Coronavirus update: World now has 20 mln COVID-19 cases

The total number of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases across the world crossed the 20 million-mark August 10, 2020, according to data from the World Health Organization (WHO) and tracker worldometers.info.

• The number of cases rose to 20,026,186 in 213 countries and territories, while 12,900,661 recovered and 734,020 people died.
• The United States crossed five million cases August 10, according to worldometers.info.
• Former prime minister and economist Manmohan Singh — in an email interaction with the BBC — outlined three steps to curb economic damage from the pandemic.
• Singh said the Union government must ensure people have spending power, businesses have adequate capital through government-backed credit guarantee schemes and “institutional autonomy” in the financial sector.
• Former President Pranab Mukherjee, in an August 10 tweet, said he tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
• Novel coronavirus infections in foetuses during later stages of pregnancy appear to be rare, with experts optimistic that foetal development will not be hindered by the virus, according to a study reported by journal Science August 4.
• Pregnancy, however, does appear to make women’s bodies more vulnerable to COVID-19 because of pregnant women’s uniquely-adjusted immune systems and the points of attack of the virus, in the lungs and the cardiovascular system.
• Researchers, using artificial intelligence, have come up with a new way to design synthetic routes to drugs being tested in COVID-19 clinical trials, reported journal Science August 7.
• The recipes for 11 such drugs, whose syntheses are tightly-held trade secrets, can be produced quickly and cheaply, said the report.
• A fast, cheap and direct test to detect the novel coronavirus in saliva can be used for mass testing, said a study published August 4 on preprint server medRxiv.
• This saliva test is less invasive than nose and throat swab tests and need not be conducted by trained professionals, reported journal Nature.
• India added 62,538 cases in one day taking the total count to 2,217,593 cases August 10, according to private tracker covid19india.org.
• There are now 634,945 active cases in the country, while 1,535,743 were discharged, said data from the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
• The total number of deaths from the pandemic in India was at 44,386.
• Of the number of cases in India, Maharashtra has the greatest number of cases, at 515,332, while Tamil Nadu has the second greatest number of cases at 2,96,901.
• The number of deaths in Maharashtra crossed the 1,000-mark August 9, as the state government added unreported data from the previous week, reported news daily Indian Express.
• Of the 390 deaths reported August 9, 260 were from the past two days, while the rest were from the last week, said the report.
• Africa now has 884,990 cases, with 12,489 added in the past day as of August 9, according to WHO data.

Subscribe to Daily Newsletter :

SUPPORT US

We are a voice to you; you have been a support to us. Together we build journalism that is independent, credible and fearless. You can further help us by making a donation. This will mean a lot for our ability to bring you news, perspectives and analysis from the ground so that we can make change together.