Iran reports highest daily Covid-19 death toll in 2021 – latest updates

Sunday, April 11

Iran reports highest daily death toll in months

Iran has reported its highest single-day death toll from Covid-19 this year, bringing the country’s total deaths in the pandemic to nearly 64,500, state TV reported.

The report said 258 new deaths were recorded in 24 hours. Iran’s deadliest day of the pandemic was in mid-November, when more than 480 deaths were tallied.

The news report said health care officials also confirmed 21,063 new coronavirus cases since the day before, bringing Iran's total confirmed cases to more than 2,070,000.

“We are expecting a heavy rise in hospitalizations in the next week,” Health Minister Saeed Namaki warned.

He blamed the increase in cases on shopping, family gatherings and travel ahead of and during the Iranian New Year in late March.

France reports 34,895 new cases

The number of Covid-19 patients in intensive care in Francecontinued to rise as the country entered an eighth day in lockdown, official data showed.

Data showed there were 5,838 Covid-19 sufferers in intensive care, compared with 5,769 on Saturday, and that an additional 34,895 new cases of infection were detected.

The pandemic has killed nearly 100,000 people in France. 

Turkey reports over 50,000 new cases

Turkey has registered 50,678 new virus cases, including 2,548 symptomatic patients, the Health Ministry said.

Turkey's overall case tally is over 3.8 million, while the nationwide death toll reached 33,939, with 237 fatalities over the past day.

India bans export of Covid-19 treatment drug remdesivir

India has banned the export of remdesivir as infections soared to a new daily high and hospitals grappled with increasing demand for the coronavirus treatment drug.

The vast nation has experienced a sharp rise in cases in recent weeks, adding 152,000 new cases to take the toll to 13.3 million infections.

The health ministry said the surge in cases has led to a "sudden spike in demand" for the antiviral drug.

"There is a potential of further increase in this demand in the coming days," the ministry said in a statement, adding that the export ban would be in place "till the situation improves".

'Up to 80 percent' in Sicily refuse AstraZeneca vaccine

Up to 80 percent of people offered the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine in Sicily refuse it out of fears over its safety, according to the southern Italian region's president Nello Musumeci.

Public confidence in the Anglo-Swedish jab has been badly shaken by reports linking it to rare, but potentially fatal, blood clots, and by conflicting recommendations on its use. 

"In Sicily, there is an 80-percent refusal rate of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Every 100 people, 80 say no," Musumeci said late Saturday in Catania, according to multiple media reports.

Musumeci added: "It is natural" for people to be particularly concerned, "but we have a duty to believe scientists when they say it is more dangerous not to get vaccinated than to get vaccinated."

Italy reports 331 deaths 

Italy has reported 331 virus-related deaths against 344 the day before, the health ministry said, while the daily tally of new infections fell to 15,746 from 17,567 the day before.

Italy has registered 114,254 deaths linked to Covid-19 since its outbreak emerged in February last year, the second-highest toll in Europe after Britain and the seventh-highest in the world. The country has reported 3.77 million cases to date.

Lockdown imposed in Pakistan ahead of Ramadan

Muslim theologians across Pakistan are urging people to follow safety procedures as people get ready to mark the holy month of Ramadan amid another wave of cases.

Authorities have imposed a lockdown before the fasting month begins as the country continues to battle rising infections.

Following requests from officials, all mosques started a cleanup drive ahead of the start of Ramadan.

As part of the lockdown most markets and shopping centres are closed.

However, fruit, vegetable and date markets are allowed to stay open and people flocked to buy dates which are usually eaten to break the fast.

Stores selling Islamic clothing and items are also allowed to remain open.

Russia reports 8,702 new cases, 337 deaths

Russia reported on Sunday 8,702 new cases, including 2,090 in Moscow, taking the national infection tally to 4,641,390 since the pandemic began.

The government coronavirus task force reported 337 deaths in the last 24 hours, pushing the total death toll to 102,986.

The statistics agency has kept a separate count and reported a much higher toll of 225,000 from April 2020 to February.

Over 164M vaccines administered in China

China has administered 164.47 million doses of vaccines as of Saturday, the National Health Commission said on Sunday.

This represents around 24.5 million doses in the past six days, as the country's vaccine rollout continues to accelerate.

Last week a Chinese official said the country is expected to produce around 3 billion doses of vaccines by the end of the year.

Chinese health authorities on Sunday reported 10 new confirmed cases and 22 asymptomatic cases, bringing the country's total to 90,410, while the death toll remained unchanged at 4,636.

Manila to be under less restrictive quarantine curbs

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has approved placing the capital region and four adjacent provinces under a less restrictive community quarantine status from April 12, his spokesman said on Sunday.

Metro Manila and the provinces of Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna and Cavite, which have been in a strict lockdown due to  infections, will be under Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine status until April 30, spokesman Harry Roque said. 

South Korea to resume wider use of AstraZeneca vaccine

South Korean authorities said they will move ahead with a second-quarter vaccination drive starting as planned after deciding to continue using AstraZeneca's vaccine for all eligible people 30 years old or over.

South Korea had said on Wednesday it would temporarily suspend providing AstraZeneca's vaccine to people below 60 amid a European review over cases of blood clotting in adults.

Olympic organisers to secure 300 hotel rooms for athletes who test positive

Tokyo Olympic organisers plan to prepare 300 hotel rooms for athletes who test positive at this summer's Games, Kyodo news agency said on Sunday.

Japan's government is placing Tokyo under a month-long state of "quasi-emergency" from Monday to combat surging infections, less than a month after a broader state of emergency was lifted for the capital and Olympic host.

The Tokyo organising committee plans to reserve an entire hotel located a few kilometres away from the athletes' village in the Harumi waterfront district, which will likely cost several million dollars, Kyodo said, citing several unnamed sources.

Positive athletes and other Games participants who do not require hospitalisation will be quarantined in the rooms for 10 days in principle, and medical staff will treat them around the clock, it said.

The committee will also prepare about 30 special vehicles to transport the patients to the hotel, according to Kyodo.

Athletes will receive tests every four days at least under rules unveiled in February for the Tokyo Games, scheduled to begin in late July after a one-year delay due to the pandemic. More guidance on isolation and testing is to come in April.

Japan has recorded more than 500,000 infections and nearly 9,400 deaths, public broadcaster NHK said on Saturday, low compared to most other major economies. But concerns about the new wave of infections are rising ahead of the Games. 

India's daily infection toll hits another record high

India reported a record 152,879 new cases, health ministry data showed on Sunday, as a second-wave of infections continued to surge and overwhelm hospitals in parts of the country.

The number of new fatalities stood at 839, the most deaths in more than five months, taking the toll to 169,275.

India's tally of more than 13.35 million cases is the third-highest globally, behind only Brazil and the United States

Pakistan reports 114  new deaths 

Pakistan recorded 114 deaths in the past 24 hours, its highest single-day number during a third wave of the pandemic, the Health Ministry said.

The South Asian country registered 103 deaths on April 6, which was a daily record since December.

With the new casualties, most reported in northeastern Punjab and northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkwa provinces, the death toll stands at 15,443.

Pakistan reported 5,050 new infections, bringing the total to 721,018.

About 631,700, patients have recovered and active cases is 73,875.

The nation of more than 200 million people has seen a sharp spike in infections in the past two weeks with around 50,000 cases reported in April alone.

China mulls over mixing vaccines to improve efficacy

China is considering the mixing of different vaccines to improve the relatively low efficacy of its existing options, a top health expert has told a conference.

Authorities have to "consider ways to solve the issue that efficacy rates of existing vaccines are not high", Chinese media outlet The Paper reported, citing Gao Fu, the head of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

His comments mark the first time a top Chinese expert has publicly alluded to the relatively low efficacy of the country's vaccines, as China forges ahead in its mass vaccination campaign and exports its jabs around the world.

China has administered around 161 million doses since vaccinations began last year -- most people will require two shots -- and aims to fully inoculate 40 percent of its 1.4 billion population by June.

But many have been slow to sign up for jabs, with life largely back to normal within China's borders and domestic outbreaks under control.

Thailand reports daily record 967 new infections

Thailand reported 967 new cases, the biggest one day jump, as the country deals with a third wave of infections.

No deaths were reported. The new cases took the total number of infections to 32,625, with deaths remaining at 97, according to the information centre.

Germany's confirmed cases rise by 17,855 - RKI

The number of confirmed cases in Germany increased by 17,855 to 2,998,268, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed.

The reported death toll rose by 104 to 78,353.

Romanians protest restrictions as cases top 1M

Marchers have taken to the streets of the Romanian capital of Bucharest to protest restrictive measures to fight the spread of virus even as new daily infections and deaths rise in the European Union nation.

About 1,000 people converged Saturday on Victory Square and University Square, expressing frustration with an earlier curfew and shop closures that took effect at the end of March. Many demonstrators waved tri-color Romanian flags and chanted “Freedom!” and “Down with the government!”

“We came to fight against this state of alert that buries all our rights and freedoms,” Dumitru Balan, leader of the civic movement Action for the Nation, told The Associated Press.

The protest was held on the same day that Romania passed 1 million confirmed cases. Hospital intensive care units are struggling to cope with the record demand of just under 1,500 patients; 12,000 others are in other wards.

“There are now very severe patients admitted in our clinical ward that normally would require intensive care … we don’t have enough ICU beds available and patients are waiting with sub-optimal care,” Dragos Zaharia, a pneumologist at Marius Nasta Institute, told the AP.
“We are at risk of being accused of malpractice.”

Brazil records 2,616 Covid-19 deaths 

Brazil has recorded 2,616 new Covid-19 deaths and 71,832 new coronavirus cases, the Health Ministry said.

Brazil, which has become the latest epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic, with the second-highest death toll after the United States, has recorded 13.45 million cases and more than 350,000 deaths, official data show. 

Mainland China reports 10 new cases 

Mainland China has reported 10 new Covid-19 cases for April 10, down from 14 cases a day earlier, the country's national health authority said.

The National Health Commission, in a statement, said all the new cases were imported infections originating from overseas.

The number of new asymptomatic cases, which China does not classify as confirmed cases, rose to 22 from 11 cases a day earlier.

The total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in Mainland China now stands at 90,410, while the death toll remained unchanged at 4,636.

Peru marks record Covid-19 deaths

One day before it holds presidential and congressional elections, Peru has marked a second daily record death rate from the coronavirus pandemic that is engulfing the country anew.

The health ministry said 384 deaths had been recorded, taking the total death toll to 54,669, as healthcare workers battle a shortage of medical oxygen and saturated hospitals, and the government struggles to secure sufficient vaccination supplies. 

On Wednesday, Peru marked its first record number of dead - 314 - the worst since the pandemic hit the country with a first wave in March 2020.

On Sunday millions of Peruvians are expected to go out to vote at polling stations around the country to pick their next president and congressional representatives. 

France to extend gap between mRNA vaccine shots

France will lengthen the period between the first and second shots of mRNA anti-Covid vaccines to six weeks from four weeks as of April 14 to accelerate the inoculation campaign, Health Minister Olivier Veran has told the JDDnewspaper.

"That will allow us to vaccinate more quickly without reducing protection," Veran told the paper.

France has approved use of the Pfizer/BioNTechand Moderna mRNA vaccines.

Veran also said that from Monday the AstraZeneca vaccine would be made available to all over-55s and not just those with serious pre-existing conditions.

After a glacial start, France's vaccine rollout is finding its stride but daily new Covid-19 infections still average around 40,000 and the country will almost certainly cross the 100,000 deaths threshold this week.

Veran said there were signs that a third nationwide lockdown imposed last weekend was beginning to slow the infection rate.

"It remains very high," Veran told the JDD. "We can expect that after the period of stabilisation comes the fall. But for that, we must keep going."

Mexico reports 2,192 new deaths

Mexico's government has reported 2,192 new confirmed coronavirus deaths, one of its biggest one-day tolls during the pandemic, bringing the country's total to 209,212 deaths.

It was not immediately clear whether the Saturday figure, which far exceeds recent daily totals, was due to the government making changes in how it collects its data, as was the case in October, when the government reported 2,789 fatalities in a single day.

The health ministry, which is due to have a news conference later in the day, reported 6,356 new confirmed cases of Covid-19, taking the country's total to 2,278,420 infections.

Twenty arrested at Finnish anti-Covid curbs protest

Several hundred people have protested against Finland's Covid-19 restrictions in Helsinki without permission, leading to 20 arrests when they refused to disperse.

Up to 300 people gathered in the centre of the capital and authorities moved to break up the protest since it was not authorised.

Public gatherings of more than six people are banned in Helsinki due to the pandemic.

Many protesters, however, formed a procession and began to march. Police announced 20 arrests for refusing to comply with orders.

Protests against anti-virus measures were also held on Saturday in the Danish capital Copenhagen and in Norway's capital Oslo.

Hundreds of people gathered in Copenhagen in opposition to a new "corona pass".

The pass certifies that someone has either been fully vaccinated, has tested negative in the previous 72 hours or has tested positive two to 12 weeks earlier, conferring immunity to the virus.

In the Oslo, around 200 protesters gathered, with some burning masks.