Coronavirus Live Updates: WHO Announces Record Daily Increase of 212,000 in Global Cases

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Brazil registered nearly 38,000 new coronavirus cases and more than a thousand new deaths from COVID-19 over a 24-hour period, the country’s Health Ministry reports.

In the past 24 hours, Brazil registered 37,923 new coronavirus cases and 1,091 new deaths from COVID-19, according to the health ministry’s Saturday data.

Overall, Brazil has 1,577,004 confirmed coronavirus cases and a total of 64,265 COVID-19 fatalities.

On Friday, Brazil reported 42,223 new coronavirus cases and 1,290 new deaths from COVID-19. A day earlier, Brazil registered 48,105 new coronavirus cases and 1,252 fatalities.

A week ago, Brazil’s coronavirus death toll stood at around 57,000 and the country had a total of 1,313,667 confirmed coronavirus cases. Thus Brazil has seen a weekly rise of around 7,000 COVID-19 fatalities, which is the same increase as that of the previous seven-day period.

Brazil has the second-highest coronavirus death toll, it is surpassed only by the United States, which has registered over 129,600 COVID-19 fatalities, according to the latest data from Johns Hopkins University.

Brazil and the United States are also the top two countries in terms of the total number of registered coronavirus cases (the United States has the highest total of over 2.8 million COVID-19 cases).

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The US state of Texas has registered a record high daily increase of coronavirus cases, amounting to over 8,200 according to the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS).

On Saturday, 4 July, when Americans celebrate Independence Day, a total of 8,258 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Texas and 33 new coronavirus-related deaths, the DSHS said in its daily update.

Texas now has a total of 191,790 confirmed coronavirus cases and 2,608 coronavirus fatalities. Over 97,000 people have recovered from COVID-19 in Texas.

The state’s previous record high daily increase of coronavirus cases was registered on Wednesday, when 8,076 cases, confirmed over a 24-hour period, were reported.

The number of coronavirus cases in Texas surged after Governor Greg Abbott decided to gradually reopen the economy when he let stay-at-home orders expire on 1 May. On Thursday, Abbott issued an executive order requiring state residents to wear a face covering in public spaces.

The United States remains the country with the largest number of coronavirus cases (over 2.8 million) and the highest COVID-19 death toll (over 129,600), according to the latest data from the Johns Hopkins University.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The number of coronavirus cases in Bangladesh has increased by 3,288 to 159,679 in the past 24 hours, the Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control, And Research said on Saturday.

According to the institute's dashboard, a total of 70,721 COVID-19 patients have recovered and 1,997 have died, including 29 in the preceding day.

Over 374,000 people remain in self-isolation and 309,000 have already been released from quarantine.

Despite the increase in the number of cases in the country, the Bangladeshi authorities did not extend the lockdown regime introduced on 8 March. On 31 May, the government announced the reopening of offices and the resumption of transport services. At the same time, authorities called on the nation to maintain social distance.

Today's #covid19 new cases and deaths stats from the @WHO.

Sadly I had to expand the vertical scale for global new cases again,as those hit a new record of 212k. New deaths, however, remain relatively constant around 5khttps://t.co/nAkPpVNv9w pic.twitter.com/CTD9B2TfcV

— Chris Anderson (@chr1sa) July 4, 2020

WHO accepted the recommendation from the Solidarity Trial’s International Steering Committee to discontinue the trial’s hydroxychloroquine and the lopinavir/ritonavir arms.

More https://t.co/dCxHqBIwtr#COVID19 #coronavirus

— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) July 4, 2020

"I don't know what the reaction of the British public (has been), I came here to have a quiet time to organise the house", Stanley Johnson said in comments to Sky News, referring to measures to make the property COVID-19 secure for lettings.

"I've just got one week to get everything organised. I've got a whole lot of instructions about how to make the place COVID-proof", he said, noting he planned to return to the UK on 10 July.

The state’s health department added that hospitalisations have risen by 100 to a record high of 3,113 in total.

According to health authorities, the recent uptick is the second time in three days that the number of cases has gone up by 10,000.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said on Friday that he was not planning to introduce new restrictions due to the outbreak. At the same time, Florida's biggest county, Miami-Dade, imposed on Thursday a curfew amid the COVID-19 spike.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Cybercrime activities in Russia have dramatically increased since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, Ilya Sachkov, general director and founder of the Russian cybersecurity company Group-IB, told Sputnik.

"There are some interesting statistics. According to the [Russian] Ministry of Internal Affairs, while the number of murders and attempted murders, as well as robberies, dropped in January-April 2020, the growth of IT crime [in the given period] amounted to 82.4 percent and significantly influenced the increase in the total number of recorded crimes in the country within [these] four months by 0.8 percent. I will not be wrong if I say that most of the cases are various kinds of financial frauds", Sachkov said.

According to the IT expert, many Russian employees were working in a protected corporate environment before the COVID-19 lockdown regime started.

"When the employees of most Russian companies switched to working from home, they became targets for cybercriminals. First, both the employer and the employer's security service, as well as IT services, are located somewhere distant, the psychological barrier is gradually erasing, and so, of course, vigilance is reduced", Sachkov noted.

He added that other cases of cybercrime in Russia also included online shopping fraud.

"A person with money, with a bank card and Internet banking, who wants to order something quickly on the Internet, is an ideal target for attackers", Sachkov said.

People not wearing masks amid the pandemic should be refused service in enclosed public spaces, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani announced on Saturday.

"In government offices, that is likely to be easier - we can simply deny entry to people not wearing masks", he said, urging people to abide the regulations aimed at curbing the virus.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The daily coronavirus increase in the US has exceeded 50,000 for a third consecutive day, marking a record increase registered anywhere in a single 24-hour period, data showed on Saturday.

According to the John Hopkins University coronavirus monitor, which compiles data across agencies, hospitals, and private practices, 52,104 new infections and 631 deaths were registered in the past day across the country.

The university’s dashboard coronavirus world map shows that the US alone accounts for 2,795,163 confirmed infections and 129,437 deaths.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Nine residential complexes in the Australian state of Victoria have been placed in lockdown after public health officials recorded the second-largest daily increase in COVID-19 cases since the outbreak began, the state’s Premier Daniel Andrews said on Saturday.

"In recent days, 23 cases across more than 12 households have been identified in the Flemington and North Melbourne public housing estates … It’s why effectively immediately, these estates – encompassing nine sites – will be closed and contained. Residents will be required to stay inside their homes", Andrews said in a statement that was published on Twitter.

According to domestic media reports, the lockdown affects roughly 3,000 people living in these areas. Andrews added that the lockdown has been put into place so that public health officials can test every single resident.

TEL AVIV (Sputnik) - Israeli Border Police (Magav) commander Yaakov “Kobi” Shabtai has tested positive for COVID-19, police spokesman Michael Zingerman told Sputnik on Saturday.

"It turned out that Magav commander Yaakov 'Kobi' Shabtai has contracted COVID-19. He is currently in good condition and the police are conducting an epidemiological investigation to assess his recent contacts. Based on the results of this investigation, it will be decided who will be placed in isolation", Zingerman said.

Shabtai tested positive for COVID-19 just several days after he participated in a memorial service attended by President Reuven Rivlin, Defence Minister Benny Gantz, and IDF Chief of General Staff Aviv Kochavi.

Over 200,000 people have been put in isolation, as Spanish authorities decided to impose severe restrictions on Segrià County in the west of Catalonia due to a major spike in new coronavirus cases in the area.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Russia’s COVID-19 case total has risen by 6,632 over the past 24 hours, a slight decrease from the 6,718 new positive tests reported the day before, as the total number of cases confirmed in the country since the start of the outbreak has risen to 674,515, Russia’s coronavirus response centre said on Saturday.

"Over the past 24 hours, Russia has confirmed 6,632 COVID-19 cases in 84 regions, of which 1,960 (29.6 percent) have been detected with people showing no clinical symptoms", the response centre said in a statement, adding that the total count has grown to 674,515 cases in 85 regions, with the daily increase standing at 1.0 percent.

The city of Moscow reported the highest number of new cases, with 680 (659 on Friday). A further 275 new positive tests were registered in the Moscow Region and 273 more cases were confirmed in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area (compared to 298 and 271 the day before).

The country’s COVID-19 death toll has also risen by 168 over the past 24 hours to 10,027, the response centre said. The corresponding rise in the death toll on Friday was 176.

Additionally, 8,986 people who had previously tested positive for the disease have recovered over the past day (8,915 on Friday), the response centre stated. The total number of recoveries now stands at 446,879.

TOKYO (Sputnik) – The Japanese capital Tokyo has registered 131 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, a third consecutive day of posting more than 100 infections, NHK reported on Saturday.

According to public broadcaster NHK, this brings the total confirmed in the metropolis to 6,654. This all but confirms an upward trend which began once the government lifted the state of emergency on 25 May.

The acceleration has been attributed to the resurgence in the city's nightlife, with officials cautioning partygoers to frequent establishments that take precautionary measures, NHK reported.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Kimberly Guilfoyle, a leading fundraiser for US President Donald Trump's re-election campaign and girlfriend of the president’s oldest son, Donald Jr., has tested positive for coronavirus, The New York Times reports.

According to the newspaper, Guilfoyle had travelled to South Dakota along with Donald Trump Jr. ahead of a planned event at Mount Rushmore on Friday evening.

Guilfoyle is the third official who may have come into contact with the president to test positive for the disease. One of the president’s valets and a spokeswoman for Vice President Mike Pence contracted COVID-19 in May.

India has confirmed a single-day spike of 22,771 COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, along with 442 deaths. The tally in the country now stands at 648,315 including 235,433 active cases.

With the recovery rate improving to 60.80%, total number of patients cured and discharged stands at 394,227, while the death toll has reached 18,655.

MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) – The number of people, who have died from COVID-19 in Mexico, has risen by 654 to 29,843 within the past 24 hours, Jose Luis Alomia, the director of epidemiology at the Health Ministry, said.

He also said late Friday that the number of confirmed coronavirus cases had increased by 6,740 to 245,251 within the same period of time.

A day earlier, the country recorded 6,741 new cases of the coronavirus, with 679 fatalities.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Germany has confirmed 422 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, with the total count reaching 196,096, the Robert Koch Institute said on Saturday.

The death toll grew by seven to 9,010 people within the same period of time. Some 181,300 people have recovered since the start of the outbreak.

A day earlier, the country confirmed 446 new cases and nine fatalities.