In brief: Coronavirus update for August 8, 2020

As of 10 am, August 8, 2020:

Worldwide: 19,160,806 cases, 11,605,114 recoveries, 716,083 deaths

The worldwide coronavirus case count is now over 19 million, with three countries accounting for over half of the cases: India recording over 2 million cases, Brazil over 3 million and the United States over 5 million. The rise in cases in these three countries does not seem to be slowing.

Africa’s cases have surpassed one million over the past few days as well.

There are now a total of 19,160,806 confirmed cases of Covid-19 worldwide. The United States has the highest number of coronavirus cases, with 5,015,734 infections, followed by Brazil (2,967,064) and India (2,027,074).

There have been 716,083 deaths from the coronavirus all over the globe since the pandemic began. The US has the highest number of deaths in the world, with 162,824 fatalities from Covid-19, followed by Brazil (99,702), and Mexico (50,517).

11,605,114 people worldwide have recovered from Covid-19.

Singapore: 242 additional cases, 281 more discharged, 6 imported cases

The Ministry of Health (MOH) said on August 7 that there are 242 new Covid-19 cases in the country, of which 1 is a community case and 6 are imported cases. The other 235 cases are of Work Permit holders living in dormitories. Singapore now has a total of 54,797 confirmed cases, with an additional 281 discharged from hospital. A total of 48,312 individuals have recovered.

Of the active coronavirus cases in Singapore, 134 are in hospital, and none is in critical condition in the intensive care unit. 6,334 are in community facilities. Twenty-seven people in Singapore have died of complications due to the Covid-19 infection.

WHO: Virus cases rising among young people

The World Health Organization said on August 6 that the coronavirus pandemic is moving into young adults, teenagers and children. This is a change from the trend at the beginning of the outbreak of Covid-19 when older people were more at risk of falling ill. New data shows that recent cases show the highest increase in patients aged 25 to 64, and that cases among teens and young adults is up six-fold, while among babies and young children, over seven-fold.

Hong Kong to offer voluntary universal coronavirus testing

Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced on August 7 that all citizens will be offered universal, voluntary coronavirus testing in two weeks. “This is an entirely voluntary program to provide testing for those who want to have a test either to find out whether they are infected or they just want to be more sure that they are safe in that sense. The new coronavirus pandemic is still severe. The overall number is still high,” she said.

A new hospital and testing lab will be built in the city to prevent hospitals from getting overwhelmed as Hong Kong battles its third wave of infections. While new daily cases are below 100, in comparison to the latter half of July, there are still between 80 to 95 new cases reported every 24 hours.

Young women most at risk for poor mental health during lockdowns

A new study from University College London (UCL) in the UK suggests that young women are the most likely to suffer from poor mental health during lockdowns. Among the age groups in the study, 19 years olds and 30-year-olds reported the highest incidents of poor mental health, with more women suffering than men, reporting symptoms of depression as well as loneliness.

“Our findings clearly highlight high levels of difficulties being experienced by young people aged 19 and 30, especially young women. More needs to be done to support these age groups and limit the impact of the pandemic on their future health and wellbeing,” said  said Dr. Praveetha Patalay, a co-author of the study. -/TISG