WEDNESDAY AUGUST 26 - CORONAVIRUS GLOBAL UPDATE

 in-cyprus 26 August 2020 - by Annie Charalambous

More than 23.77 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 814,072​ 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, the pandemic is still expanding but the rise in cases and deaths has slowed globally, according to the World Health Organization.

DEATHS AND INFECTIONS

ASIA-PACIFIC

* India reported the highest number of new cases globally for the 18th straight day, remaining well ahead of the United States and Brazil.

* Tokyo’s governor said the coronavirus situation in Japan’s capital is improving and she’s still intent on the city hosting the Olympics next year.

* South Korea ordered most schools in Seoul and surrounding areas to close and move classes back online.

* Australia surpassed 25,000 cases after a recent outbreak in Victoria.

EUROPE

* EU trade chief Phil Hogan insisted he adhered to all COVID-19 rules during a trip to Ireland in the past month, while acknowledging he should not have attended a golf dinner that has outraged the Irish public.

* About 3,700 people in Sweden were told in error that they had the coronavirus due to a fault in a testing kit from China, the Public Health Agency said.

* Ukraine said it would limit the number of Hasidic Jews planning to enter the country for an annual pilgrimage after Israel voiced fears the event would be a coronavirus hotspot.

* Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said troops would be made available to help regions overcome a resurgence of the coronavirus.

* French soccer club Olympique de Marseille have announced three new suspected cases among the team’s staff.

AMERICAS

* Young people are driving the spread of the coronavirus in the Americas, the head of the Pan American Health Organization said on Tuesday, noting that both deaths and caseloads have doubled in the region over the past six weeks.

* American Airlines said it will cut 19,000 U.S. jobs in October as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to weigh on air travel, unless the government extends aid for airline employee payrolls.

* Mexican health authorities will begin this week to use a broader definition to identify possible cases.

* Argentina confirmed a record 8,713 new cases on Monday and 381 resulting deaths.

* World-record sprinter and eight-time Olympic gold medallist Usain Bolt has tested positive for the virus.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

* Gaza went into lockdown after confirmation of the first cases in the general population of the Palestinian enclave, whose restricted borders have spared it from wide infection.

MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

* China’s Sinovac said on Tuesday it would help Indonesia’s state-owned drugmaker Bio Farma produce in the country at least 40 million doses of its potential vaccine before March 2021.

* Mexico is due to take part in clinical trials of an Italian vaccine, its foreign minister said.

ECONOMIC IMPACT

* European shares opened higher on Tuesday, with market sentiment propped up by the United States and China saying they remain committed to their Phase 1 trade deal, and some increased optimism around COVID-19 vaccine development.

* U.S. bank profits were down 70% from a year earlier in the second quarter of 2020, a regulator reported.

* German coalition parties have agreed to extend a freeze on insolvency rules put in place to avoid a wave of corporate bankruptcies due to the coronavirus crisis.