France reports nearly 5,000 more Covid-19 cases – latest updates

The coronavirus pandemic has infected more than 23.5 million people with over 810,000 deaths from the disease. Here are updates for August 23:

A man wearing a protective mask walks at the financial and business district of La Defense, near Paris, France on August 17, 2020
Reuters

A man wearing a protective mask walks at the financial and business district of La Defense, near Paris, France on August 17, 2020

Sunday, August 23, 2020

Turkey reports 1,217 more cases

Turkey has confirmed 1,217 new cases of Covid-19, bringing the tally to 258,249. 

In a tweet, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said 795 more patients had recovered in the past 24 hours, pushing the overall number to 237,165.  

Meanwhile, the death toll reached 6,121 as 19 more people lost their lives. 

UK records 1,041 new cases

The United Kingdom has recorded 1,041 new cases, down from 1,288 on Saturday, government figures showed.

Six people died after testing positive for the coronavirus within the previous 28 days, compared with 18 deaths announced on Saturday.

France reports 4,897 infections

The French health ministry has reported 4,897 new infections over the past 24 hours, marking the highest daily level since the end of a two-month lockdown in May to combat the pandemic.

The ministry said the total coronavirus deaths in the country had risen by one in the past 24 hours to 30,513. 

Former Ukrainian PM tests positive

Former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko has tested positive for the virus and is in serious condition with a fever, her party's spokeswoman said.

Tymoshenko, 59, who twice served as premier before her defeat in the 2010 presidential election, became the first high-profile Ukrainian politician known to have contracted Covid-19. 

Parliament has been on summer vacation since mid-July.

"Her condition is assessed as serious, her temperature is up to 39 (Celsius)," the spokeswoman for her Fatherland party said, declining to say whether Tymoshenko had been hospitalised or give further detail.

China authorises emergency use of vaccine

China has authorised the emergency use of Covid-19 vaccines, which were going through clinical trials, on July 22, a National Health Commission official said on Saturday, a month after the move.

An emergency use authorisation, which is based on Chinese vaccine management law, allows unapproved vaccine candidates to be used among people who are at high risk of getting infected in a limited period.

By first inoculating the special groups, like front line medical workers and civil servants, the move is to ensure that a city can keep normal functions when a health crisis strikes, the law states.

Zheng Zhongwei, director of the Science and Technology Development Center under the National Health Commission, said during the Saturday interview that the move is expected to scale up the inoculating group to better prepare for a possible next wave in autumn and winter.

Italy rules out new lockdown as coronavirus cases rise

The Italian government is not considering new lockdown to curb infections, Health Minister Roberto Speranza said in a newspaper interview on Sunday, despite a steady rise in new cases over the past month.

Italy, one of Europe's worst-hit countries with more than 35,000 deaths, on Saturday reported 1,071 new infections, exceeding 1,000 cases in a day for the first time since the government eased its rigid lockdown measures in May.

"We will not have a new lockdown," Speranza told daily newspaper La Stampa, saying the current situation cannot be compared to February and March, when the disease was spreading out of control and it was difficult to track and isolate infected people.

"I am optimistic, although prudent. Our national health service has become much stronger."

Speranza added that Italy has doubled the number of beds in intensive care units.

The number of new infections remains considerably lower than those registered in Spain and France and daily death tolls are low.

Philippines' cases rise close to 190,000

The Philippines recorded 2,378 new infections on Sunday, its smallest daily spike in nearly four weeks, but the nationwide tally rose to 189,601, still the highest in Southeast Asia.

In a bulletin, the Department of Health also reported 32 more fatalities, bringing the country's death toll to 2,998. 

Indonesia reports 2,037 new cases

Indonesia reported 2,037 new cases on Sunday, bringing its total tally to 153,535, data from the country’s Covid-19 task force showed.

The Southeast Asian country also added 86 new deaths on Sunday, taking the total number to 6,680, the highest Covid-19 death toll in Southeast Asia.

Russia reports 4,852 new cases

Russia has reported 4,852 virus cases, pushing its confirmed national tally up to 956,749.

Authorities said 73 people had died of the virus over the last 24 hours, raising the official death toll to 16,383. 

UK PM says failure to reopen schools is not an option

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has told allies that "failure to reopen schools is not an option", the Sunday Telegraph newspaper reported.

Earlier this month, Johnson said reopening schools in September was a social, economic and moral imperative, insisting schools would be able to operate safely despite the pandemic.

The Sunday Times reported this month that Johnson had ordered a public relations campaign to ensure schools open on time.

Germany's confirmed cases rise by 782 to 232,864

The number of confirmed cases in Germany increased by 782 to 232,864, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed.

The reported death toll rose by 2 to 9,269, the tally showed. 

Over 3 million people infected in India

India’s caseload topped 3 million, with the country leading the world in new infections as the disease marched through impoverished rural areas in the north and the wealthier but older populations of the south.

Health authorities reported 10,339 new cases and 912 deaths, bringing the total to 3,044,940. 

The number of new infections reported Sunday marked a sharp decline from the previous 18 days, when India had reported more than 60,000 cases daily.

India has the third-highest caseload after US and Brazil, and its 56,706 fatalities are the fourth-highest in the world.

South Korea goes under lockdown to combat pandemic resurgence

South Korea has added 397 new cases to its caseload in a 10th day of triple-digit increases, as the speed of viral spread nears the levels last seen during the worst of the outbreak in spring.

The resurgence, which began in the densely populated capital area before spreading to practically every major city and provincial town over the past week, is a major setback for the country that had been eager to tout its hard-won gains against the virus.

After avoiding stringent social distancing measures because of concerns over hurting the economy, officials have now banned large gatherings, closed nightspots, beaches and churches and removed fans from professional sports.

Sunday’s jump in infections marked the third consecutive day they've crossed 300. 

Most of the new cases come from the Seoul area, home to half of the country’s 51 million population where health workers have struggled to trace contacts tied to places likes churches, schools, restaurants and work.

Brazil registers 50,032 new cases, 892 deaths

Brazil has reported 50,032 new cases of the novel coronavirus and 892 deaths from the disease caused by the virus in the past 24 hours.

Brazil has registered 3,582,362 cases of the virus since the pandemic began, while the official death toll from Covid-19 has risen to 114,250, the health ministry said on Saturday.

Brazil has faced the world's worst coronavirus outbreak outside the United States.

Mexico's deaths pass 60,000, cases top 550,000

Mexico's health ministry has reported 6,482 new confirmed cases of coronavirus infection and 644 additional fatalities, bringing the total in the country to 556,216 cases and 60,254 deaths.

The government has said the real number of infected people is likely significantly higher than the confirmed cases.

Georgia becomes 10th US state to top 5,000 deaths

Georgia has became the 10th US state to report that it has surpassed 5,000 deaths caused by Covid-19.

The Georgia Department of Public Health said there have been at least 5,092 deaths in the state caused by the coronavirus and more than 252,000 confirmed Covid-19 cases.

Data kept by The Associated Press shows the coronavirus has been spreading in Georgia faster per-capita than any other state over the past two weeks, although infection numbers have been declining in the state since their peak last month.

Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, who was among the first governors to ease earlier restrictions this spring, highlighted the downward trends this past week.

He has used social media to remind residents to wear a mask, maintain social distancing and follow guidance from the health department.

More than 179,000 people have died of coronavirus in the US, the most of any other country. Georgia, the eighth-most populous state, ranks 10th in overall coronavirus deaths.

South Africa registers 3,707 new COVID-19 cases

South Africa has registered 3,707 new cases of the novel coronavirus in a 24-hour period, bringing the total number to 607,045.

Health minister Zweli Mkhize on Saturday said the country also recorded 144 Covid-19 deaths bringing fatalities to 12,987.

“The total number of tests conducted to date is 3.5 million with 30,560 new tests conducted since the last report [Friday]’’ said Mkhize.

He said at least 500,000 patients have recovered from the virus which translates to a recovery rate of 83 percent.

The tourism province of Western Cape, which includes Cape Town, has the highest Covid-19 deaths in the country with 3,718. 

Turkish medical aid arrives in Sudan 

Sudan has received medical supplies Turkey donated in a bid to contribute to the country's fight against the novel coronavirus. 

An aircraft carrying the medical supplies sent to Sudan by the Turkish Red Crescent arrived in the capital Khartoum on Saturday.

Irfan Neziroglu, Turkey's ambassador to Khartoum and Sudanese officials welcomed the donations at the airport.

Neziroglu told Anadolu Agency that the shipment included 1,236 packages of health products, including masks, ventilators and protective suits.

Turkey has sent medical aid to over 150 countries and six international organisations to help them combat the coronavirus pandemic, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on August 9. 

Sudan has so far reported 12,623 coronavirus cases, 6,476 recoveries and 812 fatalities, according to figures compiled by US-based Johns Hopkins University. 

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