India sets another daily record for virus cases
India’s health ministry reported a new record surge of 45,720 new coronavirus cases, taking the total tally of infections to 1,238,635.
India has recorded 685 virus deaths in the past 24 hours, as well as 444 previously unreported fatalities, bring the nationwide death toll from the pandemic to 29,861.
Many states in India have started reimposing lockdowns as health authorities struggle to trace transmissions.
Bahrain, Qatar have highest per capita virus rate in the world
The small, neighbouring Gulf Arab nations of Bahrain and Qatar have the world’s highest per-capita rates of coronavirus infections.
In the two countries, COVID-19 epidemics initially swept undetected through camps housing healthy, young foreign labourers.
Iran death toll surges past 15,000
Iran confirmed 221 additional fatalities from the novel coronavirus, bringing the nationwide death toll to 15,074, according to the Health Ministry.
A further 2,621 people tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, raising the overall count to 284,034, ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said.
Iraq infections pass 100,000 mark
Iraq’s total number of infections from the coronavirus has passed 100,000, with health ministry reporting 102,226 cases had been recorded in the country.
At least 4,122 people have died from COVID-19 in Iraq, it said in a statement.
Iraq has often recorded more than 2,000 new cases a day in recent weeks as the spread of the virus has accelerated.
South Africa sees ‘huge discrepancy’ in virus, total deaths
The South African Medical Research Council is reporting a “huge discrepancy” between the country’s confirmed COVID-19 deaths and the number of excess deaths from natural causes, while Africa’s top health official says the virus is spreading there “like wildfire”.
The new report, which came out late Wednesday, shows more than 17,000 excess deaths in South Africa from May 6 to July 14 as compared to data from the past two years, while confirmed COVID-19 deaths are 5,940.
Philippines confirms 2,200 more coronavirus cases, 28 deaths
The Philippine health ministry on Thursday reported 2,200 new coronavirus infections and 28 new deaths.
In a bulletin, the ministry said total deaths had increased to 1,871 while infections rose to 74,390.
SOURCE: Al Jazeera and news agencies
