Russia fights COVID as Asia-Pacific tightens restrictions on Coronavirus pandemic News

Moscow, the Russian capital, has recorded the highest death rate of coronavirus per day and Indonesia has the highest number of cases per day as countries across the Asia-Pacific region have extended or reinstated restrictions to tackle new waves of COVID-19 infections.

The pandemic has now killed about four million people worldwide. Vaccination has reduced the number of infections in many rich countries, but the Delta variant of the virus remains a concern.

Delta has been in 85 countries since Sunday and is the most contagious of the COVID-19 strains identified so far, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Still, much of Europe and the United States is shrinking their daily lives while vaccination programs are bearing fruit, despite Russia facing a third deadly wave.

Russia cases are on the rise

Moscow recorded 144 COVID-19 deaths on Sunday in 24 hours, a day after St. Petersburg set the previous high.

Six matches of the 2020 Euro Cup have been scheduled in St. Petersburg and the quarter-finals will be played on Friday, with the number of spectators halved but more than 26,000 people.

Russia has generally seen an outbreak of new infections since mid-June caused by the Delta variant.

The rise came as Moscow officials are pushing for Russian vaccine-skeptical insulators, after removing most of the anti-virus restrictions at the end of last year.

“One thing is needed to stop the pandemic: large-scale vaccines. No one has come up with another solution, ”Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Saturday.

The Delta variant is also increasing fresh outbreaks in Southeast Asia and Australia where authorities have brought back or extended restrictions.

More than five million Sydney residents endured their first full day of a two-week lockdown on Sunday.

Restaurants, bars and cafes were shuttered and stay-at-home orders were issued, leaving the city centre virtually deserted.

“Given how contagious this strain of the virus is, we do anticipate that in the next few days case numbers are likely to increase even beyond what we have seen today,” New South Wales state Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.

More than 110 COVID-19 cases have been reported in Sydney since a driver for an international flight crew tested positive in mid-June for the Delta variant.

The surge has been a shock for a place that had returned to relative normality after months with few local cases.

“The Northern Territory is now facing its biggest threat since the COVID crisis began,” Northern Territory Chief Minister Michael Gunner said.

Restrictions reimposed

Similar spikes in infections have been seen across Southeast Asia, with Indonesia setting a new daily infection record of more than 21,000.

Hospitals are flooded with patients in the capital Jakarta and other COVID-19 hotspots across the region’s hardest-hit nation.

Thailand will from Monday reimpose restrictions on restaurants, construction sites and gatherings in the capital Bangkok.

The country’s latest wave began in April when a cluster was found in upscale Bangkok clubs.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha has said he plans to fully reopen the country by October, but this would require hitting a target of vaccinating 50 million Thais in four months.

Thailand’s latest wave began in April when a cluster was found in Bangkok [Rungroj Yongrit/EPA]

Pravit Rojanaphruk newspaper reporter said vaccines have been spread in Thailand due to delays.

“Only about 10 percent of the population received the first dose, and only four percent received the second dose,” he told Al Jazeera.

In neighboring Malaysia, the prime minister announced that he would continue with the state-wide blockade for about a month now, and did not give a date for the removal of the restrictions.

His government had previously said that strict honesty would be alleviated in phases, as long as the decline in infections, the use of the intensive care bed and the rise in vaccination rates.

Bangladesh also said it would impose a new one national blockade from Monday, offices are closed for a week and only doctor-related transportation is allowed.

The announcement prompted tens of thousands of migrant workers to leave the capital, Dhaka, where the blockade will cut off sources of income.

People walk around with their belongings before boarding a ferry as authorities ordered a new shutdown to contain the spread of the Bangladeshi coronavirus [Munir Uz Zaman/AFP]

The Ministry of Health reported that infections declined in May, but began to rise again this month, with more than 5,000 new cases and 119 deaths from the pandemic on Sunday.

Dr. Mushtuq Husain, a medical adviser to the Bangladeshi government, said COVID-19 is increasing the number of infections and deaths in the country.

He told Al Jazeera: “Everything will be closed [from July 1]so a transition string will be placed. In two weeks, the number of cases is expected to fall and the number of deaths is expected to fall in three weeks. “

Meanwhile, AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford began new trials on Sunday to test a modified vaccine against the Beta variant that originated in South Africa.

The new vaccine known as AZD2816 was designed using the same base as the main AstraZeneca shot, but with minor genetic alterations in the grain protein based on the Beta variant.