Pedestrians, some wearing protective face masks, walk through a street market in downtown Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, June 25, 2020. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Coronavirus Global Updates: The number of coronavirus cases is approaching the 10 million mark globally, with at least 493,040​ deaths due to the disease. With cases rapidly rising and movements curtailed, the ongoing recession is expected to become deeper than expected, Reuters reported.

The United States registered the largest single day increase in coronavirus cases since the virus originated with over 40,800 new cases on Friday. In the US, new cases reported per day increased on an average of 60 per cent over the past two weeks, according to an AP analysis. The country has reported a rise in cases mostly in the south and west.

South Korea and China, in the last 24 hours, reported cases in double digits as what is being seen as a second wave of coronavirus.

Meanwhile, a World Health Organization-led coalition fighting COVID-19 is asking both governments and the private sector to help raise $31.3 billion in the next year to develop and deliver tests, treatments and vaccines for the disease.

Texas on Friday ordered all bars to be closed and Florida banned alcohol at such establishments.(AP)

Germany cautions risk still high as economies restart

German Chancellor Angela Merkel cautioned Saturday that the coronavirus pandemic is far from over, as regional outbreaks gave rise to fears of a second wave. Two of the largest US states reversed course and reinstated some coronavirus restrictions amid a surge in new infections.

German authorities renewed a lockdown in a western region of about 500,000 people last week after about 1,300 slaughterhouse workers tested positive for COVID-19, in an attempt to prevent the outbreak from spreading across the area. Germany has recorded nearly 195,000 coronavirus infections and only around 9,000 deaths, with more than 177,000 recoveries, according to a Johns Hopkins University tally.

People wait to cross a street at the shopping district of Orchard Road as the city state reopens the economy, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Singapore June 19, 2020. (Reuters)

Nepal’s tally crosses 12,000-mark

Nepal has registered 554 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, taking the nationwide COVID-19 tally to 12,309, the health ministry said on Saturday. Health Ministry Spokesperson Jageshwar Gautam said that 434 men and 120 women tested positive for COVID-19 during tests conducted at 22 health labs across the country in the past 24 hours.

As of Saturday, coronavirus has spread to all 77 districts of Nepal. A 50-year-old man, who recently returned from India after undergoing treatment of lung cancer, died of coronavirus, taking the country’s death toll to 28, the spokesperson said.

Individuals have societal responsibility to end COVID-19 outbreak: Dr Anthony Fauci

America’s top infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci has said that individuals have a societal responsibility to end the coronavirus outbreak as the US set another single-day record, surpassing 40,000 COVID-19 cases for the first time. Fauci, during the first White House Coronavirus Task Force press conference in months, said that there’s no other infectious disease that goes from 40 per cent of the people having no symptoms to some having mild symptoms to some having severe, some requiring staying at home for weeks, some going to the hospital, some getting intensive care, some getting intubated, some getting ventilated and some dying.

“I just want to bring this out without making it seem that anybody is at fault, you have an individual responsibility to yourself but you have a societal responsibility because if we want to end this outbreak, really end it and then hopefully when a vaccine comes and puts the nail in the coffin, we’ve got to realise that we are part of the process,” he said on Friday.

US witnesses record single-day increase of COVID cases

In this photo taken Wednesday, May 20, 2020, stranded Ethiopian migrants receive informational materials informing them how to protect themselves against the coronavirus, in Bosaso, Somalia. (International Organization for Migration (IOM) – Somalia via AP)

The United States reported a record single-day increase with 40,870 new coronavirus cases Friday. The country, the worst affected in the world, now has 2.475 million infections and 125,039 fatalities. The new record for positive tests comes as several states begin unlocking and easing restrictions.

Following these figures, two of America’s largest states imposed new restrictions. Texas on Friday ordered all bars to close, while Florida banned alcohol at such establishments citing it a potential risk. The two states joined a small but growing number that are either backtracking or putting any further reopening of their economies on hold.

China reports 21 new cases, up from 13 a day earlier

Mainland China reported the highest number of new coronavirus cases in four days post the emergence of a new cluster in Beijing, The National Health Commission said Saturday. The country reported 21 new infections Friday, up from 13 a day earlier and the highest this week since Monday.

The first case of the current outbreak was reported on June 11, after which more than 290 people have tested positive. China currently has 84,725 cases and 4,641 fatalities.

Commuters wear face masks to protect against the new coronavirus as they walk through a subway station in Beijing. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

EU holds off decision on borders; Americans, Brazilians & Russians to be excluded

After the convention of ambassadors from 27 EU countries, the decision to settle on the final “safe list” of countries whose nationals could travel through the European Union from July is still unsettled.

However most likely the United States, Brazil and Russia are set to be excluded. The European Commission had advised that the bloc first lift internal border controls and then gradually open up to outsiders.

Coronavirus spreads to smaller towns in Brazil

In Brazil’s smaller towns where specialised medical treatment is lacking, the virus is spreading at a faster rate than the United States at most days. Experts believe this could lead to a potential second wave of news cases in urban centres from rural areas.

Volunteer Welington Goncalves, center, takes a break from sanitization duties to help contain the spread of the new coronavirus in an area occupied by squatters in a poor region of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, June 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Australia expects rise in cases as flights return home

With hundreds of Australian nationals returning home from overseas, health officials are expecting a surge in the number of new coronavirus cases. About 300 people are due to arrive in Adelaide this weekend from Mumbai, while hundreds are expected to come from South America and Indonesia.

South Australia state Health Minister Stephen Wade said Saturday he is expecting five to 10 returnees to have the coronavirus.

Over hundreds will arrive from India, South America and Indonesia. (AP Photo/File)

Swedish expert says WHO made ‘total mistake’ in covid list

The World Health Organisation has misinterpreted COVID-19 data and overstated the health risks faced by Sweden, Anders Tegnell, the state’s epidemiologist said. 

The WHO has made a “total mistake” by putting Sweden on the list that shows where “accelerated transmission has led to very significant resurgence that, if left unchecked, will push health systems to the brink once again in Europe.” he said.

WHO in response clarified and said that the number of new cases in Sweden “remains relatively high,” but linked the development to increased testing since the beginning of June.

Venezuela is a health ‘time bomb,’ says Colombian president

Columbian President Ivan Duque called its neighbour Venezuela a “public health time bomb” and said there was not enough reliable information about the coronavirus in that country. This, he added, was a worry for Columbia, as Venezulans in large numbers come to Columbia to seek refuge. 

Columbia also shares a border with Brazil, the second worst affected country in terms of coronavirus infections.

(With inputs from agencies)