May 3 coronavirus news

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said in a letter Monday the company is discussing with the Indian government how to expedite approval of its Covid-19 vaccine.

Bourla said that the company is “deeply concerned” by the critical Covid-19 situation in India and is committed to being a partner in India’s fight against the coronavirus, “quickly working to mobilize the largest humanitarian relief effort in our company’s history.”

Bourla said Pfizer is rushing shipments of medicines from the company that the government of India has identified as part of their treatment protocol. These medicines, valued at over $70 million, are being donated to India and include steroid medications and anticoagulants.  

Pfizer Foundation funding is also supporting humanitarian organizations that provide equipment such as ventilators and oxygen concentrators to India. 

Nepal will ban all international flights starting at midnight on May 6 to May 14, Nepal’s Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli said in a televised address to the nation on Monday.

Domestic flights are also suspended starting at midnight Monday until May 14.

Oli said that 13 land border checkpoints between Nepal and India will operate to allow Nepali citizens to return home but they must obtain a negative Covid-19 test at the checkpoints. All arrivals of foreigners by land have been banned.

Every person coming via land or rescue flight will be tested for Covid, Oli added.

India's devastating Covid-19 outbreak broke new records last weekend, with authorities reporting more than 400,000 cases for the first time on Saturday and a record-high number of deaths on Sunday.

CNN's Sam Kiley was live in New Delhi reporting on the latest and answering viewers' questions:

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio celebrated a “turning point moment” Monday for the city as 80,000 city workers returned to the office.

“City hall is abuzz today – it’s a great feeling,” he said.

Approximately 80% of the city’s workforce has been working in the field throughout the pandemic, he said, and he thanked them.

New York City has administered over 6.6 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine, he said.

He also celebrated the downturn in Covid-19 metrics, saying “we got to keep earning it.”

Hospitalization rates are particularly “well well well below the threshold” with 95 patients admitted for suspected Covid-19, with a hospitalization rate of 1.76 per 100,000.

There were at least 1,202 new and suspected Covid-19 cases reported on a seven-day rolling average marking a 2.78% positivity which the mayor called “a great number.”

Note: These numbers were released by the City health dept and may not line up with JHU’s Covid Tracking project.

About 175 journalists and media workers have died after contracting Covid-19 in the past 14 months in India, according to a tally by the Network of Women in Media, India (NWMI). 

In a memorial page, NWMI has compiled a comprehensive list of retired and working reporters, editors, anchors, photographers, and photojournalists who have died. It is unknown how many contracted the virus while working. 

India is currently battling a second wave of Covid-19 cases and facing severe shortage of oxygen, hospital beds, medicines and vaccines. This has exacerbated the death toll across the country. 

Journalists in India were largely not included in the initial phase of the vaccination program when it was made available to frontline workers. Meanwhile, media houses have also failed to provide safe working conditions.

"Media houses need to actively ensure the safety and health of journalists who work for them and those who, as independent stringers or freelancers, supply vital information, photographs and videos to them. Media houses must stop forcing journalists to travel in dangerously unsafe conditions to work in offices instead of encouraging them to work from home," stated the NWMI.

Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Health, said on CNN’s New Day Monday that while it would be unfortunate for the United States to not to reach herd immunity against Covid-19, most people will still be able to get back to their pre-pandemic lives if case numbers continue to fall.

Jha said it isn’t known whether the US will reach herd immunity. 

There is a chunk of people in the United States who have not yet been vaccinated, saying that many of them need time and better access. He remains “pretty optimistic” that a lot more Americans will be vaccinated in the coming weeks and months. 

Experience from Israel has shown that when about 50 to 55% of the population is vaccinated, “you really see case numbers plummet.”  

India is experiencing the world's worst coronavirus outbreak.

Grieving families are struggling to keep themselves and their loved ones safe amid an overwhelmed health care system, and medical workers are stretched thin as some hospitals run out of oxygen and supplies.

The global community is rallying to help India push back against the pandemic, with countries around the world offering aid.

You can help, too. Read about the charities working in India in the article below and click here to donate.

RELATED

The coronavirus is ravaging India. Here's how you can help

As India continues to record more than 300,000 daily cases of Covid-19, it’s hard to tell when the country will reach its peak, says Chandrika Bahadur, chair of the Lancet Covid-19 Commission India Taskforce.

However, India will continue to see high mortality due to Covid-19 in May, because deaths lag behind the rise in infections.

While Lancet has recommended lockdowns for bringing the numbers in control, Bahadur says it’s a “double-edged sword” for a country like India and needs a nuanced approach.

“There are still a large number of districts in the country that are not seeing the wave that we're seeing in Delhi … and other high-risk spots of the country. And over there you can probably have a strategy that is less about lockdowns and much more about wearing masks and distancing and banning gatherings,” she explained. “In other places, however, unfortunately, there is no way out where the numbers are what they are other than shutting down for a few weeks.”

Evidence suggests that one-week lockdowns do not work and need to continue for “six weeks at a minimum before you really start seeing a significant decline,” she added.

Bahadur acknowledges that such a step would need provisions for the poor “because this could be devastating.”

“It’s a terrible choice. I have a lot of sympathy for the government because this is a difficult choice to make under all circumstances,” she said. “These are the choices in front of us. None of them are good.”

Watch:

Nepal has recalled retired medics to work for at least a year to help tackle the shortage of health workers as Covid-19 cases in the country rise.

Nepal’s Prime Minister Sharma Oli addressed the nation on television on Monday as the country recorded at least 7,388 Covid-19 cases, the highest number of new daily cases.

Oli also announced a ban on exporting oxygen and said that private hospitals and clinics, along with more public hospitals, would be converted into specialized Covid-19 hospitals, whereas public venues like stadiums and schools would be used as quarantine centers.