A pandemic of the new coronavirus has killed more than 819,000 people worldwide.
More than 23.9 million people internationally have been diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the new respiratory virus, according to knowledge compiled through the Center for Science and Systems Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. Diagnostic criteria, through clinical means or laboratory control, vary from country to country. However, the actual figures are believed to be much higher due to lack of verification, many unreported instances and suspicions that some national governments hide or minimize the scope of their epidemics.
Since the first cases were detected in China in December, the virus has spread to all continents except Antarctica. The United States has become the worst-affected country, with more than 5.7 million cases diagnosed and at least 178,524 deaths.
Nearly 170 COVID-19 vaccine applicants are being monitored through the World Health Organization, six of which are in 3 of the critical trials.
South Korea has noticed a buildup of more than 40% in COVID-19 cases over the following month, as the virus spreads to all provinces of the country.
The total number of cases shown increased from 12,890 on July 26 to July 18,265 on August 26, an increase of 41.7%, according to the knowledge of the South Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And in the last two weeks alone, the instances have accumulated by 24% to 14714 reported on August 12.
South Korea has already experienced the largest outdoor COVID-19 outbreak in China, where the virus first appeared, but the fitness government has been able to do so through a comprehensive “tracking, testing and treatment” strategy. Today, infections are increasing in the capital and other parts of the country.
Some 6,800 schools will be closed in South Korea until 9/11 due to the developing epidemic. The country has launched a point 2 social estrangement program, but the government is reluctant to put in place even stricter measures, according to news agency Yonhap.
ABC News Christine Theodorou contributed to this report.
The World Economic Forum has to postpone its 51st annual meeting in Davos due to safety considerations related to the coronavirus pandemic.
The elite convention at the Swiss Alps resort, frequented by billionaires and heads of state, will be postponed until early next summer. The rally was originally scheduled to take place in January 2021.
“The resolution was not easily taken, as the desire for world leaders to combine to devise an unusual path of recovery and shape the ‘Great Reboot’ in the post-COVID-19 era is very urgent,” said Adrian Monck, executive director of public participation at the World Economic Forum, said on a Wednesday. “However, the experts’ view is that the Forum cannot do it safely in January.”
Christine Theodorou of ABC News contributed to the report.
The Gaza Strip reported on Wednesday of its first coronavirus-related death since May, after the besieged Palestinian territory was blocked for 48 hours following a new COVID-19 case organization.
A 61-year-old man died there after contracting COVID-19, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Death came here just two days after a circle of 4 relatives tested positive for the disease in the al-Maghazi refugee camp in the center of the Gaza Strip.
The new organization of instances and deaths are the first known instances of the spread of the new coronavirus in the local network of the coastal enclave, led by the militant organization Hamas. Previously, all reported instances and deaths were similar to the return of Palestinians to the territory from abroad, who were quarantined.
The Palestinian government that the new bodies came here from a woman who contracted COVID-19 while receiving medical remedy in Jerusalem. Although Israel has imposed restrictions on access and exit from the neighboring Gaza Strip for more than a decade, some Palestinians are still allowed access to Jerusalem hospitals for essential physical care, such as chemotherapy.
Nasser Atta and Guy Davies of ABC News contributed to this report.
New Zealand reported new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, 3 of which were broadcast locally.
The other two cases were imported and detected in isolation centres. The national total of instances shown is now 1,344, of which 134 are active, according to the knowledge published on the new Zealand Ministry of Health’s website.
Health officials in New Zealand are expecting a new outbreak there after spending 102 days without any local transmission of the new coronavirus. The new organization of instances was discovered this month in Auckland, the country’s most populous city, which led the government to impose a blockade in the region and postpone national elections.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has finished closing in Auckland, which must now end on Sunday night.