Russia, Poland and Iran each hit new coronavirus records
Russia, Poland and Iran have each hit a new record of daily reported coronavirus cases on Wednesday, with the Islamic republic also marking its highest single-day record for new deaths for the third time in a week.
On Wednesday, Russia's coronavirus taskforce said that it had recorded 14,231 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, the most of any day since the pandemic began. In the same period, 239 people died, it said, bringing the death toll to 23,205.
On Wednesday, Iran marked its highest single-day record for new deaths and infections, while Russia and Poland registered their highest daily reported cases.Credit:AP
Although the number of new infections has been steadily rising in recent days, the Russian authorities have said they see no need to impose any lockdowns or restrictions on economic activity.
Home to nearly 13 million people, Moscow has been the area of the country hardest-hit by the pandemic, reporting more than 4500 new infections.
Sergei Sobyanin, the city's mayor, said students from grades six to 11 would be taking online classes for a two-week period starting on Monday, while younger students would continue attending school as usual.
For the past two weeks students have been on a holiday designed to prevent them from contracting the virus and taking it home.
Sobyanin said older students would be studying online at home because they accounted for two-thirds of children infected with the virus.
"The decisions that we have made today are not easy but are simply necessary taking into account both the epidemiological situation and the need for schoolchildren to receive a quality education," he wrote on his website.
Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said the coronavirus situation in the country remained extremely strained and that many people were not following all safety guidelines.
Since the start of the pandemic, Russia has recorded 1,340,409 infections, the fourth largest number of cases in the world behind the United States, India and Brazil.
'We are on the brink of disaster'
Poland is ramping up training for nurses and could consider setting up military field hospitals for coronavirus patients, as daily reported cases hit a record 6526 on Wednesday, officials said.
Health authorities say Poland has enough hospital beds and respirators for now to tackle the pandemic but localised shortages cannot be ruled out.
The country of 38 million has recorded 141,804 confirmed coronavirus cases so far and 3217 deaths, with the largest cities of Warsaw and Krakow seeing fast increases.
As of Wednesday, COVID-19 patients occupied 6084 hospital beds and were using 467 ventilators out of around 1000 available overall, compared with 5669 and 421 respectively a day earlier.
"There is no risk of shortages," Wojciech Andrusiewicz, a spokesman for the health ministry told reporters.
Some doctors are warning, however, that Poland may run into shortages soon.
Poland's ruling nationalists prided themselves on acting swiftly and containing the pandemic in the spring, when the government launched strict curbs on social life, closing schools and shopping centres, among other measures.
But the opposition and some doctors have accused the cabinet of not preparing the health system for a second wave and a fresh spike in COVID-19 cases.
"I don't have any good information. We are on the brink of disaster," immunologist Pawel Grzesiowski told private radio RMF. He said Poland should be doing more testing, closing schools and supporting doctors in their fight against the pandemic. Instead, he said, the government was trying to blame doctors for the difficult situation.
Deputy Prime Minister Jacek Sasin said on Twitter earlier this week that some doctors were refusing to join coronavirus teams.
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki went into quarantine on Tuesday after coming into contact with a person who had tested positive for the novel coronavirus, although his test came in negative, government officials said.
Iran virus death toll hits record high
For the third time in a week, Iran marked its highest single-day record for new deaths and infections from the coronavirus, with 279 people killed and 4830 new patients.
Health Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari made the announcement as Iran struggles with the worst outbreak in the Middle East, with more than 513,000 confirmed cases. It has seen over 29,300 deaths and 414,800 recoveries since announcing its first cases in February. Iran has a population of more than 83 million.
In recent weeks, Iran has seen daily death tolls spike to their highest-ever levels, sparking increasing concern even as government officials continue to resist a total lockdown for fear of cratering the economy, which has been hit hard by US sanctions.
On Wednesday, Iran announced a travel ban to and from five major cities, including the capital of Tehran and the holy city of Mashhad, to prevent infections spreading. Kianoush Jahanpour, a Health Ministry spokesman, told state TV that the travel ban aimed to reduce risks ahead of a religious holiday on Saturday. Iran’s weekend is Thursdays and Fridays.
The coronavirus has spread to some of the highest levels of Iran's government, many of whom are older men. Among those recently infected is the head of the country’s atomic energy organisation, while Iran's vice-president in charge of budget and planning also tested positive for the coronavirus on Sunday.
Reuters, AP