Hello and welcome to Al Jazeera’s continuing coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. I’m Ted Regencia in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
- Australia’s second-most populous state of Victoria has reported the lowest daily rise in new infections in seven weeks.
- The use of plasma treatment has been given the greenlight by the Food and Drug Administration in the US, the country worst-affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
- More than 23.3 million people around the world have been diagnosed with COVID-19, and more than 15 million have recovered. At least 806,500 people have died, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Here are the latest updates:
Monday, August 24
03:54 GMT – Nearly 1 in 5 refugees in Cox’s Bazar have lung disease: report
Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees who fled Myanmar live in refugee camps in and around Bangaldesh border town of Cox’s Bazar [File: Damir Sagolj/Reuters]
Nearly one in five people being treated for medical conditions in Cox’s Bazar have some form of lung disease, according to a new report, making them vulnerable to coronavirus as it spreads in the Bangladesh refugee camp, where hundreds of thousands of Rohingya from Myanmar live.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said that many of the refugees face other chronic health conditions, including malnutrition and diarrhea, in one of the world’s most overcrowded camps.
Officially, there have only been 82 COVID-19 cases and six related deaths, but IFRC said concerns remain high that the figures may not tell the whole story.
“My greatest fear is that high and unacceptable rates of acute respiratory infections, diarrhoea and malnutrition, all make families more at risk of COVID-19,” said Syed Ali Nasim Khaliluzzaman, a senior official of Red Crescent in Bangladesh.
03:20 GMT – Hundreds of Filipino teachers, students infected with COVID-19
The Philippine education department reported that at least 311 teachers and 268 students have been infected with the coronavirus.
In an announcement on social media, Education Undersecretary Alain Pascua said that of the total cases, 318 remain active while 22 have died. It was unclear how many of the total fatalities were teaching staff or students.
The department has postponed the resumption of classes in the country, amid fears of the spread of COVID-19, which has infected almost 190,000 and close to 3,000 deaths.
02:48 GMT – Mexico posts lowest weekly coronavirus death toll in two months
Mexico has reported 226 more deaths from the coronavirus, finishing the week with 3,723 fatalities, the lowest total in over two months, according to government figures.
Earlier the government declared the novel coronavirus was in “sustained decline” in Mexico, although testing rate in the country remains low.
According to Johns Hopkins University, Mexico’s coronavirus death toll stands at 60,480 – still the third highest in the world. The country has over 560,000 cases, with over 458,000 considered as recovered – or 81.7 percent of the patients.
02:13 GMT – US state of Iowa reports child fatality from COVID-19
A young child died due to complications from coronavirus, the first confirmed death of a minor in the US state of Iowa during the pandemic.
The Iowa Department of Public Health said on Sunday the state medical examiner’s office concluded its case investigation August 6 into the death of the child, who was under the age of 5. The child died in June.
The confirmation of the state’s first child death comes one day before dozens of school districts in the state prepared to begin the school year, leaving many educators and parents on edge.
The pandemic has already killed 1,036 people in Iowa. Nationwide, close to 177,000 have died in the US, with an estimated 5.7 million infections as of early Monday.
01:47 GMT – South Korea cases down, but nationwide pandemic alert still up
The new coronavirus cases in South Korea slowed down slightly with 266 new cases, but the country remains on high alert nationwide.
Yonhap news agency quoted the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as saying that 258 of the new reported cases were local transmission.
The country now has a total of 17,665 cases, with no new fatality keeping the death toll at 309.
01:20 GMT – China reports 16 imported coronavirus cases
China’s National Health Commission reported on Monday 16 imported coronavirus cases in the mainland as of the end of Sunday, slightly up from 12 imported cases the previous day.
The commission also said that for the eighth consecutive day, there were no new local infections detected in the country, although 27 new people were said to be asymptomatic.
China has a total of 84,967, while the death toll remains unchanged at 4,634.
00:40 GMT – Seoul to mandate masks starting on Monday
According to reports, there have been more than 2,600 cases in the past 10 days in South Korea prompting the government to warn of a resurgence of COVID-19 nationwide [Ahn Young-joon/AP]
The use of masks while outdoors is now mandatory in Seoul, South Korea’s capital.
Seo Jeong-hyup, acting mayor of Seoul, issued the order hours after the country reported 397 new coronavirus cases on Sunday – the highest since early March.
According to reports, there have been more than 2,600 cases in the past 10 days. The country has reported almost 17,400 cases and 309 deaths.
00:05 GMT – Australia’s Victoria reports lowest daily rise in infections in seven weeks
Australia’s second-most populous state of Victoria has reported 116 new cases of coronavirus, the lowest daily rise in seven weeks.
Melbourne, the state’s capital, has been in a strict lockdown and curfew since a new wave of the outbreak emerged a few weeks ago.
Officials say 15 people died from the disease over the past 24 hours.
Australia now has more than 24,800 cases and over 500 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Australia now has more than 24,800 cases and over 500 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University tally [File: James Ross/EPA]
00:01 GMT – Pakistan’s Peshawar shuts hotels after employees test of COVID-19
Pakistani authorities have closed about two dozen hotels in a scenic tourist area in the country’s northwest after dozens of hotel employees tested positive for the coronavirus, according to the Associated Press news agency.
As many as 47 hotel employees who tested positive for COVID-19 were quarantined at the hotels where they worked.
Pakistan has confirmed more than 275,000 coronavirus infections and nearly 6,300 deaths since reporting its first case in February.
21:30 GMT (Sunday) – FDA authorises plasma treatment for COVID-19
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorised the use of blood plasma from patients who have recovered from COVID-19 to treat those still battling the disease.
The FDA said early evidence suggests blood plasma can decrease mortality and improve the health of patients when given during the first three days of their hospitalisation.
“It appeared that the product is safe and we’re comfortable with that and we continue to see no concerning safety signals,” said Peter Marks, director of the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research said on a conference call with reporters.
You can read more on that story here.
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For all the key developments from Sunday, August 23, go here.
