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France has recorded over 2,200 confirmed coronavirus infections, a new daily record since the lockdown was lifted in June.
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The total number of United States coronavirus deaths surged past 160,000 with more than 4.9 million confirmed infections across the country.
- More than two million people have now been confirmed infected in India, which is the country the third worst hit by COVID-19.
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At least 19.3 million people around the world have been diagnosed with COVID-19, while the global death toll crossed 719,000. Nearly 11.7 million have recovered.
Here are the latest updates:
Saturday, August 8
04:55 GMT – India reports 933 deaths
has recorded 933 COVID-19 fatalities in the past 24 hours as fresh infections surged by another 61,537 cases to reach nearly 2.1 million.
The Health Ministry said the number of total deaths stood at 42,518, including more than 20,000 in the past 30 days. An average of around 50,000 new cases have been reported each day since mid-June.
The ministry asked state authorities to test grocery shop workers and street vendors, saying that if undetected they can potentially spread infection to a large number of people.
India has the third-highest caseload in the world after the US and Brazil.
03:32 GMT – Australia’s Victoria records 466 cases, 12 deaths
The Australian state of Victoria reported 466 new cases of COVID-19 and 12 deaths, including another man in his 30s.
Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said that six of the deaths were connected to outbreaks at aged care facilities. The figures were released as the city of Melbourne remained in lockdown and under an overnight curfew.
On Friday, Victoria reported 450 new cases and 11 deaths. That was down from a record 725 infections reported a week earlier.
03:20 GMT – New Zealand accepts ICC decision to postpone Cricket World Cup
New Zealand said it could have probably hosted the women’s Cricket World Cup next year but supported the decision of the International Cricket Council (ICC) to postpone the event for a year.
The ICC announced its decision on Friday to shift the 50-over tournament until February 2022 because of the uncertainty around COVID-19. One of the concerns was the fact that no teams had played since March and time was running out to hold a qualifying tournament to find the final three sides.
“This is obviously a disappointing decision for cricket players and fans around the world,” New Zealand Sport and Recreation Minister Grant Robertson said in a statement.
“The organising committee in New Zealand has been working with the government to ensure a safe and enjoyable tournament could be played. We could have done it in 2021, but now we will look to 2022. As a government we have reiterated our commitment to supporting the tournament.”
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Dakar Youth Olympic Games delayed until 2026 (2:25) |
02:19 GMT – El Salvador court rebukes president’s decree to reopen economy
The constitutional chamber of El Salvador’s Supreme Court of Justice declared that an executive decree to establish protocols for the gradual reopening of the economy was unconstitutional.
The court said President Nayib Bukele’s decree outlining a stage-by-stage reopening “contradict[s] constitutional parameters established” earlier to contain the spread of the new coronavirus.
“In every country in the world, governments are ordering reopening, gradually, to control the pandemic,” Bukele said on Twitter. “In El Salvador, today that is also unconstitutional.”
02:00 GMT – Mexican president defends virus record
Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the president of Mexico, defended his government’s record fighting the coronavirus and ruled out a change in strategy after the official death toll surged past 50,000.
The Latin American nation of 128 million recently overtook the United Kingdom to become the third hardest-hit country in terms of total virus deaths, after Brazil and the United States.
But Lopez Obrador said that in terms of deaths relative to population size, “we have not been so hard hit”, and on that basis, Mexico ranks fifth in the Americas, behind the US, Brazil, Chile and Peru.
“And if we compare ourselves with Europe, there are more deaths in Spain, France and England than in Mexico,” he said.
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COVID-19 crisis crippling South America’s largest economy (2:21) |
01:41 GMT – Rare syndrome linked to COVID-19 found in nearly 600 US children
Nearly 600 children were admitted to US hospitals with a rare inflammatory syndrome associated with the novel coronavirus over four months during the peak of the pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a report.
Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) is a rare but severe condition that shares symptoms with toxic shock syndrome and Kawasaki disease, including fever, rashes, swollen glands and, in severe cases, heart inflammation.
It has been reported in children and adolescent patients about two to four weeks after the onset of COVID-19. The CDC report said state health departments across the country reported a total of 570 MIS-C patients diagnosed with the illness from March 2 to July 18.
Among the MIS-C cases, all patients tested positive for COVID-19 and 10 died, the CDC said in the report.
00:45 GMT – Mexico warns of ‘prolonged pandemic’ as cases rise
Mexico posted 6,717 newly confirmed coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, increasing the country’s accumulated total to 469,407.
Officials also said the number of confirmed COVID-19 deaths rose by 794 to a total of 51,311.
Hopes for a significant decline in cases have been frustrated by continued high infection rates, with Assistant Health Secretary Hugo Lopez-Gatell warning that “this is going to be a prolonged pandemic”.
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Mexico’s Oaxaca state bans sale of junk food to children (2:15) |
00:13 GMT – Italian cabinet approves $29bn stimulus package
Prime Minister Guiseppe Conte’s cabinet approved a stimulus package totalling 25 billion euros ($29bn) to revive an economy battered by the coronavirus crisis.
The plan, which has to be approved by parliament, allows for greater tax benefits for Italy’s southern regions – and calls for cruise liners to resume sailing from August 15 and for trade fairs to take place from September.
It also extends emergency monthly payments to vulnerable families ranging from 400 to 800 euros ($472 to $943) as well as a sum of 500 million euros ($589m) allotted for overtime payments to stretched health workers.
“We are protecting jobs, we are supporting workers, we are reducing the tax burden, we are helping the regions,” Conte told reporters.
He also said social distancing and face masks would be mandatory until September 7, adding: “These are the minimum rules.”
Hello and welcome to Al Jazeera’s continuing coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. I’m Zaheena Rasheed in Male, Maldives.
For all the key developments from yesterday, August 7, go here.
