ICUs in France's Marseille close to overload – latest updates

Monday, September 14, 2020

Intensive care capacities in Marseille are close to overload

Intensive care capacities in France's southern city of Marseille are almost overloaded, the director of public hospitals there said.

The local government also announced new measures to contain the coronavirus pandemic including cancelling fairs and other events and banning drinking alcohol in public late in the evening.

Turkey reports over 1,700 new coronavirus cases

Turkey reported 1,716 more cases of the novel coronavirus and 1,225 recoveries.

"There is no slowing down in the transmission rate of the disease," Turkey's Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter.

The country's overall infection count now stands at 292,878, including 260,058 recoveries, according to the Health Ministry’s data.

The death toll from the pandemic in Turkey rose to 7,119, with 63 new fatalities reported in the last 24 hours.

A total of 112,563 more daily coronavirus tests were conducted, pushing the total up to over 8.63 million.

The number of patients in critical condition now stands at 1,301, the data showed.

Slovakia puts Czech Republic on high-risk list

Slovakia will put its neighbour and important trade partner the Czech Republic on its "red list" of high-risk countries due to a surge in the number of virus cases there, a Slovak official said.

The decision would take effect on Friday and mean that travellers across the busy common border would need a negative Covid-19 test or to go into five-day quarantine followed by a test, Deputy Foreign Minister Martin Klus said on Facebook.

Exceptions would be made for cross-border commuters living up to 30 km (18 miles ) from the nearest crossing and some other groups, he said.

The Czech Republic reported a surge in daily cases to as many as 1,541 on Saturday, multiples of the numbers it was recording in the spring and among the highest per capita numbers in Europe in recent weeks.

Some other countries, including Switzerland, Denmark and Germany, have placed entry restrictions on Czech travellers or those coming from its capital Prague.

Bayern Munich offers free virus tests to fans

Bayern Munich has offered free coronavirus tests to fans with tickets for next week’s Super Cup in Hungary.

The Hungarian authorities require fans arriving for the traditional European season opener to have a certified negative result from a recent test for the virus before they are allowed into the country.

The club says 3,000 Bayern fans with tickets for the game can be tested on Sept 21 and 22 at a parking lot next to the stadium.

Bayern won the Champions League and will play Europa League winner Sevilla in the Super Cup on September 24.

UEFA is using the game as a test event for allowing fans back into stadiums for its club and national team competitions.

Italy reports over 1,000 cases

The number of new positive cases of the virus identified in Italy narrowed in the last 24 hours almost in proportion to the lower number of tests.

Italy reported 1,008 new positives, the first day of school in most of the country after breaks of six to seven months, down by 30 percent from the previous day. During the same period, testing dropped by 37 percent to just over 45,000, according to Health Ministry statistics.

The number of confirmed positives has edged up for the last six weeks, mostly discovered during testing of returning holiday makers. Most are asymptomatic, although the number of people in the hospital and in intensive care units is also edging up, with 80 more hospitalised in the last 24 hours and 10 more in intensive care. 

Fourteen people died in the period, bringing the pandemic total to 35,624 known victims.

Russia completes volunteer recruitment for vaccine trial

Russia has recruited sufficient participants for its large-scale Covid-19 vaccine trial, known as a Phase III trial, the head of Russia's sovereign wealth fund, which is backing the vaccine, said.

"In just two weeks, 55,000 volunteers have already been recruited in Moscow," Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund Said.

Russia began recruiting for what was billed as a 40,000-strong Phase III trial on August 26. Initial results are expected in October or November this year, officials have said.

UAE announces emergency approval for use of Covid-19 vaccine

The United Arab Emirates has issued emergency approval for the use of a Covid-19 vaccine, currently in its third phase of testing in the gulf country, health authorities said.

"The vaccine will be available to our first line of defence heroes who are at the highest risk of contracting the virus," said the National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority in a tweet. 

UK reports 2,621 new cases of Covid-19

A total of 2,621 new positive cases were recorded across the United Kingdom, Public Health England said.

The new cases take the cumulative total number of cases to 371,125.

Public Health England also said nine new deaths had been reported, taking the UK total since the start of the pandemic to 41,637. 

Egypt to allow wedding ceremonies, cultural events in open-air venues

Egypt will allow wedding ceremonies and cultural events to be held in open-air venues from September 21, after months of banning them in an attempt to contain the spread of the virus, the cabinet said.

Open-air weddings would be allowed in tourist and hotel facilities that obtain health safety certificates, with a maximum of 300 invitees, it added in a statement.

These facilities would also be able to host meetings and conferences with not more than 150 participants, it said.

Cultural exhibitions, including book fairs, would be allowed in open-air venues with a maximum attendance of 50 percent of capacity, the statement said.

Funeral prayers could resume at mosques with outdoor yards, but not at normal daily prayers times, it added.

Egypt's total recorded coronavirus cases hit 100,000 earlier this month, with a total death toll of more than 5,000. However, the number of daily infections and deaths has declined sharply during the last few weeks.

Indonesia death toll highest in Southeast Asia

Indonesia has reported 3,141 new coronavirus cases, taking the total number of cases in the Southeast Asian country to 221,523.

Data from the country's Covid-19 task force also showed 118 new deaths, taking the total to 8,841, the highest death toll in Southeast Asia. 

Russia reports 5,509 new cases

Russia reported 5,509 new coronavirus cases, pushing its national tally to 1,068,320, the fourth largest in the world.

Authorities said 57 people had died during the past 24 hours, bringing the official death toll to 18,635.

Cameroon claims success 

Cameroon declared success against the Covid-19 outbreak in the country. The Health Ministry said in a statement that the recovery rate stands at 94.12 percent in the Central African country, while the fatality rate at 2.08 percent.

Authorities said, actions undertaken by the government and its partners have achieved satisfactory results.

Cameroon has recorded 20,009 coronavirus cases so far, with 415 deaths and 18,83 7 recoveries, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

South Korea eases restrictions as cases drop

South Korea reported its lowest daily virus tally in about a month as it began easing its tough social distancing rules in the greater Seoul area.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said that the 109 new cases added in the past 24 hours took the country’s total to 22,285 with 363 deaths.

It’s the 12th consecutive day for South Korea’s daily jump to stay in the 100s. The 109 additional cases are also the lowest daily tally since mid-August.

The government on Sunday relaxed its physical distancing guidelines in the Seoul metropolitan area, citing a downward trend in new infections and worries about public livelihoods.

WHO reports record daily increase in virus cases

The World Health Organization reported a record one-day increase in global coronavirus cases with the total rising by 307,930 during the past 24 hours

The biggest increases were from India, the United States and Brazil, according to the agency's website. Deaths rose by 5,537 to a total of 917,417.

India's Covid-19 cases surge to 4.85 million

India recorded 92,071 new virus cases, taking total cases to 4.85 million.

The world's second-most populous country lags only the US globally in the overall number of infections, but it has been reporting more daily cases than the US since mid-August.

Deaths have been relatively low so far compared with the number of infections, but are seeing an uptick. More than 1,100 people died of the virus in the last 24 hours, the federal health ministry said, taking the total number of fatalities from the disease to 79,722. 

Germany's virus cases rise by 927 to 260,355

The number of confirmed virus cases in Germany has increased by 927 to 260,355.

The data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed that the death toll rose by one to 9,350. 

Czech Republic's daily virus cases drop below 1,000

The Czech Republic has recorded 792 new cases, a drop after five consecutive days with more than 1,000 cases each.

The country's health ministry has not yet updated the daily number of tests. There are usually fewer tests done at weekends.

The overall number of confirmed cases rose to 36,188 in the country of 10.7 million.

New Zealand to lift most virus curbs on Sept 21

New Zealand will lift coronavirus restrictions across the country on September 21, except in its biggest city Auckland which is the epicentre of the second wave of infections.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Auckland's restrictions would be reviewed next week. She also said it was decided to immediately ease all physical distancing requirements on planes and other public transport.

Mexico's confirmed deaths approach 71,000 

Mexico reported 4,408 new confirmed cases of coronavirus infection and 217 additional fatalities on Sunday, bringing its totals to 668,381 infections and 70,821 deaths, according to updated Health Ministry data.

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

Texas reports 1,840 new cases, 47 deaths

Texas health officials on Sunday reported 1,840 new cases of the coronavirus and 47 additional deaths. 

The Texas Department of State Health Services said the total number of Covid-19 cases so far in the state is now at 659,434, while the death toll is now at 14,190. 

Health officials estimate that about 67,000 cases in the state are currently active. 

There were about 3,300 people with Covid-19 hospitalised in Texas on Sunday, health officials said. The number of hospitalisations has been decreasing since peaking July 22 at 10,893.

BP: Fossil fuel demand to take historic knock amid Covid-19 scars

Fossil fuel consumption is set to shrink for the first time in modern history as climate policies boost renewable energy while the coronavirus epidemic leaves a lasting effect on global energy demand, BP said in a forecast.

BP's 2020 benchmark Energy Outlook underpins Chief Executive Bernard Looney's new strategy to "reinvent" the 111-year old oil and gas company by shifting renewables and power.

London-based BP expects global economic activity to only partially recover from the epidemic over the next few years as travel restrictions ease. But some "scarring effects" such as work from home will lead to slower growth in energy consumption.

BP this year extended its outlook into 2050 to align it with the company's strategy to slash the carbon emissions from its operations to net zero by the middle of the century.

Australia's hotspot reports lowest rise in cases in nearly 3 months

Australia's second-most populous state of Victoria on Monday reported seven deaths from the new coronavirus in the last 24 hours and 35 new cases, its lowest daily rise in infections since late June.

The state has eased some restrictions in its largest city Melbourne from Monday by shortening the overnight curfew by an hour and doubling the amount of time people are able to spend outside to two hours per day.

Victoria has continued a steady downward trend in daily cases in recent days with the rise in infections falling to double digits thanks to the hard lockdown from a peak of more than 700 cases in a single day in early August.

The southeastern state, which is at the centre of the coronavirus outbreak in Australia, reported 41 cases and seven deaths a day earlier.

Brazil registers 415 deaths 

Brazil registered 415 deaths from the novel coronavirus over the last 24 hours and 14,768 additional cases, the health ministry said on Sunday.

The nation has now registered 4,330,455 total confirmed coronavirus cases and 131,625 deaths.

In terms of total coronavirus deaths, Brazil trails only the United States. However, new cases and deaths have stabilised over the last several weeks in Latin America's largest country.