The number of COVID-19 infections globally topped 7 million yesterday, as deaths mounted in Latin America, but New Zealand’s declaration of victory against the pandemic offered some hope for the rest of the world.
Europe also continued to emerge from its lockdown, with Pope Francis proclaiming that the worst was over in Italy, although he expressed sympathy for Latin America.
“Your presence in the square is a sign that in Italy the acute phase of the epidemic is over,” Francis said on Sunday, while addressing Catholics in Saint Peter’s Square at the Vatican for the first time since the COVID-19 crisis began.
Photo: Reuters
“Unfortunately in other countries — I am thinking of some of them — the virus continues to claim many victims,” he said.
Rising numbers of deaths were recorded from Brazil to Mexico to Peru, driving the confirmed global death toll above 400,000 and the number of declared infections to more than 7 million, according to an Agence France-Presse tally.
Brazil’s crisis is escalating and it has the world’s third-highest death toll at more than 36,000, but Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro continues to play down the impact of the virus.
Photo: AFP
In Chile the confirmed death toll reached 2,290 after miscalculations from March and April were corrected, adding 1,541 to the figure, Chilean Minister of Health Jaime Manalich said on Sunday.
Elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific region there was progress, with New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern telling reporters she danced around her living room on hearing her country had reached the milestone of zero active infections.
The South Pacific nation yesterday lifted all domestic restrictions after it went 17 days with no new infections. This allowed New Zealand Rugby to announce a restart to a top-flight domestic competition this week, with fans allowed to pack into the stadiums.
“We’re incredibly proud, and grateful, to be the first professional sports competition in the world to be in a position to have our teams play in front of their fans again,” New Zealand Rugby CEO Mark Robinson said.
Thailand also hit a positive milestone after two weeks with no local infections. The only recorded cases came from overseas arrivals who were quarantined.
The kingdom was the first country outside China to officially report a COVID-19 case in January, but it has largely escaped the high tolls seen elsewhere in the region, with just 58 deaths.
However, fears that large parts of Asia could still have the worst in front of them persist, with the death toll and infection rate climbing sharply in India. Still, after a 10-week lockdown, the government is risking lifting some curbs to ease the devastating impacts on the economy, and malls and temples reopened in several Indian cities yesterday.
In Europe, countries are slowly working toward a post-pandemic normal and trying to revive tourism sectors in time for the summer peak season.
The EU has said it could reopen borders to travelers from outside the bloc early next month.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-Wong tomorrow, which it said would possibly make landfall near central Taiwan. As of 2am yesterday, Fung-Wong was about 1,760km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving west-northwest at 26kph. It is forecast to reach Luzon in the northern Philippines by tomorrow, the CWA said. After entering the South China Sea, Typhoon Fung-Wong is likely to turn northward toward Taiwan, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said, adding that it would likely make landfall near central Taiwan. The CWA expects to issue a land
Taiwan’s exports soared to an all-time high of US$61.8 billion last month, surging 49.7 percent from a year earlier, as the global frenzy for artificial intelligence (AI) applications and new consumer electronics powered shipments of high-tech goods, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. It was the first time exports had exceeded the US$60 billion mark, fueled by the global boom in AI development that has significantly boosted Taiwanese companies across the international supply chain, Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) told a media briefing. “There is a consensus among major AI players that the upcycle is still in its early stage,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it is expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong this afternoon and a land warning tomorrow. As of 1pm, the storm was about 1,070km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, and was moving west-northwest at 28 to 32kph, according to CWA data. The storm had a radius of 250km, with maximum sustained winds of 173kph and gusts reaching 209kph, the CWA added. The storm is forecast to pass near Luzon in the Philippines before entering the South China Sea and potentially turning northward toward Taiwan, the CWA said. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said
PREPARATION: Ferry lines and flights were canceled ahead of only the second storm to hit the nation in November, while many areas canceled classes and work Authorities yesterday evacuated more than 3,000 people ahead of approaching Tropical Storm Fung-wong, which is expected to make landfall between Kaohsiung and Pingtung County this evening. Fung-wong was yesterday morning downgraded from a typhoon to a tropical storm as it approached the nation’s southwest coast, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, as it issued a land alert for the storm. The alert applies to residents in Tainan, Kaohsiung, Pingtung and Taitung counties, and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春). As of press time last night, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Yilan, Miaoli, Changhua, Yunlin, Pingtung and Penghu counties, as well as Chiayi city and county had
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