Serbia opens field hospital; S Africa mulls tougher lockdown

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Troops in Serbia set up an emergency 500-bed field hospital Monday as the Balkan nation battled a surge in coronavirus infections that underscored the risks of swiftly easing lockdowns. South Africa debated a return to tougher lockdown even as thousands of students in sixth and 11th grades returned to school after nearly four months locked out of classrooms.

South African pupils from seventh and 12th grades returned to classes last month, but the government has postponed further school re-openings amid a quickening rise in confirmed infections. South Africa had 196,750 COVID-19 confirmed cases as of Monday, more than 40% of all the cases reported by Africa’s 54 countries. South Africa has recorded 3,199 deaths.

The makeshift hospital in a sports hall in Belgrade is a “precautionary measure” as hospitals in the Serbian capital are reaching their capacity because of the coronavirus outbreak, said Goran Vesic, the city's deputy mayor. Serbian infections have returned to levels last seen at the peak of the pandemic in March and April.

Serbia's rising infections provide a chilling insight into how the virus, while retreating in much of Europe, can roar back if lockdowns are lifted too swiftly.

The country went from having one of Europe’s toughest lockdowns to a near-complete reopening at the beginning of May. Soccer and tennis matches were played in packed stands, resulting in several players testing positive. Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic and other players also caught the virus following an event he organized in Serbia and the Croatian Adriatic resort of Zadar.

Serbia’s defense minister, Aleksandar Vulin, himself reported to be infected with the coronavirus but now apparently recovered, visited another 110-bed field hospital the military constructed in the southern town of Novi...