PARIS, Sept 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) — China’s leaders held a triumphant
ceremony to celebrate beating the coronavirus on Tuesday, as billions of
people around the world still suffer the fallout from the pandemic and the
global death toll nears 900,000.
The upbeat mood in Beijing comes as concerns grow about a resurgence of
Covid-19 across Europe, with France tightening restrictions, cases in Britain
spiking and schools resuming around the region in recent days.
Worldwide infections to date now stand at more than 27 million and over
890,000 people have died from the disease, with the pandemic showing no sign of peaking.
But in China the virus has been all but banished through a combination of
lockdowns and travel restrictions earlier in the year that have officials
touting the nation as a coronavirus success story.
President Xi Jinping said China had passed “an extraordinary and historic
test” during an awards ceremony for medical professionals decorated with
bugle calls and applause.
“We quickly achieved initial success in the people’s war against the
coronavirus,” Xi said.
“We are leading the world in economic recovery and in the fight against
Covid-19.”
The nation’s propaganda machine has been attempting to seize the narrative surrounding the pandemic, reframing the episode as an example of the agility and organisation of the Communist leadership.
Xi had stern words for China’s doubters, saying “selfish moves, any buck-
passing and deeds that confuse right and wrong” risked inflicting damage
across the world.
Beijing is also touting progress on its vaccines as a sign of global
leadership and resilience.
China put its homegrown Covid-19 vaccines on display for the first time at
a Beijing trade fair this week and authorities hope the jabs will be approved
for use by year-end.
The vaccines are among nearly 10 worldwide to enter phase 3 trials,
typically the last step ahead of regulatory approval, as countries race to
stub out an illness that continues to ravage large parts of the globe.
Spain on Monday became the first country in Western Europe to pass half a
million infections. The nation had largely gained control over its outbreak
but cases have surged since restrictions were removed at the end of June.
In neighbouring Morocco, the government shut all schools and imposed a
lockdown on Casablanca on the day classes were supposed to resume after cases surged in the city.
Officials said the virus risked overwhelming the North African country if
it was not controlled, but some parents were left fuming.
Restrictions have also been reimposed in France where seven more regions
were placed on a red list after successively recording daily infection rates
of between 7,000 and 9,000.
And in England, officials fiddled with overseas quarantine rules again,
imposing curbs on travellers from seven Greek islands popular with
holidaymakers, after Britain at the weekend registered a level of infection
not seen since late May.
In Asia, India pressed ahead with reopening its battered economy even as
it surpassed Brazil on Monday as the second-most infected nation in the world with 4.2 million cases.
Trains began running again in the capital New Delhi after a five-month
shutdown and 12 other cities also restarted subway services.
French footballer Kylian Mbappe became the latest sports star to test
positive for the virus after his club teammate Brazilian forward Neymar was confirmed to have Covid-19 last week.
Mbappe has been ruled out of France’s Nations League game against Croatia on Tuesday and is the seventh Paris Saint-Germain player to contract the illness.
A number of tennis players have also been infected, and on Tuesday, world
number one Ashleigh Barty announced she will not defend her French Open crown due to virus fears.
The Australian star said it was a “difficult” decision but the health of
her family and team came first. — NNN-AGENCIES
