Covid live: Millions face Easter under curbs; India braces for lockdowns

Dubai - Here’s what you need to know about the coronavirus right now.

A summary of today's developments:

Live map: Global spread of coronavirus

Live: Latest Covid developments in the UAE and around the world.

UAE reports 2,084 cases, 2,210 recoveries, 2 deaths

The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention on Saturday reported 2,084 new cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus, along with 2,210 recoveries and 2 deaths.

The new cases were detected through 252,243 additional tests.

Over 38.3 million tests have been conducted across the country to date.

The total number of cases in UAE as on April 3 are 468,023, while total recoveries stand at 452,321. The death toll rises to 1,504

Bangladesh to impose 1-week lockdown

The Bangladesh government has decided to enforce a one-week lockdown from April 5 to control the new Covid-19 wave in the country, a Minister announced here on Saturday.

Bangladeshi Road, Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader made the announcement in an online press conference in Dhaka on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the country's Minister of State for Public Administration Farhad Hossain said they would soon issue fresh guidelines covering people and services to be exempted from the lockdown.

Factories will remain open and workers can work shifts by following hygiene rules. The public were told to stay at home with all sorts of public transportation suspended.

Philippines reports 12,576 new cases

The Philippines reported 12,576 new coronavirus infections on Saturday, the country’s second-highest daily increase, as the Southeast Asian nation battles a renewed spike in cases.

The health ministry confirmed cases had increased to 784,043 while Covid-19 deaths rose by 103 to 13,423.

President Rodrigo Duterte’s office is to announce on Saturday quarantine restrictions for the capital region, the country’s coronavirus hotspot, for April.

India braces for Covid curbs

India’s biggest cities braced for stricter lockdowns and other Covid-19 curbs on Saturday as infections hit a six-month high, as a month-long surge continued in the country third-worst hit by the pandemic.

India’s richest state, Maharashtra, accounted for more than half of the 89,129 new cases reported by the national health ministry in the last 24 hours, with a record 47,827 infections.

The state’s chief minister warned citizens of a lockdown if cases continued to rise at their current rate, saying medical infrastructure would be inadequate in a couple of weeks.

In the southern state of Karnataka, home to India’s tech capital Bengaluru, authorities ordered gyms to be closed, barred functions at religious places and told cinema halls, bars, pubs and restaurants to limit the number of people allowed in.

India’s capital, New Delhi recorded more than 3,500 cases, its highest this year, but its chief minister ruled out another lockdown for now.

Daily coronavirus cases have surged from around 15,000 in early March to 88,000 or so at the start of April.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has faced criticism for exporting vaccines produced in India when most Indians are yet to get them.

Millions face Easter under curbs

Millions of Christians around the world prepared on Saturday to spend another Easter weekend under restrictions because of coronavirus surges..

There have been worrying spikes in infections in many parts of the world, even as vaccine rollouts gather pace, forcing the reimposition of deeply unpopular restrictions including in European nations.

Italy began a strict Easter lockdown on Saturday, with the entire country considered a high-risk coronavirus “red zone” during a time when families usually hold reunions.

At the Vatican on Good Friday, a handful of onlookers caught a glimpse of Pope Francis presiding over the “Way of the Cross” ceremony in an empty St. Peter’s Square, with Covid-19 restrictions preventing large gatherings there for a second year in a row.

France announces expanded restrictions

New restrictions also came into force Saturday in France, where authorities are scrambling to deal with a dramatic rise in cases that has overwhelmed hospitals in the capital Paris.

Curbs had been already intensified in other European nations such as Belgium, and Germany — where the government scrapped plans for a strict Easter lockdown — saw Chancellor Angela Merkel urge people to limit their social contacts ahead of the break.

US logs 100 million shots

The United States, the nation hardest-hit by Covid-19, became the first nation to administer at least one shot to more than 100 million people — around half of its adult population.

President Joe Biden has vowed to cover the vast majority within weeks.

But infections remain on the rise in parts of the country. Despite the success of the vaccine rollout, Biden urged Americans to keep wearing masks and taking other precautions.

“I plead with you. Don’t give back the progress we’ve all fought so hard to achieve,” he said in a brief address. “We need to finish this job.”

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has updated its guidance to say that fully vaccinated people can travel without observing quarantines, although they should still wear masks.

Argentine president tests positive

Argentine President Alberto Fernandez has tested positive for the new coronavirus, is waiting for the result to be confirmed and is in good spirits despite having a light fever, the first-term Peronist leader tweeted on Saturday.

“I am in good physical condition,” the president, who turned 62 on Friday, said in a tweet. He had received Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine against the coronavirus early this year.

India’s daily cases hit 6-month high

India’s daily coronavirus infections hit another record on Saturday for the highest tally since September, while daily deaths reached a five-month high, a Reuters count based on data from the health ministry showed.

The south Asian nation recorded 89,129 new infections and 714 deaths, the ministry said. That was the biggest single-day rise since September 20 last year and the most deaths since October 21, according to a Reuters tally.

Infections have surged in India since the beginning of March, with its richest state of Maharashtra, home to the financial capital of Mumbai, the worst hit.

Late on Friday, the state’s chief minister warned of a full lockdown to curb infections if people did not limit their movements.

Global caseload tops 130 million mark

The overall global Covid-19 caseload has surpassed the grim milestone of 130 million as the pandemic is still raging, while the deaths have surged to more than 2.86 million, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

In its latest update on Saturday morning, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that the current global caseload and death toll stood at 130,114,348 and 2,836,446, respectively.

The US is the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 30,606,649 and 554,069, respectively, according to the CSSE. Brazil follows in the second place with 12,910,082 cases and 328,206 fatalities.

Hong Kong bars incoming Singapore Airlines flights

Hong Kong has barred until mid-April incoming passenger flights from Singapore operated by Singapore Airlines, after an arriving passenger tested positive for Covid-19 infection.

Three passengers on the carrier’s March 31 flight also failed to comply with disease precautions, Hong Kong authorities said on Friday.

Singapore Airlines confirmed the order but said passenger services from Hong Kong to Singapore would not be affected by the suspension, which runs until April 16.

A transit passenger on the SQ882 flight had a negative pre-departure test result, but subsequently tested positive on arrival in Hong Kong, the airline said.

“SIA has taken immediate steps to strengthen checks at the point of embarkation to ensure our customers are in compliance with Hong Kong’s regulatory requirements,” it said in a statement.

Kuwait reports 1,233 new cases

The Kuwaiti Health Ministry reported on Friday 1,233 new Covid-19 cases, bringing the total infections in the country to 234,754. The ministry also announced eight more fatalities, taking the death toll to 1,327, while the tally of recoveries rose by 1,384 to 219,257. A total of 14,170 coronavirus patients are receiving treatment, including 241 in the intensive care units, the Xinhua news agency reported.