April 21 coronavirus news

By Sophie Jeong, CNN

Updated 3:04 AM ET, Mon April 26, 2021
11 Posts
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8:31 a.m. ET, April 21, 2021

France will lift domestic travel restrictions on May 3

From CNN’s Saskya Vandoorne and Antonella Francini in Paris

France will lift domestic travel restrictions on May 3, the French government spokesperson said Wednesday. 

Currently, people are allowed to go outside, but within a 10-kilometer radius from their homes and a nationwide 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. CET curfew is in place. 

Spokesperson Gabriel Attal said kindergarten and primary schools would reopen on April 26 as planned, and high schools would reopen on May 3. 

Attal lauded the vaccination rollout in France and said one in four adults had received a first dose of the vaccine. 

On Tuesday, the French health ministry reported at least 43,098 new cases in the last 24 hours, and recorded 375 deaths, bringing the country's total to 101,597. 

8:51 a.m. ET, April 21, 2021

Biden expected to tout reaching 200 million Covid-19 vaccine shots since taking office today

From CNN's Kaitlan Collins, Jeremy Diamond and Christina Maxouris

President Joe Biden speaks on April 20 at the White House.
President Joe Biden speaks on April 20 at the White House. Evan Vucci/AP

President Biden is expected to tout the US administering 200 million coronavirus vaccine shots since he took office, according to two administration officials.

He will deliver remarks on his Covid-19 response and the state of vaccinations at 1:15 p.m. ET today.

All Americans 16 years and older became eligible for the vaccine on Monday, meeting President Biden's earlier deadline for states to make all American adults eligible for the vaccine to April 19, after an original deadline of May 1.

Health officials — including Dr. Anthony Fauci — estimate that somewhere between 70% to 85% of the country needs to be immune to the virus — either through inoculation or previous infection — to suppress its spread.

So far, roughly 40.1% of the population has gotten at least one Covid-19 vaccine dose, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And about 26% of the population is fully vaccinated, that data shows.

8:18 a.m. ET, April 21, 2021

The US may soon reach a tipping point on Covid-19 vaccine demand. Here's why that's concerning

From CNN's Christina Maxouris

United States National Guard members administer Covid-19 vaccines in Los Angeles on April 8.
United States National Guard members administer Covid-19 vaccines in Los Angeles on April 8. Al Seib/The Los Angeles Times/Getty Images

As US health officials race to get more Covid-19 shots into arms to control the virus, experts now warn the country will run into another challenge in the next few weeks: vaccine supply will likely outstrip demand.

"While timing may differ by state, we estimate that across the US as a whole we will likely reach a tipping point on vaccine enthusiasm in the next 2 to 4 weeks," the Kaiser Family Foundation said in a new report published Tuesday.

"Once this happens, efforts to encourage vaccination will become much harder, presenting a challenge to reaching the levels of herd immunity that are expected to be needed."

Health officials -- including Dr. Anthony Fauci -- estimate that somewhere between 70% to 85% of the country needs to be immune to the virus -- either through inoculation or previous infection -- to suppress is spread.

So far, roughly 40.1% of the population has gotten at least one Covid-19 vaccine dose, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). And about 26% of the population is fully vaccinated, that data shows.

A slowing vaccine demand now, experts say, could give dangerous coronavirus variants the opportunity to continue to mutate, spread and set off new surges -- and it could delay the country's return to a semblance of normalcy.

Read the full story here:

7:25 a.m. ET, April 21, 2021

Indian state arranges for thousands of migrant workers to be bused home after Delhi lockdown

From CNN's Esha Mitra in New Delhi

Hundreds of migrant workers in New Delhi wait at a bus station to leave for their villages on Monday.
Hundreds of migrant workers in New Delhi wait at a bus station to leave for their villages on Monday. AP

The government of the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh is arranging buses for migrant workers to return home from neighboring Delhi after the territory announced a week-long lockdown due to the surge in Covid-19 cases on Monday.

“We are making arrangements for 70,000 to 100,000 people to be taken back to their villages,” Siddharth Nath Singh, a Uttar Pradesh government minister told local news on Tuesday.

Singh added that the Delhi government had left them helpless, bringing back memories of similar incidents last year when thousands of migrant workers queued at Delhi's bus terminals in a scramble to return home after India's first lockdown.

After the city announced its latest lockdown, the Delhi chief minister appealed to migrant workers to stay.

“I am hopeful that this is a small lockdown and we won’t need to extend it, stay in Delhi ... I want to assure you that the government will take care of you,” Arvind Kejriwal said Monday. 

Thousands of people have been seen heading to railway stations and bus stops in cities like Mumbai and Delhi, which have large migrant populations. 

The central government has denied claims that migrant workers are stranded at train stations and bus terminals.

Railways Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday there were no train stations in the country "where migrant workers have come in large numbers or faced any difficulty."

Goyal said "special trains have been operational" and that "there are many tickets available so anyone can book and return home."

The special trains have been operational since June last year, when the country began opening up inter-state transport following several lockdown extensions.

When the nationwide lockdown was imposed in March last year, the country saw tens of thousands of migrants returning home by any means possible, even as inter-state travel was restricted and no transport was available.

The Ministry of Labour and Employment has reactivated 20 control rooms which had been set up in last April to address the grievances of migrant workers, a statement from the ministry on Tuesday said.

6:47 a.m. ET, April 21, 2021

At least 22 Covid-19 patients die waiting for oxygen supplies in Indian state

From CNN's Esha Mitra in New Delhi

At least 22 Covid-19 patients who were on ventilator support died Wednesday in the Indian state of Maharashtra, waiting for oxygen supplies that were lost in an accident, a senior official from the Nashik district said. 

Suraj Mandhare told reporters the oxygen was lost due to a leakage from a tanker at the Zakir Hussain hospital on Wednesday.

“There was a valves leakage in tankers in Nashik, it was a large scale leakage, definitely this would impact the hospital where the tankers were headed,” Maharashtra’s health minister Rajesh Tope told reporters Wednesday.

The district administration is coordinating with hospital officials to make oxygen available to patients who need it at the earliest, Mandhare said.

The patients who died required oxygen as their “pressure” was low and the leakage from this shipment meant that they did not receive the supply in time, Mandhare added. 

India's Minister of Home Affairs Amit Shah tweeted about the event saying: "I am distressed to hear the news of the accident of oxygen leak in a hospital in Nashik. I express my deepest condolences on this irreparable loss of those who have lost their loved ones in this accident. I pray to God for the health of all the other patients."

In Maharashtra there is currently a daily demand for 1550 metric tons of oxygen for Covid-19 patients -- but the state manufactures 1250 metric tons of oxygen, which is being used entirely for medical purposes. 

The remaining 300 metric tons are being supplied by other states, Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope told reporters Wednesday.

Maharashtra has 3,343,359 coronavirus cases and 61,343 deaths, according to the Indian Ministry of Health on Wednesday.

4:35 a.m. ET, April 21, 2021

China administers more than 200 million doses of vaccine

From CNN's Steven Jiang in Beijing

China has administered more than 200 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines, a spokesman of the National Health Commission said at a press conference Wednesday.

Mi Feng said the government would accelerate the pace of vaccination in China as the number of cases outside the country continued to climb.

He added that health authorities would ensure people have access to the second dose of vaccine within eight weeks of their first shot, in response to a reported shortage of vaccines in some locations.

2:53 a.m. ET, April 21, 2021

China's vaccine nationalism softens as country signals it may approve foreign-made shots

From CNN's Nectar Gan and James Griffiths

A medical worker administers the Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine on an individual in Beijing, on April 15.
A medical worker administers the Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine on an individual in Beijing, on April 15. Noel Celis/AFP/Getty Images

As much as China may want to promote its domestically-produced Covid-19 vaccines, it has to face reality.

Last month, Beijing issued a new policy making it easier for foreigners to apply for a visa to China if they had received a Chinese vaccine -- raising concerns among experts, who warned it risked setting a dangerous precedent which could leave the world separated into vaccine silos.

There was also a practical problem: in many countries, including the United States, it is impossible to get a Chinese vaccine because they have not been approved for use by regulators.

With about half of adults in the US having received at least one Covid-19 shot, many travelers eligible to enter China -- either Chinese citizens or foreigners who managed to obtain a visa -- were left unsure whether the vaccine they received would be deemed sufficient to travel to China.

China's embassy in Washington finally provided some clarity in a recent statement, outlining what tests travelers to China who have received one of the US-approved vaccines -- Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson -- should get in order to be approved to enter the country.

With China largely back to business and infection rates low, it is likely many will soon attempt that process, particularly as the number of vaccinated continues to rise in the US.

China considers Pfizer data: Last month, China launched its own version of a vaccine passport, the International Travel Health Certificate (ITHC), to enable immunized people to travel more freely. The country is also moving in the direction of approving more vaccines, including foreign-made ones, which would make it easier for Chinese living overseas and foreigners hoping to travel to China to sign up to the ITHC.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Chinese officials have been scrutinizing clinical-trial data for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which could be approved for domestic use before July.

Read the full story:

2:21 a.m. ET, April 21, 2021

India's second Covid wave hits like a "tsunami" as hospitals buckle under weight

From CNN's Jessie Yeung and Vedika Sud

Healthcare and other essential services across India are close to collapse as a second coronavirus wave that started in mid-March tears through the country with devastating speed.

Graveyards are running out of space, hospitals are turning away patients, and desperate families are pleading for help on social media for beds and medicine.

India reported 295,041 cases of coronavirus and 2,023 deaths Wednesday, its highest rise in cases and highest death increase recorded in a single day since the beginning of the pandemic, according to a CNN tally of figures from the Indian Ministry of Health.

"The volume is humongous," said Jalil Parkar, a senior pulmonary consultant at the Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai, which had to convert its lobby into an additional Covid ward. "It's just like a tsunami."

"Things are out of control," said Ramanan Laxminarayan, director of the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics and Policy in New Delhi.
"There's no oxygen. A hospital bed is hard to find. It's impossible to get a test. You have to wait over a week. And pretty much every system that could break down in the health care system has broken down," he said.

Read the full story:

2:51 a.m. ET, April 21, 2021

India reports highest rise in Covid-19 cases and deaths in a single day

From CNN's Esha Mitra in New Delhi

A patient who tested positive for Covid-19 is being unloaded from an ambulance at a treatment facility in Kolkata, India, on April 18.
A patient who tested positive for Covid-19 is being unloaded from an ambulance at a treatment facility in Kolkata, India, on April 18. Debarchan Chatterjee/NurPhoto/Getty Images

India reported 295,041 coronavirus cases and 2,023 virus-related deaths Wednesday, its highest rise in infections and fatalities in a single day during the pandemic, according to a CNN tally of figures from the Indian Ministry of Health.

Several Indian states have imposed restrictions such as night curfews and on public movement, with only essential services remaining operational.

The country’s healthcare infrastructure is strained, and states have reported shortages in the availability of oxygen and said they are running out of hospital beds.

The central government on Sunday prohibited the supply of oxygen for industrial use from April 22 until further orders so it may be diverted for medical use. 

Wednesday is the seventh consecutive day India has reported more than 200,000 cases in a span of 24 hours, according to CNN's tally of figures from ministry.

India has reported 15,616,130 total Covid-19 cases, including 182,553 deaths, according to the ministry.