No deaths on the first day in the UK Severe situation in Southeast Asia

The global situation of the new crown epidemic appears to be changing significantly, but very unevenly. The UK saw no deaths within 24 hours for the first time since July 30 of last year. And Israel has greatly eased health restrictions, and the United States and Russia have reopened civil aviation. But in Southeast Asian countries, the situation has become serious.

On Tuesday, the leaders of the World Health Organization, the World Trade Organization, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund joined forces in an article in the Washington Post to call for global action to beat the new pandemic once and for all, and most importantly, to ensure equitable distribution of vaccines.

In response, the WHO on Tuesday approved the emergency use of the Chinese-made Kexing vaccine. According to materials released by the organization, the Kexing vaccine is 52 percent effective, but can prevent 100 percent of serious illnesses. This is the second Chinese vaccine approved by the organization, following the approval of the Chinese national vaccine for emergency use. The Kexing vaccine could thus be included in the WHO’s Joint Vaccine Procurement Programme (JVP), making it available to more countries, especially poor ones.

But global joint action is not easy, as the Washington Post published a number of international organizations calling on global leaders to act together, while the EU, UK and Japan expressed reservations at the World Trade Organization about the future or cancellation of patents on vaccine inventions.

The BRICS apparently disagree, with Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa on Tuesday repeating their emphasis on abolishing patents on vaccine inventions to help poor countries fight the new pandemic more effectively.

Good news from the northern hemisphere

The best news on Tuesday came from London, where health authorities announced that within the last 24 hours, the country had recorded zero deaths from the new coronavirus! Of course, while this number is encouraging, the UK, which has the highest number of deaths from New Coronavirus in Europe, found 3,165 confirmed cases on the same day, an increase from last week. In particular, the mutated virus originating in India worried the British authorities to the extent that a moratorium on easing the ban was announced for most of Scotland.

However, a wave of optimism spread in Israel, which on Tuesday further eased health restrictions after the completion of mass vaccinations, such as no longer having to show a vaccination passport to go to restaurants, although foreign travelers to Israel are still subject to strict controls.

From Friday to Monday, U.S. airports experienced their busiest days since March 2020. Nearly 2 million passengers per day. Russia also announced the resumption of Russia-UK and several international routes that were disrupted by the outbreak.

The European Union on Tuesday launched a technology platform common to member states’ airports designed to quickly verify “health passports. From July 1, travel within EU member states will become more fluid. The 27-nation document, which is recognized in both paper and digital form, will prove that passengers have been vaccinated, or have been immunized against a virus, or have a recent negative test.

Southeast Asia is worrying

Contrary to the aforementioned situation, there is a worrying situation in many Southeast Asian countries. From Thailand to Vietnam, the number of confirmed cases has increased dramatically in recent weeks. The first wave of the outbreak was mild in this region, and many of these countries were able to halt the outbreak quickly by closing their borders and imposing strict city closures.

Only 2,800 people have died in Malaysia since the global outbreak, but 40 percent of those deaths occurred in May. A total of 570,000 people have been diagnosed, but daily infection figures have broken records in recent weeks. The country announced a tough two-week closure on Tuesday. The surge in infections is partly due to a mutated virus and partly due to neglected hygiene measures after Ramadan.

Meanwhile, in India, thousands of doctors wearing black armbands are demanding the arrest of a very popular preacher who has declared that yoga can stop the new coronavirus, claiming that it is doctors who are killing thousands of patients.

Globally, according to official data, the New Coronavirus has now killed 3.55 million people. The most deaths from the new coronavirus are in the United States and Brazil, with 594,568 in the former and 462,791 in the latter.