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- UNHCR steps up efforts to combat COVID-19 among tens of thousands of Syrian refugees in camps in Jordan after the first three cases were confirmed last week.
- South Korea to decide later today whether to extend stricter antivirus curbs in the greater Seoul area by another week as number of infections drop.
- Domestic air travel in Wuhan, the epicentre of the global coronavirus outbreak, returns to pre-pandemic levels with 500 domestic flights on Friday, Chinese authorities say.
- More than 28.6 million people around the world have been diagnosed with the coronavirus and nearly 917,000 have died, according to Johns Hopkins University. About 19.2 million have recovered.
Here are the latest updates:
Sunday, September 13
06:30 GMT – India’s cases rise to 4.75 million with another spike
India has registered a single-day spike of 94,372 new confirmed coronavirus cases, driving the country’s overall tally to 4.75 million.
The Health Ministry reported 1,114 deaths in the past 24 hours, taking total fatalities up to 78,586.
Even as infections are growing faster in India than anywhere else in the world, the number of people recovering from the virus has also risen sharply. The country’s recovery rate stands at 77.77 percent and nearly 70,000 recoveries have been reported every day in the month of September, according to the Health Ministry.
Hi, this is Elizabeth Melimopoulos in Doha taking over the live updates from my colleague Ted Regencia in Kuala Lumpur.
04:45 GMT – AstraZeneca resumes UK trials of COVID-19 vaccine
AstraZeneca has resumed British clinical trials of its COVID-19 vaccine, one of the most advanced in development, after getting the green light from safety watchdogs, the company said.
“On 6 September, the standard review process triggered a voluntary pause to vaccination across all global trials to allow review of safety data by independent committees, and international regulators,” AstraZeneca said in a statement.
04:15 GMT – Italy reports 1,501 new coronavirus cases
Italy’s health ministry has reported 1,501 new coronavirus cases and six more deaths, bringing the total number of cases to more than 286,000 and at least 35,603 deaths.
According to the ministry data, infections have been steadily increasing for the past six weeks, mostly among Italians returning from vacation. The number of people in intensive care has also increased from 121 to 182.
03:50 GMT – Domestic air travel recovers in Wuhan
Domestic air travel in Wuhan, the epicentre of the global coronavirus outbreak, has returned to pre-pandemic levels, authorities say on Sunday.
The virus was first detected in Wuhan late last year and the city underwent a draconian 76-day lockdown as its hospitals struggled to deal with a tidal wave of cases that required the rapid construction of field hospitals.
Since re-opening in early April, life has gradually returned to normal and numbers of domestic flights serving the city, as well as the number of passengers, had fully recovered, according to the operator of Wuhan Tianhe International airport. It said 64,700 passengers were transported on 500 domestic flights on Friday.
03:20 GMT – Australia’s Victoria takes small step in easing virus restrictions
Lockdown restrictions in Australia’s state of Victoria will ease very slightly as of Monday, state officials said, as the number of new daily coronavirus cases continued to fall in the country’s hotspot, according to Reuters news agency.
Announcing a 3-billion Australian dollar ($2.2bn) package in financial aid to businesses in Victoria, home to a quarter of Australia’s population, officials also said there were 41 new coronavirus infections on Sunday and seven more deaths.
The numbers confirm a steady downward trend from a peak of more than 700 cases in a single day in early August. Victoria accounts for about 75 percent of Australia’s more than 26,600 COVID-19 cases and its capital, Melbourne, has been under strict lockdown for several weeks.
02:15 GMT – Germany reports 947 new coronavirus cases
Germany has reported 948 new coronavirus cases.
The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) also reported that as of Sunday, two more fatalities. Germany has more than 260,000 cases and about 9,352 deaths linked to COVID-19.
01:35 GMT – South Korea reports 121 new COVID-19 cases
South Korea reported on Sunday at least 121 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total in the country to 22,176.
According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, 99 of the new infections were from local sources. Three more deaths were also reported, raising the total to 358.
Later on Sunday, the country will decide whether to extend stricter antivirus curbs in the greater Seoul area by another week, according to Yonhap news agency.
00:45 GMT – Mexico’s confirmed coronavirus deaths rise to 70,604
Mexico’s health ministry has reported 5,674 new confirmed coronavirus cases, as well as 421 additional fatalities, bringing the total number of deaths to 70,604 and 663,973 infections.
The government says the real number of infected people is likely to be significantly higher than the confirmed cases.
The virus has ravaged an already slumping economy, which is now seen contracting by up to 13 percent this year, the deepest downturn since the 1930s-era Great Depression, according to Reuters news agency.
00:15 GMT – UN steps up COVID-19 measures at Syrian refugee camps in Jordan
The UN refugee agency is stepping up efforts to combat COVID-19 among tens of thousands of Syrians in camps in Jordan after the first five cases were confirmed last week, the head of the agency in the country said.
The infections in Zaatari and Azraq camps, which house approximately 120,000 refugees, were the first since the pandemic was first reported in the kingdom last March.
“The developments this week have obviously been a worrying situation for all, but especially for refugees living in the camps. Crowded spaces and cramped living conditions make social distancing difficult,” said Dominik Bartsch, the UNHCR representative in Jordan.
00:05 GMT – Brazil reports 814 new coronavirus deaths, more than 33,500 cases
Brazil’s health ministry has reported 814 new coronavirus-related deaths and 33,523 additional cases, bringing the death toll to 131,210 and the infection count to 4,315,687.
Brazil has the third-highest number of cases worldwide and the second-highest number of fatalities.
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Hello and welcome to Al Jazeera’s continuing coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. I’m Ted Regencia in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
For all the key developments from yesterday, September 12, go here.
