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The United States has set a record for coronavirus cases, with more than five million people now infected, according to a Reuters tally, as the country’s top infectious diseases official offered hope earlier this week that an effective vaccine might be available by year-end.
- Brazil’s coronavirus deaths have surpassed 100,000 deaths five months after the first reported case in a sign that the country has not contained the deadly disease.
- More than 10,000 people have died from coronavirus in South Africa since the pandemic arrived in the country in March, the health ministry said.
- At least 19.48 million people around the world have been diagnosed with COVID-19, while the global death toll crossed 723,000. More than 11.8 million have recovered.
Here are the latest updates:
Sunday, August 9
02:22 GMT – China reports 23 new COVID-19 cases in mainland
China has reported 23 new coronavirus cases in the mainland as of the end of August 8, down from 31 a day earlier, Reuters news agency reported on Sunday quoting the country’s health authority.
Among the new cases, 15 were locally transmitted and eight were imported infections, the National Health Commission said in a statement published on its website.
Some 45 people were discharged on Saturday and there are still 817 active cases in the country, including 43 severe cases.
The total number of infections in mainland China now stands at 84,619, with the death toll unchanged at 4,634.
01:45 GMT – Mexico stops bleeding jobs during pandemic, president says
Mexico has started getting people back to work again in August after losing 1.1 million formal jobs between March and July due to the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, Reuters news agency reported quoting President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
“We’ve stopped losing jobs,” Lopez Obrador said in a video posted on YouTube. “So far in August almost 15,000 new jobs have been created.”
Citing data from Mexico’s Social Security Institute, Lopez Obrador said 1.1 million formal jobs were lost between March and July, with the nadir in April with some 555,000 losses. That slowed to 3,900 formal job losses in July, he said.
The bulk of Mexicans work in the informal economy, and they have borne the brunt of job losses triggered by the pandemic’s effects on Latin America’s second-second largest economy.
01:15 GMT – Mexico’s coronavirus death tally exceeds 52,000, cases above 475,900
Mexico’s health ministry has reported 6,495 new confirmed coronavirus infections and 695 additional fatalities, bringing the total in the country to 475,902 cases and 52,006 deaths, according to Reuters news agency.
Officials have said the real number of infected people is likely significantly higher than the confirmed cases.
Mexico has the third highest coronavirus death tally globally, behind the United States and Brazil.
00:05 GMT – US sets record as coronavirus cases top 5 million
The United States set a record for coronavirus cases on Saturday, with more than five million people now infected, according to a Reuters tally, as the country’s top infectious diseases official offered hope earlier this week that an effective vaccine might be available by year-end.
With one out of every 66 residents infected, the US leads the world in COVID-19 cases, according to a Reuters analysis. The country has recorded more than 160,000 deaths, nearly a quarter of the world’s total.
The latest development comes as President Donald Trump signed executive orders intended to provide economic relief to Americans hurt by the coronavirus pandemic after the White House failed to reach a deal with Congress.
00:01 GMT – Brazil coronavirus death toll hits 100,000
Brazil’s coronavirus deaths have surpassed 100,000 deaths five months after the first reported case in a sign that the country has not contained the deadly disease.
The nation of 210 million people has been reporting an average of more than 1,000 daily deaths from the pandemic since late May and reported 905 for the latest 24-hour period.
The Health Ministry said there had been a total of 3,012,412 confirmed infections with the new coronavirus – death and infection tolls second only to the United States. And as in many nations, experts believe that both numbers are severe undercounts due to insufficient testing.
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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.Â
For all the key developments from yesterday, August 8, go here.
SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies
