Keeping you up to date on the latest novel coronavirus (Covid-19) news from around the world.
FOLLOW LIVE | Covid-19 in SA: Cases hit 1 635 465 as 30 new deaths reported
Coronavirus toll at 10:00 (GMT) Monday
Paris – The novel coronavirus has killed at least 3 465 398 people since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP at 10:00 (GMT) on Monday.
At least 166 741 960 cases of coronavirus have been registered.
The vast majority have recovered, though some have continued to experience symptoms weeks or even months later.
The figures are based on daily reports provided by health authorities in each country.
They exclude revisions made by other statistical organisations, which show that the number of deaths is much higher.
The World Health Organisation estimates that the pandemic’s overall toll could be two to three times higher than official records, due to the excess mortality that is directly and indirectly linked to Covid-19.
A large number of the less severe or asymptomatic cases also remain undetected, despite intensified testing in many countries.
On Sunday, 8 971 new deaths and 493 617 new cases were recorded worldwide.
Based on latest reports, the countries with the most new deaths were India with 4 454, followed by Brazil with 860 and Colombia with 496.
The United States is the worst-affected country with 589 893 deaths from 33 117 770 cases.
After the US, the hardest-hit countries are Brazil with 449 068 deaths from 16 083 258 cases, India with 303 720 deaths from 26 752 447 cases, Mexico with 221 647 deaths from 2 396 604 cases, and the United Kingdom with 127 721 deaths from 4 462 538 cases.
– AFP
India passes 300 000 Covid-19 deaths
New Delhi – India said on Monday it had passed more than 300 000 coronavirus deaths, the third country after the United States and Brazil to hit the figure as it battles a huge wave of infections.
The South Asian nation has been hitting record single-day rises in infections and fatalities in recent weeks, with its healthcare system overwhelmed by the Covid-19 wave.
India’s toll now stands at 303 720 after adding 50 000 deaths in just under two weeks, as the total number of infections rose above 26.7 million, health ministry data showed.
It reported 4 454 Covid-19 deaths in the past 24 hours, the second-highest daily toll since reaching a record 4 529 on Wednesday.
The continued high number of deaths came as infections fell in major cities, including the capital New Delhi and financial hub Mumbai, where lockdowns have been imposed to stem the spread of the virus.
– AFP
At least 115 000 health workers have died from Covid-19 – WHO
Geneva – At least 115 000 health and care workers have died from Covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic, the WHO chief said on Monday, calling for a dramatic scale-up of vaccination in all countries.
At the opening of the World Health Organisation’s main annual assembly, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus hailed the sacrifices made by health workers around the world to battle the pandemic.
“For almost 18 months, health and care workers all over the world have stood in the breach between life and death,” he said.
“They have saved countless lives and fought for others who, despite their best efforts, slipped away.
“Many have themselves become infected, and while reporting is scant, we estimate that at least 115 000 health and care workers have paid the ultimate price in the service of others.”
He said many health workers have since the start of the crisis felt “frustrated, helpless and unprotected, with a lack of access to personal protective equipment and vaccines”.
– AFP
Wuhan lab staff sought hospital care before Covid-19 outbreak disclosed – WSJ
WASHINGTON – Three researchers from China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) sought hospital care in November 2019, months before China disclosed the Covid-19 pandemic, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing a previously undisclosed US intelligence report.
The newspaper said the report – which provides fresh details on the number of researchers affected, the timing of their illnesses, and their hospital visits – may add weight to calls for a broader probe of whether the Covid-19 virus could have escaped from the laboratory.
The report came on the eve of a meeting of the World Health Organisation’s decision-making body, which is expected to discuss the next phase of an investigation into the origins of Covid-19.
A National Security Council spokesperson had no comment on the Journal’s report, but said the Biden administration continued to have “serious questions about the earliest days of the Covid-19 pandemic, including its origins within the Peoples Republic of China”.
She said the US government was working with the WHO and other member states to support an expert-driven evaluation of the pandemic’s origins “that is free from interference or politicisation”.
“We’re not going to make pronouncements that prejudge an ongoing WHO study into the source of SARS-CoV-2, but we’ve been clear that sound and technically credible theories should be thoroughly evaluated by international experts,” she said.
– REUTERS
Study shows dogs can detect Covid-positive arrivals
Paris – Dogs can be trained to detect more than 90% of Covid-19 infections even when patients are asymptomatic, according to research published on Monday, which authors hope could help replace the need to quarantine new arrivals.
Using their remarkable sense of smell – which can pick up the equivalent of half a teaspoon of sugar in an Olympic-sized swimming pool – dogs have already shown that they can sniff out maladies such as cancer, malaria and epilepsy.
Several previous studies have shown proof-of-concept that dogs can detect SARS-CoV-2.
– AFP
Singapore provisionally approves 60-second Covid-19 breathalyser test
Singapore authorities have provisionally approved a Covid-19 breathalyser test that aims to show whether someone is infected with the coronavirus in under a minute, according to the local startup that developed the product.
Breathonix, a spin-off company from the National University of Singapore (NUS), said it is now working with the health ministry to run a deployment trial of the technology at one of the city-state’s border points with Malaysia.
The breath analysis will be carried out alongside the current compulsory Covid-19 antigen rapid test.
The tests would be sold for between S$5-S$20 ($3.76-$15.03) each, depending on the number purchased, said a company representative.
The breath test achieved more than 90% accuracy in a Singapore-based pilot clinical trial, the company said last year.
The Health Sciences Authority’s website confirmed the approval, which the company said was the first such system to secure provisional authorisation in Singapore.
– REUTERS
British woman dies in Cyprus after AstraZeneca jab
Nicosia – A 39-year-old British woman died in a Cypriot hospital after a blood clotting incident after receiving the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, the official Cyprus News Agency said on Monday.
Charalambos Charilaou, the spokesperson for the state health services, told CNA that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) would investigate the death.
The woman, treated at Nicosia General Hospital’s intensive care unit, received the first dose of the vaccine on 6 May in the resort town of Paphos on the western coast of the Mediterranean island.
The woman, who was not named, suffered symptoms days later.
Cyprus health authorities have opened an investigation to see if the “serious thrombotic episode” was linked to the AstraZeneca jab.
Some countries have restricted or dropped AstraZeneca shots from national vaccine campaigns over very rare blood clots, though the EMA says the benefits outweigh the risks.
– AFP
Japan opens mass vaccination sites for elderly ahead of Olympics
TOKYO – Japan opened mass inoculation centres on Monday as it races to vaccinate most of its elderly population before the start of the Tokyo Olympics.
The centres in Tokyo and Osaka will vaccinate thousands of people every day, giving a boost to Japan’s sluggish inoculation drive as officials battle a fourth wave of coronavirus infections.
“It’s better to get it early,” said Tetsuya Urano, 66, who was among the first to be vaccinated in Tokyo. “It went pretty smoothly, all in all.”
The Tokyo facility will operate 12 hours a day to dispense shots to 10 000 people daily for the next three months. The site in Osaka, Japan’s western metropolis, will build up to about 5 000 shots a day.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga called for the centres last month to speed up the vaccination rollout. Large-scale inoculation sites operated by local governments also opened in the prefectures of Aichi, Miyagi, and Gunma.
The fourth wave of infections has led authorities to make state of emergency declarations covering much of the country, including Tokyo, raising some concerns about the Olympic Games due to begin on 23 July.
– REUTERS
Australia’s Victoria state investigates two likely Covid-19 positive cases
SYDNEY – Australia’s second most populous state Victoria on Monday said it was investigating two suspected positive Covid-19 cases in Melbourne, which if confirmed would be the first community transmissions in the state in nearly three months.
Victoria was the worst hit Australian state during a second wave of Covid-19 late last year, accounting for about 70% of total cases and 90% of deaths. The state only controlled the outbreak after one of the world’s longest and strictest lockdowns.
Australia has avoided the high Covid-19 numbers seen in many developed countries by closing its international borders in the early stages of the pandemic, lockdowns and social restrictions. It has reported just over 30 000 cases and 910 deaths.
The report of the new likely infections come as the federal government considers a plan that would allow fully vaccinated residents to travel freely between the states if regional borders have to be closed during future Covid-19 outbreaks.
During past outbreaks states have imposed internal border closures and mandated 14-day quarantine for visitors.
– REUTERS
Mexico reports lowest daily coronavirus death toll in over a year
MEXICO CITY – Mexico’s health ministry on Sunday registered 50 new confirmed deaths from Covid-19, the lowest daily increase reported from the pandemic in over a year, according to government data.
The rise, which brought the official death toll to 221 647, was the smallest since the final Sunday of April 2020, and it follows a steady decline in new daily infections in Mexico during recent weeks as a vaccine rollout gathers pace.
Mexico has said the real number of coronavirus deaths and infections is likely considerably higher than the official tally. Separate government data has suggested the death toll could be at least 60% above the confirmed figure.
The ministry on Sunday also reported 1 274 new Covid-19 infections, lifting the total to 2 396 604.
– REUTERS
Brazil registers 35 819 new cases of coronavirus on Sunday
SAO PAULO – Brazil on Sunday registered 35 819 new cases of Covid-19, bringing the total in the country to 16 083 259, the health ministry said.
Deaths rose by 860 and now total 449 068.
– REUTERS
Russia reports 8 406 new Covid-19 cases, 319 deaths
MOSCOW – Russia on Monday reported 8 406 new Covid-19 cases in the previous 24 hours, including 2 487 in Moscow, pushing the national infection tally to 5 009 911 since the pandemic began.
The government coronavirus taskforce said that 319 people had died of coronavirus-related causes, taking its death toll to 118 801.
The federal statistics agency has kept a separate count and said that Russia recorded around 250 000 deaths related to Covid-19 from April 2020 to March 2021.
– REUTERS
Germany’s confirmed coronavirus cases rise by 2 682 – RKI
BERLIN – The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 2 682 to 3 651 640, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Monday.
The reported death toll rose by 43 to 87 423, the tally showed.
– REUTERS
Malaysia reports 6 509 new coronavirus cases
KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia on Monday reported 6 509 new coronavirus cases, close to a record-high toll reported the previous day.
The Southeast Asian nation saw 6 976 new coronavirus cases on Sunday in its highest daily jump, with total infections at over 500 000. It also reported several days last week of record Covid-19 casualties.
– REUTERS
