The Covid-19 pandemic is still raging worldwide, but fresh World Health Organisation data indicates its pace is easing in most regions, with the biggest slowdown seen in the hard-hit Americas, AFP reports.
More than 1.7 million new coronavirus cases and some 39 000 new deaths were recorded last week, the WHO said in a situation report published late Monday.
The numbers for the seven-day period ending on 23 August mark a 5% decrease in new Covid-19 cases globally and a 12% drop in new deaths compared to a week earlier.
Despite the slowdown, the fresh numbers pushed the global total since the start of the pandemic to well over 23 million cases and more than 800 000 deaths.
With the exception of Southeast Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean, all regions registered declines in new numbers, the UN health agency said.
The Americas remain by far the hardest-hit in the pandemic, accounting last week for half of all newly reported cases and 62% of deaths.
But the region also saw the biggest slowdown, with the number of new cases decreasing 11 percent and new deaths falling 17% from a week earlier, driven in part by reduced transmission reported from the United States and Brazil - the world's two worst-affected countries, the data showed.
The WHO, meanwhile, cautioned that several countries and territories in the Caribbean had reported large increases in cases, and suggested this could be linked to growing tourism.
Eldest son of Brazil's president positive for Covid-19
Reuters reports that Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, the eldest son of president Jair Bolsonaro, has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, according to a statement by Flavio's spokesperson.
Flavio has no symptoms of Covid-19 and is at home, it said, adding he has started taking chloroquine and azithromycin as part of a treatment against the virus.
President Bolsonaro is a big supporter of chloroquine, a drug used to treat malaria, despite the lack of solid evidence it works against the disease.
Bolsonaro himself caught the virus earlier, as well as his wife Michelle Bolsonaro and his youngest son, Jair Renan.
Spain calls in army to fight virus pandemic
AFP reports that Spain will call in the army to help identify those who have been exposed to people infected with coronavirus as part of efforts to curb the spread of the disease, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Tuesday.
The central government will make 2 000 soldiers who are trained in tracking available to the regions, which are responsible for health care, to assist in tracking cases and stem a rise in infections, he told a news conference.
"We could even increase this figure as required through the urgent training which we have planned," Sanchez said.
Many experts have blamed a lack of virus trackers for a surge in Covid-19 infections in several Spanish regions such as Madrid and Catalonia.
Sanchez urged Spaniards to use a smartphone app designed by the government called RadarCovid which can identify people who have crossed paths with a contagious patient and alert them so they can get tested or be quarantined.
He also announced that regional authorities could ask the central government to apply a state of emergency, which would allow it to limit people's movements, on part or all of its territory.
The country has more than 400 000 confirmed cases of the respiratory disease, the highest in western Europe, and one of the fastest growth rates on the continent.
Nearly 29 000 people have died, one of the world's highest tolls.
Co-ho-ho-vid! Socially distanced Santas gear up to save Christmas
It's late August, the long summer holidays are over and as children return to school in Britain, thoughts begin to turn to the end-of-year Christmas festivities.
But questions are already being asked about a time-honoured tradition given the coronavirus outbreak and restrictions - the visit to see Father Christmas.
AFP reports that James Lovell, though, has a plan, which he says will allow children to experience the magic of meeting Santa Claus while maintaining strict social distancing guidelines.
At a time when many people would usually be on the beach, Lovell, who runs the Ministry of Fun events company, has his attention firmly focused on the cold days of winter.
This year, as he has done for the past 25, he has already been preparing his 50-strong team of Santas for the coming season after a bumper 2019, when he had about 1,000 bookings.
"Normally we have got most of our bookings in the bag by August," he told AFP. "What's interesting is this year, we are at about half.
"People haven't cancelled, they're just not sure what they can do. There have been mixed messages about what's allowed. There's a lot of confusion.
"People need reassurance that Father Christmas can appear."
Unliked crammed theatres, which are only partially re-opening to audiences after months of closure, Lovell likens Santa's grottos to "social bubbles".
Venues such as department stores and tourist sites are already well-versed in organising crowds who flock to see Father Christmas.
This year they have introduced even tighter controls around crowd management to curb the close-contact spread of the virus.
Lovell says only three small tweaks to the Santa experience are needed to ensure public safety and reassure worried store owners and parents, rather than postpone it altogether.
His team of Santas will have specially created red velvet and white fur facemasks as part of their costume, which costs up to 1 000 ($1 300, 1 100 euros) and includes beards hand-made by theatre props specialists.
Presents will be positioned between Santa and his young visitors to maintain a safe distance, and gifts will be put on a miniature sleigh rather than handed out directly.
For Lovell, it's essential the trip to see Santa doesn't become yet another casualty of the global pandemic.
"You can't have Christmas without Santa," he added. "We have to make this work. It's very important. A child meeting Father Christmas is a really big deal.
"We all love the idea that Father Christmas is going to bring us magic. And we deserve it more than ever. It's been a ghastly year and we need that happiness."
Thousands of Swedes got false positive Covid-19 result due to test kit fault
Reuters reports that about 3 700 people in Sweden were told in error that they had the coronavirus due to a fault in a Covid-19 testing kit from China, the Public Health Agency said on Tuesday.
The kit from BGI Genomics could not distinguish between very low levels of the virus and a negative result, the agency said.
"The supplier must adjust the performance that is required for this test to be used," Karin Tegmark Wisell, the head of its microbiology department, said.
The test kit has been widely exported to other countries, she added, but could not give further details.
BGI Genomics, two of whose subsidiaries are on a US economic blacklist of companies implicated in human rights violations regarding China's treatment of Uighurs, could not immediately be reached for comment.
It received emergency use authorization from US authorities for its coronavirus testing kits in March and got an Emergency Use Listing from the World Health Organisation in May.
The Swedish labs that evaluate the tests have adjusted their methodology. The agency could not say how many tests had been done using the kit but only a minority of cases appeared to be involved, when the virus is at very low levels.
Sweden said the false results had only marginally affected statistics on infections.
On Tuesday, the agency reported that since the first case of Covid-19 was identified, there had been 86,891 confirmed infections in Sweden and 5 814 deaths.
Cases, intensive care admissions and deaths have been falling in recent weeks. The agency will present its strategy for easing some remaining restrictions on public events, such as football matches, next Tuesday.
Turkey to allow limited fan attendance at football matches from October
Reuters reports that Turkey will let limited numbers of fans attend football matches from October, the Turkish Football Federation said in a statement on Tuesday, rolling back some curbs imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Turkey halted its 2019/20 season in March due to the virus and resumed matches in June without spectators. Last month, the top-tier Super League concluded with Istanbul Basaksehir winning the title for the first time, breaking the dominance of the "Big Three" in Turkey - Fenerbahce, Galatasaray and Besiktas.
The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) said it had decided to allow fans in up to 30% of each stadium's capacity as of October, adding that private boxes would also be open to use.
"Fans will enter after temperature tests at stadiums, and it will be mandatory for all fans to abide by social distancing and wear masks," the TFF said.
There have been more than 259 000 cases of novel coronavirus recorded in Turkey and more than 6 100 deaths, as cases have risen in recent weeks despite warnings from the government.
In a separate statement, the TFF announced the introduction of a "B Team League" where top-tier clubs will be allowed to compete as well. It said participation was not mandatory, but the league aimed to provide playing time for young players.
Turkey's Super League is set to return on 11 September.
