Moderna is considered to be in a leading position in the global race to find a (representational) vaccine
Hong Kong, China:
Millions of people were faced with new restrictions on coronaviruses as infections rose on Wednesday, but in a hopeful sign, a US company said it would soon begin final phase human trials for a possible vaccine. .
Countries around the world have reimposed blockages and restrictions to contain new epidemics, while global cases have exceeded 13.2 million with more than 576,000 deaths.
Parts of the Asia-Pacific region, which had been somewhat successful in fighting the pandemic, have provided new evidence of the deadly threat still posed by the virus.
Hong Kong bars, gymnasiums and beauty salons closed again on Wednesday and a ban on gatherings of more than four people came into effect as the city battled a new epidemic after months of impressive virus success .
Most city residents voluntarily adopted face masks as a barrier to the virus when it was first detected in mainland China late last year, but the Hong Kong government is now demanding that public transport passengers wear them or face a fine of US $ 650.
There was also an alarm in Japan, where the governor of Tokyo warned that the capital was on its highest alert level against coronaviruses after an outbreak of infections.
This came after the Indian state of Bihar, with a population of around 125 million, announced a 15-day virus lockdown from Thursday. The Indian IT center in Bangalore has already started a week-long lockout.
Australian authorities, on the other hand, pleaded with the public on Wednesday to comply with social distancing guidelines, with around five million people in Melbourne locked out since last week in an effort to contain a new epidemic.
The request came just days after a group was fined 26,000 Australian dollars (18,200 US dollars) when their house party was exposed by an unusually large order from KFC.
“We are particularly concerned about the ongoing games and rallies – people who play poker, people who organize parties,” said Rick Nugent, Acting Assistant Commissioner of the State of Victoria.
“Please stop.”
– “You are part of the problem” –
Such calls from experts and authorities have been ignored and even mocked in many of the world‘s most populous regions, including the United States – the most affected nation in the world.
Tens of thousands of cases are now reported every day in the United States as authorities scramble to cancel the reopenings. The national 24-hour infection count was more than 63,000 on Tuesday, according to a tracker from Johns Hopkins University.
Anthony Fauci, America’s top infectious disease specialist, again warned Americans against neglect – especially young people who may feel insecure and prefer “to sip my margarita in a bar in a crowd”.
Given asymptomatic transmission, these young people “must understand that given the nature of this epidemic … You are inadvertently spreading the pandemic, you are part of the problem, not part of the solution,” said Fauci in a statement. online event at Georgetown University on Tuesday. .
Hopes rose, however, when US biotech company Moderna announced that it would begin the final phase of human testing for its candidate vaccine on July 27, after promising results from previous tests.
Moderna is considered a leading position in the global race for a vaccine, and although its study is expected to continue until October 2022, preliminary results are expected to be available well before that date.
– “Less work, less money” –
In the absence of a widely available vaccine or effective treatment, experts have advised lock-in and social-distancing measures in one form or another to prevent the deadly pandemic from gaining further momentum.
Face masks will become mandatory in UK stores and supermarkets starting next week, while South Africa has re-imposed a national curfew to avoid a “coronavirus storm”.
Authorities around the world are under immense pressure to alleviate the economic suffering caused by widespread blockages, however, with the poorest being the hardest hit.
In Cairo, a young mother, Zeinab, was struggling to survive by selling handkerchiefs when the coronavirus struck – leaving her and thousands of other homeless and even more vulnerable street children.
With fewer people on the streets, she said, “we have less work and less money”.
(This story has not been edited by GalacticGaming staff and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
