New Delhi: The novel coronavirus pandemic continues to devastate countries across the world — the latest count being over 6.4 crore cases and more than 1.4 lakh deaths.
Psychiatrists in France are facing a wave of patients with psychological distress. Rough sleepers in Australia’s Melbourne may end up back on the street and the number of cases in a super-spreader cluster in Hong Kong grows.
ThePrint brings you the most important global stories on the coronavirus pandemic and why they matter.
Mental health woes batter France as virus resurges
Psychiatrists in France are witnessing a wave of patients who are suffering from psychological distress due to the pandemic, reports The Associated Press.
The report begins with the grim case of a 22-year-old, who had to seek psychiatric care after she was unable to cope with a “maelstrom of anxieties”.
“The lockdown — let’s not pretend otherwise — worries me..I want to be reassured. I’m not going mad,” she is quoted as telling the psychiatrist.
According to AP, a major takeaway from the rise in mental health cases was that “not all those seeking help have previous psychiatric histories”.
“Mental health professionals say lockdowns and curfews have also destabilized people who, in less challenging times, might have surmounted difficulties by talking them through with family and friends rather than ending up in psychiatric treatment wards,” the report notes.
France has reported 22,30,571 cases and 53,506 deaths.
Also read: WFH has meant 2 extra hours of TV during Covid pandemic, finds study
Melbourne’s homeless housing scheme runs out of money
As funding for Victoria’s ‘Home for Homeless’ scheme runs out, the homeless might end up back on the street in the state, reports The Guardian.
The Australian state of Victoria, where Melbourne is located, had doubled the crisis funding to agencies that arranged temporary housing for the homeless in hotels, after the pandemic began.
Although the government promised to extend the program till April next year, the funding for the programme now seems to have run out.
One of the 2,000 “rough sleepers” in Victoria was quoted as saying, “It’s really scary, because not only will I end up back on the streets, I will lose everything I own, again.”
The report also highlights the remarks of a government spokesperson who said that the “$150 million From Homelessness to a Home Program” is designed to facilitate people out of hotels into housing and “not keep people in hotels in perpetuity”.
Australia has reported 27,921 cases and 908 deaths.
Hong Kong’s Covid ‘dance’ cluster swells to 552
The number of cases from a “super-spreader” cluster from dance and singing venues in Hong Kong has increased to 552, reports South China Morning Post.
The cases emerged from dance clubs that are large social venues where typically elite women learn salsa, ballroom and other forms of dance.
The number of cases has contributed to about 10 per cent of the city’s total number of cases.
According to the report, authorities have tightened restrictions on these venues and fines for offenders could be raised to as much as HK$10,000 (nearly Rs 9,500).
Hong Kong has reported 6,397 cases and 109 deaths, till now.
Also read: UK clears Pfizer-BioNTech Covid vaccine ahead of US & EU, to be available from next week
Authorities sound warning about tighter restrictions in Mexican state
Mexican authorities have warned that they will implement tighter restrictions in Michoacán if Covid cases in the state are not brought under control, reports El Universal.
The report quotes Governor Silvano Aureoles’s remarks who said that the number of cases are on the rise in 15 municipalities in the states.
“A lot of people are still dying in these 15 municipalities,” he is quoted as saying.
So far, 28,524 people have tested positive in the state, which has a population of 45.8 lakhs. And a quarter of all these cases were detected in the capital Morelia.
To curb the spate of cases, the administration will also impose a prohibition on Christmas events.
Mexico has reported 11,22,362 cases and deaths.
More than 10,000 people in Canada’s British Columbia under active monitoring
In the Canadian province British Columbia, more than 10,000 people are being “actively monitored” after they were exposed to Covid-positive patients, reports The Globe and Mail.
The province reported 656 new cases Tuesday along with 16 deaths.
However, the number of hospitalisations is at 336 while 76 are being treated in the intensive care unit.
The report quotes a statement by Provincial Health Officer Dr Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix, which asked people not to have large home gatherings in view of the rising cases.
Canada has reported 3,83,468 cases and 12,211 deaths.
What else we are reading:
Surging virus exposes California’s weak spot: A lack of hospital beds and staff: The New York Times
Why Christmas in Spain won’t be ‘saved’ this year: El País
Also read: Boris Johnson faces revolt from his own party over new Covid restrictions