Japan declares a state of emergency again as Coronavirus infections rise

The "Covid-19" crisis worsens in India, as hospitals call for oxygen

Nurses transfer a "Corona" patient after a fire in a hospital near Mumbai, India.

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Indian hospitals launched urgent appeals for oxygen yesterday, with the escalation of the "Covid" crisis in the country to appalling levels, as the Health Organization called on New Delhi to impose restrictions on movement and mixing to limit the Corona pandemic.

While Japan declared a state of emergency in Tokyo, just three months before it was due to host the Olympic Games, the outbreak of "Covid-19" is putting great pressure on health care systems around the world, in the absence of any indications of the near control of the epidemic that killed more than three Millions of people.

In detail, the wave in India was attributed to a new mutated version of the virus, which is considered a "double mutation", and the government allowed large gatherings that turned into occasions that witnessed the spread of the virus on a large scale.

Yesterday, India recorded more than 332,000 new infections and 2,000 deaths within one day, while health facilities sounded the alarm about the lack of oxygen supplies for patients who depend on respirators.

One of the largest private hospitals in New Delhi wrote on Twitter, "A distress call ... There is an oxygen supply for less than an hour at the Max Smart and Max Saket Hospital."

"More than 700 received patients need immediate help," he added.

25 of the "most serious" cases have died during the past 24 hours at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in Delhi, which issued an emergency call to the authorities yesterday morning, saying that he had enough oxygen for an additional two hours only, in addition to that there are 60 other patients in the hospital. They face the risk of death. ”

The director of the hospital, "DS Rana", said that there had been a large number of deaths due to "Covid-19" disease for the first time during the past 24 hours, but he did not link these deaths to a lack of oxygen.

However, senior doctors told India's NDTV that lack of oxygen could be a "contributing factor" to the deaths.

The capital, Delhi, is the worst-affected city in India, with many hospitals reporting increasing shortages of oxygen, beds and medicines amid a rise in cases, and have sought help from the courts.

The Supreme Court described the public health crisis as a national emergency and directed the government to prepare a national plan.

This significant increase in the daily death toll comes with the registration of many deaths in one of the largest hospitals in the capital, New Delhi, due to an acute shortage of medical oxygen.

The data indicated that the total number of deaths due to infection with the virus in India has reached 186,920.

The tragedy worsened with the death of 13 patients with "Covid" in Bombay, after a fire broke out in a hospital in a suburb of Bombay, where they were receiving treatment, in the latest episode in a series of fires in India's health facilities.

"17 patients were in the intensive care unit at Vijay Vallabh Hospital when a fire broke out, 13 of them died, and four others were transferred to other facilities," said the official in the fire department, Morrison Chavary.

Other countries closed their borders to India, fearing the new version of the virus.

And in Geneva, the Director of the World Health Organization's emergency department, Mike Ryan, said yesterday that India should impose restrictions on movement and mixing to reduce the sharp rise in the number of cases of the emerging coronavirus.

He described controlling the spread of the disease in India as "a very difficult task."

"We have to reduce contact with all we can to reduce infection," he said.

The Indian government is considering doing so. ”

Yesterday, Japan declared a state of emergency in Tokyo and three other regions, just three months before the country was due to host the Olympics.

On Thursday, the capital region recorded more than 860 new cases of the virus, which are unprecedented numbers since January.

The number of injuries increased during the winter, to resume their increase since the previous state of emergency was lifted in March.

"We have decided to declare a state of emergency in the prefectures of Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Hyogo," said Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.

The imposition of the state of emergency for the third time comes just three months before the start of the postponed Olympic Games in Tokyo.

"We will take urgent, concise and specific urgent measures," said Japan's chief government spokesman, Katsunobu Kato.

Vaccination programs, which had been so slow in many European countries, began to accelerate.

Germany expects to open the door to vaccination for all adults in June at the latest, according to Health Minister Jens Young.

In Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in televised statements that he would sign a decree declaring the period from May 4 to May 7 a holiday in Russia to contain the spread of the "Covid-19" virus.

Putin accepted a proposal by Public Health Authority President Anna Popova, to extend the holidays between weekends in early May to curb infection.

• Global Health: New Delhi must impose restrictions on movement and mixing to curb the Corona pandemic.

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