Saudi Arabia says to hold 'limited' Hajj this year – latest updates

Saudi says to hold 'limited' Hajj

Saudi Arabia on Monday announced it would hold a "very limited" Hajj this year owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, with pilgrims already in the kingdom allowed to take part.

"It was decided to hold the pilgrimage this year with very limited numbers... with different nationalities in the kingdom," the official Saudi Press Agency said, citing the Hajj ministry.

Turkey ranks third in global medical aid having helped 131 countries

Reflecting Turkey’s entrepreneurial and humanitarian understanding of foreign policy, it is the third-largest medical aid and support country in the world, the country's deputy foreign minister said.

Speaking via video link at a session of the Fourth Brussels Conference, Yavuz Selim Kiran said that Turkey helped 131 countries worldwide during the pandemic.

Turkey faces the dual challenge of protecting refugees as well as contributing to international solidarity, he said.

UK reports lowest daily death toll since mid-March 

The number of people confirmed to have the virus who have died has risen by 15 to 42,647, the lowest daily toll since mid-March, health officials said.

Britain's daily tally of deaths peaked in April, when the toll exceeded 1,000 on nine days.

The recorded number of virus deaths usually dips on Sunday and Monday due to delays in reporting fatalities during the weekend.

Turkey reports 24 fatalities 

Turkey reported 24 new fatalities over the past day, bringing the total death toll to 4,974, the data showed.

To date, Turkey has done nearly three million coronavirus tests, the country’s health minister announced.

A total of 1,293 more people won their battle against the novel pandemic over the past 24 hours, bringing the recoveries tally to 161,533, Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter, citing Health Ministry data.

France records 23 deaths

The number of people who died from the virus infection in France rose by 23 to 29,663, the first time in four days that the daily tally rose above 20, having fallen to a three-and-a-half month low of 7 on Sunday. 

WHO says Sunday's cases the highest yet in a single day

The world recorded more than 183,000 virus cases on Sunday, the most in a single day since the outbreak started, World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

He said the next big challenge was to increase production and distribution of dexamethasone, the first drug shown to lower the risk of death in severely ill patients.

Global infections surpassed 9 million on Monday, as Brazil and India grappled with a surge in cases and the United States, China and other hard-hit countries reported new outbreaks.

Three Pakistan cricketers test positive for virus

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced that three players have tested positive for the virus ahead of the team's tour of England next month.

The PCB said leg-spinner Shadab Khan, fast bowler Haris Rauf and teenage batsman Haider Ali had tested positive for COVID-19 despite showing no symptoms and would now go into self-isolation.

The first Test against England at Old Trafford is due to start on August 5. The PCB is testing its players and officials ahead of the much-anticipated tour, which will also see games played in Southampton.

France to step up monitoring in Sarcelles near Paris

The French health authority said that it would be stepping up its monitoring of the presence of the Covid-19 virus in Sarcelles, near Paris, as some politicians and doctors warn of the risks of a second wave of the virus.

The regional health authority for the Ile-de-France area that covers both Paris and Sarcelles said recent tests had shown a presence of the virus that was above the average for the area.

France has the world's fifth-highest coronavirus death toll, with latest figures showing 29,640 casualties.

Hong Kong reports 30 new cases on June 22, all imported

Hong Kong reported 30 imported cases, taking the number of cases in the city to 1,162.

The newly reported cases involve 15 males and 15 females aged between 1 and 61, the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health said.

"Given that the situation of Covid-19 infection remains severe and that there is a continuous increase in the number of cases reported around the world, members of the public are strongly urged to avoid all non-essential travel outside HongKong," a CHP spokesman said in the statement.

Coronavirus pandemic still accelerating- WHO chief

The novel coronavirus pandemic is still accelerating and its effects will be felt for decades, the World Health Organization's director-general told an online conference.

"The pandemic is still accelerating," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the virtual health forum organised by Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. 

"We know that the pandemic is much more than a health crisis, it is an economic crisis, a social crisis and in many countries a political crisis. Its effects will be felt for decades to come."

Indonesia's death toll reaches 2,500

Indonesia reported 954 new infections, taking its total number of cases to 46,845.

Health ministry official Achmad Yurianto said there were 35more deaths reported, with total fatalities now at 2,500, the highest coronavirus death toll in East Asia outside of China. 

Russia reports 7,600 new infections

Russia reported 7,600 new cases, pushing its nationwide case total to 592,280, the world's third largest tally.

The coronavirus task force response said 95 people had died in the past 24 hours, bringing the official death toll to 8,206.

Croatian tennis player Coric positive for virus

Croatian tennis player Borna Coric says he has tested positive for after taking part in an exhibition event.

The 33rd-ranked Coric posted the news on Twitter.

He says “I want to inform you that I am positive for Covid-19. Please everyone who has been in contact with me for the last few days gets tested!”

He says he is feeling well and has no symptoms.

Coric was among about 1,000 people who were tested for the virus after Grigor Dimitrov announced that he tested positive.

That led to the cancellation of an exhibition event in Croatia where top-ranked Novak Djokovic was scheduled to play in the final.

Coric played a match against Dimitrov in Zadar on Saturday in the second leg of the exhibition series.

Australian officials warn against travel to new hotspots

Australian officials tried to contain a fresh outbreak, telling residents in the cluster hotspots to avoid travel outside their suburbs in Melbourne, the country's second-largest city.

Victoria state of which Melbourne is the capital has recorded double digit rises in new Covid-19 infections, accounting for nearly 90% of the 126 cases detected nationally over the past week.

"At the moment the recommendation is simply an advisory, a strong advisory, where what we don't want is people to come from those areas to other parts of Victoria, or interstate," Australia's Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy told Australian Broadcasting Corp radio.

"If you are coming from interstate and you have family in one of those areas, we would prefer you not to come and visit that area and potentially take the virus back."

The Victorian government has said it would reimpose restrictions on social gatherings after the surge in new cases it says has been caused by family get-togethers attended by people with mild symptoms.

India's infections soaring in rural areas

India’s coronavirus caseload has risen to 425,282 as infections soar in rural areas to which migrant workers fleeing major cities have returned in recent weeks.

India’s health ministry on Monday reported 14,821 new cases and about 300 new deaths, bring the toll of fatalities up to more than 13,000. The coastal state of Goa reported its first Covid-19 death.

India is the fourth most-affected country globally after the United States, Brazil and Russia.

India’s government planning body Niti Aayog says infections have now emerged in 98 out of 112 of the country ’s poorest districts.

The Indian government ran special trains to bring thousands of migrant workers back to their ancestral villages in recent weeks.

Still, about 60% of India’s cases have been reported in the states of Delhi, which includes the national capital of New Delhi, Maharashtra, home to India’s financial capital Mumbai and Tamil Nadu, where manufacturing hub Chennai is located.

Thailand reports 3 new imported cases

Thailand reported three new cases, all imported, marking 28 days without local transmission, a senior official said.

The three new cases were Thai nationals returning from India and were detected in state quarantine, said spokesman for the government's Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, Taweesin Wisanuyothin.

Thailand has so far recorded 58 deaths related to Covid-19 among 3,151 infections, of which 3,022 patients have recovered.

Taweesin said the administration was coordinating with Myanmar authorities regarding 23 coronavirus cases found among migrants deported from Thailand. 

Germany's confirmed cases rise by 537 to 190,359 - RKI

The number of confirmed cases in Germany increased by 537 to 190,359, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed.

The reported death toll rose by 3 to 8,885, the tally showed.

New virus cases drop in South Korea

South Korea has reported 17 new cases, the first time its daily jump came down to the teens in nearly a month, as health authorities scramble to contain a resurgence of the virus centered around the capital.

The figures released by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday brought the national caseload to 12,438 cases, including 280 deaths.

The country over the past two weeks have been reporting 40 to 50 new cases per day amid increased public activity and eased attitudes on social distancing.

There has also been an uptick in imported cases, mostly from passengers arriving from southwest Asia, prompting authorities to halt providing new visas for travelers from Pakistan and Bangladesh.

New Zealand reports 2 new cases

New Zealand has reported two new cases of the coronavirus as a trickle of infected people continue to arrive at the border.

The country of 5 million people now has nine active cases after having none at all earlier this month.

Health officials said Monday that all those cases involve people who have recently arrived and are in quarantine, and there’s no evidence of community transmission.

Still, many remain anxious community transmission could return, especially after health officials admitted making a mistake by allowing two women who had arrived from London to leave quarantine before they had been tested because a parent was dying.

The women later tested positive and have since isolated themselves.

The latest two cases involve people returning from India and Pakistan.

Mexico reports 5,343 new infections

Mexico reported 5,343 new infections and 1,044 additional deaths from the coronavirus, the health ministry said, bringing the totals for the country to 180,545 cases and 21,825 deaths.

Virus infections top 9 million

Global coronavirus infections have exceeded 9 million, Worldometers and CoronaTracker reported as the World Health Organization reported a record increase in global coronavirus cases, with the total rising by 183,020 in a 24-hour period.

The biggest increase was from North and South America with over 116,000 new cases, according to a daily report. 

Brazil passes 50,000 deaths

Brazil, the world's No. 2 coronavirus hot spot after the United States, officially passed 50,000 virus deaths, a blow for a country already grappling with more than 1 million cases, rising political instability and a crippled economy.

Brazil now has a total of 1,085,038 confirmed cases and 50,617 deaths, up from 49,976 on Saturday, the Health Ministry said. Experts say the true numbers are a lot higher because of a lack of widespread testing. Latin America's largest country has typically recorded more than 1,000 deaths a day, but usually registers fewer on the weekends.