Country, Other	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths
World	192,229,177	+510,978	4,133,340
USA	35,081,719	+44,232	625,363
India	31,215,142	+42,123	418,511
Brazil	19,419,741	+27,896	544,302
Russia	6,006,536	+23,770	149,922
France	5,890,062	+18,181	111,525
Turkey	5,546,166	+8,780	50,650
UK	5,519,602	+46,558	128,823
Argentina	4,784,219	+15,077	102,381
Colombia	4,668,750	+12,829	117,131
Italy	4,293,083	+3,558	127,884
Spain	4,189,136	+27,286	81,148
Germany	3,754,828	+1,626	91,938
Iran	3,576,148	+27,444	87,624
Indonesia	2,950,058	+38,325	76,200
Poland	2,881,594	+104	75,219
Mexico	2,664,444	+5,307	236,469
South Africa	2,311,232	+8,928	67,676
Ukraine	2,245,275	+598	52,756
Peru	2,096,013	+1,568	195,332
Netherlands	1,814,143	+6,699	17,783
Czechia	1,671,372	+216	30,341
Chile	1,601,858	+975	34,569
Philippines	1,517,903	+4,516	26,844
Iraq	1,510,517	+8,922	17,951
Canada	1,424,220	+342	26,508
Bangladesh	1,128,889	+11,579	18,325
Belgium	1,107,208	+1,330	25,213
Romania	1,081,773	+95	34,258
Pakistan	993,872	+2,145	22,848
Malaysia	939,899	+12,366	7,241
Portugal	935,246	+2,706	17,219
Israel	854,434	+1,491	6,452
Japan	844,014	+2,329	15,060
Hungary	808,889	+25	30,019
Jordan	762,420	+392	9,916
Serbia	719,006	+189	7,088
Nepal	670,953	+2,202	9,607
UAE	664,027	+1,541	1,904
Austria	654,314	+316	10,729
Morocco	562,416	+3,631	9,486
Tunisia	554,911	+6,158	17,821
Lebanon	551,789	+632	7,887
Saudi Arabia	512,142	+1,273	8,103
Kazakhstan	499,111	+4,889	5,062
Ecuador	477,946	+1,634	30,744
Greece	463,473	+3,565	12,843
Bolivia	463,125	+971	17,475
Paraguay	446,267	+702	14,394
Belarus	435,620	+600	3,344
Thailand	426,475	+11,305	3,502
Panama	424,455	+1,089	6,716
Bulgaria	423,223	+145	18,184
Costa Rica	394,135	+1,354	4,915
Slovakia	392,139	+35	12,531
Georgia	390,945	+2,616	5,592
Kuwait	387,912	+1,043	2,247
Uruguay	379,376	+304	5,896
Croatia	361,759	+146	8,243
Azerbaijan	338,837	+251	4,994
Dominican Republic	337,975	+237	3,928
Denmark	307,764	+820	2,542
Venezuela	294,727	+861	3,408
Cuba	294,449	+6,057	2,019
Sri Lanka	287,973	+1,554	3,870
Ireland	286,691	+1,110	5,018
Egypt	283,813	+51	16,457
Honduras	281,604	+894	7,482
Lithuania	279,914	+101	4,404
Ethiopia	277,877	+97	4,359
Bahrain	268,027	+78	1,380
Slovenia	258,287	+88	4,425
Moldova	258,096	+89	6,229
Myanmar	240,570	+5,860	5,567
Armenia	227,716	+194	4,572
Libya	226,701	+1,781	3,309
Qatar	224,510	+108	599
Kenya	193,807	+618	3,800
Zambia	187,602	+1,323	3,138
S. Korea	180,481	+1,278	2,059
Nigeria	169,884	+206	2,128
Algeria	155,784	+1,298	3,979
Kyrgyzstan	151,607	+1,291	2,196
Mongolia	149,733	+1,309	745
Latvia	138,238	+54	2,548
Norway	134,780	+246	796
Cyprus	93,247	+995	391
Vietnam	62,820	+4,795	334
Suriname	24,435	+123	620
Aruba	11,257	+13	109

 

Retrieved from:  https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

 

 

 

India reports 3,998 COVID deaths after state corrects its data

 

People shop at a crowded wholesale vegetable market after authorities eased coronavirus restrictions, following a drop in the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases, in the old quarters of Delhi, India, June 23, 2021. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

 

India reported its highest death toll in a month on Wednesday - at nearly 4,000 - after its richest state reconciled its death count with 3,509 previously unreported fatalities, the health ministry said.

Maharashtra, home to the financial capital of Mumbai, has reported 130,753 of the country's 418,480 coronavirus deaths, and added 3,509 earlier deaths to its tally, the federal health ministry said on Wednesday.

The ministry did not give a reason but authorities have in the past attributed other instances of deaths going unreported to administrative errors, before the mistakes are discovered and the numbers appear in official data.

Last month, the poor northern state of Bihar raised its death toll by more than 5,000 in a day when it included some unrecorded data.

The sudden appearance of previously unrecorded deaths has lent weight to suspicion that India's overall death tally is significantly more than the official figure. read more .

India's tally of infections stands at 31.22 million, with a death toll of 418,480, according to official data.

But the Washington-based Center for Global Development estimated said in a report on Tuesday that India's real death toll from COVID-19 could be as high as 4.9 million. read more .

On Wednesday, the government reported 42,015 new coronavirus infections in the previous 24 hours, health ministry data showed.

 

Retrieved from: https://www.reuters.com/world/india/indias-3998-new-covid-19-deaths-are-its-highest-month-2021-07-21/

 

 

 

South Korea reports record daily infections as Delta variant drives surge

By Sangmi Cha

 

A man walks on a nearly empty street amid tightened social distancing rules due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in Seoul, South Korea, July 12, 2021. REUTERS/ Heo Ran/File Photo

 

South Korea reported a daily record of 1,784 coronavirus cases for Tuesday, breaking a mark set last week, as the authorities struggled to get on top of a surge in outbreaks linked to the Delta variant.

Transmission rates have been kept relatively low across the country despite no lockdowns thanks in part to aggressive testing and tracing, but the fourth wave of infections is proving particularly hard to contain as the unvaccinated fall victim to the Delta strain.

Genetic analysis of 2,381 infections last week found nearly 40% were the Delta variant, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said on Tuesday. More than half the total 1,741 Delta variant cases since December were diagnosed last week.

Latest cases do not include at least 266 infections among sailors who were flown to Seoul on Tuesday after a navy destroyer patrolling the waters off Africa was found to be riddled with the coronavirus, Lee Ki-il, deputy minister of health care policy, told a briefing on Wednesday. read more

The new distancing curbs, introduced about ten days ago, haven't been effective in containing the virus spread as the summer season has contributed to higher infections in beach vacation spot, said Lee.

The government last week put the capital Seoul and neighbouring areas under a semi-lockdown, including a ban on gatherings of more than two people after 6 p.m., as more than 80% of the caseloads were found in the region. read more

New distancing rules are expected to be announced by Sunday.

Despite the record number of cases, South Korea has seen no significant increase in hospitalisations or deaths, with a mortality rate of 1.13% and the number of severe cases at 214 as of Tuesday.

Of the country’s 52 million people 32% have received at least one vaccine dose, with the government aiming to vaccinate 70% by September.

So far, South Korea has recorded 182,265 cases and 2,060 deaths.

 

Retrieved from: https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/south-korea-reports-new-daily-record-1784-covid-19-cases-kdca-2021-07-21/

 

 

 

Here’s what scientists know about the Beta variant

From Emily Anthes

 

 The St. Pancras railway station in London on Sunday. Unlike other European nations on Britain’s medium-risk amber list, travelers arriving in England from France must continue to quarantine upon arrival.Credit...Yui Mok/Press Association, via Associated Press

 

Nearly all of England’s pandemic restrictions were lifted on Monday, with a notable exception: Travelers to England from France must continue to quarantine upon arrival, even if they are fully vaccinated.

The rule, announced on Friday, was spurred by concerns about the presence of the Beta variant of the coronavirus in France and is intended as a precautionary measure, officials said.

So what is the Beta variant?

Formerly known as B.1.351, Beta was first detected in South Africa last year. It contains several mutations, in a protein called spike, that help the virus bind more tightly to human cells.

It also contains the E484K mutation, sometimes known as the “Eek” mutation, which appears to help the virus partially evade antibodies. This mutation has emerged independently in multiple variants, including Gamma, which surfaced in Brazil, and in some samples of Alpha, which was first identified in Britain.

The World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have both designated Beta as a “variant of concern.”

Scientists and health officials became concerned about Beta because it spread quickly through South Africa and research indicated that some vaccines were less powerful against it. One of them, developed by Oxford-AstraZeneca, is the vaccine Britain has depended on most heavily.

Several authorized vaccines do provide strong protection against severe disease caused by the variant, however.

Some monoclonal antibody treatments are also less effectiveagainst Beta, although there are other authorized antibody treatments that appear to work well against it.

Beta’s ability to bind tightly to human cells may also make it more transmissible; the C.D.C. notes that it appears to be roughly 50 percent more infectious than the original form of the virus. It does not appear to be as contagious as the Delta variant that was first detected in India.

Beta has now been reported in 123 countries, but it remains far less prevalent than Delta, which the World Health Organization has said is likely to become the dominant variant globally in the coming months.

Over the last four weeks, the Beta variant has appeared in 3.7 percent of virus samples sequenced in France, according to GISAID, a repository of viral genomes. French officials have criticized the British restrictions as excessive, saying the majority of their Beta cases are in overseas territories like Réunion, an island in the Indian Ocean where Beta accounts for 31.2 percent of sequences.

Beta is not common in the United States, where it represents just 0.1 percent of infections, according to C.D.C. estimates. It has been detected in Britain, but accounts for a negligible share of cases there.

 

Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/07/19/world/covid-variant-vaccine-updates/heres-what-scientists-know-about-the-beta-variant

 

 

 

South Korea airlifts a crew from a navy ship amid its military’s biggest virus outbreak

From Yu Young Jin

 

A news program showing South Korean service members inside the naval destroyer Munmu the Great, at the Seoul Railway Station, on Tuesday.Credit...Ahn Young-Joon/Associated Press

South Korea is airlifting the entire crew from a navy destroyer off the coast of East Africa after hundreds of sailors tested positive for the coronavirus in the military’s worst outbreak of the pandemic.

Two top government officials apologized on Tuesday for the outbreak, in which at least 247 out of 301 sailors have contracted the virus. None of the crew had been vaccinated. Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum told a meeting of health officials that he was “very sorry for failing to carefully take care of the health of our soldiers.”

In separate remarks, Defense Minister Suh Wook also apologized and said he would look into ways to improve antivirus measures for service members overseas.

Two military planes have been dispatched to transport the sailors back to South Korea, where they will be sent to hospitals or quarantine facilities after arriving on Tuesday.

The ship, Munmu the Great, departed for the Gulf of Aden on an eight-month antipiracy mission in early February, shortly before South Korea began its vaccination campaign. Officials say logistical issues made it to difficult to supply the sailors with vaccines, but opposition lawmakers say the government should have made a greater effort. They also accused the government of not taking the outbreak seriously enough when it began earlier this month.

The military has not said what caused the outbreak, though there have been suggestions that it could be linked to a stop at an unspecified harbor in the area in late June.

An immunized replacement crew will steer the ship back to home waters, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, while a different destroyer is on its way to the region to continue the antipiracy mission.

The outbreak on the ship has drawn public anger in South Korea, which is already grappling with a fourth wave of infections and a stalled vaccination campaign.

At a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, President Moon Jae-in said that although the military had acted quickly to bring the sailors home, “it wasn’t enough in the eyes of the Korean people, and criticism for taking the situation lightly would be unavoidable.”

In other developments across the world:

Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said on Monday that the United States would send over a million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to the African nations of Gambia, Senegal, Zambia and Niger, and three million doses to Guatemala, new allocations of hundreds of millions of doses the Biden administration has promised to send abroad.

 

Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/20/world/asia/south-korea-navy-ship-coronavirus.html

 

 

 

Scarred by Covid-19, survivors and victims’ families are aiming to influence policy

From Sheryl Gay Stolberg

 

Madeleine Fugate co-founded the Covid Memorial Quilt project, a living memorial to those who died of Covid-19 inspired by the AIDS memorial quilt.Credit...Gabriella Angotti-Jones for The New York Times

WASHINGTON — In Facebook groups, text chains and after-work Zoom calls, survivors of Covid-19 and loved ones of those who died from it are organizing into a vast grass-roots lobbying force that is bumping up against the divisive politics that helped turn the pandemic into a national tragedy.

With names like Covid Survivors for Change, groups born of grief and a need for emotional support are turning to advocacy, writing newspaper essays and training members to lobby for things like mental health and disability benefits; paid sick leave; research on Covid “long haulers”; a commission to investigate the pandemic and a national holiday to honor its victims.

As President Biden tries to shepherd the country into a post-pandemic future, these groups are saying, “Not so fast.” Scores of survivors and family members are planning to descend on Washington next week for “Covid Victims’ Families and Survivors Lobby Days” — a three-day event with speakers, art installations and meetings on Capitol Hill — and, they hope, at the White House.

Not since the early days of the H.I.V./AIDS epidemic, however, has an illness been so colored by politics, and the new Covid activists are navigating challenging terrain.

 

Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/07/20/world/covid-variant-vaccine-updates/scarred-by-covid-19-survivors-and-victims-families-are-aiming-to-influence-policy

 

 

 

Russia passes 6 million virus cases

By Andrew E. Kramer

 

People walked through Red Square in Moscow, earlier this month.Credit...Sergey Ponomarev for The New York Times

MOSCOW — A summer surge of new coronavirus cases in Russia pushed the country’s total reported number of infections since the start of the pandemic above six million, government news sites reported on Tuesday.

The milestone highlighted the authorities’ struggle to vaccinate the Russian population. When they announced eleven months ago that the country was the first in the world to develop an effective vaccine, other vaccines were in fact further along in trials at the time.

As of Tuesday, 14 percent of the Russian population was fully vaccinated. A mix of vaccine hesitancy caused by mistrust of the government and lack of supply because of glitches producing the Russian vaccine, called Sputnik, slowed the rollout.

Over the last seven days, Russia has reported a daily average of 17 cases per 100,000 people according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. Scientists and officials have blamed the spread of the more contagious Delta variant of the virus for the uptick in cases that began in June. For comparison, the United States has reported a daily average of 11 coronavirus cases per 100,000 people, according to a New York Times database.

The new surge came despite months of assurances from President Vladimir V. Putin’s government that the worst of the pandemic had passed. Instead, Russia followed the path of India and several other countries that had seemed to squelch the outbreak, only to see a resurgence with the spread of virus variants in a partially vaccinated population.

As of Tuesday, Russia had reported a total death toll from Covid-19 of 149,922, but statistics showing excess mortality over the period of the pandemic suggest the real number is far higher.

 

Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/07/20/world/covid-variant-vaccine-updates/russia-passes-6-million-virus-cases

 

 

 

Indonesia extends restrictions during a Muslim holiday

By Richard C. Paddock and Muktita Suhartono

 

Coronavirus patients at a public hospital received treatment at an emergency tent set up to handle an overflow of patients in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, on Thursday.Credit...Ulet Ifansasti for The New York Times

President Joko Widodo of Indonesia said Tuesday he would extend coronavirus restrictions at least until Monday as the country celebrated a muted Eid al-Adha, one of the most important Muslim holidays traditionally marked by large gatherings and the slaughter of cows and sheep.

The country hit a series of daily records last week, surpassing India and Brazil with the largest number of daily cases in the world and establishing Indonesia as an epicenter of the virus.

Many hospitals on densely populated Java island are overwhelmed by patients, and lifesaving oxygen is in short supply. Some patients wait days in tents and hallways for admission to a hospital ward and many others die in isolation at home. Gravediggers struggle to keep pace with the surge of bodies. On Monday, the government reported a record 1,338 deaths.

Mr. Joko said the restrictions on much of Java and Bali islands were needed “so as not to paralyze hospitals due to overcapacity.”

Since last week, the number of reported cases has declined sharply, reaching 38,325 on Tuesday. But the number of tests being conducted has also dropped sharply, from a high of nearly 260,000 on Friday to fewer than 115,000 on Tuesday.

Indonesia had hit a record of nearly 57,000 cases on Thursday.

Mr. Joko, who has been reluctant throughout the pandemic to impose lockdowns that slow the economy, said that if the trend continues, he will begin lifting restrictions on commerce and gatherings in stages.

“This is a very difficult situation,” he said in a video address. “But with our joint effort, God willing, we will soon be free from Covid-19 and social activities and people’s economic activities can return to normal.”

The percentage of tests that are positive has remained at more than 30 percent for the past week, which health experts say is a sign that the virus is widespread and that too few tests are being conducted.

On Tuesday, the positivity rate was even higher: one out of every three people tested was positive.

This was the second year in a row that Indonesia, which has the world’s largest Muslim population, celebrated Eid al-Adha, the Festival of Sacrifice, under the shadow of the coronavirus. The holiday commemorates the willingness of the Prophet Ibrahim to sacrifice his son, Ismail, at God’s command.

This year, mosques in high-risk areas were not allowed to stage the ritual animal sacrifices and distribution of meat that traditionally draw large crowds.

The restrictions, which were imposed July 3, were set to expire Tuesday. They include the closure of malls, sports facilities and a ban on nonessential travel. The government had initially ordered the closure of houses of worship, but later said they were merely advised not to hold services.

In his address, Mr. Joko called on the public to follow health guidance and help reduce pressure on the health care system.

“For this, we must all heighten discipline in implementing health protocols, isolate those with symptoms, and provide treatment as early as possible to those who are exposed,” he said.

 

Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/20/world/asia/indonesia-covid-eid-al-adha.html

 

 

 

Summary

 

Here are the other key developments from the last few hours:

· Tom Barrack, a businessman and ally of Donald Trump, was arrested on charges that he was acting as an unregistered agent of the United Arab Emirates. Barrack’s spokesman said he plans to plead not guilty, but experts are speculating that his arrest is a sign of more to come from the Trump camp – especially in terms of foreign policy.

· Chief White House medical adviser Anthony Fauci clashed with Kentucky senator Rand Paul today. Paul attempted to attack Fauci over the issue of “gain of function research” and Fauci just would not have it. “Senator Paul,” Fauci said, “you do not know what you are talking about.”

· Legislators have introduced bipartisan legislation looking to reform conservatorships in the US. The move comes in light of the #FreeBritney movement and the devastating testimony from Britney Spears last month that she wished to be free of the “abusive” conservatorship that she has lived under for 13 years.

· A White House official tested positive for Covid-19 after coming in contact with a staffer for House speaker Nancy Pelosi who tested positive after escorting some Texas Democrats who tested positive this weekend. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said there have been other breakthrough Covid-19 cases – positive cases among vaccinated individuals – that just have not been publicly disclosed.

 

Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2021/jul/20/covid-misinformation-delta-spread-us-politics-live-biden-white-house-facebook-social-media?page=with:block-60f7350b8f0814e7a316d92c#block-60f7350b8f0814e7a316d92c