At the moment, the United States remains the most affected country, with over 2,130,000 infected and around 117,000 deaths. In the meantime, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases and the number of fatalities from the virus is spiking in Brazil, where at least 920,000 have been infected and over 45,000 have died amid the pandemic.
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SEOUL (Sputnik) – The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in South Korea has risen by 59 to 12,257 over the past day, the Health Ministry's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said on Thursday.
Out of 59 new cases, 51 resulted from the internal transmission. Twenty-four new cases have been recorded in the capital of Seoul and 15 in the province of Gyeonggi among others.
The death toll has increased by one person to 280 people. The number of recovered people has increased to 10,800.
A day earlier, South Korea registered 43 new cases of COVID-19 and one fatality.
In early April, the daily increase in coronavirus cases in South Korea dropped below 40, later stabilizing at about 10-20 cases. On 6 May, it dipped to two cases. However, later, the authorities discovered a new cluster linked to a young man who visited several clubs in Itaewon and tested positive for COVID-19 on 6 May. Since then, several more clusters have been registered.
The World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic on 11 March. To date, more than 8.2 million people have been infected with the coronavirus worldwide, with over 446,000 fatalities, according to Johns Hopkins University.
BEIJING (Sputnik) – China registered 28 new coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours, including 21 cases in Beijing, after the discovery of a new COVID-19 cluster at the major food market in the Chinese capital, the country’s National Health Commission said on Thursday.
Out of 28 new cases, 24 are local, and four are imported. In addition to Beijing, two local cases were detected in the northern Hebei province and another one in the city of Tianjin. Moreover, China has detected eight asymptomatic cases of the novel coronavirus disease.
On Wednesday, China registered 44 new COVID-19 cases, including 31 in the capital.
The new cluster of COVID-19 cases was detected in Beijing last week after more than 40 people linked to the Xinfadi food market tested positive for the coronavirus. Beijing authorities have said that the Chinese capital was in "wartime emergency mode" and have raised the city’s emergency response level from three to two, thus re-imposing strict containment measures in local residential communities.
The country’s total number of confirmed coronavirus cases now stands at 83,293, and the death toll is 4,634. The total number of recovered individuals in China has reached 78,394.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia has supplied to South Africa, as humanitarian aid, a second batch of test systems for the detection of the novel coronavirus infection, overall, the Russian supplies are designed for 15,000 tests, the Foreign Ministry said.
“On June 11, the humanitarian cargo provided by [Russian consumer rights watchdog] Rospotrebnadzor free of charge to fight the COVID-19 coronavirus infection was handed over to the regional representative of South Africa's Health Ministry in the Western Cape," the ministry said.
“This is the second batch of Russian aid to South Africa (the previous one was sent in May), it contains 100 Russian test systems developed by Federal State Unitary Enterprise 'State Research Virology Center Vektor', as well as the necessary reagents for them," it said.
According to Johns Hopkins University, there are 80,412 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in South Africa, with 1,674 deaths and 44,331 recoveries.
The university says the global coronavirus case tally stands at 8,320,288, with 447,628 deaths and 4,035,605 recoveries.
BUENOS AIRES (Sputnik) – The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Brazil has increased by 32,188 to 995,377 within the past 24 hours, the national Ministry of Health said on late Wednesday.
The death toll has risen by 1,269 to 46,510 people within the same period of time.
A day earlier, Brazil reported about 34,918 new cases of the coronavirus disease and 1,282 new fatalities.
Brazil comes second on a global tally of coronavirus cases after the United States, which has recorded over 2.1 million COVID-19 patients.
The World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic on 11 March. To date, more than 8.2 million people have been infected with the coronavirus worldwide, with over 446,000 fatalities, according to Johns Hopkins University.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The World Health Organization (WHO) has estimated the overall number of coronavirus cases globally at 8,061,550, with 440,290 people having died from the disease.
The UN health agency said in the situation report published on late Wednesday that 119,759 new cases had been recorded in the past day, while further 5,494 patients had died.
Americas continue to lead the count with some 3.9 million cases, followed by Europe with 2.45 million.
The WHO declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic on 11 March.
According to Johns Hopkins University, the global number of COVID-19 cases has already surpassed 8.2 million, with more than 446,000 fatalities.
The United States remains the worst-hot nation with more than 2.1 confirmed cases and over 117,000 deaths. The United States is followed by Brazil and Russia, with 923,189 and 553,301 cases, respectively.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Moscow has registered 49 deaths of patients infected with COVID-19 over the past 24 hours, bringing the Russian capital's death toll to 3,483, the city's coronavirus response center said in a statement on Thursday.
"Another 49 patients, who were diagnosed with pneumonia and tested positive for the coronavirus infection, died in Moscow," the center said.
In the previous day, 48 people infected with the coronavirus died in Moscow.
"Today, we've identified 1,429 new cases, [meaning] the total number has increased to 182,727. We have lost 19 patients today, and the death toll stands at 4,861", Health Minister Fahrettin Koca tweeted.
On Tuesday, the number of new cases stood at 1,467.
"I expect that, if we continue to trend this way, I will make these guidelines in Phase 2 effective Monday", Mayor Muriel Bowser told reporters.
Bowser pointed out that the US capital has experienced 13 days of sustained decrease in the number of novel coronavirus during Phase 1 of the reopening.
Speaking about new rules during Phase 2, the mayor said mass gatherings of up to 50 people will now be allowed in Washington, DC, but emphasized that gatherings of larger crowds remain prohibited.
Bowser said so-called "non-essential" retail businesses may accept customers inside at no more than 50 percent of capacity, while restaurants can offer indoor services with some limitations.
In addition, playgrounds, nail salons, gyms and health clubs will open with certain restrictions, while houses of worship can start indoor services with no more than 100 believers or 50 percent of capacity, she said.
Bowser encouraged people continue teleworking and taking precautions, including wearing masks, washing hands and social distancing.
Greece has registered 55 cases of the coronavirus over the past 24 hours, marking a considerable increase from the previous daily incremental rates, the National Public Health Organization said on Wednesday, adding that the update brings the country's tally to 3,203.
The daily increment in COVID-19 patients was much higher than in previous weeks amid the lifting of coronavirus-related restrictions. Over the last three weeks, Greece recorded no more than 20-25 cases per day.
Over the past day, two more patients have died, bringing the death toll to 187, the health authority added.
According to the health organization, 11 people are in intensive care units, while 117 others were discharged from the intensive care unit due to the improvement of their health condition.
Greece began easing its COVID-19 restrictions earlier in May amid the improving epidemiological situation in the country, allowing travel between islands, the holding of religious services and retail businesses to reopen.
The US state of Texas has seen a 20 percent surge in novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) hospitalizations since Monday, data from the Texas Department of State Health Services revealed.
The data shows an increase in reported hospitalizations from 2,326 on Monday to 2,793 on Wednesday morning.
The surge in hospitalizations is occurring weeks after Texas Governor Greg Abbott decided to let stay-at-home orders expire on May 1 and began to gradually allow businesses to reopen.
On Tuesday, a Texas health official said in a press conference that the growing rate of hospitalizations is manageable.
The state also had its largest single-day increase in new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday with 2,622 reported.
Texas has a total of 93,206 cases of COVID-19 and 2,029 deaths caused by the disease as of midday Wednesday, according to the state health department.
WHO has decided to stop randomization of hydroxychloroquine drug, tested for potential COVID-19 treatment, Ana Maria Henao Restrepo, the head of WHO R&D unit, said Wednesday.
"Today, just five minutes ago, we finalized a call with all the investigators in the trial. On the basis of the evidence that is available to the investigators, to the secretariat ... the decision was made to stop the randomization with the Hydroxychloroquine trial," the researcher said.
The decision was based on a recent UK study and the information that became available during the Solidarity Trial, the researcher said.
Dexamethasone should be used for COVID-19 treatment only under close supervision, Director-General of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Wednesday.
A widely available steroid treatment, dexamethasone, can significantly improve survival rates of severe coronavirus patients, a statement on trial results published Tuesday said.
"These drugs should only be used under close clinical supervision," Tedros told a virtual briefing.
The WHO chief stressed that dexamethasone was shown to not have a beneficial effect for those with milder disease, only the severe cases.
According to Tedros, WHO is coordinating an analysis of data from several clinical trials to better understand how efficient the drug is.
The drug should not be used as a preventive measure either, Mike Ryan, the executive director for WHO Health Emergencies Programme, said.
"This is not for mild cases. This is not for prophylaxis. This is a very, very powerful anti-inflammatory drug. It can rescue patients, who are in very serious condition," Ryan told a virtual briefing.
The medication does not treat the virus itself, Ryan said, adding that steroid might even "facilitate the division and replication of viruses in human bodies." The WHO official then underscored, once again, the importance of clinical supervision for the use of the drug.
Ryan said countries should take measured approach to use of dexamethasone, adding that it was 'not the time to rush to change clinical practice'.
The number of deaths from COVID-19 in Sweden has increased to 5,041, and the total of confirmed cases stands at 54,500 amid the authorities' refusal to impose stringent lockdown measures, the country's Public Health Agency said on Wednesday.
The agency stopped holding daily press conferences on the coronavirus situation in Sweden since early June and instead publishes statistics on its website.
Over the preceding day, the institution recorded 102 new COVID-19 deaths. At the same time, the death toll data is being collected over the span of several days, after which it is split by the days when the deaths were recorded. On average, there have been about 40 fatalities registered each day since the beginning of June.
The highest mortality rate — over 4 percent — was recorded in the age group of those over 70, and about 40 percent of all the COVID-19 deaths were recorded in nursing homes, prompting an apology from state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell, the chief architect of the country's no-lockdown strategy.
Unlike other European countries, the Swedish authorities have embraced a less rigid approach to dealing with the disease, refraining from imposing a full-scale lockdown. As a result, it has a considerably higher death toll than its neighbors.
Chairwoman of the Turkish opposition Good Party (IYI) Meral Aksener said on Wednesday that the risk of the coronavirus infection was increasing as the country continued to relax restrictions.
The number of coronavirus infections in the country has been rising for six straight days, passing the daily high of 1,500 on Sunday, as the Turkish government allowed cafes, restaurants and shopping malls to reopen earlier this month.
"I call on all our citizens. The danger has not yet passed [...] the risk is increasing," Aksener said while addressing the party's parliamentary group, as quoted by the Anadolu news agency.
The chairwoman called on the country's citizens to abide by measures put in place to curb the pandemic, accusing the government of making overly relieving remarks regarding the outbreak.
"The health minister [Fahrettin Koca] and the Science Council are clearly warning us. We should abide by the warnings so that the efforts of our healthcare workers do not go in vain," Aksener added.
So far, Turkey has confirmed as many as 181,298 cases of the disease, according to the country's Health Ministry. The death toll stands at 4,842, while the number of recoveries is 153,379.
The spokesman for the Polish Health Ministry, Wojciech Andrusiewicz, said on Wednesday that Poland had been aware of the dexamethasone drug for a long time and that it had been used to treat patients with COVID-19.
"This anti-inflammatory medicine has long been known to us. It is used inter alia for the treatment of rheumatoid diseases or skin diseases, and more recently in the symptomatic treatment of patients with COVID-19," Andrusiewicz said.
He added that this medicine was produced by at least three Polish companies, available and cheap.
Poland has so far confirmed 30,701 cases of COVID-19, with 1,286 fatalities.
The members of the European Union are still not on the same page regarding the EU Recovery Fund, which is to assist the economic renewal after the COVID-19 pandemic, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said on Wednesday, days ahead of this week's EU summit.
"The positions of the member states are still distant on several points despite the progress of recent months," Conte said to the lower chamber, as quoted by Italy's Ansa news agency.
The European Council members will hold a meeting on Friday to discuss the EU's long-term budget and the proposed 750 billion euro ($825 billion) recovery fund. Rome is said to be the fund's main beneficiary if the parties to the meeting will adopt the aid package. The so-called Frugal Four group of European countries — Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden — are not partial to the initiative, with national oppositions holding it back.
As the COVID-19 epidemic has unfolded, many countries have adopted severe restrictions to stop the virus from spreading, undermining their economies in the process, with Italy being among the hardest-hit countries.
Due to high grade fever and a sudden drop of my oxygen levels last night I have been admitted to RGSSH. Will keep everyone updated
— Satyendar Jain (@SatyendarJain) June 16, 2020
"The Fund should also be flexible and address not only digital or climate issues, but also correspond with all real economic problems of the states – according to their specificity, expectations and current needs", Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said in an opinion piece for EURACTIV media network.
"Armenia has confirmed 18,033 cases of coronavirus, 6,814 patients have recovered, and 302 people died", the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) said, adding that 10,818 patients are currently being treated in hospitals, and the country has already conducted over 87,000 COVID-19 tests.
The health authorities also confirmed nine new coronavirus-related fatalities over the given period, bringing the death toll to 302.
The government declared a state of emergency on March 16, which is to expire on 13 July.
BRUSSELS (Sputnik) - Belgium has recorded 89 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, taking the total tally to 60,244, the Health Ministry said on Wednesday as the authorities continue relaxing coronavirus-related restrictions.
According to the health authorities, the death toll has reached 9,675 following the deaths of 13 people over the past day.
A further 24 people were hospitalized. The number of patients in intensive care units is currently 67. A total of 57 people have recovered and were discharged from hospitals.
BRUSSELS (Sputnik) - Belgium has recorded 89 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, taking the total tally to 60,244, the Health Ministry said on Wednesday as the authorities continue relaxing coronavirus-related restrictions.
According to the health authorities, the death toll has reached 9,675 following the deaths of 13 people over the past day.
A further 24 people were hospitalised. The number of patients in intensive care units is currently 67. A total of 57 people have recovered and were discharged from hospitals.
BERLIN (Sputnik) - The German cabinet has approved a plan to borrow a further 62.5 billion euros ($70 billion), raising the total amount of government lending to finance the country’s economic recovery amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic to $245 billion, Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said Wednesday.
"The republic this year will borrow a total of 218.5 billion euros. Earlier, we asked for 156 billion. Now there will be more, as we are increasing lending by 62.5 billion euros. This is a significant sum", Scholz said at a press conference.
The increased borrowing will see Germany’s debt-to-GDP ratio rise to 77 percent in 2020, Scholz commented. During the financial crisis from 2008 to 2009, this figure increased to 81 percent, before falling to 60 percent by 2019.
Scholz expressed confidence that the German government will be able to significantly reduce its debt once the current epidemiological and economic crisis has passed.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Singapore has increased by 247 to 41,216, showing an upward trend compared to the previous day, the Health Ministry said on Wednesday as the country prepares to move to the second phase of lifting its coronavirus lockdown.
On Tuesday, the daily increase was 151, with a total of 40,969.
"As of 17 June 2020, 12 p.m., the Ministry of Health (MOH) has preliminarily confirmed an additional 247 cases of COVID-19 infection in Singapore, the vast majority of whom are Work Permit holders residing in foreign worker dormitories. Based on our investigations so far, there are 5 cases in the community, of whom 2 are Singaporeans/Permanent Residents and 3 are Work Pass holders", the ministry said in a statement.
TOKYO (Sputnik) - The first human trials of a vaccine against COVID-19 produced by Japanese researchers will commence on 30 June, Hirofumi Yoshimura, the governor of Osaka Prefecture, said Wednesday.
"We have made progress in the development of a vaccine, produced in Japan, produced in Osaka, against the novel strain of coronavirus, and we will begin human trials at the end of the month on 30 June", the governor said at a press conference.
According to Yoshimura, the trials will be the first large-scale study conducted in Japan to assess the efficacy and safety of a potential vaccine against the coronavirus.
The Japanese Health Ministry on Tuesday said that only 0.1 percent of Tokyo's residents have antibodies for COVID-19 after tests were conducted on 7,950 people. The results have raised concerns of a potential second wave of the outbreak in the country.
MURMANSK (Sputnik) - Norwegian Fisheries and Seafood Minister Odd Emil Ingebrigtsen said Wednesday that salmon originating in the county did not cause a coronavirus outbreak at a Beijing market.
A cluster of new coronavirus cases has been traced to the Xinfadi market in the Chinese capital. The virus was found on chopping boards used for imported salmon.
"Norwegian salmon is not linked to the spread of the coronavirus infection in Beijing. This is the opinion shared by Norway and China", Ingebrigtsen was quoted as saying by the newspaper E24.
China stopped salmon imports from Europe on Monday amid fears that fish imports could trigger a second wave of the epidemic in the country. Salmon was also taken off the shelves in major Chinese supermarkets.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan on Wednesday called on the UK government to provide emergency funding to protect vital public services, such as the capital's police force and public transport authority, which face a total budget shortfall of 493 million pounds ($619 million) over the next two years due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
"Unless Ministers act, the current number of police officers will need to be reduced and it will be impossible to tackle youth violence or make the changes to the London Fire Brigade that are desperately needed after the awful Grenfell Tower tragedy", Khan said in a press release published on the mayor’s website.
Khan has committed to take an immediate 10 percent pay cut and the salaries of his 15 direct appointments will be frozen, the press release said. However, more help will be required to make up a budget shortfall in excess of $600 million, according to the mayor.
"Overall, the GLA Group [Greater London Authority] faces a forecast £493m budget shortfall over the next two years as a result of an unprecedented loss of business rates and council tax income, caused by COVID-19, that is hitting every local authority in the country", the press release read.
The mayor is expected to soon publish a new Budget Guidance, which will provide a request to London’s key public services to map out the ways they can make significant budget cuts while still contributing to the capital’s recovery, the press release stated.
The largest recovery effort since the end of the Second World War is currently underway in London to help the UK capital rebound from the ongoing epidemiological and economic crisis caused by the coronavirus.
BEIJING (Sputnik) - Health authorities in the Chinese capital have conducted over 350,000 tests for COVID-19 since 13 June following the detection of an infection cluster at Xinfadi, the biggest wholesale market in Asia, Zhang Qiang, the deputy director general of the organisational department of the Beijing municipal committee, said on Wednesday.
"Since 13 June, 356,000 people have been tested for the coronavirus nucleic acid in Beijing", Zhang said at a press conference, adding that the majority of those tested are employees of the market.
The new cluster of COVID-19 cases was detected in Beijing last week after dozens of people linked to the Xinfadi food market tested positive for the coronavirus. Over 100 new local cases have been identified since 11 June.
Beijing authorities have said that the Chinese capital was in "wartime emergency mode" and have raised the city's emergency response level from three to two, thus re-imposing strict containment measures in local residential communities.
Beijing has registered 37 cases of the coronavirus over the past 24 hours, including six asymptomatic ones. All of them are linked to the wholesale market.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - South Korea intends to test a candidate coronavirus vaccine and treatment on monkeys later in June, national media reported on Wednesday, citing the Science Ministry.
The tests will be conducted for two experimental treatments and a vaccine candidate as part of the government-supported animal testing model, according to the Yonhap news agency.
The names of the firms or research institutions that developed the treatments and vaccine in question have not been specified.
The outlet recalled that in late May, South Korean pharmaceutical giant Celltrion said its COVID-19 antiviral antibody treatment had demonstrated a hundredfold drop in the viral load of SARS-CoV-2 in an animal model.
"We expect the studies on volunteers to start on 15 July", Vektor Director Rinat Maksyutov said during talks of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation member states' health services.
Vektor plans to have the vaccine registered in the fall, after which new clinical trials will start, Maksyutov added.
According to Geman broadcaster n-tv, a document prepared for a meeting between Chancellor Angela Merkel and the premiers of the nation's 16 states stipulates extending the ban on large events in the country until the end of October.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia has registered 7,843 COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours (8,248 yesterday), bringing the overall tally to 553,301, the national coronavirus response centre said on Wednesday.
The daily increase in COVID-19 cases is in decline for a second straight day.
"The Russian Federation has registered a cumulative total of 553,301 cases of the coronavirus infection in 85 regions (+1.4 percent)", the response centre said in a statement, adding that the country has confirmed 7,843 cases in 84 regions over the past 24 hours, including 31.8 percent in asymptomatic carriers.
Of the new cases, 1,065 were registered in Moscow, 680 in the Moscow Region, and 238 in the Nizhny Novgorod Region (compared to yesterday's 1,416, 694, and 206, respectively).
The country's COVID-19 death toll has grown by 194 (193 yesterday) to 7,478.
As many as 10,036 COVID-19 patients have recovered across the country (9,767 yesterday), bringing the total number of cured people to 304,342.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Germany has confirmed another 345 COVID-19 cases and 30 fatalities in the past 24 hours, marking the biggest daily death toll over the past week, Robert Koch Institute data showed on Wednesday.
The new figures take cumulative cases and deaths to 187,184 and 8,830, respectively.
On Tuesday, the country reported 378 new infections and nine fatalities. The daily rise in infections has not exceeded 500 for nearly a week.
The highest number of coronavirus cases has been recorded in Bavaria (47,710), North Rhine-Westphalia (39,573), and Baden-Wurttemberg (35,177). Berlin has a total of 7,402 cases.
BISHKEK, June 17 (Sputnik) - Kyrgyzstan has recorded 90 new cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) over the past 24 hours, and one new death, the country's coronavirus response centre told Sputnik.
The day before, a record 100 new cases were registered in the republic.
"On 17 June 2020, a total of 90 new cases of COVID-19 were registered in the republic, 36 of them in Bishkek”, a centre spokesman said.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - A medical centre in the northwestern Peruvian region of Lambayeque has been closed after all the workers at the facility tested positive for the coronavirus, the media reported.
According to local radio station RPP, one nurse became infected with COVID-19, and so all the employees of the centre were tested. The regional health authorities decided to temporarily close the facility after all the tests came back positive.
The Lambayeque region has so far confirmed 1,879 COVID-19 cases and 668 related deaths. Overall, Peru has confirmed 237,156 coronavirus cases and 7,056 deaths.
"As president of the nation and a responsible citizen, I want to communicate that during the weekend I started to feel some discomfort and today I was diagnosed as having been infected with COVID-19", Hernandez said.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - New Zealand’s armed forces will oversee the country’s isolation and quarantine facilities after imported COVID-19 cases were confirmed, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said during a press conference on Wednesday.
"Firstly, I am appointing the Assistant Chief of Defence, Air Commodore Digby Webb to oversee all quarantine and managed isolation facilities, including the processes around the exit of those who have been in these facilities … as the assistant chief of defense he can also seek access to our military's logistics, operational expertise, and, if needed, personnel to assist in the running of these facilities", Ardern said.
She also added that border controls should be strengthened, while stating that allowing people in quarantine facilities to leave them without undergoing a COVID-19 test was "unacceptable".
