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South Korea’s daily new virus cases spiked to 397 on Sunday – the highest since March 7- as infections were reported in all major cities and provinces across the country
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More than 23.1 million people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 around the world, and more than 14.85 million have recovered. At least 803,400 people have died, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
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Mexico’s death toll has surpassed 60,000 – the third-highest in the world even as signs of hope emerge, with the government saying that the COVID-19 scourge is in “sustained decline”.
- The new coronavirus is circulating four times more among people under 40 in France than among over-65-year-olds, France’s Health Minister Olivier Veran said as the country reported an additional 3,602 new COVID-19 cases.
Here are the latest updates:
Sunday, August 23
04:05 GMT – Italy links surge in new cases to vacationers from Sardinia
Confirmed cases increased from 947 on Friday to 1,071 on Saturday, with many infections confirmed in travelers who were tested as they disembarked from airplanes or ferries [Claudio Furlan/LaPresse via AP]
Vacationers returning to the Italian mainland from Sardinia helped push Italy’s daily new coronavirus caseload far past 1,000, reaching the high for the first time since early May.
Confirmed cases increased from 947 on Friday to 1,071 on Saturday, with many infections confirmed in travelers who were tested as they disembarked from airplanes or ferries.
Authorities in Lazio, the south-central region including Rome, say 45 percent of its 215 new cases Saturday were from people returning from Sardinia, where several clusters have been linked to discos or private parties on the posh Emerald Coast resort area.
While the average age of infection early in the outbreak hovered near 70, it’s now 30.
Italy has more than 258,000 confirmed cases. With three more deaths, the known total has reached 35,400.
03:40 GMT – China reports 12 new COVID-19 cases
China’s National Health Commission reported on Sunday at least 12 new confirmed coronavirus cases, bringing to over 89,600 the total number of infections.
The agency also said that the death toll since the outbreak started in the city of Wuhan stands at 4,634 with no new deaths.
According to the government, 422 patients remain in the hospital with 16 of them in critical condition.
02:15 GMT – South Korea reports highest daily COVID-19 cases since March
Health authorities said many of the new cases were traced to a church in northern Seoul and a massive weekend rally also in the capital [Ahn Young-joon/AP]
South Korea’s daily new virus cases spiked to 397 on Sunday – the highest since March 7- as infections were reported in all major cities and provinces across the country, according to Yonhap news agency quoting the health ministry.
Of the new cases, 387 were local infections, 297 of them in Seoul and the surrounding areas, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).
The country’s total caseload has risen to 17,399.
Health authorities said many of the new cases were traced to a church in northern Seoul and a massive weekend rally also in the capital.
The country, however, reported no new deaths, keeping its fatality at 309.
01:58 GMT – Mexico’s coronavirus deaths pass 60,000, cases top 550,000
Mexico coronavirus death toll has surpassed 60,000 after the country’s health ministry reported 644 additional fatalities.
The government also said that there were 6,482 new confirmed coronavirus infections as of the end of Saturday, bringing the total number of cases to 556,216 cases.
00:20 GMT – Coronavirus spreading four times more among 40-year-olds in France
The new coronavirus is circulating four times more among people under 40 in France than among over-65-year-olds, Reuters News Agency quoted France’s health minister as saying.
“We’re in a risky situation,” Olivier Veran said in an interview with France’s Journal Du Dimanche (JDD) published on Sunday, adding that the higher number of cases being detected was not solely down to more testing.
Like President Emmanuel Macron, Veran ruled out the need for another total lockdown to combat the spread of the disease. But he said localised measures could be taken as cases grow in France and elsewhere.
France reported a 3,602 spike in new COVID-19 infections over the past 24 hours on Saturday, a smaller rise than the previous day. Earlier in the week, however, the number of daily cases reached a post-lockdown high.
00:01 GMT – Brazil registers 50,032 new cases of coronavirus, 892 deaths in 24 hours
Brazil has reported 50,032 new cases of the novel coronavirus and 892 deaths from the disease caused by the virus in the past 24 hours, according to Reuters News Agency citing the health ministry.
Brazil has registered 3,582,362 cases of the virus since the pandemic began, while the official death toll from COVID-19 has risen to 114,250, according to ministry data from the world’s worst coronavirus outbreak outside the United States.
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Hello and welcome to Al Jazeera’s continuing coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. I’m Ted Regencia in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
For all the key developments from Saturday, August 22, go here.
