MONDAY SEPTEMBER 28 - CORONAVIRUS GLOBAL UPDATE
in-cyprus 28 September 2020 - by Annie Charalambous
More than 32.88 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 992,953 have died, according to a Reuters tally.
Infections have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019.
At the same time, Beijing on Monday called on importers to shun frozen food from countries suffering from severe novel coronavirus outbreaks after several cases of imported seafood products tested positive for the virus.
DEATHS AND INFECTIONS
EUROPE
* The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 1,411 on Sunday compared to Saturday, data from the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases showed. The reported death toll rose to 9,457.
* Britain recorded 5,693 new cases of coronavirus on Sunday, down on the 6,042 reported a day earlier, data published on the government’s website showed.
* France registered 11,123 new confirmed coronavirus cases on Sunday, above the symbolic threshold of 10,000 but below a daily record of 16,096 set earlier this week.
* The British government wants university students to be able to return home for Christmas, culture minister Oliver Dowden said on Sunday, amid concerns that more lockdown measures may be needed to curb the rising number of coronavirus cases.
* An issue with England’s COVID-19 smartphone app, launched to curb the spread of the virus, which meant it could not accept around a third of test results has been resolved, the government said on Sunday.
* Russia’s daily tally of new coronavirus cases hit its highest level since June 20 on Sunday at 7,867, bringing its total to 1,151,438, the country’s coronavirus task force reported.
AMERICAS
* Four U.S. states in the Midwest reported record one-day increases in COVID-19 cases as infections rise nationally for a second week in a row, according to a Reuters analysis. Minnesota on Saturday reported 1,418 new cases, Montana 343 new cases, South Dakota reported 579 and Wisconsin had 2,902 new cases.
* The largest city in Brazil’s Amazon has closed bars and river beaches to contain a fresh surge of coronavirus cases, a trend that may dash theories that Manaus was one of the world’s first places to reach collective, or herd, immunity.
* Mexico’s confirmed coronavirus cases rose to 730,317 on Sunday, according to updated data from the health ministry, along with a total reported death toll of 76,430.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* India’s coronavirus cases topped 6 million after it reported 82,170 new infections in the last 24 hours, data from the health ministry showed on Monday.
* South Korea reported 50 new coronavirus cases, the lowest since a new wave of outbreaks emerged from a church and a large political rally last month.
* Indonesia reported 3,874 new coronavirus infections on Sunday, bringing the total number of cases to 275,213, official data from the COVID-19 task force showed. It also reported 78 new deaths, bringing total fatalities to 10,386.
* The Philippines’ health ministry on Sunday reported 2,995 new confirmed cases of coronavirus infections and 60 additional fatalities, bringing the total in the country to 304,226 cases and 5,344 deaths.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Saturday authorised the country’s provinces to impose lockdowns wherever necessary to stem a rapid rise in coronavirus cases.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
* The Group of 20 major economies on Friday said they were looking at structural approaches to secure longer-term financing for developing countries, including development of domestic capital markets and work to catalyze private sector investment.