Aug. 15 (UPI) — Coronavirus is continuing to surge in Indonesia with the nation recording the most deaths in the past week, 10,768, and moving into the top 10 for most fatalities, as the world’s infections and fatalities increases remain about the same from seven days ago.
Indonesia last week moved past Italy into 10th place with 117,588 deaths, including 1,222 added Sunday. And the nation had the sixth-most infections, 193,925, with 20,813 more Sunday and in 13th place overall with 3,854,354, according to Worldometers.info.
The United States, which is in the midst of a fourth wave of COVID-19, gained the most infections in the past week with 848,664, a gain of 9%, with deaths rising 3,768 at 8%.
The United States has reported a world-leading 621,568 deaths and 36,660,942 cases, according to Johns Hopkins tracking.
Worldwide, the totals are 4,373,268 deaths and 207,894,016 cases so far Sunday. The one-week changes are an increase of 0.6% in cases and a decrease of 0.1% in deaths.
Brazil is second in fatalities with 568,833 and India third with 431,225. India is second in cases at 32,192,576 ahead of Brazil with 20,350,142.
Vaccinations continue to rise significantly worldwide, growing by around 600 million doses over two weeks to 4.68 billion, according to tracking by Bloomberg.
Europe has administered 91 doses per 100 people, followed by North America at 88, South America at 68, Asia at 64, Oceania at 41 and Africa at 5.8, according to tracking by The New York Times.
The United States has administered at least one dose to 59.5% of its total population with Brazil at 55.3%. India’s one-shot rate is 30.5% and China is at 44.4% in a nation a world-high 1.5 billion people.
Indonesia’s rate is 19.7%. Officials want to double the number of daily doses to at least two million in the nation of 270 million.
Cases peaked at 54,000 on July 16 with them not hitting 15,000 until late June. And deaths had stayed under 500 until early July with the record 2,069 on July 27.
The hospital system was overwhelmed last month, beds are sitting empty now. Instead people are staying at home where they are dying.
“Culturally in Indonesia, it is very common to have more than one family sharing one house, even three families in one house is not uncommon so, this will create family cluster,” Dr. Daeng M. Faqih, chairman of the Indonesian Medical Association, told CNN. “They can easily be moving around and infecting others.”
In Asia, cases have reached a world-high 66,028,241 and deaths are 965,852, which is third behind Europe and South American but slightly ahead of North America. The one-week increases were 3% in fatalities and 0.8% in infections.
India’s cases and deaths have been trending down, with a 4% decrease in deaths and 7% decline in cases from the past week. Sunday’s totals were 493 deaths, compared with a record 4,529, and 36,083 cases and a record 414,188.
The highly contagious Delta variant was first detected in India last October and has become the dominant strain worldwide.
As the country celebrated 75 years of independence on Sunday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised healthcare workers and scientists for helping India fight the disease.
He said they fought the virus “with extraordinary pace” but noted the hundreds of thousands that have died, adding that the “pain of losing them will stay with us forever.”
Also in the top 20 for most deaths is Iran in 13th with 97,828, rising a record 620 Sunday with a 31% gain. And cases grew 36,736 after a 9% rise in the past week. The weekly-total of 269,975 was the second most in the world with the daily record of 42,541 set Wednesday.
The pandemic began in late 2019 in Mainland China, but the nation has reported only a few deaths in the past 12 months and stands in 72nd at 4,636 behind Armenia with 4,695. China added 53 cases Sunday and had administered nearly 1.9 billion doses, the most in the world and dwarfing India with nearly 544 million and the United States with nearly 355 million, according to tracking by Johns Hopkins.
One week after the close of the Summer Olympics, cases are surging in Japan as Tokyo and Okinawa remain under a state of emergency until Aug. 22.
On Sunday, the nation reported 17,832 cases for a total of 1,148,601 and 10 deaths for a cumulative 15,424. For the previous two days cases topped 20,000 for the first time. Japan’s cases rose 22% and deaths were up 80% but in most days since the start of the pandemic they haven’t topped 100.
In Tokyo, there were a record 5,773 infections Friday.
Japan has 8,952 infections per million compared with the world at 26,652, the United States at 112,362, Britain at 91,397 and Indonesia at 13,927. For fatalities, Japan is at 122 fatalities per million compared with the world at 560.9, the United States at 1,913, Britain at 1,917, Indonesia at 425.
Japan has vaccinated 48.9% of its population with at least one doss.
South Korea’s rate is 43% of its population. The nation has 2,156 deaths, including eight more Sunday, a rise of 1,817 cases after a record 2,219 Wednesday.
Restrictions remain throughout South Korea until Aug. 22.
Turkey is seventh in the world for cases at 6,078,653, including 18,847 Saturday, and 19th in deaths at 53,159, including 154 most recently.
Coronavirus continues to surge in Thailand with an increase of 7% in cases over the past week with 21,882 Sunday, one day after a record 23,418, and 6% deaths with 209 most recently for a total of 7,552.
Israel, which is considered part of Asia, has a death toll of 6,632 with one reported Sunday. The nation has vaccinated 64.5% of its population with at least one dose and has begun administering boosters to those older than 60.
With Iran supplanting France in 10th place for deaths, Europe has only three nations in the top 10. Russia is sixth with 170,499, Britain seventh with 130,953, Italy eighth with 128,432. France is 11th with 112,656, Germany 14th with 92,373, Spain 15th with 82,470, Poland 17th with 75,299 and Ukraine 18th with 53,255.
Europe’s deaths grew by 3% for a current total of 1,150,474 and cases rose 2% at 53,282,888.
In Britain, the situation has stabilized weeks after a spike because of the Delta variant. In one week, deaths dropped 2% with 61 reported Sunday and cases grew 7%, including 26,750 most recently. Britain’s records are 1,823 deaths and 67,803 cases, both in January.
Britain has fallen behind some nations in Europe in vaccinations with 70.7% of the population receiving at least one dose, including the first person in the world in December.
Elsewhere in Europe, Spain had vaccinated 74.5% with at least one dose, France 71.1%, Italy 67.2%, Germany 63.2%, Poland 49.4%, Russia 27.5% and Ukraine 17.6%.
Coronavirus is still surging in Russia, which reported a record 816 deaths Sunday. Cases were 21,624 compared with the record 29,935 in December.
Also most recently: Italy 19, France 44, Germany three, Ukraine 17, Poland none. Spain doesn’t release data on the weekend.
The European Union launched the vaccine certificate, which allows for free movement of travelers between its countries though each nation can implement restrictions. Britain is no longer part of the EU.
U.S. and European travelers who have been fully vaccinated are now allowed to visit England without needing to quarantine.
The United States is continuing travel restrictions to Europe.
Also, the United States’ travel ban with Canada and Mexico has been extended to Aug. 21. It began one year ago in March. Earlier, Canada announced it was reopening to vaccinated Americans.
Starting in the fall, all passengers and workers on commercial air flights in Canada have to prove they’ve been vaccinated. Also, all federal workers have to be vaccinated.
“Canadians deserve to feel confident when traveling that the environment around them is safe,” Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said last week. “We need to regain public confidence in travel” to help the industry that has suffered economically.”
In North America, cases rose 9% and deaths 7%, fueled by spikes in the United States.
The continent’s totals are 959,744 deaths and 44,830,360 cases.
Mexico’s deaths are up 12%, with 753 Saturday and fourth in the world at 248,167. Deaths are way down in Mexico from a one-day record of 1,803. The nation’s cases are up 8%, ranking 15th in cases at 3,091,971 with 23,642 most recently and a record 24,975 Thursday.
Canada’s cases increased 67% in one week and deaths declined 43%. Canada’s deaths record is 257 on Dec. 29 with a total of 26,700 in 26th, including two Saturday. Cases reported were 706, down from the record of 11,383 on Jan. 3.
Canada’s one-shot vaccination rate has risen to 72.3% and leading the United States by nearly 13 percentage points after lagging by several points for months.
Mexico’s vaccination rate is 41.8%, though it was the first Latin American nation to begin vaccinating people.
British Airways will suspend flights from Britain to Cancun starting Sunday until September 30. The British government included Mexico in its “red list” of international travelers.
The National Institute of Statistics and Geography reported tourist activity in Mexico fell 23.3% in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the same period of the previous year. The Mexican tourism industry contributes 8.7% of the national gross national product.
South America has five nations in the top 20 for most deaths. Besides Brazil, Peru is fifth with 197,340, Colombia ninth with 123,356, Argentina 12th with 108,936, Chile 20th with 36,380.
Overall, South America has 1,111,528 deaths, with a decrease of 14% in one week, and 36,272,975 cases, with a drop of 19% over seven days.
In all, the Western Hemisphere has passed 2 million fatalities for 47.4% despite only 13% of the population.
Brazil’s fatalities decreased 13% with 919 Saturday and cases 15% with 31,142 most recently. The nation set a cases record of 114,139 cases in June and 4,211 fatalities in January.
Chile has the highest vaccination rate on the continent at 74.3% with Argentina 59.1%, Colombia at 40.2% and Peru 27.6%.
On Saturday, Colombia reported 135 deaths, Argentina added 121, Peru gained 61. Chile added 49 Sunday.
The Lambda variant was first detected in Peru in August 2020 with 90% of the cases from that variant in the nation.
The Pan American Health Organization will use its Revolving Fund to help countries in Latin America and the Caribbean get vaccine doses.
“The region is still short of the doses needed to turn the tide of the pandemic,” PAHO Director Carissa F. Etienne said at a media briefing last week. “We need a significant influx of vaccines and a more equitable process for distributing them.”
PAHO contributes to the United Nations-partnered COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access, COVAX.
They include doses going to Africa with plans for nearly 520 million by the end of the year.
South Africa has vaccinated just 12.5% of its population with at least one shot.
South Africa’s 76,034 new weekly cases accounted for 28% of the continent’s new total. The nation in one week decreased cases by 5% with the continent dropping 7%.
Deaths are down 5% in South Africa in one week. South Africa is in 16th place with 77,141 deaths, including 272 Sunday. And cases rose 10,139.
Africa’s totals are 183,869 deaths and 7,326,088 cases.
Tunisia has the second most deaths with 21,745, with an increase of 145 Sunday, ahead of Egypt with 16,615.
Oceania, with only 42.3 million people, has 1,739 deaths with an increase of 39%, or 117 in one week, and cases are 128,539, up 11,968 to 9%.
New Zealand’s deaths remain at 26 with the last one reported on Feb. 16 and Australia’s toll increased to 957, with four reported Sunday and 14 in a week.
New Zealand reported five cases Sunday and Australia was up 445 after 804 Saturday.
Australia has vaccinated 37.7% of its population and New Zealand is at 30.7%.
New South Wales entered a seven-day lockdown Saturday after recording the highest number of new COVID-19 cases in a single day, 466.
Sydney, which is the largest city in Australia, has already been in a lockdown for nine weeks and it is scheduled to end Aug. 28.
Australia’s second-biggest city Melbourne will remain in a lockdown for a second week after reporting 20 new cases Wednesday. Melbourne is part of Victoria.
The outbreak also has been surging in Fiji with 368 total deaths, a rise of 72 in the past seven days, and four by May 3. Deaths increased by eight Saturday. Cases have climbed from 121 on May 3 to 39,770, including 314 most recently. Fiji has 903,457 residents.
Its vaccination rate is 57.2%.
