COVID-19 pandemic : Global deaths cross half a million , confirmed cases over 10 million

Agencies —

More than 500,000 people worldwide are now known to have succumbed to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a Johns Hopkins University tally. The number of confirmed infections has crossed the 10 million threshold.

The US remains the most bereaved country with 125,804 fatalities. It also accounts for a quarter of all cases worldwide. It is followed by Brazil, which has so far recorded 57,622 deaths and more than 1.3 million cases.

However, the global death toll is expected to be much higher as countries do not count fatalities the same way.

Confirmed Cases by Country

2,549,028 US

1,344,143 Brazil

633,563 Russia

548,318 India

312,640 United Kingdom

279,419 Peru

271,982 Chile

248,770 Spain

240,310 Italy

Authorities in Russia said 6,791 new cases were registered in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to over 634,000 cases.

The country has the third highest number of infections in the world, of which more than a third are reported in Moscow, a city that recently lifted lockdown restrictions. The death toll stands at 9,073, with 104 new fatalities reported on Sunday.

Authorities in Europe have been calling on people to act responsibly after good weather resulted in crowding on the coast of England.

“An unprecedented number of visitors” gathered in Bournemouth, a costal town in southern England, the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council said.

Local Council leader Vikki Slade said she was “absolutely appalled” at the scenes. Beachgoers left a considerable amount of waste behind.

Germany, one of the countries that had most successfully controlled the outbreak, reinstated lockdown in two districts of its most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia, after 1,300 slaughterhouse workers tested positive for coronavirus.

Chancellor Angela Merkel warned on Saturday that “the risk posed by the virus is still serious”.

Not too far away – in the Balkans – Croatia reimposed quarantine on travellers from Bosnia, Serbia, North Macedonia and Kosovo following a second wave of coronavirus in the region.

World Health Organisation (WHO) warned against a “significant resurgence” in COVID-19 cases in nearly a dozen countries in the Europe region.

The nations concerned are Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, North Macedonia, Sweden, and Ukraine.

Czech Republic is another worrying case. On Friday it recorded the highest number of daily infections in more than two months, following several new local outbreaks.

In Italy, the northern region of Lombardy, Europe’s first major cluster in the pandemic, remains a worrying hotspot, accounting for over half of the country’s 174 new cases reported on Sunday.

The pandemic is not loosening grip in the US, where the daily number of infections surged to an all-time high of 45,300 on Friday.

Texas closed all bars and Florida banned alcohol in such venues. They joined other states, especially in the South and the West, who are backtracking or putting on hold any further reopening of their economies.

The US remains the worst-affected nation for both number of COVID-19 cases and related deaths.

India reported more than half-million cases, the fourth-highest in the world globally after the US, Brazil and Russia.

Another state currently battling against a second wave is South Korea, where new clusters were spotted outside the capital, Seoul. Many infections were linked to nightspots, church gatherings, restaurants, door-to-door salespeople and warehouse employees.

Authorities have warned they may impose stricter social distancing measures.

Africa’s confirmed cases of COVID-19 have climbed to a new high of more than 371,000, including 9,484 deaths, according to the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

South Africa accounts for over a third of the continent’s cases, and on Sunday it registered its highest single daily increase to date.

Egypt, despite having the highest death toll in the continent, over 2,700, has lifted many of its restrictions, reopening cafes, clubs, gyms and theatres after more than three months of lockdown. Authorities also allowed the reopening of mosques and churches. Source : Euronews , AFP, AP 

June 29, 2020