Coronavirus digest: Thailand sees record daily cases, deaths

Bangkok, July 29: Thai health authorities reported a daily record of 17,669 new COVID-19 cases and 165 deaths on Thursday.

In recent weeks, Thailand has been hit by the worst outbreak of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic — largely attributed to the spread of the coronavirus delta variant.

A total of 4,562 people have died of the coronavirus there, while 561,030 cases have been recorded.

The surge in cases prompted Cambodia to close border checkpoints with Thailand and impose a lockdown in several provinces along the border.

Prime Minister Hun Sen signed an order overnight that bans people in the affected regions from leaving their homes and gathering in groups.

"The temporary lockdown ... aims to prevent community-based transmission of the new COVID delta variant," Hun Sen said in the order posted on Facebook.

Here's a look at the latest coronavirus news from around the world:

Asia-Pacific

Olympics organizers have reported 24 new coronavirus infections linked to the Tokyo Games. It marked the highest daily increase related to the event since July 1 and brings the total number of cases to 193.

Japan's top medical adviser warned Thursday that the country was facing its most serious situation since the beginning of the pandemic, calling on the government to send a "clearer, stronger message" about growing risks.

"The biggest crisis is that society does not share a sense of risk," top medical adviser Shigeru Omi told a parliamentary panel.

His remarks came after Tokyo hit a daily record high of infections for the second straight day, with 3,177 new coronavirus infections reported on Wednesday.

Australia's New South Wales state reported another record number of daily COVID-19 infections on Thursday, with 239 new locally transmitted cases.

The state's health authorities said only 81 cases were in isolation throughout their infectious period, and at least 66 were infectious in the community.

"Based on those numbers we can only assume that things are likely to get worse before they get better given the quantum of people infectious in the community," New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.

The reports came a day after New South Wales extended its lockdown by four weeks.

New Zealand's health regulator Medsafe has granted provisional authorization for the use of AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine for individuals 18 years of age and older. The country has only rolled out the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine so far, although it secured 7.6 million doses of the AstraZeneca jab through an agreement last year.

Europe

Germany recorded 3,520 new COVID cases and 10 deaths in the past 24 hours, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases reported Thursday.

According to the RKI, the seven-day incidence has risen sharply in the past three weeks. On Thursday, the rate was at 16, compared to 4.9 on July 6.

Source: DW