Coronavirus: Bangkok halts dine-in services; Sydney begins two-week lockdown
- Thai construction sites were also ordered to shut and workers’ quarters in Bangkok and nine other provinces were sealed off for 30 days
- Elsewhere, Sydney braces for a rise in cases even as it begins a lockdown, while Japan will ask athletes from India and other nations to take more Covid-19 tests
Construction sites were also ordered to shut and workers’ quarters in Bangkok and nine other provinces were sealed off.
The country reported 3,995 confirmed cases and 42 casualties in the last 24 hours. The numbers have doubled recently, and health officials blame a lack of cooperation from migrant workers employed in construction and in factories.
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“Camps were closed but workers sneaked out to markets and communities, and spread the disease,” Apisamai Srirangson, spokesperson for the Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration, said on Friday.
She said that “bubble and seal” disease control measures had proved successful within 28 days in handling clusters in Samut Sakhon province, south of Bangkok, but not in the capital.
The situation has become critical as the number of hospital beds in Bangkok for seriously ill Covid-19 patients runs short despite the creation of several field hospitals.
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Thailand plans to reopen Phuket to vaccinated tourists in July
Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said on Friday that a proposal for a seven-day curfew for all of Bangkok has been rejected for the time being.
Under the new restrictions, construction workers will be isolated in camps in Bangkok and five neighbouring provinces, and in the country’s four southernmost provinces, all virus hotspots.
Department stores and malls in Bangkok can stay open until 9pm, but food and drinks in restaurants is allowed only for takeaway. Seminars, meetings and parties are cancelled. If more clusters are discovered, the governor can seal off those communities.
Travellers from the 10 provinces, including Bangkok, will be isolated and quarantined.
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Authorities, meanwhile, are planning to go ahead with a plan to allow fully vaccinated foreign tourists to visit the southern resort island of Phuket without undergoing a 14-day quarantine that is otherwise mandatory.
Thailand is anxious to begin the recovery of its lucrative tourism industry, which has been devastated by the pandemic and consequent travel restrictions.
Thailand has administered around 8.66 million vaccine doses, with around 9 per cent of its 69 million people receiving at least one shot. Critics charge that Prayuth’s government failed to secure timely and adequate vaccine supplies.
He says Thailand now has agreements that will ensure enough vaccine for about 70 per cent of its population by the end of the year.
Sydney begins lockdown as Delta variant spreads
“Given how contagious this strain of the virus is, we do anticipate that in the next few days, case numbers are likely to increase beyond what we have seen today,” New South Wales state Premier Gladys Berejiklian told a news briefing in Sydney.
Australia has been more successful in managing the pandemic than many other advanced economies through swift border closures, social distancing rules and high compliance, reporting just over 30,450 cases and 910 coronavirus-related deaths.
But the country has confronted an increasing number of small outbreaks in recent months. These have been contained so far through speedy contact tracing, isolation of thousands of people at a time or snap hard lockdowns.
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Thirty new infections reported by Sydney on Sunday took the number of Delta variant cases linked to a cluster in the Bondi neighbourhood to 110. Two other cases were under investigation.
The rapid increase in cases and exposure sites persuaded the state government to reluctantly impose a lockdown, under which people can only leave home for essential shopping, work, education, exercise and medical care.
Contact tracers were racing to get in touch with airline passengers after discovering that an attendant on several flights across the country had become infected in Sydney.
Northern Territory, home to some of Australia’s most famous ancient Aboriginal culture and a strong mining sector, which saw its first coronavirus case in months on Saturday, reported four locally acquired infections, unrelated to the Sydney outbreak.
The Delta variant infections started with a worker at a gold mine owned by Newmont Corp, now in lockdown.
As authorities have not been able to track down all close contacts of the miner, an immediate 48-hour hard lockdown on Darwin and some surroundings was imposed.
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“I would rather regret us going too hard, too early than go too easy and risk it all,” Chief Minister Michael Gunner said at a news briefing.
Neighbouring Queensland reported on Sunday two locally acquired Covid-19 cases, with authorities saying both infections were of the Alpha variant, first detected in Britain in September last year.
Western Australia reported one community case, that state authorities suspected was the Delta variant.
Modi urges Indians to get vaccinated
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged people on Sunday to overcome their hesitancy and get Covid-19 vaccinations as soon as possible, as concerns grow about the highly infectious Delta variant being detected in some states.
After a fall in infections from May’s daily peak of 400,000, India has redoubled its efforts to inoculate the country’s 940 million adults amid supply constraints and fears of a third wave of pandemic.
“Get vaccinated,” Modi said in his monthly radio address, urging the public to adhere to social distancing and wear masks. “That is a good safety shield. Think about that.”
India must administer 10 million doses a day to achieve its aim of inoculating all adults by December, experts say. But the country has fully vaccinated fewer than 6 per cent with two doses.
Interacting with some villagers in a virtual meeting, Modi asked community leaders to foster awareness among villagers about the benefits of vaccination and curb rumours about ill effects.
He said this month the government would buy 75 per cent of all vaccines from drug makers and distribute them for free to states, which along with private hospitals had been buying shots for people aged 18 to 45.
India’s daily Covid-19 infections rose by 50,040, while the death toll rose by 1,258, including 511 deaths in the state of Maharashtra, health ministry data showed.
The country has scaled back its estimate of vaccine supplies to 1.35 billion doses between August and December from an earlier estimate of nearly 2 billion doses, according to an affidavit filed with the Supreme Court on Saturday.
Japan to ask athletes from India, other nations for more Covid-19 tests
Japan plans to ask Olympic athletes from India and five other countries hit hard by the highly infectious Delta variant of the coronavirus to have daily virus tests for seven days before leaving for the Games, a Japanese newspaper said on Sunday.
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The Japanese government aims to put the new rule, which will be applied to athletes from India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, into effect on July 1, the Yomiuri newspaper reported, without citing sources.
Olympics Minister Tamayo Marukawa said on Friday a member of the Ugandan Olympic team who tested positive for the coronavirus upon arrival had the Delta variant, adding to concern the Games may trigger a new wave of infections.
New Zealand extends virus alert level in capital
New Zealand will extend the coronavirus alert level in Wellington for two days, as authorities on Sunday said there was still a risk from an Australian tourist who tested positive for Covid-19 after visiting the city last weekend.
Wellington, which moved to Alert Level 2 on Wednesday, will now remain at that level until Tuesday.
“It’s clear that we are not out of the woods yet,” Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins told a news briefing. “More testing and more results are required in order for us to feel confident in making a decision to lower alert levels.”
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The measure means social distancing rules will be in place across the city, but offices, schools and businesses may remain open.
New Zealand halted quarantine-free travel from Australia on Saturday for three days, saying there were too many cases and outbreaks.
“The three-day pause will give us time to look at whether we need to impose additional measures, as well as give us time to further understand the situation in Australia,” Hipkins said.
Reporting by AFP, Reuters, Bloomberg
