COVID-19 Updates: Global Coronavirus Infections Climb by Record 259,000 – WHO

The pandemic is on the rise across the world, with the global COVID-19 count surpassing 14 million people, according to Johns Hopkins University. Considerable spikes in the number of cases have been registered in the US, India, and Latin America, including Brazil, Chile, and Peru.

At the moment the US remains the worst-hit country, with over 3.6 million infected and about 140,000 fatalities. Brazil is second with 2 million infected and 77,000 confirmed deaths, and India with one million cases, and a death toll of over 26,000. Numerous laboratories are conducting trials for vaccines in a bid to stop the pandemic.

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19:09Global COVID-19 Infections Climb by Record 259,000 – The global number of those infected with the coronavirus has increased by over 259,000 over the past day, the highest daily total so far, the World Health Organization showed on Saturday.Friday’s total was 237,743 cases, also a record.On Saturday, the rise was even higher at 259,848 cases, with the global total now at 13,876,441.The death count stands at 593,087 people, with over 7,360 deaths recorded in the past 24 hours, according to the WHO dashboard.The Americas are leading with 7,306,371 cases.WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic on 11 March.

18:13Germany Pledges Extra $3.4Bln to IMF Coronavirus Response InitiativeGermany Pledges Extra $3.4Bln to IMF Coronavirus Response Initiative17:02 GMT 18.07.2020BERLIN (Sputnik) – Germany will give the International Monetary Fund an additional 3 billion euros ($3.4 billion) in funding to help poorer countries deal with the pandemic, the Finance Ministry said.

13:34French PM Castex Says Border With Spain Might Be Closed Amid New Outbreak of Coronavirus”We are monitoring this very closely, here in particular, because it is a real issue that we also need to discuss with the Spanish authorities”, Castex said, commenting on the outbreak of the disease in Catalonia.

13:26Number of Infected in Serbia Surpasses 20,000

12:54Social Distancing in Style: Another Island Worth Millions of Dollars Sold Amid Hike in COVID CasesSocial Distancing in Style: Another Island Worth Millions of Dollars Sold Amid Hike in COVID Cases12:53 GMT 18.07.2020A day earlier the World Health Organisation reported a record daily increase in infections (over 237,000) across the world. The WHO also issued a dire warning that the situation will get “worse and worse” if governments don’t take decisive steps to curb the spread of the disease, which has killed more than 600,000 and infected 14.2 million to date.

11:54Death Toll in Romania Surpasses 2,000

11:32Japan Registers Another Record in Daily Growth With 655 New Coronavirus Cases

11:12UK to Pause Publishing Daily Death Toll as It Might Have Been ExaggeratedBritish authorities on Sunday announced that daily updates on the death toll from COVID-19 will be paused over concerns it might have been exaggerated.British authorities on Sunday announced that daily updates on the death toll from COVID-19 will be paused over concerns it might have been exaggerated.

09:35Rouhani Says 25Mln Iranians Exposed to COVID-19, Millions More May Wind Up InfectedTEHRAN (Sputnik) – As many as 25 million Iranians may have been infected with COVID-19 and millions more may end up with the disease, President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday, citing figures that contradict official statistics.In a televised meeting of the coronavirus task force on Saturday, Rouhani cited a heretofore unpublished Health Ministry report which suggested that most of Iran’s 81 million people may wind up acquiring COVID-19 at some point.”Between 30 and 35 million people in the coming months may be exposed to the disease”, Rouhani said to members of Iran’s coronavirus task force.

09:35EU Council President Presents Compromise Agreement Reducing COVID Recovery Grants to 450 Bln EurosEU Council President Presents Compromise Agreement Reducing COVID Recovery Grants to 450 Bln Euros09:34 GMT 18.07.2020The heads of the European Union are meeting in Brussels for a second day of discussions on issues pertaining to the coronavirus pandemic and the EU budget. The countries have so far failed to reach an agreement on the form the aid to pandemic-stricken countries should take.READ MORE

07:21Number of Coronavirus Cases in Russia Rises to 765,437MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Russia has registered 6,234 COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours (6,406 yesterday), bringing the cumulative total to 765,473, the country’s coronavirus response centre said on Saturday.”Over the past 24 hours, Russia has confirmed 6,234 COVID-19 cases in 84 regions, of which 1,522 (24.4 percent) have been detected with people showing no clinical symptoms”, the response centre said in a statement, adding that the total count has now reached 765,473 cases in 85 regions, with the daily increase standing at 0.8 percent.Moscow registered 578 cases in the past 24 hours, which is more than any other region in Russia, followed by the Sverdlovsk Region with 259 new cases and the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Region with 247 new cases (compared to 531, 349, and 252 yesterday).

06:53Number of Infected in Georgia Rises to 1,018

06:36Germany Records 529 New COVID-19 Cases, Total Reaches 201,372Germany Records 529 New COVID-19 Cases, Total Reaches 201,372
Germany has confirmed 529 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, with the total count reaching 201,372, the Robert Koch Institute said on Saturday.The death toll grew by one to 9,083 people within the same period of time. Some 187,200 people have recovered since the start of the outbreak.

05:17Number of COVID-19 Cases in India Rises by 34,884 to Over 1.03Mln India has confirmed 34,884 new cases of the coronavirus over the past 24 hours, with the total number of those infected having reached 1,038,716, the country’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Saturday.The death toll from the disease has reached 26,273, with 671 new fatalities recorded over the past day. More than 653,000 people have recovered in India since the start of the outbreak.The central Indian state of Maharashtra, with 292,589 confirmed cases remains the most affected region. It is followed by the southern state of Tamil Nadu, with 160,907 cases, and the national capital territory of Delhi, with 120,107 cases.

05:12North Korea Says Developing Coronavirus Vaccine, Reports The North Korean science research council on Saturday said that it was developing a COVID-19 vaccine, according to South Korean media.North Korean scientists are currently conducting clinical trials of the COVID-19 vaccine, the Yonhap news agency reported citing a website run by North Korea’s State Commission of Science and Technology.Pyongyang says that tests on animals have confirmed the immunogenicity and safety of its vaccine.