Turkey conducts over 4.53M tests to diagnose Covid-19 – latest updates

Global coronavirus has now infected over 16 million people and has killed more than 645,000. Here are the latest updates for July 25:

Turkey's Health Ministry's coronavirus contact tracing team swabs Betul Sahbas, left, who had been experiencing Covid-19 symptoms, to take a sample at her home in Istanbul, May 15, 2020.
AP

Turkey's Health Ministry's coronavirus contact tracing team swabs Betul Sahbas, left, who had been experiencing Covid-19 symptoms, to take a sample at her home in Istanbul, May 15, 2020.

Saturday, July 25, 2020

Turkey's virus tests pass 4.5M mark

Turkey has conducted over 4.53 million tests so far to diagnose Covid-19 infections, the country's health minister has said.

The overall count of Covid-19 tests in Turkey rose to 4,532,672 million, with 43,312 new tests run over the past 24 hours.

As many as 1,103 people recovered from the disease in the last 24 hours, Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter on Saturday.

The country registered 921 new Covid-19 cases over the past day, bringing the tally to 225,173, he added.

Citing Health Ministry data, Koca said overall recoveries climbed to 208,477.

The country's death toll from pandemic rose to 5,596, with 16 new fatalities reported since Friday.

The government data also showed that a total of 1,252 people are currently receiving treatment in intensive care units across the country.

UK to quarantine travellers from Spain

All travellers to the United Kingdom from Spain arriving after midnight (2300 GMT) on Saturday will have to quarantine themselves for 14 days to ensure they do not spread coronavirus, Scotland's government has said.

"Spain will be removed from the list of countries exemptfrom quarantine requirements due to an increased number of casesof coronavirus (COVID-19) in the last few days," Scotland's government said in a statement on Saturday.

"The decision, also made by the devolved administrations inNorthern Ireland and Wales as well as the UK Government, has been made to reduce the risk of the transmission of the virus by those travelling from Spain," it added.

The United Kingdom's four constituent nations - England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland - each set their own Covid-19 policies, but follow similar rules in most cases.

Brazil's Bolsonaro says he tested negative for virus

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has said that he had tested negative for the new coronavirus, based on a fourth test since he said July 7 that he had the virus. 

He later went for a ride on a motorcycle on Saturday, mingling with well wishers as he has often done since the beginning of the pandemic.

“Good morning everyone," Bolsonaro wrote on Facebook after reporting that the test was “negative."

The 65-year-old leader didn’t say when he did the new test. On Wednesday, he had tested positive for the third time.

Bolsonaro also posted a photo of himself with a box of the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, although it has not been proven effective against the virus.

Germany mulls compulsory virus testing for holidaymakers

Germany may introduce compulsory coronavirus testing for holidaymakers returning from high-risk destinations after the number of new infections in the country hit a two-month high, the health minister has said.

Health Minister Jens Spahn told Deutschlandfunk radio on Saturday the government wanted to do everything possible to stem the spread of the virus while also respecting people's basic rights.

"We are also checking whether it is legally possible to oblige someone to do a test, because it would be an encroachment on freedom," Spahn said.

The minister, who is a senior member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives, added that the courts were examining all coronavirus measures to ensure they are proportionate in light of their impact on basic rights.

Iranian president urges caution during religious festivities

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has urged people to observe health protocols and practice social distancing during upcoming Muslim festivities, as a health official said there had been a surge in coronavirus infections in a major holy city.

Muslims around the world mark the Eid al Adha feast, due to start at the end of the month. This year, Saudi Arabia is to limit the number of domestic pilgrims attending Hajj to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Most Iranians are Shia Muslims, who also mark their most significant mourning ceremonies of Ashura in September.

“Let glorious festivities be held in mosques and religious centres by observing health protocols and social distancing,” Rouhani said in a televised speech.

"Let masks this year be part of the glorious mourning of Muharram,” Rouhani said, referring to Ashura, the 10th day of the lunar month of Muharram, when according to religious tradition Imam Hussein was killed in battle in 680.

One of the Eid al Adha rituals is the sacrificial slaughter of sheep and giving to the poor. Iranian health officials have urged the faithful to package the meat before distribution.

Africa's cases surpass 800,000

The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases across Africa has surpassed 800,000.

South Africa has well over half of the reported cases, with infections increasing rapidly in Kenya.

The continent is the least medically equipped in the world.

India tests vaccine on humans

India has begun its first human trials of a novel coronavirus vaccine, administered by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences.

The country is the second-most populous in the world and has recorded nearly 49,000 new cases, for a total of more than 1.3 million people. 

It has also recorded 757 new deaths in the last 24 hours.

Hong Kong faces critical period

Hong Kong reports 133 new Covid-19 cases in a record daily increase, with most of them being locally transmitted.

Authorities have warned that the city faces a critical period in containing the virus.

Indonesia's death toll rises

Indonesia’s Covid-19 task force has reported 1,868 new cases, for a total of 97,286 infections.

The number of deaths has risen by 49 for a total of 4,714 people.

Russia sees spike in cases

Moscow has reported 5,871 new Covid-19 cases and 146 new deaths over the past 24 hours.

Russia's coronavirus crisis response centre says the country's death toll now stands at 13,192, with 597, 140 recoveries.

Bulgaria's cases pass 10,000

Bulgaria confirms that its number of coronavirus cases has passed 10,000. Official data reports 270 infections in the past 24 hours.

The official death toll has increased to 337 after eight people died from the virus overnight.

South Korea sees surge in cases

South Korea's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported the largest single-day increase since March, with 113 new cases, bringing the country's total to 14,092.

Of the new cases, 86 were imported and 27 were spread domestically.

Vietnam resumes alert

Vietnam is back on high alert after medical officials in the central city of Danang detected the first locally transmitted case in three months.

Strict quarantine measures and an aggressive and widespread testing programme have kept the country's cases at 415, with no locally transmitted infections for 100 days and no deaths.

Czech Republic reinstates restrictions

Czech authorities have reinstated measures to curb the outbreak after a spike in infections originating at a club. The health ministry has reported 15,081 cases.

People will have to wear face masks when attending indoor events of more than 100 people.

Germany sees rise in cases

Germany's confirmed coronavirus cases have gone up. 

Data from the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases shows the number of cases increasing by 781 to 204,964 and the death toll rising by seven cases to 9,118.

Mexico's cases rise by 7,573

Mexico's health ministry reported 7,573 coronavirus cases and 737 additional fatalities, bringing the total in the country to 378,285 cases and 42,645 total deaths.

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

US records over 1,000 deaths for fourth straight day

The US recorded more than 1,000 deaths from the pandemic for the fourth day in a row, according to a Reuters tally, as the Trump administration stressed the need for children to go back into the classroom despite fears about safety.

Early June was the last time the US recorded over 1,000 deaths a day for four days in a row, resulting from fallout from infections in April. 

In the most recent outbreak, cases began rising in early June and deaths increased about six weeks later.

US panel charged to plan fair distribution of eventual vaccine

US public health officials charged a group of independent scientists and ethicists with developing guidelines to determine who should get the first doses of the virus vaccine, once one becomes available.

The guidelines are aimed at developing an equitable framework that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) can use to develop a plan to distribute the first doses of vaccine, which US officials expect to be ready by the end of the year.

The directors of the CDC and the National Institutes of Health charged the panel with devising the plan.

Brazil registers 1,156 deaths 

Brazil registered an additional 1,156 deaths attributable to the pandemic over the last 24 hours and another 55,891 confirmed cases, the health ministry said.

The South American nation has now registered 85,238 deaths and 2,343,366 total confirmed cases. 

Sao Paulo postpones carnival 

Sao Paulo, the biggest city in hotspot Brazil, said it was indefinitely postponing its 2021 carnival because of the pandemic.

"Both the samba schools and the carnival 'blocos' (street parties) understand it's not viable to organise carnival for February next year," Mayor Bruno Covas told a news conference.

Rio de Janeiro, home to the largest carnival in Brazil – and one of the most famous in the world – is considering a similar move.

Brazil has recorded more infections and deaths than any country except the United States.

New Orleans shuts bars, bans takeout booze sales

New Orleans’ mayor is shutting down the city’s bars because of rising virus numbers and is also forbidding restaurants to sell alcoholic drinks to go.

Mayor LaToya Cantrell said that some lines of people waiting to buy drinks were so long they became “a gathering in themselves, and no mask-wearing and the like.”

Cantrell says the city is seeing daily increases in cases about double its threshold of 50 a day for more relaxed rules. The rule against take-out sales of alcoholic drinks takes effect at 6 am on Saturday.

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