China is seeing unprecedented Covid infections with hospitals and morgues overwhelmed by millions of cases. The country has stopped publishing daily figures for Covid-19 cases and deaths from Sunday.
According to leaked official data, about 248 million people around the country, roughly 17.56 per cent of the total population, were affected by the Covid surge between December 1 and 20.
While China is seeing a huge rise, several countries have also reported a fresh rise in infections while many others have taken measures.
News18 takes a look at some of the countries reporting fresh Covid cases and undertaking preventive measures:
India
A 40-year-old man, who returned from China two days back, has tested positive for Covid-19 in Agra following which he has been isolated at his home.
Amid a surge in Covid cases in China, the Centre has ramped up its anti-coronavirus measures. The Centre had said RT-PCR test would be made mandatory for passengers from China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand.
India logged 196 new coronavirus infections, while the active cases marginally increased to 3,428, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Monday.
PM Narendra Modi asked people to be vigilant and take precautions against Covid-19 while noting that the virus is spreading in many countries. In his last ‘Mann ki Baat’ broadcast of the year, Modi said many people are on a vacation or will go on one during Christmas and New Year and urged them to follow protocols like wearing masks and washing hands.
Japan
Japan is grappling with an ongoing eighth wave of the Covid-19 pandemic as the country’s health authorities reported 371 deaths caused by Covid in a single day, the highest in a day since the pandemic began in 2020.
The Ministry of Health reported on September 2 that the previous high of 347 Covid deaths occurred during the seventh wave.
Japan recorded 174,079 new cases on Friday, up about 20,000 from the same day last week. On Wednesday, there were 206,943 new cases, marking the first time that the single-day tally had surpassed the 200,000-mark since August 25.
Capital Tokyo reported 15,403 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, up by 1,757 from a week before while 18 fatalities were also seen.
South Korea
South Korea reported 25, 545 new coronavirus infections and 42 more deaths on Monday. The country had reported 68,168 Covid infections on Friday.
The daily infection numbers have been on a steady rebound for the past several weeks amid a winter wave.
Last week, the Korean health authorities announced plans to remove the indoor mask mandate in phases and a set of criteria that need to be satisfied to implement the mask-free policy, including a stable number of new infections and a downtrend in critically ill cases and deaths.
France
The French government officials announced last month that Covid infections are on the rise again in the country. It also announced people wearing masks on public transport or when in contact with vulnerable people.
According to reports last week, France reported around 50,000 cases and 120 deaths last Thursday. Although the situation is seeming to improve and the ninth fresh wave seems to surpass its peak, Christmas and New Years Eve celebrations concern local health authorities and experts who continue harping on the pressing Covid measures.
United States
Last week, US President Joe Biden said that Covid-19 cases “are rising” across the country as it has officially recorded more than 100 million Covid-19 cases.
According to a report in Reuters, the highly-contagious Omicron subvariant XBB has surged to more than 50% of virus cases in the northeastern United States and risks spreading fast as millions of Americans begin holiday travel.
In the week that ended on December 24, XBB was estimated to account for 18.3% of the cases in the US, up from 11.2% in the previous week, according to CDC. The XBB variant has been driving up cases in parts of Asia, including Singapore.
Singapore
Singapore is reporting around 1,000 daily cases and fresh hospitalisation as the country is recuperating from the XBB variant of Covid.
Covid-19 has accounted for 878 deaths in Singapore this year, up from the combined total of 828 in 2020 and 2021.
The recent wave in Singapore is driven by the XBB variant, which is also responsible for fresh surge in China and the US.
Apart from the countries mentioned above, Thailand, Brazil and Italy are also reporting fresh Covid cases.
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