The Latest: Nepal extends lockdown until end of May

The Latest: Nepal extends lockdown until end of May

Nepal authorities extended lockdown in the capital Kathmandu and surrounding districts by another 15 days as the Himalayan nation recorded the highest daily new cases and highest daily deaths from coronavirus on Tuesday

By The Associated Press

May 11, 2021, 2:47 PM

• 11 min read

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On Location: May 11, 2021

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KATHMANDU, Nepal — Authorities extended lockdown in the capital Kathmandu and surrounding districts by another 15 days as the Himalayan nation recorded the highest daily new cases and highest daily deaths from coronavirus on Tuesday.

The last lockdown was scheduled to end on Wednesday but now has been extended until May 27.

According to the Ministry of Heath, there were 9,483 new cases on Tuesday while 225 died because of COVID-19.

Grocery stores will be allowed open an hour earlier in the morning to spread out shoppers and lessen the crowd.

Nepal so far has recorded 413,111 confirmed cases while 4,084 people have died.

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THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:

— A jumbo pop-up hospital treating COVID-19 patients in hard-hit Mumbai has more than 2,000 beds, most of them full

— WHO official strongly denies making false statements to Italian prosecutors about U.N. report into Italy’s virus response

— Argentina's doctors adapt, more learn intensive-care techniques as COVID-19 puts younger patients in hospitals

— Mexico says Russia is having production problems with its Sputnik V vaccine; Russia denies the report.

— Volunteers at Hindu temples, Muslim groups and Sikh relief organizations in US mobilize to support India during its virus surge

— Follow more of AP’s pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic and https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine

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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lankan authorities have imposed restrictions on inter-provincial travels and cancelled all functions and gatherings until the end of May, in the latest move designed to contain the rapid spreading of the COVID-19 virus.

Police spokesman Ajith Rohana said the restrictions will be effective from Tuesday midnight and that military and police are now setting up special roadblocks at provincial borders to prevent people crossing into other provinces. Besides, travelling for holidays and leisure are also banned.

Also, the government has limited the number of people who could enter and stay in commercial establishments including supermarkets and shopping malls.

The latest restrictions come as Sri Lanka is grappling with a highly infectious variant which has surged the number of positive cases within the last two weeks.

Health officials warn that the confirmed cases could rise further in the next two weeks because of the last month’s celebrations and shopping by the people to mark the traditional new year.

The latest health statistics show that Sri Lanka’s total number of positive cases have reached 125,906 with 801 fatalities.

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WASHINGTON — Colleges and universities across the nation can now start tapping into $36 billion in relief funding that Congress approved in March, the Biden administration announced Tuesday.

The U.S. Education Department said it’s starting to steer the funding to more than 5,000 public and private colleges. The funding was included in a $1.9 trillion relief package that also included $123 billion for K-12 schools.

The higher education aid is being allocated to public and private institutions using a formula that factors in the share of low-income students they enroll. Colleges must spend at least half the funding on direct relief for students. The other half can be used on a variety of expenses related to the pandemic.

In a reversal from Trump’s policy, the Biden administration said student grants can be given to international students and those who are in the U.S. illegally.

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said the funding makes sure the hardest hit students “have the opportunity to enroll, continue their education, graduate and pursue their careers.”

Broadly, the guidance says colleges should use the funding to support vulnerable students, reduce the spread of the coronavirus and retain students whose education was disrupted by the pandemic.

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MEXICO CITY — Russia has been having so many problems producing second doses of its Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine that it probably will be unable to supply enough to people who already got the first dose, Mexican officials said.

It’s the latest account of production problems for Sputnik V, which the Russian government has been promising to other countries but has not been able to supply in sufficient quantities.

Sputnik is unusual among coronavirus vaccines in that the two doses are different and not interchangeable.

Mexico’s assistant health secretary, Hugo López-Gatell, said the Russians have found that the first adenovirus grows much more quickly than the second.