<p>"We are in a critical point of the pandemic right now," said Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO's technical lead on Covid-19.</p><p>"The trajectory of this pandemic is growing... exponentially.</p><p>"This is not the situation we want to be in 16 months into a pandemic, when we have proven control measures," she told reporters.</p><p>The coronavirus has already killed more than 2.9 million people and infected nearly 136 million across the world.</p><p>But despite the sombre news in Europe -- the world's worst-hit region -- Britain eased curbs for the first time in months on Monday, allowing Britons to enjoy a taste of freedom with a pint and a haircut.</p><p>The changes illustrate how fast-vaccinating countries are leaving other -- mostly poorer -- nations behind.</p><p>In South Africa, the president called for African-made vaccines as the continent lags behind other regions in its innoculation efforts, struggling with inadequate supplies as well as a lack of financing and logistical problems.</p><p>"Africa needs to harness its own continental capabilities and identify opportunities for collaboration," Cyril Ramaphosa said.</p><p>Ramaphosa suggested India or Brazil could help after successfully developing their own generic pharmaceutical industries.</p><p>But both giants are battling their own health crises, with India overtaking Brazil on Monday as the country with the second-highest number of infections after logging more than 168,000 new cases in a day.</p><p>- South Asia tightens curbs -</p><p>"The solution is for everyone to stay home for two months and end this (pandemic) once and for all. But the public doesn't listen," said Rohit, a 28-year-old waiter in Mumbai.</p><p>Experts have warned that huge, mostly maskless and tightly packed crowds at political rallies, religious festivals and in other public places have fuelled India's caseload.</p><p>In the Himalayan city Haridwar on Monday, maskless Hindu pilgrims squeezed shoulder-to-shoulder on the banks of the Ganges River for a dip during the Kumbh Mela ritual.</p><p>Several Indian regions have tightened their coronavirus measures with Maharashtra, India's wealthiest state and current epicentre of its epidemic, imposing a weekend lockdown and night curfew.</p><p>Neighbouring Bangladesh has announced it will virtually seal itself off, shutting down both international and domestic transport starting Wednesday in an attempt to staunch its own spiralling outbreak.</p><p>The South Asian nation of 160 million people will also shutter all offices for eight days.</p><p>Russia, meanwhile, said it would suspend air links with Turkey and Tanzania for six weeks as they battle a surge in Covid-19 cases.</p><p>- Glimmers of hope –</p><p>But there are glimmers of hope in the drawn-out fight against the pandemic.</p><p>English pubs and restaurants can now serve people outside, a move welcomed by the hard-hit hospitality sector despite wintry temperatures.</p><p>"It'll be great to see everybody again and see all the locals," Louise Porter, landlady of The Crown Inn in Askrigg, northern England, told AFP.</p><p>"Our lives have just been turned upside down, just like everybody else's," she said, adding: "We're still here to tell the tale."</p><p>England's hairdressers, indoor gyms and swimming pools also got the green light to reopen.</p><p>Retail parks and high streets anticipate a shopping spree, hoping the partial reprieve after more than three months of stay-at-home orders will trigger an economic windfall.</p><p>Once the worst affected country in Europe, Britain launched a successful vaccination campaign coupled with lockdown measures that cut deaths by 95 percent and cases by 90 percent from January.</p><p>In France, now the European country with the most infections, an expansion of the vaccine rollout has buoyed optimism among lockdown-weary residents. Everyone over 55 years old is now eligible for Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca jabs.</p><p>In Greece, high school students were welcomed back to campus for the first time in five months on Monday.</p><p>And in other positive news, clinical trial results indicated that the Regeneron antibody treatment used to treat Covid-19 patients also helps prevent infections.</p><p>burs/bp/kjl</p><p>© 2021 AFP</p>
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