Morning brief: Coronavirus update for August 7, 2020
As of 8 am, August 7, 2020:
World count: 18,923,922 cases, 11,436,080 recoveries, 710,916 deaths
There are now a total of 18,923,922 confirmed cases of Covid-19 worldwide. The United States has the highest number of coronavirus cases, with 4,962,216 infections, followed by Brazil (2,917,562) and India (1,964,536).
There have been 710,916 deaths from the coronavirus all over the globe since the pandemic began. The US has the highest number of deaths in the world, with 161,729 fatalities from Covid-19, followed by Brazil (98,644), and Mexico (49,698).
11,436,080 people worldwide have recovered from Covid-19.
Singapore: 301 additional cases, 263 more discharged, 4 imported cases
The Ministry of Health (MOH) said on August 5 that there are 301 new Covid-19 cases in the country, of which four are community cases and four are imported cases. The other 293 cases are of Work Permit holders living in dormitories. Singapore now has a total of 54,555 confirmed cases, with an additional 263 discharged from hospital. A total of 48,301 individuals have recovered.
Of the active coronavirus cases in Singapore, 112 are in hospital, and none are in critical condition in the intensive care unit. 6,385 are in community facilities. Twenty-seven people in Singapore have died of complications due to the Covid-19 infection.
US: Global “Do Not Travel” advisory lifted
A worldwide “Do Not Travel” advisory was lifted by the US State Department on August 6 after over four months of warning American citizens not to travel overseas because of the pandemic. The State Department is returning to assigning country-specific advisories because conditions are “improving in some countries and potentially deteriorating in others,” allowing “travelers detailed and actionable information to make informed travel decisions.”
“This will also provide U.S. citizens with more detailed information about the current status in each country. We continue to recommend U.S. citizens exercise caution when traveling abroad due to the unpredictable nature of the pandemic,” the statement from the State Department added. Passengers coming from the US, however, are still banned in a number of countries.
England: Muslims blamed for Covid-19 spread in conspiracy theories
The latest conspiracy theories have fueled racism against Muslims, who are being blamed for the spread of the latest Covid-19 outbreaks in England. The government of the UK put areas of northern England in lockdown last week, announcing restrictions just before the Islamic festival of Eid al-Adha. Greater Manchester, Burnley, Blackburn with Darwen, Bradford, and Leicester, all affected by the lockdown, have sizable Muslim populations.
Rabnawaz Akbar, a Labour Party councilor in Manchester, said, “The timing … it focused people’s minds [on Muslims],” leading people to blame them. “You see how people would have come to the assumption. [The government] have done it without thinking but of course, they’re highlighting a particular demographic. And people are angry and now that anger is focused on a particular community.”
Germany sees 1,000 new daily cases for the first time since May
For the first time since May 9, Germany reported over 1,000 new daily coronavirus cases, as a recent uptick in infections has been seen in different parts of the country, even while citizens return from their summer vacations and classes are about to resume. Officials are urging people to wear masks and observe social distancing measures in order to prevent a further spread.
China able to perform 4.8 million Covid-19 tests daily
China has stepped up its testing efforts and has been able to test 4.8 million people daily since the end of July, said Wang Jiangping, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. On August 6, China’s National Health Commission recorded 37 new symptomatic Covid-19 cases and 20 new asymptomatic cases, but no new deaths. China now has a case total of 88,328 symptomatic cases and 4,677 deaths.
Mr Wang said, “A total of nearly 200 million copies of testing kits have been distributed to hospitals, disease control centers, customs ports, and third-party testing agencies across the country.”
Twitter blocks Trump campaign after false coronavirus claims
The Trump campaign was temporarily restricted from its Twitter account on August 5 after it shared a video of the President’s interview with Fox News in which he said children are “almost immune” to the virus.
According to Twitter, this “is in violation of the Twitter Rules on Covid-19 misinformation” and that “the account owner will be required to remove the Tweet before they can Tweet again.”
The President was merely “stating a fact that children are less susceptible to the coronavirus,” said Courtney Parella, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign, accusing Silicon Valley of being biased against the President. She added, ”social media companies are not the arbiters of truth.” —/TISG
Read also: Facebook, Twitter take aim at Trump ‘misinformation’