India's official death toll from COVID-19 surpasses 300,000, Japan begins mass vaccination program

인도 누적 사망 30만 명 넘어…세계 3번째

India recorded 4-thousand-500 more deaths from COVID-19 on Monday.
Israel, which vaccinated more than half its population, decided to lift most virus restrictions from June.
Min Suk-hyen has the latest.
India's official death toll from COVID-19 has topped the 300-thousand mark, making it the third highest in the world following the U.S. and Brazil.
But experts say that the actual number of fatalities could be much higher as many deaths have not been officially recorded.
The country has reported more than 222-thousand cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of infections to more than 26 million.
The recent spike in cases makes India second only to the U.S. in terms of cases, and it is now the epicenter of the pandemic.
Medical staff are struggling to cope with an influx of patients as hospital beds, oxygen supplies, and critical drugs are in short supply.
And a rising number of fungus infections linked with the steroids used to treat COVID-19 has added to the overall crisis.
Over in Japan, Tokyo is still the country's main COVID-19 hotspot, with a weekly average of 650 cases per day.
But the situation has also worsened in Japan's second largest city of Osaka, which is running out of hospital beds and ventilators.
So far, the country has recorded more than 700-thousand infections and 12-thousand deaths from the virus.
While Japan kicked off a mass vaccination program in Tokyo and Osaka this week, doctors warn of a medical system collapse and advise against holding the Olympic Games this July.
Meanwhile, Israel has decided to lift most of its COVID-19 restrictions from June.
This comes as the country has vaccinated more than 55 percent of its population.
Under the new measure, people will no longer have to socially distance, or place partitions between one another.
But people will be asked to wear a face mask indoors.
Min Suk-hyen, Arirang News.

#COVID19 #India #infection

2021-05-24, 22:00 (KST)