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World

South Korea puts Seoul under tightest COVID curbs amid new case records

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People wait in line for a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) test at a testing site which is temporarily set up at a railway station in Seoul, South Korea, July 7, 2021. REUTERS/ Heo Ran

  • 1,316 new cases on Thursday, 80% in metro Seoul area
  • No lockdown, but 2 weeks of top-level curbs start on Monday
  • Businesses, schools, sport, nightlife subject to restrictions
  • Delta variant spreading; hospitalisation, death rates stable

SEOUL, July 9 (Reuters) – From Monday South Korea will for the first time tighten coronavirus curbs to the strictest level possible in Seoul and neighbouring regions, as alarm spreads with new COVID-19 cases setting a second consecutive daily record nationwide.

South Korea, which has so far fared better than many industralised nations in case numbers and deaths, reported 1,316 new COVID-19 infections as of midnight Thursday, up from Wednesday’s previous record of 1,275.

Helped largely by vaccinations of older people, there has yet to be a significant increase in hospitalisations or deaths, with a mortality rate of 1.23% and the number of severe cases at 148 as of Thursday remaining far below levels seen during the previous peak in late December.

But on Thursday a top health official warned the new case numbers may nearly double by the end of July and Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum announced two weeks of tougher curbs – level 4 is the most severe on South Korea’s scale, short of a full lockdown – during a televised government meeting. read more

Experts said the government’s COVID-19 strategy is to avoid the hit to the economy that has been seen in full lockdowns elsewhere.

“The government strategy is to steer away from lockdown fearing negative impact on the economy. Level 4 is the harshest it can get,” said Kim Dong-hyun, former president of Korean Society of Epidemiology.

Under the new curbs, people are advised to stay home as much as possible, schools are recommended to switch to remote learning, social gatherings are restricted to two people after 6.00 p.m. from four earlier in the day, and rallies are banned.

No spectators are allowed to attend sports matches, while hotels can only operate at two-thirds of full capacity. Movies and concerts are not allowed after 10 p.m, and nightclubs and bars are to shut, while restaurants and cafes would be allowed limited seating and only take-out services after 10 p.m.

Employers are advised to increase flexible staffing with 30% of staff working remotely.

500 CASES A DAY IN SEOUL

South Korea’s total COVID-19 infections to date stand at 165,344, with 2,036 deaths. It has only given both shots in the dual vaccination process to just over 10% of its 52 million population, while 30% have received at least one dose, the majority of whom are aged over 60.

The country aims to reach herd immunity before November by inoculating 70% of the public with at least one shot by September.

“Seoul alone saw 500 confirmed cases for the third day,” Prime Minister Kim said during Friday’s government meeting. “Four out of five infections are from the metropolitan Seoul area.”

While the new will be imposed on Monday, Kim also advised the public to refrain from any private gatherings starting Friday.

He also said that during the two-week semi-lockdown the government will suspend a programme introduced earlier this year that allowed mask-free outdoor gatherings for citizens vaccinated with at least one COVID-19 shot.

Of the locally acquired cases, 78% were concentrated in the greater Seoul area, and the detection rate of highly transmissible Delta variant surged nearly three-folds in a week, Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol said in a briefing on Friday.

Kwon did not provide the number of cases believed to be linked to the Delta variant.

President Moon Jae-in on Monday will convene a meeting with top officials of the greater Seoul area to address the measures, presidential spokeswoman Park Kyung-mee told reporters.

Reporting by Sangmi Cha; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Kenneth Maxwell

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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World

Sydney sees worst pandemic day of 2021 two weeks into lockdown

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Commuters wear protective face masks as they enter Central Station following the implementation of new public health regulations from the state of New South Wales, as the city grapples with an outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Sydney, Australia, June 23, 2021. REUTERS/Loren Elliott

  • NSW logs biggest daily rise in cases this year
  • Officials urge residents to remain home
  • PM says most populous state on “shifting sands”

SYDNEY, July 8 (Reuters) – Australia’s New South Wales (NSW) state on Thursday reported its biggest daily rise in locally acquired cases of COVID-19 this year as officials struggle to stamp out a growing cluster of the highly infectious Delta variant.

The spike in cases after two weeks of a hard lockdown in Sydney, Australia’s largest city, raised the prospect of a further extension in restrictions, with officials blaming illegal family visits for a continuing rise in infections.

NSW reported 38 new local cases, up from 27 a day earlier, with 11 of those having spent time in the community while infectious.

Given Australia’s slow vaccine rollout, NSW state Premier Gladys Berejiklian implored residents to limit visits to homes of family and friends, citing the highly transmissible nature of the Delta strain.

“It’s really important for all of us to stay the course and follow the health advice to give us the best chance of getting out of this lockdown in a timely way,” Berejiklian told reporters in Sydney.

Berejiklian said she had no plans to prolong the current lockdown beyond July 16, but warned it would be “an unrealistic assumption” to control the Delta variant amid low vaccination rates and people flouting social distancing rules.

Just over 9% of people in NSW have been fully vaccinated, while about 29% have had a first dose.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the federal government would ensure adequate economic support if the lockdown was extended, saying the state was on “shifting sands” and urged patience.

“I know people are getting tired … getting frustrated. This is a virus we are dealing with, and it tends to set its own rules,” Morrison said during a televised media conference.

A strict stay-at-home order has been in force in Sydney, home to a fifth of the country’s 25 million population, since June 26, restricting people’s movements and limiting gatherings. read more

ELIMINATE VIRUS

The Australian Medical Association (AMA), meanwhile, warned NSW authorities to avoid lifting any lockdown rules before totally suppressing the Delta outbreak.

“There is no alternative to elimination for New South Wales … nowhere in the world has any community been able to live with Delta without very significant levels of vaccination,” AMA President Omar Khorshid said.

The latest infections took Sydney’s total in this outbreak to nearly 400 since the first case was detected more than three weeks ago in a limousine driver who transported overseas airline crew.

Australia has fared much better than many other developed countries in keeping COVID-19 numbers low, with just under 30,900 cases and 910 deaths, however, the country’s slow vaccination rollout has taken some of the shine off this success. read more

Reporting by Renju Jose; Editing by Sam Holmes and Richard Pullin

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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World

Egypt notified that Ethiopia has resumed filling of giant dam

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Ethiopia’s Grand Renaissance Dam is seen as it undergoes construction work on the river Nile in Guba Woreda, Benishangul Gumuz Region, Ethiopia September 26, 2019. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri/File Photo

CAIRO, July 5 (Reuters) – Egypt’s irrigation minister said on Monday he had received official notice from Ethiopia that it had begun filling the reservoir behind its giant hydropower dam, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), for a second year.

Egypt has informed Ethiopia of its categorical rejection of the measure, which it regards as a threat to regional stability, Irrigation Minister Mohamed Abdel Aty said in a statement.

Ethiopia says the dam on its Blue Nile is crucial to its economic development and providing power to its population.

Egypt views the dam as a grave threat to its Nile water supplies, on which it is almost entirely dependent. Sudan, another downstream country, has expressed concern about the safety of the dam and the impact on its own dams and water stations.

The volume of the accumulating water would depend on the amount of seasonal rain that fell in Ethiopia, Egyptian Irrigation Ministry spokesman Mohamed Ghanim told a local TV channel.

“We won’t see any effect now on the Nile. We have a month or a month and a half ahead of us,” he said.

Egypt and Sudan have waged a diplomatic campaign for a legally binding deal over the dam’s operation, but talks have repeatedly stalled.

The diplomatic push intensified ahead of the first filling of the dam with last summer, and again in recent weeks.

The U.N. Security Council is expected to discuss the issue on Thursday, and Abdel Aty had written to the council to inform it of the latest developments, the statement said.

Ethiopia says it is finally exercising its rights over Nile waters long controlled by its downstream neighbours.

Its ambassador to Khartoum said on Sunday that Egypt and Sudan already knew the details of the first three years of the dam’s filling, and that the issue should not be brought before the Security Council as it was not a matter of peace and security.

Reporting by Momen Saeed Atallah, Omar Fahmy and Nafisa Eltahir, Writing by Aidan Lewis; editing by Diane Craft and Sonya Hepinstall

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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World

Germany could ease travel curbs as Delta variant takes over

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People walk past a colonnade on Museum Island during warm temperatures, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Berlin, Germany May 30, 2021. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse

BERLIN, July 1 (Reuters) – Germany expects the Delta variant of COVID-19 to account for up to 80% of infections this month and could ease travel restrictions from countries like Portugal and Britain where it already dominates, its health minister said on Thursday.

Jens Spahn told a news conference that Germany could reduce the current 14-day quarantine requirement that it imposes on travellers from countries with high levels of the Delta variant once it is sure that vaccinated people are protected.

Spahn said the move could happen soon, without specifying.

Germany’s STIKO vaccination commission said later on Thursday that UK studies show that two vaccines doses seem to provide as much protection against the Delta variant as against other COVID-19 variants. read more

Spahn reiterated the importance of speeding up vaccinations, noting that 37% of Germany’s population has now received two shots, while 55% has had a first dose.

About half of German coronavirus cases are currently Delta variant and Spahn said it will dominate later this month.

Germany last week declared Portugal and Russia to be “virus-variant zones”, meaning only German residents can enter the country from those countries and still face a mandatory two-week quarantine even if they are fully vaccinated or test negative.

That had prompted German tourists there to rush home and airlines to cancel flights.

Germany also classifies Britain as such a “virus variant” zone. Chancellor Angela Merkel is due to discuss travel restrictions when she meets British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday.

Spahn suggested these countries could be shifted to a designation as risk areas, meaning people can travel if they are fully vaccinated or have recovered from COVID-19, or be released from quarantine after five days if they test negative.

The European Commission said on Tuesday that Germany should not impose a travel ban on Portugal but limit itself to imposing testing and quarantine requirements to be in line with the European Union approach meant to ease summer travel.

Reporting by Emma Thomasson and Thomas Escritt; Editing by Maria Sheahan and Catherine Evans

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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