World
Covid-19 today: World snapshot

Despite many vaccines being in the works, and mostly all nations imposing safety measures surrounding Covid-19, The World Health Organisation says the pandemic is still growing around the world.
“The epidemic is now peaking or moving toward a peak in a number of large countries,” said Dr Michael Ryan, WHO’s emergencies chief.
So here is what’s happening around the world with the novel coronavirus:
Germany: A region in the country, North Rhine-Westphalia, is renewing lockdown measures after a spike in cases appeared at a slaughterhouse. Union officials have blamed poor working and living conditions that migrant workers faced under a loosely regulated sub-contractor.
USA: A number of states have reported a record number of cases, leaving America to still rank at the top for the most Covid-19 cases worldwide. States with more than 1,000 cases reported in the past 24 hours include Louisiana, Arizona, Georgia, Florida, Texas and California.
Mexico: Even though officials have claimed again that the virus is on a downward slide, they have reported a record number of cases again with 6,288 recently confirmed so far and 793 more deaths. Mexico has also had an extremely high rate of infections among health care professionals.

PHOTO: Health workers help Covid-19 in the aftermath of an earthquake in Puebla, Mexico – Imelda Medina/Reuters
Brazil: Ranking second worldwide, the country has recorded 39,436 new cases as well as 1,374 new deaths yesterday.

People lower the coffin of a person who died of COVID-19 at a cemetery in Mumbai on Tuesday. (Rafiq Maqbool/The Associated Press)
Pakistan: Despite overcrowded hospitals turning away patients, the government is trying to open up the country in an effort to help its frail economy.
Saudi Arabia: As the nation with one of the highest infection rates in the Middle East, at more than 161,000 cases confirmed, officials are limiting the number of people able to perform the hajj pilgrimage this year to only a few thousand. The pilgrimage usually draws up to 2.5 million Muslims from all over the world.
Thailand: After easing lockdown restrictions and removing its national curfew, the Kingdom is grappling with allowing much-needed tourists back into the country in an effort to boost its economy. Thailand has so far been considered successful in controlling the virus’ outbreak after being the first nation to report the virus after China.
Canada: With 101,963 confirmed and presumptive coronavirus cases, 64,704 of the cases have been listed as resolved or recovered. 8,499 deaths have been reported.
Worldwide: Today, more than 9.1 million people have been infected and more than 473,000 have died with the WHO warning that the pandemic is still going strong.
SOURCE: CBC
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Coronavirus (Covid-19)
Thai army medic accused of injecting troops with fake Covid-19 vaccine during UN mission

A medic for the Royal Thai Army was dismissed and his medical license revoked after injecting troops with fake Covid-19 vaccines during a United Nations peacekeeping mission in South Sudan. The “vaccine” was actually just water. The medic, who is also a lieutenant, apparently injected 273 Thai troops with the water shot and charged 607 baht, or around $20 USD, per injection.
A soldier noticed the bottles the medic was using for the injections were unlabelled. A superior then launched an internal investigation and found that the bottles were just filled with water. Under the UN’s orders, the medic was dismissed and sent back to Thailand. His medical license was also revoked.
Thai media first reported the news, saying that a Thai army doctor at a South Sudan field hospital was suspended from duty due to an investigation into alleged fraud. The medic reportedly worked at the hospital from December 2019 to December 2020.
Following the news report, Thai Supreme Commander General Chalermphol Srisawat confirmed that a medic had been injecting troops with water and claiming it was a Covid-19 vaccine.
SOURCES: Thai PBS | Nation Thailand
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Coronavirus (Covid-19)
Japan asks China to stop anal Covid-19 tests after travellers report “psychological distress”

After complaints that China’s anal swab Covid-19 test caused “psychological distress,” Japan has asked China to stop using the new, much more invasive method of testing on Japanese citizens entering the country.
For the anal test, reportedly done on some travellers entering China from overseas, a 3 to 5 centimetre long cotton swab is inserted into the anus and gently rotated to collect the sample. While it’s unclear exactly how many people have gone through the procedure, Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato says some Japanese citizens have reported mental discomfort after the test.
“Some Japanese reported to our embassy in China that they received anal swab tests, which caused great psychological pain.”
The Japanese government made a request through the embassy in Beijing to stop using the anal swab test on Japanese citizens. Katsunobu says China has not yet responded to the request.
China started using the anal swab test in January. The anal tests are controversial with many experts backing the oral test as the most efficient way to detect a coronavirus infection.
SOURCE: BBC
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Coronavirus (Covid-19)
Thailand considering vaccine passport policy in bid to revive international tourism

Thailand’s Tourism Minister, Pipat Ratchakitprakarn, says he has asked the Public Health Ministry to approve a vaccine passport scheme aimed at reviving the devastated tourism sector. According to Pipat, the government is looking to the World Health Organisation to issue a statement on vaccine passports before it makes a decision on the matter.
The Tourism Minister adds that having a scheme in place that would allow foreign visitors to bypass quarantine could lead to 5 million tourists arriving in the Kingdom this year. Nation Thailand reports that the government’s Covid-19 task force is also considering allowing quarantining tourists to leave their rooms after 3 days of self-isolation. Pipat predicts that the Russians could be first to return, with tour agents in Russia saying demand is high enough to support regular flights of between 300 and 400 passengers.
The ministry also hopes to deliver Covid-19 vaccines to the 5 major tourism provinces of Phuket, Surat Thani, Chon Buri, Chiang Mai and Krabi. The vaccines would be given to employees at alternative quarantine hotels. It’s understood there are currently 58 alternative quarantine facilities across the 5 provinces, with over 6,700 rooms and 13,000 employees.
SOURCE: Nation Thailand
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