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May
Put idle capacity to work now making vaccines, says WTO head
Written by Nur Yasmin
The world cannot act soon enough to put idle manufacturing capacity to work making COVID-19 vaccines to help redress a massive imbalance in global supply, the head of the World Trade Organization said on Wednesday.
WTO director-general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said equitable access to vaccines, diagnostics and treatments was "both the moral and economic issue of our time". The World Health Organization said in April that of 700 million vaccines globally administered, only 0.2% had been in low-income countries.
Okonjo-Iweala told a meeting of the 164-member WTO that those who had ordered more vaccines than they needed must share with others. Members should also address export restrictions and bureaucracy disrupting vital medical supply chains.
She urged governments to work with manufacturers to use production capacity available in countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, South Africa, Indonesia and Senegal that could be turned around in a matter of months.
Production needed to rise from the 5 billion doses produced today to the 10.8 billion being forecast for this year to 15 billion, in particular if booster doses would be needed.
The debate on vaccine inequity at the WTO has centred a proposal by India and South Africa to waive intellectual property rights, at least for the duration of the pandemic.
Ten meetings of WTO members have failed to achieve a breakthrough and Wednesday's online gathering was no different as 42 countries gave their views. However, members also heard that India and South Africa intend to refine their proposal before another discussion later in May.
Okonjo-Iweala said she was happy to hear of the revised text.
"I am firmly convinced that once we can sit down with an actual text in front of us, we shall find a pragmatic way forward," she said, referring to a balance between developing country demands while protecting research and innovation. (Reuters)
May
Mexican president says U.S. Vice President Harris to visit Mexico next month
Written by Nur Yasmin
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Wednesday that U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris would probably visit Mexico on June 8 after mid-term legislative elections are held a couple of days earlier in the country.
Lopez Obrador has yet to meet in person with Harris or U.S. President Joe Biden since the new administration took office.
Biden, who has moved away from predecessor Donald Trump's hard-line immigration approach, gave Harris the job of leading U.S. efforts with Mexico and Central America's Northern Triangle countries - Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala - to stop migrants from crossing into the United States.
"We have to regulate migratory flows and we must address the (root) causes, and this means there must be jobs and hope for the people in southeast of Mexico and Central America," Lopez Obrador said in his daily morning press conference.
Lopez Obrador is due to speak to Harris on Friday.
Immigration has been a politically thorny subject for Biden's administration and Harris has previously stated that she intends to visit the region as part of her plan to use diplomatic efforts to slow migration to the U.S.-Mexican border.
"In just a few days, I will meet virtually with the president of Mexico. And in a month from now. I will visit both countries," Harris said at a conference on Monday. (Reuters)
May
COVID scare at G7 meeting after Indian delegates test positive
Written by Nur Yasmin
The Group of Seven meeting in London was hit by a COVID-19 scare on Wednesday when India's foreign minister and his entire team said they were self-isolating after two delegation members tested positive.
Britain is hosting the three-day foreign ministers' meeting - the first such G7 event in two years - which has been billed as a chance to restart face-to-face diplomacy and a opportunity for the West to show a united front against threats from China and Russia.
India, currently undergoing the world's worst surge in COVID-19 cases, is attending the G7 as a guest and had been due to take part in meetings on Tuesday evening and throughout Wednesday.
"Was made aware yesterday evening of exposure to possible Covid positive cases," Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said on Twitter.
"As a measure of abundant caution and also out of consideration for others, I decided to conduct my engagements in the virtual mode. That will be the case with the G7 Meeting today as well."
The meeting is a precursor to a G7 summit due to take place at a rural English resort in June, with U.S. President Joe Biden and other world leaders set to attend.
A British official confirmed the two positive tests and said the entire Indian delegation was self-isolating. British rules require a 10-day self-isolation period.
The Indian delegation had not yet attended the main summit venue at Lancaster House, and so meetings scheduled for Wednesday went ahead as planned.
Asked if, in light of the positive tests, it had been a mistake to hold the summit in person, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: "I think it's very important to try to continue as much business as you can as a government."
Johnson said he would speak with Jaishankar later on Wednesday by Zoom.
British foreign minister Dominic Raab said rules had been meticulously applied and had worked effectively and it remained important for the summit in June to go ahead.
"We know these systems work, we will be able to plan even more, and even more carefully," he told reporters.
A final communique from the meeting scolded China and Russia, but provided few concrete measures. read more
FIST BUMPING
Earlier, Raab was seen greeting and fist-bumping other G7 members as they arrived at the venue.
"We deeply regret that Jaishankar will be unable to attend the meeting today in person," a senior UK diplomat said. "This is exactly why we have put in place strict COVID protocols and daily testing."
On Tuesday, pictures from inside the grand Lancaster House conference venue showed the reality of diplomacy in the coronavirus age - delegates separated by plastic screens, and a "family photo" of ministers carefully spaced two metres apart.
Jaishankar was pictured meeting British interior minister Priti Patel on Tuesday, although Patel did not have to self-isolate because the meeting had been held in line with existing rules. Both were wearing masks in the photograph.
India is not a G7 member but was invited by Britain to this week's meeting, along with Australia, South Africa and South Korea.
The Indian High Commission in London did not respond to requests for comment. (Reuters)
May
G7 looks to expand rebuttal mechanism for disinformation
Written by Nur Yasmin
Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven wealthy nations on Wednesday agreed to expand and strengthen the rapid response mechanism it uses to fight threats to democracy such as disinformation.
Meeting face-to-face for the first time in two years the G7 ministers in London scolded both China and Russia, casting the Kremlin as malicious and Beijing as a bully. read more
"Foreign malign actors persist in their attempts to undermine democracies, and some states seek to promote their own authoritarian systems of governance and geopolitical objectives," said a policy paper released following the meeting.
"The G7 is committed to working together to show global leadership and take action to expose and deter these actors and to defend democracy."
Russia denies it is meddling beyond its borders and says the West is gripped by anti-Russian hysteria. China says the West is a bully and that its leaders have a post-imperial mindset that makes them feel they can act like global policemen.
The G7 committed to strengthen ties of its so-called 'Rapid Response Mechanism' with other international partners, including NATO.
"We commit to bolster our collective capabilities by joining up with the valuable work of other organisations and forums, including NATO," a separate communique said.
Other new objectives included an annual report to raise awareness of the mechanism and its work, better analytical tools and information exchange, and seeking a shared definition of what constitutes "illegitimate activity in the information space." (Reuters)
May
Some 200 rights groups push for U.N. arms embargo on Myanmar
Written by Nur Yasmin
More than 200 civil society groups, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, called on the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday to impose an arms embargo on Myanmar to help protect civilians peacefully protesting a military coup.
Since the military seized power on Feb. 1 and ousted an elected government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar has seen daily protests and a surge of violence with security forces killing hundreds of civilians.
"Imposing a global arms embargo on Myanmar is the minimum necessary step the Security Council should take in response to the military's escalating violence," the civil society groups from around the world said in a joint statement.
However, diplomats say such a move by the 15-member Security Council is unlikely because China and Russia - who are veto-powers along with the United States, France and Britain - have traditionally shielded Myanmar from any strong council action.
"We are not in favor of imposing sanctions and we do take it as the last resort in tackling conflicts," China's U.N. Ambassador Zhang Jun said on Monday when asked whether Beijing would support stronger U.N. Security Council action on Myanmar.
Since the coup the Security Council has held several closed briefings on the situation and issued statements expressing concern and condemning violence against protesters.
"The time for statements has passed. The Security Council should take its consensus on Myanmar to a new level and agree on immediate and substantive action," the civil society groups said. "Myanmar's people cannot afford to wait any longer for the Security Council to take action." (Reuters)
May
As COVID-19 rages in India, scientist warns further waves ‘inevitable’
Written by Nur Yasmin
A top scientific adviser to the Indian government warned on Wednesday the country would inevitably face further waves of the coronavirus pandemic, as almost 4,000 people died in the space of a day.
With hospitals scrabbling for beds and oxygen in response to a deadly second surge in infections, the World Health Organization said in a weekly report that India accounted for nearly half the coronavirus cases reported worldwide last week and a quarter of the deaths. read more
Many people have died in ambulances and car parks waiting for a bed or oxygen, while morgues and crematoriums struggle to deal with a seemingly unstoppable flow of bodies.
The government's principal scientific adviser, K. VijayRaghavan, warned that even after infection rates subside the country should be ready for a third wave.
"Phase 3 is inevitable, given the high levels of circulating virus," he told a news briefing. "But it is not clear on what timescale this phase 3 will occur... We should prepare for new waves."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has been widely criticised for not acting sooner to suppress the second wave, after religious festivals and political rallies drew tens of thousands of people in recent weeks and became "super spreader" events.
"We are running out of air. We are dying," the Booker Prize-winning author Arundhati Roy wrote in an opinion piece that called for Modi to step down.
"This is a crisis of your making," she added in the article published on Tuesday. "You cannot solve it. You can only make it worse....So please go."
India's delegation to the Group of Seven foreign ministers' meeting in London is self-isolating after two of its members tested positive for COVID-19, Britain said on Wednesday read more
Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, who is in London, said in a Twitter message that he would attend virtually.
GOVERNMENT RESISTING LOCKDOWN
Deaths rose by a record 3,780 during the past 24 hours, health ministry data showed, and daily infections rose by 382,315 on Wednesday. The number has been in excess of 300,000 every day for the past two weeks.
Medical experts say India's actual figures could be five to 10 times the official tallies. The country has added 10 million cases in just over four months, after taking more than 10 months to reach its first 10 million.
The opposition has urged a nationwide lockdown, but the government is reluctant to impose one for fear of the economic fallout, although several states have adopted social curbs.
In the latest move the eastern state of West Bengal, where voters dealt Modi's party a defeat in an election last week, suspended local train services and limited working hours for banks and jewellery shops, among its steps to limit infections.
The central bank asked banks on Wednesday to allow more time for some borrowers to repay loans, as the crisis threatens a nascent economic revival. read more
FALL IN VACCINATIONS, TESTING
The surge in infections has coincided with a dramatic drop in vaccinations because of supply and delivery problems, despite India being a major vaccine producer.
At least three states, including Maharashtra, home to the commercial capital of Mumbai, have reported a scarcity of vaccines, shutting down some inoculation centres.
Lengthy queues formed outside two centres in the western city that still have vaccine supplies, and some of those waiting pleaded for police to open their gates earlier.
The government said production capacity for the antiviral drug remdesivir, used to treat COVID-19 patients, has trebled to 10.3 million vials per month, up from 3.8 million vials a month ago.
But daily testing has fallen sharply to 1.5 million, state-run Indian Council of Medical Research said, off a peak of 1.95 million on Saturday.
OUTBREAK SPREADING
Two "oxygen express" trains carrying liquid oxygen arrived in the capital, New Delhi, on Wednesday, railways minister Piyush Goyal said on Twitter. More than 25 trains have distributed oxygen supplies nationwide.
The government says supplies are sufficient but transport woes have hindered distribution.
Meanwhile, the outbreak continues to spread.
In the remote state of Mizoram bordering Myanmar, beds in its biggest coronavirus hospital are in such short supply that all victims of other diseases have been asked to leave, said government official Dr Z R Thiamsanga.
Just three of a total 14 ventilators were still available.
"In my opinion, a complete lockdown is required to control the situation," he told Reuters from the state capital, Aizawl.
Neighbouring Nepal is also being overwhelmed by a surge of infections as India's outbreak spreads across South Asia, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said.
With 57 times as many cases as a month ago, Nepal is seeing 44% of tests come back positive, it added. Towns near the border with India are unable to cope with the growing numbers seeking treatment, while just 1% of its population was fully vaccinated. (Reuters)
May
Malaysia imposes restrictions in capital as virus cases rise
Written by Nur Yasmin
Malaysia on Wednesday imposed movement restrictions in the capital Kuala Lumpur due to a rising number of COVID-19 infections, adding to lockdowns that have been implemented across the country.
The capital will be subjected to some lockdown measures from Friday for two weeks, including a ban on social activities, dining indoors, and inter-district travel, Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said in a statement.
Several parts of the surrounding Selangor state, Malaysia's richest region, will also go into lockdown later this week.
Malaysia has seen a resurgence in coronavirus infections in recent weeks, with the country reporting 3,744 new cases on Wednesday. It has now seen a total of 424,376 cases.
The Southeast Asian nation began a COVID-19 vaccination drive in February with the Pfizer-BioNTech and Sinovac shots. On Wednesday, it launched a parallel inoculation programme for people who volunteered to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine amid public fears over its safety.
This month, Malaysia also detected its first case of a highly infectious coronavirus variant first identified in India.
It has banned flights to and from India and prohibited travellers from any Indian destination from entering the country to help prevent the spread of the new variant.
On Wednesday, Ismail Sabri said Malaysia will also ban entry of nationals from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal, on top of a ban on Indian citizens. (Reuters)
May
'Human catastrophe' as India's COVID-19 surge spreads to Nepal
Written by Nur Yasmin
Nepal is being overwhelmed by a COVID-19 surge as India's outbreak spreads across South Asia, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said on Wednesday.
“We need to act now and we need to act fast to have any hope of containing this human catastrophe. This virus has no respect for borders and these variants are running rampant across Asia," said Alexander Matheou, Asia Pacific director for the Geneva-based agency representing the global humanitarian network.
Nepal is now recording 57 times as many cases as a month ago, with 44% of tests now coming back positive, the statement said. Nepalese towns near the Indian border could not cope with the growing number of people needing treatment, while only 1% of the country's population was fully vaccinated.
"What is happening in India right now is a horrifying preview of Nepal’s future if we cannot contain this latest COVID surge that is claiming more lives by the minute," said Netra Prasad Timsina, chair of the Nepal Red Cross.
"It is beyond distressing to see that people cannot say goodbye to their loved ones as cremations are taking place at record levels due to these new COVID variants, which are striking down people of all ages in Nepal."
The statement noted that other neighbours of India were also in the firing line as the outbreak spreads. Hospital intensive care units in Pakistan and Bangladesh were full or close to capacity, it said. (Reuters)
May
Australia's most populous state reports first COVID-19 case in more than a month
Written by Nur Yasmin
Australia's most populous state reported its first locally acquired coronavirus infection in more than a month on Wednesday, with health authorities working to track down the source and the variant involved.
The first local infection in southeastern New South Wales since March 31 strengthens prospects for a resumption of social distancing curbs, many of which had been eased as cases dwindled.
Although Australia has largely eradicated COVID-19, a man in his 50s with no known links to hotels used to quarantine people who have arrived from overseas tested positive on Tuesday, the state's health ministry said in a statement.
The unidentified man visited several spots in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, the state capital and Australia's biggest city, the ministry said.
Testing showed a higher viral load than typically seen in infected people, potentially increasing the chance that the man has spread the disease, the ministry said. He is considered to have been infectious since April 30.
"That gives us some cause for concern," the state's chief health officer, Kerry Chant, told reporters in Sydney, adding that all those who had been in close contact with the man had been told to self-isolate and get tested.
Authorities are investigating whether the case is genetically linked to anyone in the quarantine system or cases in other states, Chant said.
They are also checking which virus variant is involved.
Australia's hardline approach to rein in COVID-19, with measures including snap lockdowns, border controls and swift contact tracing has kept its tally of infections at just over 29,800, with 910 deaths since the pandemic began.
However, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has drawn wide criticism for a decision to block all travel for two weeks from India, which is battling a massive second wave of COVID-19 infections.
Anger surged after the government vowed on Saturday to punish attempts to enter from India with jail terms of up to five years and fines.
For more than a year, Australia has allowed only citizens and permanent residents to return, though they must spend two weeks in strict quarantine.
Morrison defended the ban on Wednesday, saying it had prevented hotel quarantine sites from being overrun.
"This was a necessary step to ensure that we could help more Australian citizens and residents get home, safely, in a way that did not risk a third wave in Australia," Morrison told a televised news briefing in the northeastern state of Queensland.
Academics and lawyers have questioned the validity of the India ban, despite the government's assertion that it was temporary, and on Wednesday a legal challenge was launched.
Lawyers for Gary Newman, a 73-year-old who has been stuck in India since he travelled there in March 2020, will argue that Australia's conservative government does not have the constitutional power to block people returning from India.
No ruling was given, with Justice Stephen Burley agreeing to set a hearing date within 48 hours.
"This decision that the government has made ... is invalid," Newman's lawyer told the Australian Broadcasting Corp after a short administrative hearing. "It sets an extraordinary and appalling precedent and that needs to be challenged."
Luke Beck, an associate law professor at Monash University, told Reuters it would be difficult to win a case based on interpretations of the Australian constitution since the constitution "does not expressly list any special citizenship rights". (Reuters)
May
S.Korea says AstraZeneca, Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines 87% effective after first shot
Written by Nur Yasmin
One dose of COVID-19 vaccines from AstraZeneca Plc (AZN.L) and Pfizer (PFE.N) was 86.6% effective in preventing infections among people aged 60 and older, real world data released by South Korea showed on Wednesday.
Data by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) showed the Pfizer vaccine, jointly developed by BioNTech , was 89.7% effective in preventing infection at least two weeks after a first dose was given, while the AstraZeneca shot was 86.0% effective.
Its analysis is based on more than 3.5 million people in South Korea aged 60 and older for two months from Feb. 26 and included 521,133 people who received a first dose of either Pfizer or AstraZeneca shot.
There were 1,237 COVID-19 cases in the data and only 29 were from the vaccinated group, the KDCA said.
"It is shown that both vaccines provide a high protection against the disease after the first dose. (People) should get full vaccinations according to recommended schedule, as the protection rate will go up further after a second dose," it said.
The findings come as South Korea seeks to drum up participation in its immunisation drive after reports about potential safety issues discouraged some people from getting vaccinated. read more
"Around 95% of people who died from the coronavirus in our country were senior citizens aged 60 or older, and the vaccines will sharply lower risks for those people," health ministry official Yoon Tae-ho told a briefing on Wednesday.
Yoon said the possibility of side effects including blood clotting are "extremely low" and they are mostly curable.
South Korea has so far vaccinated 6.7% of its 52 million strong population, but has set an ambitious target of giving shots to 70% of its people by September and reaching herd immunity by November.
Starting on Wednesday, South Koreans who are fully vaccinated and show a negative COVID-19 test and no symptoms will be exempted from the two-week mandatory quarantine upon their return from overseas travel, to encourages more vaccinations.
The KDCA reported 676 new COVID-19 cases as of midnight on Tuesday, bringing the country's total infections to 124,945, with 1,847 deaths. (Reuters)