Global Coronavirus Updates, August 19: New Zealand’s domestic cases drop to five; Australia locks in vaccine deal

Wed Aug 19 08:01:48 CAT 2020

 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> Global Coronavirus Updates, August 19: New Zealand’s domestic cases drop to five; Australia locks in vaccine deal

Global Coronavirus Updates: Globally, more than 14 million people have recovered from the infection (14,043,710), with the highest number of recovered in Brazil (2,751,246) and followed by India (1,977,779).

Zimbabwe COVID19 Update

COVID-19 Update: As at 18 August 2020, Zimbabwe had 5 378 confirmed cases, including 4 105 recoveries and 141 deaths.

Coronavirus Global Updates: The number of novel coronavirus infections in the world crossed the 22 million-mark and spiked up to 22,058,697 on Wednesday, with the US reporting the highest number of infections and nearing 5.5 million (5,481,795). The US is followed by Brazil with the second-highest infections (3,407,354), and India at the third position (2,767,274).

Meanwhile, the death toll due to the COVID disease rose to 779,533, with the US reporting the highest deaths in the world (171,799), followed by Brazil (109,888), Mexico (57,774), and India (52,889).

Brazil's Environment Minister Ricardo Salles accompanied by authorities cuts a ribbon during the reopening ceremony of the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro. (REUTERS/Pilar Olivares)

Globally, more than 14 million people have recovered from the infection (14,043,710), with the highest number of recovered in Brazil (2,751,246) and followed by India (2,037,871).

In this handout photo taken on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2020, and provided by Russian Direct Investment Fund, an employee works with a coronavirus vaccine at the Nikolai Gamaleya National Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology in Moscow, Russia. (Alexander Zemlianichenko Jr/ Russian Direct Investment Fund via AP)

Here are the top developments in the world:

Brazil coronavirus cases top 3.4 million

Brazil reported 47,784 new cases of the novel coronavirus and 1,352 deaths from the disease caused by the virus in the past 24 hours, the health ministry said on Tuesday. Brazil has now registered 3,407,354 cases of the virus since the pandemic began, while the official death toll from COVID-19 has risen to 109,888, according to ministry data, marking the world’s worst coronavirus outbreak after the United States.

New Zealand’s domestic cases drop to five

New Zealand said on Wednesday that it had five new cases of coronavirus in the community, and one in managed isolation facilities. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the drop in cases indicated the country was not seeing a surge of COVID-19 in the community. There were 13 cases reported on Tuesday. “The roll out of our resurgence plan is working as we intended,” Ardern said, adding there was no intention to raise the level of restrictions in Auckland.

FILE-In this July 30, 2020 file photo a child gestures prior to a medical staff takes a sample for a voluntary coronavirus disease test (COVID-19) at the new corona test station at the ‘Hochfelln’ service station on the A8 motorway between Salzburg and Munich near Bergen, Germany. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

The government said it would increase the number of defence personnel at its quarantine facilities and border to beat any further spread of COVID-19. Around 500 more defence personnel will be deployed, taking the total defence force personnel supporting the COVID-19 response to around 1,200 – the largest military contingent since New Zealand sent peacekeepers to Timor-Leste during unrest there in the early 2000s, the government said in a statement.

Germany’s confirmed cases rise by 1,510

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 1,510 to 226,914, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Wednesday. The reported death toll rose by seven to 9,243, the tally showed.

A woman wears a face mask as she passes by graffiti reading ‘No vaccine, No tracking, No COVID’, in Montreal, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues in Canada and around the world. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)

Coronavirus outbreak threatens South Korean capital

South Korea reported the highest daily rise in coronavirus cases since early March on Wednesday as an outbreak in the capital Seoul appeared to intensify. The 297 new infections mark the sixth straight day of triple-digit increases in a country that has managed to blunt several previous outbreaks, bringing South Korea’s total to 16,058 infections with 306 deaths, health officials said.

Most of the new cases appeared in Seoul and the surrounding areas, raising concerns of a broader outbreak in a metropolitan area of more than 25 million people that has only seen small clusters so far. The government ordered the closure of nightclubs, karaoke bars, buffets and cyber cafes earlier this week, banned all in-person church services, and restricted indoor and outdoor gatherings to no more than 50 and 100 people respectively.

Australia locks in vaccine deal as new cases ease

A girl wearing a face mask against the spread of the new coronavirus, looks the sunset as dozens of people gather in Little Venice on the Aegean Sea island of Mykonos, Greece, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2020. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

A fresh outbreak of infections in Australia’s coronavirus hot zone of Victoria appeared to have eased on Wednesday, as the country signed a deal to secure a potential COVID-19 vaccine that it intends to roll out free of cost to its citizens. Australia has signed a deal with British drugmaker AstraZeneca to produce and distribute enough doses of a potential coronavirus vaccine for its population of 25 million, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said late on Tuesday.

All Australians will be offered doses but a medical panel will determine the priority list of vaccine recipients, Health Minister Greg Hunt said. “Naturally you would be focusing on the most vulnerable, the elderly, health workers, people with disabilities in terms of the speed of roll out, but I think there would be widespread uptake in Australia,” Hunt told Sky News on Wednesday.

Argentina exceeds 300,000 coronavirus cases

Argentina confirmed 6,840 new cases of coronavirus and 172 new deaths on Tuesday, taking it simultaneously over the 300,000 cases and 6,000 death threshold as the Latin nation battles a surge of contagions in recent weeks. The country’s health ministry reported a total of 305,966 cases and 6,048 deaths.

FILE – In this March 1, 2020, file photo, a department store employee with a mask dresses a mannequin in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

Dr Luis Camera, a member of the Argentine government’s health advisory group, said while cases, intensive care admissions and hospital bed occupancy rates were not still climbing, they had settled at an unsustainable level. “The highest points for the City of Buenos Aires could have been the last days of July and the first days of August,” he told Reuters TV. “Now the infection curve has stabilized at a plateau, but a high plateau. In South America, you call it the altiplano, as opposed to the lowlands.”

Pelosi emphasizes need for COVID-19 deal ‘now’

House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Tuesday that Democrats in Congress are willing to cut their coronavirus relief bill in half to get an agreement on new legislation, which a senior aide said did not signal a change to her position. “We have to try to come to that agreement now,” Pelosi said in an online interview with Politico. “We’re willing to cut our bill in half to meet the needs right now. We’ll take it up again in January. We’ll see them again in January. But for now, we can cut the bill in half.”

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