On Saturday, about 139.99 million people worldwide, excluding mainland China, were confirmed to have been infected with the Chinese Communist virus, with about 3 million deaths. In Ontario, Canada, the epidemic reached a new high, and authorities extended and expanded the stay-at-home order. The outbreak in India has worsened again, with more than 230,000 people becoming infected daily, and the “variant virus” may be the main cause.
Ontario, home to 38 percent of Canada’s population, is dealing with a fierce third wave of the outbreak, reporting a new high of 4,812 confirmed cases on Friday.
On Friday, Ontario extended its expanded homebound order, giving police new powers to question and stop people who leave their homes. It also announced restrictions on non-essential travel to neighbouring provinces starting Monday, including non-essential buildings such as shopping malls, hotels and office buildings will be closed.
In recent weeks, authorities have closed schools, restaurants, restricted people from shopping at brick-and-mortar stores and canceled non-essential surgeries, fearing a surge in hospital admissions that could overwhelm hospitals.
People’s lives came to a halt on Saturday when a weekend curfew was imposed in India’s capital, New Delhi.
In the past 24 hours, India notified 234,692 confirmed cases, breaking another record. For the third consecutive day, India has added more than 200,000 new cases in a single day, and the total cumulative number of cases now exceeds 14.52 million. The number of deaths rose by 1,341 to a cumulative total of 175,649.
Public health experts are concerned that the new variant of the virus, “B.1.617,” originally identified in India, has two mutations that may have contributed to the deadly new outbreak.
Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt said Saturday (April 17) that the death of a 48-year-old woman may be linked to the vaccination and that authorities will continue to review the vaccine.
Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt: “The government will ask the Australian Immunisation Technical Advisory Group to ensure that the safety and effectiveness of all vaccines, is kept under review.”
Australia notified Friday of the first case of death from blood clots after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine. To date, there have been three cases of rare blood clots in Australia.
Currently, Australia has a cumulative total of 29,505 confirmed cases and 910 deaths nationwide.
In Japan, there were 4,511 new confirmed cases and 46 new deaths on Friday.
International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach will visit Japan in May and is expected to reiterate his support for Japan to safely host the Tokyo Olympics.
With less than 100 days to go before Japan hosts the Games, authorities on Friday extended the “semi-emergency” restrictions to 10 regions in light of the rapid spread of the fourth wave of the outbreak.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said at a joint press conference with President Joe Biden on Friday that Japan is determined to make the Olympics a success, which Biden supported.
The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that China is planning to license a Chinese Communist virus vaccine developed by German biotech by July.
If approved, it would be the first foreign vaccine to receive Chinese approval.
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