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 Concern over U.S. autumn resurgence
The United States surpassed 170,000 coronavirus deaths on Sunday,
according to a Reuters tally.
U.S. public health officials and authorities are concerned about a
possible resurgence in cases in the autumn at the start of the flu
season, which will likely exacerbate efforts to treat the
coronavirus.
The United States has at least 5.4 million confirmed cases of the
coronavirus, the highest in the world and likely an undercount as
the country still has not ramped up testing to the recommended
levels. Cases are falling in most states except for Hawaii, South
Dakota and Illinois.
Pandemic spreads in India
India's COVID-19 death toll surpassed 50,000 on Monday and the total
number of recorded cases neared 2.65 million as the outbreak spread
further into smaller towns and rural areas, government data showed.
The world's second-most populous country recorded 57,981 new
infections in the last 24 hours, raising the total to 2,647,663,
while an additional 941 deaths raised the overall death toll to
50,921.
India is only the third country, behind the United States and
Brazil, to record more than 2 million infections. Experts have said
India's testing rates are far too low.
South Korea battles worst outbreak in months
South Korea warned of a looming coronavirus crisis as new outbreaks
flared, including one linked to a church where more than 300 members
of the congregation have been infected but hundreds more are
reluctant to get tested.
The outbreak linked to the Sarang Jeil Church in Seoul is the
country’s biggest in nearly six months and led to a tightening of
social distancing rules on Sunday.
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The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) reported 197 new
cases as of midnight on Saturday, most in the Seoul metropolitan area, marking
the fourth day of a three-digit tally. “We’re seeing the current situation as an
initial stage of a large-scale transmission,” KCDC director Jeong Eun-kyeong
told a briefing.
New Zealand postpones election
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern postponed the general election by a
month to Oct. 17, bowing to pressure after some parties complained they could
not campaign with nearly a third of New Zealand's 5 million people under
lockdown in Auckland.
Ardern's opponents accuse her of using the pandemic to shore up support as she
appears on television nearly every day to reassure New Zealanders, while other
party leaders struggle to get attention. Her rivals are hoping Ardern loses some
of her appeal once economic hardships caused by the lockdown begin to bite.
"Shocking" rise in Lebanon
Lebanon must shut down for two weeks after a surge in infections, the caretaker
health minister said on Monday, as the country reels from the massive Beirut
port blast.
"We are all facing a real challenge and the numbers that were recorded in the
last period are shocking," Hamad Hassan said. "The matter requires decisive
measures." Intensive care beds at state and private hospitals were now full, he
added.
Lebanon on Sunday registered a record 439 new infections and six more deaths
from the virus in 24 hours.
The country, already deep in financial crisis, was struggling with a COVID-19
spike before the Aug. 4 blast that killed at least 178 people, wrecked swathes
of the capital and pushed the government to resign.
(Compiled by Linda Noakes and Karishma Singh; Editing by Nick Macfie)
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