conditions of infrastructure, the shortfall and deficit of not only testing facilities, but availability of beds, ICUs, supply of oxygen and basic medicines like remdesivir,” Chief Justice Vikram Nath said in his order on Sunday.

“A perusal of some news would indicate that the state is heading towards a health emergency of sorts. Accordingly, I direct the HC registry to register this as a suo moto fresh PIL titled ‘Uncontrolled upsurge and serious management issues in Covid control’ by impleading the Gujarat government through the Chief Secretary, the Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare Department, and the Central Government through the Department of Home and the Health Ministry,” he ordered.

The Chief Justice said a bench comprising of him and Justice Bhargav D. Karia should be constituted to hear this PIL at 11 a.m. on Monday.

Also read:COVID-19: India sees highest-ever single day surge

Categories
-Top News Canada

Covid variants drive new surge in Canada

As of Saturday afternoon, Canada reported 5,986 new cases of Covid-19, bringing the cumulative total to 1,051,246, including 23,282 deaths…reports Asian Lite News

The rapid spread of more contagious Covid-19 variants is believed to have driven a devastating third wave in Canada.

As of Saturday afternoon, a total of 30,108 variant of concern cases have been reported across Canada, including 28,624 B.1.1.7 variants, 1,133 P.1 variants and 351 B.1.351 variants, according to CTV.

As of Saturday afternoon, Canada reported 5,986 new cases of Covid-19, bringing the cumulative total to 1,051,246, including 23,282 deaths, according to CTV.

“Although B.1.1.7, which is now confirmed in all provinces and two territories, continues to account for the majority of variants of concern in Canada and has likely replaced the original virus in some areas, there has been a concerning rise in P.1 cases in recent weeks,” Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, said in a statement on Saturday, Xinhua news agency reported.

“Early evidence suggests that the P.1 variant may reduce the effectiveness of vaccines, making it even more important to control its spread,” Tam added in the statement.

The number of confirmed variant cases in Canada has skyrocketed in recent weeks, rising from about 2,000 a month ago to over 30,000 as of Saturday afternoon and counting, with more than 90 per cent of those being the B.1.1.7 variant first identified in Britain.

The P1 variant first discovered in Brazil is also on the rise in Canada, with cases increasing to more than 1,100 as of Saturday afternoon, mostly in the populous provinces of British Columbia, Ontario and Alberta.

Also read:Canada becomes first to approve four vaccines

Meanwhile, the B.1.351 variant first found in South Africa is also picking up steam, with more than 350 cases identified in the country.

“The race between the vaccine and the variants is at a critical point,” Tam said. “It is clear that we need stronger control to combat variants of concern that are driving rapid epidemic growth in many areas of the country.”

Younger Canadians are being impacted harder in the third wave, Tam said, with infection rates highest among those aged 20 to 39 and a rise in the number of hospitalizations and ICU admissions in those under 60.

The fact is Canada’s third wave of Covid-19 is showing no signs of slowing down as the vaccine rollout gradually ramps up, meaning Canadians need to buckle down until more of us get a shot, Canadian experts said.

They added that Canada’s slower vaccine rollout means our third wave could last into June.

Altogether, 7,569,321 vaccine doses have been administered as of Friday, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada.

Also read:US, Canada condemn China’s retaliatory sanctions

Categories
-Top News USA

US sees surge in Covid cases

Covid-19 infections were witnessing steady decline for approximately 10 weeks,but trends are changing, and cases have increased during the past 12 days…reports Asian Lite News

The US is witnessing an increase in Covid-19 cases, including infections from new and emerging variants, as experts have expressed concerns about another surge amid the upcoming spring break.

Covid-19 cases in the country were steadily decreasing for approximately 10 weeks, however, trends are changing, and cases have increased during the past 12 days, Xinhua news agency quoted the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as saying in an update on Saturday.

The current seven-day moving average of daily new cases, which stands at 62,167, increased 8.4 per cent compared with the previous seven days.

Meanwhile, the seven-day average of daily hospital admissions of infected patients, which stands at 4,948, is a 4.8 per cent increase from the previous seven-day period, according to the CDC.

children walking in street during covid 19 surge in us

Overall, Covid-19 deaths in the country have decreased for the past 11 weeks, except for an increase during March 27 and 28.

Compared with the highest daily death peak on January 13, which was 3,379 deaths, the current seven-day moving average of 880 daily new deaths decreased 74 per cent, CDC data show.

Experts are concerned about another surge of new cases and increasing variants infections as lots of people are planning travels during the spring break.

The country recorded more than 13,000 infection cases of coronavirus variants as of Thursday, according to the latest data of the CDC.

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Among these cases, 12,505 cases were caused by the variant known as B.1.1.7, which was originally detected in Britain.

There were 323 cases of the strain initially discovered in South Africa, called B.1.351, and 224 cases of the P.1 strain first discovered in Brazil.

In addition, the B.1.427 and B.1.429 variants, two coronavirus strains first detected in California, are also being closely monitored by the CDC.

The five coronavirus strains are currently classified by the CDC as “variants of concern”, as evidence shows an increase in their transmissibility, increased hospitalisations or deaths, significant reduction in neutralization by antibodies generated during previous infection or vaccination, reduced effectiveness of treatments or vaccines, or diagnostic detection failures.

People line up to enter a mass COVID-19 vaccination site at the United Center in Chicago, the United States,

“These variants of concern are mutated versions of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and have the potential to cause COVID-19 to be more severe, spread more easily between humans, require different treatments, or change the effectiveness of current vaccines,” the CDC said in a report.

As of Saturday, more than 104 million people in the US have received at least one Covid-19 vaccine dose, according to the CDC.

Massive vaccination

A total of 161 million vaccine shots have been administered by Saturday, while more than 207 million doses have been distributed across the country.

Currently nearly 60 million Americans have been fully vaccinated, about 18 per cent of the whole population, according to the CDC.

“The race to vaccinate people and contain the virus is underway. The actions we take today determine how long it will take to stop the virus and end the pandemic,” said the CDC.

The US is still the worst-hit country with the world’s highest number of cases and deaths at 30,671,074 and 554,779, respectively, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

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