PANDEMIC: FACTS, FIGURES FROM ACROSS WORLD

A fire at a hospital in Egypt's coastal city of Alexandria on Monday killed seven Covid-19 patients, security and medical sources said. Seven other people were injured in the blaze, believed to be caused by a malfunctioning air conditioner in an area designated for isolating Covid-19 patients

4,300

people have been hospitalised out of South Africa's 138,000 confirmed cases, Health Minister Zwelini Mkhize said in a statement. "We are seeing a rapid rise in the cumulative number of positive Covid-19 cases indicating that, as we had expected, we are approaching a surge during the ... months of July and August," he said. US researchers have developed a new, non-invasive strategy to use data from existing cellular wireless networks to pinpoint potential hotspots for increased Covid-19 spread, an advance that may help contain the pandemic.

The pattern of skin reddening and swelling reported in children during the pandemic, popularly called "Covid-toes", might not be associated with the virus infection, according to a study which found these lesions in infants who tested negative for Covid-19.

Health authorities are using what they describe as a world-first saliva test for Covid-19 in Australia's second-largest city Melbourne where the disease is spreading at an alarming rate. Officials say 49 people tested positive to Covid-19 in Melbourne on Sunday and only four cases were detected elsewhere in Australia.

42 new infections of Covid19 in South Korea as cases steadily climb in Seoul and nearby metropolitan areas, forcing authorities to consider stronger social restrictions.