Covid-19 hits Greece's biggest migrant camp – latest updates

Tuesday, September, 8, 2020

Flurry of tests on Greece's Lesvos Island

 A major testing and contact-tracing operation at Greece's largest migrant camp on the eastern island of Lesvos has so far detected 35 confirmed cases of virus among the overcrowded facility's 12,500 residents, authorities said.

Health and migration ministry officials said medical teams have carried out 1,900 tests for the virus on migrants at the Moria facility, which was initially designed to hold 2,800 people. 100 staff members have been tested, and none were found to have the virus.

France's cases and deaths climb again

The number of new, confirmed cases of virus in France has risen by 6,544 over the last 24 hours to stand at a total of 335,524, said the French health ministry.

The number of deaths also climbed by 39 over the last 24 hours, to reach a total of 30,764.

France has the seventh-highest pandemic death toll in the world. 

Ireland reports most daily cases since May

Ireland has reported 307 new cases of the virus, the highest number of cases reported in one day since mid-May, amid concern that new restrictions could be introduced to the capital, Dublin.

The National Public Health Emergency Team said 182 of the new cases were in Dublin, a city that government minister Simon Harris told journalists was at a "delicate point" due to a surge in cases.

Newstalk radio earlier cited government sources as saying additional restrictions may be introduced in Dublin and Limerick if cases continue to increase. 

Turkey reports over 1,700 more cases

Turkey has reported 1,761 new cases of the virus and more than 1,000 recoveries.

The country's overall infection count reached 283,270, according to the Health Ministry data.

The data showed that 1,093 more patients had recovered over the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 253,245.

The virus-linked death toll in the country, meanwhile, rose to 6,782 as 52 more people succumbed to the disease.

UK reports 30 deaths

The United Kingdom has reported 2,420 confirmed new cases of the virus, according to government data, which did not include delayed figures from Northern Ireland.

Daily case numbers have started to increase in recent days. Britain's testing capacity has also increased since the peak of the first wave of the virus earlier this year.

Britain reported 30 new pandemic deaths, up from 3 on Monday, data published on the government's website showed.

UN finds 2 cases in Syrian refugee camp in Jordan

The UN refugee agency has confirmed two virus cases in the Azraq camp for Syrian refugees in Jordan, which is home to more than 40,000 people who have fled their country's civil war.

They are the first infections to be detected among Syrians living in refugee camps in Jordan. The UNHCR said the two patients were transferred to quarantine facilities after testing positive late Monday, and their neighbours have been isolated as more testing is carried out.

Inovio partners with Thermo Fisher to bolster vaccine supply

Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc has said that Thermo Fisher Scientific would manufacture the drug developer's experimental virus vaccine, as it looks to boost the supply ahead of large trials this month.

The company said it plans to have 100 million doses of its vaccine, INO-4800, in 2021 through its third-party manufacturers.

US-based Inovio is in the race to develop a vaccine for the virus pandemic that has killed over 892,000 people globally.

Tour de France director tests positive 

Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme must leave the race and quarantine for a week after a positive virus test but all the riders were negative, organisers announced before the start of 10th stage.

Prudhomme, who is asymptomatic, said he had tested negative for the virus three times before this year's rescheduled race started on August 29 but the positive came from the first of two in-race mass tests of riders, team staff and officials.

China celebrates virus victory as world continues to suffer

China's leaders hold a triumphant ceremony to celebrate beating the coronavirus as billions of people around the world still suffer the fallout from the pandemic. 

The upbeat mood in Beijing comes as concerns grow about a resurgence of the pandemic across Europe, with France tightening restrictions, cases in Britain spiking and schools resuming around the region in recent days.

But in China the virus has been all but banished through a combination of lockdowns and travel restrictions earlier in the year that have officials touting the nation as a virus success story.

Philippines reports 3,281 new virus cases

The Philippines records 3,281 new infections and 26 additional deaths.

In a bulletin, the country's health ministry said total confirmed cases have reached 241,987 while deaths have increased to 3,916.

Egypt virus cases pass 100,000

Egypt has detected more than 100,000 infections and reported 5,541 deaths from the virus disease.

The North African country of more than 100 million people had imposed a night-time curfew from March to June to curb the spread of the illness but since eased restrictions.

The total number of reported cases reached 100,041 Tuesday, including 79,008 recoveries, the country's health ministry said.

China celebrates virus success as Europe suffers

Indonesia reports 3,046 new  cases

Indonesia has reported 3,046 new virus cases, bringing the national total to 200,035.

There were also 100 new deaths in Indonesia overnight, taking the total number to 8,230, the highest coronavirus death toll in Southeast Asia.

Russia records 5,099 new virus cases

Russia has reported 5,099 new virus cases, pushing its national tally to 1,035,789, the fourth largest in the world.

Authorities confirmed 122 deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing the official death toll to 17,993.

India records highest coronavirus deaths

India has recorded its highest daily deaths from the virus in more than a month, even as new infections have slowed.

The country's health ministry said 1,133 people had died in the last 24 hours, the highest since July, taking total mortalities to 72,775. 

But new daily cases were at 75,809, the lowest in a week.

India surpassed Brazil on Monday to become the country with the most number of coronavirus cases outside of the United States and has a cumulative caseload of 4.28 million.

UK's EasyJet cuts capacity as restrictions widen

British airline EasyJet is reducing its flying schedule after demand has been hit by frequent changes in government restrictions on travel, including quarantine measures.

The airline said on Tuesday it expected to fly slightly less than the previously planned 40% of capacity in the three months ending September 30, its fiscal fourth quarter, and that it could not give earnings guidance for either this or next fiscal year.

England has imposed a 14-day quarantine on arrivals from countries including France and Spain, and it added seven Greek islands to the list on Monday. Other countries in the United Kingdom have taken similar measures.

Ukraine reports record number of daily virus deaths

Ukraine registers a record 57 virus deaths  in the past 24 hours, up from a previous record of 54 deaths registered last week.

The national security council said a total of 140,479 cases were registered in Ukraine as of September 8, with 2,934 deaths and 63,546 people recovered. 

Striking trainee doctors return to work in South Korea

Thousands of trainee doctors in South Korea have returned to work after ending a more than two-week strike as the country grappled with sustained three-digit rises in new daily virus infections.

The Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) reported 136 new cases as of midnight Monday, after the rate fell to a three-week low of 119 a day earlier. The total infections rose 21,432, with 341 deaths.

The daily tally has steadily dropped since it reached a peak of 441 last month after the government imposed unprecedented social distancing rules to blunt a second wave of outbreaks from churches and political rallies.

Australia's Victoria state to deepen contact tracing

Australia's Victoria state at the centre of the country's second wave outbreak is deepening its contact tracing programme to try to maintain a steady decline in daily new cases, amid criticism of its handling of the crisis.

Victoria state, home to a quarter of Australia's 25 million population, recorded 55 new cases in the 24 hours.

That was up from the previous day's 41 new cases but far below a record daily increase of 725 a month ago.

Germany's virus cases rise by 1,499 to 252,298

The number of confirmed virus cases in Germany has increased by 1,499 to 252,298.

The data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed that death toll rose by four to 9,329.

Japan to spend $6.3B for vaccine

The Japanese government has approved spending of $6.32 billion from emergency budget reserves to secure virus vaccines.

The government has said it hoped to secure enough vaccines for every citizen by the middle of next year, and provide them for free. 

Second Greek footballer tests positive

A second case of the virus has hit the Greek national team upon their return from Kosovo.

The Athens News Agency reported that an unnamed player tested positive for Covid-19.

According to health protocols the entire team will undergo new tests before being allowed to return to their clubs.

Argentina death toll surpasses 10,000

Argentina's death toll has surpassed 10,000, as the South American nation struggles to bring its infection rate under control.

There have been 10,129 deaths, with 488,007 confirmed coronavirus cases, according to government data. 

Almost half of the coronavirus tests are yielding a positive result.

Argentina has been under lockdown since March 20, though cases have spiked in recent weeks. 

Some areas of the country, including the capital Buenos Aires, remain under varying levels of quarantine, though some activities, like exercise and outdoor restaurant dining, recently resumed.

Mexico records 3,486 new cases, 223 more deaths

Mexico has reported 3,486 new confirmed cases of coronavirus infection and 223 additional fatalities, bringing its totals to 637,509 infections and 67,781 deaths, according to updated health ministry data.

The government has said the real number of infected people is likely to be significantly higher than the confirmed cases. 

Egypt's total recorded cases hit 100,041

Egypt's total recorded coronavirus cases have hit 100,041, the health ministry said in a statement.

The total death toll from the disease reached 5,541, with 79,008 recoveries, the health ministry added. 

China reports 10 new cases

China has reported 10 new Covid-19 cases for September 7, down from 12 a day earlier, according to the national health authority.

The National Health Commission said in a statement that all new cases were imported infections involving travelers from overseas, marking the 23rd consecutive day of no local infections.

The commission also reported 13 new asymptomatic infections, down from 17 a day earlier. China does not count symptomless patients as confirmed cases.

The total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases for China now stands at 85,144. The death toll remains unchanged at 4,634.

Australia's Victoria state reports 55 new cases, eight deaths

Australia's second-most populous state of Victoria has said eight people died from the new coronavirus in the last 24 hours and reported 55 new cases.

Victoria, which has become the Covid-19 hotspot of the country, a day earlier reported nine deaths from the virus and 41 cases, its lowest one-day rise in more than 10 weeks.

The southeastern state, which extended a hard lockdown in its capital Melbourne until September 28, now accounts for about 75 percent of the country's 26,377 cases and 90 percent of its 770 deaths. 

Japan's virus-hit economy shrinks more than expected

Japan's economy has shrunk more than initially estimated in the second quarter as capital expenditure took a hit from the coronavirus crisis, highlighting the challenge policymakers face in averting a deeper recession.

Other data put that challenge in perspective, with household spending and wages falling in July as the broadening impact of the Covid-19 pandemic kept consumption frail even after lock-down measures were lifted in May.

The data underscored the daunting task the new prime minister, to be elected in a ruling party leadership race on September 14, faces in seeking to contain the pandemic while avoiding restrictions on business activity.