Worry over surge in Covid-19 cases in US, Spain, France and Indonesia

Motorcyclists riding through Deadwood, South Dakota, during the 80th Annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally on Aug 8. Many cases in North and South Dakota have been linked to the rally that attracts hundreds of thousands each year. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

United States: Tally nears 7m amid Midwest outbreaks

WASHINGTON • The number of coronavirus cases in the United States neared seven million on Thursday - more than 20 per cent of the world's total - as Midwest states reported spikes in Covid-19 infections this month.

The approaching milestone comes days after the nation surpassed 200,000 Covid-19 deaths, the world's highest death toll from the virus. Each day, over 700 people die in the US from the disease.

The US has now seen more than 6,978,000 coronavirus cases and more than 202,800 deaths, according to a tally by the Johns Hopkins University. California leads the country with more than 800,000 total cases, followed by Texas, Florida and New York.

All Midwest states except Ohio reported more cases in the past four weeks compared with the prior four weeks, led by South Dakota and North Dakota.

South Dakota had the biggest percentage increase at 166 per cent with more than 8,000 new cases, while North Dakota's new cases doubled to about 8,700 compared with some 4,200 within the same timeframe last month.

Many cases in these two states have been linked to an annual motorcycle rally in Sturgis, South Dakota, that attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.

Positive cases rose in half of the 50 US states this month. Ten states have reported record one-day increases in infections this month. New cases rose last week after falling for eight straight weeks.

Health experts believe the spike was due to the reopening of schools and universities, as well as parties over the recent Labour Day holiday.

A study by US researchers said recent reopening of college and university campuses for in-person instruction during late summer could be associated with more than 3,000 additional Covid-19 cases per day in the US in recent weeks.

US confirmed cases are the highest globally, followed by India with more than 5.8 million cases and Brazil with more than 4.6 million.

The US is averaging 40,000 new infections a day. Top US infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci has said he would like to see the number fall below 10,000 a day before the flu season starts next month.

Health officials and US President Donald Trump have presented different views of the health crisis.

Mr Trump, who is seeking re-election on Nov 3, this month claimed that the US was "rounding the corner" on the crisis.

Dr Fauci contradicted the claim the next day, saying the statistics were disturbing.

REUTERS


Spain: Seriously ill patients fill up Madrid hospitals

A 6m high statue of a "super health worker" in Madrid to pay tribute to those fighting against the coronavirus. While Spain's daily cases are below spring levels, they have worsened progressively since last month. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

MADRID • Hospitals in Madrid are filling up with seriously ill Covid-19 patients again, raising the spectre of a healthcare collapse similar to the grim scenes southern Europe experienced in spring.

The percentage of intensive care beds with coronavirus patients in the Spanish capital region jumped to 39 per cent on Thursday from 25 per cent at the end of last week, according to official data.

But Professor Miguel Hernan, a Harvard University epidemiologist who has advised the Spanish government, said the way Spain counts capacity understates the strain, and intensive care unit (ICU) beds in Madrid actually are almost full.

"We are once again facing a serious health emergency," Prof Hernan said on Twitter. "ICUs were our last line of defence."

It is the latest sign of crisis as many parts of Europe, including France and Britain, combat a post-summer pandemic surge.

"Without adequate capacity to diagnose, tracers or supervision of isolation and quarantine, the last hope was that hospitals wouldn't be saturated," said Prof Hernan, who had advised the government on lifting one of the strictest national lockdowns in the world in late June.

A renewed lockdown in Spain could be shorter than the first one and less severe, because now "the curve is flatter", he said.

Daily new cases in Spain declined to 3,471 on Thursday, almost 700 fewer than the previous day. The country now has 704,209 cases, including 31,118 deaths after another 500 patients died of the disease over the past week, according to Health Department data.

While Spain's daily cases are below spring levels, they have worsened progressively since last month.

Madrid has already been clamping down, ordering restrictions on Sept 18 for 37 areas, including Madrid neighbourhoods and towns in the metropolitan area, that allow people to leave only for essential reasons such as work or study.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and regional Madrid President Isabel Diaz Ayuso said this week that they will form a joint task force to respond to the crisis.

Spain's decentralised health system has complicated the fight against the virus, as the regional authorities can set their own policies and the central government has failed to align them.

Many regions never enacted recommendations made early in the pandemic by government advisers, such as increasing the number of tracers and ICU beds.

BLOOMBERG, REUTERS


France: Daily cases hit record as restrictions spark outcry

Patrons at a cafe in Marseille on Thursday, a day after the French authorities announced that all bars and restaurants in the city are to shut for two weeks from today to curb the surge in new cases. PHOTO: REUTERS

PARIS • France reported a new record for daily coronavirus infections on Thursday, a day after the government announced new restrictions on bars and restaurants in major cities that have provoked an outcry from local politicians and business owners.

Figures from Public Health France showed 16,096 people tested positive over the last 24 hours, a record - even though experts said testing during the first coronavirus wave in March-April captured only a fraction of cases.

President Emmanuel Macron's government announced new measures on Wednesday to try to slow the spread of the disease, including the closure of all bars and restaurants in Marseille and earlier closing times in Paris and elsewhere.

Faced with criticism from the mayors of Paris and Marseille, legal challenges and calls from some bar owners to defy the new orders, Prime Minister Jean Castex called for "responsibility".

"What I don't want is that we go back to March," he said, referring to one of the strictest national lockdowns in Europe in which French people were required to fill out forms to leave their homes.

Mr Castex also admitted he has not downloaded his own government's StopCovid contact-tracing app. "Yes I am pushing the French to use it, but I do not," he said on France 2 television, explaining that since becoming premier in July, he "unfortunately" now crosses paths with fewer people.

Yesterday, hundreds of restaurant owners and bar staff protested outside Marseille's commercial court against the government order to shut for two weeks from today to curb the surge in new cases in France's second-biggest city.

Marseille has been put on "maximum alert", while Paris and 10 other cities are at "elevated alert" - the second tier on a new sliding scale system of infection control measures.

"I am angry because there was no consultation," Marseille Mayor Michele Rubirola, who is a doctor, told Franceinfo radio.

"Why turn the screws when our numbers have been improving for a few days now?" she asked.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS


Indonesia: Biggest rise in infections for third straight day

Indonesian police using a water cannon to spray disinfectant, as part of coronavirus prevention measures, along a street beside the Baiturrahman grand mosque in Banda Aceh yesterday. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

JAKARTA • Indonesia reported its biggest daily rise in coronavirus infections for a third successive day with 4,823 new cases yesterday, taking the total to 266,845, according to data from the country's Covid-19 task force.

The data added 113 new deaths, taking the total to 10,218, one of the highest death tolls in Asia.

Daily cases have hit consecutive new highs in the past few days, at over 4,000 new infections each day.

According to data from the task force, new daily infections first topped 4,000 cases on Sept 19.

The task force's spokesman Wiku Adisasmito has blamed ignorance among the public for the soaring numbers, saying people have neglected health protocols such as maintaining physical distancing and wearing face masks.

"We see that more and more people have started to neglect the health protocols as time goes by. They seem to have no empathy for Covid-19 victims," Mr Wiku said on Thursday.

Concerns over rising infections led the country's general elections commission to ban campaign activities that pull in the crowds, ahead of regional polls in December.

Before Thursday's ban, candidates and supporters in the upcoming regional elections were allowed to hold music concerts, art performances, harvest festivals, walking and biking events, competitions, bazaars and other activities that draw crowds.

Election commissioner Ilham Saputra said those activities are now prohibited.

As many as 270 regions across the archipelago will participate in this year's elections to select new leaders.

There have been mounting calls from observers and prominent organisations for the government to postpone the polls amid the recent spike in coronavirus cases.

Meanwhile, Indonesia's capital will extend its stricter movement restrictions for another 14 days, Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan said in a statement on Thursday. The restrictions were previously set to end tomorrow.

REUTERS, THE JAKARTA POST/ASIA NEWS NETWORK, BLOOMBERG

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on September 26, 2020, with the headline Worry over surge in Covid-19 cases in US, Spain, France and Indonesia. Subscribe