Coronavirus: US and Europe battle renewed virus surges

On Friday, the US was battling a resurgence of coronavirus cases while several European countries were also facing dangerous upticks.

 

The US is battling a resurgence of coronavirus cases in a number of states, including Texas, as the World Health Organisati­on warns that several European countries are also facing dangerous upticks.

The pandemic, which is close to claiming 500,000 lives worldwide and infecting 10 million people, continued to pummel Latin America. Brazil, the hardest-hit country in the region, had close to 55,000 deaths and 1.2 million ­infections, while on Thursday Mex­ico surpassed 25,000 fatalit­ies. In the US, after hitting a two-month plateau, the rate of new cases is now soaring in the south and west, with confirmed infection rate nearing levels last seen in April.

Texas was among the most aggressiv­e states in reopening early this month. Republican Govern­or Greg Abbott had been confident that Texas had escaped the worst of the US outbreak.

Worldwide COVID-19 snapshot, six months on

The US recorded 37,667 cases and 692 deaths in 24 hours, accord­ing to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, with nearly 125,000 lives lost overall — by far the highest toll in the world.

Mr Abbott was forced on Friday (AEST) to halt the state’s phased reopening and moved to free up hospital beds. “The last thing we want to do as a state is go backwards and close down businesses­,” the Governor said. “This temporary pause will help our state corral the spread.”

Twenty-nine states are now facing a rebound in cases. Experts blame a patchwork of responses at the official level, the politicisation of face masks and physical distancing, and the widespread onset of quarantine fatigue among restless Americans.

US health officials now believe, based on antibody surveys, that about 24 million people may have already been infected — 10 times higher than the officially recorded figure of about 2.4 million. They say the demographics of the outbreak are changing as younger people engage in more risky ­behaviour out of a desire to return to their pre-pandemic “normal”. Norway, which has some of the most severe travel restrictions still in force, said it would aim to relax the measures with Schengen and EU nations by mid-July.

And in Britain, some took the new relaxed regime too far, with thousands crowding the beach in the English coastal town of Bournemouth to soak up the sun.

The joyous reopening of tourist sites and beaches was nevertheless tempered by a new warning from the WHO that Europe is not yet in the clear. WHO regional director Hans Kluge warned that, in 11 nations­, “accelerated transmission has led to very significant resurg­ence that if left unchecked will push health systems to the brink once again in Europe”. Parts of ­Lisbon reinstated lockdown measures, following in the path of two western German districts.

However, Europe’s current caseload compares favourably with that of the Americas, with the US and Brazil continuing to lead the world in confirmed cases and deaths. Governments are still struggling to balance the public health needs of fighting a virus that has infected at least 9.5 million people with the devastating global economic impact.

Governments have been desper­ately trying to keep firms from laying off staff — on Thursday, Spain extended its state-funded furlough scheme until the end of September, three months longer than it had planned.

The EU gave a boost to the prospects of antiviral remdesivir on Thursday by recommending it for use — the first treatment to be given the green light in Europe.

Iran’s death toll surpassed 10,000 on Thursday, with health officials recording more than 100 fatalities for the seventh consecutive day. China, where the disease was first detected late last year, ­ declared­ that it had controlled an outbreak in Beijing that had briefly raised fears of a second wave and prompted restrictions and several million tests.

AFP