Coronavirus Updates: Brazilian President Reportedly Tests Positive for COVID-19 Second Time

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Germany has confirmed 534 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, with the total count reaching 200,260, the Robert Koch Institute said on Thursday.

The death toll has grown by seven to 9,078 people within the same period of time. Some 186,400 people have recovered since the start of the outbreak.

A day earlier, the country confirmed 351 new cases and three fatalities.

The World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic on 11 March. To date, more than 13.5 million people have been infected with the coronavirus worldwide, with over 583,000 fatalities, according to Johns Hopkins University.

MONTEVIDEO (Sputnik) – The Ecuadorian capital of Quito, which is facing a shortage in hospital beds over the coronavirus pandemic, has overcome the peak of the COVID-19 outbreak, Health Minister Juan Carlos Zevallos Lopez told Sputnik.

"The situation in Quito is difficult because there is a high demand for [hospital] beds, but I think that the peak has already been overcome ... The worst is over, but one should be cautious, we are going through a difficult period," the minister said on late Wednesday.

The World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic on 11 March. To date, more than 13.5 million people have been infected with the coronavirus worldwide, with over 582,000 fatalities, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Ecuador has registered 70,329 COVID-19 cases so far, with 5,158 fatalities.

MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) – The number of people, who have died of COVID-19 in Mexico, has risen by 579 to 36,906 within the past 24 hours, Jose Luis Alomia, the director of epidemiology at the Health Ministry, said.

He also said on late Wednesday that the number of confirmed coronavirus cases had increased by 6,149 to 317,635 within the same period of time.

A day earlier, the Latin American nation recorded 7,051 new cases of the coronavirus, with 836 fatalities.

The World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic on 11 March. To date, more than 13.5 million people have been infected with the coronavirus worldwide, with over 582,000 fatalities, according to Johns Hopkins University.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Florida, a US state experiencing a record surge in novel coronavirus cases, established a network of nursing homes exclusively for infected long-term care residents with 1,000 beds and plans to free up 600 beds at additional facilities, Governor Ron DeSantis told reporters.

"We’re up to 15 COVID-only nursing homes that have a thousand beds available and then we have nine sites that are going to be on the way very soon with 600 beds," DeSantis said on Wednesday.

The network allows hospitals to discharge COVID-19 patients who have recovered to the point where they no longer need hospital care to an interim facility until the disease clears, DeSantis said.

On the front end, a nursing home resident who tests positive with a mild case that does not require hospitalization can be transferred to one of the COVID-only facilities to ride out the infection, DeSantis added.

During a week in which new infections set records in Florida, the state reported 10,181 new cases Wednesday, pushing the total past 300,000. In addition, 112 victims died on Wednesday, bring the state's death toll to 4,521, according to the Florida Department of Health.

BUENOS AIRES (Sputnik) – The number of people, who have died of COVID-19 in Brazil, has increased by 1,233 to 75,366 within the past 24 hours, the national Health Ministry said on late Wednesday.

Within the same period of time, the number of confirmed cases has risen by 39,924 to 1,966,748.

A day earlier, Brazil reported about 41,857 new cases of the coronavirus disease and about 1,300 new fatalities.

Brazil comes second on a global tally of coronavirus cases after the United States, which has recorded more than 3.4 million COVID-19 patients.

The World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic on 11 March. To date, more than 13.4 million people have been infected with the coronavirus worldwide, with over 581,000 fatalities, according to Johns Hopkins University.

ANKARA (Sputnik) - Health authorities in Turkey have detected 947 new cases of the coronavirus infection over the past day, marking the smallest daily increment since June 10, according to a situation update by Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca on Wednesday.

The daily increase in the number of cases in Turkey has been predominantly above 1,000 cases over the past month.

According to Koca's update, posted on Twitter, the cumulative toll since the epidemic's start in Turkey has now grown to 215,940 cases.

Over the past day, 17 people died from COVID-19, taking the death toll to 5,419.

Total recoveries have reached 197,733, an increase of 1,013 from the day before.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - South Africa confirmed 12,757 coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours, which is in line with the recent spike in infection rate, and the overall tally reached 311,049, the Health Ministry said on Wednesday.

Moreover, the COVID-19 death toll rose by 107 over the given period and reached 4,453. At the same time, more than half of all those infected have already recovered.

South Africa has extended a state of emergency until mid-August amid a surge in COVID-19 cases — the country has been registering over 10,000 cases per day on average over the past week.

Nonetheless, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has said that strict lockdown would not be imposed across the country but announced that wearing face masks was now mandatory in closed public spaces and outdoors.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards' executive order requiring every resident to wear a face mask in public, his closure of bars and his 50 person limit on gatherings is unconstitutional and unenforceable, state Attorney General Jeff Landry said in a statement on Wednesday.

"The three provisions of the executive order - the mask mandate, the 50 person indoor/outdoor gathering limit and the bar closure are likely unenforceable and unconstitutional," Landry said.

The Louisiana Attorney General explained that while the mask mandate and the 50 person limit may be good recommendations for personal safety, they may not be enforced with financial or criminal penalties.

Landry expressed his concern that additional restrictions were being placed on citizens of Louisiana amid the novel coronavirus outbreak outside constitutional and statutory authority.

"The governor's recent mandates do not appear to serve achieving any type of goal or mission in a manner consistent with statutory authority and Constitutional provisions," Landry said. "After careful consideration it is my opinion as the chief legal officer of the state that the order does not pass the constitutional test."

Louisiana has reported 82,042 novel coronavirus cases, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Wednesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The cumulative total of the COVID-19 cases in the world has grown by more than 185,000 in 24 hours and exceeded 13 million, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Wednesday.

According to the WHO, 185,836 new cases were registered in the last 24 hours and 4,176 deaths. This brings the total number of fatalities to 574,464.

MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) - Guatemala’s Ministry of Health will wait to see the results from the third phase of trials conducted on the Russian-made COVID-19 drug Avifavir before placing an order, the Russian embassy in the Central American country told Sputnik on Wednesday.

“The Guatemalan Ministry of Health believes that it is necessary to await the third phase of the Avifavir clinical trials. Consequently, the Russian embassy has not sent an official proposal for the purchase of the drug to Guatemala,” Arseny Rebrov, a representative of the Russian Embassy in Guatemala City, said.

In an op-ed published by the US magazine Newsweek on Tuesday, the CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund Kirill Dmitriev said that more than 50 countries have submitted purchase requests for the Russian-made drug, which has proven to be 90 percent effective in treating COVID-19 during trials.

Dmitriev earlier said that Latin American countries with a high incidence of the coronavirus disease would be the first to receive the treatment, and Brazil, Colombia, and Panama are some of the nations in the region to have already expressed interest.

In late May, Avifavir became the first treatment for COVID-19 to receive the approval of the Russian Ministry of Health.

Braziilian President Jair Bolsonaro has tested positive for COVID-19 for a second time, according to CNN Brasil.

On 7 July, Bolsonaro confirmed during an interview with TV Brasil that he had tested positive for COVID-19, revealing that after he started feeling sick he began to take the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine.

US infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci said on Wednesday that his input to President Donal Trump on coronavirus is now indirect and goes through the vice president.

MOSCOW, July 15 (Sputnik) - The European Union will either win as one or go down as one, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said on Wednesday, referring to the upcoming talks about the COVID-19 recovery fund.

The European leaders are gearing up for this week's summit, where they will attempt to come to an understanding on the issue of the post-pandemic recovery package.

"Today in the EU either we all win or we all lose, together," Conte told the Italian parliament, as quoted by Ansa news agency.

He added that he would not be content with a "shabby compromise" and urged the EU to bring people solutions, and not illusions and fears.

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. To counter the deleterious economic ramifications of the disease, the EU plans to set up a recovery fund of about $825 billion, with countries like Spain, Italy, and Poland said to be the main beneficiaries. However, 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.

LONDON, July 15 (Sputnik) - The UK Home Office does not know how many of about 50,000 people who arrive in the United Kingdom every day are infected with COVID-19, Secretary Priti Patel said on Wednesday.

In order to prevent the virus from spreading, the UK government imposed a 14-day quarantine for those entering the UK territory, with the exception of a few dozens of countries. In late April, the authorities said they had decided not to impose mandatory checks due to the small number of arrivals, claiming that border checks would not make a difference.

"On a daily basis, the number of people coming into the country is approximately 50,000 people and that's across all modes of transport. I don't have a figure of people coming into the country on a daily basis with the coronavirus," Patel said while answering a question from Labor lawmaker Yvette Cooper.

The UK has so far confirmed a total of 291,911 cases, with a death toll of 45,053.

More than 130 Tesla workers have tested positive for COVID-19, industry news website Electrek reported, citing leaked internal data from California-based electric automaker, Palo Alto.

Over 1,550 employees have been exposed to other workers with the virus, the report says.

MOSCOW, July 15 (Sputnik) - Nine agencies of the EU’s Justice and Home Affairs Council have started a dialogue to share their experience in assisting EU institutions and member states in their struggle against the COVID-19 pandemic, Europol, the EU Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation, said on Wednesday.

"In the past months, all JHA agencies have taken the necessary measures to ensure business continuity and uninterrupted operational support. At the same time, the Justice and Home Affairs agencies' network (JHAAN), under the chairmanship of Eurojust, has initiated a dialogue to share their experiences in dealing with the pandemic and consider new avenues for closer cooperation among the agencies and with key stakeholders inside and outside the EU," Europol said in a statement.

Apart from Europol, the bodies in question are the Agency for Law Enforcement Training, the Asylum Support Office, the Institute for Gender Equality, the Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, the Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice, ​the Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust), the Fundamental Rights Agency and the Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex).

The inter-agency dialogue will consider new ways of joint cooperation within and outside the EU, the statement added.

The JHA agencies have listed their individual and common efforts to deal with the impact of the pandemic in a joint paper, which was approved by the heads of agencies during a video conference earlier in July.

WASHINGTON, July 15 (Sputnik) - The latest COVID-19 model from the University of Washington predicts some 87,000 additional deaths from the novel coronavirus disease between now and the beginning of November, a toll that could be reduced by 41,000 if everyone used facemasks, according to a report by the university’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) on Wednesday.

The report consists of data presented in a series of interactive graphics showing deaths rising from an estimated 136,615 by the end of Wednesday to 224,089 deaths November 1, an increase of 87,474, if present policies and trends remain unchanged.

As separate projection dubbed "Universal Masks" indicates that if everyone covered their faces in public, the toll on November 1 would reach 182,805, more than 41,000 below the current projection.

Models such as the IHME projection are rarely accurate, although they are used by hospitals and other healthcare concerns for planning purposes and the Trump administration has cited IHME projections to back its pandemic-related policies.

The IMHE model first estimated in late March that the novel coronavirus pandemic would kill fewer than 161,000.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN International Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have warned that fewer children are being routinely vaccinated against illnesses due to the disruption caused by the coronavirus disease pandemic, according to a press release published on Tuesday.

For the first time in 28 years, the two organizations are expecting to see a decline in the number of children receiving vaccinations against diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis, and WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said previous gains made in extending coverage across the globe are at risk.

"The avoidable suffering and death caused by children missing out on routine immunizations could be far greater than COVID-19 itself. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Vaccines can be delivered safely even during the pandemic, and we are calling on countries to ensure these essential life-saving programmes continue," the WHO director-general said in the press release.

At least 30 measles vaccination campaigns were canceled or are at risk of being postponed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the two organizations said, and UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore called on governments to remain committed to vaccinating children.

"We must prevent a further deterioration in vaccine coverage and urgently resume vaccination programs before children’s lives are threatened by other diseases. We cannot trade one health crisis for another," Fore was quoted as saying in the press release.

According to an April immunization pulse survey, an online poll conducted by the WHO, UNICEF, and the vaccine alliance Gavi, 64 percent of responding countries said that the coronavirus disease outbreak had disrupted routine immunization practices.

MOSCOW, July 15 (Sputnik) - The Tokyo authorities have decided to put the highest level COVID-19 alert in the city in light of an increasing infection rate and a double rise in the number of untraceable coronavirus cases, Governor Koike Yuriko said on Wednesday.

"We decided that we need to raise the alert level to warn residents that infection is spreading," Yuriko said, as quoted by the NHK broadcaster.

Japan has been registering over 200 COVID-19 cases per day from July 9-12. Since then, the daily rate has dropped but still remained in the triple digits. On Wednesday, Tokyo’s COVID-19 tally rose by 165, up from 143 a day before, and reached 8,354.

Japanese health authorities are particularly worried about the increasing number of untraceable cases, as the weekly average has almost doubled.

"In four weeks, the number of untraceable cases could be 16 times as many as now. That means about 1,200 people. If it continues to double, eight weeks from now, the figure will increase by 256-fold," Ohmagari Norio, the director of Japan’s Disease Control and Prevention Center, said, as quoted by NHK.

Meanwhile, the governor has called on Tokyo residents to limit non-essential travel to other parts of the country, and refrain from visiting restaurants and nightclubs where social distancing measures are not imposed.

Other prefectures of Japan, including Osaka, have also registered a spike in coronavirus cases recently. In addition, the health authorities are monitoring the epidemiological situation in the southern Okinawa prefecture, which houses US military bases, as over 130 personnel have already tested positive for COVID-19 there.

Overall, Japan has so far confirmed over 22,000 COVID-19 cases, more than 18,000 recoveries and 984 related fatalities.

BEIJING, July 15 (Sputnik) - The crew of Russia's Zaliv Prostor Vessel has been placed under quarantine in the port city of Dalian of the Chinese northeastern province of Liaoning after COVID-19 antibodies were detected in seven sailors, the Russian Consulate General in province's capital of Shenyang told Sputnik on Wednesday.

"On July 2, 2020, the Russian transport refrigerator Zaliv Prostor, on board of which there were 24 crew members, docked at the port of Dalian, Liaoning Province, to unload fish products. Sanitary and epidemiological control revealed antibodies to COVID-19 in seven sailors without any symptoms of the disease," the consulate said.

Within the context, the Dalian Center for Disease Control and Prevention decided on July 8 "on quarantine measures against the crew of the Zaliv Prostor vessel," the diplomatic mission added.

The seven sailors were sent to Dalian Hospital No. 6, four Russians were isolated for 14 days at the local Haitian Hotel and 13 crew members, including the captain of the ship, have been quarantined on the ship to maintain the operating capability of all engineering systems of the refrigerator, the consulate said.

The mission also said that Russian diplomats were in constant contact with the vessel's captain, and no requests for help or complaints about the state of health from crew members were received so far.

RIGA, July 15 (Sputnik) - All foreigners arriving in Latvia using international airlines will be required to register by filling out a form starting July 16, the country's government said in a statement on Wednesday.

According to the document, the decision was made at an extraordinary session of the Latvian parliament and aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19.

"From July 16, every traveler who arrived in Latvia using the services of an international carrier will be registered," the statement reads.

Initially, a paper questionnaire will available, but an electronic system will be developed and implemented within a few days. The data will be transmitted to the responsible agencies and stored for a maximum of 14 days.

Over the past 24 hours, Latvia has registered four COVID-19 cases, two of which were imported. The overall number of cases in the country is 1,178.

BELGRADE (Sputnik) - Serbia is making wearing face masks outdoors compulsory starting this Friday, the country's national emergency center said on Wednesday, citing an increase in COVID-19 cases.

Two dozen Serbian municipalities are currently in a state of emergency over the threat of the virus.

"Wearing protective masks is also mandatory in the open space where it is impossible to maintain a distance of one and a half meter [49 feet]: for example, in lines to trade outlet, pharmacies, at bus stops and train stations. This also concerns enclosed spaces, as has been mandatory in several cities until now," the center said in a statement, adding that the adopted measures will come into effect on Friday.

Serbia has confirmed a total of 18,983 cases, with a death toll of 418. The country is currently suffering a surge of the disease, with the last daily increase of cases being 344, along with 13 new fatalities. Last Friday, the government registered its highest COVID-19 death toll of 18.

TOKYO (Sputnik) - A total of 36 new COVID-19 cases have been registered at the US Camp Hansen military base in the Japanese southern prefecture of Okinawa, the Kyodo news agency reported on Wednesday.

On Friday, the US military command reimposed restrictions on movement for servicemen and staffers of US bases in Japan due to an increased incidence of COVID-19. As such, the use of public transport, as well as visits to restaurants and cafes, have been banned. To date, five US bases in Japan have reported COVID-19 cases.

The overall number of COVID-19 cases at US bases in Japan has now risen to 136, while on Monday the total number amounted to 98.

Meanwhile, the Kyodo news agency reported that Okinawa Governor Tamaki Denny asked Defense Minister Taro Kono to urge US personnel stationed on US military bases to provide information about new COVID-19 infections promptly, noting that the increase in the number of cases caused worries among local residents.

Kono, in turn, said that his ministry would ensure US troops were handling the outbreak and make every effort to avoid the spread of the virus outside military bases.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The public health measures adopted by the EU countries within the last four months have helped bring the COVID-19 pandemic to a manageable level, allowing Europe to strengthen its response capabilities in the face of a possible second wave, European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas said on Wednesday.

"In the last four months, public health measures helped bring the pandemic down to a level manageable by our national health systems ... this current period now of lower transmission rates is for the EU also an opportunity to reinforce our capacity of response", Schinas said at a press conference on the preparedness for possible future outbreaks of COVID-19.

He added that the short-term measures that the Commission proposes would make it possible to do without an across-the-board lockdown.

The proposals include increased coordination, inclusiveness and the reduction of risks of COVID-19 coexisting with the seasonal flu.

According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, Europe has 1.59 million cases of the coronavirus disease with nearly 180,000 deaths.

I'm disappointed to confirm that we are canceling large public events through February 28, 2021 due to the public health crisis.

This was not an easy decision to make. The health and safety of residents, workers, and visitors must be our top priority.

— Jim #MaskUpPHL Kenney (@PhillyMayor) July 14, 2020

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia has registered 6,422 COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours (6,248 yesterday), bringing the cumulative total to 746,369, the country's coronavirus response centre said on Wednesday.

"Over the past 24 hours, Russia has confirmed 6,422 COVID-19 cases in 85 regions, of which 1,708 (26.6 percent) have been detected actively, with people showing no clinical symptoms," the response centre said in a statement, adding that the total count has grown to 746,369 cases in 85 regions, with the daily increase standing at 0.9 percent.

Moscow has registered 628 cases in a 24-hour period, which is more than any other region in Russia, followed by St. Petersburg with 264 new cases and the Sverdlovsk Region with 263 cases (compared to 613, 281 and 245 yesterday, respectively).

As many as 156 COVID-19 patients died in Russia over the past 24 hours (175 yesterday). The total death toll has reached 11,770.

A total of 10,424 coronavirus patients have been discharged (compared to 8,804 yesterday), bringing the total number of recoveries to 523,249.

According to the Russian public health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, over 23.7 million tests to detect COVID-19 have been conducted in the country since the beginning of the outbreak, and over 270,000 suspected virus carriers remain under medical monitoring.

The country’s COVID-19 death toll rose by 11 over the past day to 160. 

The total death toll currently stands at 396. The number of recovered patients is almost 56,000.

BEIJING (Sputnik) - China has registered four asymptomatic COVID-19 carriers in the past 24 hours, the National Health Commission said on Wednesday, adding that another six new coronavirus cases were recorded in the country.

According to the commission, all new cases have been imported from abroad.

The country’s total number of confirmed coronavirus cases now stands at 83,611, the death toll is 4,634. The cumulative number of recovered patients in China stands at 78,693.

Since early April, Chinese health authorities began counting asymptomatic cases among their overall tally. Over the past day, four people were released from under medical observation with suspected asymptomatic infection, while 110 people remain under observation.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Germany has confirmed 351 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, with the total count reaching 199,726, the Robert Koch Institute said on Wednesday.

The death toll has grown by three to 9,071 people within the same period of time.

A day earlier, the country confirmed 412 new cases and three fatalities.