World Coronavirus Dispatch: China plans to vaccinate 560 million by June

Tokyo Olympics organiser hints at bar on fans from abroad, Brazil's Covid crisis a warning to whole world, Germany to reopen with national plan and other pandemic-related news across the globe

Brazil’s Covid crisis is a warning to the whole world

The coronavirus has hit Brazil so hard, that many thought the country had seen the worst of it last year itself. Some of the hardest coronavirus-hit nations, including India and United States, have seen a considerable drop in new cases and deaths in recent times, but that is surprisingly not happening in Brazil. The coronavirus is relentless and the country is setting new records every few days. No other nation that experienced such a major outbreak is still grappling with record-setting death tolls. On Tuesday, Brazil recorded more than 1,700 Covid-19 deaths, the highest single-day toll of the pandemic. The new Brazilian variant appears to be spreading fast and the worst part is that it is not only more contagious, but can also cause re-infections, preliminary studies suggest. Read here

Let's look at the global statistics

Global infections: 115,165,467

Global deaths: 2,559,576

Nations with most cases: US (28,759,725), India (11,156,923), Brazil (10,718,630), Russia (4,230,707), United Kingdom (4,207,120).

Source: John Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center

Germany moves to reopen with a national plan

Nearly after 12 weeks of lockdown, Germany has outlined a national plan to reopen slowly. That also involves taking into account regional infection rates. Non-essential shops, museums and zoos will be allowed to open next week in regions where there are fewer than 50 infections per 100,000 people in seven days. If the incidence is between 50 and 100 infections per 100,000, openings will be more limited and in most cases will require an appointment. But if the infection rates go over 100 per 100,000, the areas will have to go into lockdown. Further openings, such as outdoor dining, could happen as early as late March, if the incidence rates fall even further. And schools, which have already started reopening, will go to more full-time schedules, depending on the state. Read here

China aims for 560 million vaccinations by June

Even as China trails the United States and some European nations in the vaccination drive, the country is planning to inoculate a staggering 560 million or about 40 per cent of its 1.4 billion people against coronavirus by the end of the June. Only about 3.5 per cent of its population has been vaccinated so far. The ambitious target means the world’s most populous country will have to pick up pace. The country now has four domestically developed and produced vaccines that have been approved for use. Read here
 

Tokyo Olympics will be closed to fans from abroad, hints organiser

The new president of the Tokyo Olympic organising committee has hinted that foreign fans will not be allowed at this summer’s Games amid reports in the Japanese press that a decision had already been made to exclude them. Conducting the already deferred Olympic games amid the pandemic has been an unpopular idea in the country, where up to 80 per cent want it to be cancelled or postponed again. “If the situation is tough and it would make the [Japanese] consumers concerned, that is a situation we need to avoid from happening,” the committee president, Seiko Hashimoto, told reporters after online talks with the International Olympic Committee president, Thomas Bach. The games will involve 11,000 Olympic athletes and later 4,400 Paralympians, and tens of thousands of coaches, judges, sponsors, media and VIPs. Read here