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HEALTH-VIRUS-WORLD,FACTS
Coronavirus: latest global developments
PARIS, Sept 20, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Here are the latest developments in the
coronavirus crisis:
– More than 957,000 dead –
The pandemic has killed at least 957,948 people in the world since
emerging in China late last year, according to an AFP tally at 1100 GMT
Sunday based on official sources.
More than 30.8 million people have been infected.
The United States has the most deaths with 199,268, followed by Brazil
with 136,532, India with 86,752, Mexico with 73,258 and Britain with 41,759.
– UK imposes hefty fines –
People in England who refuse to self-isolate to stop the spread of the
virus could face fines of up to o10,000 ($13,000, 11,000 euros) under tough
new regulations to tackle a surge in cases.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson says that from September 28 people in England
will be legally obliged to self-isolate if they test positive or are told to
by the National Health Service (NHS) tracing programme.
– Belgium tops 100,000 cases –
Belgium passes the 100,000 milestone of infections following a sharp
increase in cases in recent weeks, according to figures from the research
institute Sciensano.
The trend accelerated markedly in the first half of September, reaching an
average of 1,000 new daily infections during the week of September 9 to 15,
according to the data.
– Italy votes, cases rise –
Italians cast their ballots in a referendum and regional elections,
despite warnings against opening polling stations while Covid-19 case numbers
are on the rise. Italy currently has fewer new cases than Britain, France or
Spain but it is still recording more than 1,500 daily.
“The country is in a state of emergency; it is utterly contradictory to be
massing people together at polling stations, particularly in light of the
trend in Europe,” Professor Massimo Galli, infectious diseases chief at
Milan’s Sacco hospital, tells AFP.
– Hollywood Covid-era awards –
The first major Covid-era award show for Hollywood takes place Sunday with
the Emmys — the small-screen equivalent of the Oscars — looking radically
different to previous editions, with no red carpet and a host broadcasting
from an empty theatre in Los Angeles.
– Fewer US election monitors –
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which
monitors elections in many parts of the world, says it will only send a small
team to observe the US polls in November due to the pandemic.
No short-term observers will be deployed to monitor the election on the
day, Katya Andrusz, OSCE spokeswoman, tells AFP. The team for the elections
on November 3 will consist of just 14 analysts and 30 long-term observers.
BSS/AFP/ARS/1751 hrs