Global coronavirus cases reached the 25-million mark, according to data from the Johns Hopkins University. India set the record for the world’s highest single-day rise, Agence-France Presse reported.
More than 300,000 people have already registered for Hong Kong’s free coronavirus tests. The city began a two-week drive seeking to screen a large proportion of its 7 million residents.
Police in Berlin clashed with far-right activists after a day of protests against Germany’s coronavirus restrictions that drew an estimated 38,000 people. The U.S. added 47,860 virus cases in a day, slightly more than the average increase over the previous week.
India’s Spike
Record daily increase pushes India nearer toward second worst-hit nation
India Sets Record
India set a single-day record of 78,761 cases, according to data from the health ministry. The U.S. had set the previous highest number of 77,638 on July 17, according to Agence-France Presse.
The total number of cases in India went past the 3.5-million mark and the death toll exceeded 63,000, according to government data.
India is third in the world behind the U.S. and Brazil in terms of infections and fourth for fatalities, according to Johns Hopkins data.
Egypt’s Warning
Egypt’s health minister warned that a second coronavirus wave could emerge due to dismissal of precautionary measures, according to Egypt Today.
Schools in the United Arab Emirates are set to reopen Sunday with new precautionary measures set in place, Khaleej Times reported. Some Dubai schools decided to postpone campus reopening after being unable to carry out all required Covid-19 tests.
Hong Kong Registrations
Hong Kong has embarked on the world’s biggest experiment in voluntary testing. Local media Radio Television Hong Kong said that as of 8 a.m. Sunday, 310,000 people had already signed up for the free virus test. The two-week effort aims to reach a high percentage of its 7 million residents. Government ministers on Sunday stepped up their campaign, urging people to sign up as soon as possible, RTHK reported. Officials said more than 40 testing sites had already been fully booked on the launch day of the tests – and authorities will decide whether or not to extend the program depending on the public’s response.
Kosovo Boosts Testing
The Balkan state, where more than half of the 1.8 million population is under the age of 25, has recorded 54.2 fatalities per million people resulting from Covid-19 in the past week — just ahead of second-placed Colombia, according to Bloomberg calculations based on data from Johns Hopkins University.
Johns Hopkins doesn’t update its data for Kosovo as regularly as it does with other countries. Numbers published on the Facebook page of the Kosovo National Institute of Public Health show Kosovo had 37.2 deaths per million people over the 7 days through Aug. 26. That would place it fourth in the world for that period, according to Bloomberg calculations.
South Korea Has Fewer Additions
South Korea added 299 more coronavirus cases in 24 hours vs 323 a day earlier, raising the total tally to 19,699, according to data from Korea Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. Yesterday’s numbers included 283 locally infected cases, bulk of that in Seoul. There were two more deaths, taking the total death tally to 323.
Brazil Reports 758 Deaths
Brazil, the country with the world’s second-highest number of infections, reported there were 758 deaths in the past 24 hours. The country also had 41,350 new cases. More than 3.8 million cases have been confirmed in the country while the number fatalities exceeded 120,000.
Mexico Cases Increase; Budget to be Tight
Mexico reported 5,974 new confirmed Covid-19 cases, bringing the total to 591,712, according to data released by the Health Ministry on Saturday night. Covid-19 deaths rose by 673 to 63,819; there are 84,310 suspected cases.
Finance Minister Arturo Herrera told ruling party lawmakers that next year’s budget will be tighter as the government seeks to rein in debt after steep losses in the peso this year, news site El Universal reported.
Victoria Numbers Jump
Victoria state, the epicenter of the pandemic in Australia, reported 114 new Covid-19 infections for Saturday, an increase from Friday’s 94 cases which had been the fewest since July 4. The state’s health department also reported Sunday via Twitter that there were 11 deaths, a reduction from the previous day’s 18 fatalities.
India Eases Restrictions
Metro rail services have been permitted to resume in a graded manner from Sept. 7. Social, political and cultural and religious gathering with a limit of 100 people permitted from Sept. 21 as per the new guidelines. States won’t be allowed to impose local lockdown within state or city limits other than in containment zones. Schools, colleges and coaching institutions will remain closed until Sept. 30.
Texas Cases Kept in Check
The number of new coronavirus cases in Texas climbed by 4,732, or 0.8%, to 606,530, the Department of State Health Services said on its website, less than the 0.9% average over the previous week. Deaths increased by 154 to 12,420.
New infections have retreated from records of more than 10,000 a day at the peak of Texas’ outbreak in mid-July.
Berlin Day of Protests Turns Violent
Berlin police clashed with far-right protesters and made about 200 arrests after tens of thousands of people rallied mostly peacefully against German restriction to contain the coronavirus pandemic. Smaller protests were reported in London and Paris.
Demonstrators in Berlin held up signs saying “End the coronavirus dictatorship” and heard a protest leader call for Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government to resign.
An estimated 38,000 people took part in a march and rally near key federal government buildings on Saturday, broadcaster ARD cited the capital’s interior minister, Andreas Geisel, as saying. Daily cases in Germany are hovering near a four-month high, with 1,555 new infections reported on Saturday.
California Has Fewest Cases in Almost Four Weeks
California reported 4,981 new virus cases, the lowest daily count since Aug. 4 and below the 14-day average of 5,725.
There have been 693,839 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the state, according to the health department’s website. Deaths climbed by 144 to 12,834.
Illinois Governor Mourns 8,000 Deaths
Governor J.B. Pritzker proclaimed a “solemn day” as Illinois surpassed 8,000 virus deaths, a day after the state increased the number of counties considered to be at a “warning level” to 30 from 20.
“As we mourn the family, friends and neighbors who have been taken too soon, let’s do our part to prevent more senseless tragedy,” the Democratic governor tweeted on Saturday. “Every action counts.”
New infections and hospitalizations have been climbing in Illinois for the past two months. The state reported 11 deaths for a total of 8,008 and 1,889 new cases for a total of 231,363.
Arizona Surpasses 5,000 Deaths
Arizona reported 629 cases Saturday, a 0.3% rise in line with the the average daily increase of the previous week. Total cases are now 201,287.
The state reported 29 deaths, for a total of 5,007. The number of fatalities was fewer than the 49 the previous day.
U.K. Cases Stay Over 1,000
The U.K. reported 1,108 new coronavirus cases bringing the total number of infections to 332,752. Cases have increasing by more than 1,000 a day for much of the past two weeks, raising concerns about the growing spread of the virus as the country prepares to reopen schools in the coming days.
The surge in cases has not been accompanied by a jump in fatalities, with only 12 new deaths reported Saturday, bringing the total to 41,498, the world’s fifth highest tally.
Italy Surge Eases Slightly
Italy’s new virus cases declined to 1,444 on Saturday, the day after the nation reported its largest increase since May. Anti-migrant politicians have used the late-summer surge to try to drum up support for tighter border controls. The government of Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte was forced to clarify that migration policy is controlled from Rome after Sicily’s governor ordered migrant centers closed citing virus risk.
An outbreak on the country’s other main island, Sardinia, has led authorities to draw up a contingency plan for tourists who’ve tested positive to return to the mainland on separate vessels, newspapers reported Saturday.
Florida Cases Stable, Deaths Rise
Florida cases increased to 619,003 on Saturday, a rise of 0.5% in line with the average daily increase of the previous week. Deaths among Florida residents reached 10,957, an increase of 148 and higher than the 89 reported the previous day, according to the state health department report, which includes data through Friday.
New York Hospitalizations at New Low
New York hospitalizations dropped to a record 458, the smallest number since March 16, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced. The state now has 22 straight days with a positive-test rate under 1%, he said in a statement.
The state recorded 635 cases, a 0.1% rise in line with the average daily increase over the previous week, for a total of 433,402. Another seven people died, he said.
Saudi Cases Fall Below 1,000
Saudi Arabia reported 987 new coronavirus cases and 27 deaths on Saturday, dipping below 1,000 new cases daily for the first time since mid-April.
The country has gradually managed to bring down daily new cases from a peak of nearly 5,000 in June, with masks mandated in public and international flights suspended since March. However its death rate has steadily crept up over the same time period, reaching 1.2% on Saturday — still among the lowest in the world.
U.S. Has Almost 48,000 New Cases
The U.S. added 47,860 virus cases Friday, a 0.8% rise compared with the average 0.7% daily increase of the previous seven days, according to data from Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg. The total is 5,913,913.
Another 975 deaths were reported, after three days of increases over 1,000, the data show. Total fatalities are 181,789.
Iran and Russia Cases
Iran reported 1,905 new cases on Saturday, its lowest daily total in three months and the first time since late May that the number was under 2,000. Fatalities fell for a sixth day to 110, the lowest since late June, according to the latest Health Ministry data.
In Russia, the number of new cases held steady at 4,941. The daily figure has been below 5,000 for the last two weeks. The country recorded 111 deaths.
Hong Kong Tests Front-line Workers
Hong Kong’s government has distributed 160,000 test kits to front-line workers, including security guards and cleaners at property-management companies, it said in a statement. About 97,000 of the voluntary tests have been returned and five were positive for Covid-19.
In total, the city reported 18 new cases, two of which were imported, according to the city’s Center for Health Protection. Fatalities at public hospitals rose to 86.
U.K. Lockdown Warning
U.K. Health Secretary Matt Hancock warned that the country could face “very extensive” local lockdowns in the event of a second wave of coronavirus this winter.
Hancock told the Times he’s working under the “central scenario” that a vaccine will likely be available “some time next year.” Until then, he said the government will have to rely on three “lines of defense” to stop the spread of the coronavirus: social distancing, testing and tracing and local lockdowns.
— With assistance by Anand Krishnamoorthy
