A medical worker in protective suit collects, through a window of a vehicle, a swab from a man for nucleic acid testing following the new outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Beijing, China June 28, 2020. (cnsphoto via Reuters)
Coronavirus Global Updates: The total number of coronavirus infections surpassed ten million on Sunday, and nearly half a million people have died due to the disease, the Associated Press reported.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said another daily record of over 189,000 confirmed cases have been reported in the past 24 hours. Last week, a previous high of about 183,000 new cases were reported in a single day.
Brazil recorded the maximum cases in a single-day span at about 46,800, followed by 44,400 cases in the United States.
South Africa’s surge of coronavirus cases likely to rise rapidly
A volunteer receives an injection from a medical worker during the country’s first human clinical trial for a potential vaccine against the novel coronavirus, at the Baragwanath hospital in Soweto, South Africa, June 24, 2020. (Reuters/File)
South Africa’s current surge of Covid-19 cases is expected to dramatically increase in the coming weeks and press the country’s hospitals to the limit, the health minister said Sunday, the Associated Press reported.
Health Minister Zwelini Mkhize said in a statement that out of 1,38,000 confirmed cases, more than 4,300 people have been hospitalised. He further warned that this number is likely to rise rapidly. “We are seeing a rapid rise in the cumulative number of Covid-19 cases indicating that, as we expected, we are approaching a surge during the months of July and August,” Mkhize said in a statement.
Of those who have been hospitalised, 80 per cent are in general wards and about 15 per cent are getting high flow oxygen treatment. Mkhize said that about 11 per cent of the hospitalised patients are severe cases and over 58 per cent of them are on ventilators, adding that dexamethasone is being administered to critically ill patients. South Africa accounts for more that a third of the reported cases for all 54 countries in Africa.
Virus death toll drops to 5 in NY, once the US epicenter
People at an eatery in Austin, Texas, U.S., June 28, 2020. (Reuters)
Five people died Saturday from the coronavirus in New York state, the lowest daily death toll the state has reported since March 15. Saturday’s total compared to 13 fatalities the day before as the number of fatalities caused by the virus continues to plummet in the state.
During the peak of the pandemic in April, nearly 800 people were dying a day from coronavirus. “We are on the exact opposite end,” Gov.Andrew Cuomo said in an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
However, New York still leads the nation in COVID-19 deaths with nearly 25,000, according to the state’s official tally, which doesn’t include people who likely died of the disease. Meanwhile, fewer than 900 patients were hospitalized Saturday for COVID-19, down from a peak of over 18,000 in April.
Germany reports 262 new cases of Covid-19
An elderly woman wearing a face mask shops in a supermarket in Bad Honnef near Bonn, Germany, April 27, 2020. (Reuters/File)
Germany reported around 262 new cases of coronavirus, taking the total number of infections in the country to 193,761, according to data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases, Reuters reported. The death toll increased by four, taking the total tally to 8,961.
New cases decline further in China
A woman wearing a raincoat and face mask rides a bicycle with a young person on her back seat amid rainfall, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Beijing, China June 29, 2020. (Reuters)
China reported a further decline in coronavirus cases, with just 12 new cases on Monday, the Associated Press reported. Seven of these new cases were from Beijing, where as many as 8.3 million people have been tested in recent weeks. The National Health Commission said that new cases in the city were down by half from the day before.
Beijing had shut a wholesale food market where the virus spread widely earlier this month, closed schools again and locked down some neighbourhoods. Those leaving Beijing are required to have a negative virus test result within the previous seven days.
Australia sees biggest daily rise in Covid-19 cases in two months
Austalia’s second most populous state Victoria said on Monday it is considering reimposing social distancing restrictions after the country reported its highest one-day rise in new coronavirus infections in over two months, Reuters reported.
Around 75 new cases were reported in Victoria in the past 24 hours. Prime Minister Scott Morrison called on states to continue easing restrictions insisting the country’s economy cannot remain idled.
Seoul considers new curbs as virus cases climb
South Korea has reported 42 new infections of COVID-19 as infections steadily climb in the greater capital area, forcing authorities to consider stronger social restrictions.
The figures announced by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday brought the national caseload to 12,757, including 282 deaths.
Twenty-four of the new cases were reported from capital Seoul and nearby metropolitan areas, which have been at the center of a virus resurgence since late May. At least 12 of the new cases were linked to international arrivals as the virus continues to strengthen its hold elsewhere around the world.