03-08-2021

tuesDAY, August 3, 2021
7
China is trying to contain its largest coronavirus outbreak in months.
Photo : AP
Millions under virus lockdown
as China battles Delta outbreak
BEIJING : Millions of people were
confined to their homes in China
Monday as the country tried to
contain its largest coronavirus
outbreak in months with mass testing
and travel curbs.
China on Monday reported 55 new
locally transmitted coronavirus cases,
as an outbreak of the fast-spreading
Delta variant reached over 20 cities
and more than a dozen provinces.
Local governments in major cities
including Beijing have now tested
millions of residents, while cordoning
off residential compounds and placing
close contacts under quarantine.
The central city of Zhuzhou in
Hunan province ordered over 1.2
million residents on Monday to stay
home under strict lockdown for the
next three days as it rolls out a
citywide testing and vaccination
campaign, according to an official
statement.
Poland steps up
security at vaccination
centres after attacks
WARSAW : Poland on
Monday said it was stepping
up security at vaccination
points following two arson
incidents overnight in a
single town and an attempt
by anti-vaccine activists to
break into another.
"These incidents are
recurring unfortunately,"
Prime Minister Mateusz
Morawiecki told reporters.
"They will all be severely
punished in accordance with
current regulations and we
will also carry out activities
aimed at increasing the
security of all these centres,"
he said.
Police chief Jaroslaw
Szymczyk said arsonists had
set fire to a mobile
vaccination centre and an
office used by the local
epidemiological agency in
the town of Zamosc in
eastern Poland.
There were no casualties
from the fires.
He called the incidents
"extremely shocking" and
said there would be "around
the clock" security at
vaccination points.
Afghan airstrikes kill
15 Taliban militants
in northern
Samangan province
AYBAK, Afghanistan : A total
of 15 militants were confirmed
dead as fighting planes struck
Taliban hideouts and positions
in parts of Hazrat-e-Sultan
district of northern Samangan
province on Sunday, army
spokesman in the northern
region Mohammad Hanif
Rezai said Monday.
Fifteen more insurgents
sustained injuries in the sorties
launched Sunday afternoon,
the official said.
A huge quantity of arms and
ammunition of the militants
were also destroyed during the
air raids, according to the
official.
Taliban militants who are in
control of parts of the restive
Samangan province have yet
to make comments.
"The situation is still grim and
complicated," the Zhuzhou
government said.
Beijing has previously boasted of its
success in bringing domestic cases
down to virtually zero after the
coronavirus first emerged in Wuhan
in late 2019, allowing the economy to
rebound.
But the latest outbreak, linked to a
cluster in Nanjing where nine cleaners
at an international airport tested
positive on July 20, is threatening that
success with more than 360 domestic
cases reported in the past two weeks.
In the tourist destination of
Zhangjiajie, near Zhuzhou, an
outbreak spread last month among
theatre patrons who then brought the
virus back to their homes around the
country.
Zhangjiajie locked down all 1.5
million residents on Friday.
Officials are urgently seeking people
who have recently travelled from
Nanjing or Zhangjiajie, and have
urged tourists not to travel to areas
where cases have been found.
Meanwhile, Beijing has blocked
tourists from entering the capital
during the peak summer holiday
travel season.
Only "essential travellers" with
negative nucleic acid tests will be
allowed to enter after the discovery of
a handful of cases among residents
who had returned from Zhangjiajie.
Top city officials on Sunday called
for residents "not to leave Beijing
unless necessary".
The capital's Changping district
locked down 41,000 people in nine
housing communities last week.
Fresh cases were also reported on
Monday in the popular tourist
destination of Hainan as well as in
flood-ravaged Henan province,
national health authorities said.
Evacuations lifted as
progress made
against western fires
BLY, OREGON : Firefighters in Oregon
reported good progress in the battle against
the nation's largest wildfire, while authorities
canceled evacuation orders near a major
blaze in Northern California.
Containment of the Bootleg Fire in remote
southern Oregon was up to 74% on Sunday.
It was 56% contained a day earlier, reports
UNB.
"That reflects several good days of work on
the ground where crews have been able to
reinforce and build additional containment
lines," fire spokesman Al Nash said Sunday.
The blaze has scorched over 646 square
miles (1,673 square kilometers) since being
sparked by lightning July 6 in the Fremont-
Winema National Forest.
California's Dixie Fire covered nearly 383
square miles (992 square kilometers) in
mountains where 42 homes and other
buildings have been destroyed.
The fire was 32% contained Sunday, and
evacuation orders and warnings were lifted
for several areas of Butte and Plumas
counties.
The cause of the blaze, which ignited July
13, was still under investigation.
Authorities warned that with
unpredictable winds and extremely dry fuels,
the risk of flare-ups remained high.
In recent days, lightning sparked two
wildfires that threatened remote homes in
the Shasta-Trinity National Forest.
Evacuation warnings remained in place
Sunday for communities along the Trinity
River.
In Montana, a wind-driven wildfire
destroyed more than a dozen homes,
outbuildings and other structures,
authorities said Sunday. Evacuations were
ordered after flames jumped a highway and
moved toward communities near Flathead
Lake in the northwestern part of the state.
Crews also battled major blazes in
northeast Washington and northern Idaho.
Nearly 22,000 firefighters and support
personnel were battling 91 large, active
wildfires covering 2,813 square miles (7,285
square kilometers) in mostly western states,
the National Interagency Fire Center said.
A historic drought and recent heat waves
tied to climate change have made wildfires
harder to fight in the American West.
Scientists say climate change has made the
region much warmer and drier in the past 30
years and will continue to make weather
more extreme and wildfires more frequent
and destructive.
The U.S. Drought Monitor reported last
week that while a robust monsoon has
delivered drought-easing rainfall to the
Southwest, critically dry conditions persist
across Northern California and the
Northwest, where there has been an
expansion of "exceptional drought," the
worst category.
Firefighters in Oregon reported good progress in the battle against the
nation's largest wildfire, while authorities canceled evacuation orders
near a major blaze in Northern California.
Photo : AP
Death toll in central
China floods rises
to 302, 50 missing
BEIJING : The death toll
from floods in central China
last month is at least 302
with dozens of people still
missing, officials said
Monday, after record
downpours dumped a year's
worth of rain on a city in just
three days.
Zhengzhou, the capital of
Henan province and the
epicentre of the record
flooding, was hardest-hit
with 292 people dead and 47
missing, according to a
provincial government press
briefing, as residents were
trapped in subway trains,
underground car parks, and
tunnels.
Images of passengers
inundated by shoulderheight
water went viral on
Chinese social media on
Line 5 of the city subway
where 14 people died, while
dozens of cars in a tunnel
were tossed aside by the
deluge, many with
passengers still inside.
"Thirty-nine people were
found dead in underground
carparks,"
Zhengzhou's
mayor Hou Hong told
reporters while updating the
toll, adding that six died in a
car tunnel.
Heavy downpours that
began July 17 affected
almost 13 million people,
damaged nearly 9,000
homes, and caused
economic losses in Henan
estimated at 53 billion yuan
($8.2 billion).
New Zealand opens
travel bubble to
Pacific workers
WELLINGTON : Seasonal
workers from selected Pacific
countries will be allowed into
New Zealand without
undergoing two weeks in
quarantine, Jacinda Ardern
said Monday.
The expansion of the travel
bubble will be restricted to
workers from Tonga, Samoa
and Vanuatu employed in the
horticulture and viticulture
industries where there are not
enough New Zealand-based
workers."This new one-way
travel policy will significantly
expand the potential
workforce available for those
experiencing labour
shortages," Ardern said.
"Our closed border has
been critical to keeping Covid
out and keeping our economy
running but... we know our
agriculture sector is
experiencing challenges," she
added.
"We've heard the call from
primary sectors and others to
bring in additional workers in
a safe way and we think that is
now possible."Tonga, Samoa
and Vanuatu have largely
kept Covid-19 at bay.
There have been four cases
in Vanuatu, three in Samoa
and none in Tonga.
New Zealand, which has
recorded just 26 Covid-19
deaths in a population of five
million, opened a trans-
Tasman travel bubble with
Australia in April.
MARMARIS : The European Union
sent help to Turkey on Monday and
volunteers joined firefighters in
battling a week of violent blazes that
have killed eight people and put
pressure on President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan.
The wildfires tearing through the
resort regions of Turkey's
Mediterranean and Aegean coasts have
destroyed huge swathes of pristine
forest and forced the evacuation of
panicked tourists from their hotels.
But they have also exposed Erdoganfacing
an election in two years that
could extend his rule into a third
decade-to a new round of criticism over
his seemingly sluggish and out-oftouch
response.
The Turkish leader came under
especially strong criticism over the
weekend for tossing bags of tea to
locals while touring one of the most
badly-affected regions under heavy
Pizza for shots: UK targets
young with vaccine incentives
LONDON : Restaurants, ride-hailing apps
and food delivery services are backing
Britain's COVID-19 vaccination drive,
offering discounts and even free slices of
pizza to persuade young people to roll up
their sleeves and get the shot, reports UNB.
The program, announced Sunday by the
Department of Health and Social Care, is
designed to boost the vaccination rate
among adults under 30 as Britain races to
inoculate as many people as possible before
colder weather arrives.
While more than 90% of adults in Britain
have received at least one dose of vaccine, the
rate for people between the ages of 18 and 30
is about 60%, according to government
statistics.
As he thanked businesses for helping out,
Health Secretary Sajid Javid urged people to
"take advantage of the discounts." Uber,
Bolt, Deliveroo and Pizza Pilgrims are
among the brands to offer incentives.
"The lifesaving vaccines not only protect
you, your loved ones and your community,
but they are helping to bring us back together
by allowing you to get back to doing the
things you've missed," he said.
Britain is not the only nation to try more
carrot - and less stick - to persuade the
reluctant to roll up their sleeves. U.S.
President Joe Biden this week called on
states and local governments to join New
York and Minnesota in offering $100
rewards, hoping a financial incentive will
spur the hesitant to be vaccinated as the
highly contagious delta variant sweeps
through parts of the country.
Britain is keen to increase vaccination rates
amid a surge in new infections as the
government seeks to fully re-open society.
Meanwhile, politicians are anxious to
bolster the economy as the national furlough
program, which guaranteed the wages of
millions of people who were unable to work
due to government restrictions, comes to an
end.
Treasury chief Rishi Sunak is urging Prime
Minister Boris Johnson to ease international
travel restrictions, arguing that Britain's
"draconian" rules are unnecessary given the
success of the vaccination program.
The Sunday Times reported that Sunak
wrote to Johnson to encourage him to let
people enjoy their summer holidays, while
expressing concern about the impact the
restrictions are having on tourism and the
hospitality industry.
Johnson's Cabinet will meet later this week
to review the current travel rules, which
require expensive COVID-19 testing for
people arriving from most popular holiday
destinations in Europe and force anyone
coming from France to self-isolate for up to
10 days.
Restaurants, ride-hailing apps and food delivery services are backing Britain's
COVID-19 vaccination drive, offering discounts and even free slices of pizza to
persuade young people to roll up their sleeves and get the shot. Photo : AP
Evictions expected to spike
as federal moratorium ends
BOSTON : Evictions, which have mostly
been on pause during the pandemic, are
expected to ramp up on Monday after the
expiration of a federal moratorium as
housing courts take up more cases and
tenants are locked out of their homes.
Housing advocates fear the end of the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
moratorium could result in millions of
people being evicted in the coming weeks.
But most expect an uptick in filings in the
coming days rather than a wave of evictions.
The Biden administration announced
Thursday it will allow a nationwide ban to
expire. It argued that its hands are tied after
the U.S. Supreme Court signaled the
moratorium would only be extended until
the end of the month.
House lawmakers on Friday attempted
but, ultimately failed, to pass a bill to extend
the moratorium even for a few months.
Some Democratic lawmakers had wanted it
extended until the end of the year.
"Struggling renters are now facing a health
EU sends help to Turkey as
wildfire toll reaches eight
police escort.
The government has also disclosed
that it had no firefighting planes in its
inventory and had to rely on foreign
help to battle the flames.
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu
thanked Brussels on Monday for
sending a plane from Croatia and two
from Spain.
The European Union said it "stands
in full solidarity with Turkey at this very
difficult time"-a message designed to
show goodwill after more than a year of
heated disputes. Firefighters on
Monday also battled local blazes on the
Greek island of Rhodes in the Aegean
as well as parts of Italy and Spain.
Fanned by soaring temperatures and
strong winds-with experts saying that
climate change increases both the
frequency and intensity of such blazes-
EU data show this year's fire season has
been significantly more destructive
than most. Erdogan's office at first
crisis and an eviction crisis," said Alicia
Mazzara, a senior research analyst at the
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
"Without the CDC's moratorium, millions
of people are at risk of being evicted or
becoming homeless, increasing their
exposure to COVID just as cases are rising
across the country. The effects will fall
heavily on people of color, particularly Black
and Latino communities, who face greater
risk of eviction and more barriers to
vaccination."
More than 15 million people live in
households that owe as much as $20 billion
to their landlords, according to the Aspen
Institute. As of July 5, roughly 3.6 million
people in the U.S. said they faced eviction in
the next two months, according to the U.S.
Census Bureau's Household Pulse Survey.
Parts of the South and other regions with
weaker tenant protections will likely see the
largest spikes and communities of color
where vaccination rates are sometimes lower
will be hit hardest.
blamed the worst fires in Turkey in at
least a decade on arsonists that progovernment
media linked to outlawed
Kurdish militants waging a deadly
insurgency against the state.
But that theory appeared to vanish as
the number of fires grew, the toll
mounted and the days wore on.
Turkey's forestry directorate said 105
fires had been recorded in 35 towns
and cities across the country since
Wednesday.
It said seven-most of them not far
from the southern resort cities of
Antalya and Marmaris-continued to
burn on Monday.
An AFP team in Marmaris on the
Aegean Sea saw flames simmer across
the crests of forest-covered hills.
The night sky glowed amber and the
smoke-filled air was heavy and hard to
breathe in stifling heat of around 40
degrees Celsius (104 degrees
Fahrenheit).