PM Imran Khan warns of possible Eid al-Adha coronavirus spike
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan has warned citizens to continue to strictly follow government guidelines on limiting interactions, warning of a possible new surge in cases after the Islamic holy day of Eid al-Adha later this week.
Khan’s warning came as the country registered its lowest single-day rise in cases in almost three months, according to the latest government data.
No indication new coronavirus is seasonal: WHO
The spread of the novel coronavirus does not appear to be impacted by seasonality, the World Health Organization has said, warning against false beliefs that summer is safer. “Season does not seem to be affecting the transmission of this virus,” WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris told reporters in a virtual briefing.
She pointed out that some of the hardest-hit countries are currently in the midst of different season.
South Asia animal sellers go online for Eid al-Adha
Millions of goats, sheep and cattle are slaughtered annually during Eid al-Adha – the festival of sacrifice – one of two major holy days observed by Muslims across the world, including some 600 million in South Asia.
The pandemic has, however, badly hit India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, which have shut or heavily restricted major markets, while fears of catching the virus are keeping customers away ahead of the main festival on Saturday.
Faced with deserted markets, livestock breeders and traders have turned to websites, apps and social media to showcase their animals.
Iran registers a record 235 coronavirus deaths in 24-hour period
Iran has reported 235 new deaths from the novel coronavirus, a record toll for a single day in the Middle East’s hardest-hit country.
“We have lost 235 of our compatriots due to COVID-19 in the past 24 hours,” taking the overall toll to 16,147, said health ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari.
SOURCE: Al Jazeera News
Indonesia reports 1,748 new infections
Indonesia has reported 1,748 new coronavirus infections, bringing its tally to 102,051 confirmed cases overall, Health Ministry data showed.
The number of deaths in the Southeast Asian nation related to COVID-19 rose by 63, bringing the total to 4,901.
Russia’s coronavirus cases surpass 820,000
Russia has reported 5,395 new cases of the novel coronavirus, bringing its nationwide tally to 823,515, the fourth largest in the world.
Russia’s coronavirus taskforce said 150 people had died over the last 24 hours, pushing the official death toll in the country of around 145 million people to 13,504.
Vietnam locks down its 3rd-largest city as virus cases grow
Vietnam has locked down its third-largest city for two weeks after 15 cases of COVID-19 were found in a hospital, the government said.
Public transport into and out of the central city of Da Nang was cancelled. Over the weekend, thousands of mostly Vietnamese tourists had to end their summer holidays in the popular beach destination. The lockdown has dealt a hard blow to the tourism industry, which was just being revived after earlier coronavirus cases mostly subsided at the end of April.
China reports 68 new cases, all but four locally transmitted
Mainland China has reported 68 new cases of coronavirus, 64 of them locally transmitted.
Fifty-seven of the local cases were diagnosed in the far western region of Xinjiang, according to state media.
No deaths from COVID-19 were reported anywhere in the country.
UN warns on wasting, stunting
The UN says nearly seven million more children will suffer stunting as a result of the coronavirus pandemic affecting food supplies.
Writing in The Lancet, a team of experts modelled the impact on 118 poor and middle-income countries and found the prevalence of moderate or severe wasting among children under five would increase by 14.3 percent, or an extra 6.7 million cases.
Wasting occurs when the body is so malnourished that muscles and fat begin to disappear.
SOURCE: Al Jazeera News
