JAKARTA (CNA) – Indonesia will begin giving COVID-19 booster shots to the general public from January 12, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said yesterday, as the Omicron variant spreads in the country.
Health workers were given booster doses in July and the plan now is to cover all adults who took their second shots over six months ago. About 21 million people will be covered under the booster programme this month, Budi said.
“It has been decided by the president that (the programme) will begin on January 12,” he said.
NEW DELHI (AFP) – India extended COVID vaccinations to teens aged 15-18 yesterday, after officials tightened restrictions in big cities to avoid a repeat of last year’s devastating outbreak.
More than 200,000 people around India died in a huge spring virus wave that overwhelmed hospitals and crematoriums. Health workers have since administered more than 1.4 billion vaccine doses but less than half of India’s population is fully inoculated, according to government data.
CAIRO (AP) – Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok announced his resignation on Sunday amid political deadlock and widespread pro-democracy protests following a military coup that derailed the country’s fragile transition to democratic rule.
Hamdok, a former United Nations (UN) official seen as the civilian face of Sudan’s transitional government, was reinstated as prime minister in November as part of an agreement with the military following the October coup. In that time he had failed to name a Cabinet and his resignation throws Sudan into political uncertainty amid uphill security and economic challenges.
In a televised national address on Sunday, Hamdok called for a dialogue to agree on a “national charter” and to “draw a roadmap” to complete the transition to democracy in accordance with the 2019 constitutional document governing the transitional period.
CAPE TOWN (AFP) – A fire that ravaged part of South Africa’s Parliament, engulfing the National Assembly and threatening national treasures, has been brought under control, firefighters said yesterday, as police charged a suspect with starting the blaze.
Flames broke out early Sunday in the oldest wing of the Cape Town complex, triggering an inferno that crews battled throughout the day.
“The fire was brought under control during the night,” spokesman Jermaine Carelse said, adding that teams were still extinguishing flames in the historic wood-panelled part of the building where it had begun.
AMSTERDAM (AFP) – Thousands of protesters defied authorities and gathered in the Dutch capital Amsterdam on Sunday to oppose coronavirus restrictions, leading to clashes and 30 arrests.
“This is Holland! Power to the people!” chanted one protester. The demonstrators rallied in one of the city’s main squares, despite Dutch authorities banning the protest beforehand.
WASHINGTON (AFP) – United States (US) President Joe Biden on Sunday reassured his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky that Washington “will respond decisively” if Russia moves to invade its pro-Western neighbor, the White House said in a statement.
With a Russian military buildup on Ukraine’s borders, Biden “made clear” to Zelensky during a phone call that the “US and its allies and partners will respond decisively if Russia further invades Ukraine,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said. The show of US support for Ukraine comes days after Biden warned Russian President Vladimir Putin of severe consequences if Moscow launches a military invasion.
BEIJING (AFP) – New COVID-19 cases in the locked-down Chinese city of Xi’an fell to their lowest in a week, health officials said yesterday, as residents face their 11th day under strict home confinement.
China has followed a “zero Covid” approach involving tight border restrictions and swift, targetted lockdowns since the virus first surfaced in a central city in late 2019 – but this strategy has been put under pressure in recent weeks with a number of local outbreaks and cases remaining stubbornly high.
There were 122 fresh infections reported yesterday in the northern city – the lowest since December 25, down from 174 on Saturday.
Zhang Canyou, from China’s disease control agency, told state broadcaster CCTV that after several rounds of testing in Xi’an and the impact of the lockdown, they had started to see “some positive changes”.
“We will also make some adjustments to the prevention and control measures in a timely way,” he said.
Families having fun at a skating rink in Beijing, China. PHOTO: AP
However, there are 16 patients in a “severe” condition, according to the National Health Commission.
While low compared to numbers elsewhere, new infections in recent days have reached a high not seen in China since March 2020.
Since December 9 there have been more than 1,500 cases of the Delta strain reported in Xi’an, and health officials said at a press conference on Saturday that two patients are in a critical condition.
China has not recorded any deaths from COVID-19 since January 2021.
Director of Critical Care Medicine of Zhongda Hospital Yang Yi told CCTV there were adequate medical resources.
“We have designated three hospitals for exclusively dealing with the Covid-19 patients in the province, and a fourth one is ready for use,” she said.
Patients in Xi’an range from two months to ninety years old. CCTV footage showed masked patients being led in exercises in hospital wards by a doctor in a hazmat suit.
Residents in the locked-down city said this week they were struggling to find enough food, and local officials have asked residents to exercise “understanding and tolerance” as they smooth out supply.
NEW DELHI (CNA) – India reported more than 27,000 new COVID-19 cases yesterday, with infections sharply rising for a fifth consecutive day, but the chief minister of the capital New Delhi said there was no need to panic, citing low hospitalisation rates.
The country’s largest cities, including Delhi and the financial capital Mumbai, have seen a recent spike in COVID-19 cases, including those of the Omicron variant, which has triggered a fresh wave of infections in other parts of the world.
Although the number of active cases in Delhi has tripled in just the last three days, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that hospitalisations had not gone up.
“This means that most people who are coming down with (COVID-19) are not requiring hospital care. They are mild cases,” Kejriwal said in an online briefing.
“Cases are going up but there is no reason to worry. There is no need to panic,” he said.
Delhi was among hardest hit cities during the second wave of the pandemic in India last year, with hospitals running out of beds and life-saving oxygen, leaving patients gasping for breath.
India has recorded a total of 34.88 million COVID-19 infections, with 27,553 new cases in the last 24 hours, health ministry data showed yesterday. The country’s total death toll stands at 481,770.
Local government authorities in Mumbai city said thousands of people were conducting COVID-19 rapid antigen tests at home.
“We are noticing that people are self-quarantining if they test positive and at the same time many are also seeking support from the government-run isolation centres if they are finding less space at home to quarantine,” said Srikant Deshmukh, a senior health official with Mumbai’s municipal commissioner’s office.
A health worker collects a swab sample of a passenger to test for COVID-19 as others wait for their turn at a train station in New Delhi, India. PHOTO: AP
UPI – A British family of six brothers and sisters with albinism was awarded a Guinness World Record in the category of most albino siblings.
Coventry, England, residents Naseem Akhtar, Ghulam Ali, Haider Ali, Muqadas Bibi, Musarat Begum and Mohammed Rafi received the title after Guinness World Records confirmed all six siblings were born with albinism, a genetic condition that causes a person to lack pigment in their skin, hair and irises.
Naseem Akhtar, whose parents also have albinism, said she decided to apply for the record to celebrate the family being reunited after several months apart during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Over time, I have now come to like my condition because it makes me very unique. Being Asian but being white, it gives me a unique outlook on life, it gives me a very unbiased opinion of society and humanity,” she told Guinness. “I like who I am, and the human being I became.”
Naseem Akhtar and her five brothers and sisters were awarded a Guinness World Record for most albino siblings. PHOTO: GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS
UPI – A young man in India broke a Guinness World Record when he balanced a football on his knee for six minutes, 16.98 seconds.
Hasan Askari, who attended Integral University in Lucknow, said long period of time existed between deciding to take on the record and his successful attempt.
“I dedicated two years of my life to achieve this feat. I was browsing the Internet one day and found a world record, which I wanted to break. After days and months of consistent practice, I filled the application, got approval and registered in the Guinness Book of World Records,” Askari told the Hindustan Times.
He said his teachers at Lucknow’s CMS Rajajipuram campus I, from which he graduated in 2020, encouraged his effort.
“Seeing my interest in sports, my teachers always encouraged me. It is because of their support and guidance that I have been able to set a world record,” he said.
Askari said he received a certificate in the mail naming him as the official Guinness World Record holder for longest time to balance a football on the knee.
