Coronavirus in the time of Delta

The coronavirus pandemic has killed at least 3,987,613 people since the virus first emerged in December 2019, according to an Agence France Presse compilation of official data at 1000 GMT on 6 July 2021.

Indonesia

Indonesia reported 34,373 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, a record daily rise, taking the total number of confirmed infections to nearly 2.4 million, according to the Health Ministry.

Another 1,040 fatalities, also the highest daily jump ever recorded, brought the virus-related death toll to 62,908.

The world’s fourth most populous nation is struggling with a rapid surge in coronavirus cases, driven by the highly transmissible Delta variant. Hospitals across the islands of Java and Bali have been forced to turn away patients, with some facing oxygen shortages.

With reports of outbreaks in other parts of the archipelago, such as West Papua and West Sumatra, regional leaders have been urged to implement curbs, including measures to ensure offices and malls operate at 25% capacity and for restaurants and malls to close by 5 pm.

On 6 July Indonesia recorded 31,189 new cases and 728 new deaths, the highest numbers since the start of the pandemic. The spike in cases has fuelled a growing sense of anxiety about Indonesia's fragile healthcare system and its capacity to handle an unfolding health crisis.

Australia is providing "immediate health support" worth 12 million dollars, including 1,000 ventilators, 700 oxygen concentrators and 2.5 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, Foreign Minister Marise Payne said in a statement.

"Australian support will extend rapid testing capacity, maintain existing health services and assist with emergency medical facilities as Indonesia responds to growing case numbers," Payne said.

At least 33 patients died in a hospital in the central Java city of Yogyakarta over the weekend after the facility ran out of oxygen.

Even with record case numbers and deaths, experts said the real figures are likely to be much higher because of low levels of testing and tracing.  (dpa)

India

India on Wednesday reported 43,733 new cases in the last 24 hours, data from health ministry showed, with active cases at 459,920.

India expects to receive 3 million to 4 million doses of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 shots through the COVAX facility by August, two sources said, as it tries to expand inoculations to prevent another surge in infections.

COVAX, led by the GAVI vaccine alliance and the World Health Organization (WHO), could ship the U.S.-made doses to India as early as this month. "It's a donation through COVAX," said the source.

India is the world's biggest producer of vaccines overall. It donated or sold more than 66 million doses of COVID-19 shots before a huge rise in infections forced it to divert all domestic output to inoculate its own people from April.

The country has so far administered 358.1 million vaccine doses – the most in the world after China – giving at least one dose to 31% of its estimated adult population of 944 million.

India mainly relies on a licensed version of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Experts have said India needs to administer 10 million doses a day to achieve its aim of immunising all adults by December. It administered about 4 million doses a day in the week to 2 July.

Malaysia

Malaysia has reported more than 785,000 cases of COVID-19, the third-highest tally in Southeast Asia and has been in lockdown since 1 June.

The pandemic has put a particular strain on low-income families, with reports of many forced to ration food.

The #benderaputih (white flag) campaign has gained momentum on social media in a bid to encourage people to help others in distress during a prolonged lockdown in Malaysia.

In response to the white flag campaign, neighbours, businesses, politicians and even celebrities have stepped in to donate.

"It takes a lot of courage (to display the white flag)... Because it's actually telling everyone that you... can't manage," said lawmaker Maria Chin Abdullah. "But I think I take it positively –  it's something that this country actually needs because we can't cover everybody. So it's good that... you indicate that you need help and others will come to you."

Middle East and the Gulf

Coronavirus infections have been on the rise in the 22 countries of the eastern Mediterranean region after two months of steady decline because of increased international travel, low protection and limited vaccination, World Health Organization officials said on Wednesday.

The region, which includes the Gulf, North African and Asian countries, has registered over 11 million infections and over 220,000 deaths since last year. Iran has been the worst impacted by the pandemic, followed by Iraq.

Ahmed Al-Mandhari, regional director of the WHO, said another spike is likely in the summer months as countries struggle to keep their borders open and their economies active.Despite efforts to contain the virus, a higher weekly average of new cases has been reported across the region compared to the same time last year, he said. This is because of various factors, including the detection of the Delta variant in 13 out of the 22 countries and limited distribution of vaccines.

"It is fuelling current surges in cases and deaths," he said, urging countries to improve their sequencing capacity and data sharing to enable better understanding of the virus.

Al-Mandhari said more than 500 million vaccine doses are still needed to vaccinate at least 40% of the population of countries in the Eastern Mediterranean Region by the end of 2021. "We are far, far behind from reaching this goal," he said, adding that misinformation about vaccine efficacy and the virus have deepened vaccine hesitancy in the region.

Tunisia

With the government facing sharp criticism for the slow pace of its vaccination campaign, Tunisia is to buy 3.5 million doses of vaccine directly from Johnson & Johnson.

Tunisia placed the capital Tunis and the northern town of Bizerte under a partial lockdown from 1 July in a bid to rein in record daily coronavirus cases and deaths.

Parties, sporting and cultural events and public prayers are banned until 14 July under the measures which cover Tunis and its surroundings, adding to similar measures in place for the coastal cities of Sousse and Monastir.

The measures also include an overnight curfew from 8:00 pm (1900 GMT) until 5:00 am (0400 GMT) and a ban on cafes and restaurants serving food except outdoors or by delivery.

Many Tunisian hospitals are at full capacity and medics say they are unable to cope.

Four inland regions of the North African country have also been under total lockdown since June 20 as cases have spiralled, as well as the northern town of Bizerte. Adding to the sense of crisis, the army has been deployed in some areas to enforce lockdown measures.

The health ministry announced a record 5,921 cases and 116 deaths from COVID-19 on Tuesday, the latest figures available in the country of 12 million.

Tunisia has struggled with a lack of vaccines and has so far administered initial jabs to around 15 percent of its population, with just over half a million receiving the full two doses.

Morocco

Morocco announced plans on 5 July to produce locally the Chinese COVID-19 vaccine Sinopharm locally, the official MAP news agency reported, adding that five million doses could soon be produced per month.

The agency said Morocco and Sinopharm signed a memorandum of cooperation for that purpose, at a ceremony attended by King Mohammed VI. The project will involve an investment of around $500 million, MAP reported, but it did not say when production will begin.

Around 9.1 million of Morocco's 36 million population have received two doses of COVID vaccines since the inoculation drive started in January. The country is using the Sinopharm and AstraZeneca jabs. It has registered 534,797 coronavirus infections, including 9,329 deaths.

Iraq

Iraq has officially recorded around 1,340,000 novel coronavirus cases and over 17,000 deaths since the start of its outbreak, though many cases go undetected due to low testing. The country's poverty rate has doubled to 40 percent during the pandemic, and nearly 40 percent of Iraqi youth are unemployed, according to the World Bank.

Despite the nightly 9:00 pm to 5:00 am curfew, various security forces deployed in the Karrada district of Baghdad are soliciting bribes in exchange for allowing establishments to stay open.

"Each week, I have to give them 500,000 dinars (around $340)," revealed one restauranteur – close to Iraq's average monthly wage. "Certain security force officers have become (like) business partners", he added bitterly.

Restaurant and cafe owners were among the 65 percent of small and medium-sized businesses in Iraq that saw their revenues plummet during a spring lockdown last year. The UN says such businesses had to sack a quarter of their employees and received no support from the oil-dependent state – itself facing an unprecedented fiscal crunch caused by low crude prices.

Iraq officially counts some 22,000 restaurants and cafes, though many others operate unlicensed.

Ziad, a cafe owner on a Baghdad street famous for its restaurants, said he had given in to the pressure. "I don't see why I should be the only one the law applies to. All the cafes and restaurants around here pay bribes and stay open, so I did the same," he said.

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia has suspended flights to three countries, including the neighbouring United Arab Emirates, to protect against a coronavirus variant, the interior ministry said on 3 July. The move comes seven weeks after the oil-rich kingdom permitted fully immunised citizens to travel abroad, after a ban on foreign trips that lasted more than a year.

The UAE, and especially Dubai, is a key leisure destination for Saudis. Flights to and from the UAE, alongside those to Ethiopia and Vietnam, were suspended last Sunday.

Saudi citizens and residents returning from these countries will be required to quarantine for 14 days, it added. Citizens would be banned "from travelling directly or indirectly, without obtaining prior permission from... authorities". The decision was taken due to "the spread of a new mutated strain of the (COVID-19) virus", it added, without explicitly mentioning the increasingly globally emergent Delta variant.

Saudi Arabia has also put major limits on the annual hajj pilgrimage. It has officially recorded more than 490,000 cases of coronavirus, including nearly 7,850 deaths.

The oil-rich Gulf state is home to a large expat workforce from Asia, Africa and the Middle East.    (AFP/AP/Reuters/dpa)