World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus spoke on the Delta variant of the coronavirus. “Compounded by more transmissible variants, like Delta, which is quickly becoming the dominant strain in many countries, we are in a very dangerous period of this pandemic,” Ghebreyesus said. “But no country is out of the woods yet.
The Delta variant is dangerous and is continuing to evolve and mutate, which requires constant evaluation and careful adjustment of the public health response,” he said. The Delta variant of the virus was first detected in India. Watch the full video for more details.
‘More transmissible delta variant found in 98 countries and continues to evolve’
GENEVA: The World Health Organisation has warned that the world is in “a
very dangerous period” of the coronavirus pandemic with the more
transmissible Delta variant detected in at least 98 countries.
WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Friday that the
variant, which was first reported in India, is dangerous as it continues
to evolve and mutate.
Therefore, it requires constant evaluation and careful adjustment of the public health response.
The “Delta (variant) has been detected in at least 98 countries and is
spreading quickly in countries with low and high vaccination coverage”,
he said.
“In those countries with low vaccination coverage, terrible scenes of
hospitals overflowing are again becoming the norm. But no country is out
of the woods yet.”
Governments around the world have raised the alarm over the spread of
the Delta variant even as they relax movement curbs and reopen their
borders in an effort to save their battered economies.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said nearly 25% of new
infections in America have been linked to the Delta variant, up from 6%
in early last month.
Public Health England reported that the variant accounts for 99% of
sequenced Covid-19 tests, while the European Centre for Disease
Prevention and Control has warned that the Delta variant is set to
account for 90% of cases in the bloc by the end of next month.
Tedros on Friday urged governments to vaccinate at least 10% of
their population, starting with frontliners and vulnerable groups.
This, he said, would end the acute stage of the pandemic and save a significant number of lives.
He also urged vaccine manufacturers, like Pfizer-BioTech and
Moderna, to share their technology as a way to accelerate new mRNA
vaccine manufacturing hubs.
“The sooner we start building more vaccine hubs and upping global
vaccine capacity, the sooner we can diminish surges,” he added.
Tedros said there are “two ways” to push back against the current surge in infections.
The first is to ensure that public health and social measures,
such as early case detection, surveillance, testing, isolate and
clinical care, are in place.
“This includes masking, physical distance, avoiding crowded places and keeping indoor areas well ventilated,” he said.
Second, the world must be open to sharing protective gear, oxygen, tests, treatments and vaccines.
India is at a critical moment of fighting the virus. Yet some Indian media outlets and politicians are still manipulating politics, slandering China with an attempt to shift contradictions away from their failed policies. India has descended into a COVID-19 mess. Indian media and politicians should bear a large part of the blame. It's a tragedy for the Indian people.
In recent days, some news channels in India have been busy spreading the groundless conspiracy theories that "the coronavirus is a bio-weapon created in a Wuhan lab." As the new wave of COVID-19 wreaks havoc on India, they have hyped up conspiracy theories and old lies cooked up by some Western media and politicians last year, baselessly accusing China of "weaponizing the virus." Some Indian media's professionalism, cognition and sense of social responsibility are really jaw-dropping.
With India caught up in the crisis and as criticisms of the Indian government's response increase, the "lab leak" conspiracy theory has attracted some new attention in India, ranging from news channels to politicians. Earlier this month, some Indian ministers and BJP leaders shared an article on Twitter. The article warned Indians not to fall into the opposition's trap of making Prime Minister Narendra Modi the scapegoat. It said, "very few are talking about China and the possibility that the virus has been unleashed to weaken India."
The "lab leak" theory has been largely discarded by the world. A World Health Organization report in late March concluded that it's "extremely unlikely" that the virus was leaked from a lab. It's really ridiculous and clumsy for some Indian media outlets to flog a dead horse. And it's easy to figure out their real purpose.
Long Xingchun, a senior research fellow with the Academy of Regional and Global Governance at the Beijing Foreign Studies University and president of the Chengdu Institute of World Affairs, said the purpose of hyping the "lab leak" theory is obvious: deflecting public attention. With no sign of abating, the raging epidemic in India has aggravated public dissatisfaction.
By hyping-up the "lab leak" theory, some Indian media outlets and politicians are attempting to divert the public's anger to China. "For countries with an electoral system like India, the top consideration for some politicians is not people's health and lives, but votes. Accusing China of unleashing the virus to weaken India provides a good excuse for India to defend its anti-epidemic response and economic downturn," Long said.
China has refuted the lies of the "lab leak" theory many times. China has strictly fulfilled its obligations under the Biological Weapons Convention and does not develop, research or produce bio-weapons.
If the Indian media and politicians are really keen on figuring out whether the virus is a bio-weapon, they should ask Washington to clarify the US' biological militarization activities inside and outside the country and to disclose the real purpose of its more than 200 biological laboratories overseas. India could also demand an international inquiry.
It looks like some Indian media outlets and politicians are resorting to the old scheme of the former Trump administration, which tried every possible means to shift the blame onto China for its failed coronavirus response.
Just have a look at the results of Trump and his failed secretary of state Mike Pompeo. They didn't focus on fighting the epidemic, but instead played tricks to politicize the virus, concocting political manipulations to discredit China. As a result, the US witnessed the highest COVID-19 death toll. This became the main reason why Trump lost the election.
Since the second wave of COVID-19 outbreak hit India, China has expressed its goodwill and taken concrete actions to provide necessary support and help to India. China has sent life-saving supplies such as ventilators, oxygen generators, masks and medicines to India. This has shown China's goodwill and humanitarianism.
However, some Indian media outlets and politicians are requiting kindness with ingratitude. They have slandered China's help, tried to play the Taiwan card, attempted to sow discord between China and neighboring countries, and devilishly spread rumors and lies to discredit China. They are shameless and have no moral bottom. What they are now doing is no different from creating a humanitarian disaster in India. It's the Indian people that will have to bear this egregious suffering.
The virus is back, this time with more energy, tactics and camouflage.
We don't cough
No fever, it's joint pain, weakness,
Loss of appetite and Covid pneumonia!
Of course, the death rate is higher, it takes less time to get to the extreme. Sometimes no symptoms ... let's be careful ...
The strain is not domiciled in our nasopharyngeal region!
It directly affects the lungs, which means window periods are shortened.
I have seen a number of patients without fever, but an x-ray report shows moderate chest pneumonia!
The nasal swab is often negative for COVID19!
There are more and more false pharyngeal nasal tests COVID19) ... which means that the virus spreads directly to the lungs causing acute respiratory distress due to viral pneumonia! This explains why it has become acute and more fatal !!!Covid21
Be careful, avoid crowded places, wear a face mask, wash our hands often.
*WAVE* more deadly than the first. So we have to be very careful and *take every precaution.*
Indian people with COVID-19 symptoms queue for an Antigen Test at a government hospital. Photo: VCG
India’s COVID-19 epidemic has continued to rage on. China has become India’s largest supplier of crucial anti-epidemic supplies such as oxygen generators and ventilators. So far, China has provided India with more than 20,000 oxygen generators and 5,000 ventilators. India has submitted orders to Chinese companies to produce over 40,000 units of oxygen generators. However, Indian public opinion has not expressed its gratitude toward China for the emergency supplies, or it can be said that grateful voices have been very few. In contrast, many narratives have stressed that China's supplies are not aid, accusing China of “exploiting the opportunity to make money,” and claiming that it has "geopolitical intentions" to export these goods to India. Such rhetoric in India is in sharp contrast to their high-profile publicity on help from the US and the West. The Chinese people will certainly be disappointed after reading such opinions.
In terms of public opinion, Chinese and Indian societies have not got along well. Border tensions last year escalated sentiments on both sides, leading to a confrontation of public opinion. India has leaned closer to the US, further solidifying the social divide between China and India. This has become the background in which India is dealing with China in the face of a crisis.
China has made the greatest contribution to India’s current fight against the epidemic. Instead of being purely symbolic, China’s support and help has been very substantial. There is no atmosphere of public appreciation of China’s help in India. There is still a lot of resentment over border frictions and strategic hostility toward China. Out of a sense of pride, India has taken a lot of goods from Chinese companies, but has remained silent toward the fact. Hindustan Times has listed ten countries and regions that have started sending relief materials to India, and what kinds of materials they have supplied. But China is not on the list.
In the face of such a response from India, what should we do? Should we publicly accuse India of “repaying good with evil?” or turn our long-standing grievances toward India into mockery, even gloat about the Indian epidemic? I don’t think it is appropriate for us to be overly sensitive toward India’s reaction, especially going further to mock India's failure to fight the virus.
The official mindset of Chinese society toward India’s epidemic situation must be sympathetic and supportive of their battle against it, and this is indeed the case. I don’t think it’s proper for social media accounts of certain Chinese official institutions or other influential forces to mock India at present.
India has indeed done something wrong toward China. Even today when India is in trouble and China is lending it a helping hand, India still holds a grudge and remains narrow-minded. But currently, our prevailing attitude toward India should be still to show our sympathy and support, without being distracted by other sentiments. There is plenty of time and occasions for us to express our views regarding India. And we do not have to speak up upon them when India is struggling against the virus. We should not respond to radical voices in India, instead we should avoid escalating the spat between China and India among public opinion.
Although India has talked little about it, we have to say that China has done a magnificent job in supplying and supporting India. It is necessary for us to make the world more clearly aware of China’s actual role. Meanwhile, not like the US, the Indian government has not attacked China’s fight against the virus, nor has passed the buck to China. Currently, India is not only falling into a humanitarian disaster, but has become weak in the eyes of the rest of the world. The Chinese government proposed to offer India necessary support and assistance much earlier than Western countries. And our supplies have been provided to them with amazing speed, faster than any other country.
I understand that there are many voices and the public has their right to express various sentiments toward India. So do some figures who have many followers on social media platforms. But our public opinion, especially mainstream opinion, needs to follow the Chinese government’s narratives and moves as a whole, forming the tone of sympathy and support for India's fight against the virus. This is an indispensable part of China's national image.
We need to believe that actions speak louder than words. China’s supplies play a crucial role in India’s battle against the virus. We cannot ignore border frictions between China and India, but the bond formed through China’s substantial support to India’s anti-epidemic fight is also there. China and India are neighbors that cannot be moved away from each other. Apart from many frictions, China is India’s close neighbor which is better than a distant relative in the critical time of a crisis. As long as China does its best to bolster India’s fight against the virus, it will certainly become a factor in shaping Indians’ general perceptions of China.
China is a big country with a long history of civilization. Our national and international outlook has been shaped through thousands of years of experience. We should not be influenced by the logic of power which has been prevailing in the US and the West. When stepping up the construction of hard power, we cannot neglect the significance of “convincing people by virtue.” For China, virtue is not hypocrisy. Instead, it is our dignity and strength, which is one of the cornerstones of our international mobilization.
Video https://www.globaltimes.cn/video/#.YIbAJJ1_i1s.twitter
Bagaimana Tsunami Covid Di India Boleh Berlaku
China and India should put their differences aside and join forces in fighting pandemic
Now the whole world is talking about how selfish the US is regarding COVID-19 vaccines. The most developed country in the world that talks about human rights the most refuses to export vaccines to other countries that are severely hit by the pandemic. Washington is determined to let its citizens get vaccinated first before it shares vaccines with others.
More than a quarter of Americans are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus now, while about 40 percent of people in the US have received at least one shot. Not everyone wants to get vaccinated, so it is predicted that there will be a surplus of vaccines in the country after mid-May. At the same time, many developing countries are suffering vaccine shortage. In Namibia, an African country with a population of 2.5 million, only 128 people have received two doses of a vaccine until now.
The ugly "America First" doctrine on vaccines was fully revealed by the coronavirus outbreak in India. A humanitarian disaster has developed in the country. However, India's call for Washington to ease curbs on the export of vaccine raw materials was rejected. US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Tuesday that the priority of the country is "ensuring the distribution of a safe and effective vaccine to millions of Americans, to all Americans who are able to take advantage of it." Washington also turned down calls from India, South Africa and others to waive patents on COVID-19 vaccines.
To date, the US has made almost no actual contribution to the global fight against the pandemic. As the most developed country in the world, it did a poor job in the epidemic fight, failing to contribute any positive experiences to other countries. The country imported a huge amount of supplies such as masks and ventilators that were in short supply in the world last year. Washington undermined global cooperation against the virus by attacking the World Health Organization for quite a long time. The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is Washington's most important product to fight against the pandemic. But until now it has been used primarily to protect Americans and a limited number of US allies.
"America First" is a very crude principle. It has become a practical guide to bipartisan actions in the US. The former administration of Donald Trump had both said and acted according to this principle. Although the Biden administration hasn't talked about it, it is in fact also acting in line with the principle.
Transmitted to the political center through each American constituency, the US' selfishness has formed a kind of "rightfulness" under American democracy. Meanwhile, Washington is keen to promote its idea of "human rights" to the world. It acts like it has compassion for all humanity, and surprisingly, it does not feel awkward about it at all.
The world cannot allow the US to abuse the right to define international justice. Washington has refused to share vaccines with developing countries proportionally. The world should jointly condemn it, making Washington bend its head, like a rat scurrying across the street with everybody chasing it. However, till today, the US is still arrogantly claiming it is a global moral leader. It even accuses China and Russia's efforts to share vaccines of being "vaccine diplomacy." The US has totally called white black and black white.
The US has misled and hijacked various countries' national security concept. This is where its arrogance comes from. The world is in an era of peaceful development, but US elites have successfully fanned many countries' anxieties over geosecurity, as the US is the one who has the most abundant resources to play the geopolitical game. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is the biggest security shock that countries have encountered in recent years, but many countries have deeply fallen into the geopolitical myth and been hijacked by Washington. Therefore, they indulged Washington's misdeeds.
India in fact has become a victim of the US tricks. India already had an economic slump before the outbreak of the pandemic. India's relations with China have been manipulated by the US so severely that even its vaccine assistance provided to other countries took China as a target. However, now India has suddenly become the epicenter of the global pandemic. It is caught in a predicament where it is unable to deal with the situation by itself, receives no support from the US, while it is too embarrassed to accept China's help.
In short, the US has caused harm to the whole world in recent years. Despite being a self-proclaimed world leader, it failed to act as a responsible power in terms of economy, security and the anti-pandemic fight. However, Washington has managed to keep the "moral high ground" and issue orders. It is fair to say that it is the world, including countries like India, that has indulged it. We are suffering a tragedy caused by ourselves.
Multiple
funeral pyres of COVID-19 victims burn at a site converted for mass
cremations in New Delhi, India on Saturday. Indian authorities are
scrambling to get medical oxygen to hospitals when the country reported a
new global daily record of more than 346,000 infections for a third
straight day. Photo: AP
Under great pressure from international
public opinion, US President Joe Biden said on Monday the US is
determined to "help" India. It's reported that more than 300 oxygen
concentrators have been dispatched from New York on Sunday morning and
are supposed to arrive in New Delhi on Monday. This was in sharp
contrast with the US' negative attitude toward assisting India until
last week.
US allies including the UK, France, and Germany also
announced to offer assistance to India on Sunday, which left people with
an impression that Washington has coordinated with them.
Many
Indians are complaining that the US aid comes way too late and is more
of symbolic significance. Several hundred oxygen concentrators are
inadequate for India. What the country needs now are tens of thousands,
or even hundreds of thousands. The US will immediately deploy supplies
and other assistance, including raw materials for COVID-19 vaccine, to
India, the White House said, following a Sunday call between US National
Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval.
But the US will still have reservations over the quantity of material
exports, and the implementation process will face challenges.
Biden's
approval rating stands at only 52 percent after almost 100 days in
office, the third-lowest since tracking began in 1945, following Donald
Trump and Gerald Ford. Biden is facing enormous pressure from the
Republicans and some Democrats. "America First" has been deeply embedded
into the values of the US and has become a red line that Biden dares
not touch.
There are two reasons for the US' strategic
selfishness. First, this is the inherent nature of the US system, which
is prone to amplify individual selfishness rather than restrain and
counterbalance such selfishness. Second, the US has become relatively
weak, and it cannot meet its "leadership role." India is a country with
an enormous population. In the long run, it will cost US much more to
"lead" India than any of its other allies.
One unhealthy
aspect of the global anti-pandemic fight is that science and
humanitarian logic have failed to truly dominate the fight on the
international stage. Geopolitical thinking has never been away from the
fight. It has disrupted the pandemic fight from time to time, and even
managed to play a dominating role at some moments. India has been
struggling in a critical situation, but geopolitical clues are still
evident in its epidemic-related information. This is regrettable.
COVID-19 patients are dying in batches, but some people are still
debating which country's assistance India should take and what it would
mean for international relations in future.
Whatever happens, we
hope India could curb its epidemic as soon as possible. Mankind is a
community with a shared future when it comes to the fight against the
pandemic. As India is a large country¸ the raging epidemic in India
inevitably means increasing risks for other countries and regions. How
India can realize a soft landing with a lower death toll will offer
useful experience for other developing countries.
The new
coronavirus variant detected in India seems to be able to ferociously
spread with the approach of summer, which requires higher international
vigilance. India's tsunami-like COVID-19 wave warns us that fighting the
coronavirus pandemic is a long-term "world war" and many unexpected new
battlefields and new battles may await us. We can never let our guard
down.
Countries with a strong capability to resist COVID-19 have
to assume greater responsibility. It is vital that the US joins them.
The US has made little positive contribution to the global fight against
the pandemic. Lending a helping hand to India can be seen as the first
US attempt to play such a role. We hope it will be Washington's turning
point. The US has gravely dragged the global fight against the pandemic,
and it is supposed to proactively make up for it.
Since last
year, the novel coronavirus pandemic has hit many countries and regions
in the world, resulting in unbelievable deaths and economic losses. But
some countries are still building their national security in traditional
ways. This is a strategic mistake, at least to some extent. Washington
has played a misleading role in this regard. In other words, if the US
is drunk, many other countries may not be able to remain sober.
The US is a country that boasts of its so-called
deep-rooted ideal of democracy, rights, liberty, opportunity and
equality. But how can a self-portrayed perfect country become one of
chaos, division and inequality as we see today? Is it because ...
India and China come down hard due to concerns of financial market stability, illegal fundraising
N THE latest twist involving the world of cryptocurrencies, India’s government plans to impose a massive ban on the asset class.
Reports have indicated that the Indian government plans to pass a bill that would ban just about every activity involving cryptocurrencies, including the possession, issuance, mining, trading and the transferring of crypto-assets.
Once passed, this would make it one of the world’s strictest policies on cryptocurrencies. Government officials have said that the move is because they believe cryptocurrencies threaten the stability of financial markets, tend to fund unlawful activities and even resemble ponzi schemes.
The move by the Indian government falls in line with the school of thought that cryptocurrencies could increasingly suffer bans by governments around the world.
In India’s case, the move comes after an earlier ban two years ago. But last year, the courts in India overturned the decision, citing the ban as “disproportionate” after cryptocurrency exchanges filed a lawsuit against the central bank’s ban.
The strong stance against cryptocurrencies has also been shown by China’s government. More than three years ago, China was the first country to ban initial coin offerings (ICOs), calling it “illegal fundraising”.
Since then, the Chinese government has accelerated efforts to clamp down all businesses involved in cryptocurrency operations, including bitcoin miners.
China’s government says its stance is based on investor protection, money laundering concerns and the unnecessary consumption of energy due to crypto mining activities.
Last month alone, there were plans to ban new cryptocurrency mining projects and shut down existing ones in China’s Inner Mongolia region.
As one financial analyst puts it, “the problem with cryptocurrencies is that while it thrives to work in an unregulated world, it is bound to come under the scrutiny and regulation of governments, which are mostly afraid of its misuse and potential negative impact to financial markets. Perhaps somewhere in the future, a balance will be struck but that is anyone’s guess”.
While governments have a tendency to ban cryptocurrencies, many are embracing blockchain technology with the intention of issuing state-backed digital currencies.
This is essentially an electronic version of notes or coins which would replace physical cash entirely and dubbed central bank digital currencies or CBDC.
China is one of the leading countries for this and has already passed a law to legalise its own official digital currency. Similarly, India is an example of another country that is considering having its own digital currency. Interestingly, India’s move to pass the bill to ban cryptocurrencies comes soon after the mother of all cryptos, namely, bitcoin has hit its all-time high past US$60,000 (RM246,449) for the first time earlier this week.
The world’s biggest currency rally was driven by speculative demand, increased adoption by firms and institutional investors that see bitcoin as a store of value. Last month, Tesla bought over a billion dollars worth of bitcoins.
The electric car maker said it plans to accept the digital coin as payment for its products. Mastercard has also said it would also soon accept bitcoin as a form of payment.
Asset manager BlackRock and payment companies Paypal and Square have also recently backed cryptocurrencies.
Back home, the question remains whether the government, central bank or the Securities Commission (SC) would take a stronger stance against cryptocurrencies.
Malaysia’s regulators have held the view that digital assets are not legal tender and have warned investors to be cautious when dealing with cryptocurrencies.
SC chairman Datuk Syed Zaid Albar tells StarBizWeek that “investors must understand that unregulated, offshore investments are not protected under Malaysian securities law”.
“The SC has put in place a regulatory framework for such new emerging investment channels to provide certainty to issuers and investors who are keen to explore these new instruments.
“For example, our regulatory framework has tried to address issues such as putting investors’ money in trust accounts, accurate disclosures, cooling-off periods and conflict of interest situations are also regulated, ” Syed Zaid explains.
The country’s central bank, Bank Negara, also echoes a similar view, explaining that digital assets lack the characteristics of money and suffer from several limitations such as price volatility and risks of cyber threats.
“Digital asset activities are also subject to anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regulations administered by the respective authorities, ” the central bank reported in its annual report in 2019.
Malaysia is also one of the countries studying the feasibility of issuing its own digital currency. “The bank is no exception, and we continue to engage closely in discussions surrounding CBDC with other central banks, ” it said.
More collaborations among central banks around the world are taking place to study the impact of a digital currency for financial stability and the monetary policy of a country.
llustration: Chen Xia/GT
