Latest on Coronavirus
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 06th September, 2020) The death toll from the coronavirus infection in the world topped 876,000, over 26.6 million cases of infection were detected, and over 17.7 million of those patients were cured, according to the US-based Johns Hopkins University, which tracks and compiles data from Federal and local authorities, media and other sources.
As of 19:30 GMT Saturday, the number of cases globally is 26,698,834, including 876,155 fatalities.
The United States still has the highest case count in the world, with 6,224,789, including 188,098 fatalities and 2,283,454 recoveries.
Russia is considering or has already granted permission to conduct research of five vaccines against the coronavirus infection, including those developed by the Vektor institute in the Western Siberian city of Novosibirsk and the Chumakov scientific center, Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said during an online meeting of top diplomats of the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) that vaccines, including those against the coronavirus infection, should never be monopolized by a single country, nor should they be exclusively used by wealthy countries.
A COVID-19 vaccine developed by Paris-based pharmaceutical giant Sanofi in collaboration with the UK drugmaker GSK will cost less than 10 Euros ($12), Olivier Bogillot, the head of Sanofi's French department, told France Inter broadcaster on Saturday, adding that the company's goal is to make the vaccine as cheap as possible.
The coronavirus pandemic revealed the need to reform global institutes, namely the UN, its Security Council, as well as the World Health Organization (WHO), Indian Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said on Saturday, adding that COVID-19 had a profound impact on globalization processes.
According to the minister, the pandemic has shown a lack of leadership. Therefore, it is necessary to encourage greater contributions to global welfare, be it developing vaccines, fighting climate change or improving security. This, in turn, requires reforming global institutions.
The number of hospitalizations over the coronavirus and patients in serious condition is expected to increase in France over the next 15 days, Health Minister Olivier Veran told the BFMTV broadcaster on Saturday, proceeding from the epidemiological situation in the country two weeks ago. At the same time, the minister excluded the possibility of reintroduction of a nationwide quarantine.
Slovakia has seen the largest daily increase of new COVID-19 cases � 226 � for the second day in a row, the Health Ministry said on Saturday.
On Friday, the number of new infections stood at 137. The update brings the country's tally to 4,526 cases, including 37 fatalities. The government, meanwhile, is considering quarantine measures for people arriving from neighboring countries in order to stem the recent spike.
The total number of those infected in India has exceeded 4 million with over 86,400 COVID-19 cases being reported over the past 24 hours, the country's health authorities said. India comes third in terms of the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases, following the United States and Brazil.
The police in the Australian states of Victoria and New South Wales (NSW) on Saturday arrested 29 people during rallies against COVID-19 restrictions in Melbourne, Sydney and other cities.
The Victoria police said that approximately 200 people took part in the protest despite the warnings about the risks of spreading COVID-19 and a ban on large gatherings. Meanwhile, the police in NSW said that 14 people were arrested during anti-lockdown protests in Sydney and Byron Bay.
The Hamas-run Interior Ministry of the Gaza Strip on Saturday announced an extension of its curfew until further notice over the continuing spread of COVID-19, adding that the ban on movement between towns and refugee camps remained in force.
The Coordination of the Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon (COIAB) has announced launching the Alerta Indigena application to inform indigenous people in Brazil about the spread of COVID-19. The app uses the Brazilian Health Ministry's information to provide updates on the situation in cities located within a 62-mile radius from each territory populated by indigenous people, who have a much higher infection rate than the country's average.
The new school year in Iran, which usually begins in late September, started on Saturday amid the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic in the country. To avoid further spread of the virus, students will attend classes in smaller groups to ensure social distancing, with class time being reduced. At the same time, children will not return back to classrooms in the so-called red zones where the epidemiological situation is still dangerous. They will study online and via tv broadcasts.
The decision to open schools two weeks earlier than in previous years, which was made by the authorities to compensate for regular classes that were canceled due to the pandemic, triggered a backlash among some lawmakers who reproached them for haste, noting that there is no appropriate infrastructure to ensure the safe reopening of educational institutions.