Coronavirus cases in Tokyo have broken through 4,000 in the last 24
hours for the first time since the start of the pandemic: according to international media reports, there were 4,058 new infections, a sharp increase compared to the previous record of 3,865 set on Thursday.
In the past week, a record average of 2,920 infections per day was recorded in the Japanese capital that hosts the Olympics, an increase of 117% compared to the previous week.
Meanwhile, the contagion alert is growing, driven above all by the Delta variant throughout Asia, with new case records and new strains to stem the epidemic.
The China
, grappling with what appears to be the worst wave of cases in the country since the Wuhan epidemic: the mutation first identified in India is currently present, according to authorities in 14 provinces. China recorded 328 new cases of infection in July, almost as many as in the entire February-June period, particularly affecting cities such as Nanjing, not far from Shanghai, or the tourist town of Zhangjiajie. "The main strain circulating now is the Delta variant, which poses an even more difficult challenge in terms of prevention and control," the spokesperson for the National Health Commission (NHC) explained during a press release. Appeared at Nanjing Airport earlier this month,with nine aircraft cabin cleaners from Russia infected, the variant quickly spread to other parts of the country. This speed is linked not only to the high contagiousness of the variant, but also to the peak of the tourist season in the country, with an intensive use of air transport by the Chinese, NHC official He Qinghua told reporters.
In Austrailia, Brisbane authorities imposed a strict
three-day
lockdown
in the Queensland capital after the discovery of six new cases of coronavirus, one of which contracted abroad and emerged during quarantine in one of the city's special hotels. "The measures are tough but they are necessary to keep Queensland safe," tweeted state premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. Meanwhile, the tracing of cases continues to avoid any other outbreaks.
In 19 cities, including provincial capitals of southern Vietnam, the lockdown will remain in force for at least another two weeks
, while the coronavirus spreads very rapidly, perhaps driven by the Delta variant. In the bulletin released yesterday by the Hanoi Ministry of Health, over 8,600 new cases were recorded throughout the country, almost all the result of local transmission. In Ho Chi Minh alone, the great city of the south, yesterday's infections were over 4,280. In the last 24 hours Thailand has recorded new daily records of infections and deaths caused by the coronavirus, respectively at 18,912 and 178: the Guardian reports. The data bring the total number of confirmed infections since the beginning of the pandemic to 597,287, including 4,857 deaths.