Areas that appeared to beat back the coronavirus pandemic are now facing fresh outbreaks, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Australia, Hong Kong, and Japan all appeared to vanquish new infections before all three reported new record-highs for daily infections in the last week.
Australia, which had about a handful of new cases in early June, reported nearly 500 new cases in Victoria and 532 cases in Melbourne, both record highs, in the last week.
“We reported only two cases on June 9, less than six weeks ago, and this shows how quickly outbreaks can occur and spread,” said Australia’s deputy chief medical officer Michael Kidd.
“We were so close to having eliminated it from the whole of Australia,” said Adrian Esterman, professor of biostatistics at the University of South Australia. “We were a fingernail from doing it, and this happens.”
Asian countries see resurgence too:
Japan reported a record 981 new confirmed cases in one day last week. Officials blamed the rise on young people in clubs and parties.
“The situation is significantly different from what we saw under the state of emergency in April” because the infections are in young people are hospitals are not overwhelmed, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said.
Hong Kong, one of the most successful areas in beating back the virus early on, has seen more than 1,300 new cases since mid-June.
Officials linked some of the cases to nine cab drivers and their families and six crew members from six different cargo ships.
“Pretending that it is [over] because we all want it to be over is not the answer,” said Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews. “It is indeed part of the problem.”
Vietnam expels tourists:
Vietnam on Monday announced it would evacuate 80,000 people, mostly local tourists, from the popular resort city of Da Nang after three residents tested positive, CNN reports.
Vietnam shut down its borders in March but began lifting travel restrictions in June.
The country is trying to prevent a rise like those seen in nearby countries. Vietnam has not reported a single death from the coronavirus and has reported just 420 confirmed cases in total.
Along with the evacuation, the city will also issue a stay at home order, ban gatherings, and shutter non-essential services.
