India reports daily record for coronavirus cases
- India, the third worst-affected country in the world, has reported a record number of cases of coronavirus.
- Brazil has expressed cautious optimism that the country’s coronavirus outbreak could be about to slow down, with cases and deaths on a weekly basis falling from their late July peaks.
- Kamala Harris accused US President Donald Trump of “failure of leadership” for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic as she accepted the nomination as vice president.
- South Korea has reported a seventh day of triple-digit cases with infections growing outside Seoul.
- More than 22 million people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 around the world, and more than 14 million have recovered. More than 787,600 people have died, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Thursday, August 20
10:35 GMT – Germany adds parts of Croatia to list of coronavirus risk areas
Germany’s public health agency on Thursday declared the Croatian counties of Sibenik-Knin and Split-Dalmatia, which are popular with tourists, coronavirus risk regions.
Croatia is the country with the third-highest number of infections among people returning to Germany, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), after Kosovo and Turkey.
The RKI also added the Valcea region of Romanian to its coronavirus risk list, having previously designated several other parts of Romania as high-risk.
10:00 GMT – Emirates to serve all ‘network destinations’ by summer 2021
Dubai-based airline Emirates expects to resume flights to all “network destinations” by summer 2021, its chief operating officer said, after the coronavirus pandemic halted most global air travel.
The Middle East’s largest carrier, which has a fleet of 270 wide-bodied aircraft, halted operations in late March. Shortly afterwards, it resumed limited passenger flights focused on repatriations and has since been gradually expanding its network after Dubai eased travel restrictions to revive its tourism industry.
“I think we can easily say by summer 2021, we’ll be serving 100 percent of our network destinations,” Adel al-Redha told CNBC.
09:30 GMT – Philippines confirms 4,339 more cases, 88 deaths
The Philippine health ministry on Thursday reported 4,339 new coronavirus infections and 88 additional deaths.
It said total confirmed infections have risen to 178,022 while deaths have reached 2,883.
The Philippines has reported the most COVID-19 cases in Southeast Asia and the region’s second-highest death toll, after Indonesia.
08:50 GMT – Indonesia sees 2,266 new infections, 72 deaths
Indonesia reported 2,266 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, bringing the total number of cases in the Southeast Asian country to 147,211.
Data from the health ministry showed an additional 72 deaths, taking total fatalities to 6,418.
08:15 GMT – Russia’s coronavirus death toll passes 16,000
Russia’s death toll from the novel coronavirus passed 16,000 on Thursday, as the country reported 110 new deaths in the past 24 hours.
The country’s coronavirus crisis response centre registered 4,785 new cases, bringing its nationwide tally of infections to 942,106, the world’s fourth highest caseload.
