Coronavirus: Latest Global Developments

Paris, May 7 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 7th May, 2021 ) :Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis: - India's grim new records - Grappling with the world's worst coronavirus surge, India logs another record number of daily cases with 414,000 in the past 24 hours, as well as almost 4,000 deaths.

Among the worst hit states is Goa in the west, usually a tourist hotspot famed for its beaches, which reports a staggering positivity rate of 41 percent.

- Japan extends emergency - A state of emergency in Tokyo and other parts of Japan will be extended, less than three months before the Olympics, as cases surge.

- Another AstraZeneca blow - The scientific committee overseeing Britain's vaccination programme recommends under-40s be offered an alternative to the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab, citing a "precautionary approach" after an assessment of blood clot risks.

- Wise old age - The world's oldest person, a Japanese woman aged 118, has given up her spot in the Olympic torch relay because "the spread of the coronavirus has not been contained", her family says.

- Halting third wave - Germany seems to have halted a surge of infections driven by the British variant, Health Minister Jens Spahn says, cautioning however against lifting restrictions too quickly.

- Oz shut till 2022 - Australia's prime minister says the country will not extend its controversial ban on citizens returning from India, following widespread public outrage.

But the country is likely to remain shut to visitors until late 2022 as the wave of cases on the Indian sub-continent shows the near blanket ban on arrivals is still essential to keep it Covid-free, says the tourism minister.

- Rule-flouting ex-leader - Former Malaysian leader Najib Razak, who has been convicted over a mammoth fraud scandal, is fined for breaking pandemic rules while dining out by failing to register at the restaurant or have his temperature taken.

- Over 3.2 million dead -The pandemic has killed at least 3,258,595 people worldwide since the virus first emerged in late 2019, according to an AFP compilation of official data.

The US is the worst-affected country with 580,064 deaths, followed by Brazil with 416,949, India 234,083, Mexico 218,173 and Britain 127,583.