BEIJING: The number of daily Covid-19 deaths in China has fallen by nearly 80 percent since the start of the month, authorities have said, in a sign that the country’s unprecedented infection surge may have started to abate.
A wave of virus cases has washed over the world’s most populous nation since Beijing abruptly ended its zero-Covid policy last month.
Beijing’s figures are believed to only represent a fraction of the true toll, given China’s narrow definition of a Covid death and official estimates that swathes of the population have been infected.
The CDC last week said nearly 13,000 people had died from Covid-related illnesses between January 13 and 19, adding to a previous announcement that around 60,000 people had succumbed to the virus in hospitals in just over a month.
But recent local government announcements and media reports have indicated that the wave may have started to recede since peaking in late December and early January when hospitals and crematoriums were packed.
There were 896 deaths attributable to the virus in hospitals on Monday, a decline of 79 percent from January 4, China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a statement on Wednesday.
Severe cases in hospitals also dwindled to 36,000 by Monday, representing a 72 percent drop from a high of 128,000 on January 5, the CDC said.
The announcement came during China’s biggest public holiday, the Lunar New Year, with authorities previously warning that the period of mass travel and social gatherings may trigger a renewed spike in infections.
As of Tuesday, around 664 million trips had been taken nationwide during the Lunar New Year travel period, state broadcaster CCTV reported, citing official figures.
China says Covid deaths down by nearly 80 percent
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China says Covid deaths down by nearly 80 percent
- Wave of virus cases washed over Beijing since China ended its zero-Covid policy last month
- China earlier reported nearly 60,000 COVID-19 related deaths in just over a month
Zelensky says Ukraine will send a delegation to Istanbul for talks with Russia on Monday
In a statement on Telegram, Zelensky said Sunday that Defense Minister Rustem Umerov will lead the Ukrainian delegation. “We are doing everything to protect our independence, our state and our people,” Zelensky said.
Ukrainian officials had previously called on the Kremlin to provide a promised memorandum setting out its position on ending the war before the meeting takes place. Moscow had said it would share its memorandum during the talks.
Russian strike hits an army unit
Russia launched the biggest number of drones on Ukraine since the full-scale invasion three years ago, Ukraine’s air force said Sunday. The air force said 472 drones were launched over Ukraine.
Russian forces also launched seven missiles alongside the barrage of drones, said Yuriy Ignat, head of communications for the Ukrainian air force. Earlier Sunday, Ukraine’s army said at least 12 Ukrainian service members were killed and more than 60 were injured in a Russian missile strike on an army training unit.
The strike occurred at 12:50 p.m. (0950 GMT), the statement said, emphasizing that no formations or mass gatherings of personnel were being held at the time. An investigative commission was created to uncover the circumstances around the attack that led to such a loss in personnel, the statement said.
The training unit is located to the rear of the 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) active front line, where Russian reconnaissance and strike drones are able to strike.
Ukraine’s forces suffer from manpower shortages and take extra precautions to avoid mass gatherings as the skies across the front line are saturated with Russian drones looking for targets.
“If it is established that the actions or inaction of officials led to the death or injury of servicemen, those responsible will be held strictly accountable,” the Ukrainian Ground Forces’ statement said.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian drone strikes were reported deep in Russian territory Sunday, including in the Siberian region of Irkutsk, more than 4,500 kilometers (2,800 miles) east of Moscow.
It is the first time that a Ukrainian drone has been seen in the region, local Gov. Igor Kobzeva said, stressing that it did not present a threat to civilians.
Other drone strikes were also reported in Russia’s Ryazan region and the Arctic Murmansk region. No casualties were reported.
Northern pressure
Russia’s Ministry of Defense said Sunday that it had taken control of the village of Oleksiivka in Ukraine’s northern Sumy region. Ukrainian authorities in Sumy ordered mandatory evacuations in 11 more settlements Saturday as Russian forces make steady gains in the area.
Speaking Saturday, Ukraine’s top army chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said that Russian forces were focusing their main offensive efforts on Pokrovsk, Toretsk and Lyman in the Donetsk region, as well as the Sumy border area.
Ukraine stages major attack on Russian aircraft with drones, security official says
KYIV: Ukraine conducted a large drone attack on Russian military aircraft on Sunday, a security official told Reuters, saying 40 Russian warplanes were struck.
If confirmed, the strikes would be the most damaging Ukrainian drone attack of the war, and would be a significant setback for Moscow.
The official said that the strikes were conducted by the SBU domestic intelligence agency, and that they had simultaneously hit four Russian military air bases on Sunday.
The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said more than 40 aircraft were hit, including Tu-95 and Tu-22 strategic bombers, which Russia uses to fire long-range missiles at Ukraine.
Reuters could not immediately verify the assertions.
The source shared video footage, saying it showed the strikes. The images showed several large aircraft, some of which appeared to be Tu-95 strategic bombers, on fire.
Ukraine, which lacks Russia’s vast arsenal of missiles, has instead built up a large fleet of attack drones which it has used to attack Russian military and oil facilities.
Russia had proposed a fresh round of talks in Istanbul on Monday, but Kyiv has thus far neither confirmed nor denied that it will be attending.
Russian strike kills 12 Ukrainian soldiers during training: Kyiv
- Kyiv did not say where the strike took place, but stressed the soldiers were not taking part in a “mass gathering” and most were in their shelters during the attack
KYIV: A Russian missile strike on a Ukrainian army training area killed at least 12 soldiers and wounded dozens more Sunday, Kyiv said, in a rare admission of its military losses.
Kyiv did not say where the strike took place, but stressed the soldiers were not taking part in a “mass gathering” and most were in their shelters during the attack.
The Ukrainian army has in recent weeks faced pressure to investigate what some see as glaring lapses in ensuring the safety of training soldiers.
Six soldiers training close to the border were killed by a Russian strike last month, in what one Ukrainian opposition politician called a “crime” by army leadership.
“Today, on June 1, the enemy launched a missile strike on the location of one of the training units of the Ukrainian army,” the Ukrainian army said in a statement.
“As of 12:50 p.m. (0950 GMT), 12 people are known to have been killed and more than 60 wounded.”
“If it is established that the deaths and injuries of the servicemen were caused by the actions or inaction of officials, those responsible will be brought to strict accountability,” it added.
Separately on Sunday, the Russian army said it had captured another village in Ukraine’s northern Sumy region, where Kyiv fears Moscow could mount a fresh ground assault.
Russia claims to have captured several settlements in the region in recent weeks, and has massed more than 50,000 soldiers on the other side of the border, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Authorities in the region have evacuated more than 200 villages amid intensified shelling.
China’s Yunnan hit with floods, mudslides from intense rains
- Over 600 tourists visiting rural scenic spots in the area on Saturday found themselves trapped, according to Xinhua, which reported 500 of them had been rescued by Sunday
BEIJING: Heavy rainfall triggering flash floods and mudslides have damaged roads, destroyed buildings and claimed bridges, wreaking havoc in China’s southwestern Yunnan province on a long holiday weekend.
No casualties were reported but more than 4,800 residents in Gongshan county were affected, with about one-third of them urgently relocated, state news agency Xinhua said.
Over 600 tourists visiting rural scenic spots in the area on Saturday found themselves trapped, according to Xinhua, which reported 500 of them had been rescued by Sunday.
Road access to mountainous sites popular with hikers such as Bingzhongluo town and Yubeng village in neighboring Deqin county were cut off, state broadcaster CCTV.
The Dulong river saw flood waters swell to record levels, according to historical logs from a hydrological monitoring station.
A four-story building set along the river that had been evacuated collapsed, CCTV reported, showing a video of the structure tipping backwards and disappearing into a cloud of dust.
The intense rainfall over a 12-hour period disrupted power supplies. Repair work to roads and power lines was underway, said state media.
Local authorities had issued a red alert ahead of the rainstorm on Friday night but downgraded it to a yellow alert by Saturday morning.
China uses a four-color warning system that escalates from blue, yellow, orange to red according to the level of precipitation and anticipated risks.
India sees tenfold rise in COVID-19 cases
- India’s official caseload increased to 3,395 on Sunday from 257 on May 22
- No spike in hospitalization rate, pulmonologist says, as symptoms remain mild
NEW DELHI: India has reported a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases over the past 10 days, official data showed on Sunday, with new, more transmissible virus variants believed to be driving the surge.
A new wave of infections emerged in parts of Asia last month, especially Hong Kong, Singapore, China and Thailand.
The new spread of the coronavirus that a few years ago brought the world to a standstill has been linked to JN.1, a highly transmissible variant of the omicron strain of COVID-19. It emerged in late 2023 and spread globally through early 2024, becoming one of the dominant variants in many countries.
India’s current caseload is 3,395 as of Sunday, according to Ministry of Health data – up significantly from the previous official count of 257 on May 22.
The ministry confirmed last week it had detected across the country two subvariants of JN.1 – LF.7 and NB.1.8.1 – which spread faster but are believed to be mild.
“(The) majority of those are mild cases, just like seasonal flu, and we are not seeing any significant admission or emergency visits due to COVID-19. Right now, the situation is under control. Any flu that starts spreading spreads fast like wildfire,” Dr. Nikhil Modi, pulmonology and respiratory medicine specialist at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital in New Delhi, told Arab News.
While in the last 24 hours, four deaths have been recorded – in Delhi, Kerala, Karnataka, and Uttar Pradesh – the “patients were already suffering from critical illnesses,” Modi said.
“Severe disease is not being reported anywhere significantly.”
India was one of the worst-hit countries during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. At its peak, health authorities recorded over 400,000 new cases per day.
Hospitals across many states were overwhelmed with patients and faced severe shortages of oxygen supplies, hospital beds, ventilators, and critical medicines.
The World Health Organization estimates that 4.7 million deaths in India were directly and indirectly related to COVID-19.
“The way we have seen COVID-19 in 2021, panic is bound to come but things, for the time being, are under control. We are not seeing admissions significantly rising due to COVID, so we should be able to manage. Advisories and preparedness in all hospitals have started, so if the situation changes, we are ready for it,” Modi said.
“Right now, we don’t have to panic about it.”
