New Delhi: The novel coronavirus pandemic continues to devastate countries across the world — the latest count being over 3.6 crore cases and more than 10 lakh deaths.
South Africa faces a wave of strikes as the government refuses pay rise amid the Covid-19 crisis. New Zealand says it has eliminated the virus for the second time. And Hong Kong’s illegal bar hostesses are under scrutiny for their role in the transmission of infections.
ThePrint brings you the most important global stories on the coronavirus pandemic and why they matter.
South Africa faces wave of strikes as Covid-19 funds run out
South Africa is witnessing a wave of strikes by government and private sector employees as emergency Covid-19 funding runs out or has simply “gone missing”, reports Nation.
President Cyril Ramaphosa had declared that the pre-negotiated pay rise wouldn’t be possible given the “drop in revenues caused by the Covid-19 crisis”.
“But the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu)…is adamant that the negotiated pay rise must happen, Covid or not,” the report notes. It also quotes the union’s general secretary Zola Saphetha who said, “We cannot negotiate or engage with the barrel of a gun to our head.”
Earlier this week, a strike brought the transport line between the northern areas of the Johannesburg and the national administration capital in Pretoria to a halt.
South Africa has recorded 6,85,155 cases and 17,248 deaths.
New Zealand stamps out the virus. For a second time
After its second round of strict lockdown, New Zealand on Wednesday once again declared itself Covid-19 free, reports The New York Times.
The last of the country’s restrictions were lifted in Auckland, which hadn’t recorded a case in 10 days.
“Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who is facing re-election next week, called the reopening a validation of the country’s “go hard, go early” response,” the report highlights. The report also notes her remark that “there was a 95 percent probability that the country had eliminated the local transmission of the virus”.
Michael Baker, an epidemiologist at the University of Otago who helped devise the country’s Covid strategy, said that “New Zealand’s approach had proved that the best economic response was a strong public health response, including a blitz of testing, contact tracing and quarantining.”
New Zealand has recorded 1,864 cases and 25 deaths.
Also read: Trump back in Oval Office after doctor reports he’s symptom-free
Hong Kong’s dark world of illegal bar hostesses comes under scrutiny after coronavirus cluster at pub
In Hong Kong, bar hostesses are being scrutinised after a Thai Covid-19 patient was suspected to have illegally provided such services, reports the South China Morning Post.
A cluster of nine cases was also detected in another bar, “including another Thai woman who had visited the pub”, said the report. It added, “Health experts fear that if the hostessing involves illegal workers, contact tracing could be more difficult, as the women might not provide accurate information.”
The city has an estimated 100 drinking establishments that offer hostess service, which involves women who could be local residents or travelling on tourist visas.
Hong Kong has recorded 5,144 cases and 105 deaths.
Maldives pulls out all the stops as Covid-19 devastates tourism
Unlike many other countries, the Maldives has been doing all it can to revive its tourist industry, reports Al Jazeera.
Back on 15 July, even when several parts of the world were closed off, the Indian Ocean archipelago had thrown open its borders. In preparation, “the government built intensive care units and scaled up testing facilities in several regions” while resorts established safety and hygiene measures, the report explains.
“Three months on, just 18,596 people have visited the country — a fraction of the pre-pandemic average of 141,000 tourists a month,” the report notes. The decline has drastically affected the country’s economy, halving the government’s revenue and rendering thousands of people jobless.
The Maldives has recorded 10,656 cases and 34 deaths.
Berlin nightlife given first curfew in 70 years as Covid cases surge
For the first time in 70 years, Berlin’s nightlife is facing a curfew given the surge in the number of coronavirus cases, reports The Guardian.
“From Saturday, bars, restaurants, and off-licenses will have to close their doors between 11 pm and 6 am,” the report explains, adding that health authorities are blaming private parties and family gatherings for the rise in cases.
Bar owners, however, view the new restrictions as being counter-intuitive. The report notes the remarks of the owner of the Hotel bar in Kreuzberg, Carsten Zoltan, to a German broadcaster: “Drinking at home is far more dangerous than drinking in a bar…Because here we are at least there to remind them to put on a mask.”
Germany has recorded 3,11,113 cases and 9,652 deaths.
France’s new daily Covid-19 cases at all-time high of almost 19,000, hospitalisations up
On Wednesday, France reported a second daily record of cases, with 19,000 in 24 hours, reports Reuters.
The report also highlights an even more worrying detail: “hospitalisations for the disease stood at a three-month high”. The French government has recently imposed new restrictions that include a curfew time on bars in major cities like Paris.
It also quoted Emmanuel Macron’s remarks to a television channel in which the President said, “In places where the disease is circulating too quickly…there will be new restrictions.”
France has recorded 6,53,509 cases and 32,445 deaths.
What else we are reading:
Inside a Florida hospital, coronavirus cases wane as strained staff brace for a fall surge: The Washington Post
Early study in Spain shows school reopenings have not led to increased coronavirus spread: El País
Also read: Lilly seeks emergency authorisation for Covid antibody drug that reduces hospitalisations