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World

South Korea considers reimposing restrictions as COVID-19 cases surge

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  • S.Korea reports 1,212 new daily cases
  • Movement restrictions extended in Seoul
  • Officials warn tougher curbs could be reinstated
  • Delta variant being fuelled by young and unvaccinated

SEOUL, July 7 (Reuters) – South Korea reported its second highest number of daily new COVID-19 cases ever on Wednesday, just days after it began easing social distancing restrictions in some parts of the country, buoyed by an accelerated vaccine rollout.

With the majority of the 1,212 new cases coming from densely populated Seoul, officials extended movement curbs in the capital and surrounding regions for at least another week and are considering pushing restrictions back up to the highest level.

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said the country’s fourth wave of the virus, fuelled by the highly contagious Delta variant, was spreading rapidly, especially among unvaccinated people in their 20s and 30s.

Kim urged people in that demographic to get tested preemptively “to protect not just yourself, but everyone in your family, friends, school and the country.”

“If the situation is not under control after monitoring for two to three days, it might leave us with no choice but to impose the strictest of all social distancing levels,” Kim said.

President Moon Jae-in ordered the military be mobilized to aid wider contact tracing and urged authorities to install additional testing centres in densely populated areas, presidential spokeswoman Park Kyung-mee told reporters on Wednesday.

The daily caseload was the worst since Dec. 25, when South Korea was experiencing a third wave of the pandemic.

Officials had been moving in recent weeks toward a full reopening of the country. Movement restrictions in much of the country were eased on July 1, although officials in greater Seoul held off as they watched case numbers beginning to creep up again. read more

Health experts said the relaxation of measures that restricted business operating hours and social gatherings outside of Seoul, along with the knowledge that further easings would be coming, led to public complacency, particularly in socially mobile younger people in the capital.

Around 85% of the new locally transmitted cases were in the Seoul metropolitan area, which is home to more than half of the country’s population.

“While the infection rate has dropped relatively in the people aged over 60 on the back of inoculation drive, the transmission continues in the unvaccinated group,” said Kim Tark, associate professor of infectious disease at Soonchunhyang University Bucheon Hospital.

“It’s a reminder to speed up vaccination for people under 60.”

VACCINES ARRIVE

Just 10% of the country’s population of 52 million people have been fully vaccinated, while 30% have received at least one shot, the majority of them aged over 60.

The Korean Medical Association urged the government to refrain from any hasty decisions to ease social distancing policies with vaccinations at low levels.

The country received 700,000 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine (PFE.N), (22UAy.DE) from Israel on Wednesday under a swap arrangement, along with a separate shipment of 627,000 directly purchased doses. read more

Some of the new supply will be sent to greater Seoul for inoculation programmes due to start on July 13, authorities said.

Improved vaccination levels have helped lower South Korea’s mortality rate to 1.25% and the number of severe cases to 155 as of Wednesday, down significantly from 1.41% and 311 cases reported during the previous peak in late December.

The country has reported a total of 162,753 infections and 2,033 deaths during the pandemic.

Reporting by Sangmi Cha; Editing by Miyoung Kim and Jane Wardell

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Health

EXCLUSIVE S.Korea in talks with mRNA vaccine makers to make up to 1 bln doses -govt official

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South Korean senior citizens receive their first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine at a vaccination centre in Seoul, South Korea April 1, 2021. Chung Sung-Jun/Pool via REUTERS

SEOUL, July 5 (Reuters) – South Korea is in talks with mRNA vaccine makers including Pfizer (PFE.N) and Moderna (MRNA.O) to produce COVID-19 shots in the country and is ready to offer the capacity to make up to 1 billion doses immediately, a senior government official said.

The plan, if agreed, would help ease tight global supply of COVID-19 vaccines, particularly in Asia which lags North America and Europe in vaccine rollouts, and put South Korea a step closer to its ambition to become a major vaccine manufacturing centre.

South Korea already has deals to locally produce three coronavirus vaccines developed by AstraZeneca (AZN.L)/Oxford University, Novavax (NVAX.O), and Russia. It also has a vaccine bottling and packaging deal with Moderna.

“We’ve been holding frequent talks with big pharmaceutical companies to produce mRNA vaccines,” Lee Kang-ho, director general for the global vaccine hub committee under South Korea’s health ministry, told Reuters in an interview.

“There are only a few mRNA vaccine developers – Pfizer, Moderna, CureVac and BioNTech. Thus there’s a limit to how much they can produce to meet global demand… South Korea is keen to help by offering its facilities and skilled human resources,” Lee said.

It’s not immediately clear how advanced these talks are and whether and when a deal will be agreed.

BioNTech (22UAy.DE) declined to comment, Moderna and CureVac (5CV.DE) did not reply to Reuters’ requests for comments.

A Pfizer spokesperson said the company is making efforts to enhance its COVID-19 vaccine supply chain but added “we do not have anything specific to announce at this time.”

Lee declined to name local vaccine makers which have the capacity to produce mRNA vaccines immediately, but a government source said they include Hanmi Pharmaceuticals Co Ltd (128940.KS) and Quratis Co Ltd.

Hanmi confirmed that it has a big capacity reserved for Sanofi’s (SASY.PA) diabetes drug and it can be used for COVID-19 vaccine production as the Sanofi project has stalled.

“We happen to have this facility available right now because our clinical trial (with Sanofi) was discontinued in the middle of last year,” Kim Soo-jin, senior vice president of Hanmi, told Reuters.

“It’s very timely that we have a fully ready, GMP, state-of-the-art facility available,” she said, referring to good manufacturing practice.

Quratis, which makes a tuberculosis vaccine, said its new factory built last year can now be used for mRNA vaccine production.

Shares in Hanmi erased early losses and rose nearly 4% on Monday after the Reuters report.

COLLABORATION WITH WHO

South Korea has stepped up its effort to produce more vaccines since U.S. President Joe Biden in May agreed with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on a comprehensive partnership on COVID-19 vaccines. read more

Lee said his team is having frequent video conference calls with the vaccine makers and the World Health Organization (WHO).

WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic told Reuters the organisation is “talking with South Korea and other countries,” but did not elaborate.

The WHO said last month it will set up a hub in South Africa to manufacture mRNA vaccines within 9-12 months that will give companies from poor and middle-income countries the know-how and licenses to produce COVID-19 vaccines. read more

Lee said mRNA vaccine makers may be reluctant to share their technology, but they can take advantage of South Korea’s raw material suppliers to address a global shortage of such ingredients as lipids, nucleotides and capping reagents.

“They’re capable of manufacturing and developing such raw materials to help vaccine makers… and the South Korean government is committed to provide all necessary support including financial and administrative aid.”

Lee said the country also has a capacity for at least another 500 million doses of fill-and-finish vaccines apart from the deal Moderna announced with Samsung BioLogics (207940.KS) in May.

Reporting by Sangmi Cha in Seoul; Additional reporting by Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva, Michael Erman in New York and Ludwig Burger in Frankfurt; Editing by Miyoung Kim and Raju Gopalakrishnan

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World

Overseas tourists finally roam free on Thai island of Phuket

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PHUKET, Thailand, July 3 (Reuters) – Newly arrived overseas tourists on Thailand’s island of Phuket were able to roam free without quarantine on Friday for the first time in more than a year, as Thailand launched a special programme for vaccinated visitors to the island.

Tourists swam in hotel pools and walked along Phuket’s postcard-perfect beaches after receiving a COVID-19 test result within 24 hours of arrival.

“This is the perfect place to just relax and clean our minds, our heads, after a long time,” said Sigal Baram, lying by the pool, who was visiting from Israel with her husband and friends. The group was among the first to arrive in the country.

The ‘Phuket Sandbox’ initiative allows free movement on the island for fully vaccinated tourists, with no quarantine required, although masks are required in most public places.

While five-star hotels and restaurants welcomed back tourists, local street vendors said they were not benefiting from the plan, because tourists frequent mostly large hotels.

The Kalmar family, tourists from Israel, enjoy in a pool as Phuket reopens to overseas tourists, allowing foreigners fully vaccinated against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) to visit the resort island without quarantine, in Phuket, Thailand July 2, 2021. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

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“There is no way street vendors will get the money from overseas tourists… it will go to hotels and restaurants instead,” said Yupin Papor, a massage therapist who lost her job during the pandemic and became a street vendor selling food on the beach.

Thailand lost about $50 billion in tourism revenue last year, when foreign arrivals plunged 83%.

Phuket was hit particularly hard by job losses and business closures.

“I see the shops closed. It’s a big difference to me from before,” said Omar Alraeesi from United Arab Emirates, who comes to Phuket every year.

Millions of people visited Phuket every year before the pandemic and the government and tourism industry hope the reopening will help save its battered economy.

Additional reporting by Jorge Silva and Artorn Pookasook, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien

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World

India’s Bharat Biotech says vaccine 93.4% effective against severe COVID-19

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July 3 (Reuters) – Phase-III trials of a vaccine made by India’s Bharat Biotech showed it was 93.4% effective against severe symptomatic COVID-19, the firm said on Saturday, a finding that could boost people’s acceptance of Covaxin.

The data demonstrated 65.2% protection against the Delta variant, first identified in India, that led to a surge in infections in April and May, and the world’s highest daily death tolls.

India’s homegrown vaccine also showed effectiveness of 77.8% against symptomatic COVID-19 in the trial.

Last month, vaccine maker AstraZeneca Plc (AZN.L) also said its vaccine was effective against the Delta and Kappa variants, citing a study.

India has been administering the AstraZeneca vaccine, made domestically by the Serum Institute of India, which said last month it planned to step up monthly production from July, to nearly 100 million doses.

Bharat Biotech now estimates it will make 23 million doses a month.

The Phase-III data came as Ocugen Inc (OCGN.O), which is co-developing Covaxin with Bharat Biotech for the U.S. market, prepares to file a request for full U.S. approval.

India, with a tally of 30.45 million infections, is the second most affected nation after the United States, with 33 million. The south Asian nation’s death toll has now crossed 400,000.

Reporting by Maria Ponnezhath in Bengaluru; Editing by Clarence Fernandez

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World

Australia to halve arrivals from overseas, offers COVID-19 exit roadmap

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  • Australia to cut arrivals from overseas to 3,000 a week
  • NSW reports 31 new cases, biggest daily rise for 2021
  • Brisbane lockdown extended for another day

SYDNEY, July 2 (Reuters) – Australia will halve the number of arrivals from overseas as its coronavirus hotel quarantine system creaks under pressure from outbreaks of the highly transmissible Delta variant, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Friday.

The new restrictions on travel come as Australia fights outbreaks of the Delta variant simultaneously in three state capital cities, meaning nearly half of all Australians are currently under strict orders to stay at home. Most recent outbreaks have been traced to leaks in hotel quarantine.

Australia shut its international borders early last year largely to non-citizens. Permanent residents and returning Australian travellers, except those exiting New Zealand, have to quarantine in hotels for two weeks at their own expense.

Morrison said Australia will now only accept about 3,000 travellers from overseas per week. Lowering the cap will be finalised by July 14, he said, though some states can move earlier.

Speaking after a meeting of the country’s national cabinet, Morrison also said a four-phase plan had been agreed to reopen Australia after lockdowns triggered by the latest outbreaks. He said this would be based on achieving vaccination levels aimed at suppressing COVID-19 to a stage where it would be managed like other infectious diseases like the flu.

“Our mind-set on managing COVID-19 has to change once you move from pre-vaccination to post-vaccination. That’s the deal for Australians,” Morrison told reporters in Canberra.

The four-phased approach could give fully vaccinated people more freedoms, he said, including shorter quarantine period after arriving from overseas.

New South Wales (NSW) capital Sydney, Australia’s largest city and home to a fifth of the country’s 25 million population, is half-way through a two-week lockdown imposed in a bid to contain the Delta variant.

On Friday it warned residents to brace for an increase in COVID-19 infections over the next few days as it reported the biggest daily rise in locally acquired cases recorded so far this year.

Thirty-one local cases were reported in NSW on Friday, so far the biggest daily rise in cases during the latest outbreak and for 2021. Total infections have grown to more than 200 since the first case was detected more than two weeks ago.

“We are anticipating there could be an increase in numbers over the next few days, then hopefully early next week we should see the impact of the lockdown really turning and having a positive impact,” NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian told reporters.

Queensland officials said lockdown rules will be eased in parts of Queensland from Friday, although they have been extended in state capital Brisbane and a neighbouring region for another day after three new cases were reported.

Lockdown in Darwin, the Northern Territory capital, will also be lifted on Friday. Restrictions in Perth will be reviewed later in the day.

Lockdowns, swift contact tracing and tough social distancing rules have helped Australia to suppress prior outbreaks, but the fast-moving Delta strain has alarmed authorities amid a sluggish nationwide vaccination drive.

The rollout, mired in confusion and frustration due to frequent changes in medical advice for the AstraZeneca (AZN.L) vaccine, has become a flashpoint in relations between the federal government and state leaders. read more

Reporting by Renju Jose; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell

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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

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Business

CureVac COVID-19 vaccine records only 48% efficacy in final trial readout

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A dose of CureVac vaccine or a placebo is seen during a study by the German biotech firm CureVac as part of a testing for a new vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Brussels, Belgium March 2, 2021. REUTERS/Yves Herman

June 30 (Reuters) – CureVac (5CV.DE) said its COVID-19 vaccine was 48% effective in the final analysis of its pivotal mass trial, only marginally better than the 47% reported after an initial read-out two weeks ago.

The German biotech firm said that efficacy, measured by preventing symptomatic disease, was slightly better at 53% when excluding trial participants older than 60 years, an age group that is by far the most severely affected.

CureVac said on June 16 its COVID-19 vaccine, known as CVnCoV, proved only 47% effective in an initial trial read-out and that new variants had proved a headwind, denting investor confidence in its ability to take on rival shots.

That wiped billions of euros from its market value.

Wednesday’s news sent U.S.-listed shares of the company 10.2% lower to $66 after the bell.

Late-stage trials of BioNTech/Pfizer (22UAy.DE), (PFE.N) and Moderna (MRNA.O) vaccines, which like CureVac’s are based on mRNA technology, had efficacy rates of well above 90% across all age groups but took place when the original version of the coronavirus was dominant.

Data on their products have, however, so far suggested only somewhat weaker protection against new variants.

The CureVac study, which involved about 40,000 adult volunteers in Europe and Latin America, showed that efficacy was 77% in the age group below 60 years of age when considering only moderate to severe symptoms and excluding mild cases.

CureVac said it had sent the data to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) as part of an ongoing dialogue with the EU drugs regulator.

CureVac previously said that the regulatory hurdle was 50% efficacy in principle but that various other considerations would come into play.

“In this final analysis, CVnCoV demonstrates a strong public health value in fully protecting study participants in the age group of 18 to 60 against hospitalization and death and 77% against moderate and severe disease – an efficacy profile, which we believe will be an important contribution to help manage the COVID-19 pandemic and the dynamic variant spread,” said Chief Executive Officer Franz-Werner Haas.

CureVac had registered 228 infections overall for the final analysis, after 134 cases for the interim analysis.

Public health representatives across the globe are pushing for a fast deployment of available vaccines to counter highly contagious mutations of COVID-19 such as the Delta variant that first emerged in India.

The EMA has said it would not impose a 50% efficacy threshold for vaccines and that full trial data was necessary for it to make a sound assessment on the benefits and risks of a shot. read more

Under CureVac’s only major supply deal for the product tested in the trial, the European Union secured up to 405 million doses of the vaccine in November, of which 180 million are optional.

In a bet on CureVac’s technology, Britain placed a conditional 50 million dose order in February on yet-to-be-developed vaccines that build on the product tested in the trial. read more

CureVac had lined up a network of manufacturing partners including Celonic Group of Switzerland, Novartis (NOVN.S), Bayer (BAYGn.DE), Fareva, Wacker (WCHG.DE) and Rentschler Biopharma SE.

($1 = 0.8377 euros)

Reporting by Ludwig Burger, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien

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World

Brazil to suspend Indian COVID-19 vaccine deal as graft claims probed

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RIO DE JANEIRO, June 29 (Reuters) – Brazil will suspend a $324-million contract for COVID-19 vaccine from India that has mired President Jair Bolsonaro in accusations of irregularities, the health minister said on Tuesday, following guidance by the federal comptroller, the CGU.

The deal to buy 20 million doses of Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin shot has become a headache for Bolsonaro after whistleblowers went public with alleged irregularities. One health ministry official said he alerted the president about his concerns.

Bolsonaro, whose popularity has faded as Brazil’s COVID-19 death toll climbed past 500,000, has denied any wrongdoing, saying on Monday he was not aware of any irregularities.

But thorny questions persist, and may pose problems for him ahead of next year’s presidential vote.

Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga told a news conference his team would investigate the accusations during the suspension.

“According to the preliminary analysis of the CGU, there are no irregularities in the contract but, for compliance, the health ministry chose to suspend the contract,” the ministry said in a statement.

CNN Brasil had earlier reported that the ministry had decided to cancel the contract.

Brazilian federal prosecutors have opened an investigation, citing comparatively high prices of about $15 a dose, quick talks and pending regulatory approvals as red flags.

In a statement, Bharat Biotech said it had followed a “step-by-step” approach for the regulatory approval and supply contract of its vaccine in Brazil, and had not received advance payments from the health ministry.

It added that the pricing of Covaxin had been set between $15 and $20 a dose for supplies to governments outside India.

The deal is also being probed by a Senate panel investigating Brazil’s handling of the pandemic.

One leading opposition senator on the panel, Randolfe Rodrigues, filed a formal criminal complaint against Bolsonaro with the Supreme Court on Monday.

He asked the court to investigate why Bolsonaro “did not take any action after being notified of the existence of a giant corruption scheme in the Health Ministry.”

($1=4.9403 reais)

Reporting by Gabriel Stargardter and Pedro Fonseca; Additional reporting by Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Bill Berkrot and Clarence Fernandez

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World

Twitter faces three police cases amid growing challenges in India

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LUCKNOW, India, June 29 (Reuters) – Police in India have registered three new cases against Twitter Inc(TWTR.N) for allegedly hurting sentiments and promoting child pornography, marking an escalation in the row between the U.S. firm and Indian authorities.

Police in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh have named Twitter India chief Manish Maheshwari in complaints afterthe politically sensitive regions were depicted outside a map of India on its careers website.

Late on Tuesday, police in the capital New Delhi said in a statement they have registered a case against Twitter for “availability of child sexual abuse and child pornographic material” on its platform.

Twitter did not comment on cases related to India’s map. On the New Delhi case, Twitter said it has a zero tolerance policy for child sexual exploitation.

The police cases come as Twitter faces a public relations nightmare and a backlash from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s federal government that has in recent weeks repeatedly criticized it for not complying with a new set of IT rules.

The tussle, coupled with discontent over the regulatory scrutiny of other U.S. tech firms like WhatsApp and Amazon, has upset the business environment in a key growth markets, so much so that some companies are rethinking expansion plans. read more

The latest complaints against Twitter were triggered following an uproar on social media after a map on Twitter’s careers page showed Jammu and Kashmir, claimed by both India and Pakistan, as well as the Buddhist enclave of Ladakh, outside India. As of Tuesday, the map was no longer visible on its site.

The Twitter logo is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., September 28, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

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“This has hurt my sentiments and those of the people of India,” Praveen Bhati, a leader of a hardline Hindu group Bajrang Dal in Uttar Pradesh, said in the complaint which was reviewed by Reuters. He also called it an act of treason.

The child pornography case in New Delhi was registered after India’s National Commission for Protection of Child Rights wrote to police saying it had received a complaint about online threats against a minor girl, and found pornographic material on Twitter, according to a letter written by the rights group to police.

“Investigation has been taken up,” the Delhi police statement said.

The cases are set to amplify Twitter’s troubles in India. Technology minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has criticised Twitter for its failure to abide by the IT rules in recent weeks, which came into effect in May. read more

Companies such as Twitter must now appoint a chief compliance officer, a grievance officer and another executive to liaise with law enforcement and the government on legal requests. LinkedIn job postings show the three positions are open at Twitter.

Non-compliance with those rules means Twitter may no longer enjoy the legal privilege in India that allowed it to not be held liable for user-generated content, lawyers and government sources say. Activists however defend Twitter, saying only courts can arrive at that decision.

Twitter India chief Maheshwari is battling another police case where he has been summoned to answer allegations that include inciting “hate and enmity” between Hindu and Muslim communities in relation to a video that went viral on its platform. A state court last week said no “coercive action” should be taken against Maheshwari in the case. read more

Reporting by Saurabh Sharma and Sankalp Phartiyal; Additional reporting by Abhirup Roy; Editing by Aditya Kalra, Edwina Gibbs and Nick Macfie

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World

Modi appeals to keep Hindu festival symbolic as India’s COVID-19 infections surge

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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday appealed to devotees to keep a key Hindu festival symbolic, amid worries about the spread of COVID-19 infections as the country reported more than 200,000 new cases for a third straight day.

Criticism has mounted over the Indian government’s handling of the health crisis, as religious festivals and election rallies continue despite reports of shortages of hospital beds, oxygen cylinders and vaccination doses. read more

India reported 234,692 COVID-19 infections over the last 24 hours, taking the total number of cases to nearly 14.5 million, second only to the United States.

Deaths from the disease rose by 1,341 to 175,649.

After hundreds of thousands of ascetics and devout Hindus gathered for several days along the banks of the Ganges for a religious festival Kumbh Mela, Modi on Saturday called for restraint, saying on Twitter the festival should now be kept “symbolic”.

Responding to Modi’s appeal, one of the religious leaders Swami Avdheshanand urged devotees to not gather in large numbers. Devout Hindus believe bathing in the holy Ganges absolves people of sins, and during the Kumbh Mela, brings salvation from the cycle of life and death.

Those returning to Mumbai in western Maharashtra state from the Kumbh Mela will have quarantine in hotels, Mumbai’s mayor Kishori Pednekar said. Maharashtra accounts for quarter of India’s coronavirus cases and is the worst hit region.

Experts have warned about the spread of more contagious variants of the disease, especially during large-scale gatherings for religious festivals and political rallies.

On Saturday, Modi was scheduled to hold two rallies in eastern state of West Bengal where state polls are ongoing. In recent weeks, such rallies have attracted thousands of people, few of whom follow COVID-19 safety protocols.

“Stop spreader rallies,” the Times of India said in an editorial on Saturday, adding: “Business as usual is an unaffordable luxury until this virus is conclusively tamed.”

India’s daily COVID-19 vaccinations have slowed from their record high early this month and many state governments have requested more doses.

Federal Health Minister Harsh Vardhan assured states there were no shortages and 11.6 million doses would be made available in a week, adding that 125 million doses have already been administered.

Some state governments in India have raised concerns over hoarding and black marketing of anti-viral drug Remdesivir. read more

Nawab Malik, a minister from Maharashtra, accused Modi’s federal government on Twitter for restricting Remdesivir supplies to the state. A minister in Modi’s cabinet, Mansukh Mandaviya, denied the allegation, saying adequate supplies were being arranged.

After imposing one of the world’s strictest lockdowns for nearly three months last year, India’s government relaxed almost all curbs by the beginning of 2021, although many regions have now introduced localised restrictions.

“This is Narendra Modi’s biggest crisis yet. It is bigger than any security threat, external or internal, or even the economic attrition of 2020,” prominent editor and political commentator Shekhar Gupta wrote in a column on Saturday.

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