A major South African labor union is threatening to strike after it reported widespread shortages of personal protective equipment for health workers
JOHANNESBURG — A major South African labor union is threatening to strike after it reported widespread shortages of personal protective equipment for health workers and said some were even using garbage bags to protect themselves.
This comes as South Africa now has more than 459,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, the world’s fifth largest caseload.
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South Africa’s health ministry in response says it will improve reporting on shortages and continue efforts to recruit more health workers. More than 5,000 have been infected across the country.
“No health worker should be exposed to a work environment where they have not been provided with sufficient PPE,” the ministry says in response to the report by the National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union.
South Africa makes up over half of the reported cases on the African continent.
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HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:
— Doctors who faced early pandemic onslaught swapped autopsy findings and X-rays across oceans to learn how to treat the illness
— Muslim pilgrims wearing face masks and moving in small groups have begun a reshaped hajj
— Pence will go to a private school in NC to highlight how schools can safely reopen
— NBA finally ready to restart season inside the bubble with playoffs taking shape
Follow AP’s pandemic coverage at http://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:
TOKYO — As Japan battles a surge in coronavirus cases, some areas may be running out of isolation facilities to monitor infected people.
The health ministry reported 981 new cases Tuesday and three more deaths from COVID-19, raising the cumulative toll to 1,000 people. Most of the new cases were domestic, while 13 were found at airports from incoming flights, it said.
Chief government spokesman Yoshihide Suga acknowledged some areas may be running out of room at places like hotels, where infected people can be housed and monitored away from other people and prevent the spread of the virus.
The national government stood ready to help regional governments to make sure people can stay in such facilities, to prevent COVID-19 spreading in homes, and to make sure the sick get immediate treatment if symptoms worsen, said Suga.
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BEIJING — China reported more than 100 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday as the country continues to battle an outbreak in Xinjiang.
The 101 new cases was China’s highest daily increase in weeks. The northwestern region of Xinjiang accounted for 89, with another eight in the northeastern province of Liaoning and one in Beijing. Another three cases were brought from outside the country by returning Chinese citizens.
Outside of Xinjiang, the virus has been largely contained in mainland China with the death toll from COVID-19 remaining at 4,634 among 84,060 cases registered since the pandemic first emerged from the central city of Wuhan late last year.
Hospitals are treating 482 people for the disease, with another 274 in isolation while being monitored for showing signs of infection or for having tested positive for the virus without displaying symptoms.
Xinjiang’s outbreak has centered on the region’s capital and largest city of Urumqi, where authorities have isolated some communities, restricted public transport and ordered widespread testing.
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MELBOURNE, Australia — Australia’s hard-hit Victoria state recorded its lowest daily tally of COVID-19 cases in nine days while the state premier expressed hope it was the start of a downward trend.
Victoria reported 295 new cases and nine deaths, seven of which were in aged care homes that are bearing the brunt of the pandemic. The outbreak has been concentrated in Melbourne, Australia’s second-largest city, which is halfway through a six-week lockdown.
Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said “trends are not made in one day” but that he hoped the decline continued.
Another Australian state, Queensland, ratcheted up its pandemic travel restrictions. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced that as of Saturday, anyone returning to the state from Sydney will have to go into hotel quarantine for two weeks.
The expansion followed two positive cases in Brisbane in women now under police investigation because they avoided mandatory quarantine by failing to declare a Melbourne visit.
Queensland has not had a case of community transmission of coronavirus since May. New South Wales state, which includes Sydney, recorded 19 new COVID-19 cases.