COVID-19 WRAP | SA records 9,320 cases in 24 hours

June 12 2021 - 20:14

SA recorded over 9,000 Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, with 5,900 active cases from Gauteng. The total number of confirmed cases in the country now stands at 1,739,425.

114 Covid-related deaths were also recorded, bringing the nation death toll to 57,706.

June 12 2021 - 14:49

Moscow mayor makes June 15-19 non-working days amid Covid-19 rise

Moscow's mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, on Saturday said June 15 to 19 would be non-working days and that all bars, restaurants and venues should close by 11pm in the capital until June 20 amid a sharp rise in coronavirus cases.

"To stop the rising rate of sickness and to save lives, today I signed a decree providing for non-working days from 15 to 19 June 2021 with pay for employees," Sobyanin said on his official blog.

He said the decision would not affect organisations that maintain the city's infrastructure and the military.

Reuters

June 12 2021 - 13:31

KES closed for a week as 34 boys test positive for Covid-19

One of Johannesburg’s leading boys’ schools, King Edward VII, has been forced to close due to a spike in Covid-19 infections among pupils.

This comes after the Gauteng education department said on Friday that 1,977 pupils and 1,077 teachers at 2,226 schools had, up to June 9, tested positive for the virus.

June 12 2021 - 13:11

Saudi Arabia bars foreign travellers from Haj over Covid-19

Saudi Arabia has restricted the annual Haj pilgrimage to citizens and residents and set a maximum of 60,000 pilgrims in response to the coronavirus pandemic, the state Saudi Press Agency reported on Saturday.

Only people aged between 18 and 65 who have been vaccinated will be able to take part, the ministry that manages the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca said in a statement carried by SPA. 

Reuters

June 12 2021 - 12:07

Indian village prays to 'goddess corona' to rid them of the virus

Indian villagers have erected a shrine to “goddess corona” and are offering her prayers in the hope that divine intervention can banish the deadly virus.

Devotees in Shuklapur village, in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, have been offering prayers, holy water, and flowers at the bright yellow shrine where they have placed their idol of “Corona Mata”, since they erected it this week.

June 12 2021 - 11:09

Russia reports 13,510 new cases in sharp uptick

Russia reported 13,510 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, the fifth day of a sharp rise that has taken the daily infection tally to a three-month high.

The announcement came a day after Moscow's mayor said he was expecting to see a peak in infections in the capital in June or July.

The new cases reported in the last 24 hours brought the national tally to 5,193,964. The government's coronavirus task force said 399 more people had died, pushing the national death toll to 126,073.

The federal statistics agency has kept a separate tally and has said that Russia recorded around 270,000 deaths related to Covid-19 between April 2020 and April 2021.

Reuters

June 12 2021 - 10:58

UK PM Johnson likely to delay England's final stage of reopening

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to delay lifting the remaining coronavirus restrictions in England as data shows a further rise in cases of the rapidly spreading Delta variant, British media reported.

Johnson is due to announce on Monday whether the planned lifting of restrictions, which would see an end to limits on social contact, can go ahead on June 21.

But the rapid spread of the Delta variant, first discovered in India, has thrown those plans into jeopardy, meaning there will be a one-month delay to the lifting of the restrictions, the Daily Telegraph reported.

A four-week delay would push back the easing of restrictions to July 19.

Reuters

June 12 2021 - 10:32

China administered 863.5 million vaccine doses as of June 11

China administered about 18.2 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines on June 11, bringing the total number administered to 863.51 million, data from the National Health Commission showed on Saturday.

Reuters

June 12 2021 - 10:08

Mexico says Covid-19 has affected quarter of its population

About a quarter of Mexico's 126 million people are estimated to have been infected with the coronavirus, the health ministry said on Friday, far more than the country's confirmed infections.

The 2020 National Health and Nutrition Survey (Ensanut) showed that about 31.1 million people have had the virus, the ministry said in a statement, citing Tonatiuh Barrientos, an official at the National Institute of Public Health.

The estimate was given as the country recorded 3,282 new cases and 243 more fatalities, taking its total number of confirmed infections to 2,448,820 and the death toll to 229,823.

The government has said previously the real number of cases was likely to be significantly higher.

According to Barrientos, not all of the people in the survey's estimate necessarily showed symptoms. The survey was based on interviews with people at 13,910 households between August 17 and November 14 last year, and confirmed preliminary results released in December.

Separate data published in March suggested Mexico's actual death toll was at least 60% above the confirmed figure.

Reuters

June 12 2021 - 9:46

Mexico reports 3,282 new cases, 243 more deaths

Mexico on Friday reported 3,282 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the country and 243 fatalities, bringing its total to 2,448,820 infections and 229,823 deaths, according to health ministry data.

The government has said the real number of cases is likely significantly higher. Separate data published recently suggested the actual death toll is at least 60% above the confirmed figure. 

Reuters

June 12 2021 - 9:23

Germany's confirmed cases rise by 1,911

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 1,911 to 3,713,480, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Saturday.

The reported death toll rose by 129 to 89,816, the tally showed.

Reuters

June 12 2021 - 9:08

China reports 35 new coronavirus cases

China reported 35 new coronavirus cases in the mainland for June 11, up from 22 a day earlier, the country's health authority said on Saturday.

Of the new cases, eight were local transmissions, compared with nine the previous day, the National Health Commission said. All of the local cases were in southern Guangdong province.

China also reported 27 new asymptomatic infections, versus 25 a day earlier. China does not classify symptomless infections as confirmed cases.

As of Friday, China had a total of 91,394 confirmed infections. Its death toll stood unchanged at 4,636. 

Reuters