Handling of Outbreak: Public loses faith in govts

Governments are fast losing support for their handling of the coronavirus outbreak from a public that widely believes death and infection figures to be higher than statistics show, a survey of six countries revealed yesterday.

Support for the federal government of the United States, the country with the most reported infections and deaths, dropped by four percentage points from mid-June, with 44 percent of respondents declaring themselves dissatisfied, said a report by the Kekst CNC communications consulting group.

In Britain, just over a third of respondents approved of their government's actions, a three-point decline in one month, according to the report, based on an opinion poll conducted over five days in mid-July.

It also included France, Sweden, Japan and Germany.

"In most countries this month, support for national governments is falling," the report said.

The notable exception was France, where approval rose by six percentage points, yielding a dissatisfaction rate of 41 percent.

France, which has the world's seventh-highest Covid-19 toll, has all but emerged from lockdown but has seen infections increase in recent days, prompting the government to order face masks in all enclosed public spaces.

In Sweden, which took a controversial soft approach to lockdown and has a higher toll than its neighbours, the prime minister's approval rating has shrunk from a positive seven percent to a neutral zero, the poll found.

People who participated in the survey --  1,000 per country polled -- generally believed the coronavirus to be more widespread, and more deadly, than official figures show.

Nearly a third of the world's 15.8 million coronavirus infections have been registered since July 1, while the total death toll crossed 640,000.

The United States remains the hardest-hit nation, on Friday reporting its second straight day of more than 70,000 new cases and over 1,000 deaths as the virus takes hold in the country's south and west.

A similar resurgence in Europe has prompted the World Health Organization to sound the alarm over the spread, as Britain joined France, Germany and Austria in tightening rules on mask-wearing as well as rolling out greater testing.

'WARTIME MODE'

New outbreaks continue to wreak havoc elsewhere around the world, with fresh clusters emerging across Asia.

South Korea yesterday reported its highest infections figure in nearly four months, and in Vietnam the first locally-transmitted case in nearly 100 days was detected.

Authorities in China said Friday they would introduce a new wave of testing in the port city of Dalian, home to about six million people, after fresh infections were detected there.

The local government's health commission said the city must "enter wartime mode" to prevent any spread as it announced on-the-spot nucleic acid tests for people using the subway system and new lockdowns for some communities.

That did not prevent the Chinese Super League kicking off behind closed doors yesterday with the players of Guangzhou Evergrande and Shanghai Shenhua holding a minute's silence for the victims of the pandemic.

However festivities were called off in Sao Paulo, the biggest city in hard-hit Brazil, which indefinitely postponed its 2021 carnival because of the pandemic.

Europe accounts for a fifth of the world's case count so far.

Outbreaks have been seen recently in the Spanish regions of Aragon and Catalonia where officials have reintroduced curbs on daily life and urged Barcelona residents only to leave home for essential trips.

'THE WORLD IS INFESTED'

French Prime Minister Jean Castex said on-the-spot testing would be rolled out for travellers arriving in France from 16 high-risk countries.

Masks are now mandatory in enclosed spaces across the nation and there are fears that the summer holiday season could see a new spike as people flock to beaches and tourist spots.

Britain on Friday also made it compulsory to wear a face covering in shopping centres, banks, takeaway outlets, sandwich shops and supermarkets.

Exceptions have been made, including for children under 11 or people with respiratory problems, but others who refuse to cover their nose and mouth in the UK risk a fine of up to £100 ($130).

The virus has overwhelmed health systems in Latin America, with infected people sleeping in tents or cars outside hospitals in Peru's second largest city of Arequipa.

"The world is infested," said Raquel Barrera, a 28-year-old in El Salvador who has lost three brothers and both her parents to the disease in less than two months.