LONDON (AP) – Despite growing access to vaccines, January looks gloomy around the world as the coronavirus resurfaces and transforms from Britain to Japan to California, filling hospitals and threatening them again. livelihoods as governments shut down businesses and compete to find solutions.
England returned to closure. Mexico City hospitals have more than ever patients with viruses. Germany on Tuesday reported one of its highest daily death tolls to date. South Africa and Brazil are struggling to find space for the dead. Even the success story of a Thailand pandemic fights an unexpected wave of infections.
And as doctors face or increase the growing number of COVID-19 patients after year-end holiday meetings, more and more countries are reporting cases of a new, more contagious variant that has already scattered all over Britain.
January will be “difficult,” said Dr. Margaret Harris, a spokeswoman for the World Health Organization. “That idea that seems to be‘ Ah, we’re fed up. We want to look at something else. Oh, that doesn’t apply to me ‘… that should go away. It’s really all on the deck. “
Although Britain launched a second vaccine this week and some US states are starting to give the second round of shots, access to inoculations worldwide is very uneven. Supply does not remotely approach the satisfaction of the epic demand needed to defeat an enemy that has already killed more than 1.85 million people.
“We are in a race to prevent infections, bring down cases, protect health systems and save lives as we deploy two highly effective and safe vaccines to high-risk populations,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “It simply came to our notice then. Those are the hard miles. “
England faces a third national blockade that will last at least six weeks, as authorities struggle to curb an increase in COVID-19 infections and relieve hospitals, where some patients wait in ambulances in a car park to access overcrowded wards.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the harsh new stay order in England, which will take effect at midnight on Tuesday. It will close schools, restaurants and all non-essential shops and will not be reviewed until at least mid-February. Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon imposed a closure that began on Tuesday.
The two leaders said restrictions are needed to protect the National Health Service amid the emergence of the new variant that has caused daily infections, hospitalizations and deaths to increase.
The NHS “is probably experiencing the most difficult time in memory,” said Siva Anandaciva, chief analyst at the King’s Fund think tank.
Elsewhere in Europe, Italy and Germany expanded Christmas closures, Spain restricted travel and Denmark reduced the number of people who can gather in public from 10 to five. France is likely to announce tougher measures on Thursday and Ukraine to close schools and restaurants from Friday.
In Latin America, some warn that the worst is yet to come.
“The momentum we are experiencing here in Brazil is much more serious than it was months ago,” said Domingos Alves, an adjunct professor at the University of Sao Paulo.
The number of intensive care patients in Brazil reached its highest level since August, just as the country reopened stores and offices after the end-of-year holidays, and the vast country has not yet approved or received any vaccine. Some Brazilian hospitals reinstalled refrigerated containers outside to contain the bodies of COVID-19 victims.
The Mexican capital has more patients with viruses than at any time during the pandemic and is flying in doctors from less affected states. Its beach resorts are gearing up for more cases after thousands of American and European tourists visited during the holidays.
“Probably in the third week of January, we will see the system put more emphasis on the fact that there will be more outpatient cases and cases that need hospitalization,” said Dr. Mauricio Rodriguez of the National Autonomous University of Mexico. He blamed the increased fatigue with social distancing, mixed messages from public figures and Mexicans lowering their guard during the holidays.
Zimbabwe reintroduced a curfew, banned public meetings and suspended the opening of schools indefinitely. In South Africa, which is seeing another variant of the rapid spread of the virus and is the most affected nation on the continent, authorities re-imposed the curfew, banned the sale of liquor and closed most beaches.
South African undertakers are struggling to cope with the rising death toll, state president of the SA National Funeral Association, Muzi Hlengwa, told SABC.
“It’s something you’ve never seen before. … We ran out of coffins, we ran out of space in the funeral home, “he said.” We usually have cremations during the day, but now we have cremations even at night. “
The pandemic even reaches countries that appeared to have the virus under control.
Thailand is facing a wave that has infected thousands of people in recent weeks, blamed for complacency and poor planning. The government is closing large parts of the country, including the capital, Bangkok, and is studying tougher measures.
Japan is preparing to declare a state of emergency this week, tightening border controls and speeding up vaccine approval after a wave of cases around New Year’s Eve.
And holiday worries are not over now that 2021 has arrived.
Pope Francis abandoned an annual infant baptism ritual in the Sistine Chapel linked to Wednesday’s Epiphany celebration. Orthodox Christian countries such as Russia and Greece could suffer more infections after celebrating Christmas on Thursday. And China is closing schools ahead of next month’s lunar New Year holidays, telling migrant workers not to return home and tourists to avoid Beijing.
Vaccinations are slowly beginning in many places. In the United States, where more than 350,000 people have died, some states are struggling to get enough shots and organize vaccines. The Netherlands has received strong criticism for being the last nation in the European Union to start inoculations, which will take place on Wednesday. Australia has no plans to do so until March. And most of the poorest countries fall even further behind.
Opposition politician Geert Wilders called the Dutch government “the fool of the people of Europe.”
Still, India offers some hope. Its infection rate falls significantly from the peak of September and the country begins one of the largest inoculation programs in the world, with the aim of vaccinating 300 million people in August.
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PA journalists from around the world contributed.
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