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</v:shape><![endif]--><![if !vml]><img width=673 height=664 src="cid:image001.jpg@01D67165.432852C0" align=left hspace=12 v:shapes="Picture_x0020_6"><![endif]><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Global Coronavirus Updates, August 14: Caracas Governor dies of COVID; Mexico to help with vaccine production<o:p></o:p></span></h1><h1 style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:37.5pt;background:white;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></h1><p style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:21.0pt;vertical-align:baseline'><strong><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0cm'>Coronavirus Global Updates: </span></strong><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>The global number of novel coronavirus cases stood at 20,778,947 on Friday, with the death toll rising to 753,283, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. The United States reported the highest number of cases, with more than 5 million infections (5,248,678). The US is followed by Brazil (3,164,785 cases) and India (2,396,637).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:21.0pt;vertical-align:baseline;box-sizing: border-box;outline: 0px'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>The US has also reported the highest number of deaths (167,097) due to the infection. It is followed by Brazil (104,201) and Mexico (55,293). Globally, nearly 13 million people (12,935,209) have recovered from COVID-19, the most from Brazil (2,520,182).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:21.0pt;vertical-align:baseline;box-sizing: border-box;outline: 0px'><strong><i><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0cm'>Here are the latest developments around the world:</span></i></strong><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><h2 style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:18.0pt;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></h2><h2 style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:18.0pt;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Governor of Venezuela’s capital district dies of COVID-19<o:p></o:p></span></h2><p style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:21.0pt;vertical-align:baseline;box-sizing: border-box;outline: 0px'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Dario Vivas, the Governor of Venezuela’s Caracas capital district and strong ally of President Nicolas Maduro, died on Thursday of COVID-19 at the age of 70. Vivas, a senior member of the ruling socialist party, had posted on Twitter on July 19 that he had tested positive for the disease and was going into self-isolation.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:21.0pt;vertical-align:baseline;box-sizing: border-box;outline: 0px'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>“He died in combat … taking care of his health and all of us in this difficult battle against the Covid-19 <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/pandemic-explained-who-novel-coronavirus-covid19-what-is-a-pandemic-6309727/"><span style='color:black'>pandemic</span></a>,” Vice-President Delcy Rodriguez said. Vivas is the first top-level Venezuelan government official to die of the virus, though several have tested positive.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:21.0pt;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><h2 style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:18.0pt;vertical-align:baseline;box-sizing: border-box;outline: 0px'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Mexico to help produce a Covid-19 vaccine<o:p></o:p></span></h2><p style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:21.0pt;vertical-align:baseline;box-sizing: border-box;outline: 0px'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Mexico, which hosts over half a million coronavirus cases and 55,000 deaths, will help produce a vaccine that could be distributed in the region next year, authorities said Thursday. The government said the real number of infected people is likely significantly higher than the confirmed cases. In partnership with the Mexican and Argentine governments, pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca Plc said it plans to initially produce 150 million doses of a coronavirus vaccine in early 2021 and eventually make at least 400 million for distribution throughout the region.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:21.0pt;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0cm;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><img border=0 width=759 height=506 id="Picture_x0020_5" src="cid:image008.jpg@01D67214.56BB82D0" alt="https://images.indianexpress.com/2020/08/AP20226246046898.jpg"></span><span class=custom-caption><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0cm'> <br>Ruth Irumva, right, is tested for COVID-19 at a testing center in the capital Kigali, Rwanda, Tuesday, July 28, 2020. (AP Photo)<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><h2 style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:18.0pt;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Germany’s confirmed cases rise by 1,449<o:p></o:p></span></h2><p style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:21.0pt;vertical-align:baseline;box-sizing: border-box;outline: 0px'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 1,449 to 221,413, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Friday. The reported death toll rose by 14 to 9,225.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:21.0pt;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><h2 style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:18.0pt;vertical-align:baseline;box-sizing: border-box;outline: 0px'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>New Zealand reports 12 new confirmed cases<o:p></o:p></span></h2><p style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:21.0pt;vertical-align:baseline;box-sizing: border-box;outline: 0px'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>New Zealand Friday reported 12 new cases of coronavirus, as the country awaited an announcement from Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on whether a lockdown in its biggest city, Auckland, will be eased or extended. Auckland, home to 1.7 million people, was put under lockdown on Wednesday, hours after four new cases were discovered.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:21.0pt;vertical-align:baseline;box-sizing: border-box;outline: 0px'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Thirty-eight people linked to the virus cluster have already been moved into quarantine facilities, Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield said in a media briefing in Wellington. The country reported 13 confirmed cases of COVID-19 a day earlier.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:21.0pt;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0cm;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><img border=0 width=759 height=422 id="Picture_x0020_4" src="cid:image009.jpg@01D67214.56BB82D0" alt="https://images.indianexpress.com/2020/08/AP20225415396476.jpg"></span><span class=custom-caption><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0cm'> <br>People wearing face masks to protect against the coronavirus walk across a pedestrian bridge during a rainstorm in Beijing, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2020. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><h2 style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:18.0pt;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>North Korea lifts lockdown in border town<o:p></o:p></span></h2><p style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:21.0pt;vertical-align:baseline;box-sizing: border-box;outline: 0px'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>North Korean leader Kim Jong Un lifted a three-week lockdown in the city of Kaesong and nearby areas, after a <strong><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0cm'>man who defected to the South</span></strong> returned to the border town last month showing coronavirus symptoms, state media said on Friday. Kim made the decision at a politburo meeting convened to discuss the government’s efforts to prevent a coronavirus outbreak, as well as the response to heavy rain and flooding, state news agency KCNA reported.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:21.0pt;vertical-align:baseline;box-sizing: border-box;outline: 0px'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>North Korea has said it has no confirmed cases of the coronavirus, but Kim said last month that the virus “could be said to have entered” the country and imposed the lockdown after the man was reported to have symptoms. Later, test results of the man were “inconclusive”, according to the World Health Organisation.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:21.0pt;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0cm;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><img border=0 width=759 height=506 id="Picture_x0020_3" src="cid:image010.jpg@01D67214.56BB82D0" alt="https://images.indianexpress.com/2020/08/china.jpg"></span><span class=custom-caption><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0cm'> <br>People order food on the opening day of the first Beijing outlet of the U.S. fast food chain Shake Shack after an outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Beijing, China August 12, 2020. (REUTERS/Thomas Peter)<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><h2 style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:18.0pt;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Peru surpasses 500,000 cases<o:p></o:p></span></h2><p style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:21.0pt;vertical-align:baseline;box-sizing: border-box;outline: 0px'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Peru surpassed half a million coronavirus cases and has the highest death toll in Latin America. There have been 507,996 confirmed cases and 25,648 related deaths, vice health minister Luis Suarez said at a news conference. The Andean country has the highest coronavirus death rate in Latin America at 78.6 per 100,000 people, a <em><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0cm'>Reuters</span></em> tally showed, surpassing hard-hit regional neighbors Chile and Brazil.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:21.0pt;vertical-align:baseline;box-sizing: border-box;outline: 0px'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>President Martin Vizcarra, speaking at a public event Thursday to pay tribute to 120 doctors who have died from COVID-19, blamed the recent spike in infections on an uptick in social and sporting events and a lax attitude by the public.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:21.0pt;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><h2 style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:18.0pt;vertical-align:baseline;box-sizing: border-box;outline: 0px'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>UK imposes 14-day quarantine on arrivals from France<br><br><o:p></o:p></span></h2><p class=MsoNormal style='vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0cm;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><img border=0 width=759 height=422 id="Picture_x0020_2" src="cid:image011.jpg@01D67214.56BB82D0" alt="New Zealand coronavirus, New Zealand COVID cases, New Zealand coronavirus free, New Zealand COVID free, World news, Indian Express"></span><span class=custom-caption><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0cm'> <br>Customers at a cafe enjoy lunch in the sunshine in Christchurch, New Zealand, Sunday, Aug. 9, 2020. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:21.0pt;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>The United Kingdom will impose a 14-day quarantine on all arrivals from France on Saturday because COVID-19 infection rates there are too high, transport minister Grant Shapps said on Thursday. The government, wary of a second wave of the novel coronavirus, also added the Netherlands, Malta, and three other countries to its quarantine list. Spain and Belgium have already been added in recent weeks. The French Foreign Ministry gave no immediate reaction.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Global Covid-19 cases surpass 21 million – latest updates<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Global cases of the coronavirus crossed the grim milestone of 21-million mark, according to a tracking portal.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>United States is the worst affected country with over 5.4 million cases followed by Brazil and India with over 3.2 million and 2.4 million reported infections, respectively.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>UK imposes 14-day quarantine on arrivals from France, Netherlands and others<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Britain will impose a 14-day quarantine on all arrivals from France, the Netherlands, Malta and three other countries, transport minister Grant Shapps said, citing rising Covid-19 infection rates.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>"Data shows we need to remove France, the Netherlands, Monaco, Malta, Turks & Caicos & Aruba from our list of #coronavirus Travel Corridors to keep infection rates DOWN," Shapps said on Twitter.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>"If you arrive in the UK after 0400 Saturday from these destinations, you will need to self-isolate for 14 days."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Turkey reports 1,243 new cases<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Turkey confirmed 1,243 new cases of the coronavirus, bringing the tally to 245,635.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said 968 more patients recovered over the past 24 hours, pushing the total number of recoveries to 228,057.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>The death toll in the country reached 5,912 as 21 more people lost their lives over the past day.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>EU reserves 400 million vaccine doses<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>The European Union said it had reserved up to 400 million doses of a potential new coronavirus vaccine being developed by US giant Johnson & Johnson.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Preliminary talks concluded Friday for a first purchase of 200 million doses followed by an equal number later, a statement said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>"The envisaged contract with Johnson & Johnson would provide for the possibility for all EU Member States to purchase the vaccine, as well as to donate to lower and middle-income countries," it said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>The bloc said it was in "intensive discussions" with other manufacturers for potential vaccines.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>US CDC reports 5,176,018 coronavirus cases<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported 5,176,018 cases of the new coronavirus, an increase of 56,307 cases from its previous count, and said that the number of deaths had risen by 1,497 to 165,148.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>The CDC reported its tally of cases of the respiratory illness known as Covid-19, caused by a new coronavirus, as of 4 pm ET on Aug. 12 versus its previous report a day earlier.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>The CDC figures do not necessarily reflect cases reported by individual states.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Spain's daily infections spike to 2,935, not yet second wave<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Spain reported 2,935 new virus infections, the highest number since the country's lockdown ended and up from 1,690 recorded the previous day, although officials argued the situation remained manageable.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>The Madrid region, which failed to report its data the previous day due to technical difficulties, led the tally with 842 new infections in the 24 hours to Thursday, followed by the Basque Country, with 545 cases.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>"The number of known cases keeps rising in Spain, but it is a mild rise that allows the implementation of control measures," health emergency coordinator Fernando Simon told reporters, adding that the localised outbreaks did not amount to a second wave of infections that many expect in the autumn.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>France reports new post-lockdown peak in daily cases<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>The French health ministry reported 2,669 new virus infections over the past 24 hours, setting a new post-lockdown daily high for the second day in a row and taking the country's cumulative total of cases to 209,365.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>The seven-day moving average of new infections, which averages out weekly data reporting irregularities, increased to 1,962, a total that has doubled over the last two weeks and is at levels not seen since the end of April.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>AstraZeneca could begin vaccine production in early 2021<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>The production of a Covid-19 vaccine under an agreement between the Mexican and Argentine governments and pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca could begin in the first quarter of 2021.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Sylvia Varela, head of AstraZeneca Mexico, said at the Mexican president's daily news conference that Phase III trials were expected to conclude by November or December.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>The company plans to initially produce 150 million doses for distribution in Latin America, and eventually make at least 400 million doses for the region, she added.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Indonesia capital extends social restriction measures<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Indonesia's capital Jakarta extended its social restrictions to stem surging coronavirus transmission as the country reported 2,098 new cases, its governor said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Indonesia has reported 132,816 virus infections and 5,968 deaths. Jakarta logged 608 new cases, bringing the total to 27,761, the most in Indonesia’s 34 provinces, according to central government data.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Governor Anies Baswedan extended restrictions which see restaurants, places of worship and public transportation operate at limited capacity, to Aug. 27.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Israeli hospital trials super-quick saliva test<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>A newly has developed saliva test aims to determine in less than a second whether or not you are infected with the novel coronavirus, Israel's largest medical centre said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Patients rinse their mouth with a saline wash and spit into a vial. This is then examined by a small spectral device that, in simple terms, shines light on the specimen and analyses the reaction to see if it is consistent with Covid-19.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>With machine learning it gets more accurate over time.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>The centre said in an initial clinical trial involving hundreds of patients, the new artificial intelligence-based device identified evidence of the virus in the body at a 95 percent success rate.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>UK will be "ruthless" over quarantine<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said his government was prepared to be ruthless with even its closest partners over Covid-19 quarantine rules, after he was asked whether France would be removed from the government's safe-travel list.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Britain has in recent weeks imposed a 14-day quarantine period for arrivals from countries like Spain and Belgium, responding to rising infections and fears of a second wave of the virus, having initially declared them safe for travel.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>"We've got to be absolutely ruthless about this, even with our closest and dearest friends and partners around the world," Johnson told reporters on a visit to Northern Ireland.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>EU wraps up talks with Johnson & Johnson to buy potential vaccine<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>The European Commission said it had concluded preliminary talks with US pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson for an advance purchase deal of a potential Covid-19 vaccine the company is developing.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>The EU executive arm said this could pave the way for the signing of a contract that would allow EU countries to buy the vaccines or donate to developing countries.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Polish resort offers guests free tests as cases spike<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>A Polish holiday resort is offering free virus tests to guests as cases spike nationally.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>In the past week, daily case numbers have exceeded 800 on three occasions, breaking records for Poland.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Zawiaty, a resort in the northern region of Kaszuby, decided to hire Geneme, a private genetic testing company, to help it administer the tests every Saturday.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>As guests drive up, they are given a test kit by staff. They then administer the test swab themselves under the supervision of a hotel worker trained by Geneme. Results are processed within an hour with on-site lab equipment.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Guests are retested throughout their stay.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Italy orders virus tests on Croatia, Greece, Malta, Spain arrivals<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Italy has imposed mandatory coronavirus testing for all travellers arriving from Croatia, Greece, Malta and Spain, and banned all visitors from Colombia, in a bid to rein in new infections.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>"We must continue to be cautious in order to protect the results obtained thanks to sacrifices made by all in recent months," Health Minister Roberto Speranza said after issuing the new rules, which will last until September 7, late Wednesday.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Health authorities worry in particular that Italians returning from vacations abroad may be bringing home the virus and passing it on when people are crowding outdoors, on beaches, at festivals or parties during the summer. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Travellers arriving at an airport, port or border crossing can choose from a number of options, including rapid tests on the spot, or the presentation of a certificate obtained within the last 72 hours which shows they are Covid-19 free.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Greece reports first case in island camp<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Greece reported its first virus infection in one of its overcrowded asylum seeker camps.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>A 35-year-old man from Yemen living at the camp of Vial on the island of Chios tested positive, a migration ministry official told AFP.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>"The man has been quarantined at the local hospital. Another 30 people are undergoing tests," the official said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>There are over 3,800 people living inside the Vial camp, over three times its nominal capacity.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Several non-fatal coronavirus cases have surfaced in Greek camps on the mainland, including 150 infections at a migrant hotel in the Peloponnese in April.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Two Spanish regions impose smoking ban to curb spread<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Spain's Canary Islands said it would ban smoking outdoors when social distancing cannot be guaranteed to curb the virus, a day after Galicia took a similar measure.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>The smoking ban will come into effect on Friday along with mandatory wearing of face masks in all public spaces, Canaries regional leader Angel Victor Torres said. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>The Canary Islands, a tourism hotspot off northwest Africa, had been the only Spanish region where it was not obligatory to use face masks.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Officials in regions including Madrid and Andalusia said they were considering similar smoking restrictions.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Vietnam reports 25 infections, 3 deaths<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Vietnam's health ministry reported 25 more virus infections and three additional deaths, bringing the total number of cases in the Southeast Asian country to 905, with 20 fatalities.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>More than 430 of the total cases are linked to the central city of Danang, where the new outbreak began late last month.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>The ministry said 133,340 people are being quarantined in the country, including 5,361 at hospitals, 25,043 at centralised quarantine centres and the rest at home. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Iran's death toll passes 19,000 as new cases spike<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Iran has recorded 174 deaths and 2,625 new cases to take its death toll to more than 19,000 and total cases to 336,324, the health ministry said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>"In the past 24 hours, 2,625 new cases have been recorded," ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari told state TV.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Iran is one of the worst-hit countries from the outbreak in the Middle East.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Hong Kong reports 69 new cases <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Hong Kong reported 69 new cases, of which 65 were locally transmitted, as authorities cautioned the global financial hub still faced a critical period to control the virus, which has seen a resurgence since early July.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Since late January, more than 4,200 people have been infected in Hong Kong, 65 of whom have died. Thursday's figure was up slightly from Wednesday's 62 cases.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Philippines reports 4,002 more infections, 23 deaths<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>The Philippines' health ministry reported 4,002 more novel coronavirus infections and 23 additional deaths in the country.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>The ministry said total number of confirmed cases in the Philippines had risen to 147,526, the highest in Southeast Asia, while confirmed deaths had reached 2,426.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>The Philippines plans to launch clinical trials for a Russian coronavirus vaccine in October after Russia became the first country to grant regulatory approval for a Covid-19 vaccine, drawing safety concerns over the frantic pace of its development. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Indonesia reports 2,098 new infections, 65 deaths<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Indonesia reported 2,098 new infections, taking the total number of cases in the Southeast Asian country to 132,816, data from the country's health ministry showed.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>The data also showed 65 additional deaths, taking the total to 5,968.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Russia's cases surpass 907,000<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Russia reported 5,057 new cases, bringing its nationwide tally to 907,758, the fourth largest caseload in the world.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Russia's coronavirus task force said 124 people had died over the last 24 hours, pushing its official death toll to 15,384. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>UN says 43 percent of schools lack water, soap<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>The United Nations estimates that 43 percent of schools around the world don’t have access to water and soap for basic hand-washing.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>The new report comes as countries wrestle with when and how to safely open schools amid the Covid-19 pandemic.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>The report by the World Health Organization and UNICEF says more than one-third of the 818 million children around the globe who lacked basic hand-washing facilities at their schools last year are in sub-Saharan Africa.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>The report says authorities must balance health concerns with economic and social ones in deciding on opening schools, and it notes the negative effects that long closures have on children.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>The report also says one in three schools around the world have limited or no drinking water service.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Africa CDC begins study into virus antibodies<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says a continent-wide study has begun into antibodies to the coronavirus after evidence indicated that more people have been infected than official numbers show.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Director John Nkengasong told reporters the study will include all African countries, but the ones showing interest to start in the coming weeks are Liberia, Sierra Leone, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Cameroon, Nigeria and Morocco.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>That’s after surveys in Mozambique found antibodies in 5 percent of households in the city of Nampula and 2.5 percent in the city of Pemba. And yet Mozambique has just 2,481 confirmed cases.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Nkengasong says “what is important is far fewer people are coming down with the disease. How many people are infected and asymptomatic on our continent? We don’t know that.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Africa’s young population, with a median age of 19, has been called a possible factor.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Greece investigates cases at retirement home<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>A Greek prosecutor has ordered an investigation into a string of infections at a retirement home in northern Greece, where 33 of the 150 residents and three staff members have tested positive for Covid-19.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Authorities say 20 people from the home at Asvestochori, a village outside the northern city of Thessaloniki, were taken to a hospital on Wednesday with mild symptoms. The disease is believed to have been spread by a staff member who caught it from a relative who had visited a popular holiday resort.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>The investigation was ordered Thursday.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Greece has seen a major rise in Covid-19 infections, which reached 262 on Wednesday, the highest since the virus outbreak.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>The country of 11 million has registered about 6,200 confirmed cases, and 216 deaths.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Bhutan imposes first nationwide virus lockdown<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>The Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan has imposed its first nationwide lockdown due to a virus infection in a returning traveller who had been released from quarantine.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>The government issued a stay-at-home order for its approximately 750,000 people, and all schools, offices and commercial establishments were closed.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>The government's statement said the lockdown would be enforced from five to 21 days “to identify and isolate all positive cases, immediately breaking the chain of transmission”.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>The 27-year-old Bhutanese woman returning from Kuwait tested negative in mandatory quarantine for arriving travellers.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>But between her discharge from quarantine and her positive test result Monday, she is believed to have travelled extensively in Bhutan.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>The tourism-dependent country closed its borders to foreign travellers in March after an American tourist was hospitalised with Covid-19. Bhutan’s 113 reported infections were all quarantined travellers, except for one with conflicting test results.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>North Korea ramps up virus measures<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Temperature checks, hand sanitisers and face masks are being enforced across Pyongyang's public transport system as North Korea intensifies its fight against the coronavirus pandemic.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>North Korea, whose crumbling health system would struggle to cope with a major outbreak, has long insisted it has not had cases of the disease.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>But it raised its state of emergency to the maximum level in July, saying it had discovered what it called the country's first suspected virus case, a former defector returning from the South.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Pyongyang had yet to confirm whether he tested positive, but such a source might be more diplomatically convenient for the North than if the virus arrived from China, its key ally, where it first emerged.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Pictures Wednesday showed passengers, all with face coverings, lining up for hand sanitiser before boarding buses in Pyongyang.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>At the capital's railway station, visitors in face masks had their temperature checked before being allowed to enter the building.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>India's sets another one-day record for new cases<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>India reported another record daily rise in infections, as the country's death toll from Covid-19 surpassed 47,000.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Infections grew by 66,999 to reach a total of nearly 2.4 million to date, India's health ministry said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>The country, with the world's third-biggest caseload behind the US and Brazil, has now reported a jump of 50,000 cases or more each day for 15 straight days.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Ukraine sees record daily high in new cases<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Ukraine records a record daily jump of 1,592 cases, the national council of security and defence said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>The number of infections has increased sharply in Ukraine in the past two months as authorities have eased some restrictions, allowing cafes, churches and public transport to reopen.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Germany's confirmed cases rise by 1,445 to 219,964<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 1,445 to 219,964, data from the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases showed.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>The reported death toll rose by 4 to 9,211, the tally showed. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Virus cases slow in China<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>New locally transmitted cases of the coronavirus reported in China have fallen into the single digits, but Hong Kong is seeing another rise in hospitalizations and deaths.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>China’s National Health Commission said Thursday that eight new cases were registered in the last 24 hours in the northwestern region of Xinjiang, whose main city of Urumqi has enacted lockdown measures and travel restrictions to control China’s latest outbreak. An additional 11 cases were brought by Chinese returning from overseas.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Brazil records 1,175 deaths<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Brazil registered 55,155 new confirmed cases of coronavirus and 1,175 deaths, the health ministry said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Brazil now has 3,164,785 confirmed cases and 104,201 deaths.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>New Zealand PM expects virus cluster to grow further<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has said she expected the coronavirus cluster in the country to grow further before slowing down, as the Pacific nation reported an additional 13 new cases from domestic transmission.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>"As we all learnt from our first experience with Covid, once you identify a cluster, it grows before it slows. We should expect that to be the case here," Ardern told a media briefing in Wellington on Thursday.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>The discovery of four infected family members in Auckland two days ago shocked a country that had not recorded a case for more than three months.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Mainland China reports 19 new cases<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>China has reported 19 new coronavirus cases on the mainland on August 12, down from 25 on the previous day, the country's health authority has said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>The National Health Commission said on Thursday in its daily bulletin that 11 of the new cases were imported versus 16 a day earlier.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>It also said 20 new asymptomatic coronavirus cases had been found on Wednesday, the same as the day before.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>China's total number of cases now stands at 84,756. The official death toll is unchanged at 4,634<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Mexico's cases near 500,000<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Mexico's health ministry has reported 5,858 new confirmed cases of coronavirus infection and 737 additional fatalities, bringing the total in the country to 498,380 cases and 54,666 deaths.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Australia's Victoria reports 278 new cases<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Australia's second-most populous state of Victoria has said eight people had died from the coronavirus in the past 24 hours a day after recording the deadliest day of the pandemic with 21 casualties.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>The state reported 278 new daily infections on Thursday, compared with 410 on Wednesday.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>A cluster of infections in Melbourne, the Victorian capital and Australia's second-largest city, forced authorities last week to impose a night curfew, tighten restrictions on people's daily movements and order large parts of state economy to close.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Trump releases recommendations for reopening US schools<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>US President Donald Trump has released eight recommendations for reopening US schools amid the coronavirus pandemic, including that masks be used when social distancing is not possible.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Trump said at a White House press briefing that the federal government would provide 125 million reusable masks to school districts around the country. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Walt Disney World actors to return to work <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Actors who had objected to Walt Disney Co's proposed coronavirus safeguards at the Walt Disney World theme park have reached an agreement to return to work after the company offered Covid-19 tests, according to a union statement. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Actors' Equity Association said Disney had committed to providing Covid-19 tests at the Florida theme park for its members, who cannot wear protective masks while performing. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black;background:white'>Zimbabwe COVID19 Update</span></b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Covid-19: Foot operated hand washing innovation keeps rural community safe <o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Rural communities have taken heed of Government’s call to observe the World Health Organisation (WHO) Covid-19 guidelines and have come up with different innovations to ensure they are safe from the novel virus.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Most rural communities now practice regular handwashing with most installing foot operated water points at the entrance of their homesteads.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>A visit to some rural communities in Gutaurare area in Mutare recently revealed that households and business premises at the growth points had invested in handwashing facilities.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Gwaku Villager, Mrs Netsai Ndikudzei Muuduri said the practice was meant to protect families from contracting or spreading the Covid-19.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>“We use soap and clean water to wash our hands. The water and soap solution is placed in a five litre container. We have designed this in a way that instead of using hands we use our feet to operate the system.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>“The water container is usually placed at an ideal place like at the gate or the front yard to make sure that every visitor can easily utilize it. Here in the rural areas we cannot afford to buy sanitizers so it is cheaper for us to mix soap and water and do our hand washing routine. We know it’s very difficult not to greet people using hands here. Hence, if water is readily available like this, we wash our hands soon after to prevent the spread of corona virus,” added Muuduri.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>She said they do not have access to the newspaper for Covid-19 information because of the costs.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>“We access most news about Covid-19, through the radio and on our phones,” she said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Another woman from the same area, Mrs Agnes Muradzikwa said the idea of having this hand washing model was brought by the community health workers.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>“The community health workers here have made it mandatory for each and every household to install these hand washing devices noticing that many people were no longer washing their hands. This was a leading cause of typhoid, cholera and the recent Covid-19 infections. We are happy with it. It’s very easy to install and is user-friendly,” she said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>She added that they wash their hands after visiting the toilets, community meetings or even when they are coming from the nearby shopping centres to do their groceries.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>“The hands are the major transmitters of Covid-19. When shopping people tend to touch different items. We are no longer going to funerals in huge numbers to prevent the spread of Covid-19.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>“Village heads are always advising people on the dangers of huge gatherings,” she added.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Frequent and proper hand hygiene is one of the most important measures that can be used to prevent the Covid-19 virus.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>As the Covid-19 pandemic spreads across the globe, millions of people are heeding the advice of health experts to wash their hands. But for three billion people around the world who do not have access to clean water and soap, this small action to prevent infection remains out of reach.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>The World Bank is working closely with countries and partners to ensure communities have access to fixed and portable hand washing facilities, soap or alcohol-based hand rubs, and reliable water supplies.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>As of August 13, Zimbabwe had lost 122 people due to Covid-19. There were 4 893 positive cases, 173 936 screened and 1 620 recoveries.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><i><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Invest Wisely!</span></i><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Bulls n Bears </span></b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Telephone: <a href="tel:%2B263%204%202927658" target="_blank"><span style='color:black'>+263 4 2927658</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Cellphone: <a href="tel:%2B263%2077%20344%201674" target="_blank"><span style='color:black'>+263 77 344 1674</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Alt. Email: <a href="mailto:info@bulls.co.zw"><span style='color:black'>info@bulls.co.zw</span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Website: <a href="http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bulls.co.zw&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNH8LYgdY55h-XKseuM8Kpr-JKdfhQ" target="_blank"><span style='color:black'>www.bulls.co.zw</span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Blog: <a href="http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bulls.co.zw%2Fblog&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFoIy6F9IXAiYnSoPSgWDYsr8Sqtw" target="_blank"><span style='color:black'>www.bulls.co.zw/blog</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Twitter: @bullsbears2010<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>LinkedIn: Bulls n Bears Zimbabwe<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Facebook: <a href="http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FBullsBearsZimbabwe&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGhb_A5rp4biV1dGHbgiAhUxQqBXA" target="_blank"><span style='color:black'>www.facebook.com/BullsBearsZimbabwe</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Skype: Bulls.Bears <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><img border=0 width=210 height=101 id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image005.jpg@01D67165.432852C0" alt="cid:image012.jpg@01D0BFE7.544DF490"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div></body></html>