A student (right) gets her temperature checked at the entrance of an examination centre before taking the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), one of the most competitive entrance exams for entry to top national medical colleges, in New Delhi on Sept 13, 2020. (PRAKASH SINGH / AFP)
JERUSALEM / MELBOURNE / PHNOM PENH / NEW DELHI / JAKARTA / TEHRAN / BAGHDAD / JERUSALEM / BEIRUT / YANGON / WELLINGTON / RAMALLAH / DOHA / DAMASCUS / SEOUL / BANGKOK / MANILA / ANKARA / DUBAI -
India's COVID-19 tally rose to 4,754,356 and the death toll surged to 78,586, as 94,372 new cases and 1,114 deaths were reported from across the country in past 24 hours, revealed the latest data released by the federal health ministry on Sunday.
India's new cases detected per day are more than double the daily average of the United States and Brazil, the other two worst affected countries.
Still there are 973,175 COVID-19 cases across the country, while 3,702,595 people were successfully cured and discharged from hospitals.
A total of 56,260,928 samples tests were done till Saturday, out of which 1,071,702 tests were conducted on Saturday alone, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
India has emerged as the worst hit country globally in terms of new COVID-19 cases discovered every day. Over the past one week the average number of daily infections has been over 90,000. This average was around 24,000 two months ago, and 58,000 a month ago.
Considering the current steep rise in the number of new COVID-19 cases, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday appealed to the citizens that there should be no complacency till a vaccine is found to control the pandemic. He said wearing face masks and maintaining social distancing are necessary for everyone to keep safe.
Australia
Lockdown restrictions in Australia’s state of Victoria will ease very slightly as of Monday, state officials said, as the number of new daily coronavirus cases continued to fall in the country’s hotspot.
Announcing a A$3 billion (US$2.2 billion) package in financial aid to businesses in Victoria, home to a quarter of Australia’s population, officials also said there were 41 new coronavirus infections on Sunday and seven more deaths.
The numbers confirm a steady downward trend from a peak of more than 700 cases in a single day in early August. Victoria accounts for about 75 percent of Australia’s more than 26,600 COVID-19 cases and its capital, Melbourne, has been under strict lockdown for several weeks.
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The city will remain under hard lockdown, but the amount of time people will be able to spend outside will double to two hours per day and the overnight curfew will be shortened by an hour as of Monday.
“They are small steps, but that’s what’s safe, absolutely appropriate, with numbers still coming down, but (remaining) too high to open up,” Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews told a televised briefing.
Businesses, primarily hospitality, retail and tourism firms, which have been either fully closed or had operations substantially scaled down, will have access to grants and tax relief through the state’s largest business support package so far, he announced.
“It is unprecedented because the challenge we face is unprecedented,” Andrews said. “No one is enjoying the reality we face, but none of us have the option of ignoring the reality that we face.”
Victoria accounts for about a quarter of Australia’s annual economic output.
In neighbouring New South Wales, Australia’s most populous state, where social distancing rules are much more relaxed and retailers and restaurants are allowed to open, officials recorded nine new cases of the novel coronavirus on Sunday.
Combodia
Cambodia on Sunday confirmed one new imported case of COVID-19, raising the total number of infections in the kingdom to 275, a spokeswoman said in a press statement.
The latest case was a 54-year-old British man, who arrived in Cambodia on Friday from Britain with connecting flights in the Netherlands and South Korea, Health Ministry's secretary of state and spokeswoman Or Vandine said in the statement.
"The result from his samples' test showed on Saturday that he was positive for the COVID-19," she said. "Currently, the patient is undergoing treatment at an isolation ward in the Khmer-Soviet Friendship Hospital in capital Phnom Penh."
According to Vandine, the remaining 72 passengers on the same flight have been placed under a 14-day mandatory quarantine at various quarantine centers in the capital.
The Southeast Asian nation has so far recorded a total of 275 confirmed COVID-19 cases, she said, adding that none have died and 274 have recovered.
This picture taken on Sept 12, 2020 shows medical staff taking blood samples from people to be tested for the COVID-19 coronavirus in Surabaya, East Java. (JUNI KRISWANTO / AFP)
Indonesia
The COVID-19 cases in Indonesia rose by 3,806 within one day to 214,746, with the death toll adding by 106 to 8,650, the Health Ministry said on Saturday.
According to the ministry, 2,241 more people were discharged from hospitals, bringing the total number of recovered patients to 152,458.
The virus has spread to all the country's 34 provinces.
Specifically, within the past 24 hours, Jakarta recorded 1,205 new cases, Central Java 386, East Java 384, West Java 291 and Riau 224.
New positive cases were found in all the provinces.
Iran
Iranian medical scientists will soon start human trials for an anti-coronavirus vaccine after the stage of animal trials has passed, official news agency IRNA reported Saturday.
"We hope these activities will bear the desired result in order to provide better preventive services for the people," Jalil Koohpayehzadeh, dean of Iran University of Medical Sciences and a member of Tehran anti-coronavirus committee, told IRNA.
As neither a working vaccine nor a specific drug has yet been produced against the COVID-19 infection, Koohpayehzadeh called on the public to strictly follow health instructions to prevent the spread of the deadly disease.
People should observe recommendations regarding the use of masks and social distancing, and avoid gatherings and crowded places "as much as possible," he said.
Iran's confirmed COVID-19 cases hit 399,940 on Saturday, including 23,029 fatalities.
Iran announced its first cases of COVID-19 on Feb 19.
Iraq
The Iraqi Health Ministry reported on Saturday 4,106 COVID-19 new cases, raising the total nationwide infections to 286,778.
It also reported 60 more deaths, the lowest in recent weeks, bringing the death toll from the infectious virus to 7,941 in the country.
A total of 1,883,048 tests have been carried out across the country since the outbreak of the disease, with 18,949 done during the day, according to the statement.
Meanwhile, Ryadh Abdul-Amir, head of the Public Health Department in the Health Ministry, told the official Iraqi News Agency that the ministry will not sign a contract about the COVID-19 vaccine with any company without the approval of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
During the past few days, the Higher Committee for Health and National Safety, headed by Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, took several decisions to ease health restrictions, including permitting movement among the country's provinces, reopening the border crossings for commercial movement, restaurants, tourist facilities of the five-star hotels, and lifting the ban on sporting events.
An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man wearing a protective mask and shield against the coronavirus, walks along a street in Jerusalem on Sept 11, 2020. (EMMANUEL DUNAND / AFP)
Israel
The planned national full closure in Israel following the surge in COVID-19 morbidity in the country will begin on Sept 18, the Israeli media reported on Saturday.
Israel's state-owned Kan TV news, Channel 12 TV news, and Ynet news website reported that the full lockdown will begin on Sept 18, the date of Jewish New Year's eve, at 6 am local time, and will last at least for two weeks.
All schools and kindergartens in Israel will be closed two days in advance, on Sept 16.
The decision on a full closure was made on Thursday by the Israeli Corona Cabinet, and on Sunday, the government is expected to confirm its dates and other details.
According to the Prime Minister's office and the Ministry of Health, the lockdown will include a 500-meter distance limit from home, and the closure of restaurants, hotels, culture and entertainment places, and shops, except for essential places such as supermarkets and pharmacies.
Many workplaces will also be closed or will operate partially with work from home.
The closure will be the first stage in a three-stage coronavirus mitigation plan, as the second and third stages, which will include easing restrictions, will take effect only after the pandemic situation is improved.
The number of daily new COVID-19 cases in Israel has recently crossed 4,000, while the tally of infections has approached 150,000.
Lebanon
Lebanon registered on Saturday 686 new COVID-19 infections, making the total number of cases 23,669, while the death toll increased by 10 to 239, the Health Ministry reported.
Caretaker Health Minister Hamad Hassan continued on Saturday to open new departments for the fight against COVID-19 in Lebanese hospitals in the Bekaa region to reduce the burden on hospitals in the capital Beirut.
The minister also noted that the health ministry is equipping hospitals in Tripoli to better fight against the virus.
He added that the number of deaths from the virus is currently at its peak.
Volunteers sit by a barrier blocking access to minor roads with a sign urging residents to stay at home in Yangon on Sept 11, 2020. (SAI AUNG MAIN / AFP)
Myanmar
Some residents of Myanmar’s biggest city used pieces of wood and corrugated iron to make barricades around their neighbourhoods late on Friday, trying to keep out COVID-19 as the country grapples with a second wave of infections.
The Southeast Asian nation has reported a total of 2,625 coronavirus cases and 15 deaths. The number of infections has quadrupled since mid-August, when the virus resurfaced in the western state of Rakhine after weeks without a domestic case.
Many of the recent cases have been in Yangon, the commercial capital and biggest city. Residents started erecting the makeshift roadblocks to stop people freely entering and leaving their districts.
Last week, government authorities issued stay-at-home orders for residents, and airlines and buses suspended services in and out of the city.
Aung Zaw Min, the chief of a district in Kyimyidaing township who was guarding one of the barriers, said residents had been careless about keeping the virus at bay after the previously low rate of infections.
“Now we have to realise we cannot underestimate the mass infection caused by Sittwe,” he said, referring to Rakhine’s state capital, where many recent cases were detected.
The barricades were built without permission from local authorities, who swiftly ordered the removal of the biggest barriers, though some were still in place on Saturday.
Some social media users mocked the barricades, joking that the residents had turned city neighbourhoods into “mini republics”.
“It’s like the border gate between South and North Korea,” said Lu Zaw Oo, standing in a street that had been sealed off on Saturday. “The barricade is not really necessary,” he added.
Of the 180 new cases reported on Saturday, 124 were in Yangon, the Health Ministry said.
New Zealand
New Zealand reported two new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, said the Ministry of Health in a statement, with one health worker testing positive.
Of new cases, one was a returnee to New Zealand in managed isolation and the other was a health worker who worked in Auckland's quarantine facility. It is yet unknown whether the health worker was infected from the community or from within the quarantine facility, said the ministry.
According to the ministry, this was the first time a staff member at the Jet Park quarantine facility had tested positive for COVID-19 in five and a half months of operation. The facility was used to manage people in quarantine after they test positive for COVID-19.
There were currently three people in hospital with COVID-19, including two in ICU, said the ministry.
The total number of active cases in New Zealand reached 97, including 39 imported cases in MIQ facilities and 58 community cases, it is said.
The total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in New Zealand was now 1,446, which was the number the country reported to the World Health Organization.
Laboratories across New Zealand processed 7,211 tests, bringing the total number of tests completed to date to 864,469.
Palestine
Palestine on Saturday reported 650 new COVID-19 cases in the Palestinian territories, raising the total number of infections to 38,516.
Six new fatalities from the novel coronavirus were recorded, bringing the death toll in the Palestinian territories to 238, the Palestinian Health Ministry said in a statement.
It said that four deaths were recorded in the West Bank, while two other deaths were reported in the blockaded coastal enclave of Gaza Strip.
The ministry added that currently there are 11,396 active COVID-19 cases in the Palestinian territories.
Qatar
The Qatari health ministry on Saturday announced 236 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 121,523, the official Qatar News Agency (QNA) reported.
Meanwhile, 276 more recovered from the virus, bringing the total recoveries to 118,475, while the fatalities remained 205 as no new deaths were reported for the fifth consecutive day, according to a ministry statement quoted by QNA.
The ministry reiterated the need to take preventive measures, including staying home and observing social distancing.
A total of 685,839 people in Qatar have taken lab tests for COVID-19 so far.
South Korea
South Korea on Sunday eased its tough social distancing policy for the next two weeks in the densely populated Seoul metropolitan area, with new daily novel coronavirus cases hovering stubbornly within triple digits.
The government has lifted a ban on onsite dining after 9 pm though still requires restaurants and cafes to restrict seating and record patrons’ names and contact details.
While leisure facilities such as gyms and internet cafes are also allowed to reopen, under so-called phase two restrictions, indoor gatherings are limited to 50 people and outdoor gatherings to 100, while spectators are banned from sporting events.
Health authorities said the easing would contribute toward a reopening of the economy, before returning to tougher guidelines for two weeks again from Sept. 28 during the Chuseok holiday.
“After a comprehensive review of the recent situation and expert opinion, the government intends to adjust social distancing to phase two in the Seoul area for two weeks,” Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun told a televised meeting of government officials.
Infection numbers fell steadily to the low 100s after the government imposed unprecedented social distancing curbs in late August, but surged last week as small clusters emerged.
“The number of daily infections is still not dropping to double-digits and it isn’t yet a situation where measures can be significantly relaxed, as one out of four people’s path of transmission is untraceable,” Chung said.
The Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) reported 121 new cases of novel coronavirus infection as of midnight on Saturday, bringing total infections to 22,176, with 358 deaths.
Syria
More COVID-19 cases have been reported across Syria on Saturday.
In the government-controlled areas, state news agency SANA said 30 new cases were recorded, placing the overall number of infections that have been reported in government-controlled areas since March at 3,506, including 827 recoveries and 152 deaths.
Meanwhile, 36 new COVID-19 cases were recorded in Kurdish-controlled areas in northern and eastern Syrian on Saturday, bringing the overall number of cases found in that region to 819, including 46 deaths and 271 recoveries, according to the Kurdish local administration.
In rebel-held areas in northwestern Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said 23 new cases were reported on Saturday.
The UK-based watchdog group said the overall number of infections in northern and northwestern Syria has reached 213 since July.
Thailand
A Thai university on Sunday published on its website the positive results in animal trial for a COVID-19 candidate vaccine.
Chulalongkorn University said that its joint research with Baiya Phytopharm, a startup Thai pharmaceutical firm, has shown encouraging results in boosting antibody levels in hamsters, rats and monkeys.
"We used Baiya SARS-CoV Vax 1, which was developed from nicotiana benthamiana tobacco leaves, and tested on white mice and monkeys," said Dr. Suthira Taychakhoonavudh, a researcher involved in the development of several COVID-19 candidate vaccines.
Suthira said that the test results from the animals showed that the vaccine boosts the level of antibodies in their bodies effectively after two doses.
"Our next step will be to evaluate the toxicology or side effects of the candidate vaccine," said Suthira, who is also associate dean of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Chulalongkorn University.
Suthira said the COVID-19 immunity level of the monkeys in the tests will be reviewed again six months after they were initially vaccinated.
The Philippines
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Philippines surged to 261,216 after the Department of Health (DOH) reported 3,372 new cases on Sunday.
The DOH said that the number of recoveries also rose to 207,568 after 20,472 more patients recovered.
The DOH added that 79 more patients died, bringing the death toll to 4,371.
Metro Manila topped the five regions or provinces with the highest number of daily confirmed cases reported on Sunday at 1,307, followed by Cavite province, south of Manila, 240; Laguna province, south of Manila, 207; Negros Occidental province in the central Philippines, 199; and Bulacan province, north of Manila, 145.
According to the DOH, the country's 121 COVID-19 laboratories have tested over 2.89 million people so far.
A man wearing a face mask gets a skin care treatment at a beauty salon in Ankara, on Sept 12, 2020. (ADEM ALTAN / AFP)
Turkey
Turkey confirmed 1,509 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, raising the total diagnosed patients to 289,635, the Turkish Health Ministry announced.
Meanwhile, 48 people died in the past 24 hours, taking the death toll to 6,999, according to the data shared by the ministry.
A total of 1,207 patients recovered in the last 24 hours, raising the total recoveries to 257,731 in Turkey since the outbreak.
The rate of pneumonia in COVID-19 patients is 7.3 percent and the number of seriously ill patients is 1,241 in the country.
Turkish health professionals conducted 98,326 tests in the past 24 hours, bringing the overall number of tests to 8,423,463.
READ MORE: Infections in India's biggest state nears 1 million, rivaling Russia
UAE
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Saturday announced 1,007 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total confirmed cases in the country to 78,849.
At the same time, 521 more patients have recovered from the virus, taking the tally of recoveries in the UAE to 68,983, UAE's Ministry of Health and Prevention said.
It also confirmed one more death, pushing the country's death toll to 399.
The UAE was the first among the Gulf countries to report COVID-19 cases.
