Global death toll from coronavirus exceeds 1M – latest updates

Sunday, September 27, 2020

Death toll crosses 1M across the world

Over one million people around the world have lost their lives to Covid-19, according to trackers.

According to Worldometer's Covid-19 data, global coronavirus has killed 1,000,658 people as of 18:22 GMT.

More than 33 million cases of infection have been registered.

First virus death in Greek migrant camp

Greek officials on Sunday announced the first coronavirus death of a migrant living in a camp in Greece.

The victim was a 61-year-old father-of-two from Afghanistan who was staying at the camp of Malakassa near Athens, the asylum ministry said. 

He died while being treated in a hospital in Athens.

France reports 11,123 new confirmed cases

France registered 11,123 new confirmed coronavirus cases on Sunday, above the symbolic threshold of 10,000 but below a daily record of 16,096 set earlier this week.

The total number of cases now stands at 538,569, Health Ministry data showed. The number of people who have died from the infection increased by 27 to 31,727.

US health agency reports 853 new deaths

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Sunday reported 7,059,087 total Covid-19 cases, an increase of 49,871 infections from its previous count, and said the nation's death toll had risen by 853 to 204,033.

The new CDC case tally is as of 4 pm ET (2000 GMT) on September 26 versus its previous report a day earlier.

The CDC figures do not necessarily reflect cases reported by individual states.

Turkey registers 1,467 new cases

Turkey on Sunday reported 1,467 new coronavirus cases and 1,116 recoveries over the past 24 hours.

The country's overall case count now stands at 314,433 to date, with 275,630 total recoveries, according to Health Ministry data.

A total of 101,119 more coronavirus tests were done over the past 24 hours, bringing the total to over 10 million.

The death toll from the virus in Turkey reached 7,997, with 68 new fatalities.

The figures also showed that the number of patients in critical condition now stands at 1,583, with 6.5% suffering from pneumonia.

Top Democrat expresses hope deal can be reached with White House on Covid-19 relief

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the top Democrat in Congress, said on Sunday she thinks a deal can be reached with the White House on a coronavirus relief package and that talks were continuing.

"We are having our conversations. And when I have a conversation with the administration, it is in good faith," Pelosi said on CNN. "I trust (Treasury) Secretary (Steve) Mnuchin to represent something that can reach a solution. And I believe we can come to an agreement."

Formal talks between Pelosi, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, Mnuchin and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows aimed at hammering out a relief package broke down on August 7 with the two sides far apart. Pelosi and Mnuchin have since spoken by phone.

With formal Covid-19 relief talks stalled for weeks, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal on Thursday said Democratic lawmakers were starting to draft a bill totalling at least $2.2 trillion.

UK reports 5,693 cases

Britain recorded 5,693 new cases of coronavirus on Sunday, down on the 6,042 reported a day earlier, data published on the government's website showed. 

An issue with England's Covid-19 smartphone app, launched to curb the spread of the virus, which meant it could not accept around a third of test results has been resolved, the government said on Sunday.

The app's official account had said on Saturday it could not link to test results taken in Public Health England laboratories, via the National Health Service or as part of a survey run by the Office for National Statistics.

"Everyone who receives a positive test result can log their result on the app," a Health Ministry spokesman said.

Dutch cases reach daily record of 2,995

The number of new coronavirus infections in the Netherlands hit a daily record of 2,995 on Sunday, data released by health authorities showed.

Coronavirus infections in the country have reached record levels almost every day since mid-September. The previous high of 2,777 was reported on Friday, and the total number of reported cases passed 100,000 earlier last week.

The health authorities reported eight new deaths related to Covid-19, taking the death toll to 6,374.

Hundreds protest in Madrid against partial lockdown

Hundreds of people protested in Madrid on Sunday against partial lockdown measures imposed on parts of the region, mainly in densely populated low-income neighbourhoods, to curb a surge in coronavirus cases.

Since September 21 some 850,000 people have been confined to their neighbourhoods and unable to leave except for work, school or medical reasons although they are able to move freely within their own areas.

Parks in the affected areas are closed and restaurants and other businesses must shut at 10 pm.

From Monday another 167,000 people in the region of some 6.6 million people will be confined to their neighbourhoods.

Second Genoa player tests positive for Covid-19

Genoa midfielder Lasse Schone has tested positive for Covid-19, a day after his team mate Mattia Perin contracted the virus ahead of their Serie A trip to Napoli on Sunday.

Denmark international Schone was found to be positive after the Genoa squad underwent a second round of swab tests on Saturday, and he has gone into self-isolation.

The rest of the Genoa squad were negative and travelled on Sunday morning, after the club postponed their charter flight from Saturday afternoon and spent the night in a Genoa hotel to reduce the risk o f infection.

Perin’s positive test led to Serie A announcing on Saturday that the kick-off of the league match at the San Paolo stadium would be moved to 1800 local time (1600 GMT) instead of 1500. 

Russia hits new highest daily cases in months

Russia's daily tally of new coronavirus cases has hit its highest level since June 20 on Sunday at 7,867, bringing its total to 1,151,438, the country's coronavirus task force reported.

In Moscow alone, there were 2,016 new cases, exceeding the 2,000 mark for the first time since June 2.

There were 99 deaths, taking Russia's official coronavirus death toll to 20,324.

Qatar Airways reports $1.92 billion loss

Qatar Airways reports a loss of $1.92 billion  for the year ending March 31, as the virus crisis hurt the aviation industry around the world.

The airline also disclosed it had received a $1.94 billion riyal advance from its owner, the government of Qatar, after March that has since been converted into new shares.

Lebanese politician infected with virus

Leading Lebanese politician Gebran Bassil has been infected with a "mild" case of the virus, his party said, as cases surge throughout the country.

Bassil, the son-in-law of Lebanese President Michel Aoun and a former foreign minister who heads the country's largest Christian political bloc, discovered he was infected on Saturday after several tests, a statement released by his party said.

Bassil will self-quarantine and work remotely, the statement, which did not specify when Bassil last met with the 85-year-old Aoun, said. Lebanon's leading politicians have been meeting frequently in recent weeks amid efforts to form a new government.

Indonesia reports 3,874 new infections

Indonesia has reported 3,874 new coronavirus infections on Sunday, bringing the total number of cases to 275,213, official data from the Covid-19 task force showed.

The southeast Asian country also reported 78 new deaths, bringing the total number of fatalities to 10,386.

A total of 3,611 people recovered from the virus on Sunday, the data showed, bringing the total number of recoveries to 203,014. 

Germany confirms 1,141 new cases 

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany has increased by 1411 on Sunday compared to Saturday, data from the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases showed.

The reported death toll rose by to 9457, the data showed.

Czech Republic reports 1,985 new cases

The Czech Republic has reported 1,985 new cases of coronavirus on Saturday and nine related deaths, health ministry data showed.

That was roughly a third lower than Friday's infection count, but fewer tests are done on weekends. The country reported 2,044 cases the Saturday before.

The figures brought the total number of cases to 63,294 and deaths to 591 in the country of 10.7 million people.

The number of people in hospitals rose to 809 from 740 as of Friday, the latest data available. 

India reports declining trend in daily cases

India has registered 88,600 new confirmed coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours in a declining trend with recoveries exceeding daily infections.

The Health Ministry on Sunday also reported additional 1,124 deaths for a total of 94,503. The average of new cases has fallen by around 7,000 daily in the past week after reaching a record number of 97,894 on September 16.

Still, India is expected to become the pandemic’s worst-hit country within weeks, surpassing the United States, as Sunday’s surge raised the country’s virus tally to over 5.9 million.

Morocco tightens tough lockdown following upsurge 

Morocco has registered more than 110,000 positive cases total and has a death toll of 2,041, the highest among its North African neighbours.

Morocco had been pulling out the stops to stanch the spread of coronavirus by closing air and sea borders for months and barring people from entering or leaving eight cities starting March 20.

However, the country gradually eased restrictions resulting in a recent upsurge in infections, and forcing lockdown measures to tighten once again as military vehicles circle and police checks resume.

Australia to open up schools and offices in Melbourne

Australia’s second-largest city, Melbourne, has further eased lockdown restrictions imposed after a surge in Covid-19 cases, allowing most children to return to school next month and more than 125,000 people back to work.

With 12 new infections reported Saturday and 16 Sunday, the 14-day average has dropped to 22.1.

Victoria state Premier Daniel Andrews confirmed the nighttime curfew will be lifted starting Monday and public gatherings of up to five people from a maximum of two households will be allowed. 

New Zealand Warriors end pandemic-forced exile

After 148 days separated from their families the New Zealand Warriors have played the last match of their season in Australia’s National Rugby League, ending with a win but finishing in 10th place among 16 teams.

Anticipated family reunions will have to wait a little longer. The Warriors’ players and coaching staff will have to spend 14 days in managed isolation when they return Monday to New Zealand, five months after their departure for Australia.

New Zealand has a total of 1,833 cases with 1,749 recoveries according to the country's government.

Mainland China reports 14 virus cases 

Mainland China reported 14 new coronavirus cases, compared with 15 cases announced a day earlier, the national health authority said.

The National Health Commission said in a statement that all the new cases were imported infections involving travellers from abroad. The number of new asymptomatic cases, which China does not classify as confirmed virus patients, fell to 26 from 30 a day earlier.

The total number of confirmed infections in mainland China now stands at 85,351, while the number of total deaths remained unchanged at 4,634.

Virus could overwhelm France, top doctor warns

France will face a months-long virus epidemic that will overwhelm its health system if something does not change, one of the country's top medical figures warned.

"The second wave is arriving faster than we thought," Patrick Bouet, head of the National Council of the Order of Doctors, told the weekly Journal du Dimanche.

Fresh restrictions to slow the spread of the disease in the country's worst-hit areas, including the Mediterranean city of Marseille and the Paris region, have run into local resistance.

Cold comfort as Roland Garros starts amid pandemic

Roland Garros gets underway in chilly, damp Paris still in the grip of the pandemic which organisers had hoped they would escape by unilaterally pushing back the clay court Grand Slam event by four months.

Opening day will see 2018 champion Simona Halep start her bid for a third major while 40-year-old Venus Williams kicks off her 23rd French Open.

Andy Murray takes on fellow three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka in the day's marquee tie in a rematch of their epic 2017 semi-final duel.

Mexico logs 5,573 cases

Mexico's confirmed virus cases rose to 726,431, according to updated data from the health ministry, along with a reported death toll of 76,243.

Authorities reported 5,573 new cases along with 399 deaths on Friday, but the true figures are likely significantly higher due to little testing.

Argentina's infections cross 700,000

Argentina's infections topped 700,000 with new daily infections and deaths among the top five globally despite seven months of quarantine that have ravaged the frail economy.

Argentina reported a rolling seven-day average of 11,082 new cases daily, behind only India, the United States, France and Brazil, all countries with far larger populations than the South American nation.

Argentina's average daily death toll this week hit 365.