Several bodies are seen buried in shallow graves on the banks of Ganges river in Prayagraj, India, May 15, 2021. (RAJESH KUMAR SINGH / AP)
MELBOURNE / DHAKA / NEW DELHI / BAGHDAD / JERUSALEM / KUWAIT CITY / BEIRUT / ULAN BATOR / YANGON / WELLINGTON / DOHA / BANGKOK / ANKARA / HANOI – Bodies of COVID-19 victims have been found dumped in some Indian rivers, a state government letter seen by Reuters says, in the first official acknowledgement of the alarming practice, which it said may stem from poverty and fear of the disease in remote areas.
Images of corpses drifting down the Ganges river, which is considered holy in Hinduism, have shocked the country, reeling under the world’s worst surge in COVID-19 cases.
Although media reports have linked the increase in the number of bodies found floating in the river and its tributaries in recent days to the pandemic, India’s northern state of Uttar Pradesh, home to 240 million people, has until now not publicly revealed the cause of the deaths.
“The administration has information that bodies of those who have succumbed to COVID-19 or any other disease are being thrown into rivers instead of being disposed of as per proper rituals,” a senior state official, Manoj Kumar Singh, said in a letter dated May 14 to district heads that was reviewed by Reuters.
“As a result, bodies have been recovered from rivers in many places.”
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in India on Sunday morning rose to 24,684,007 and the related death toll across the country stands at 270,284, India's federal health ministry said.
During the past 24 hours, 311,170 new cases and 4,077 related deaths were reported from across the country.
Health department officials arrive to inspect a restaurant and bar in Melbourne on May 12, 2021, after a man who had dined there later tested positive for COVID-19 in the first community case in the city for two months. (WILLIAM WEST / AFP)
Australia
Australia is sticking to plans to start re-opening to the rest of the world only from the middle of next year, officials said on Sunday, resisting mounting pressure to end the closure of international borders.
In March 2020, Australia closed its borders to non-nationals and non-residents and has since been allowing only limited international arrivals, mainly citizens returning from abroad.
“All the way through we will be guided by the medical advice,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison said at a televised briefing. “We will be guided by the economic advice.”
Earlier in the day, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg told the Australian Broadcasting Corp (ABC) that the medical advice to keep the borders closed had 'served us very well through this crisis'.
Australia’s border closure, combined with snap lockdowns, swift contact tracing and public health compliance has ranked its control measures among the world’s most effective. Infections total about 29,700, with 910 deaths.
But border reopening plans unveiled this week have sparked criticism from businesses and industries, as well as politicians in Morrison’s Liberal Party.
ALSO READ: India's daily virus deaths near 4,000 as WHO flags concern
Bangladesh
Bangladesh recorded 22 deaths from COVID-19 infection on Saturday, the lowest daily death toll since March.
Also signaling a possible dip in the ongoing second wave of the coronavirus, 261 news cases were recorded on Saturday in the country, the lowest tally in over a year.
According to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), the country's daily COVID deaths hit a 53-day low on Saturday while new infections fell to the lowest in more than a year.
The official data showed that Bangladesh's COVID-19 caseload stood at 779,796 and death toll at 12,124. Some 3,758 samples were tested in the last 24 hours across the country.
Iraq
The Iraqi Ministry of Health reported on Saturday 2,058 new COVID-19 cases, the lowest daily number in three months, raising the total nationwide infections to 1,136,917.
A statement by the ministry also reported 20 new deaths, raising the death toll from the infectious virus to 15,930, while the total recoveries in Iraq climbed by 5,220 to 1,039,616.
Israel
Israel's Ministry of Health reported 38 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, raising the total number in the country to 839,117.
The death toll from the virus rose by one to 6,381, while the number of patients in serious conditions decreased from 73 to 66, out of 119 hospitalized patients.
This is the lowest number of patients in serious conditions in Israel since July 1, 2020 when it stood at 59.
People queue up to receive a dose of the COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine at a vaccination centre in Kuwait City on May 4, 2021. (YASSER AL-ZAYYAT / AFP)
Kuwait
The Kuwaiti Health Ministry reported on Saturday 795 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total number in the country to 290,801.
The ministry also announced six more fatalities, taking the death toll to 1,687, while the tally of recoveries rose by 1,047 to 276,792. A total of 12,322 COVID-19 patients are receiving treatment, including 194 in the intensive care units.
Lebanon
Lebanon registered on Saturday 265 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total infections to 535,446, the health ministry reported.
Meanwhile, the death toll from the virus increased by 16 to 7,602.
Mongolia
The COVID-19 cases in Mongolia increased by 541 over the past 24 hours to 48,642, with the death toll rising by two to 219, the country's health ministry said Sunday.
Meanwhile, 1,306 more recoveries were reported, bringing the nationwide count to 40,900, it said.
Myanmar
The number of COVID-19 infections rose to 143,059 after 24 new cases were confirmed in the past 24 hours, according to a statement from the Health and Sports Ministry on Saturday.
The death toll stood at 3,212 and 28 more recovered patients have been discharged, bringing the number of recoveries to 132,100 so far, the statement said.
New Zealand
New Zealand reported one new case of COVID-19 on Sunday, according to a statement from the Ministry of Health.
The one new case of COVID-19 was a recent returnee in managed isolation, while there was no new case of COVID-19 to report in the wider New Zealand community since the ministry's last update on Friday.
Qatar
The Qatari health ministry on Saturday announced 260 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 212,927, the official Qatar News Agency (QNA) reported.
Singapore
Singapore plans to vaccinate children under 16 years old after a recent rise of COVID-19 infections among students in the island state, according to Education Minister Chan Chun Sing.
The ministries of education and health are working out plans for the “vaccination of our students,” Chan wrote on his Facebook page. “Once the approval for use is granted, we will roll out vaccinations to those below 16.”
The ministry ordered home learning for seven primary schools for the rest of their academic term. At least 10 children tested positive for coronavirus in the past week, all linked to learning centers.
Singapore won't allow entry to short-term travelers holding an Air Travel Pass with travel history to China's Taiwan within the past 21 days amid rising infections.
Others with travel history to Taiwan in the past 21 days who are not Singapore citizens or permanent residents will be required to take a test within 72 hours before departure, and would need to present a negative test result as a condition of approval for entry, the Singapore Ministry of Health said in a statement Saturday.
Singapore citizens, permanent residents and long-term pass holders entering the country who have been to Taiwan, will be subject to a 14-day stay-home notice at dedicated facilities, followed by an additional 7-day quarantine at their homes.
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Residents of the Huay Kwang community register for nasal swab tests for the COVID-19 at a mobile clinic in a sports stadium in Bangkok on May 13, 2021. (LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA / AFP)
Thailand
Thailand's tally of COVID-19 cases has surpassed 100,000 with 2,302 cases confirmed on Sunday, according to the Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA).
The new infections, including 2,279 domestic and 23 imported cases, brought the national caseload to 101,447, CCSA spokeswoman Apisamai Srirangsan said.
Nearly 75 percent of the total cases have been recorded since April 1, when the third wave began and quickly spread across the entire country, Apisamai said.
The country also reported 24 new deaths, raising the death toll to 589.
Thailand decided on Saturday to allow restaurants in the capital Bangkok to resume dine-in services, but with a limited serving capacity and operating hours.
From Monday, restaurants, cafes and other foodshops in Bangkok and its neighboring Nonthaburi, Pathumthani and Samut Prakan provinces, which currently remain under maximum control and restrictions, can receive customers up to 25 percent of their capacity until 9:00 p.m. local time and provide take-away services until 11:00 pm local time, according to a royal gazette issued late Saturday.
Previously restaurants in regions under maximum control and restrictions could only open for food delivery.
The Philippines
Firefighters put out a blaze early on Sunday at one of the Philippines' largest hospitals that had prompted the evacuation of dozens of patients from the facility, which also treats coronavirus sufferers.
No casualties were reported in the fire at the government-run Philippine General Hospital in the capital, Manila, which was extinguished at dawn. Its cause is not known.
On Twitter, Vice President Leni Robredo made an appeal for "big, industrial fans" to clear the smoke caused by the fire.
Hospital authorities could not immediately be reached for comment.
Some patients were transferred to nearby hospitals, including two who needed surgery and 12 babies from the neonatal intensive care unit, CNN Philippines said, citing hospital officials.
Hospital staff said the fire started in an operating room supply area soon after midnight.
The hospital has more than 1,300 beds and treats 600,000 patients a year, it says on its website.
With more than 1.1 million infections and deaths in excess of 19,000, the Philippines ranks second in Southeast Asia in terms of COVID-19 cases.
A man feeds pigeons in Ankara, Turkey, on May 14, 2021. (Adem ALTAN / AFP)
Turkey
Turkey on Saturday confirmed 11,472 new COVID-19 cases, including 1,084 symptomatic patients, raising the total number of cases in the country to 5,106,862, according to its health ministry.
The death toll from the virus in Turkey rose by 236 to 44,537, while the total recoveries climbed to 4,932,838 after 38,814 more people recovered in the last 24 hours.
The rate of pneumonia in COVID-19 patients stands at 4.0 percent and the number of seriously ill patients is 2,563 in the country, said the ministry.
Vietnam
Vietnam reported 127 new COVID-19 cases from 6 p.m. local time Saturday to 6 am local time Sunday, raising the total confirmed cases in the country to 4,112, according to its Ministry of Health.
They are all locally transmitted cases detected in lockdown areas and quarantine facilities in northern localities, including 98 in Bac Giang province, 23 in Bac Ninh province, five in Dien Bien province and one in Hoa Binh province.
All the new cases are contacts of previously confirmed patients or linked to the clusters of infections in the localities.