Global Covid cases cross 16mn
UK to quarantine passengers returning from Spain; Florida cases overtake that of New York
WASHINGTON: The number of confirmed coronavirus cases worldwide has topped 16 million, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. The US leads the count with 4.1 million, followed by 2.3 million in Brazil and 1.3 million in India. The US also has the highest number of deaths with 146,460, followed by 86,449 in Brazil and 45,823 in the UK. The pandemic has killed more than 645,715 people worldwide since it surfaced in China late last year. In the US, Florida on Sunday became the second state after California to overtake New York, the worst-hit state at the start of the outbreak, according to a Reuters tally. Total Covid-19 cases in the Sunshine State rose by 9,300 to 423,855, just one place behind California, which now leads the country with 448,497 cases. New York is in third place with 415,827 cases. Still, New York has recorded the most deaths for any US state at more than 32,000, while Florida is at eighth place with nearly 6,000 deaths. Following an abrupt move by the UK government to remove Spain from the travel corridor, passengers arriving from there into Britain must now self-isolate for two weeks. Nightclubs, bars and beaches — some of Spain’s most beloved summer venues — are facing new lockdown restrictions after turning into coronavirus hot spots, and some European nations are warning citizens not to visit the country.
The northeast region of Catalonia now hosts two of the most worrying virus hotspots in Spain, prompting authorities to tighten restrictions in Barcelona and a rural area around Lleida that were relaxed only a month ago.
Spain’s Covid-19 death toll could be nearly 60% higher than the official figure of 28,432, according to an investigation by El Pais newspaper published on Sunday.
The country’s official death toll includes only people who were formally diagnosed with the novel coronavirus, not suspected cases who were never tested.
A lack of widespread testing, particularly in the early stages of the outbreak, means the official count could underestimate the virus’ toll.
By counting regional statistics of all suspected and confirmed fatalities from the virus, El Pais reached a total of 44,868 deaths. If accurate, that would make Spain’s outbreak the second deadliest in Europe after Britain’s.
Mainland China reported 46 new cases on Sunday, the highest daily tally in more than a month, as it took steps to stem recent outbreaks that have infected more than 160 people at opposite ends of the country. Officials confirmed 22 cases in Urumqi, a city in the
Xinjiang region in the country’s far west. That raised the total in the local outbreak to 137 since the first case from 10 days ago.
Meanwhile, scientists have identified a gene in humans which they say could be an essential player in the immune response against the virus, an advance that may lead to better understanding and treatment.
The research, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, analysed variation of the genetic makeup of four young male patients with severe Covid-19 from two families, who did not have any pre-existing medical conditions that made them predisposed to the deadly disease.
As the race for vaccine continued, Bill Gates said in a letter to President Moon Jae In that SK Bioscience, a South Korean pharmaceutical company, may be capable of producing 200 million vaccine kits by next June. Gates is seeking to cooperate closely with South Korea, the presidential office in Seoul said Sunday, citing the July 20 letter.
Meanwhile, drug maker Moderna Inc said on Sunday it has received an additional $472 million from the US government’s Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to support development of its vaccine.