As of 8 am, August 4, 2020:

World count: 18,139,438 cases, 10,753,815 recoveries, 690,573 deaths

There are now a total of 18,139,438 confirmed cases of Covid-19 worldwide. The United States has the highest number of coronavirus cases, with 4,792,980 infections, followed by Brazil (2,750,153) and India (1,695,988).

There have been 690,573 deaths from the coronavirus all over the globe since the pandemic began. The US has the highest number of deaths in the world, with 157,679 fatalities from Covid-19, followed by Brazil (94,660), and Mexico (47,746).

10,753,815 people worldwide have recovered from Covid-19.

Singapore: 226 additional cases, 253 more discharged, 9 imported cases

The Ministry of Health (MOH) said on August 3 that there are 226 new Covid-19 cases in the country, of which one is a community case and nine are imported cases. The other 216 cases are of Work Permit holders living in dormitories. Singapore now has a total of 53,051 confirmed cases, with an additional 253 discharged from hospital. A total of 47,179 individuals have recovered.

Of the active coronavirus cases in Singapore, 115 are in hospital, and one is in critical condition in the intensive care unit, the first time Singapore has had a Covid-19 patient in the ICU in over two weeks. 5,730 are in community facilities. Twenty-seven people in Singapore have died of complications due to the Covid-19 infection.

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Hong Kong: Daily coronavirus cases drop below 100

For the first time in a fortnight, there were only 80 new coronavirus cases in Hong Kong, unlike the previous days when over 100 cases were reported. All of the new cases reported on August 3 were local transmissions. While the decrease in case numbers is appreciable, health officials are saying it’s too soon to call it a downward trend. Hong Kong’s total case count stands at 3,590 and its death toll is at 37.

Philippines: Capital under lockdown again, critics fear government is using the pandemic to curb dissent

The capital of the Philippines, Manila, which has had one of the longest lockdowns around the globe, is under tight restrictions yet again, in an effort to slow the rise of coronavirus cases, as hospitals and health workers have gotten overwhelmed with over 106,330 infections around the country. People under the age of 21 and over the age of 60 are required to stay home for the next two weeks.

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Critics of President Rodrigo Duterte are saying, however, that his government is using the lockdown to also curb dissent, citing a draconian Anti-Terrorism law passed last month. Journalist Maria Ressa said, “If (this) happened at a time when we weren’t under quarantine, there would have been mass protests outside. For Filipinos, to do that meant risking not just the virus, but risking arrest. And if the virus doesn’t get you, prison will.”

Vietnam: 21 new coronavirus cases reported

Vietnam, which saw its first Covid-19-related deaths only late in July and had no new cases for 99 days, reported 21 new cases on August 3, with the country’s case total now at 642. All of the new cases are related to Da Nang Hospital, now under lockdown. Vietnam has placed 103,268 people who have had close contacts with confirmed cases under quarantine and has doubled its testing capacity in comparison to the beginning of the pandemic.

WHO: 0.6% Covid-19 fatality ratio means “just over 1 in 200 people potentially dying”

The World Health Organization says that while the infection fatality ratio of Covid-19 of 0.6% may not sound very high, it means that “just over 1 in 200 people infected, potentially dying.” In comparison with other pandemics, this number is actually high, according to WHO.

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Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s technical lead for coronavirus response, said “Right now, we don’t know how many people have been infected because there are challenges with surveillance in detecting every single one of the cases, and certainly there are many unrecognized cases,” and while the 0.6% “may not sound like a lot, but it is quite high. We must do everything that we can to prevent ourselves, and those individuals, from getting infected.”

Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme, compared Covid-19’s ratio with the H1N1 pandemic, which “was more like 1 in 10,000 or 1 in 100,000. But when you think 1 in 200 versus 1 in 10,000 or 1 in 100,000, you get a sense of just how more deadly this virus is in communities.” —/TISG

Read also: Coronavirus cases worldwide pass 18 million: AFP tally

Coronavirus cases worldwide pass 18 million: AFP tally