India has recorded the biggest single-day fatalities of 904 in the past 24 hours as fresh coronavirus infections surged by another 56,282 cases to reach nearly two million.
The Health Ministry said the total fatalities touched 40,699. India has recorded 20,000 deaths in the past 30 days.
The ministry also said the recovery rate has improved to 67 percent from 63 percent over the last 14 days. Nearly 600,000 patients are still undergoing treatment. The case fatality rate stands at 2.09 percent.
Japan region declares emergency
Hideaki Ohmura, the governor of Japan’s Aichi Prefecture, announced a regional “state of emergency”, urging people to stay home at night and businesses to close altogether or close early to curb the coronavirus.
The measures will continue through August 24, a period that coincides with the Obon holidays, when schools and many companies close, he said.
Ohmura said coronavirus cases have been rising in Aichi since mid-July at 100 or more a day. Before that, daily cases had been zero for extended periods.
Netherlands: cases keep increasing
The number of infections in the Netherlands keeps increasing, prompting Prime Minister Mark Rutte to cut short a vacation to address the public later on Thursday about the surge.
In the past 24 hours, health authorities reported 601 new infections from 427 a day earlier.
No Turkish hospitals at capacity due to COVID-19
No Turkish hospitals are operating at capacity because of the coronavirus pandemic, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Thursday, after the Reuters news agency quoted doctors as saying some dedicated intensive care units (ICU) were full.
“There are no cities, not even a single hospital, working at capacity due to COVID-19. Claims are unfounded,” Koca said on Twitter.
Doctors in coronavirus hotspots, including Ankara and the southeastern city of Gaziantep, told Reuters that hospitals are logging more cases than are reflected in the official nationwide count, with some ICUs and emergency rooms at capacity.
