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.
Workers wearing protective suits register people for coronavirus tests at a community health clinic in Beijing, Sunday, June 28, 2020. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Sri Lanka to reopen schools in phased manner
Principals, teachers and other staff in Sri Lanka returned to schools on Monday after three months of lockdown imposed in the country to contain the spread of the coronavirus. Education Minister Dullas Alahapperuma said the students will return to schools next week under four phases.
“The principals, teachers and the non-academic staff should return to work today (Monday) to set plans for the students’ return next month,” Alahapperuma said. “Our sons and daughters walking back to study would be the ultimate signal of the country returning to normalcy after the pandemic”, Alahapperuma said.
UAE suspends all flights from Pakistan as coronavirus cases cross 2 lakh: report
Two women sit outside a take away only coffee shop in London, Tuesday, June 23, 2020. The closing of restaurants, hair cutters and pubs will be under review as the UK relax coronavirus lockdown measures implemented to stem the spread of the deadly virus.(AP Photo/Frank Augstein)
The UAE has temporarily suspended all incoming flights from Pakistan until it sets up a special COVID-19 lab to test the travellers from the country, according to media reports. On Monday, Pakistan’s coronavirus infection tally crossed the 2 lakh-mark after 3,557 fresh cases were reported during the last 24 hours.
As the number of coronavirus cases went up in Pakistan, the UAE has decided to not receive passengers coming from Pakistan from June 29 until a special COVID-19 lab is set up to test them. The decision would also apply to transit flights originating from Pakistan, the Express Tribune reported. The decision by the UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority came after Dubai-state carrier Emirates already suspended services from Pakistan from June 24.
“COVID-toes” symptom reported in children might not be linked to coronavirus infection: Study
A bookseller waits for customers at College Street in Kolkata. (Express Photo by Shashi Ghosh)
The pattern of skin reddening and swelling reported in children during the pandemic, popularly called “COVID-toes,” might not be associated with novel coronavirus infection, according to a study which found these lesions in infants who tested negative for COVID-19. Researchers from the La Fe University Hospital in Spain assessed 32 patients, including 20 children and adolescents, with new-onset skin inflammation between April 9 and April 15.
Based on earlier COVID-19 studies, they said these skin lesions, referred to as acute acro-ischemia, have been reported as a possible sign of SARS-CoV-2 infection in adolescents and children. However, the current research, published in the journal JAMA Dermatology, did not find any evidence that the skin lesions are related to COVID-19. In the study, scientists including Juncal Roca-Gines, sought to evaluate the mechanism by which these acute skin lesions formed.
Nepal records 475 new coronavirus cases
Nepal’s coronavirus tally crossed the 13,000-mark with the detection of 475 new cases in the last 24 hours, the health ministry said on Monday. Of the new cases, 363 are males and 112 females, health ministry spokesperson Jageshwar Gautam said at his daily press briefing.
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)
The COVID-19 tally in the country now stands at 13,248, he said, adding that the virus has so far claimed 29 lives. As many as 3,134 coronavirus patients have recovered from the disease. As on Monday, 10,085 were undergoing treatment at different health facilities across the country, the ministry said.
Singapore gears up to reopen tourism-linked businesses
Singapore on Monday reported 202 new coronavirus cases, pushing the tally to 43,661, as the country is gearing up to reopen tourism-linked businesses in stages during the phase-2 of the COVID-19 ‘circuit breaker’ reopening. The new patients include six community cases, the health ministry said.
Of the six community cases, four are Singaporeans (citizens) or permanent residents (foreigners) and two are foreigners on work passes, it said. The rest 196 patients are all foreign workers living in dormitories. With the 202 new cases, the total number of COVID-19 patients in Singapore rose to 43,661.
EU set to list nations whose citizens can visit
A vendor sells face design masks at a traditional market to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Jakarta, Indonesia June 23, 2020. (REUTERS/Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana)
Spain’s foreign minister says that the European Union is putting together a list of 15 countries that are not bloc members and whose nationals will be allowed to visit from Wednesday. The final list will be announced later on Monday or Tuesday morning, Arancha Gonzalez Laya told Spain’s Cadena SER radio.
She said she wasn’t aware of pressure from the United States for the EU to reopen travel to their nationals, adding that countries have been chosen according to their coronavirus statistics — whether similar or not to that in the EU — trends of contagion and how reliable data is.
Among the countries being discussed is Morocco, whose government doesn’t plan to open borders until July 10. Gonzalez Laya said that the EU is considering to accept travelers from China if Beijing reciprocates accepting travelers from the EU starting on July 1.
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.
A vendor sits near a face design masks display at a traditional market, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Jakarta, Indonesia. (Picture credit: Reuters)
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.